Monday, December 31, 2007

*07 Highlights

  • Highlights of 2007...got this from Heather's blog. Hopefully I'll remember to look here each year!
  1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Taught 5th grade and looped with the same kids.
  2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any I think. This year I would like to exercise more
  3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
The Malones had Yuri this year, The Malones had Will this year, our friends Christy and Brandon had their son, Jack. The Teagues had their son Nate, the Bodines had their son Henry on Dec. 28th. 4 of my cousins had babies this year too! I am sure I am forgetting someone...it seems like everyone did! :)
  4. Did anyone close to you die?
Mike had 2 uncles die this year
  5. What countries did you visit?
Does the country of USA count?
  6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A baby boy or girl
  7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Dec. 28th...our 5 year anniversary...
  8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Biggest achievement was paying off credit cards
  9. What was your biggest failure? hmmmm.....
  10. Did you suffer illness or injury? 2 surgeries this year...laproscopic and knee surgery. Hopefully there won't be any in 2008!
  11. What was the best thing you bought?Nothing since we are trying to pay off our credit cards! :)
  12. Who's behavior merited celebration? Jackboy. He can stay inside all day without any accidents AND he learned how to play catch and went swimming this year!
  13. Whose behavior made you appalled or depressed? Michael Vick.
  14. Where did most of your money go? bills unfortunately
  15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My new camera and laptop and our 5 year anniversary trip....also a snow day once or twice!
  16. What song will always remind you of 2007? I have no idea.
  17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? probably the same b) thinner or fatter? a little fatter....:( c) richer or poorer? about the same....at least we're moving away from debt.
  18. What do you wish you’d done more of? exercising, reading, visiting friends
  19. What do you wish you’d done less of? planning for school and teaching
  20. How did you spend Christmas? At my parents house for a few days and then at the Lake of the Ozarks.
  21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Yes; with my hubby and my puppy.
  22. What was your favorite TV program? The Office, Lost, American Idol, Scrubs
  23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate is a strong word...annoyed with others, yes.
  24. What was the best book you read? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows....awesome!
  25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Being able to play my ipod in the car!
  26. What did you want and get? a laptop
  27. What did you want and not get? stuff to finish our bedroom (paint, window treatments, paintings or pictures for the walls)...maybe this year.
  28. What was your favorite film of this year? There are way too many to list. The most recent favorite was The Kingdom.
  29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 28 and Mike and I went to dinner and went on a walk.
  30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? having a baby
  31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Dress pants and shirts for work. Mostly Old Navy and Target clothes. :)
  32. What kept you sane? my husband.
  33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? hmmm...Brad Pitt maybe.
  34. What political issue stirred you the most? I don't like politics...so I have no idea.
  35. Who did you miss? Having my family close by, old friends, college roomies in other states
  36. Who was the best new person you met? Sarah Beth...Dave's fiance.
  37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.: Patience....
  38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Carrie Underwood's "Inside your Heaven"

Happy New Years Eve

We hope you have a great night! 2008 here we come!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Update soon.

We've been hanging out with the Indy Laughlins for the past couple of days. It has been fun and I've got lots of pictures to show you. We still haven't unpacked from St. Louis or the Lake....too busy! I'm a little stressed since I've got to be back at school on the 2nd and Mike has to work New Years Day and we've got LOTS to do with putting gifts away, returing things, etc. Hopefully tomorrow morning we can get some stuff done before the New Years Eve celebration. Hope you are all recovering from Christmas as well! :)

Friday, December 28, 2007

Our 5th

Happy Anniversary to us! 5 years ago on Dec. 28th, 2002, I married my best friend. I love our life and who we've become. We continue to build our relationship, have fun together, and bless our marriage. I thought by now we'd have a couple of little ones running around, but God has his plan for us, and we know we'll have them one day. For now, we are enjoying each other and our Jack boy! I can't believe how fast these 5 years have gone by! Crazy! Below is our wedding sermon from our friend and pastor, Steve Blair. Enjoy! It makes me smile each time I read it....

