Corban and Mom went to the park...

She is determined to make me sit on this green pokey stuff that I'm not super fond of. Oh well, I'll humor her.
I held and investigated my first pine cone and Mom tried to see what I see by taking this pic.
I was thinking about throwing the ball... but I don't know how.
time for rest. I'm way too cool for this little duckie blanket!
I wanted to play with the little girl that was running around, but I couldn't keep up with her.This was a great day (20 minutes) at the park and I look forward to coming again!

Jesus is Lord of the details

So, I have been learning (seems like I would KNOW this by now) that I can't "do" it all on my own. Here is what I mean:

I can get to and from work and accomplish the tasks that are necessary. I can take care of the basic needs of my son, my husband and myself (food, laundry, clean up once in awhile so we can find the floor...). I can make it to church and to Bible study and even have people over on occasion. I can keep in touch with my family - although not as often as I should - and some long distance friends.

These are the things that I CAN do. On my own, they are almost always done with no love. I accomplish the tasks and fall into bed wondering why life seems so tedious. Then there are those sweet moments when I look at my son while he is learning something new and I see a spark or when Micah and I catch a second to look into each others eyes and things seem in focus or when I get up in the middle of the night to get a drink and I look out the kitchen window and the moon is so bright and silver and it feels like God put it there just for me to gaze at while I chug a glass of water. These moments I am alive. Fully awake - fully aware - fully alive. They are the moments that I want to cry happy tears of thankfulness and they also draw out the sadness that I feel so much of the time... life seems wasted by tedious things. Anyway, recently I have felt God calling me to LOVE through the tediousness. This plays out in a million ways but to know that God sees value in all of the details that we live through. He isn't going to gloss over the many things that seem "everyday" but he will be filled with joy when we seek Him and find him in the everyday things.

I am thankful that Jesus is my Lord and that there is not only HOPE but PURPOSE in my very "normal" life.

Employed... how can I help you?

"American Family Insurance, this is Molly, how can I help you?"

I have completed my first week at my new job and I am feeling very thankful for the love and support I have had from my hubby. I figured it is fitting to pay a tribute to him since it is Valentines Day. He and Corban did a photo shoot for me at some point and they printed and framed a picture for me to take to work and put on my desk. I love it! So sweet. I also received chocolate and cards from both my hubby and my boy. I feel very loved. Playing into this feeling of love is the fact that all week Micah has been Mr. Mom while I go to work - he has taken great care of our boy, done house work, even cooked dinner at least once and has had a great attitude about it as well. It won't be long before Micah will be placed in his student teaching position and then Corban will go through yet another transition and will go to an in-home day care. I think he will enjoy having some other kids to play with and to learn from (as most of them are older than him). We shall see.

As for the job... it is in some ways like going back to sleep and restarting a dream that you were in before the alarm went off. I find my fingers entering codes that I shouldn't remember, but my fingers apparently do! Everyday I remember new things that are really just old things that have been stored in my head all this time. I am thoroughly enjoying the sense of purpose that I have each day and getting to know my co-workers and boss. I believe that I can, with God's help and blessing, help the business to grow and be a blessing to my coworkers, my boss and our clients all at the same time.

During the last year or so I have come to appreciate, in a new way, practical help. We have been helped by several people with simple things like meals after Corban was born. Free babysitting so that Micah and I can remain connected. Someone else changing a diaper. Assistance putting together my resume. Encouragement when I had a hard day. Oh, I should definitely mention a huge abundance of baby "stuff" before the cute little guy even got here. Help with the revamping of my wardrobe so that I didn't have to wear sweatpants and a robe to my new job (that would have been funny!). The list goes on and on. I was convicted recently that when I read or hear prayer requests I, as part of the body of Christ, can find ways to be an answer... not just another person praying about it. I am determined to look for ways that I can be used to answer other people's prayers. I think it is what God intended when he called us the body. When your head itches, you don't pray about it, you use your hand to scratch the itch! Hopefully that all makes sense.

So. I pray now that God would help me to have my eyes open to see where HE can use me to strengthen and help the body that I am a part of. I am so thankful that the body has been so helpful to us.

Unemployed... and grateful

Hello there friends! I feel like I haven't really blogged in a long time. So, here it goes...

