Christmas at the Knotts'

Chelsea & Kali are full of the Christmas love!! (Two minutes later they rolled off the couch wrestling...
At least they were feeling the love for a little while!)
After a crappy last day of work before Christmas (no need to go into it here), Marcus and I decided to do our Christmas tonight. As some of you may know, we have a TERRIBLE time waiting until Christmas day to exchange gifts. We almost always manage to goad each other into opening our presents by about the 15th of December.

Well, this year is our fourth Christmas as a married couple, and we have matured SO MUCH, that we were able to wait a full week later than we usually do!! Marcus got me a new digital camera (to encourage my blogging-problem). It's very nice! I've spent the night just taking pictures of stuff. I'm not sure you'll be able to tell a difference in quality because I haven't figured out what all the buttons do yet, but it is SO NICE to take pictures with! I haven't put any more pictures of my Christmasy home, so I thought I'd add some more.


My New Nativity
I got it on sale... I thought it was so pretty, but I'll have to work on the surroundings next year.

The Baker's Rack
I don't bake... so I decorate!

Marcus and Battlefield 2
The view of my husband most familiar to me!
I really can't complain... I got it for him!!!
So there you have it! Christmas at the Knotts'... we don't hear jingle bells, only explosions from Marcus' computer, and his hysterical, tyrannical laughter that inevitably follows. And me? I've got visions of mega pixels and Christmas cookies dancing in my head!! Time to take more pictures! Or bake cookies! Or take pictures of cookies baking!!! (Now I've gotta stop...)

Have a wonderful Christmas!

More Lehna

Lehna stayed with us today because Stephanie had to go into the emergency room this morning. She's feeling better now, and they think it may have had something to do with her gall bladder, so they are going to keep an eye on it. I'm so glad you're feeling better, Steph!!!

Lehna is getting around LIKE CRAZY!!! When she wasn't climbing on things or clearing off all the contents of every flat surface onto the floor, she played with some of my old toys (like the doll above). It is so much fun now that she really plays! She also helped me finish my Christmas shopping, and Stephanie would be proud of her daughter! Amidst all of the crying babies, screaming toddlers, and pouting preschoolers; there was Lehna... seriously an angel, just looking around, giggling, and smiling up at anyone with a two-toothed grin!!! I was so proud!!

I got a lot of compliments from other shoppers about what an adorable, well behaved little girl she was. A couple people commented on her pretty eyes, and both times I said, "Yeah, she's got her Mommy's eyes!" They would look at me, then at her, and look at me again with a puzzled expression, and I'd then let them off the hook by telling them I'm just her aunt. One lady looked at me like I was nuts! I was afraid for a moment she thought I stole Lehna and was trying to pass her off as my own. No need to call security, lady!!

Anyway, we had a good day, and it made it a whole lot better knowing the Steph was OK. I hope everyone has a good weekend!


All Lehna wanted for Christmas is her two bottom teeth,
and she got 'em!

Last Pledge Drive

Last year, I wrote my second-ever blog entry sitting in a cold studio one night during the December TV drive. So, I thought it was appropriate to write an entry during my last pledge drive EVER. In honor of this momentous event, I have a nice little story that Christina showed me a couple of months ago, and it certainly rings true today!!!

A man dies and finds himself in a small room furnished with a couch and TV. There is another guy sitting on the couch, watching the screen.
"So, is this heaven or hell?" he asks the guy on the couch.
"Well, there are no windows or doors, and no apparent way out," the man answers.
"So it's hell?"
"I don't know," says the other guy, without looking up. "They did give us this nice big TV."
"So maybe it's heaven."
"Maybe, but it has only one channel," the man counters.
"Oh, so maybe it's hell?"
"Well, the station it gets is pretty good - it's PBS."
"So maybe this is heaven after all?"
"Yeah, except for one thing," the other guy says sadly. "It's always pledge week."

A New Year, A New Job!

I am happy to announce that I have accepted a position at Kiwanis International as their first ever Research Analyst. I have been interviewing for this position since September, and they offered me the job! From what I have seen, it is a great organization to work for, and they are really eager to have me... which is always a good way to start! I will begin my new job the first week in January. It is a great opportunity, and it will give Marcus and I more breathing room financially. I'll keep you posted... and no, I'm NOT letting Marcus get a big-screen TV.

Have a great rest of the week!

P.S. - Those of you out there that need prayers and good thoughts this week... believe me... You've got 'em!! All my love.

Lehna's 'New Look'

While Marcus was studying away, I took the opportunity to give Baby Lehna's website a bit of a face-lift. Stephanie has wanted to change it for a while, and I totally agree it needed to be updated, because it was one of the first ones I did. I just haven't had the time to change it until this weekend. I'm pretty proud of the result, and I learned how to make my own buttons! Anyway, check it out when you get the chance!!

Click on the image above to go to Lehna's Blog

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

It's SNOWING!!! Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE snow! My appreciation of the white stuff was tested today though. Because of the winter storm warning in the Indianapolis area, we were allowed to leave work at 3:00 p.m. today. You don't have to tell me twice!! I left work right at three.

