17 years!

We have been knee deep in basketball. Games every night except Wednesday's (which is our bowling night so we aren't home then either!) We have been having to battle at each game. Shooting % has been low along with rebounds. Maybe they are getting tired too?

Most exciting since my last post was Jordan turning 17 on February 3rd. We started the day by surprising him with donuts and juice at the early AM shoot around with the Varsity basketball team. Coach called them all off to the side and they sang Happy Birthday to him. The Varsity had a game that night and at the end of half time the student section broke into their rendition of Happy Birthday for him. It was a very close game and with 23 seconds left in the game the Coach put him in and the announcer informed everyone it was his birthday. The team set him up for a 3 point shot and.......it bounced of the rim! He asked Kelli home for cake after the game. All in all a pretty good day for a kid who doesn't like to be the center of attention! I looked back at some early photos and wonder where all the time has gone.


Jordan at 1 month old.


Kelli and Jordan (she claims it wasn't a good picture day, but I think she is darn cute no matter what!)


Jordan and his really yummy cake!

Most of the rest of us have been battling upper respiratory stuff! Emma and I have managed to not be affected by it. Dana, Abbey and Carson have all been feeling yucky. Carson was hit the worst, missing 3 days of school last week. They are all back on the mend. Carson spent this last weekend trying to catch up on school work and get his Valentine cards done. They wanted them in school today so we were busy yesterday.

I can breathe a sigh of relief! The father/daughter dance went fabulous this weekend. We think we had about 400 people. It was the most heart-warming event to be a part of! The dads in their suits and the daughters in their very nicest dresses, some with corsages, all dancing and having a very good time. To see the smiles on everyone's face was priceless. There was a Grandpa that was doing the 2 step with his blind granddaughter that I just could not take my eyes off of. Of course, there were dads that brought their daughters and were happy to sit on the side most of the night and let them dance with their girlfriends but I was so happy they came and did dance a little. We aren't sure of the total raised for After Prom but am certain we exceeded out expectation. I will definitely help with this event next year. Now it's on to the dodgeball tournament.

Thanks to all of you who sent up prayers for my aunt. I am so happy to report she is back home and doing much better. Sometimes those extra prayers sent up, even from strangers, can make all the difference and we are grateful!

Enjoy your Valentine's weekend.

We hate winter!

I am soooo tired of the cold weather. It just makes everything more of a production around here. Getting out of bed in the morning isn't fun, bundling the kids up to leave isn't fun, getting into a cold car after a ball game isn't fun, getting the dog to stay out long enough to "go" isn't fun, shoveling, shoveling and more shoveling isn't fun (so Dana says..heehee). We had a 59 degree day this week and it just teases me and then it was negative again by Friday. That damn groundhog better not see his shadow!

We continued to eat, sleep, and breath basketball and show choir this week. Jordan had his first two varsity points last Saturday night. They put him in the last 3:00 minutes of the game and he scored 2 points, took a charge, and blocked a shot! That was the best 3:00 minutes of varsity basketball for me thus far! He followed that up on Monday by scoring 13 points in the JV game! He did play a few minutes of Friday nights game but there wasn't a lot of time left. He spent Saturday evening at the Show Choir competition. Kelli performed and even had a solo so we stayed to support her. They were the last to perform. She sounded great. Jordan was bored out of his mind but she goes to almost all of his games so he thought it was only fair to stay for her. He is starting to get a cold so I am trying to get him to rest more and increase his fluids. Most of the time it falls on deaf ears.

Abbey spent all Saturday at the Show Choir Invitational DC-G hosted. She and a friend were the host to the Ballard Middle School Choir. They decorated the school on Friday night and then on Saturday they made sure that Ballard found their homeroom and got them to the warm up room and their performance on time. They were suppose to "keep the director happy." She had a great time and said that the Ballard director was very nice and happy to have their help. Because we were the host of this event our choirs don't compete but do exhibition performances. Abbey's was at about 6:00pm and the high school's was at about 10:20pm. (At the least the auditorium seats are comfortable!) The middle school sounded really good and watching Abbey perform always brings tears of joy to my eyes. She is so confident while she performs and really looks like she is having fun. We are so happy that she has found something she is passionate about!

Carson is anticipating the 100th day of school this next week. We have been busy counting out 100 items for him to take for that day. He went to most of the games this week. He takes his Nintendo DS and that keeps him busy and quiet. He also went to a birthday party on Saturday for a classmate. It was at Pump It Up and he loves to go there. He spent this afternoon at Cole's house playing the Wii.

