I know its been awhile BUT I have been a busy little bee. We have been packing up our house so we can move in less than a month! I can't believe that something I have been waiting for since OCTOBER is finally done and ready for my new little family to move in to! Mason is quite excited...but I definitely think it will take a few days to get him used to the new layout. Oh, and we have no lawn right now. It's all dirt and we won't get sod into the weather shapes up a little. Looks like little Mase will be crapping in the dirt for a few months :) He probably won't like it becuase he is such a diva...he wont even go outside when its raining! Come on dude...you're a dog! Everything is coming right along at the house. We picked out our lighting last week, which they had in stock, except for two bathroom lights. So they should get that in this week. The cabinets are in and looking good! Next will come the countertops after the laser measurements have been taken to ensure a perfect fit. The vanities and countertops are in and will be installed later this week. The fireplace is done and looks killer! We bought absolute black granite tile from Lowe's for $5.98 a square foot. They are the ONLY tile/flooring store that stocks granite tile. So if you ever need it, you know where to go! Good advice daddy! We hadnt even really considered the idea until we talked to my dad about it. He did it to Lee & Kimberly's fireplace too so we got a sneak peek of what it would look like before we did ours. We are slowly coming to an end with the wedding plans..its all so overwhelming! I am so close to being done with the invitations I can taste it! It's a great feeling! I wrote out about half of the invites and response cards during our trip to Mississippi to visit my soon-to-be brother-in-law. So hopefully I will be done within the next couple of weeks!!! It will be a huge load off of my back!

A Wonderful Weekend...

This weekend was CrAzY!! Friday night we went to the Zac Brown Band concert at the PCCC. It was a blast! Nic and Amanda joined us in the 4th row ...and we had a great time! Candy Colborn and Gloriana were the opening acts. Both were entertaining and enjoyed having them before ZBB. I went to the concert only knowing their one song...Chicken Fried. If you even remotely like country music, you know this song. I bought their new cd today, The Foundation. I normally don't do that ...I just download them off of LimeWire :). But I loved every single song so I thought it might be easier than downloading them and transferring them to our iTunes that is located on our iMac. I had to work bright and early at 7:15am on Saturday so it made for a rough few hours that morning. But, after work we ran to Athens to pick out our countertops for the condo. We looked at the larger sample of the one I was set on, and I HATED it! From then on, the decision was tough. Brett was getting irritated with me because I wouldn't make up my mind. We ended up taking three samples to the condo and picking from there. I think we made a good choice! After the countertop decision, we went to Madisyn's birthday party. She turned five yesterday! She is starting kindergarten this fall, I can't believe how big she is getting! The night was ended when we left the bday party...we were exhausted! We successfully got around twelve hours of sleep last night!! I love sleeping in on Sundays because they are my single and only day to sleep past about 6:30am.

This morning we went and visited Brett's grandma in the hospital. She fell and broke her hip last weekend so she has to stay a couple more weeks to receive some extended physical therapy before they send her home. After the hospital we made a pit stop at Olive Garden for some soup, salad, and breadsticks..our fav! We finished registering at Target & Bed, Bath, and Beyond! What a relief!..that crap will wear you out! We made it home in time to take Mason for a walk at Washington Park. On the way home, Mason freaked out like he had something on his mouth...and he did! I pulled out over SIX burrs stuck in the hair under his chin. I could have killed him. I have NO idea how he gets into stuff like that when Brett and I are both watching him. After getting all of the burrs off of him, we packed up some of the house. I am SOO ready to ditch this tiny house! We outgrew it about a month after we moved in! We will hopefully be closing a month from today...YAY! Happy St. Patty's day everyone and HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY Kimberly!!!!! Hope its a great one!!!!!!!

I was thrilled going to bed last night... knowing that I would be able to sleep in as late as I wanted today!  Little did I know, I would wake up to tornado sirens this morning!  Our current rental house had no damage, as the wind/tornado damage ran from Curren - northeast to Deerfield, Centennial Park, Sims Western Acres, and some parts off of Jefferson Street.  Our new condo, which is located in Deerfield, was one of those damaged :(.  Our neighbors got it worse with pools blown completely over, gables end blown off, shingles blown up/off the roof and garage doors blown off the tracks.  It is amazing to me the damage that could be done from a 15 minute storm.  It was shocking to me but a little less for Brett because he sees this type of damage daily.  We took a ride around town to check on our condo and of course Brett insisted I drive.  We were NOT about to drive around in high damaged areas in a FARMERS INSURANCE car.  If you haven't seen the "billboard", as my friend Adam calls it, it has their Helpoint # and information on the car.  We would have been asking for trouble riding around in that thing.  Here are some of the house we came across today.  

This is our new condo.  We purchased the right side of it.  You can see where there are shingles blown up on both our side and the other side of it.  

This is in our subdivision.  This is another condo that sits closer to the road.  The whole gables end blew off and you could see right into their attic.  Emergency crews were there working on it when we drove by.  This condo actually sold a few months back, so there were people in it when it blew off.  

This is also in our subdivision.  It is a new construction condo being built on the street that backs up to our condo.  As you can see all of the siding has blown on the top portion and some of the roof was blown off.  This condo is located next to the condo where the gables end blew off.  (check out the fence laying in the front yard)

This is in Centennial Park.  This condo is up for sale, so you can imagine how much more work will have to be put into it before it can be sold.  As you will notice, the garage door is blown in and the brick has blown off the front around the garage.  That is all of it laying in the yard and on the driveway.  

