Welcome Back!

Setting the stage... the year is 2015. Thanksgiving is in a few weeks. We have been in our new home in Blaine for over two years. The house was a foreclosure, and around 2000 square feet (or 1300 more than we were used to!) It is a rambler-style with three bedrooms up, and one down. An eat in kitchen, a small living room, a large family room downstairs and a bonus room. Just to catch you up from the last few years, here is a snapshot of each of our family members at this point in time.


Matt
Matt works as a contractor coordinator for a company out of Vadnais Heights. He is good at his job and enjoys it a lot. He is in school to complete his Business degree, with the hopes of graduating in a semester or two. In his spare time he enjoys working on the house, working out and watching funny videos online. We just re-modeled the kitchen this year, and he picked up another skill: tiling. I don't think he will care to use that one again soon. He also spends a lot of time outside. He enjoys driving his Mustang (that he got when his Dad passed away last year) and spending time running around with the kiddos.


Catherine
I still work for Sleep Number, as an Organizational Change Management Business Partner. The comp guy in HR says that I may have the longest title in the company. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I am excited to have had the opportunity to learn this new skill. Over the span of the project I have worked on during the last year, I have gotten to know many new people and have learned the totally difficult cultures of the departments I supported. In my free time, I enjoy reading and coloring :). I also like to get in a good workout here and there with Matt.


Brianna
Brianna is 5 years old and is in her second month of Kindergarten at Way of The Shepherd Montessori. Her favorite things to do are sewing and baking. She is also learning how to read and write in cursive. I was worried about her not being with her brother at daycare, but it was for naught! She is flourishing on her own. When she is not at school she enjoys coloring with Mom, playing Barbies, dressing up, and watching movies. She is the sweetest, most amazing, girliest people-pleaser I know.

Ben
Ben is 3 years old and attends daycare at Kari's house. His best friend is Zach who just moved two miles away from us, and his favorite thing is cars. He also enjoys watching rescue bots and playing Angry birds on his tablet. He has been back on dairy for about a year, but is now gluten free because we found that he had far less tummy issues on a strict g-free diet. He is a good sport about this, but would definitely prefer to eat whatever all the other kids got to eat.  Both Ben and Brianna enjoy Sushi, candy, and water with "stuffinit" which is just fruit water flavorings.


Zoe (dog) no longer lives with us, but with my Mom who took her in after Sally (her dog) passed away. She is so happy living with Grandma!


Ali- Dog
Ali is 8 years old now and is doing well. She still copes with Addisons disease which lands her in the vetrinarians office needing fluids to survive a few times a year. She enjoys barking, sunning, stealing food from the kids and hanging out with Mom. She has become a whole new dog since her sister Zoe went to live with Grandma.


That pretty much catches you up on the last five years! We are all doing great and have settled into family life quite well. Now that life has settled down some, I am hoping to update this blog more!