More difficult times in January

January didn't end well for us either. I was hit with a case of shingles. I was pretty miserable for a while but it turned out that I had a mild case or it was caught quickly and I didn't suffer too long with it. I like to say that I'm so tough that it just didn't bother me as much as it does to others!

The other bummer was the horrible loss the Packers had at the hands of the New York Giants in the frozen NFC Championship game. Everything seemed to be in the Packers favor going into the game but it just turned out all wrong. We had a little party with some of the Saukville crew and at least I got a few cute photos.

Kim is an official honorary cheesehead for the day:


The cheerleading squad tried to keep our spirits up:





But after a while they gave up as well and just enjoyed the chips!:

Good-bye "Pop-pop", we'll always remember you...

In early January we lost Kim's step-father, Michael Walker (know to the girls as "Pop-pop"), quite suddenly to a cancerous tumor. Michael was a very sweet, gentle and kind man to everyone who knew him. He loved his Nebraska Cornhuskers, golf and the girls in his life very much. He didn't say a whole lot and kept to himself but when you need some good advice he was always there for you. He will be missed by all of us and remembered always.

Here Pop-pop is with Mackenzie from December of 2006:

Kim fortunately was able to quickly fly out to Omaha to see Michael just before he died. The girls and I flew out a day or two later. Again, the girls always have a knack for making everyone laugh and smile despite some of the awful circumstances that others are facing.

Here, Kim reads to Charlotte, Mattie and Mackenzie:

Charlotte has a big cupboard closet that they converted into a "secret playhouse" for her. MM and Charlotte had so much fun playing in there and scaring us:

Kim and Kenzie:

Pop-pop's grandkids: Kenzie, Mattie, Charlotte, Cody and Jake:


Charlotte and Kenzie relaxing on the steps:

Kenzie being a ham:

A big cousin hug:

Mimi reads to Charlotte and Mattie:

The girls at the beginning of January

January 2008 will go down as one of the worst months in our lives (more on that in a later post). Despite the things that happened, the girls were wonderful and oblivious to the real world issues:

Is this one of the funniest photos of the girls!


New Dora outfits:


Can someone get me a napkin?:


Holiday lights were still on at the zoo:




Little angels:


I was again the helping parent for Mattie's school for the first day of class after the holiday break. here:


MM, Irie (her best friend from school) and Jenny the teacher's aid:


We made silly putty from scratch. It turned out awesome! It was really fun and the kids loved it. Even the principal and some of the other teachers came in the room to see how it turned out:




Irie and MM enjoy their snack:


Jenny reads to MM and another friend:


Che, the teacher, reads to the whole class: