The Tings

Catching up . . . kind of

2011-11-29T15:53:00.001-05:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted - things have been a little busy lately. :) Since I last posted, Jet has turned 2 months old, Reese is 23 months old (Where have these last 2 years with her gone?!) and we're still losing sleep. :) So this post is going to be a little bit of a catch up post.

We've had some really nice weather this past month (stinkin' southern winter) so we were able to get out and do some things during the months of October and November. Jet, Reese and I went to the zoo (Jet was super thrilled about his first trip to the zoo!) with my sister, two of her boys and my aunt (who was in town visiting). Reese even fed the giraffes - until she saw the long tongue of the giraffe and then promptly refused to feed them any more. :) She did, however, have no problems mingling with the goats. :) It was a fun day.

We also ventured out to the Callahan Fair over this same weekend in October. This is the next town over from where we live and they have a fair every year. It's a nice small town fair with the typical fair rides and games. We like going to help support our local community. Nearby farmers will bring in animals for the kids to look at and pet, plus there's usually some local produce around as well. This year they even had a rodeo. It's fun to go and see people we know - the local high school band always has a funnel cake booth and we NEVER have a problem supporting them (Several of the band members are in my Sunday School class at church - I teach middle school/high school girls). :)

Jet also turned one month old during the month of October - his first month truly flew by! We traveled to Frank's parents' house to celebrate this day with them! He even had a cake and we all sang happy birthday to him (This is tradition in the Chinese culture - you celebrate one month and then the 100th day of the child's life. We were able to do this with Reese as well - it is so nice to be able to share this part of their grandparents' heritage/culture with our children!). No, he didn't get to eat any cake, but he still had fun! :)

The last thing we did in October was visit a corn maize about a half hour away from us. This is a pretty popular local place and was the first time we visited (Thank you, Groupon!). The day we chose to go was the day in which the kids could dress up in costume. It was also a themed Wizard of Oz day, so as the kids walked through the corn maize they would come across characters from the Wizard of Oz and the characters would give them candy (we went October 29th). It was a lot of fun! Reese dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Jet was a pumpkin - thanks to a cute hat that my mom bought him and a precious outfit my Aunt Joan sent! :) The kids got some candy, walked around a maize, played in a playground, looked at some animals and danced to music up on a stage. :) Oh, yeah, they also played in a haystack - I can't believe I forgot about that - it was their favorite part!! :)

November was slightly less busy for us. We started the month off by participating in two walks. The first walk was for the Leukemia and Lymphona Society. Frank and Reese walked in this one in support of one of his co-workers. Reese enjoyed "talking" with his friends. :) The 2nd walk we all took part in was the Buddy Walk. This is the Down Syndrome Association of Jacksonville's yearly walk to support the research for Down Syndrome. We walked this year in honor and support of our close friend's baby boy who has Down Syndrome. Our team was called Abram's Army and there were a lot of us! :) It took place on the beach and unfortunately was one of the cooler days of the month! Frank and I tried to make the whole walk, but it proved very difficult with strollers. :) We were happy to have come out, though, and support our friends.:)

I was able to visit with some friends this month by hosting a 31 Party. It was nice to have some adult interaction and fellowship! :) I was also able to get down to my old work place and introduce Jet to my ex co-workers. :) Of course, Reese loved being there and walked into the classrooms as though she owned the place. :) She is such the social butterfly! :) And we visited a local duck pond where Reese had a great time feeding the ducks (she was sad when they swam away)!:)

It was great to end this month with Thanksgiving and Jet turning 2 months old. We spent Thanksgiving with Frank's family and truly enjoyed the day! There was lots of yummy food and of course, football! :) We have so much to be thankful for this year (as we do every day of the year!)! It still amazes me every day how two little lives were added to our family! What a gift!! :)

Now if we could just get Jet to understand how thankful we would be if he slept through the night . . . ;)

Funny Feelings

2011-09-30T21:05:00.002-04:00

It all started innocently enough - a night out to dinner, a walk around Toys R Us and then home for a cup of coffee (decaf) and bed. Only my walk around Toys R Us was not very comfortable - so uncomfortable, in fact, that I had to sit down a couple of times during the visit to the store. That should have tipped me off that something was amiss . . . but I just chalked it up to the baby being really low. So home we went where I sat and relaxed.

Then came 4:20 a.m. on September 25, 2011. I woke up suddenly and knew something was different. Then the pain came . . . and I started timing it. For the next hour I kept my eye on the clock and focused on the contractions. At 5:20 or so I woke up Frank and said that it was time to call my OB. He groggily caught on to what I was saying and got up. I called my OB who told me to go to the hospital, which I happily agreed to do. :) Upon arriving at the hospital I was placed in triage and was placed on the monitors. After a half hour or so (I'm off on the timing a little due to the pain of the contractions) I was checked and had only dilated a cm, if that. They decided to monitor me for another hour and then called my OB to see what she wanted to do (they were pretty sure I'd be admitted so they had already started an IV with fluids). Since I was over 40 weeks at this point and obviously in active labor, they admitted me (Yay!!). I got moved upstairs and waited for the anesthesiologist to arrive (I was counting the minutes). After receiving my epidural, my OB arrived and checked me (I had dilated to 6 cm in the span of about 3 hours); she then told me to call my sister, mom, husband's parents and have them come to the hospital now (they were all going to wait for a little while). Once they arrived (everyone got there about 1 o'clock) my OB broke my water and within a half hour I had dilated to 9 cm. Around 2 p.m. I started pushing and at 2:21 p.m. Jet Xiang Ting was born. :)

It is amazing how instantly and totally your heart is captured by such a little person!! :) Frank and I were so blessed to have Reese and now the Lord has given us another blessing. The only feeling I have is utter amazement and gratitude!! My prayer is that we never take for granted these gifts that have been given to us!

Rest and Relaxation

2011-08-13T13:50:00.003-04:00

About 2 weeks ago I was given rest and relaxation orders. Now to many this sounds great! However, my rest and relaxation orders were given due to our little boy trying to make an early entrance into this world. :) I guess he's getting as excited to meet us as we are of him! :) We had to remind him, though, that he needs a little more time cooking! :) It took some convincing too . . .

Wednesday, July 27th, I woke up feeling very crampy. Now I've felt this way before, but it usually goes away quickly enough. This time it didn't. So after having cramping for about 3 hours (I had had some the night before as well) I decided to call my OB's office. I figured they would tell me it's nothing, probably Braxton Hicks or something like that. Nope. They wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored and checked out. Yay. :/ So I finished feeding Reese her lunch, ran her over to my sister's house (whose husband was very kind to watch her along with his four) and then met my husband at the hospital. They got me situated pretty quickly and hooked up to the fetal monitors. After a little while they told me that I was in deed having actual contractions and that they were going to start giving me turbo (I don't know how to spell the full word). I got a shot about every hour (up to 3 shots). The first shot actually did stop them for a little bit. The next 2 did nothing. Bummer. And unfortunately after going through all of that, it turned out that I had actually dilated - so I was admitted to the hospital and was going to receive magnesium in an effort to try to stop the contractions. Not what I wanted to hear, but if it stopped the contractions and kept little man safe then it was worth it.

I ended up receiving fluids, plus magnesium, plus antibiotics. I was also given 2 shots of steroids that would help speed up little man's lung maturation (just in case he did come early - I was only 32 weeks at this point). Thankfully after receiving the magnesium for about 2 days my contractions actually stopped (for the most part - I still had a few, but nothing like when I arrived on Wednesday) and I was able to start taking procardia (a pill that's supposed to relax the uterus and prevent contractions). It was a relief to know that things had been halted - thankfully I hadn't dilated any more over the course of those 2 days. After being monitored for another day or two I was able to go home - with strict instructions to be on bed rest.

My parents actually left for FL the Wednesday night I was admitted and made it to the hospital mid morning on that Thursday. It was so nice to see them and have them here! My dad has since gone back home, but my mom has stayed to help out. I am so thankful for her being here!! Because she's here, Reese has been able to be at home with us and even though I can't pick her up or play with her, I at least get to see her and talk with her every day. How much I would miss that if my mom weren't here! I am also thankful for my in-laws who will watch Reese in a heartbeat - they actually kept her during my time in the hospital and for a couple days after I got home. Frank and I are extremely blessed with family who take such good care of us!!! I don't know what we'd do without them!!

