Just Our Luck

Today, we need your prayers.  Because today, we are going through a process perhaps more nerve wracking than the dentist chair, Fear Factor, daddy long-legs, and giving a speech in front of your entire company combined.  No, it's not a colonoscopy.  We are going through a business audit.     

Yikes, I know.  Gotta love the IRS.

It's so yucky, but many many small businesses are going through the same thing.  And no matter how great your record-keeping skills are or how proficient your accountant is, I'm pretty certain this is never a painless ordeal. 

And so here we are.  Our meeting with the agent is today.  Gathered all of the necessary documents.  Check.  Ordered the pizza and purchased party hats.  Done.  Took down the poster of Tony Soprano in the garage.  Bada bada bye bye.  And we are totally prepared.  (I think.)

Yet, it's still scary because your mind starts wandering.  Will our representative be a Crabby Patty?  Will she find a mistake?  Will we be fined?  Is my husband going to jail???  Kidding!!  (I hope.) 

Oddly enough, while driving around yesterday, I encountered 3 different personalized license plates that all spoke to me. 

The first one.

T YOU JSUS

The second one.

LUVE GOD

And the third.

WRRY WRT

I think it's safe to say that God knew what was on our minds.  Hopefully, we get stuck with someone who is kind, understanding, and isn't out to find trouble.
Cause, see, we got plenty of that already.*

*See Photo (RIGHT)

Pray for us!  We'll let you know how it turns out!

We Adopted a Van

We just purchased a new vehicle.  By "new," I mean it was made 23 years ago.   

It is loaded with all sorts of bells and whistles.

That's a first aid kit and a dustbuster, guys.  For minor scrapes and overall cleanliness, we are covered.

You can hardly even notice the body rot and rust spots on the sides, front, rear, top, and underbelly.



Does someone at the DMV know us?  I think so. 

Phil found this gem from a retired Minnesota native.  She and her husband bought this van a LONG time ago.  In 1990, folks.  They used it for traveling all over the country with their children and grandchildren.  It has been kept in (near) pristine condition.  Minus the aforementioned rust.  But rust is just the fingerprints of any car having to endure a Midwest winter.   

I love that this van has a rich history of fun adventures.  The woman (now a widow) even teared up a little as Phil drove away with it, suddenly engulfed in all of its memory and grandeur.  Don't worry, Shirley, we are so going to give this oldie-but-goodie a terrific set of sunset years, show her a good time, and take her to the next level!

We wanted the van for our family business as an extra pick-up/delivery and general maintenance vehicle.  It even has a clothing rack in the back!  And it will be on like Donkey Kong for when we just want to pile up 3-4 families and roll out on the desert terrain.  It's sort of a house on wheels. 

I am so excited about this!  And by saying that, I now just turned into my mom. 

[When I'm riding in it, I feel like I'm back in high school.  I can actually picture myself trying to change the radio station to 101.9 The Mix, and turning around to tell my two younger sisters, Suzy and Alli, to stop fighting in the back seat.  And we are late for freakin' school yet again.] 

Features of our new van:

Seating for 8
(Christy, Kiera, JJ, Bryan, Ashley, Mom, Mark--when you come out this summer, we are totally tooling around in this tricked out, land-barge, shaggin' wagon!)
TV and VCR
Ash trays
Custom built wood cabinetry
Power locks and windows (a big shock)
A custom made 8-cassette tape deck
A 6-cd player
Back seat pulls down into a bed
And much much more!

How did our children react?  Well, this was Jackson.  Looks happy, if you ask me.  He was picturing his entire little league team going for a celebratory trip to Dairy Queen after the baseball game.

Tight muscle shirt, slight gut, yep, he's ready for his first ride in the van!

Unfortunately, no photo of Kayleigh was available.  Because she was running as fast as her 12-year old legs could carry her away from our house, taking shelter with one of the neighbors.  She was definitely crying, and I'm pretty sure I heard her say something about ruining her life, social suicide, and that she would never, not ever, be seen in the "hunk of junk."  Oh, her Daddy was crushed.   

But we struck a deal.  We told Kayleigh that the next time she overslept, didn't get ready in time, and missed her bus, we would be perfectly happy to escort her (and any of her friends) to school in this. 

She then informed us that she would never ever miss the bus again.  Perfect. 

I think we just scored a point for parenting.

Now taking suggestions on a name for this gorgeous metal beast.

In consideration, but not limited to...

• Vanna Vintage
• Van-illa Ice
• Van Helen

Baseball charity event and more...

We had a wonderfully busy and successful weekend at the store as Hot Corner hosted 5 Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers for an autograph session to benefit pitcher Brad Ziegler's charity "Pastime for Patriots."  It was created to help members of our armed forces and their families be able to attend baseball games throughout the country.  We had over 100 people come out and show support, and even the ABC crew made an appearance to tape a segment for the evening news.  All the hard work definitely paid off, and we were able to send 100% of the proceeds to Brad's awesome cause.  The players were so happy with the turnout, they want to do it again next year, adding more publicity and player participation.  I am so proud of Phil for all of his efforts. 


Craig Breslow, Tyler Skaggs, Trevor Cahill, Brad Ziegler, Bigfil, Philly

Beginning of News Segment on TV

The next day, we held our fantasy baseball draft, and guess who got #1 pick??  That's right, I did!!  I was so excited to get first pick!  I drafted Matt Kemp.  Before the draft, we said good-bye to a very sweet friend and wonderful person, Jennifer Harley.  She is moving back to Philadelphia and will be near her family.  We will sure miss her!  And baby Rinella is sooooo thankful for the Dr. Seuss books!  We will enjoy them!  Thank you, Jen, and best of luck to you! 

Tomorrow is my 5th doctor's appointment and I'll be just about 28 weeks along.  I have to arrive early for a glucose screening to check my body's production of insulin.  Please pray that it goes well!  Everything is still going very well with the baby.  Still growing...lots of showing.  It's starting to warm up here, and with that comes a new displeasure--swollen feet.  To combat this, I thought I'd slip into my swimsuit that I THOUGHT was stretchy enough to go over my tummy--turns out, it isn't.  That was good for a laugh.  So I bought a maternity swimsuit and tried it out the other day..HEAVEN.  I may be living in the pool for the next few weeks.  Floating is my new favorite activity. 

This week: Baby is the size of a cauliflower.



Baby Belly