Oprah!

One of the first friends that I made when I moved to Iowa is Sarah. She has been such a good friend. She has 2 precious children. Her husband and Kyle really hit it off too. I will really hate to leave them, in fact, she was one of the last people I told that I was moving because I hated to tell her.

Anyway, Sarah, being the really generous friend that she is...got 4 tickets to Oprah and a limo to take she and 3 of her friends to Chicago for the day. She did breifly joke that she was taking my ticket away after she learned that we were moving. (I hope she was joking anyway!)

We left the QC at 7am, and made it to the studio with enough time to do a little boutique shopping before the show. Sarah's sister (who we are crediting with our good fortune of upclose seating) had heard that the show we were attending was going to be "Fabulous!" So we assumed it was going to include free gifts or possibly a celebrity since "Fabulous" would not be a term used to describe a particularly sad story. WE WERE MISTAKEN!

The show was about the Madeline McCann kidnapping that happened while her family was vacationing in Portugal 2 years ago. Needless to say since the 4 of us who attended are mothers, we were pretty much in tears the entire show. We were seated on the 2nd row which was pretty cool since Oprah was only about 7 feet from us. We should have been on the front row, but were knocked out of the way by some rather large women. If you watch the show on May 4th....the larger women on the front row are the culprits, particularly the one in the purple top!

After the show, we had a wonderful meal, and were able to sit outside on the patio because it was a beautiful day in Chicago and was 80 degrees.

Thanks SARAH!

Katie, myself, Sarah, and Joanne

Sarah and Joanne catching up on all the "Star" gossip on the way to Chicago.

In front of Harpo Studios!

They told us that the show should air May 4. So set your TIVO's or DVR's and see if you can spot me...crying, of course!

Soccer

Landon as Keeper, making a stop.
Having a good time.
Ready for anything.
He and his friends/team mates making their way to the field.
Last weekend, Landon had a soccer tournament in Rockford, IL. It was super fun. We did not make it into the playoffs due to a heartbreaking loss in the rain. It just so happened that Landon happened to be Keeper during the last half of that game,and was really heart-broken when it was over. He came off the field crying...everyone thought it was because he had taken a hit in the face (although that did hurt, he was upset about the loss.) They fought hard. It was an exciting game.

We stayed Saturday night in Rockford with the team, and had so much fun and excitement! After Saturdays games, we went to the hotel. The kids had a blast swimming in the pool and eating snacks. Pretty much all of us were on the same hall, and ended up in the hallway playing cards and chatting. The kids played a bean bag toss game, and were running from room-to-room. After we all turned it, the people who stayed on the opposite side of the hall from us had some excitement. There was a huge argument that escalated from a party in the pool area, I believe. Anyway, shots were fired! Cops were called. Some of our team watched all of this from their hotel room (while the Fulcher's slept unknowingly across the hallway!) They watched as the cops taizored (sp?) someone, and looked for the shell that was fired. One guy from our group even had to talk to the police to tell them what he had seen. Needless to say, their room was discounted.

News, News, and more news.....

Well, Kyle and I have had a lot going on the past few weeks. And the next few months will be even busier. First, we will be relocating to Kansas City, KS sometime hopefully late summer. His new position with Deere has had him working down there every other week. We held off the requests to make the transfer until the end of the school year. Hopefully, the move will help to cut down on his travel.


Second, in October, we will be welcoming a new addition to our family!! We are super excited. We have had several heartbreaks the past year and a half, but everything seems to be going well this time. I have really come to appreciate how delicate and important everything is in the first few weeks. I have been feeling fine, just a little tired...OK a lot tired, exhausted actually! I have not had any nausea...I think my doctor didn't believe me when I said that I don't get morning sickness. She kept trying to clarify, but I finally said, "Really, this is my 6th pregnancy (yep, that's right 6!) and I just don't get sick!" I think she finally believed me.

Landon and Laurel are super excited as well. They are saying that they don't really have a preference on a boy or a girl. They are just happy to to be having a baby. They are so sweet and will be such a good big brother and big sister.

Please keep us in your prayers as we get ready to list our house for sale, buy a new house, move, get Landon and Laurel settled into a new school, and welcome a new baby! I am exhausted just thinking about it!

Easter 2009

This Easter was certainly a bit warmer than last year. This was the first year that we didn't have family come up to visit. I was a bit sad about that at first, but it turned out to be a nice relaxing day that we enjoyed. After church, we went to brunch then Landon and Kyle played golf while Laurel and I went to see the Hannah Montana movie.
I do wish I could have seen my nieces and nephew! Mom said that Caitlyn and Jonas (both 18 months old) were so cute hunting eggs! And we missed seeing Norah and Farrah this year...Easter with them was becoming a tradition.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Happy Easter! I love having holidays like these because it makes me pause to consider all that I am thankful for (and it is a lot!)

Spring Soccer

Soccer season has started again. We had our first game last weekend, and it was a chilly one. Landon's team won 7-1!






Did I say it was cold?