I have recently become unemployed (this was a mutual decision between myself and my employer, just so you know). It has been awhile - almost 7 years since I was last unemployed. That was right after I had returned from 5 1/2 months in Kenya and was completely irritated by American culture. Now (still usually irritated by American culture, but not really set apart) I am searching for a job, but am much more aware of my abilities and weaknesses... and our need for the finances. At the time (7 years ago) I was dating Micah, but was still single and my living costs were cheap or maybe even free... I think I was living with my aunt at the time. So, the pressure to find a job was very different. I simply didn't want to be a freeloader. Now we have a house and a kid and a dog to take care of, oh and 3 vehicles too. So, in some ways I am longing for the ease of living cheap and avoiding the pressures of bills and what not, but I wouldn't give up the last (almost) 6 years of marriage, our precious baby boy or even our dog to have that all back. Its funny how no matter what stage of life we are in, we are always longing for something else.

Anyway - sorry for the ramble - I have applied to many positions. Some excite me because of what I would be doing. Some excite me because of the potential earnings. But none of them excite me because they will bring fulfillment. No job will ever do that for me. I pray that God will simply provide for us financially through a stable job and that He will find a way to use me to draw others closer to Him through whatever it is that I end up doing. That is one thing that I have truly missed during my time working from home (minimal social interaction) and with mostly Christian clients (not a lot of opportunity to reveal God to a skeptic). I have had the privilege a few times in life to help someone or be a part of the journey for people who had once written God off as a hoax or someone they didn't want anything to do with. I don't know if anything else in life has every given me that kind of joy. If anything I did or said could help someone come closer to HIM??!! How incredible is that? Me. A sinner. Used by God. That is a miracle.

In the day to day...
our little boy is growing and getting stronger and more determined and more curious and sneakier and cuter EVERY DAY. Its crazy how now that he is 7 months old I can hardly remember what it was like when he was 3 months old! Each day is something new. He has his first tooth and he is army crawling EVERYWHERE... time to baby-proof the house! I just love playing with him and wish I could devote more of my time to that and less to the job search.

Micah is done with the evening classes that were part of his Masters program (and I might add, he did super well!)... and he has passed all of the tests that he needs to take... so now he is waiting to find out where he will do his two sessions of student teaching. First he will do 6 weeks of student teaching at a middle school (this is for social studies and language arts since they are a block period in schools around here) and then he will finish out the school year at a high school (this will be just social studies). His graduation will be in May - before he completes the student teaching - and he will also begin applying for jobs at that point!! I think it is all becoming more real to both of us. Micah is going to be a teacher :) I remember the first time that he and I were having a discussion of some kind and it just hit me !BAM! "Micah would be a GREAT History teacher!" I remember telling him that and he said that it had crossed his mind before but that Multnomah didn't have a program so he wasn't sure what to do with that (he was too far along in his Intercultural Studies program to switch). YEARS later, here we are! I'm not taking credit, but I have been excited for him to get to this point and I can't wait to celebrate his graduation and start calling him Mr. Stickler just so he gets used to it :)

I want to say that as I look through our list of friends on my blog I feel very blessed. I know several couples that just don't really have friends and I just can't imagine what we would do without all of you. Life's circumstances will bring change and take us further away from each other but blogging and email and phone calls have given us the opportunity to stay in touch pretty easily and I am so thankful. Just know that I am thankful for you!

I am sure I could write more, but I think I have rambled and said enough for now. Toodle-oo.

Videos...

So, instead of re-uploading videos to Blogspot - you just have to go watch these on YouTube :)

Read the description of this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOB8NJ0-gyU

These are all pretty self explanatory...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_kCQ2Q5lPA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoBLR53H5-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCMZVrwdKf4

Tell me which one is your favorite and why!?

Oh, and Merry Merry Christmas!

Video... while we were in Seattle

We went to see my brother and sister-in-law in Seattle about a month ago (in October). It was a lot of fun to hang out with them, see their home and show off our little man. While we were there Corban decided to try to crawl, on his face and knees.

We just thought it was sooo cute. He hasn't really progressed in the crawling thing - which I am thankful for right now. He is sitting up on his own now - still a little wobbly but sitting up! We also started him on "solids" a couple of weeks ago. He loves it and is doing pretty good at eating it (not just wearing it). We are thankful that it seems to help him sleep through the night again!!

Micah's parents are coming for Thanksgiving and we are so excited to have them up here. If you have any unique and cheap ideas of things we could all do while they are in town, let me know!

