Stressors

S.T.R.E.S.S.

for me it is the direct result of

S--Sleep Deprivation

T--Tears pouring down a child's cheeks (I heart you Megs)

R--Ridiculously Messy House

E-- Economics

S--Sooo much more to do to finish our bathroom

S-- Shae's Work Hours

but mostly,

it is the tears.

Why is it so hard to be a kid?

Happy Birthday Brenda!

" There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister
will not administer some comfort to me. "

~Mary Montagu

Happy Birthday!

love ya.

World Series

Here is Zach's take on the World Series....

Go "Pillies!"

Politics and Coldstone Creamery

Last week, my Mom and I sneaked in a visit to Coldstone Creamery.

Yum!

10 different flavors of ice cream,

30 different mix-ins,

infinite ice cream possibilities...

CHOICES--it is the American way.

So, I find myself wondering why do we only have 2 choices for president?

Progress Report

M Gpa goes home today.

Tears have already been shed.

And though I know he really isn't into sappy sentimentality, I want him to know I am so grateful for him.

As I went to bed last night, I was thinking how wonderful it is to have my parents here. Usually, we are on our own here in Michigan. It is really nice to be able to have my parents here--it makes me feel safer, it makes me feel pampered, it makes me feel loved.

There has been a serious amount of work going on here though the photos don't fully show all the hours spent and detailed work that has been done.

Thanks so much Mom and Dad.

I am truly so grateful.

Here is where we are on the bathroom:

In the middle of our work, we have taken a few breaks...

On Tuesday we went on our annual fall trip to the Apple Orchard. The weather was beautiful.

We ate WAY TOO MANY apples...and donuts...and cider.

It is one of our favorite fall traditions.

Thanks for coming to share it with us Mom and Dad!

Chicago

We are home--back from our mini vacation.

It was a bit of a shocker the first day...kinda like jumping on the treadmill that is already going 4.5 mph.

We had a great time in Chicago.

We arrived late at night and completely enjoyed the beautifully lit skyline.

We stayed in the Seneca Hotel, in a nice little "mini apartment".

The location was so great--walking distance to Navy Pier, Lake Michigan and literally steps away from the HUGE John Hancock Tower and Water Tower Place shopping mall (home of the American Girls Doll store).

We spent our first day at the Shedd Aquarium.

The weather was AMAZING the entire weekend and we loved just being outside.

Our first night there, we went to see WICKED.

(It was the second time that the spoiled Lorenc girls went.)

It was "Wonderful" and I loved watching my daughters thrill at the musical experience.

(watching them, I was remembering my awe at "Les Mis" in London when I was 17)

On our second day, we had lunch on the top floor of the John Hancock Building.

This is a photo of our table.

I am so glad that my Mom thought to take photos of our view from the top.

(I was too worried that my kids needed a brush up on their manners to remember the photo op.)

We didn't have much shopping planned, but we did make a visit to the American Girl's Doll Store. The girls loved it, but Zach kept begging to go to a "boy's store." You can imagine his excitement when we walked around the corner, we found this Chicago Fire Station. The firemen invited us in and even let the kids sit inside the engine. Minutes later, as we played on the playgound next door, we watched the engine get called out to go help someone. Zach loved watched the engine take off with lights flashing and sirens blaring.We ended our days in Chicago with a trip to Navy Pier. As we walked to the pier, we were very interested to watch the window washers--so busy at work--like Spidermen--just hanging there.

Not a job I would ever dare to have....
As we continued walking towards Navy Pier and were stopped by a man standing next to a couple of ambulances. We could see search and rescue workers ahead in the waters of Lake Michigan. Curious--we thought they might be looking for a body or something. As we got closer, we could see cameras and a movie crew. We discovered they were taping for an episode of ER--so if you ever see a scene with a pink stroller bobbing in the water, we were there when they filmed it!

I was a little bummed that none of the cute doctor/actors were there--but the ambulance drivers were awfully handsome....
We had a nice walk on Navy Pier enjoying the skyline, the weather and the beautiful view.

We stopped for some ice cream and french fries. Zach had a great time feeding the fries to the birds who would hide up in the tree and come swooping down when food was offered.
Can you see them hiding in the tree?

We had a great time, and after two busy city days, we were looking forward to the second half of our trip: hiking and relaxing by the beach in Sagatuck, Michigan.

Stay tuned...more to come tommorow!

We're Off To Go See Wicked...

Tommorow we are headed on a three day adventure to Chicago.

Our first day includes a showing of WICKED.

We are sooooo excited.

After we see the big city, we get to spend a few relaxing days in beautiful Saugatuck, Michigan....

where our own private beach lies right at the bottom of these stairs. See ya in a week!

My Day

I am awfully lucky.

My parents have been able to come visit us in Michigan every October for the last nine years we have lived here.

We usually get to take a little trip and we work on a little house project while they are here.

If you would have stopped by my house today, you might have seen this:

or this...

You might have wanted to use the bathroom, but it would have been pretty difficult to find anything usable here.

At nine am, it looked like this:

at nine pm?

{yep--the brand new tub--already in}

Oh--and today was my birthday.

It was a wonderful day...starting with yummy homemade cheesecake last night,

then today, great news from a blogging friend,

the sweetest gifts and handmade cards from my hubby and kids,

sweet friends, Visiting Teachers and family who sent notes, cards and emails,

sisters who posted about my birthday on their blogs here and here,

and it ended with my sweet parents, working their tails off to remodel our old bathroom.

Day one was quite a success.

Thanks everyone-so much.

My Hero

Today as I washed my hair with steamy hot water--

I was overcome with gratitude for my hubby.

Life has been awfully crazy around here.

Incredibly long work hours, busy church callings and home projects have been sucking all the energy from our little family.

Then at 6am Monday morning, Meghan informs me that there is no hot water to shower.

WHAT? Seriously--not another thing!

Two days later, my hubby has the water heater all fixed and we are enjoying hot water once again.

My HERO!