Things to Think About

Looking back over 2006, can you answer these questions?

1. What was the best thing that happened this year?

2. What was the hardest/most difficult thing that happened this year?

3. What was the greatest lesson that you learned this year?

We talked about these questions in our Sunday School class today and I was humbled to realize all that God has done for us this year. God has continually taken great care of us and even though I often didn't understand why things were happening to now look back I can see His plan in it all. Amazing!! I encourage you to think about your own life and answer these questions. You might just be blown away!

Merry Christmas!

I hope all of you had a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Jesus. We enjoyed laughter, family and delicious food today. It's so nice to have a day to reflect on what God has done in my life and all the wonderful people that He has filled my life with. Thank you to each of you who have had such a huge impact on who I am today. May you have a wonderful holiday!

Scrub A Dub Dub

Last night husband and I decide that Rome needs a bath badly. After practically picking him up to get him in there (no easy feat because he instantly turns into stiff dead weight), we start the washing process. Rome is ok, but not really loving it. After a couple minutes go by with husband and I working on him, he decides to sit down. We think, "Ok, well at least he's not scared anymore" and we continue to wash. As we're scrubbing, his front feet start to slowly slide forward, but I'm not worried because I've never known a dog to actually lay down in the bath tub, especially while two people are cleaning him. Well, Rome is the exception. He lays all the way down and looks at us like "What? It's so nice is here and you guys are petting me. I love this!" I had to grab the camera and capture this. He just looks like he is in heaven, doesn't he? Crazy dog! He loved the bubbles too!

Baby Belly

I just wanted to show everyone who hasn't seen me lately how big the baby (aka my belly) is getting. I can't wait to see the little guy! I was looking at baby clothes today and was thinking, "I'm going to be dressing him soon." It was a little scary, but we're so excited!! Thanks everyone for your continued prayers and support. We couldn't do it without you!

"Oh, What A Beautiful Morning"

I woke up this morning and looked out the window and this is what I saw...

I grabbed my camera and our dog and went outside to explore...

I captured God's creation on "film" and just had to post it for all of you to see.

Thanksgiving

Going home was so nice! We got to see lots of family and friends and laugh and just catch up on lives. We miss so much living so far away! Can you believe that I didn't take one picture the whole time we were there? What is wrong with me? Sorry everyone! Today is my catch up day. I'm relaxing and sleeping and doing some crafts. Notice that eating was not on my list. That's because my wonderful mom made so many delicious treats for Thanksgiving that I really should only eat fruits and vegetables for 2 weeks to make up for all of that food. Thank you, mom, for making a pregnant woman's dream! I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday. Leave me a comment and let me know how it was.

I was looking through the ultrasound pictures and saw this 3D one that I wanted to share with all of you. This is Baby Boy at 21 weeks. I know that he looks a little strange, but it's really neat to see what he actually looks like. It looks like his head is in half because those are the bones you're seeing, and his lips and nose were still developing when this was taken. I wonder what he looks like now? I'm finally 30 weeks and am getting excited to see him in person!

Small Groups

I just have to tell everyone that small groups are the best. If you've never been involved with one, find people your age and start one now! It's so nice to get to know people, laugh with them, pray with them and challenge them in their walk with Christ, all the while getting challenged yourself. I am currently involved with two small groups. One is a Mom's club where mother's get together and talk about life. Since I'm not a mother yet, I've been getting lots of wisdom and learning tons. The other group is a couples group that meets, talks about God and gets to know you as a real person, not just your "church" appearance. It's been an amazing way to grow and also just to meet new people. So, all of you that aren't involved with one, go out and find one this week. You won't be sorry!

Still the Same

This is still the same site. I just wanted to make a few changes (the pink was starting to hurt my eyes). Let me know what you think. Anyone missing the pink? I didn't think so!

One Fine Day

Not too much going on around here, so I thought I'd post some pictures that I have taken. It's amazing the things you find in your backyard that are so beautiful. Once I get a "big" camera I think I'm going to take a class and learn how to take pictures for real. There is something so relaxing about looking around and finding something new to capture on film. Of course with the baby coming I have a suspicion that most of the pictures will be of him. Oh well. At least I would have some great shots of him.
By the way, to all my friends, I'm finally in my third trimester and doing great! Thanks to everyone for their continued prayers for our little guy. He's right on track and kicking strong!!

A Snowy Thursday

This is what I see outside the window right now. SNOW!!! It's so pretty and it's allowed now that it's finally November. It's only 30 degrees, but at least we have heat inside and can have a nice warm fire in the fireplace. The pictures are not the best quality, but I wanted everyone to see what I am seeing. Now I need to go and purchase some warm boots. I only have fashionable pink boots that aren't waterproof- that won't work here!!