Anyway, that's my exciting story! Lord willing, little man will stay put until I'm at least 35 (I say at least, but we're praying for him to make it to 36 or 37 weeks) weeks. That's how long I'll be on the medication, so we'll see how it goes after they take me off. :) I appreciate everyone's prayers!!!! :)

Vacation Time

2011-07-03T21:05:00.003-04:00

This past week was our bi-annual Pletcher family trip to Lake Norman, NC. It is always a mix of fun, chaos (especially as we add more and more children to our families) and relaxation. :) It was wonderful seeing all of the kids play together and watching Reese interact with her cousins! :)

We had beautiful weather and enjoyed many evenings out on the back porch, reading or just enjoying the sunset. Of course we swam in the lake (which Reese loved) and we rented a pontoon boat one day and jet skis another. Reese tried out both with no fear or reservations! :) I think she had a blast!! :) There was a water balloon fight on Wednesday thanks to Aunt Jess and Uncle Tom, plus s'mores. :) Our family held a small baby shower for us while we were there (which we are very grateful for and appreciate!) and we celebrated the kids birthdays (those that were in the months of June and July - there are four of them with summer birthdays). The kids had fun opening presents and trying to break the pinatas that Uncle Zac brought. :)

We ended the week by going out to dinner Friday night at a local steakhouse. It was a nice way to finish up our vacation. :) Please enjoy the 100s of pictures below! :)

Decision Time

2011-05-05T15:33:00.002-04:00

I originally began this blog with the purpose of sharing our adoption journey. It started back in 2007 with Frank and I filling out the paperwork and getting on the list to wait. Then it was a waiting game. What we didn't expect was the miracle of our little girl, Reese. So in 2009 we were put on hold on the list (no one was able to see our file or choose us to adopt their child). We were okay with this - we knew we would need the year or so after she was born before we were ready to welcome another child into our home. And so, when this past January came around we were getting ready to update our home study and be made active again. Then . . . . we found out I was pregnant again. This time Frank and I both knew what this would mean. It would mean being put on hold until, at least, our little guy turned 1. However, this time when communicating back and forth with our contact at the adoption agency (Who is wonderful, by the way! This kind woman has been super encouraging throughout it all and has been nothing but honest with us!) we were asked a tough question. Would we consider pulling out until we are truly ready to go through with the adoption? I want to tell you, this was a hard question to take. We'd been going through this process for 4 years now and we both truly believe that the Lord would have us to adopt. But we also recognized how the Lord's been answering our prayers throughout the past years as well. At each time we were to update our paperwork, I got pregnant. It happened with Reese and it happened with this little one. So we took a lot of time to talk, PRAY and consider what was best. Not just for us, but also for the other families who are waiting and longing for their forever child.

So with heavy hearts we agreed to pull out of the adoption process. We are still open to adopting and will be following the Lord's leading. We are so thankful for the children that the Lord has given us and we pray that one day we'll be able to add one more - one who is waiting right now for us as we are for them. Thank you for following along with us and supporting us as we began and now end (for the time being) this part of our journey.

We love you all!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T18:15:00.003-04:00

It seems amazing that we are celebrating Easter at the end of April this year - even more amazing is the fact that it's the end of April already!! Where is this year going?! :)

This past weekend was a lot of fun! We were blessed to have Frank join us on Friday (he rarely gets a day off on holidays) and went to the beach with my sister and her family. It was Reese's first time at the beach and she had a blast! :) She kept running further into the water - scared me, but she was loving it! Even when she got knocked over by the water, she just took it in stride, got back up and kept playing! :) It was a lot of fun!! :)

Saturday was our church's Easter egg hunt. Reese was so little last year that we didn't even take her. This year, she seemed to enjoy finding the eggs - or at least holding on to them. :) We enjoyed watching her just run around and have fun. :) Her cousins were there, too, and she always seems to have a good time with them! :)

After the egg hunt (and nap time), we went over to my sister's house to hang out and dye some eggs. Thanks to Aunt Carrie, Reese didn't eat much dinner, but she did get some good candy and a nice, big cupcake! :) It was fun to watch the older kids dye their eggs. Marcail wanted to put sparkles on all of them. :) Reese did end up eating one of the eggs that were cracked . . . :)

Sunday was another busy, fun day! We got up, dressed and went to church to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. I love Easter, but it always reminds me that we should be celebrating His resurrection every day! Anyway, it was a great service and the nursery always does something cute with the kids. So we ended up with chicks made out of Reese's feet on a piece of paper. :) It was cute. :) Then after church we headed straight over to my sister's again for a nice Easter lunch and another egg hunt. The kids had a blast looking all over her backyard for the eggs! Reese got a little distracted by the slide, but after we redirected her to the eggs, she got the hang of it! :) After the egg hunt and lunch we all just hung around and visited for the rest of the afternoon. It was a wonderful day of remembering what Christ has done for us and spending time with the family!!

Yesterday I had my anatomy ultrasound. It went really well and the baby is doing great! We are always so thankful for the good reports on the baby! We also found out that we're having a boy, so now the hunt for the perfect name will start! :) This one will probably take us a lot longer then choosing Reese's name did! :) Below is a slideshow of the ultrasound pics - there are 7 of them and the very last one is the shot proving it's a boy. So if you don't want to see it, quit watching after you see his profile shot. :) Enjoy!! :)

Blessed

2011-03-17T09:56:00.006-04:00

Many of you know already, but for those of you who don't - I'm pregnant! :) Frank and I are very excited about enlarging our family and we know that Reese is going to be a GREAT big sister! :) God's goodness never ceases to amaze me! :) So far the pregnancy has been going well - except for the all day nausea and lack of energy. :) Keeping up with Reese (who is now walking) takes a little more out of me than it used to! :) But so far all doctor appointments have gone well and our little guy or gal looks healthy and strong! :) It is hard for me to believe that we will have two little ones to be thankful for this Thanksgiving instead of just one. God is so very good!!! :)

Baby Ting #2

Reesey Girl Walking

I'm One!!!

2011-01-05T17:31:00.002-05:00

While we were in PA, Reese celebrated her first birthday! It is hard to believe that a year has gone by so quickly!! So many changes, so many lessons learned, so many blessings!!! :) We can not imagine what our life was like before we had Reese anymore!! She is such a joy and we look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with her!! :) We love you, Reese Lan-Li!!!! :)

Christmas, Christmas, Time is Here (think Alvin and the Chipmunks version)

2011-01-05T16:12:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know Christmas is past, but I still thought the title appropriate. :) We were blessed to be able to spend Christmas in PA with my family this year. And crazy as it sounds, we drove. Yes, we drove. We left at 3:00 am on December 22nd, meeting up with the Hicks' in GA. Thankfully, the kids did great! Our only snag was in WV where we hit traffic and it took us about an hour to travel less than 5 miles. The frustrating part was that we were only about an hour and a half from home. This is about when Reese started getting fussy - but she was a trooper and hung in there until we got to my parents' house. All in all it took us about 16 hours to get to PA. Not quite as bad as we thought and we were finally at my parents' house. Where there was SNOW!!! :) Reese got to play in it twice and went sled riding down our small little hill. She laughed and seemed to have a good time. I know she won't remember it, but I took lots of pictures to prove to her that she did see snow. :) And Lord willing, one day we'll live where it snows!:)

Spending Christmas with my family was wonderful! We went to Christmas Eve service, had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner and enjoyed a great evening of fun and fellowship. All of the kids went down to bed very easily and we adults stayed up playing some games. Frank and I went to bed around 11 or so only to be woken up at about 12:30 by Reese (who shared the room with us). Normally we would have just ignored her and let her fuss it out and cry herself to sleep, but this night we had agreed to let Gabe and Marcail sleep in the room with us as well ( so that "Santa" could get his gifts out of the room they were sleeping in.). So we lay her back down not once, but twice, only to have her get up, point over to where she can see Marcail and start to "talk". So we went out to the living room (where the toys already were) and let her play around for a little. We think she really just wanted to see the toys before everyone else. :) Finally at about 2 or so, we'd had enough (after all, we knew it'd be an early morning) so I woke up my parents, we put the extra pack 'n' play in their room and laid her down in a room by herself (she's such a socialite already!). :) She went to sleep pretty much right away and slept in until about 9 that morning (she didn't mind missing the other kids seeing the gifts- she had already seen them after all.). :) What a kook! :)

Christmas day was great and we were able to hang out in PA until Friday (we left early that morning and made it home in only 13 hours- yay!!). On Wednesday, the 29th we had every single member of my family and their families there at my parents' house. That would be 11 adults and 8 children in my parents' house. It was crazy!!! But we so rarely get everyone together and it was awesome to see everyone! :) What a fun time we had!! :)