Wedding Sermon for “The Laughlins”

  • "So this is it. This is what all your crusades for the Holy Matrimony have led up to. All of your dates where you have searched for the perfect mate have led up to this moment, where the two of you say that there is something here that used to be missing.
  • Kasey and Michael, you have both come into this wedding with your own set of memories. You each bring stories of growing up in loving homes surrounded by families and friends that have supported you. Stories of Christmas mornings, soccer games, skiing, and skeeball that have all brought you here and made you who you are. You have come into this wedding, before these people as two individuals and in some magical, divine way you will leave as one flesh. With all of your past memories formed as two individuals, you will leave to form and share all of your future memories together. You will leave to bask in the intimacy of marriage. The intimacy that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians when he says:“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs."
  • Or in other words . . . Love is watching someone sleep for hours dying to see what they are going to say next. Love is riding together in a car in a comfortable silence. Love is always having to say you’re sorry even for things you did not do. Love is remaining faithful to someone even when the days are poorer than they are richer; when there is more sickness than health. Love is waking up at 3 A.M. together if you have to so you can watch Team USA play in the World Cup. Love is knowing all about a person and still be willing to say “I will love you with all that I am,‘From This Moment On’” And that is what you came here to do. That is what all of us have come to watch you do. To join together in Holy Matrimony and become the preview of an old married couple. To accept the challenge that many here have also accepted of balancing one checkbook, of calling ahead when you are going to be late, or better yet . . . calling ahead to make sure that it is alright to leave in the first place. Mike, it is to accept the challenge to never let her head hit the bed without your hand behind it. Kasey, it is to accept the challenge to laugh even when you see the joke coming a mile away or even when the jokes don't make sense, because he actually likes them better that way. A wise man once said “Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God” and as a young married man, which I am not, I think he is right. I pray that the laughter that I have heard from you will only be a taste of all the joy you will have as husband and wife. I pray that your marriage will be filled with laughter as you tell each other jokes whenever you can. Jokes like: “If a husband says something in the forest and his wife is not there to hear it, is he still wrong?” Or jokes about a pet bird on a beach... You know what I am talking about. I pray that the two of you will make between you a set of inside jokes where a simple glance and a smirk tells the world that there is something that all of us are missing because we do not have what you have. A special brand of love that bears both of your names, personalities, and senses of humor no matter how dry they might be.Together you now are and together you will always be. Loving each other like it was going out of style. Your marriage will be a long and happy one blessed by the God whom you two serve. And even when things do not go perfectly, and they will not, you can know that everything will be alright because God’s love will lead you through and God’s love never fails. You have many challenges ahead of you. To have and to hold. To love and to cherish and I believe you can do it. Your marriage will be filled with Love, Joy, and Laughter because your First and Last Crusade for the Holy Matrimony has been accomplished. And knowing the two of you, I can proudly say that “You Have Chosen Wisely.” For Kasey and Mike, the soon-to-be- Laughlins . . .Thanks be to God. Amen" Happy 5th Anniversary Mike. I love you!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

2 of the cutest....

Our nieces on Christmas morning. Thanks Dan and Amanda for sending these! They are precious....We can't wait to see you in a few days! Drive safe.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Christmas Day

Santa came! We woke up Christmas morning (a lot later than 6 am, since there is no one under 23 in the house!) and opened our presents from each other. Some of the highlights were Mike and I got a new laptop, we have some new games, dvd's, and clothes. My parents got a new fire pit and I made my mom a scrapbook of our yearly Christmas pictures (from when I was a baby)and my dad a shadow box of his Marine pictures and medals. They both turned out really amazing! Brad got a new weight bench, shoes, games, etc. and my grandma got lots of puzzles and clothes too. It is always my favorite thing to pick presents out for family members! I love gift-giving...and Mike can tell ya...I love spending money! Kelli and Kris brought their two dogs, Lucy and Koby, and Jack was introduced to them. :) At first, they weren't too sure of each other, but once they were worn out from playing fetch, they were okay with each other. We had a great Christmas lunch of turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, dressing, corn, rolls....thank you mom and grandma! It was yummy! We were in St. Louis from the 22nd to the 25th and Mike, Jack and I had a great visit with my parents, brother, sister and her hubby and my grandma. We headed back to Columbia after lunch to put our presents in the house, get another suitcase full of clothes and went to drop Jack off at Mike's parents house. They are going to watch him until the 29th when we get back. We are celebrating our 5th anniversary down at Osage Beach.....I still can't believe it's been 5 years! I'm sure I'll have lots more pictures to post later...we are celebrating the Laughlin side on the 29th-1st! Enjoy!

