Breast Cancer Walk

Saturday was a beautiful day and we were lucky enough to spend it downtown doing the Race for a Cure. Although we were not racing we all got together to walk the 5K. The three of us walked with my dad, mom, sister, cousin, and cousin's girlfriend. It was a ton of fun walking together and enjoying the scenery of Chicago on a gorgeous Fall day. This was Tyler's first time doing the walk and as you can tell, he really got into the spirit of the event. Caleb was also a first time "stroller" and he pretty much slept the entire way.

It is really an awesome experience to do the walk. All around, you see people with various shirts and signs dedicated to all sorts of people. In some cases, you see signs where people are walking in memory of a loved one who lost the battle of breast cancer. When we were lining up to go, we saw a woman walking with her dog and she mentioned that she was walking in memory of her mother who just recently passed away. Along the walk, one of us noticed a sign of someone who was walking in memory of her best friend who just passed away within the last few weeks. It's heartbreaking to see the people who are walking in memory of a loved one, but also encouraging to know that they are making the most of a terrible loss and honoring someone else's life.

We are SO blessed to have walked in celebration, and not in memory, of my mom who had breast cancer 2 years ago. The lump was found completely by chance during surgery. If she hadn't had the surgery, there's no telling whether a mammogram would've detected it. The entire situation is one of those where we are completely reminded of God's awesome power and control over EVERYTHING! In one of my favorite all time verses, Jeremiah 29:11, it says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". In this case especially, the verse rings true. God had planned this to happen exactly the way it did. He knew the outcome of it long before my mom was ever even diagnosed. We are just eternally grateful that the outcome turned out the way it did and my mom was given a future that gave her more years here on Earth to be with us!

Nana Pam

There's no doubt that our dear little Caleb isn't loved to the moon and back. There are so many people in his life to give him love and we are so blessed to have all these people around. One of the people high on his list of favorites is Nana Pam. Pam is linked to our family through my cousin Ben, who dates Pam's daughter. She (and her whole family) are wonderful and we love that they are part of Caleb's life. Pam adores Caleb and Caleb adores Pam. We were lucky enough to have her watch him when I was back at work in the spring. Now she does not babysit on a regular basis, but does serve as our back up on days when Grandma Leslie or the other sitter can't watch him. When she hasn't seen him in awhile, she often gives us a call just so she can come by and "love on him" (as she puts it). There is no doubt that she is an amazing person who just loves our little boy to pieces. We are so thankful to have her in Caleb's life!

Six months already?!?!

We just can't believe our little guy is already 6 months old today! It's amazing how quickly half of a year can go when you're having so much fun watching an adorable baby grow. Caleb has become the love of our lives and we just can't imagine life without him. We've made it so far from those first few (very trying) weeks and feel like we really have this parenting thing down. Yep, we even talk about what it'll be like to have another one! For now, we're just enjoying the time we have with the four of us (Chesney is part of "us"). We can't wait to watch how much Caleb changes during the second half of his first year in this wonderful world!

And we must give a special mention to our birthday girl who is turning 4 tomorrow. Here are three pics to celebrate each year of her life with us (we got her when she was a year old). We love our little Chesney to pieces and also can't imagine life without her!

No explanation necessary

THESE PICTURES NEED NO EXPLANATION. A FEW SIMPLE WORDS IS ALL IT TAKES:

4 words: very bad hair day

3 words: dad's in charge

Happy 1st Grandparent's Day

This is just a quick tribute to the four wonderful grandparents and three wonderful great grandmas in Caleb's life. He is so blessed to have these people in his life and it's been amazing to watch all of them get to know the little guy over the past 5 1/2 months. We love you all. We are so thankful to have your examples to look up to as we raise our child(ren)!

(Grandpa Ron, Grandma Sue, Grandma Leslie, Grandpa Rob)

Great Grandma Jane

Great Grandma Ann

Great Grandma Ruth

To those other Great Grandparents who are no longer here to be with Caleb, we miss you especially on this day when grandparents are celebrated. Caleb would have been so lucky to meet you. We know our memories of you will carry on forever and be shared with him as he grows up. We love you Grandpa Ronald, Grandpa Whitsitt, Grandpa Bob, Grandpa Hy, and Grandma Billie.

Update on life in the Sturm home :)

Life has been VERY busy lately in the Sturm home. With Mommy returning to work and Daddy working like crazy, we've been so behind on the little things like blogging. I had a rough first week and cried every morning after dropping Caleb off with Grandma and the sitter he's with on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's not that he's not in good hands, it's just hard that he's away from his Mommy all day after spending an entire summer together. Fortunately, my class this year seems to be awesome and I've been so busy each day that I hardly have time to think about what I'm missing at home. On the flip side, it's been tough coming home to tackle the rest of life after a long day with very needy seven year olds. This time of the year is always hard, and it's even harder when I know that I can't just come home, kick my feet up, and relax all evening. There just doesn't seem to be enough time to come home, play, cuddle, cook, clean, do laundry, call people back, schedule appointments, blah, blah, blah. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who definitely lends a helping hand from the minute he gets home from work. Together, we're certainly able to make this whole situation work! It helps having three day weekends like we just had...I only wish there were more of them!

On a positive note, we've had two wonderful weekends since the whole back-to-school thing took place and I've realized that I am not missing out on too much. I still get lots of quality time with the two guys in my life and our little pooch. I've had to learn to let go of some things like being very particular about Caleb's schedule. With the type of personality I have, it's hard to let that go. However, I really can't control what happens during the week from 7:30-3:30, so I just have to go with the flow. I've also had to be less particular about keeping the house as clean and orderly as I prefer, but if it means I can spend more time with Caleb, it's worth it. Anyhow, this whole process is a huge learning experience and we're continuing to adjust each day. We'll take everything one day at a time and at the end of the school year sit down to decide whether we'll keep it up for the future. I can't imagine leaving behind a job I love and coworkers who are the best, but I have to remember that this job will always be waiting for me, even if I take time off!

Tyler has had a great few months at work and deserves a bit of recognition. In passing the other day, he said "I'm sure you don't care, but I'm the top salesman in the zone." I couldn't believe how casually he stated that and immediately responded with "of course I care...and how on earth did you make that happen?" I guess all of the hard work he's been doing has really paid off and I'm so very proud of him for this accomplishment. It's great that he wants to remain so humble, but every once in awhile a gal just has to brag about her guy!

I'd love to keep writing away, but I need to go upstairs and grade some papers before the busy week starts. For those of you who think teachers have such an easy job, just remember that 9 times out of 10 we're bringing work home at the end of the day and when we leave work, we're really just leaving the building behind...the rest of the job comes home with us! For now, enjoy the pictures of our little cutie pie. He turned 5 months on August 21...isn't time just flying by?!

Being goofy with Daddy

At the zooMeeting baby Dash for the first timeWaking up a happy camper...he probably would've stayed in his crib all morning if we would've let him!Breakfast with Daddy
Playing with his new toy
Chesney and Caleb are REALLY starting to gain an interest in one another