Give Thanks

2010-11-25T21:36:00.002-05:00

I love Thanksgiving. I really do. A lot of times this holiday gets the shaft because it's sandwiched in between Halloween and Christmas, but I truly love Thanksgiving. It's one of those days that should be celebrated every day, but we get busy and we forget to take the time to remember our blessings. It's a great day of being with family and reflecting on how the Lord's blessed us. And blessed us, He has. We have a beautiful daughter, a lovely home, good health, wonderful family, great friends, the blessing of staying home with my daughter and much, much more. :)

Our greatest blessing, though, is in knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. I pray that He is your greatest blessing today as well. :) God bless!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2010-11-19T17:43:00.007-05:00

We recently took a trip to Disney to celebrate my niece's 5th birthday (I can't believe she's five! I remember being in the delivery room when she was born and it feels like it was just yesterday!!!) and we had a great time!! There was a pretty decent size group of us, too. My parents, my younger sister and her husband, my aunt, my niece's family (her parents and younger brother came - the youngest 2 stayed with my brother-in-law's aunt and uncle near Orlando) and us. Reese came with us, too. Yes, I know - she won't remember, but we took lots of pictures and I have to say I couldn't imagine the weekend without her! :)

It was a wonderful weekend of celebrating! We visited Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. We ate some pretty good food, too. :) My niece seemed to really enjoy her time there as well. She got all dolled up on Saturday (her actual birthday) and loved strutting around the Magic Kingdom in her fancy duds. :) Below are lots of pictures from last weekend! I hope you enjoy them!!

Reese will be turning 11 months old very soon and I can't believe it! I keep getting asked about her first birthday and I have to admit that I'm kind of in denial about the whole thing. I love watching her grow and learn new things, but this turning one stuff just isn't allowed! :) She's crawling everywhere, pulling herself up and, I'm sure, will be standing very soon. She is such a joy!!

Oh and one thing I learned while I was away last weekend - the happiest place on earth isn't Disney. It's home. :)

Time out

2010-10-08T22:24:00.000-04:00

This past week our family took a time out from our normal day to day routine and spent some time with my family up in PA. The plane rides were a little more adventurous this time as Reese is more active and dislikes remaining still for long periods of time! :) Thankfully, though, she slept for half of the flights going up and we kept her "busy" for the other half by feeding her puffs. :) She's an awesome baby! :)

I love fall. And I especially love fall up north. There's nothing like a nice 60 degree day with falling red, yellow and orange leaves! So I really enjoyed the trip up last week. Mom, Dad and I were able to get outside and walk one morning and it was lovely! We also had to pull out the jackets in the evening and early morning. I absolutely loved it!! :)

While we were there this past week, we were blessed to be able to participate in Vision Walk 2010 in Pittsburgh, PA. Most of you are aware of my niece, Finley and her situation (If you're not, then please go to www.finleyfighters.com to read about her story). Well, Vision Walk occurs once every year and it is a fundraiser to raise awareness of eye disease and blindness. This year my sister-in-law and brother worked really hard at getting Finley's story heard and raising money for this organization (Foundation Fighting Blindness) - they ended up raising over $10,000 and I think we had the biggest team at the walk. It was awesome!! Finley's Fighters even won the t-shirt contest (with a little help from Finley)!! :)

This trip was also special because my brother and sister-in-law were able to meet Reese for the first time. Reese seemed to really like her cousin, Finley! :) She always wanted to play with her - or play with the toy Finley had. :) We spent some time celebrating Aunt Betty's birthday as well and of course, enjoyed a Sunday full of football! :) All in all, it was a great trip and I'm so thankful that we were able to spend this time with my family!

I love my family!! :)

Fun at home

2010-09-22T22:28:00.009-04:00

I just wanted to post some pictures and a couple of videos of Reese over the past month. She's learned how to wave and how to crawl! I can't believe how fast her first year is going!!! :) We are enjoying being home together!! :) Enjoy!

Waving

Crawling

Oh happiness!

2010-08-10T22:12:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, Frank and I made a really big decision. We decided that at the end of my school's summer camp I would resign and become a full time, stay at home mom.

This decision brought a few different emotions along with it - some good, some not so good. We were a little hesitant to make this decision. It meant we were going to have to make some changes - none really major, but we had gotten used to living a certain way and now knew that this was going to have to change. Plus, I must admit, a little bit of fear with the thought of voluntarily giving up a regular paycheck. But . . . .

Frank and I had discussed early on in our marriage that if the Lord ever blessed us with children that we would make every effort possible to keep me home with them. So this might mean not eating out as often as we usually do or not buying the newest electronic trend (cough. cough. Frank.) or not buying a shirt at Target just because it's cute (cough. cough. Teen.). And that's okay. Because the payoff far outweighs anything else! :)

I know not everyone is able to do this. I understand that and appreciate it. I also know there are some wonderful places out there that love and take care of the children of those parents who aren't able to stay home. But for us, this is what I'm meant to do. I want to be the first face my baby sees when she wakes up. I want to be the one holding her when she's fussy. I want to play with her on the floor, watch her spit her food out at lunch time, roll around the floor, babble like she's got so much to tell, laugh at absolutely nothing and just be there for her. Our little girl is an absolute joy to both Frank and I - we are so thankful that the Lord is allowing us to do this at this time. I would love to be able to stay home for as long as possible - but for now I am enjoying the time I'm given with my baby. :) What is my prevailing emotion now? Happiness!! :)

"You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth."

Deuteronomy 11: 19 - 21

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T21:22:00.004-04:00

From our family to yours, we wish you a very happy 4th of July!!!

Swimming and Talking

2010-07-02T18:36:00.003-04:00

Here are two short videos of Reese in the swimming pool for the first time and of her talking to herself in her

mirror (which doesn't have the best lighting, but it's her talking that's so much fun to hear!!). :) Enjoy!! (Sorry about the quality of the videos - I will work on making them better!)

Ooh, Baby I love your smile!

2010-06-16T22:06:00.000-04:00

So . . . . . what has transpired in the last few months since I've last posted? Quite a bit. I have a ton of pictures to share with you throughout this blog, so if you don't care to see them all, I would suggest skipping this blog. :) Seriously, there are a lot of pictures - I hope you enjoy them all!! :)

This first set of pictures covers Frank's brother's, Mike, visit to the states in May (it was the very first time I met him since Frank and I have been together - it was great to have all of his family together for the first time in 7 years!!) and Mother's Day. Enjoy!

This next set of pictures covers our trip up to PA to visit my family. As most of you know, my mom had a bad bout with pneumonia earlier this year. Thankfully, she seems to be on the mend! These pictures cover our trip up there to visit Mom - it also marked Reese's first time on an airplane. She did great!! We were a little concerned about how she would do, but she was a trooper! I honestly believe we have the best baby in the world!! :) Anyway, going home always makes me long to be up there again. It's hard to be so far away from my family, but I am working on trusting God's perfect plan!! :)

This last set of pictures cover just some here and there moments in the past month or so. Reese is growing by leaps and bounds!! She's moving around without crawling (she's so advanced - :) ), teething like crazy and giggling up a storm!! Hard to believe that Reese will be 6 months old in 2 weeks!! Our baby is growing so quickly!! We are loving every moment! :)

So that's what's been happening in the last couple of months!! I will try to get better with updating the blog! Thanks for sticking around for all of the pictures! :)

Reese's Day(s) Out

2010-04-18T21:37:00.001-04:00

It seems that since going back to work I have forgotten all about blogging. :) I am so sorry that it's been so long in between posts. I will do my best not to let that happen again! A LOT has occurred within the past month and a half. I will try to keep this post as short winded as possible! :) Here goes . . . .

So going back to work has been quite the adjustment. It is definitely not where my heart is, but I am doing my best to look on the positive side of this situation. I am trusting that one day the Lord will allow me to stay home with my baby - until then, I must make the most of this situation and just appreciate every moment I have with Reese. :) I work at a great place, though, and they have been very understanding about my struggles with working. :) We (Frank and I) are seeking the Lord about the right time for me to stay home for good. We want to be responsible with where the Lord has placed us and with everything that He's given us. Please join us in praying for discernment and wisdom. Thank you! :)

In the last month we have celebrated Reese's first St. Patrick's Day, first Easter, her 100th day birthday, her first train ride, her first trip to the zoo and her dedication at church. It has been a very eventful last month and a half. I have lots of pictures and will be inserting them here and there throughout the post. I hope it's not too many! :)

Reese is now almost 4 months old (so hard to believe!!), has rolled over, is laughing and talks (coos) a lot!! :) She is such a happy, sweet little girl!! We are enjoying every moment we get with her! Reese has also upgraded to sleeping in the crib now and for the past 3 nights has slept all the way through the night (from 9 until 8:30)!! We are very thankful! :)

This morning was a special time for us at church. We were able to stand before our congregation and commit to raise her by His word and in His way. It is very humbling to know that we have been entrusted with such a gift!:)

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Deuteronomy 6: 5 - 9

This is our prayer as we continue along this journey! We also have a couple of decisions to make in the upcoming future in addition to the decision of when I should stay home for good. Please join us in praying that we will make the best decisions and more importantly that we will follow the Lord's will for our family (even if it doesn't make sense to us!)! :) Thank you so much! Until next time (which will hopefully not be quite so far away!) . . .