Christmas Eve party

We hope you had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas day. On Christmas Eve, we headed over to my family party in St. Louis. This year we decided to have it at a VFW hall because the numbers keep growing every year and we couldn't fit everyone into my parent's house. This year we had about 70 family members. We had a great time catching up with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. There were so many little ones this year, that Santa even made an appearance! It was so cute to watch them and their big eyes! Below are just a few pictures....it would go on for days if I included every family picture! ha!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Eve Eve....

Are you ready??? Christmas Eve Eve is here! 2 more days until Christmas!
Me as a little one....I love presents! :) Have a Merry Christmas!!!

Let's play catch up

  • I don't even know where to start with catching you up on what's been going on....so I am going to have to blog by days, boring....I know. But it's all I got! :)

  • Tuesday: Once a month, a group of gals get together and we play Bunco. For December, we decided to get together and do a gift exchange, dinner and drinks instead of playing. We all brought White Elephant gifts and had a hilarious time "stealing" gifts or deciding if you wanted to open new one. The favorite gift of the night was a t-shirt that had Brody Jenner on it.....everyone wanted that one! :)

        • Thursday: Our last day....we had a very busy day. We had our school sing a long, Secret Santa exchange, and our class party. The kids had a blast during our secret santa exchange. They each made their own "wish list" and wrote down 3 books, 2 candies, and 2 school supplies they would like. Their secret santa then chose 1 book for them and had the option of getting 1 or both school supplies and candy. it was awesome! They tried to be sneaky and for the most part, no one knew who had them. We ordered the books through Scholastic and I wrapped them and they were in charge of bringing in their candy/school supplies. When it was time, they each went around and tried to guess who had them....only 2 people guessed right! They loved opening the presents...of course! But they really enjoyed watching the person they bought gifts for.....'tis the season for giving! We had our school sing a long and my class decided they wanted to sing Alvin and the Chipmunks song. They acted it out and performed and did a great job! It was the best song for them to do since they are a fun, crazy bunch! During our party, the parents did an amazing job. We had a cozy winter party and the kids could wear their slippers...we had hot cocoa, waffles with tons of different toppings and played pictionary with holiday words. Then, we did a snowman race. They had to put on a scarf and gloves, unwrap a hershey kiss and eat it, then run to the other side of the classroom and put their nose in vasoline and stick on a pom pom ball. it was so cute! They had a blast and we were all pooped by the end of the day...well worth it though! We had some great memories!
        • Friday night we had Mike's work Christmas party and we had a blast. There was a dinner with his department and we played name that tune with cop tv shows...funny. After dinner and some drinks, 12 of his coworkers decided that we still should party, so we hopped in some cabs and went to a nearby bar. We talked, laughed, took some funny pictures and when the bar closed, decided we STILL wanted to party. I offered to have everyone back to our house. We cabbed there and had about 12 other officers over (I've never had that many cops in my house! ha!). We played pool, talked, and had a great time....until 5:30 in the MORNING! yes....you read that right. We stayed up until 5:30 AM! I haven't done that since college! We had a blast and it was a great time for Mike and I to get to know some of his colleages a little bit better. Here are just a few pictures...

        • Last night we got into town (STL) and had a game night with the Morrisons, Swinigans, and Mohrs over at Heather's house. Even though we got their kind of late, we had a great time catching up and just relaxing. Thanks for having us over!!! Heather and I had to sit through all the Greenville reminscing....everyone else went to college together...so we were the odd men (women) out! :) It was fun to hear about all the pranks they pulled on each other and to their other friends...and they even busted out the old pictures! Too funny!
        • I hope everyone has a restful Christmas Eve Eve!!!! 'Tis the season for friends and family!