Knowing that it would take me longer than usual to get home, I came prepared with Christmas music. For a while, it wasn't too bad! Yeah, I was crawling along in bumper-to-bumper traffic; but at least I didn't have to worry about crazies plowing into me at 50 MPH, I could sing Christmas music at the top of my lungs, and I got out of work early! I just sat back, stayed in my lane, and tapped the gas every few minutes!

About an hour and a half later, I was not so zen about the situation. I was still crawling, but visibility was so bad, I had to really pay attention. There were slide-offs everywhere, and I was just over HALF-WAY home! The worst part was that all the jerks who live in Indy had apparently taken to the streets.

People were cutting others off like crazy, creating lanes where there were none, honking, cursing, and trying to turn around in the middle of the road. My favorite came in the form of the pure geniuses who would pull out in the middle of an intersection after their light turned red, so that they could sit and wait five feet closer to home than they would have been if they HADN'T been blocking traffic!!! *Sigh...* Well, I feel better! Long story short(er), it took me until 5:35 p.m. to get home. That's 2 1/2 hours, ladies and gentlemen! Man, I love the city!!

When I got home, I decided to have a little fun with the pups. Marcus is studying feverishly for his first final tomorrow, so the pooches and I romped around in the snow for a while. I love how they dig their heads in the snow, and run around, kicking up snow everywhere! I know... It doesn't take much to occupy me!

Welp, that's my little adventure for the evening! I think I may go out and play with the dogs some more. I want to make a snowman, but I think the neighbors might think I'm odd. Oh, well! Have a snowy, SAFE evening!

One Year Later!

So it's been one whole year since I first started this blog. A whole year... It went so fast! It was a pretty exciting year for the most part. A new niece, a new home, a new dog, and new experiences all around. I thought I would put a few pictures that highlight the year for us. Here we go!

December 2004

Christmas at the Zoo

January 2005

Saw Tony Dungy at Applebees...
yep... January was a little slow!!

February 2005

Indy Wine Fest 2005

March 2005


The BIG event of March was Lehna Marie
March 29th, 2005

April 2005

We lost Teresa in April... She is deeply missed.


Karla & I took part in our first Race for the Cure

May 2005

Danny, Julie and Kris all graduated from Purdue


We celebrated our 3rd Anniversary in Chicago

June 2005

Lehna spent the night for the first time

July 2005

Yearly DeArmond vacation to the EAA Airventure
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

August 2005

Back to Wisconsin with Steph and Lehna!
(On a Harley with my Father-in-law, Terry)

September 2005

Finally got stopped driving the Grand Prix
...and now I drive a minivan


Marcus gets a new job at a new law firm!
...and he begins the road to the Dark Side

October 2005

We adopt Chelsea, and start to visit the vet clinic every day for a month... too bad they don't give out frequent flyer miles!

WFYI's 35th Anniversary Gala

November 2005

We move into our new condo

December 2005

That brings us up to today! Who knows what the next year will bring! I have a feeling some exciting new experiences await Marcus and me in the next year. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with us this past year, and stay tuned!

Christmas EXPLOSION!

Yep, I'm one of those! I secretly listen to Christmas music before December, I don't really mind when Wal-Mart sets out their Christmas merchandise right after Halloween, and I ALWAYS get out my decorations as soon as I get back from Thanksgiving dinner. This year was no exception.

We went to Peru for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Marcus' grandmother's home. I like to call it our "Very Pierogi Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown"! His family makes meat pierogi, mashed potato pierogis (my favorite), and even fruit pierogis. They are yummy! We also have the usual turkey, but family and pierogis are what make Thanksgiving in the Sullivan house special! I only took one picture Thursday, I meant to take more, but we were playing board games, and I got caught up. Hmmm... I was with Marcus' family and took only one picture... Who do you think it was of?


Lehna's all tuckered out after her first Thanksgiving
When we got home, I started to decorate for Christmas, and Marcus said he'd like to get me a new tree for my Christmas present. I thought about it for a while, and decided, "What the heck." We went and bought a very nice new tree. The sucker is NINE FEET TALL, complete with pre-lit goodness! It's fantastic! I love it!


I did feel a bit like Clark Griswald with his huge tree when we got home, because we weren't quite sure where the tree would fit! The height was not problem, but when I unfurled the bottom of the tree, I realized we didn't take the width into consideration. Another good thing is that we had so many ornaments already that we actually filled the tree without having to buy any more.*

*The new title background at the top of the blog is actually a close up of our tree!*
I can't wait to have people over to see the new place all decked out for the holidays!


Kali's not so impressed with the new look...
There are less places to play.


Chelsea dreaming of sugarplums in front of the fireplace.
Today, Marcus and I went to Ohio to see my dad's side of the family. Unfortunately, recently we have only seen them once a year. I had a GREAT time catching up with all of them. They are just a really fun group of people. My sister took a bunch of pictures and promised to e-mail them to me, so I will go into more detail and post them when I get them.

Well, my Christmas CD just ended, and I need to run downstairs and put in another one before Marcus stops me!

Have a wonderful week!

WOO-HOO! CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE!!