We Are Family

2010-02-28T20:28:00.001-05:00

One of the things I love most about being married is learning about, celebrating and appreciating the traditions, heritage, and culture that my husband brings into our lives. February 14th was not only Valentine's Day this year, but it was also Chinese New Year. So we bundled up Reese and drove down to Frank's family's house to celebrate. His mom made a wonderful, yummy dinner and then each of us were given our own bowl of dumplings. Inside some of these dumplings were dimes. What is the purpose of these dimes you ask? Well, according to Chinese tradition, whoever gets the most dimes is supposed to have the most luck in the upcoming year. Yeah, I got zero dimes. I guess it's a good thing I don't believe in luck or superstition. Guess who got the most dimes? Frank and Jake. :) It's always a fun time, though, and I love being a part of this tradition and cultural celebration!! Below are a few pictures from Chinese New Year along with pictures from Valentine's Day. Oh and some random shots from when one of our good friends came over to play video games with us. I had just purchased the game Just Dance for the Wii and was anxious to try it out. Both he and Frank were good sports. Since then we've challenged this friend again (he beat me twice this first time - you know there had to be a rematch!) plus his brother and his brother's fiancee. :) This game is FUN!! :)

An incident occurred this past week that really got me to thinking about the blessings in my life and how thankful I am for my family. I love my family. Truly, wholeheartedly and without reservation. The Lord has blessed us - without question. It also got me to thinking about how I view God's goodness. Is He good just when things are going my way or is He good even when I don't understand what He's doing? Now, I'm not saying that it's easy to believe in God's goodness in the midst of heartache, loss, trial, etc. It's extremely hard - but I've come to realize that either I believe He's good or I don't. He can't be either/or. He's one or the other. And since I believe what Scripture tells me, then He must be good. All the time. Even when things are crumbling underneath me and I can't see a way out. Thankfully, my circumstances do not determine God's goodness. Crappy things happen. This was seen in what happened in one of my Facebook friends' lives this week. They lost someone very precious to them. Someonethat I could never imagine losing. Is it fair? Of course not. Is it easy? No way. But are they continuing to trust in God's goodness through all of this? Yes. And I hope and pray that when something/someone precious to me is gone that I will respond in likewise fashion. God is good - all of the time. This once again brings me back to thanking God for His gifts in my life. Not just my daughter and husband, but also my parents, my husband's parents, my siblings, their families and our friends. We are truly, truly blessed.

Okay, so I know I kinda rambled there for a little bit and I thank you for allowing me to do so. :)

I have been enjoying these last couple of months and being home with our daughter. Tomorrow, sadly, I must return to work. I am thankful for my job and for the way God has provided for our daughter to be watched by my sister and a friend. However, I am still sad to be leaving her. I have enjoyed our time together and am not looking forward to leaving her. Please join with us in prayer that it would work out for me to be able to stay at home with Reese once this school year is complete. Thank you! :)

Before I end this post, I just wanted to give a real quick update on our adoption process. I realized recently that I hadn't mentioned it in a while so here goes. :) We were able to get our home study updated and have everything current again. Unfortunately, we have been put on hold due to Reese's birth. So until she turns 1, our profile will no longer be shown to the birth moms. That's okay with us, though. We would not mind a 2 year age gap between our children. We did receive encouraging news from our contact in CT, though, that before we had been put on hold our profile had actually been considered twice. We were glad to hear that!! Our contact said that this is normal and that it is very encouraging since most couples from 2006 have not been considered at all and are still waiting for that to happen. So we will continue along and come December we will once again become active on the list. :) That's it for now. :)

Please enjoy these last few pictures celebrating Reese's 2 month birthday! :) Until next time!!

First time going to church!

Hanging out with Daddy

One Month Celebration

2010-01-27T13:04:00.000-05:00

I learned something new and interesting about the Chinese culture this past week. When a child is born it is tradition to celebrate their one month "birthday" and their 100 day "birthday". So this past Saturday, Frank, Reese and I traveled to St. Augustine to visit Frank's family and celebrate her one month "birthday". His mom made us a very yummy dinner and then we sang happy birthday to Reese and blew out a candle (Sadly, Reese did not get to eat her own cake).:) Please enjoy the pictures below of our fun time with the family!

Getting Ready To Go

Reese with Grandma Ting & her Cousins

Cousin Jake with Reese

Cousin Jimmy with Reese

The cake

Daddy with the "birthday girl"!

Aunt Nancy and the boys

Blowing out the candle

Our one month old :)

The Arrival of Reese

2010-01-03T10:43:00.001-05:00

It was Saturday morning, December 26th. The day started off just like any other day - Frank and I both slept in, my parents went over to visit with my sister and her family and we got set to do some errands around the house. Throughout the morning, I would get an occasional contraction every now and then (about 1 every 2 hours), but didn't think too much of it. I mentioned it to my mom when she and my dad came back over and she said just to keep timing them. Well, once I started timing them, they of course slowed down. :) So I went along with my day, Frank continued working on stuff outside and it was just another day. Then towards the evening time the pain came back. Only it was slightly different from the contractions that I had been feeling earlier. It was more like strong pelvic pressure (which I had dealt with before, on and off throughout the last month or so of my pregnancy) so again, I didn't think too much of it. As the evening wore on, though, the pain continued to come fairly regularly and my mom suggested that I go ahead and call my doctor. I did and she said to go ahead and come to the hospital so that they could check me out. So Frank and I traveled in one car and Mom and Dad followed in theirs (just in case). We got to the hospital, got set up in a room, and waited for the doctor to come in and see what was going on. Well, it turned out that I still hadn't dilated any more than what I had at my last appointment so they sent me home. The doctor said that it was probably some prelabor pains, the baby was probably just repositioning herself and that it could last for a while. With that lovely thought in mind, I asked if there was anything I could do to help relieve the pain/pressure. She said not really, although some women find that a warm bath might help. So off we went, back home. We did not arrive back home until about 11:30 - due to a late Taco Bell run - and by then the pain had grown increasingly worse. I went straight to the couch to lay down and hoped that I would be able to sleep. I did doze off every now and then and finally got up to go to the bedroom. I think the doctor got a little sick of me, though, because I called her about 3 times during the night asking different questions. :) Suffice it to say, I did not sleep much that night and unfortunately, neither did Frank. He was such a trooper, though, and tried so hard to be a comfort. I ended up falling asleep between pains and also ended up taking about 3 or 4 warm baths during the night (which DID NOT relieve any of the pain). Then came 7:00 a.m. At this point the pain was worse than ever and was occurring every 5 minutes. Literally. I could honestly watch the clock and know with a certainty when the pain was going to come back. Now, I know that most people would think, hey, maybe I'm in labor. Not me - oh no. I just kept thinking that this pain was unlike anything I'd experienced before, but that it was just strong pelvic pressure. And thanks to what the doctor kept telling me, nothing else crossed my mind. So I determined to persevere. :) By about 10:30, though, I was done persevering. :) I got on the phone again (didn't care what my doctor thought of me at this point - and to be fair, it wasn't my doctor I kept talking with - this was the backup doctor. My doctor was, unfortunately, out of town due to the holidays) and called. She told me that she still thought this was the baby repositioning herself, but that I could go ahead and come back to the hospital. So I did. :) Upon arriving at the hospital I slowly made my way up to the labor and delivery area. Once again, I got hooked up to the monitors and waited for the doctor to come in to check me. When I first arrived in the room the nurse asked if I was feeling the pain at the moment, I said yes and she touched my stomach. She goes, "Oh yes, that's a contraction." I thought, great. I've been having them every 5 minutes since 7 a.m. - have I missed my opportunity for an epidural? (Yes, friends, this was VERY important to me. ) :) Anyway, back to the story. The doctor comes in (not the one I had seen the night before), checks me and says, "You are 6 CM. We're going to admit you." I say, "I want an epidural, please." :) The nurse tells me that she will go ahead and get that set up, but they do have to run a bag and a half of saline (I think that's what they put through the IV) through me first. I say, let's get the show on the road. :) Anyway, they get me hooked up, rolled up to the labor floor and into my room. At this point, my parents and sister had arrived (they had been at church) and thankfully, so did my epidural. :) Once that was placed in me, I was good. :) Seriously, I love that stuff. :) Then it was just a waiting game. A friend from church showed up to wait with us along with a co-worker of mine and her husband. Towards the end of the day Frank's family showed up as well (although I did not know this as I was pushing during that time). I pushed for about 2 hours and then little Miss Reese arrived. It was wonderful! I can't even begin to describe the feeling that came over me at that moment. They laid her on my stomach/chest and it was truly love at first sight. I was crying, Frank was crying . . . :) This little girl is truly a blessing in our lives. One we didn't expect to receive, but one in which we will forever be thankful for having. :) Now we begin the adventure of raising her in a way that truly honors the Lord. :) Please enjoy the pictures below (there are quite a few, so please be patient!)!! :)

