Happy Anniversary Eve...

Kaleb and I will celebrate our 5 year anniversary
tomorrow December 18th.

Kaleb surprised me by coming home from work with these today.

Thank you, Kaleb.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY KAM!

My sister, Macie and her husband Vijai have
two beautiful girls: Meela and Kamryn.



Kamryn Louise turned one year old today!




Happy Birthday, Kamryn.


Auntie Ab and Uncle Kaleb love you!
I would say Bruise loves you too...but it's just not true.
He is just waiting for an opportunity to stalk and attack again.
Sorry! Love you!

Back in Business

OLD PHONE

I have a cell phone again...same number as before. Back in business! Yeah!

We weren't sure if my phone would be found...so one of our friends offered to sell me his old phone plus accesories for $25.00. Then we got a call from someone stating that they had found my phone and wondered if we were offering a reward for its return. I would give a reward...but I thought it was gutsy to ask for one! I was even more frustrated when the guy said he wanted a $50 reward! Kaleb said he would pay $20 to get the phone back. They arranged a meeting at a local gas station and Kaleb sat for a 1/2 hour and waited for the guy to show. Just as he was about to leave, the guy called Kaleb and said..."Well, I have your phone...but I will only give it to you for $40." Ummm...NO DEAL!

I would have loved to have my own phone back...with my calendar and contact list...however it irked me to pay the person that I am pretty sure stole my phone ANY amount of money! So, thanks to our friend Wolf for the new phone...which is better than my old one...just different. And I guess...thank you to the thief for only taking my phone and not my whole purse!

I'm trying to update my new contact list. I have most of my contacts because Kaleb has a very similar phone book list. However, if you don't think Kaleb has your number, or are not sure, feel free to email me your information! abbymae20@juno.com Thanks!!!

NEW PHONE

Shout out to Verizon: They have exceptional customer service! Very pleased!

Bah Humbug...

My cell phone got stolen today! Grrrr...I'm pretty sure it was taken right off the side of my purse while I was in the grocery store. If you need to call or text me...use Kaleb's number. I'll let you know if I am able to still have my old number when I figure out the new phone situation on Monday! Could have been worse...it wasn't my whole purse!

Merry Christmas

Thanks Jack and Lucy for helping us decorate our tree!
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Mullets and Girlfriends...

Kaleb has been a busy busy man. I got an email from one of his new co-workers in Connecticut today. Apparently when Kaleb was out there working they had fun with a mullet app on the guys i-phone.

Yeah....HOT, right? Hmmmm...maybe this is why Kaleb has a new girlfriend. As Katie said today during sacrament meeting, "Cassidy is in love with Kaleb." I'm sure she sees his inner mullet! Here are some pictures of Cass that uncle Kaleb took while entertaining her in sacrament meeting today. She is pretty cute!

Call me Betty

Kaleb's annual work Christmas party is fast approaching. Included in the festivities this year is a dessert contest. For those of you who know me well, you will be laughing at this point as you begin to picture ME entering a cooking/baking contest. I know, I know, a Betty Crocker cake mix cannot win this contest. However, if I have time, I don't absolutely hate to cook! :)

So with a bit of time on my hands during the next few weeks, I am going to try to come up with some fabulous dessert to enter in this contest. So...since my typical repertoire includes Jello No-Bake Desserts, from the box brownies and cookies, and the local Pick n' Save grocery bakery...I NEED YOUR HELP!

Please feel free to leave me any WINNING recipe's for desserts! Keep in mind that the magnet on my fridge says, "I have a kitchen because it came with the house." and the following may be helpful to me:

• Ingredients that I can recognize and find in a normal grocery store.
• Nothing that requires a candy thermometer...way too technical at this point.
• I do not have any fancy kitchen gadgets and don't plan on buying any!
  
• Something that evokes the holiday spirit.
• Something that appeals to a variety of people, tastes great, and looks beautiful! (I'm not asking for much, right?)

I'll keep you posted on my new adventure. And no worries...I will for sure give you credit if your recipe wins!!! Thanks!

Connecticut here we come.......

We have been blessed in more ways than one in the past few weeks. One of those major blessings is Kaleb's promotion to Sale's Manager with Carmax! I want to congratulate my husband on the realization of years of hard work, dedication, and patience. We feel very fortunate to be able to continue with such an amazing company.

Kaleb will be doing rotations in Milwaukee and Chicago over the next few months to complete his SMIT (sales manager in training) requirements. After the completion of the SMIT program we will be moving to Connecticut where Kaleb will take a position as a Sales Manager at the East Haven, CT store. It is estimated that this will occur sometime around the end of February/begining of March. I will need to stay in Milwaukee until the end of April to complete my coursework for a masters degree in counseling.

Cons of moving to Connecticut:

• Being a plane ride away from both sides of the family! (major bummer)

• Having to sell our first home. We have loved our first home and due to cost of living changes it doesn't look like there is any chance of home ownership in CT in the near future! It may be "back to paying rent" for us for a much smaller place with a much greater monthly payment in rent than our current mortgage.

• Leaving all of our friends in Milwaukee. We will miss each of you and we will miss this great city. (I'll even shed a tear for Miller Park...)

Pros of moving to Connecticut:

• Better budgeting! (salary vs. commision base wages...yeah!)

• Growth in Kaleb's career with a fabulous company that we LOVE!

• Lots of exciting internship opportunities for Abby to complete her Masters Program.

• Lots of anticipated visits from family who will want to see the new sites!

• Close proximity to New York City, Boston, Philidelphia, D.C, and many more new cities to explore. So many exciting opportunites for new experiences visiting historical sites, sports teams, the coast, and many many more fun adventures we are looking forward to!

• Living within an hour drive of Bristol, CT...the home of ESPN. Could Kaleb be any more excited??? I've been told that it is just a building...no visitors centers or tours...but being near this Mecca is apparently a dream come true.
  

Again, congratulations, Kaleb! We are excited for our new adventure! To all of our family and friends...start planning your vacations! We will have a ton of things to go and see...we won't have spare bedrooms...but small living spaces is a part of the east coast experience, right?