Catching up

So much has happened since I posted a real update. Pampered Chef is growing. In fact, I am at a career fair today. It is winding down, and I figured I'd take a few minutes and see if I could update things while I sat here. It is a total no-no for my team, but sometimes when you are desperate...

The girls are doing well. Lilly has less than 8 weeks of 2nd grade left. She's been counting the months and telling everyone that in 9 months, she'll be 9. It's very cute. She is really growing a lot. Her legs seem un-ending and I'm realizing just how fast time is flying. Katy is reading, telling time, and excited about learning. Her latest excitement is that she got pink curtains for her room. Her daddy put them up last night.

Phil is excited that he'll be going to an Info-Com conference in Las Vegas in June. I wish I could afford to go too, but...maybe another time. He hopes to take a side trip to LA to see some friends. He continues to keep busy with work and is working quite a bit with the technical planning for the new IWU Chapel, which will go where Cox and Phillippe used to be - a sad passing of those two buildings as he lived in Cox for most of his time at college)

I'm heading to Chicago twice in the next few months. I've been invited to a New Director Training Academy in Addison, IL (just outside Chicago) in May. I can't wait! I've been devouring any training I can get to become a better director. Then, in July, I will be back in Chicago - downtown area - for National Conference. Hopefully several of my team will be going with me.

The first week of July will hopefully bring excitement for the 3 of us girls. Each year for the past 3 years, we've been a part of a Christian Dance camp in Painted Post, NY, at the Christian Hope Center. The girls and I look forward to this each year. It is a grueling, exhausting training time (4 days to learn a routine put to Christian worship music) and perform it. It's tough, but amazingly rewarding too. I've dance the past 3 years and LOVE it. I never danced growing up. I'm a Wesleyan...we didn't do those things! Now, I'm a more charismatic Wesleyan! (reformed?)

It's a fun time getting to see family and friends too. I usually take full advantage of it for doing shows too. I've already begun my list of people to contact to do a party while I'm home. (I almost packed myself in a friend's suitcase a few weeks ago to go home...he was headed to Corning for Spring Break). I'm pretty desperate to spend time with family and friends. It seems like forever since Christmas. Last year it seemed we saw my parents about every 3 months. It's becoming a lot longer this year. I did see them in January, but that seems like forever ago and the girls haven't seen them since Christmas.

Smokey is growing and as feisty as ever. She's grown a lot. Her favorite things seem to be finding more to get into. She loves soft blankets, water running in the tub, and ear scratching. I can't forget the playing with her rope or attacking as you come around the corner. She and Phil can really get into it. He calls her "the rodent" She licks food up off the floor and eats almost everything. It was very cute yesterday when Katy found her asleep in the baby doll crib! I wish I had a picture of it. (I broke our digital camera in January, so it hasn't been replaced yet. )