Side note: Frank did great as being a supportive partner in all of this! He learned to read when I was having a contraction (I would grow very quiet, clinch my fist and raise my pointer finger in the air - if we were having a conversation) and he was in the room the whole time! He even decided to watch the main event. I am truly blessed with this husband of mine. :)

The Countdown Has Begun

2009-12-07T19:38:00.000-05:00

It is so hard to believe that we are already in December!!! When we first found out we were pregnant, I thought the next few months would go by so slowly - but here we are in December anxiously counting down the days until my due date and getting so excited to meet the precious little girl God's given to us! We have been keeping busy, though . . . .

The church where Frank and I attend (and are members) threw me a baby shower this past week. It was very nice and I was touched by everyone's kindness. The cake was really cute!! I will post pictures of it, but probably not until later. Unfortunately, I was not able to take my camera to the shower, but Carrie took hers for me. I just haven't been able to get the pictures from her yet. :) When I do, I will definitely post the pictures! :)

The nursery is finally decorated and pretty well finished. We are probably going to add just a few more little touches to the nursery, but for the most part it is all finished. And boy does it feel good to be done! :) Frank worked so hard on getting the nursery furniture put together and he was such a big part of helping to decorate as well. I don't know what I'd do without him! He is and continues to be such a blessing to me! I'm so anxious to see him become a dad! He's going to be great! :)

I want to give a great big THANK YOU to our friend, Heather Hicks, who painted the canvas for us. She did an awesome job and we are so thankful for all of her hard work and kindness in making this for us. It will definitely go with us wherever we go! :)

Now we are just in the countdown phase and enjoying the Christmas season. I know these next few weeks will go by quickly as I've got much to do at school (Ah, the joy of Christmas parties, crafts and programs), so I am trying my best to appreciate it all. My parents are coming down towards the middle to end of the month to be with us for Christmas and for the birth of Reese, and that will give me motivation to clean the house again. :) It's going to be a wonderful Christmas season!!:) Enjoy the pictures!

Just An Ordinary Update

2009-11-12T18:44:00.001-05:00

It has been a busy last couple of weeks! I've had a 31 party (For those of you who don't know, I became a consultant for a company called 31 this past spring. It's been a lot of fun and more of a hobby than a business. Check out my website if you get a chance - 31), participated in our church's Judgement House ministry (This is something our church does every year around Halloween time. It's a walk through drama. Wonderful ministry!! It runs for 5 days and is tiring, but worth it!!) and had a baby shower!! In between all of this, Frank and I are in the midst of updating our home study for the adoption process (Believe it or not, we've been on the waiting list for a year already! I can't believe it, either!!) plus trying to get the nursery organized (which we've got everything out of it that doesn't belong and I even managed to wash some of the baby clothes and hang them up! Yea!!) and spending time with some friends (Not at our house, though - it hasn't been cleaned in weeks! Seriously. I'm so embarrassed!). So it's been a crazy, hectic couple of last weeks, but it's been a lot of fun and definitely worth it all!! :) Oh and somewhere in there I hit the 33 week mark (yes, I know 32 weeks is the big week, but I don't have a picture of me at 32 weeks. As always, I'm a week late.)! :)

It's hard to believe that I only have 3 more weeks (on Monday) to go until I technically reach the "full term" mark. I keep getting asked if I'm ready and I always ask them to clarify their question. Am I ready to meet this precious little gift from the Lord? Yes. Am I ready to go through the process? Never. :) I am definitely ready to meet our little girl, though. I'm still amazed that we are being given this wonderful gift!! I can't, can't, CAN'T wait to meet her!! :)

This past weekend was my first baby shower! The wonderful ladies of PCDC (Providence Child Development Center - my place of employment) threw this shower for me. And I have to tell you - I was so overwhelmed!! God is so good and He's given me some wonderful co-workers, who I truly count more as family than anything else. I was given blankets, books, clothing, wipes, diapers, a bouncy chair, washcloths, etc. Amazing!! God has definitely provided for us! We have just about everything that we need! Combined with the things that were given to us by some wonderful friends and family, we are well taken care of! Don't you love how God meets our needs - even those we don't know we have? Again, I'm overwhelmed! :) Please enjoy the pictures below! I apologize for the amount! I couldn't decide which ones to leave out! :) Oh and the cake from the shower was perfect for me! It said, Hello, Mommy. Goodbye Tummy! :) Do my friends know me or what? :)

A Visit, An Ultrasound and The Flu

2009-10-11T13:50:00.000-04:00

I apologize for not updating our blog recently. It has been quite the eventful last few weeks!! It all started with a nice visit from my parents. They flew in specifically for our Sept. 28th ultrasound and it was great to have them here for the weekend! We were able to go out for breakfast the Saturday after they arrived, then we headed back to our house for some painting fun!=) While Frank and my dad went to get the paint, Mom, Marcail and I emptied the nursery room. Then when they got back I stayed out in the living room going through some clothes that a great friend is allowing me to borrow. It is so much fun to go through such cute clothes and think about our little girl actually wearing them at some point in the not so distant future. =) (We have been truly blessed with how much our friends and family have donated clothing to us. We will be set for quite a while!=) ) Anyway, Frank and my dad did much of the painting (they did a great job, too!), but my mom pitched in towards the end and Marcail of course wanted to paint as well. So she was able to paint a little bit of the baby's room, too. After the first coat was put on we decided to start grilling our dinner. Carrie, Jonathan and Gabe came over around 4 and stayed for the rest of the evening. It was a nice night out and it was great to be able to grill. After dinner the guys finished up the second coat in the nursery and then it was time to call it a night. It is so nice to have the nursery painted! We're not finished, of course, but it's nice to have the head start. And I'm so thankful for my parents being willing to help. Poor Frank would've had to do it all by himself, so I'm glad he didn't have to.=) The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful . . . oh except for the fact that Frank came down with the flu. Yep, the flu. Saturday he had started not feeling so good and by the time Sunday morning came he was miserable. He did go to the doctor on Monday and found out it was indeed the flu. Unfortunately, I could not come near him and risk the chance of catching the flu so I moved out of our room and into the guest room/bathroom for the next 7 days. It was such a long week begin apart. I don't think Frank left our bedroom at all until the following Thursday. And when he did leave the room he wore a mask that was given to him by the doctor. He also carried around our disinfectant spray and sprayed down everything he touched.=) We were both being very careful, but I do have to admit that it was kinda funny. He is now thankfully all healed up and we just finished disinfecting our bedroom/bathroom. It has been nice to have contact once again.=)

As I was saying beforehand, my parents came into town specifically for my Sept. 28th ultrasound. This ultrasound was scheduled so that the doctor could check on the cyst that they had found in our previous ultrasound. Sad to say, though, Frank was not able to go with me since he had the flu. But I did take a dvd with me so we were able to watch the ultrasound together once I got back from the appointment. My mom and dad went with me, which was nice. God definitely provided so I wouldn't have to go alone on this day. He is so good to us. We had a great ultrasound and learned that the cyst had shrunk in size (which is what they expected and were hoping for - they said sometime in my third trimester it should go completely away), she was developing great, was measuring five days ahead of my estimated due date and weighed a little over 2 lbs. So this was our last ultrasound for the length of the pregnancy.=) Now we just continue to pray for our little girl, go to our regular OB appointments and wait until it's time for her to come! Okay, so we have a nursery to finish, a closet to clean out, nursery furniture to order . . .=) Needless to say we do have several things to do before she gets here, but it will be fun to get them done!=) I will definitely post pictures once we get the nursery completely finished. I can't wait!=)

So that is what's been going on in our lives lately. We are truly blessed with all that the Lord has done and continues to do! We continue to look to Him as we amazingly get closer to the end of the pregnancy journey! I know He's got great things planned!!