Its the end of the world as we know it... and I feel FINE :)

To sort of put my 2 cents in on the recent Venessa blog: I am so glad that we don't depend on the government or any politicians or any HUMANS for that matter to provide for us. Our God is so much better (and he doesn't run annoying commercials ALL the time).

I just want to say - regardless of the outcomes of today's elections - God is good, all the time.

This doesn't mean we can't pray for certain things to happen, certainly, we all do that everyday! BUT it means that I don't allow the things of this world to stress me out, or to take my eyes off of God. My heavenly Father is not stressed out, why should I be?

My little helper

I have recently switched my work schedule in order to provide more time for me with our boy, to accomplish some housework and still enjoy my weekend AND to help me set boundaries on how much I work (my job).

I now have Fridays OFF. I LOVE IT! The first week of working 10-12 hour days (Mon-Thur) was pretty brutal, but the Friday off made it all worth it. I know it isn't always the easiest or most convenient schedule for my co-workers or my clients but I feel like a better person.

Anyway, Corban has been such a little helper. He makes sure that I take "coffee" breaks regularly and gets me up out of my chair much more than I was used to doing. He is making me work my arms and build more muscles in my core. What a helper!

His personality is growing and becoming more obvious to me everyday. I love to watch him when he is learning something new and is in deep concentration (sometimes, it turns out that he was just filling his diaper :) He rolls over and smiles and blows bubbles and talks to himself (in his own language!)... We love our little man.

Weekend away...

So, Corban will be among the few, proud, the... diapered? We (Me & my boy) are going to our church's women's retreat this weekend. That means, Micah will be free from changing diapers or holding a fussy baby for the entire weekend! We will miss Micah... but I'm glad he isn't coming to women's retreat.

I was discussing with a friend the "ora" that surrounds women's events. It usually oozes with cheddar, I mean, cheese. I love the women in our church and I have been thoroughly encouraged and challenged by their words of wisdom and their loving actions - but why is it that church women are always so cheesy? Is that how God intended us to be? Some have called me cheesy in the past - but my cheesiness is different. I'm more like a B rate movie or the person who is the only one laughing at my puns. So, can women just be women, without being cheesy? What are your thoughts?

Seriously, I always come home from things like this with a fresh or changed perspective AND really really tired :) I'm hoping that God will direct our speaker to the Scriptures that will cause heart change in many - and I'm hoping to get a little rest.

It's been a long time...

Okay, so by my standards it has been a long time (over a month) since I last blogged. I have started to blog several times but am always pulled away from the computer by something (or someone). No biggie... what have you all missed in our lives?

Well, we (all 3 of us) went to CA to say goodbye to Micah's Grandpa Stan - but we were a few hours too late. It was frustrating to be so close, but it sounds like he was ready to go and there was nothing we could have done for him... so we will leave it all in God's hands. It was good to have a chance to visit with some of his other family while we were there! The next weekend we were in southern OR to see my mom's side of the family at my cousin's wedding. It was good to catch up with so many cousins that I hadn't seen for a while - not to mention opportunity to show off the cutest little guy ever!

Tonight we will get to go to church, in our new building! We are very excited about this and we were so bummed to miss the Grand Opening which was last weekend... But it will be so great to see everyone at church tonight and to see what it will be like to actually have church in that new building :)

Corban is doing great. Cute cute cute.

That's all for now!

Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!!

Last night Corban slept... well, more importantly, I SLEPT for 6 hours all in one chunk! It was so exciting that when I woke up at 5am I was giddy with excitement :)

Anyway, it has been a good weekend with my hubby and my little boy. I have a ton to get done at work this week but I was able to relax and not think about it too much. Micah and I went downtown to the Farmers Market and in the park that is right there, they were having a Hawaiian festival or something... it was really cool, and very crowded. We found a new restaurant that we like (Tommy O's), we went to church, I got a haircut (nothing really drastic, but I do have bangs that just might drive me crazy before the day is over!), we got some stuff done around the house and now we are enjoying an episode of Extreme Home Makeover (unfortunately, it's a re-run).

Oh, that reminds me. Have you seen the new Japanese-related TV shows on Tuesday night? "Wipeout" is hilarious and "I survived a Japanese game show" cracks me up :)

Hai Majide!

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Oh, sorry that was me trying to fix the "k" key on Micah's laptop... it just comes off sometimes. Kinda annoying.

Good night all!

survival of the fittest

It's Friday! Hip hip hooray!