Happy Halloween!

Here is Rome with his halloween costume!! And don't worry- he was wagging his tail the whole time! Tonight husband and I are so excited to hand out candy to all of the neighborhood children. We are hoping to carve our pumpkins before they start showing up, but we'll see if that happens. May you all have fun and safe nights and may you not get sick from eating all of the yummy candy!

25 Weeks and Counting!

I realized the other day that I had not posted any pictures of my growing belly lately and since my wonderful photographer (and sister) took some great shots, I thought it was time to show them. Thanks A for using your talent on me. It's amazing how much my belly can grow in such a short amount of time!

Beautiful Fall

While outside with Rome yesterday I noticed a bunch of beautiful, brightly colored leaves on the ground and just had to take a picture. I wish these colors could last forever. I really wouldn't mind having leaves all over the ground if they were always this beautiful. Take a moment to look around you today and discover something beautiful that God has created. It makes you appreciate all of the little things. You can post what you find on here!

Snow!

Just wanted to let everyone know that it has been snowing on and off all day. There's a light dusting on the ground and it's really pretty with the colorful fall leaves underneath. Husband has the camera, so I'll have to post pictures later, but it is really pretty and really cold!!!

My Trip

This weekend I went with a few ladies to the Upper Penninsula of MI for a scrapbooking weekend. It was a blast! The days were full of cutting, gluing, eating and lots and lots of laughing. These are pictures that I took of lake Michigan and Mackinaw Bridge on the way home. It was so beautiful. The strange thing was that even though it looks like the ocean, the water and air were not salty, and the water felt ICE cold. I would love to go back there during the summer and walk along the beach and camp at a state park. Ah...beautiful!

October is here

Sorry everyone for not posting for a couple weeks. I keep thinking about what I've done lately and nothing interesting pops in my head to write. Life has slowed down to a normal pace. JD and I realized that our stress level is so much lower here. That's nice. He is in the groove with classes and doing well- which we all knew he would. He's a great teacher and a hard worker.
The leaves are starting to change outside. I will post pictures when they are at their peak. It's so cold here, so I'm sure it will be soon. I'm headed out this weekend for a fun scrapbooking weekend with the girls. It should be full of laughter and good conversation. I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully I'll get a lot of my projects finished so that I can post the outcome. We'll see...

Over Halfway There

I keep forgetting to post these pictures. The one of me sitting is at 19 weeks and the one standing is 21 weeks. The baby is now kicking me every chance he gets, which is neat, but not when I'm sleeping. Thanks for all of the comments that you've posted. I haven't seen many name suggestions though, and we still have no clue. Help us!
It's so cold tonight! I think that I will soon be posting snowy pictures and it's only September. Wednesday night is supposed to be in the upper 30's!! I'll have to find a new place to take profile shots. Outside in the freezing cold is not an option.

Who's the baby now?

As we were sitting and watching tv, Rome decided that he wanted to be a lot closer to JD than he could possibly be on the floor. He climbed up into the recliner and comfortably laid down on JD. He truly thinks that the whole purpose for JD to come home at night is to play ball with him and pet his head. And of course JD just eats it up. How could you not? He's so cute! But what do you think will happen when junior comes home from the hospital? Think someone will be jealous? Hmmm...

School's In

As we drive through town we notice students everywhere walking around and talking to each other. It's nice to have more people in this small town. It makes me remember my own college days and suddenly I start to feel old. How many years has it been? Wow!
JD starts his first day of teaching sculpture tomorrow, and he's so excited. It's nice for him to have a job that he enjoys and a job where he has summer's off. I think we're going to be spoiled by this for the rest of our lives.

It's a Boy!

We had an ultrasound this week. The doctor checked every inch of the baby and then announced, "It looks like you're having a boy". I responded with, "How sure are you that it's a boy?" And she said, "Oh, I'm pretty confident" and she even gave us a picture to prove it. So it looks like we'll be buying a lot of blue and green over the next few months. JD was smiling the whole way home. We're both so excited! The baby looks perfectly healthy and that's all we can ask for.

17 Weeks and Counting

I’m now 17 weeks along in the pregnancy process and thought it was time to start taking pictures of my growing belly now that there’s something to see. I realized yesterday that I can no longer comfortably wear my old clothes, which was so hard for me. I never knew that I would feel so yucky because I’d gained some weight. I know it’s all for a great purpose and would never deprive my child for fashions sake, but it’s hard to have a stomach that sticks out and know that it won’t be going away for a while. Any advice from you already mom’s out there or understanding woman, please leave me a comment. I could use some encouragement about this as I continue to grow outward.

Our backyard

These are just some fun pictures that I took of our back yard. It’s so pretty here right now. The sun shines and sparkles on the pond. The deer get their evening snack off of the apples trees. And the black squirrels run here and there, climbing trees and hopping through the green grass. I wish this weather could last forever.