21 Week Picture

2009-08-26T16:35:00.003-04:00

This is about a week late (I know, I know - I'm so lazy!), but here is my 21 week picture! Keep praying for us! It's nice to know September's coming, but Sept. 28 still feels a LONG way away!=) Hope everyone's doing well!

Our Little Girl

2009-08-07T21:05:00.001-04:00

This past Monday (August 3rd) we had our anatomy ultrasound. It was a very neat appointment. The nurse showed us just about every little part of our baby! We saw the feet, the hands, the bones, the heart, the spine, the blood flow. . . .and we heard the baby's heartbeat again. I love that sound!=) Every time we go to an ultrasound it makes me more and more excited about meeting this new little life!=) How incredible is God? To give us a gift like this and then allow us to watch the beauty of her life unfold before our very eyes. . . it's very humbling.

I have a problem, though. I tend to hold on to her a little too tightly. Sounds strange, doesn't it? But see, the thing is, she's not really mine and Frank's. This precious little gift is just that. A gift. From the One who loves us the most. So you see, the problem isn't in being thankful for her or enjoying all of these wonderful moments with her. The problem lies in me forgetting that she doesn't belong to us. I think instead that I'm entitled to her and that it's my right to have her. It seems as though it's a constant battle to remember that the only thing I'm "entitled" to is eternal damnation. And even that's covered by the blood of Christ (If we but only ask)! How much God loves us!!!

Now, you might be thinking, well, that's not that bad of a problem and why is she going off on such a tangent now? I'll answer the question first. During our appointment on Monday, the doctor noticed something that he told us we didn't really have to worry about, but he wanted to let us know about anyway (Don't you love it when they say that?). There seems to be a Choroid Plexus Cyst in our little girl's brain. According to the doctor, our little girl looks great - she's developing well and there are no other indicators of abnormalities in her body. So the doctor told us that this cyst will more than likely go away by my 3rd trimester. The concern with the cyst is that it could be an indicator of a chromosomal abnormality. However, since our tests for this came back so well and I'm not in the high risk range and because our baby girl is developing normally, the doctor doesn't see much to be concerned about. But most of you know me. What do you think I did as soon a I got home? Yep, I googled it.=) I probably read a good 3 or 4 articles. Now they all said the same thing and it all matched pretty well with what the doctor said. But here comes the problem and the answer to the first statement. . . .I tend to worry. And then I tend to become afraid. And then I hold on too tightly. Because you see, if I have the right frame of my mind, I wouldn't worry. She's not mine to begin with - she's the Lord's. And I wouldn't be afraid - He loves her much more than I do and He loves Frank and I so much that He ALWAYS has our best in mind. And, finally, I would learn to let go of this beautiful gift - For if she's not mine and if He truly loves her, then He has her best in mind as well. So I can rest assured in the presence of my Savior that He has her in the palm of His hand and that His will be done. Please join us in praying that we would learn to give our precious baby girl back to Him and the she would learn to mightily serve the One who gave her life!!=) For that is our truest prayer for our daughter. More than anything, that she would live her days in service to the greatest love of all - Jesus Christ.

"Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3:1

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Her Tiny Little Feet

It's a Girl!

19 Weeks Old

Vacation Time!!

2009-07-27T20:29:00.001-04:00

Yes, folks, last week was vacation time! And not just any vacation time - it was Lake Norman vacation time! This vacation is becoming something of a tradition for my family. You see, every 2 years my parents rent a house along the lake and my WHOLE family (yes, everyone - I believe we are up to 19 total - counting spouses and children) comes up (or down) for the week. It is a time I look forward to every 2 years. No matter what's going on in our lives, it seems as though everyone puts aside this one week to be together. I absolutely love this time!!

We had such beautiful weather this year! Only one morning of drizzle and that was it. No matter how cloudy the day would start, by mid morning the sun would break through and it would turn into a gorgeous day!! Most of our days were spent relaxing by the lake, swimming in the lake, riding a pontoon boat, riding jet skis (This I was unfortunately not allowed to do this time since I'm pregnant. I was a little bummed. I LOVE riding the jet skis!! It was fun watching the boys take turns riding a raft and getting pulled by the jet skis. They didn't last very long!), going miniature golfing, visiting a nearby safari, reading on the porch, watching beautiful sunsets and just enjoying being with one another. It was a wonderful week!

One big surprise for us was a surprise baby shower! Saturday evening we were surprised with a cake, decorations and gifts! It was very sweet of my family and they gave us some really cute things!! We also held our annual fantasy football draft during this week and celebrated my mom's retirement.

This week was truly a wonderful time of refreshment and fun!! I hope you enjoy the pictures below!!

Belly Pics

2009-07-04T23:36:00.000-04:00

Alright, so I know I'm a little late in posting these, but better late than never, right?=) These are my (almost) 16 week pictures. I can't believe that on Tuesday I'll be 4 months pregnant. Amazing how fast these first few months went (It did help that I didn't know anything about it until 8 weeks, though.)!!=) Thanks for sharing this experience with us!!

Pictures

2009-06-28T20:45:00.002-04:00

I know it has taken me a while to post some pictures of the baby, but they are finally here!=) I had an ultrasound appointment about 2 weeks ago where they measured the baby and allowed us to hear the heartbeat. I don't think it will ever get old to see our baby! And I KNOW it will never get old to hear the heartbeat!=) Everything looked good and we got good results from our Down Syndrome and Chromosomal Abnormality tests. Oh and the day we went they just so happened to be demoing a new ultrasound machine. So along with regular pictures, we also received a couple of 3D ultrasound pictures for free!=) I have to admit that at first the 3D sonogram picture kinda scared me, but you kinda get used to it after awhile. And it's amazing how clear the picture is! Anyway, they ended up placing me around 13 weeks during that appointment which makes me hit the 15 week mark this coming Tuesday. Can't believe I'm almost to the four month mark already!! I go back on August 3rd for my anatomy ultrasound and we're really hoping that the baby will cooperate and we will discover the gender of the baby! Keep your fingers crossed!=) Other than that, we are doing well. This weekend Frank worked very hard in getting the things out of the office and transforming it into our new guest room. The old guest room (soon to be nursery) is a mess right now, but that's okay. At some point it will get worked out. =) I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

A Story

2009-06-14T14:37:00.000-04:00

Okay, so about a month and a half ago my husband bought me my dream car, a Jetta, for my birthday (most of you already know this.). On the day that we went to pick it up I had a blast driving it around town. However, when we arrived home that evening I began to feel a little nauseous. Immediately I thought, oh man, I finally got my dream car and the smell of it makes me sick! I am an optimist, though, and decided that it was just because it was so new and that eventually the smell would go away and I'd feel better. Well, a week and half into driving it, I was still getting sick to my stomach! My husband was even sweet enough to switch cars with me for a little bit, but it still didn't seem to help! I was starting to get a little frustrated about it. But then the Swine flu was going around and so I obviously thought well maybe I had the flu or something (I do work in a preschool after all - it wouldn't be that much of a stretch.). This continued for another week or so. Then my dad had his surgery, so the thought of going to the doctor to figure out what was going on kinda got pushed out of mind. But while we were in PA, I was still getting sick, so Frank finally said, "Why don't you go to the doctor?" I, like a good wife, obeyed my husband and the day after we got back from PA went to my primary care doctor. This is how the appointment went:

Doctor walks into the room. "So, you've been feeling nauseous, huh? Has it been primarily in the morning?"

Me: "No, it's really been all day long."

Doctor: "Well, you came up positive for pregnancy."

Me: "WHAT?!!" (as I turn red in the face.)

Doctor: "You're pregnant."

Me: "Could there be any way it's a false positive?" (Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't want to be pregnant - it's just that this was the last thought in my mind of what could be causing my nausea.)

Doctor: "Well, when the nurse did the test, it came up pretty fast."

The rest of the appointment was pretty normal, except that since Frank and I hadn't really planned this pregnancy, I couldn't tell exactly how far along I was. The doctor did a pretty good estimate, though and determined I was about 8 weeks along. So, to say the least, I was pretty surprised, shocked, excited, happy. . .pretty much every emotion you could think of!=) After the appointment I went straight to the car to call Frank. Unfortunately he didn't answer so I left him a message to call me back as soon as he could. Frank calls and our conversation goes something like this:

Frank: "Hey, what's going on?"

