So it has definitely been days of ups and downs for the Cook's In Kansas. Just as soon as Audrey was showing signs of recovery she would have a relapse and lose whatever food or drink she had consumed. This created much stress for Laurie as she was preparing to host a candle party this past Saturday. I also had commitments for the Lutheran Campus Ministry Board that I am a part of on Friday night and did not get home until 10pm. Saturday, Audrey was definitely starting to come back from the brink. She actually played a little bit.

Laurie's candle party went well. Some friends came over after the party and we had a great Italian meal prepared by Laurie and we played a game. Sunday, Audrey was definitely getting back to full strength, but we were leery about taking her to church. However, Laurie is on the alter guild this month so she had to prepare the bread and wine for communion. So she went and Audrey and I stayed home. The rest of Sunday was spent just being lazy. We watched "The Aviator," which I definitely enjoyed.

Work is really busy and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. We are conducting phone calls to prospective students this week asking them about the status of their housing application and trying to answer any questions. I have had two early mornings the last two days. I am also trying to do check references for candidates for our graduate assitantships. Plus all my other meetings and general job duties. I am really feeling tired right now! Hopefully I can sleep in a little tonight/tomorrow morning.

Well it seemed that all was well when I journeyed from home yesterday. I even called at about 10:30 to see how things were going. All was well. However, I got a call at about 3 from Laurie. She had gotten sick and her and Audrey had just been laying on the couch all day. She was worried that she was being a bad mom and wanted me to come home early if possible. I had to go to a meeting and wrap up a few things so I ended up leaving at 4:15. Needless to say she was happy to see me when I arrived.

Audrey is still very sleepy, but her fever has gone. She also is refusing to sleep in her bed, which has made our sleep less restful. Laurie began to feel better throughout the evening. We even go the chance to watch Hustle and Flow, one of our Netflix movies. It was very good. Definatley strong performances by the cast.

So I am such a blogging slacker! I can't believe I haven't posted since my b-day. I have been traveling a lot for my job and spent the latter part of last week in Des Moines, Iowa at the winter business meeting of a professional organization I am a part of.

Audrey continues to learn new words and do new things. She definitely keeps us busy. She has developed a slight cough over the last couple days so we are monitoring that.

We subscribed to Netflix and have been watching many movies we have missed. We are also trying to watch any that are up for Academy Awards so we can be informed Oscar watchers! This past week we watched Batman Begins and Million Dollar Baby. Both very quality movies, obviously for different reasons.

On Saturday, Laurie and I went on a date. We had tickets to a concert at the campus performing arts auditorium. We saw the Count Basie Orchestra featuring Nneena Freelon. Nneena is an artist that we discovered about 5 years ago and have seen in concert once before. The concert was great and we got to meet her afterward. While we were standing in line waiting for her to come out and sign autographs of course I was excited. My wife leaned over to me and said, "You are a celebrity whore." Which all of you know is very true. I love meeting famous people and I have plenty of stories to back it up. Some of you have been along for the ride for some of those events(Jesus, Tammy, Glenn, etc.)

The funniest thing about this date was that we did not plan our dinner very well. I thought we would go to the local "fancy" restaurant, but I had failed to make reservations earlier that day. So there was a long wait. Needless to say there was a long wait at all of the chain sit down restaurants. As a result we ended up at PIZZA HUT. Laurie suggested it because at least the come to your table and take your order :)