Emma went to all the games this week and she usually takes her colors and that keeps her happy. That and a bag of M&M's, some popcorn, a ring pop, and a soft pretzel. On Thursday, I was getting ready for a Baby Shower for our Cross Country coach's wife and Emma asked me why I was changing my clothes. I told her that I was getting ready to go to a Baby Shower. She looked at me a little funny and then went off about her business. While we were at the table for supper (before I left) she asked, "Are you going to have to take your clothes off?" Everyone burst out laughing and I had to explain to her that it wasn't that kind of shower. Can you imagine what was going through her head. I don't think that she still understands that I didn't go and take a shower with a baby. Bless her heart! It did make for great material at the shower and got just as big a laugh there!

Dana and I are growing weary of winter and bleachers! We bowled our last week in our current league and begin our new league next week for another 16 weeks. That takes us just about to the start of baseball and warmer weather. Last weekend I helped with the Silent Auction for After Prom. We made almost $3000. We were very happy that it exceeded our expectations. So far most of our fundraising efforts have fallen shy of what they did last year. The poor economy is effecting many things! Dana spent that whole night as the booster club rep in the concession stand. He claims that he wants nothing to do with Walking Tacos for awhile. We snuck out after that busy day for a quick beer and food at a local pub and many of our friends were also doing the same thing.

Last Sunday some neighbors called and said we are taking the kids sledding. I had just snuggled down on the sofa to watch some football. I have no real winter-type activity coat so Dana said...."you hang here and enjoy your quiet time. I'll take the kids sledding." Now part of me was thinking "I shouldn't miss this." and the other part of me was "a few hours all to myself would be so great!" So I sent them off and they had a blast! Dana took a few pictures but Julie, our resident pro, took some video and some neat photos and made the montage. Thanks, Julie...once again you do all the hard work!

The schedule this week in basketball heavy!! Every night but Wednesday and 2 on Saturday. Also this week our prayers all go to my Aunt Ruth, who last night had some sort of coronary event that has left her very critical. If you are the praying kind please send one up for her and her family. I would be forever grateful!!

Enjoy the snowy day fun!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So far....so good!

So I am a little behind on the updates and no Christmas montage as hoped. Not that I haven't had time. I have just been doing other things. Like trying to stay warm! The temps here have been almost record breaking and we haven't seen cold like this in 12 years.

Dana has completed his second week as a Casey's General Store employee. He said that he plans on returning again next week so I think it is going well. He wore a suit the first day and they told him to stop that! ; ) He said that the whole environment is much more relaxed. So far, he is averaging 30 emails a day and a handful of phone calls. The company is much larger than KG so he doesn't communicate directly with the stores as he used to. He also said it is very different having the warehouse right at your fingertips and he loves having a cafeteria right in the building. (especially on these bitterly cold days!) I think that he really enjoyed his time off and was able to shut off the KG way and open himself up to a new way to work. So....it's all good!

I miss him terribly! I am very rusty about the schedule and organization so the first few days back for me were a little helter skelter! Thank God, Julie has offered to pick Carson up each afternoon....so no more waking babies. I am still trying to get my office put back together. I wasn't as successful about getting my jobs done while I was off. Other things beckoned and I gladly stepped out from behind the desk to play with the kids, watch football with Dana, and spend time with girlfriends! I am also getting really busy with After Prom stuff. I am co-chairing the Father/Daughter dance in early February and am trying to help in some way with the Silent Auction this weekend.

Jordan has had a really busy few weeks of basketball. He had a game everyday except Wednesday and 2 on Saturday last week. He seems to be handling it ok. Not getting a ton of playing time on Varsity but plays a lot of JV. Homework getting done and food being shoveled in whenever he can. This week was suppose to be as bad but the cold weather and snow took care of that. KG let him go. (We were thinking since Dana gave notice that they would really look for a reason to release Jordan!) Apparently some boys in his grade liked to hang around there a little too much when he was working and caused some trouble for him. Probably a blessing as he was really busy and not working a ton. Good thing he is very frugal because he is still responsible for filling his own gas tank! He has put in an application with the Grimes Park and Rec department to help with the summer programs and is now looking for a Sunday job that his classmates can't bother him at! (Notice I didn't say friends!!)

Abbey hasn't had much going on! Show Choir practice, homework, and reading. That girl can read a 300-400 page book in a few days! Oh, to be young again! She helped out at the beginning of the week watching the little two while we went to a few ball games. That way they can get to bed at a decent time. She did some babysitting last weekend to add to the stash of cash she has in a shoebox. I think it is time to take her to the bank. She made change for a $50 bill for Dana the other night! She also got a nice surprise this week. In her English class, it is a requirement that all students submit one of their writing works in a contest. She chose a poem that she had written early in the year, entitled "I Can't Write a Poem". Mailed to our home early this week was a letter congratulating her. Her poem has been selected to be published in the anthology "A Celebration of Poets". She was so excited and we are so proud.