Me: "Well, you know that thing that we thought was impossible? Well, it's not. I'm pregnant."

Frank: "That's impossible!"

Me: "Apparently not." =)

Frank: "I'm going to stop at the store and get another pregnancy test. Just to make sure."

Me: "Okay."

I know, pretty funny, right? So Frank did actually stop at the store and I did end up taking another pregnancy test (which showed I was pregnant in less than a minute!).=) It was a very surreal day for us.=)

Obviously, by now you know the point of this story.

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!

And we really couldn't be happier about it! I am now right around 12 weeks pregnant, but am going in for another ultrasound this coming Wednesday where they will actually measure the baby and tell us more accurately how far along I am. We had our first ultrasound done last Thursday and were able to see our baby move around and got to see his/her little heart beating. It was amazing!! We feel very blessed by the Lord for this pregnancy and want to give Him the glory for it all! This pregnancy is definitely from Him and we are thankful!!! Thank you so much for sharing in our joy with us! We covet your prayers for a safe and healthy baby/pregnancy!

*Short side note: My wonderful assistant (who knew I was feeling sick) did ask me once or twice if I thought I could be pregnant, but I stubbornly said, "No. There's no way."=) She was much smarter than I was and I should've listened!=) Sorry, Chris!=)

Home Visit

2009-05-20T13:16:00.000-04:00

This past Wednesday (May 13th), Frank and I flew up to visit my parents in PA. For those of you who don't know, my dad had quadruple bypass surgery last Monday (May 11th). He came through the surgery just fine and I have to say that this whole situation was definitely God's timing and His way (I know it always is, but this time it was clearly seen!). Let me explain:

A little while ago, my dad was scheduled to have cataract surgery. Now before you actually have the cataract surgery they require a physical and an EKG (to make sure that everything's okay). So, about 3 weeks ago my dad went in for his EKG. Amazingly enough, it showed an abnormality. My dad was then requested to take a stress test. The stress test took place about 2 weeks ago. During the stress test, my dad had to quit, which again spoke of something being out of place. This same week, they scheduled a heart catharization for my dad. During the catharization they discovered 4 blocked arteries with the possibility of one more! My dad then, after some normal hospital confusion and mularkey, was released to go home for the weekend and came back that following Monday for the bypass surgery. So when I say God's hand was definitely in this situation, I mean HIS hand was definitely in this situation.=) Two of dad's arteries were 100% blocked, another one 80% blocked and the 4th one 70% blocked. I'm telling you guys, God is good. This may not have been the ideal situation, but the Lord still took care of my dad. Now back to the original purpose for this post.=)

So after the surgery, Frank and I flew in to help be there when Dad was released from the hospital. Before his release time, though, we spent time with him in the hospital. And he really did very well. My sister was also there for the week, plus my aunt. And on the actual day of surgery, my older brother was there with my mom, aunt and sister. This visit also gave Frank and I the chance to spend a little extra time with my sister and her husband (who we do not see often enough!!), which was very nice. My dad was released from the hospital last Saturday and when we left to come home on Monday, he was doing really well. He was sitting up, walking, doing his breathing treatment, etc. It was so nice to get to spend that time with he and mom. I know that Frank and I are where we need to be for this time, but it's so hard living so far away. I am really praying that we are able to move closer at some point in our future.

At any rate, I want to say thank you to all of you who have been and are still praying for my dad! He's got a great start on the recovery, but it's still a long road ahead. My dad is not allowed to drive for 6 weeks and I truly think this is going to be one of the hardest things for him!=)

Thanks again for all of the prayers! I will post again soon!

Moment by Moment

2009-04-27T20:43:00.000-04:00

This past weekend one of Frank's oldest and closest friends flew into town along with his wife. They are getting ready to make a move (Yea for them!!) and were coming into town, last minute, to visit their family before they moved. We lucked out and were able to pick them up from the airport and have them stay the night at our house with us. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, interesting conversation and fun. We ended up playing some Wii Friday night and Saturday morning. And I don't know about them, but for me, I was sore the next day (You can tell that I hadn't played in a while!)!!=) It was very nice to have them visit with us and we were sad to drop them off at their family's house Saturday afternoon. We are very thankful, though, for the time we were given with them!!

Frank and I also spent this weekend with Carrie and Jonathan's children again. We were able to watch the kids so that Jonathan could take Carrie out for her birthday. As always, we had a great time with the kids! After Gabe got up from his nap, we walked down to the little playground in their subdivision. Marcail was a trooper and pulled Gabe in the wagon the whole way down the street!! She did great!=) Once we got to the playground both kids were able to swing a little bit, then Gabe just kinda walked around while Marcail did some more swinging and then poor Uncle Frankie had to go down the hot slide twice for both kids!!=) Isn't he a great uncle?=) After playground time we walked back to the house (with Uncle Frankie pulling the wagon this time and taking the kids through the sprinklers.) and had a great time playing inside until Carrie and Jonathan got back. It was a nice time with both Marcail and Gabe. They are just growing up too fast!!=)

Below are a few pictures from the weekend! I hope you enjoy them!!

23 Hours with Marcail

2009-04-19T20:20:00.001-04:00

1:00 p.m.: Pick up time. We arrive at Carrie and Jonathan's front door, knock and hear from the inside a loud voice saying, "It's Aunt Teen and Uncle Frankie! Let's go crazy, let's go crazy!" We open the door and see Marcail, dressed in her Ariel bathing suit, turn around, spin and continue with the "Let's go crazy, let's go crazy!".

1:20 p.m.: Leave for the River City. Stopped at PetSmart to do a little shopping - Marcail and I looked at the birds, guinea pigs, cats and dogs while Uncle Frankie picked up some fake plants for our turtles. Marcail really enjoyed seeing "Flower", the puppy that was there in hopes of being adopted. She also said that she wanted a bird, but we tried to tell her that getting her a fish had been pushing it and that we didn't think Mommy and Daddy would appreciate a bird, too.=) (You're welcome, Carrie and Jonathan) We then headed over to Old Navy for just a moment so that I could exchange a couple of shirts. Marcail mentioned that she remembered going to "This Place" with Aunt Betty the other weekend.=)

3:00 p.m.: Arrive at Fernandina Beach. Walked down to the beach, picked a nice spot to sit and proceeded to watch Marcail dig in the sand and dump it in the bucket. Then she decided that she wanted to go down into the water (She kept telling us that she was going swimming, but we kept trying to tell her that it would be a little too hard to do that in the ocean. We told her that sticking her feet in would be just fine.). Uncle Frankie, myself and Marcail all walked to the edge of the water. . .where Marcail refused to go any further. It took a little encouraging to get her to come near enough to actually allow the water to flow over her feet. And when it did. . .well, let's just say that the water is NOT Marcail's favorite thing about the beach.=) After this encounter with the water (which was cold, to be fair) Marcail would only go back down if Uncle Frankie held her. HE was allowed to go as far in as he liked (all while holding her), but she was not going to dip her feet in again.=) After a couple trips down to the water, Marcail went to work on building a sandcastle (which did not turn out, sad to say). Uncle Frankie helped by getting water from the ocean and together we all attempted to make a small sandcastle (still didn't work.). We also dug up some nice seashells, which Marcail got to keep. She did ask if there were crabs in them. I told her that these shells wouldn't fit the crabs, so it was okay that we took them.=) A little more time spent digging in the sand, one last trip down to the ocean (in Uncle Frankie's arms) and then we decided to clean up and head over to the nice little playground near the beach. We spent a few minutes playing on the playground and then decided to head off for pizza.

4:30 p.m.: The Pizza Place (aka OPS). There is a neat little pizza place that just opened up in Fernandina called OPS. This is where we stopped for pizza (It's very good! And I love supporting local businesses). While we waited for our pizza to come Marcail and I played together with her Princess Sticker book. We had so much fun dressing up the different princesses (but she is always quick to tell you that Sleeping Beauty is her favorite)!=) Then the pizza arrived and we ate it all up (okay, not all of it, but at least most of it.)!=) We also got an order of zeppoli's (thanks to a GREAT coupon in the Mint Magazine - gotta love that!) and as Marcail was in the middle of her first one (if you don't know what zeppolis are, you definitely need to try them. They are fried pieces of dough covered in powdered sugar. Yummy!!), she looked at me and said, "I am going to eat another one." =) Now normally I would indulge her, but we were also going to stop for ice cream, so I kindly refused her a second one.=)

5:30 p.m.: Chick-Fil-A Ice Cream. Need I say more? Yummy!!=)

6:00 p.m.: Home. Marcail took a bath (due to the sand that was in her hair) then we painted her toe nails (pink, of course) and she settled in to watch The Little Mermaid. Now if you've never heard Marcail sing, you need to. She is just the cutest when she sings! And one of her favorite things to sing is when Ariel goes, 'Ah ah ah. . ' - you know, when she gives up her voice to Ursula. Well, this is what she did during the movie. And then she joined in singing Part of This World with Ariel. It is just too cute!

