Chicago Bound!

Well, it is official.  We will be moving to the Chicago area (somewhere around Aurora) by the end of the year.  Brad was offered a supervisory position at the Chicago Center.  He accepted it and now we get to move.  Hopefully Grandpa and Grandma Anderson will be able to help us move.  We  are excited to be moving closer to family.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The month of December has been a busy one. The first full week we went on vacation to St. Louis, Memphis and visited Lisa's parents in Illinois. Brad was checking out two possible job opportunities. The kids had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma and their Aunts and Uncles.
The day we flew back to Seattle, Brad found out that he got the go ahead to do what the FAA used to call "Fam Time". He would be allowed to fly in the cockpit of a commercial airplane. He originally set it up to fly Dec 18th to Philadelphia and return on the 21st to Seattle. The next day (Tuesday), Brad received a call from Allentown Tower. They were calling to set up an interview. Brad said that he could do the interview in person. So, no sooner than we were home, he was off again. The interview went well and he arrived home hopeful. Now we play the waiting game. We should know where we will be moving too by the end of January.

On a different note, Brad usually works on Sunday mornings, but he was able to get a later shift so he could watch the boys open their presents. Benny was excited about every gift he opened. Timmy had no interest in opening presents. He found a toy bus in his stocking and was content walking around with it.

This last week of December was spent getting the Christmas cards out as well as some last minute gifts. Brad has been home with bronchitis and Timmy has been running a temperature the last few days. Both seem to be getting better.

Update!

Okay everyone, we sure have been busy around here. Most of you know that we have made the decision to move back to the East Coast. Primarily to be closer to family ( i.e. Timmy and Benny closer to grandparents). We have still not heard anything regarding the three job opportunities to which Brad has applied. We have taken the initiative and put our house back on the market to sell. So far it has been on the market for about 2 weeks and no one has come by to even look at it. Truthfully, I would be surprised if it sold by the end of the year. Anyway, with all that going on, we have re-joined the our local YMCA. In order for Brad to be release by his chiropractor, he needed to join a gym. This summer is going to be very busy as the boys will be involved in swim classes and possibly gym classes at the YMCA.

On a sadder note, one of my former co-workers at Sylvan passed away suddenly on May 17th. Her name was Carol Parke. She was 10 years younger than my mom, but she was like a surrogate mom to me. Her daughter Jesse had a little girl (Emily) 2 months before Benny was born and Jesse's third child (Emmett) was born just 7 months after Timmy. I have always been invited to Carol's grandkids' birthday parties and we have always invited her and Jesse and the kids to our kids' birthday parties. I miss her now and I know that celebrating Benny's and Timmy's birthdays won't be the same without her. But the good news is that I will see her again one day. I know she is in a better place. A place without pain and sorrow.

So, as each day passes, I am trying to make the most of them. I hug my kids a little tighter and tell my husband that I love him more often. You don't know just how long you have, so I hope we all make the most of it.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all our family and friends!

With traveling at the beginning of April, Easter came really fast this year. So fast, that I forgot to take the kids to the mall to get their picture taken with the Easter Bunny. In light of that, the above picture will have to do. Also, expect Easter cards to arrive late. Sorry about that, but we have had a lot going on.

First of all, we have made the decision that we are going to do whatever it takes to move back East. We are committed to this goal. Therefore, we will be putting our house up for sale. Brad has put in for two jobs (one in Virginia, one in Philadelphia). We have not heard back for either one as of yet, but will be trying to sell the house so that when the time comes, we won't be tied down. Please pray for us during this time. Pray for a smooth transition for the boys.

Update!

So, I just wanted everyone to know that Brad has put in for a supervisor position at his work. Please pray for God's will to be done here. We have been going through colds for the past month. First the kids had it and now Brad and I are trying to fight off colds. We hope to hear before the end of the year whether Brad gets the job or not. It would be a wonderful Christmas present if he did.

Philly here we come!

Most of you might already know this, but Brad received a phone call on Monday from the Philadelphia center. He was accepted in this latest round of bidding. His release date as of now is January 2011. Philly here we come! We have been living in Washington since 2003 and are anxious to get back East to be with family and friends. We have just over a year to get ready for the move. It will be one busy year. We are having a baby and need to sell our house (hopefully not at the same time). Thanks to all who were praying for us. Keep praying that the move goes smoothly.

Another Update!

Just wanted to let you all know what is happening in the Heilenman household. Brad and I have decided to get out of debt and are using Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover to do it. It is based on biblical teachings and many of our friends are doing it or have done it.

Because of this, we are trying to sell our van as well as some other stuff we aren't using. We have made a budget based solely on Brad's paycheck. Anything I bring in goes straight to the debt. If everything works the way we want it to, we should be debt free (except the 1st mortgage) within two years. That is wiping out around $74,000 in 24 months. It will not be easy. We are making a lot of sacrifices (like no cable, no vacations, and such) but it is for the greater good.