I made it through my first week back at work and I have to say that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, it was a long and tiring week and I have a TON of work to do both at my job for FBS and as a wife and as a mom... but it didn't kill me. And if it didn't kill me I guess that means I'm stronger :)

Now for what you really come to my blog for: Ptuecirs (can you read that?)

Feed me and nobody gets hurt...

Yeah, I think I'm a little too small for this thing - but I think it will be fun when I'm bigger :)

mmm... vibrating chair...

I'm sitting up like a big boy - well, sort of.

I have no idea what I'm saluting, but it was pretty intense!

Grandma and I were playing...

I am sleeping, SO adorable, if I do say so myself!

Our dog, Lua... who won't hold still for a picture! LOL

Lua, Micah and Corban all resting.
(Micah was trying to lay in the same position as Corban!)

I hope this has satiated your need for pictures :)

Job Row

So, not unlike someone on death row, I am attempting to savor every minute that I have before I go back to work. Now, I realize that having a job is not the same as being fried in an electric chair (for one thing, it lasts a lot longer :) but it will significantly cut down on the time that I have to do the other things that I want to do. Obviously I am being a bit dramatic - I am thankful for my job and the opportunity that it provides for me to be home with our son. I cannot imagine what it would be like if I was going to have to leave him with someone else everyday!

I am re-assessing what ministries I can be involved in, what are my priorities? etc. Only so much stuff will fit into these 24 hour days (work, sleep, feeding Corban, feeding me, other necessary stuff).

Anyway, this last week has been pretty good. I was able to accomplish a few things - the big one was painting the wall in our dining room. It is now a nice chocolate color - and the downside is that it makes me want chocolate everytime I look at it :) I love it. I think it looks great.

I would also like to take this moment to say: I am so thankful for the time off that I have had - I can't imagine having any less time to learn how to do this mom thing and for enjoying Corban with Micah. It has been a huge blessing. Anyone out there that has maternity leave coming to them - don't take less than 6 weeks, it really should be a minimum. It has flown by so fast!











Also, Micah has been such a blessing during all of this - he is watching Corban right now so that I can do a little "connecting" via the internet. He has taken on the role of papa very easily and seems a natural. His love for me and his son are evident and that makes me so happy. We are so blessed.That is all I have to share for the moment.

If you can believe it...

Corban is almost 5 weeks old.
He has rolled over on his own 6 times.
My maternity leave is almost over.
It is overcast today (LOL).
Lua is thankful for the fireworks to be done.
I plan to do a little painting this week.

With my job starting back up in a little over a week it feels like summer is over... even though it just began! I'm trying not to be down about needing to go back to work - but 6 weeks has gone by SO fast and I cannot believe how little I was able to accomplish during that time. (Everyone warned me of this, but I chose not to believe them and made real effort to accomplish some stuff in my time "off").

Do any of you have ideas on things I should do in my last week of relative freedom?

Life so far...

a picture for all my fans :)

(the following was written from Corban's perspective by his mom - his fingers are a little small to type efficiently)

Once upon a time I was nice and warm all the time, nobody was poking or prodding me and I was getting food and everything I needed continuously. Then everything started getting kinda cramped in there and I was getting smooshed pretty regularly too. It was getting kinda annoying. So, I decided that maybe I should change positions - I had been hanging out upside-down for quite awhile. So, I put my feet down and was still getting the squeeze pretty regularly and it felt like it was getting worse! What the heck!

After a few hours of this (so my mom tells me) all of the sudden someone grabbed hold of my legs and pulled me out of my cozy little space. I peed all over them. Then they gave a final yank and out came my head! I let out a pretty good little scream and a few people grabbed me and rubbed me all over with a blanket and then this big guy - now I know him as my papa - came and started talking to me and holding my hand and that calmed me down pretty good. They wrapped me up - which was nice since it was pretty cold - and then papa carried me over to mama and I got to say hi and get my first kisses. There was some more people looking me over and saying that I was pretty healthy and all that... and then we were finally in our room as a family. Mom looked pretty dang tired but that didn't stop me from asking for a meal right away. She and I make a pretty good team as far as this meal thing goes... That day I got to meet my grandparents (mom's parents), uncle Seth, aunt Ashley, Dusty, Bethany, Emily, Kyle, Maddox, Andi, Ethan, Tre and Kelly... it was good but all that social interaction really wore me out!