Just as I was sitting at home putting away groceries, thinking about how lucky I was today to continue on with my day and not spending it cleaning up my yard or sectioning off my roof that blew off, I heard someone screaming outside my back door.  As I opened it, three guys jumped over my fence into the neighbor's yard and WALKED to a Durango parked in front of the house next to ours and sped off.  Who walks to their getaway car after committing a crime?  Seriously?  The cops pulled up about a minute later, where the Durango was parked and question Brett & I, along with our neighbor that called them.  The poor girl is now terrified because the men were so nonchalant about the situation.  She lives about three houses down from us by herself.  After scoping out the situation, we think the guys stole some things from the guy's house that backs up to ours. This was very comforting to me, considering someone tried to break into our house a few months back. It makes me wonder, were these the same guys?  Was it someone in our neighborhood or was it a group of guys like this who picked our neighbor and our house?  All I can say is that I am glad we are moving next month to a nice neighborhood where I have yet to hear about a break in.  Maybe its because there are IL State Police, Sangamon County, and City of Springfield law enforcement that live on about every street in the neighborhood?  

Our new home...

Haven't had a chance to post since last weekend, but here is an update. My mom and dad came to Springfield to come see our new condo before we signed our contract and help us make some design decisions. Since we caught our condo in the early stages, we had the opportunity to give it our own personal touch. It's great...but very stressful! So many decisions and so many colors...it makes it hard! They got in Saturday morning and after shopping and picking out countertops...Lolo and I decided we needed a nap :)

We went to dinner with Leanne, Brett's mom, downtown at Saputo's. If you're ever in Springfield..and you like Italian food...go to Saputo's. You definitely won't regret it! My parents left on Sunday afternoon, after we drove all around Springfield to find a flooring company that stocks absolute black granite tile. We decided to use it around our fireplace and hearth. We drove to Bloomington, about an hour drive each way, when Brett got home on Monday to get 20 pieces of black granite...we were desperate! They were going to lay the tile last week so we had to step on it if we wanted to make it happen. Here is a picture of our BEFORE fireplace...

Here is a picture of our eat-in-kitchen. They still have to finish laying the tile next week...

And here is a pic of our master bedroom. They are storing most of their tools in that room so it doesn't really give it the full effect :)

I promise to post some new pictures once everything is finished in mid April. We have almost finalized all of our rooms...just a few minor decisions such as faucets. Can't wait till it finally gets done and we can move to a new, nicer neighborhood!

Friends for Finn

Last night, Brett and I volunteered at the second fundraiser held for Finnegan Grady. Finnegan is a three year old boy from Springfield, IL. In January, he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor located on the brainstem, therefore considered inoperable. Finn was sent to St. Jude's Hospital in Nashville where he is receiving treatments to shrink the tumor. Last night a benefit was held at Catch 22, where we raised over $17,000 JUST AT THE DOOR! I couldn't believe the turnout that we had! It was AMAZING! A total hasn't been ran on the live & silent auction items because some still hadn't been paid for but I can imagine it was a pretty large amount. Brett and I walked away with a BEAUTIFUL picture of Sportmans Park, old Busch Stadium and new Busch Stadium.

It is going to look great in our new basement...if we ever make it to the dang place! Still over two months before we will be able to move into the condo. Mom and dad are coming up this weekend to help go over the contract with our builder and decide on a price, including the upgrades we have made to it. Keep your fingers crossed that we can all agree on something..that is key!

Please pray for Finnegan!! His friends and family have made a great effort to provide the best medical care for him and made it possible to have his parents by his side the whole time! A miracle will need to happen for Finnegan to be able to walk away from this! So...lets pray for one!

Brett's 24th Birthday

I picked a great day to start....my soon-to-be hubby's birthday! This is his third birthday that we have spend together and we have many more to come! I hope he enjoyed it because this is his last birthday as a single man. Here is a recap of the birthdays Brett has had since we met...

Brett's BF Josh came to spend Brett's 22nd birthday with us in Carbondale. I can't even believe I am posting because of how horrible I look...yuck! Josh bought us drinks and shots all night....and this is what it will get you!

Brett didn't spend his 23rd birthday with me :(. He spent his birthday at the St. Louis Blues game sitting 4th row with my dad, brother, and Niesel drinking all the beer Scottrade Center could supply. That night was the night Brett asked my dad and my brother for their blessing to marry me. Brett was able to stop the word slurring long enough to ask their permission. My dad responded with a ..."Are you serious? Do you even need to ask?". My brother agreed that YES, they were so happy to welcome Brett into the family. However, with a moment to themselves my brother had to ask..."Did Courtney talk you into this? Are you sure this is something YOU want?" Thanks Lee :)! So Les and Lee decided to welcome Brett into the family...Palmer style! Brett got so hammered he couldn't even make it into training for his NEW job the next day....how professional! He says it was his best birthday and wishes he could have spent this one the same way!

I don't have a picture of this birthday, as it is still on his mom's camera. Brett got a new golf bag and some golf balls, compliments of Les and Lolo. He also got a new windproof jacket from yours truly! He loved it...but then again who wouldn't! It is a sweet jacket for any golfer who knows how cold it can be at 8a.m. on a summer morning. Brett and I both worked at Jackson Country Club and some mornings were horribly cold! I always kept my trusty blue windbreaker with me to bare through those miserable mornings pulling the golf carts out at 6:45a.m. Nonethless, Leanne took me, Brett, Grandma Oswald, and Grandma Langford to Westwoods so Brett could have his favorite dish...an italian beef snowshoe with ragin cajun cheese sauce! Although he worked ALL day, I think he had a great birthday. He says his best present was ME! Let's ask him again in 5 years and see what his answer is ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!