And so the saga continues....

There were not very many pictures yesterday, so I thought I would post a few extra. The story.... maybe I will make you call. Ha ha ha!!! (evil laugh) Kidding. We were in Crystal Lake, stopped at a stop light. Very RED stoplight. Guy in ginormous truck slams in the back of us. Owwww. We are o.k. Joe is the worst off, because he tensed up right before. The rest of us didn't know until we were hit. Joe went into shock and I was very shaken. The kids just wanted to know what the heck happened. Chloe seems to have been the only child hurt, though all will be visiting the chiropractor next week. We have a member in our ward who is a chiropractor and has an office in Crystal Lake. He came back in and took care of Joe and I today. We both hurt alot, as our bodies are now starting to stiffen up, but it could have been much worse. We are taking the car in on Monday and also have to get all new carseats. Whatever, his insurance pays. We will be taking advantage of this fact for chiropractic visits until we all feel better. We spent the drive home discussing how blessed we really are. No one was seriously injured, the glass didn't break in the back, the van is still drivable (though the back is useless), we were having problems with the latch on the back anyway, the back wiper wasn't working, and we get a covered light in the back (Justin understands this one), and it wasn't our fault. Joe had just gotten the address changed on his liscence this morning. Yes, they give tickets for that. I feel bad for the other guy. His registration was expired, his insurance card was expired, and it was clearly his fault. See, very blessed indeed. We will be home tomorrow night if you have further inquiries. Love you all. Tune in next time as the saga continues......

Pizza anyone?????

Mmmmm..... makes me smile! It tasted really good too!

Happy Photo Friday!

She Loves Me!!

Virginia Sunset

Marquie put this picture on our wallpaper. I thought I would remind you all in your busy schedule, take time to see the sunset!

pretty picture

seems i missed 2 fridays in a row, (bad, bad me!) i'm sorry! i took this picture and played with it, so i'm putting it on here cuz it's AMAZING!!!!! :D hehehe. well, atleast I like it! i love you all!!!

SNOW!!!

We've had two "no school" days here in Northern Virginia. Just wanted you to see why. Okay, but we do live in Virginia. Luckily, so far, we have escaped the horrible ice storms this front brought to half the country. Hope you all have fared well through it all!

Congratulations Master Joe!

By the way, I don't think we ever said it, CONGRATULATIONS, MASTER JOE! Hope your party was all you wanted it to be! Ya'll make us so proud!

Photo Friday!

Ohhhhhhh, I love photo friday, too! A few more memories in the reddish hues! It brings me such joy to look at all these pictures Marquie took! Don't you all have some to share, too?

About Time

I am really excited to see Photo Phriday is back in business. I guess I better support it since I love it so much. Not just the pictures but our family blog as a way to stay in touch with each other. I guess i really should do the blog from the family computer with the greater library of pictures but I am not on that computer and want to participate. This picture was taken in September 2005 during my only trip to Korea. This is the main entrance gate to the Korean Royal Palace. You would liken, through not nearly as grand, to the Forbiden City in Beijing. It was destroyed during World War II and has since been rebuilt. We had some extra time and my host was most generous in taking me here. One other memorable note from this trip is that it is the only time I remember eating with metal chopsticks. Korean has banned the production of wood chopsticks. Lunch was a Korean barbeque that we cooked on a grill at the table. it was wonderful. Hope you all remember the pictures. Love Dad

My photo friday

Sorry this photo is a link, but check it out. You will need high speed and patience. It is of the inauguration speech. You can zoom in and almost read the sheet music. It was taken with a panoramic multigigapixel camera. It is awesome!

Speech Photo

Photo Friday...

I do not often contribute to Photo Friday, but that is mostly because our Camera was broken. We splurged just before Christmas and got it fixed, and as such we should be having more opportunities to contribute to the under-appreciated Photo Friday. Sorry we are part of the unappreciating party. This photo was taken by Jodi on approach to a tunnel on our way through the Colorado Rockies. She is fascinated by mountain-tunnels and was actually quite frustrated she couldn't get the picture to come out clear, but I would say it is an exquisite work of art.

A Tribute to the Main Man in my Life

The best thing that has ever happened in my life!

Just wanted you all to know!

COLD!!!