That night the nurse lady said that my breathing was too fast so she took me out of our room and I went to stay a couple days with the nurses who poked me and hooked me up to all kinds of beeping machines. They were really annoying (the machines). My mom and papa came to visit me a lot and I was introduced to even more people - but they couldn't pick me up and hold me much because of all the wires and beeping machines. The nurses were really nice and they at least felt bad when they had to poke me! On Thursday (not that I know what day it was but my mom says...), really early in the morning (not that I know what mornings are, but my mom says...) they brought mom to me again and this time they let her try to feed me and since we did so good they started unhooking the machines from me! Yeah mom! After a few more successful feedings they said we could go home (not that I know where home was, but my mom said...). We finally came home and my papa's parents came with us. It was great to get to spend some time with them and it was good to have my parents around all the time!

Now we have been at this feeding, sleeping, changing me routine for over a week (at home) I am getting used to it. My mom still looks tired, I don't know why, I let her sleep for a few hours at a time! I guess that is all to say for now... if you have any questions for me, just let me know!

Enter: Corban Michael Stickler

Hello!
I write to you now, from the other side. That's right, after 9 full months of anticipation we have crossed over the line from being pregnant to being full time parents :)

Corban Michael was born on 6/2/2008 at 11:40am and weighed 7 lbs and 9 ozs, was 19.25 inches long and his head was 14 inches around.


Why has it taken me so long to update? Well, Im going to use the age-old excuse "I've been a little busy!"

I am starting to get the hang of some of this parenting stuff (nursing, sleeping, nursing, sleeping, etc) but it all still seem a little sureal. Here is how it all unfolded if you haven't had the story yet.

It was early Monday morning (like 5:30am) and Micah's alarm went off so he could get ready for work. Neither of us really wanted to go back to work after the weekend of anticipation (Corban's due date had been on May 31st and although we knew that it wasn't likely for him to be born on that day, we allowed ourselves to hope!) Anyway, June 2nd, a Monday was staring us in the face and so he got ready for work and I laid in bed thinking about how strong these contractions seemed. I sort of timed a few but nothing official and as he was close to leave the house I requested that he have his cell phone on and near him for the day. He was concerned and asked if he should go to work - I assured him that I would rather he go to work than stay home in case they were "false" labor. But I was definitely feeling these contractions more than I had at any other time during the pregnancy. So, he went to work (about 7:00)

I got up and took a shower and thought that it might slow them down if it was false labor... well, again, with no clock, I sort of timed them and they seemed to be coming closer together, but the hot water made them a little less uncomfortable. I eventually got out of the shower (I'm known for taking long showers and using up all the hot water :) and decided to go and "officially" try to time these suckers. Micah had found a program online for timing contractions where you just hit the start button when they start and the stop button when they are over... so I started doing that and they were about a minute long and about 3 -5 minutes apart. And standing and sitting (cause I was trying to make myself a smoothie while timing the contractions) was getting more and more painful - not just uncomfortable. Lua tried to help me by licking my face while I was doubled over or laying on the floor a couple of times... that was when I called and asked Micah to come home.

By the time he got home I had made, drank and puked the smoothie that I wanted - so much for having any food in my stomach for the day (which turned out to be a huge blessing!) The contractions had also gotten much stronger and I was really feeling them in my lower back and some of them seemed to be only contracting on my right side. I thought that was weird but didn't know what it could mean. Around 9:00 we finally decided to go to the hospital and find out if this was the real thing or not. My water did not break but these were close together and life was getting more and more serious (if you know what I mean). So we packed up - I should say, Micah packed up the final stuff and got it all in the car and we headed out to Portland! Of course I was going into labor during high traffic time, but it didn't end up being too bad and we made it to the hospital with no problem (glad we filled the tank the night before :)

When we got there we had to find the maternity ward - we had never made the time to go and get a tour - partially because we had been there before to visit friends with new babies. So, after walking around and gripping walls and breathing and what not (I'm sure the hospital people are used to seeing this sort of thing - but I'm not used to doing this sort of thing...) All this time Micah was coaching me through the breathing and telling me to relax my muscles and all that - he was doing a great job of keeping me calm and focused and rubbing my back and stuff. I love my husband!!