The little two enjoyed some nice weather right after the first of the year and played outside a ton. This last week...not so much. We have been doing everything we can to not have to take them out of the house. Thus, cabin fever is setting in. Good thing they still think of the gifts they got for Christmas as cool. So it hasn't been so bad. Emma is having a little "dress up withdrawl". She runs around here with her little princess dresses on all the time and no socks. I told her this week that it was too cold for her to be in her dress up clothes. She didn't get it. She informed me that she "wasn't going outside in them". UGH!

These next few weeks are full of basketball and show choir events. Hoping the weather starts to cooperate so we aren't having to rearrange things again. We went over the Saylorville bridge at Polk City last night on the way to a basketball game and I wished it was warm enough for us to be putting the boat in! Dana also mentioned that with the new job and better hours we should be able to be out on the lake by 6:00 on the nights we don't have baseball! Guess we had our heads in the same place....warmer weather!

I do thank you all for continuing to check in on us! I hope that I haven't disappointed you too much by being a bit tardy with posts. Enjoy a few pictures from the last few weeks.


Jordan during warm ups.


Dana, Carson and Emma at last nights game.


Emma trying her hand at Rock Band!


Emma as Sleeping Beauty!


Abbey during a Show Choir performance.

Happy New Year!

Wow, I know I have a ton of things to tell you but I am going to keep this short! You see....this is our final night of winter break and the last night before Dana starts his new job!! I would really rather be cuddled up on the sofa with him right now. So a quick update and a few pictures. I will try to put together a montage and a better post later this week. (Don't' hold your breath, though. We have 5 basketball games!)

Christmas was great. We enjoyed our time together. The kids got spoiled! We made a quick one day trip to Cherokee to celebrate with my folks and sister's family. December 31st we celebrated Carson's 6th birthday and rung in the New Year with some neighbors playing games and enjoying friendships! There has been tons of football watching and lots of home improvement projects going on around here!

Like I said...this is short! I know you have come to expect more from me, but tonight it's quiet time! Check back later in the week and you can see more about our holidays! Wishing you the best 2009 ever!


The kids on Christmas morning.


The Egger Christmas.


Carson turns 6!


Dana and I on New Year's Eve.

Moving South!

We are putting our house up for sale and moving south! Ok, so not really but damn....I hate cold weather! The lovely winter weather we have been having has been messing with our basketball schedule, our school schedule, our winter programs, our last minute Christmas shopping, and our mood in general! We have had 1 early out, 2 snow days, and 3 basketball games postponed. We have really been hunkered down here.

I was lazy in getting a post done last week so I will do my best to catch you up. We are still enjoying our "quality time" together. Dana has been doing all the school and preschool drop offs and pick ups. He has also been doing all the grocery shopping. We tackled the painting of our entry, front room and office area this last week. Hope to tackle a bathroom or two, the stairwell and the toy room in the next month. Have a few last minute Christmas things to do but am feeling really good about that too.

The kids are in major countdown mode to the holiday break (the older two) and Christmas Day (the little two). Jordan has been busy with basketball, semester test prep, work, and Kelli. Abbey has occupied her time with show choir, home work, movies, reading, and babysitting. Carson and Emma are busy keeping up. Sure have been glad that a few events have been postponed. Don't like having them out when it is so cold! They are both looking forward to this week. Emma has pajama day at preschool tomorrow for their holiday party. Carson gets to celebrate his birthday tomorrow with his classmates and then on Tuesday Dad gets to join him for lunch and his holiday party.

Dana and I have been rearranging schedules, painting, bowling, celebrating, and shopping. Cut out the cold and life is darn good!

We hope that everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will do my best at posting over the next two weeks. Lots of family time planned! Wishing you all the best!


Dana and I celebrating a friend's 30th birthday!


Jordan before a home JV game.


Abbey reading on a wintery day.


Carson and Emma watching a movie together.

Santa visits

Wednesday evening The Sump Family was going about their normal business....when from their front door there arose such a clatter, we sprang from our positions to see what was the matter. : ) A visitor on a weeknight just never happens at our home so the little two are always intrigued by who might be at our door. The sounds of delight that erupted when Dana opened the door told me that the only person it could be was Santa Claus. Carson and Emma were so excited that they forgot to tell him what they were hoping for this Christmas. Santa asked them if they were being good and told them there was still lots of time left for them to be on their best behavior. Each got a Christmas ornament with their name on it and a candy cane. Santa was kind enough to let us snap one picture.