Yep, it is currently -23 at my house with a windchill of -38. I am so COLD! Joe comes home tonight, yippee. He has been in Chicago all week for work. We all seem to be surviving. Taking out the dog in these ridiculous temperatures has messed up my throat again. now, I wrap a scarf around my face about five times before going out. It seems to help. I am very much looking forward to Marquie coming this weekend. She is babysitting so Joe and I can go on a date Monday and Tuesday. Merry Christmas to me! Don't worry, it is supposed to get all the way up to 24 degrees before you get here Marquie..... This week, Flagstaff is looking pretty great. We haven't heard anything yet, but Joe is going to send an e-mail when he gets back in tonight. we will kep you posted. This is a picture of us apple picking. Surprise, it was cold and windy that day too. We had so much fun and the apples were great!

photo friday!!!!!

Hey y'all!!!!! :D hehehe
just reminding you about friday and pictures! i'll post mine later! (i'm not getting home until after 7:30)! ah! play practice!!! hehehe

i'm excited to get updates!!!!!!!!!!

Letter of reccomendation #2

Mr. Jerry Obrzut
Human Resources
The Arboretum at Flagstaff
4001 S. Woody Mountain Road
Flagstaff, AZ 86001

January 10, 2009

RE: Letter of Reference: Joseph Petersen

Dear Mr. Obrzut:

I could not be more delighted than to give the highest recommendation for Joseph Petersen in consideration for the position of Director of Horticulture. He is an outstanding gentleman.

I had the pleasure of having Joe in three of my Webster University MBA courses—two finance courses and the Capstone Business and Strategies course. Joe is eternally optimistic, hard working, dedicated, and a joy to be around. He was always a constant delight to his instructor and fellow classmates. He was the ultimate team player in several team case assignments and was always sought after for advice from his colleagues.

Joe is also a dedicated family man with the highest amount of love and devotion to his family. He is an extremely hard worker.

You do have the opportunity to learn about a person after three classes. Joe was always dedicated to his job and profession. I often asked him questions about my yard and foliage just due to his knowledge and interest in the field. He often provided anecdotes about some of his jobs, duties and assignments—always in a positive, professional manner.

You could not be better served than to seriously consider Joe for this position.

I would welcome the opportunity to elaborate further on any questions you might have.

Sincerely,



Stephen M. Pill
1208 W. Hampton Place
Palatine, IL 60067

Liz Makes Headlines

Liz was noted in the latest Faculty newsletter for American Public University System.  She was one of the top rated (by students) instructors at the University.  Her supervisor was very impressed.

She also wants everyone to notice that very few of those names are preceded by "Dr."  PhD≠good teacher.  Now you know . . . and so does everyone else.

Family Reunion Scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook">

Ginger in all her glory #2

I can tell............You're all now WOWed!

Ginger in all her glory

Well...I never said she had much.

Robin Red Breast

I always thought the appearance of the Robin was one of the first signs of spring. As I sit at my computer and look out the window, I spy a flock of maybe 100 robins feeding on the bounty of my lawn. I can see them pulling worms (and I hope some of those pesky lady bugs) that are close to or on top of the lawn because of the heavy rain we've received the last few days. Isn't today January 7th? That was never spring to me, but always the middle of the winter.

School was canceled, AGAIN, yesterday with a 2 hour delay this morning. It rained. It is a balmy 40 degrees here in Front Royal, VA. I'm wondering, is this a Virginia thing...or a sign...

Ginger

Yes...that is her name. James, Shut it! She is absolutely adorable. First day, no accidents, good sign. She's scared and timid yet wandering. Here is a super cute picture for you.

I know.....

Here she is. The newest addition to our family. She is coming home tomorrow. The family is ecstatic!

What a Wonderful Reunion

Thanks so much to James and Liz for a terrific family reunion. It was such an interesting experience to be the Grandma and Grandpa for this reunion and so much fun to be with you all! We enjoyed telling and reading stories. We loved our Grandpa and Grandma time. It is quite a shock to come back and realize we have other responsibilities. Thankfully, our trip home was uneventful. All car belts and fluids pretty much stayed in place and "the van" brought us safely home!

Joe, we missed you, but hope you are healing (you wouldn't have at the reunion) :(

Here's you having fun!