At the park

My husband and I went to Cascade Park one evening to see the beautiful waterfall. I didn’t know what to expect. The only thing I knew about it was that there were going to be different color lights on the falls. When we got there I soon realized that this was a waterfall like no other. It is the largest manmade waterfall in North America. And they’re very proud of that. At 10pm they announce that the show is about to start. The music comes on and the lights start flashing (slightly offbeat). Soon my husband and I realize that there is no rhyme or reason to the songs that they play. It goes from country western to rock and roll to the Little Mermaid. We made up a game to see who could guess the next song. (We never came close.) It was definitely a new experience in the neighboring town of Jackson, MI. And we thought DC had entertainment!

Our New Dog

We just inherited a new to us dog this week. His name is Rome. Don't be deceived by how small he looks on the screen (he's huge!). He is by far the biggest dog I've ever had (90lbs), but I'm already in love. He's six years old, fully trained and addicted to tennis balls. He will even flip the ball with his paw and chase after it. The only issue we've come up against is that he is used to sleeping on the bed, and we don't want him to. Every night and every morning he first puts his front paws up (look at the size of them)



then discretely tries to hop up. So far the score is Rome-1, Parents-4. We'll see who wins tonight.

We made it!

We made it to Michigan on Saturday evening. What an exhausting trip! After a mishap of locking the keys in the Penske, we finally got on the road for our 10 and a half hour trip. We made it without incident and the boys unloaded the truck on Sunday morning before church. I must say that most of the boxes are just where they left them. We can't find anything!
As I try to be upbeat about the whole move, I must say that I am sad about leaving my family and friends. It's hard to be a half a country away from everything familiar. I miss all of you very much.

Life's been busy!

To catch you up on what's been going on...
1. We're packing up all of our belongings to move to Michigan so that my husband can begin his teaching career.
2. We're saying goodbye to friends and family and heading to the great cold unknown.
3. Oh, and did I mention that we're having our first child, too!

How busy life becomes when you're not paying attention. Because so much has been happening, my blog has been pushed to the side for the moment. But I promise to all of you that once we settle into our new home I will begin to write more often and that way you can keep up with us. Thank you for being patient during this transition time and please pray that we keep our sanity!

It's been sooooo long!

Sorry it's been so long since the last time I posted anything. Life has been crazy busy. We are headed up to Michigan this weekend to look for a house, I just finished work, and we have tons going on. Life is fun when it's full though. I'll post the house that we find when we get back and I promise to take more time out of my life to keep this blog going.

Beautiful

Rainbows have to be the most amazing thing! They don't occur often or for very long. There just there long enough for the select few to catch a glimpse and then they are gone forever.

Happy Birthday To You!

This week I had the pleasure of going to a jewelry making birthday party for my sister. When I arrived at this small store in Annapolis I was confronted with thousands and thousands of beads to choose from. There were rows and shelves of beads. I was to pick out the ones that I thought would make a beautiful necklace. You would think that this would be an easy task and lots of fun. It was tough! I did have fun though and my necklace actually turned out nice. Who knew I could design jewelry?

Shopping Woes

Why is it that every time I have no money I always find lots of bargains while shopping? Today I went to an outlet mall in Georgia and found so many great deals, but of course I'm not supposed to spend any money this week. Anytime I have a couple extra bucks and go shopping, there is nothing within 100 miles that looks at all pretty. Why is it like this? Does anyone else have this problem? What can be done?

Warm, Sunny Atlanta

Well, I've finally come to Atlanta, Georgia to meet up with some great friends. Kim and I always have fun times together and lots of laughter. It's great to just sit around and laugh. It's the best way to undo stress and work out your stomach muscles. If you haven't laughed for a while, try it and you'll see.
I met up with Melanie and her husband Jon to have lunch. They have a crazy dog who is the cutiest thing I've ever seen. It is always nice to reminise with old friends.

Moving again

When we moved here last August, I told JD that I refused to move ever again. Then he convinced me that I did not want to live in a one bedroom apartment for the rest of my life, so I decided that I would not move again for at least two years. Well, as of right now we are moving again at the end of July. Obviously my plan and God's were not the same. This just goes to show that you should not say that you will never do something because whatever that is, it WILL happen.

One warm Wednesday

On this warm Wednesday I have realized that I need to get out of the house and participate in life. Yes, I work and have friends and do the normal everyday thing, but there is something about the springtime that makes me want to take up an outside hobbie like gardening or tennis that most likely I will not stick with. JD and I have started to walk and think that we will start doing this every night and get into the best shape of our lives. Will that really happen? Well I guess only time will tell... These warm days really do get me into trouble.