We got to the maternity ward and since we were preregistered they took us back to a room to get "checked". The nurse, Beth, asked me if I was hoping to go natural or if I was wanting any pain killers, etc. I told her that I hoped to do this all natural, but that I realized that sometimes things change... I was flexible. She checked me and she never actually said if I was dilated or not, but said, "hmmm, that's not a head" and I think I probably gave her a crazy lady stare and said "what do you mean it isn't a head?". My Doctor had assured me during the last 4-5 appointments that he was head down and ready to go - so this was a little surprising! She said that she needed a Dr. to confirm and left for a little bit - she came back with a midwife and the midwife checked me and then went and got an ultra-sound machine to check me that way as well. She confirmed that it was not ahead, but it was our little man's shin. He had, during the contractions, flipped and was now breech. I was a little shocked but didn't know exactly what that meant (oh, keep in mind that I was going through painful contractions this whole time as well!). The midwife said that this meant that we were most likely going to need a C-section because they are hesitant to try to turn a breech baby while labor is already going. So, she said that the surgeon and my doctor would give me their recommendation... and then they left for a little bit. We were letting that news soak in when the surgeon came in (my doctor was on her way to the hospital) and used the ultra-sound machine to see what position he was in. He said that it would be a C-section and at this point the pain that I was feeling was getting pretty hard. I said "okay, when?" and they said that they could get me into surgery by 11:30am (it was about 10:45am at the time). Micah started calling parents and a few other people to have them pray and get on the road to meet their grandson, etc. We agreed to move forward with the C-section even though my Dr. wasn't there yet - and then there was a SWARM of people coming in and out of my room explaining things and getting signatures and asking questions. It was incredible how fast it all happened from there. The drugs started coming in (to stop the contractions and the antibiotics that I needed because I tested positive for Strep B (pretty common)... Micah was in and out of the room making phone calls. And when we finally had a moment for just the two of us to talk we didn't really know what to say - but I could tell that this was affecting him just as much as me (a little scared). I don't remember what we said to each other - but we just held hands and waited for me to be wheeled out to the O.R.

When they wheeled me out to the O.R. we passed (although I didn't notice it) Tim Ootman (spelling?) - they were waiting to adopt a little girl that was being born and we ran into them several more times while we were in the hospital. That was a cool little blessing.

Micah joined me in the O.R. - wearing scrubs - after they had moved me to the operating table, numbed me from the armpits down (a spinal block) and they were ready to start the surgery. He got to hold my hand and neither of us could see what was happening (they put up a sheet to block it from us). The anesthesiologist also sat right by my head to explain what was happening and make sure that I was numb only in the places that were intended, etc. They were all very nice and we were actually having conversation and making jokes and such during the surgery. A few minutes later we hear our little boy cry (after he had peed all over the place :) and I looked over to the side of the room and saw our son for the first time as they cleaned him up. Micah went and met him and held his hand while they cleaned him up. They bundled him up and brought him close to me so that I could see him and kiss his face... but I couldn't hold him right away because there wasn't a way for me to hold him (although my arms and hands were not numb). They stiched me up and a few minutes later they were wheeling me back to the room. The whole thing took about 30 minutes (from wheeling me out to wheeling me back in) and Corban was rolled into the room right behind me. THEN I got to hold him there began "recovery".

Corban Michael Stickler was totally healthy and we were so happy to be through the "delivery" part and a little overwhelmed to consider that we were now parents!

More about our hospital stay to come. (We need to leave for Bible study now!)

What to say?

So, what do you say when there are so many things that you COULD say - but none of them seem quite right? I have learned to try to say nothing because my tendency is to say a lot.

Specifically this pertains to the youth ministry... well, I don't really even want to talk about that.

Let's see. What can I blog about?

Well, anybody else got something exciting going on?

Nessie is making me look bad!

So, my dear friend Nessie Knizley is making me look like a slacker when it comes to blogging. How the heck do you have time to take all of those pics, post them, make lots of comments on THREE different blogs!?!?!

I want to apologize to my readers... I'm sorry that I haven't kept you updated so much on my daily happenings. Here is an attempt to go back in time to tell you what life has been like in recent months.

Mon - Fri 8-5:30ish... I sit at the desk in our den and click and type and talk. I get up once in a while to let the dog in or out or to get a drink or to go pee (which has been getting a lot more frequent due to our little man bouncing on his head on my bladder!)

• Monday nights I try to accomplish things - Micah goes to class for his Masters

• Tuesday nights we sometimes hang out with the Ahrendt's while watching Idol (which I'm slightly disappointed in this year)

• Wednesday night Micah is at class again and I spend the evening with high school kids at our youth group - I love them but always walk away pretty tired and thought provoked.

