Andrew John starting to take on more McMichael characteristics. I just want to squeeze him! He is so adorable! 

Ethan and Andrew. Look how long Andrew is...he will be 2 months old on the 7th! Ethan turned 8 on October 1st.  

Isaac likes to help comfort little Andrew when he is crying. Kelly said he goes over to him, touches his head and says, "Enough, Aru, enough." I can just hear him saying that!  

So precious. Isaac is a big brother now!  

Thought this was interesting...

Your Birthdate: June 21

Being born on the 21st day of the month (3 energy) is likely to add a good bit of vitality to your life. The energy of 3 allows you bounce back rapidly from setbacks, physical or mental. There is a restlessness in your nature, but you seem to be able to portray an easygoing, "couldn't care less" attitude. You have a natural ability to express yourself in public, and you always make a very good impression. Good with words, you excel in writing, speaking, and possibly singing. You are energetic and always a good conversationalist. You have a keen imagination, but you tend to scatter your energies and become involved with too may superficial matters. Your mind is practical and rational despite this tendency to jump about. You are affectionate and loving, but very sensitive. You are subject to rapid ups and downs.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Just so you can see what we did for Krista. Come on, that's pretty funny stuff, right? I am so happy she was chosen as an LCC poster child. This is one of my favorite pictures and she has it hanging up on her refrigerator.  

In the foyer at MPCC, there was a huge LCC 3-panel banner deal and this is none other than my lovely roommate, Tina. Jess and I took fun pictures like this last year with Krista, so I thought it was only appropriate for me to take one with Tina as well. Pretty fun stuff. 

Allea May, the cutest little girl ever. Okay, she wasn't so thrilled about taking this picture, but she has the biggest blue eyes and the best facial expressions.  

Tyler and I enjoying the game near some very angry OSU fans. 

Jennie and I after the game. She is such a soccer stud. She had an amazing assist in this game against Oklahoma State. 

Jennie is a superstar. 

Jess, the beautiful bride, and me 

Jessica and I at Kristy's reception. 

Weddings, Mizzou, Sammy-isms, QHS, MPCC, PDS and LCC

So, basically this is a hodge-podge of news, or various updates. In no particular order:

-Before I forget, Sammy has again told me some funny stuff. Today, we were quietly playing with some magnetic letters, you know, spelling words like motor, engine, bus, tape recorder, etc. Then, he started doing other things with the letters, like making "D" doors and "O" doors, and "U" doors...you get the picture. Then, he just stopped all of the sudden and said "No more. It's time for the INTERNET! Come on Erin, take me to the Internet. It is much faster and so much more efficient." I have no idea where this kid learned the word efficient. It was pretty funny how it just rolled right off of his tongue. Also, I have learned that Sammy has a major fear of inflatables. I have no idea why because he loves to pretend to deflate me or inflate me. That boy is just crazy. Apparently, during one of his community days with his class, they went to some Halloween store and there were inflatables hanging up around the whole place. He freaked out and wouldn't go near them and then was distracted for the rest of the day...seriously, inflatables? Who knew?!?

-I visited Lincoln today and got to touch base with lots of fun friends. First, I talked with a very dear friend, Lindsay, for the 30 minute drive to Lincoln. She, too, was in the car on her way home. She is such an encouragement to me. Then, I enjoyed a lovely little lunch at First Wok with Kim, Lacey and Lauren? I can't remember her name, but she is from Indy and is in their intensive class. Then, it was back to campus where I ran into a whole slew of fun people: Mama Sheri, MK, Mandy, the Chief (aka Nathan), Jordan (who made my favorite drink ever: a Snicker's frappe without the frappe, or as Nathan calls it, a liquified Snicker's bar), Noah, Jackaway, Tad Blacketer, Cindy, GT, and Doug. It is so nice to see those friends again! Then, on the way back to Bloomington, I took advantage of some free cell-to-cell minutes and talked with Shawna for about 15 minutes. We got to talk on Sunday night too for almost 45 minutes. I love that girl and miss her a lot, so being able to talk this much in three days was awesome!

-This past weekend was Octoberfest at QHS and the Missions Fair at MPCC. I attended both. I was able to see the parade on Saturday and enjoyed a great conversation with a girl I knew in high school. She is a few years old and has a kindergarten position in Rockwood, just outside of St. Louis. It was very encouraging and somewhat exciting! I also met her dog, Sammy, a HUGE Mastiff. He was awesome. I also attended the Missions Fair, representing my family in Kenya. It was a lot of fun. The new foyer/atrium is amazing and serves its purpose well. The Missions team was very creative and had this whole airport theme for the fair. There were close to 30 missions/ministries represented. It was great fun. I also got to speak in Junior Worship about Chris and Kelly, but my slideshow didn't work. I was majorly bummed out about that, but oh well. Some of the kids were able to see it at the fair.

-I have been to a lot of weddings lately. I just saw pictures from the latest, Kristy's wedding. She looked gorgeous and the pictures are super fun. Congratulations are in order.

-I went to Mizzou a few weeks ago to see Jennie tear up the field. She is one of the most amazing soccer players ever. I just love her to pieces. The road trip there and back was interesting to say the least, but no need for details.

-Now for the icing on the cake. I have recently made a rather large decision about my life. Well, I guess it isn't that huge, but in some ways, it is. I have decided to postpone my traditional student teaching in order to do a year-long Professional Development School (PDS). I had to pull myself out of my traditional placement and apply at the last minute for a position here in Normal or in Springfield. There were a few glitches in the system and I almost did not get accepted, but because of some persistence and some assertiveness, I am in! I just found out today that it is a done deal. Next semester I will now take 9 hours, the smallest load I have ever taken. I don't really know what I will do with all of my time...maybe read a bunch of books or do a lot of running. Who knows. I am really excited about this change though. I was really starting to dread this whole teaching thing...I even looked at med schools to apply to. But now, I have some renewed faith and excitement.

-Interstate 55 is OPEN! It is now three lanes and no longer do we have to go 55 mph at all times. What a glorious day!

-Maddisyn and I finally figured out that we go to the same church, Eastview. Not only is she from a Christian home, but she goes to the same church that I go to! Now that just might have God all over it. We have had a really great week together. She is really growing and doing really well with her reading and writing. I am so excited!

Okay, I think that might be a lot of updates to take in all at once. Pictures to come shortly!

He has changed so much in just 2 weeks. I think he is absolutely beautiful, but I might be a bit biased. He has great coloring too! 

Another proud big brother. Aren't they adorable? 

Big brother Isaac. He is so proud of "Aru." 

I am pretty sure that we have this same picture of each of the boys. 

Kelly also had a couple of perfect roses in her yard. I just had so much fun taking pictures of flowers! 

They have this really cool tree in their yard. They call it the bottle-brush tree. Isn't it neat?

We made Shrinky Dinks one day. Have you ever done that before? It is SO COOL. Seriously, you should give it a try. I was mesmerized. It is a modern-day phenomenon. I had a blast working on them! 

Ethan wasn't too impressed with the giraffes. He walked around a lot! 

My other favorite giraffe picture. Okay, so I have lots of favorites. 

Austin kept looking for food on the ground of the platform. He did a pretty good job of it.  

A little giraffe staying away from the commotion. 

We are friends as long as I have some food! 

See, they have some crazy long tongues.