Also, no word from Philly, but the arbitration went through and it turns out that for the next 3 years, Brad will receive a 3% raise on his base salary and a one time 8% raise next June. We hope this will just get us out of debt sooner.

Philly Transfer

While visiting in PA, Brad was able to go to work with our friend Tim who works at the Philadelphia Airport Tower. The reason he went is because he put in for a transfer for there. We won't know anything definite until sometime in September, but we do know that he has been placed on the selection list.

Just keep us in you prayers as we try to make our way back East.

Another update!

Whew! When did it get to be March so soon? And now we have to set our clocks back? Ahh! This year is going too fast!!!

Now that I got that out of my system, I will update you all on what is going on around here.

We have not heard anything about a change in Brad's job. The guy he might be replacing is not set to retire until May so we may not hear anything until closer to that time.

Benny is quite the funny guy lately. Tonight on the way home from work, I caught him trying to use his shoe as a phone. When we got home, he was watching his "Your Baby Can Read" video. There is a part in there when they are doing the "Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes" song. Benny was sitting in his chair and trying to do the motions. He could pat his head and legs. Now they are doing the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song. He actually clapped along. What a smart boy.

He loves to color and draw. Unfortunately, he tried to color the refrigerator the other day. Good thing it is black.

He starting to ask for things. His way of doing this is to grunt and point, so it is a guessing game for us.

I hope to update his wish list. His birthday is only 4 months away!

Update

Hey, it has been a few weeks since I updated this, so I will fill everyone in on what has been going on around here. First of all, Brad did not get the support specialist position at work. He did however, have an interview last Monday (Feb 9th) for the supervisory position. We will know by as early as Monday Feb 25th. Brad has been getting a lot of flack at work for wanting to be a supervisor. He is just doing what is best for him and us as a family.

Benny seems to have another cold. This time I think it is a real cold and not side effects of his molars coming in. What gives me this idea is the fact that he is running a slight fever and really not acting himself.

I am doing okay. Busy with work at Sylvan. I think I might be coming down with Benny's cold though. I have been sneezing a lot today.

On a positive note, we have been able to attend church pretty regularly. There is a Baptist church within 10 minutes of our house. Benny has really liked playing in the nursery. Last Sunday Brad had to work, so Benny and I went with out him. When I dropped Benny off at the nursery, he spit out his binky and went right on in and didn't look back. The nursery workers were quite surprised. Benny is in a class with other 18 month old kids on up to 3 years old. Hopefully this will help increase his vocabulary.

Update

Sorry I haven't updated this in awhile. A lot has been going on. Brad had a few overtime shifts and I have been busy with work.

Most of you know that the "unofficial" word is that Seattle will let Brad go January of 2010. The last we heard is that Allentown has yet to respond to that offer. We may go earlier but we just don't know. We are planning for the January date for now.

Yesterday we went to the Puyallup Fair. Benny had a great time looking at all the farm animals. He wasn't too interested in petting them though. I hope to have pictures up this weekend.

Also, next week we fly to Chicago for a few days and then on to my parent's house. I am so looking forward to this trip. My parents haven't seen Benny since he was 2 months old. Well, that's all for now. I hear the little guy waking up from his nap and I have to get dinner started.

Update

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know what has been going on here.

First of all, we have not heard anything definite about the move to
Allentown, but we are anticipating being there by January of 2010.
That would be good, but it would mean that we would miss the Winter Olympics in Vancouver BC. If we are still here when is happens, we are planning to go since it is so close. I heard that Chicago is in the running for the Summer Olympics in the near future. That would be very cool.

Anyway, Benny has been very cranky for the past two days. He would cry for no apparent reason. He has been running a mild fever (100.7 was the highest it got.) and not wanting to eat much. I gave him Tylenol last yesterday and last night and he started acting like his cheery self. That's why we think it is his teeth. He now has eight front teeth, four on top and four on bottom. He also has molars trying to come in. He has a top and bottom molar on the right side that have broken through and one molar on the top on the left side that has broken through as well. Hopefully we will be through this before we visit grandma and grandpa in September.

Benny has been walking up a storm lately. He paces around the living room. He likes to help push the shopping cart around the store instead of riding in it. Twice now he has stopped bent/squatted down to pick up a toy and then stand back up and keep walking. Once he sits down, he has to crawl over to something to pull himself up to get back to walking. I hope to have a video of him walking uploaded soon.

What A Week!

Sorry I haven't updated this recently but I knew alot of things were going to happen so I wanted to wait. Just to let you know in the past week Aunt Leslie and Uncle Steve came to visit, Benny celebrated his first birthday and Brad got a job offer from Allentown.

Yep, Brad was officially offered a job at Allentown. We don't know when Seattle will let him go yet, but we are looking forward to going back to the east coast. Besides Allentown, Brad has put in bids at Harrisburg and recently Norfolk, VA. (I really, really, really hope we get an offer from Norfolk. It is so close to the beach!) When we hear something we will let you know!