• Thursday night (every other week) we go to a Bible study on the Holy Spirit... it has been really good and I'm so glad that we joined. On the "off" weeks we hang out or try to get stuff done.

• Fridays is like the beginning of a vacation - every week. I love Friday nights! (This Friday night our church is having a "variety show" - like a talent show or something) and that is always a lot fun and it will probably be the last event that we hold in our old church building!!

• Saturdays vary greatly. But we usually go to church on Sat. night - I have been doing nursery 1 time per month but I have backed out of that until sometime in the future because I need to be careful doing all of that bending over, picking up kids, playing on the floor... I'm now EIGHT MONTHS pregnant!

• Sundays we sleep in and relax and at some point during the day I get the house and myself (heart and mind) ready to lead the H.S. girls Bible study.

Monday... it starts all over :)

I am done with monthly and bi-weekly doctor appointments and now get to visit my awesome doc weekly! She is so great at answering my questions and I feel like we are friends (that only get about 20 minutes to talk and I have to pay to see her... LOL

As far as our little boy: He is growing (which means I'm looking more pregnant) at the normal pace, he gets hiccups pretty regularly (at least daily - is that normal? AND does anyone know how babies get hiccups? I thought you had to be breathing air to get hiccups??? This puzzles me and I keep forgetting to ask my Doc.) He kicks me (almost always on my right side - so I think his butt is on the left) and is head down and sitting pretty low according to the doc.

I am still (barely) below my highest weight ever! Funny huh? I gained about 30 pounds my first year away from home - because I LIVED on pasta all day long, every day. Literally, I don't remember buying any fruit or veggies during the time I lived in North Bend. Anyway, I am still just below that (although I think I will pass it up in the next week or two) and I am still not BIG enough for anyone's opinion. I think Nessie and I have the opposite problem in this area. AND I have to say that I am praising God because I think that being "small" pregnant is probably the best thing for my back issues. I haven't had any back issues during my whole pregnancy - PRAISE GOD - and thank you for any prayers you said on my behalf about this.

Nursery pictures:


Pictures of me:
Peek-a-boo! There are my feet :)

Five Years

Where were you five years ago?

I was probably trying to get last minute details all together for the "big day"... That's right, Micah and I will have FIVE years under our belts. Five years of marriage. Five years. That is so weird! Like we have finally joined the ranks of people that have been married long enough to act like we "get it" or something... I know that people who have been married for 10 or 20 or 30 + years think that 5 years is not much. But... POO on you. I'm excited about our 5 years!

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I absolutely adore my husband. He is such a wonderful, loving, caring guy and I have honestly learned to appreciate our differences as well. God knew what He was doing when He introduced us. I think I have grown and learned more about God in the last 7 years (since Micah and I have been together) than in any other part of my life. Marriage is not simple or easy - but my husband has made it such a joy. I have the best hubby ever :)

Calling all those with opinions!

So, I am a planner. Sometimes I plan too much, sometimes I forget to plan. I am going to have a baby in a couple of months (end of May or beginning of June). I am struck by the reality that I really can't plan for everything. But that fact makes me even more determined to plan everything that I CAN!

This brings me to my point. I am working on planning stuff to take to the hospital. I have lists from a few different places - but what I'm wondering is:
What would be essential if it was you? I don't care if you have had kids before or if you just have ideas or friends that have told you stories or whatever... just tell me your ideas!


This was taken 3/23/2008

In other news: If you want to know what my Dr. appointments are like - you can go to the Knizley blog and read her account - that pretty much covers it. Although I have to say that the glucose test wasn't bad at all... the stuff I drank was like a small bottle of sprite. Not nearly as bad as I assumed it was going to be!

I am watching Jeapordy... did I spell that right? (I guess that tells you how well I will do)

Other things I am planning or not planning:
- I am hoping for certain things during labor (like no pain and very little work - HA HA HA!) but I am not really "planning" it - because it seems that most people with a plan end up being disappointed.
- How my first month after LimaBean enters the world will look.
- How we will pay for things like health ins. for the little guy, diapers, etc.
- How I will go back to work successfully
- How Micah can help with stuff around the house
- Who should come to visit, when?
Etc.

I am doing pretty well at not letting all of this stuff get to me. I am able to trust that God has a plan. I know that it will not be easy - but we are so excited about all of the adventure that is ahead of us!

Remember, I want your opinion on what to take to the hospital!!! Please respond.