As I told you in the last post, Jordan was injured in the first game of the season last week. He did not suit for the JV game on Thursday which allowed him time to rest. He is feeling much better and back at 100%. We are thankful that he recovered quickly and can get back in it. Today the weather has halted the JV/V boys games. School was canceled due to icy conditions so all events are subsequently canceled. Another quiet night in our house. Abbey has been busy with the show choir preparing for the winter concert next week.

Dana is really enjoying his time off!

No...this isn't what he has been doing the whole time! He has really been working on getting some things organized. Hoping to start a painting project next week. He is smiling so much more and joking all the time. I have been wondering where this guy went. Kum & Go was sucking the life from him! : )

I am just enjoying everything! With Dana home I have been able to focus on a few small projects that are in need of some attention. One being my office area. Those of you that are here frequently know that my desk is a pig sty! I have actually been able to do some organizing in that area. I just feel that we are making great strides towards starting the New Year off in a very good place! So.....yes, it's all still good!

Thanksgiving and It's All Good!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We here in the Sump house enjoyed a quiet day together. Dana grilled a yummy turkey on the weber and I handled the rest. Your usual Thanksgiving turkey accompaniments. We all went around the table and said what we were thankful for.
Carson and Emma: "my family"
Abbey: "Thanksgiving break"
Jordan: "Singulair and my inhaler"
Dana: "a happy and healthy family"
Jamie: "that nobody said yuck when they sat down at the table"
We spent the afternoon putting up the Christmas tree and the kids played outside for a little bit. The wind was a little brisk so we lured them back in the house with decorating the tree.

Dana and I joined many others on a very early Friday morning for a little economic stimulus. I spend more time watching the other crazy people than I do getting what I need. It really is a spectacle. Dana and I usually go without the cart and carry our stuff. So much easier to maneuver around. I do feel we have a good handle on the shopping though.

Saturday was spent just doing stuff around the house. That is a never ending job. And then on Sunday we went over to Panora for a Thanksgiving celebration with Uncle Bill and Aunt Karen. The food was fabulous, as always! We spent the afternoon visiting and playing Uno Spin. My sister and her family were able to join us so the kids got to play together which doesn't happen often enough.

Several blogs back I eluded to a very exciting meeting that Dana was attending. Well, I can finally divulge that it involved a second interview and subsequent job offer with Casey's General Stores. (yes....the competition) Dana has accepted the offer of employment with their company and is scheduled to start on January 5th. He gave Kum & Go his 2 week notice last Wednesday and in a matter of 1 hour the email went out company wide that he was no longer with the company, his pass key had been taken away, and an exit interview completed. So....Dana is now enjoying some time off. 39 days to be exact. When he called and told me they were letting him go right away I immediately had to add things to my Honey Do list! Oh the things I am going to get done around here! : ) Many people have said this could be lead to the demise of our marriage. He has been a business traveler since the day we got married. Now we have lots of together time. I just tell people, if we could build this house together without it ending I think that 39 days will be a breeze.

All kidding aside, this is a great opportunity for him! Way more room for professional and personal growth with Casey's, 8:00 - 4:30 business hours, and very little, if any, travel. He will be working in their marketing department and will oversee everything in the cooler. Dana did a lot of different things for Kum & Go and now he just has the cooler to worry about. No equipment, no openings, no acquisitions or divestitures.

So right now he is enjoying taking the kids to school and catching up on some reading and things that need to be done here. Today he had the snowblower out and took care of a few driveways. I say, Great!! I was tired of "going all out". Now I say...."it's all good!"

Jordan started basketball this week. During his first game he was going for a loose ball and ended up having someone land on top of him. Right in his right clavicle area. He really looked like he was in pain. Said he heard a pop but everything looked ok and he had pretty good range of motion. He thought he would be ok and went ahead and suited last night for the varsity game. He only played a few minutes and looked like he was in quite a bit a pain. When he came home he thought maybe he should take a few days off. Not what you normally hear coming from his mouth. Dana took him in this morning for an x-ray and it was read as negative. Great news. Badly bruised and he is clear to play as he is comfortable. So, I think he is going to rest a few days and then try to get back into it. Doesn't like being on the bench needs to be in on the action.

I started a new little one this week. A 3 month old little guy from our neighborhood. Really fun having a little one in the house again. Kinda glad Dana is around to help out. Also enjoy the adult conversation!

So for right now....."it's all good!" Ask me again in a few more days! : )

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