7:30 p.m.: Skyped with Mom and Dad (aka Grandma and Pappy). We spent a half hour talking with Grandma and Pappy, sharing our exciting day with them. Marcail did have somewhat of a hard time focusing on the conversation, though, due to the fact that The Little Mermaid was on in the background.=) They still enjoyed hearing about her day, though.=)

8:00 p.m.: Bedtime. We prayed, read a story, tucked her in and off to sleep she went. It had been a busy day!=)

This morning she went to Sunday School/Church with us and then we took her back home. It is always so much fun to spend time with Marcail! We are very thankful to be close by to Marcail and Gabe and are looking forward to the time when Gabe can start spending the night with us as well! These 2 are very special to us and we are very glad to have them nearby!=) Below are just a few pictures of our time with Marcail! Enjoy!!

*Oh, we did discover that Marcail thought alligators lived in the ocean. Could this be why the ocean scared her? Who knows! It did give us a great opportunity to talk with her about how God is always with her and takes care of her no matter what, though. Neat moments!!

Nothing Much

2009-04-15T12:47:00.000-04:00

This has been the theme of our lives lately. Nothing much. Nothing much going on, nothing much happening. Just us enjoying this thing called life. It's been great getting out and about in this beautiful spring weather! Frank's been outside taking care of the yard and we've been able to take some nice walks around our neighborhood. As most of you know, I am not a big fan of FL, but one thing I really do enjoy about it is the spring. It's just so pretty outside and the weather is just perfect!! I always love seeing the new life around us start to bloom! Plus spring time always brings about the best holiday - Easter. =) What a wonderful time to stop and truly reflect on what Christ has done for us! This Easter was pretty neat for me. On Thursday, April 9th my class of 4/5 year olds (most of them are 5 now, so it's hard to call it my PreK4 class), along with 2 other classes, were able to visit an assisted living home here in Jacksonville as part of a field trip. Our classes sang 4 songs and shared a poem about Easter with the residents of the home. It was a wonderful time of sharing Christ's message with the residents and it was so neat to have the opportunity to have the children participate in something like this! After singing at the home, the children went to a park where we shared in pizza, cupcakes and a short Easter egg hunt. It was another beautiful spring day and the kids seemed to have a great time!! It was a great way to end the week before Easter!! (And nothing is more precious then hearing a child tell you that the true meaning of Easter is that Jesus rose from the dead!)=)

We also received a short visit from our aunt this past weekend. She came into town Thursday evening and stayed until Saturday afternoon. It was nice to spend some time with her! We were able to spend a nice day out and about on Friday, color some eggs Friday evening and then attend our church's Easter Egg Hunt Saturday morning. It was a nice weekend.

Sunday Frank and I traveled down to St. Augustine to visit with his family after church. We had a nice time eating the yummy food that his mom and sister had prepared for us! We also got to feed some horses down the road from where his sister lives. That was really neat! Frank's brother-in-law, 2 nephews, myself and Frank all rode the golf cart down to the horses and we fed them some carrots. Beautiful horses! After this excitement we drove back up to the house and played the boys on the Wii. Frank's oldest nephew was determined to beat him in Wii tennis and. .. he did. =) I got to try it myself and was able to deal his nephew his first loss. =) It was all done in fun, though. After this, the boys went swimming and we spent some time with his parents. It was a great day!!

Now we are back to normal life and looking forward to the days ahead. We are hoping to go see Wicked sometime at the end of April or early May and this summer is our family's vacation to Lake Norman! I am counting down the days until the end of the school year and can't wait to get the summer started!!=) I hope that you all had a most blessed Easter weekend!!

4 Things

2009-03-06T21:39:00.002-05:00

Okay, Melody, since you're the one that tagged me, I guess I'll complete it.=) Here goes:

4 Jobs I've had:

1. Summer Activities Employee (Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Somerset, PA)

2. Financial Assistant (Light Ministries, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA)

3. English as a Second Language Teacher (Beijing, China)

4. PreK4 Teacher (Providence Schools, Jacksonville, FL)

4 Movies I watch over and over:

1. Transformers

2. Batman Begins

3. Pirates of the Caribbean

4. August Rush

4 Places I've lived:

1. Indian Head, PA

2. Lynchburg, VA

3. Beijing, China

4. Indianapolis, IN

4 Shows I watch:

1. One Tree Hill

2. The Mentalist

3. Bones

4. The Office

4 Places I've been:

1. Hong Kong

2. India

3. El Salvador

4. Hawaii

4 People who email me regularly:

1. Frank

2. Chris

3. Deanna

4. Jess

4 Favorite things to eat:

1. Mexican Food

2. BBQ

3. Pretty much anything with chicken or fish

4. DESSERTS!!

4 Places I'd rather be:

1. Visiting my parents in PA

2. Serving in China with my husband

3. Traveling to Taiwan to receive the child God has planned for us

4. Right next to my husband . . .oh, already there.=)

4 Things I look forward to this year:

1. Lord willing, receiving the child God has planned for us.

2. Change

3. Growth

4. Family vacation at Lake Norman

4 People to tag:

1. Jen

2. Heather

3. Cristy

4. Elaine

Valentine's Day and Other Random Things

2009-02-18T20:55:00.002-05:00

I think the last time I blogged was right before the Steelers won the Super Bowl (Umm. . 6x Champions, anyone?). It's been a while, hasn't it?=) To be honest with you, there hasn't been much to tell. We have been working hard and keeping busy on the weekends. One of our newest traditions has been to go out on weekly dates. Sometimes we have to be creative as to how we do this and some times we are so tired that we debate doing it, but it has always been worth it.=) It does help to have a movie theater near us that offers $5 tickets Monday through Thursday. And they also offer $5 small popcorn and drink combo (free refills). Great deal, right? We think so, too. So most of our dates have been to the movies - which has been nice. We saw 2 good movies - Taken and Slumdog Millionaire. This week, though, we're mixing it up a little bit and going bowling. I have to admit that the only bowling I've been doing lately is Wii Bowling. I know that my real bowling skills will not be as impressive!=)

Moving along. . . so Valentine's Day was last Saturday. Frank and I agreed to spend the day without using any type of electronic device. That's right, folks, no iPhones, no iPods, no email, no texting, no nothing. I have to tell you - it was great! We had no distractions that day. We were able to spend the day truly with just each other. It was a lot of fun - Frank surprised me with roses in the morning (along with some Reese's peanut butter cups - yumm!), then off we went to breakfast, then a pit-stop to the eye doctor for Frank's ten minute check up, then a walk around the Town Center (our outdoor mall) and then back home (well, with a quick stop to Chick-Fil-A for ice cream) so that I could prepare dinner and dessert for Frank. It was a great day of being together!

Recently, we have been enjoying time with friends, visits to Frank's family in St. Augustine and rearranging the rooms in our house.=) I must admit that I love change, so every once in a while I get the itch to move things around a little bit. I'm thankful for a husband who doesn't mind and who even helps out!=)

Okay, I know this is a sudden change in conversation, but I really would like to share something. The Lord has been teaching me many things lately, but one of the most important things He is teaching me is to truly appreciate everything and everyone around me. An incident occurred today at school that reminded me once again how fleeting our time is here on earth. There's a song by Chris Rice that goes 'Teach me to count the days/Teach me to make the days count". I pray that I am making my days count - not for myself, but for the Lord. Because we honestly are not guaranteed tomorrow. I love you all!!

Here We Go, Steelers!!

2009-01-31T11:09:00.002-05:00

One of my friends from PA sent this song to me just this morning. And in honor of the Superbowl tomorrow, I have to post it (One of her friends is the one who's singing the song!).

Let's Go, Pittsburgh!!!

Since We're Being Honest

2009-01-25T20:33:00.004-05:00

The rules of the award:

1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.

3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

The honest things about me:

1. Sarcasm is my second language.

2. I'm not as quiet as I seem.

3. Missions is my heartbeat.

4. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, sometimes to my own detriment.

5. I like to eat my chips with ketchup (Don't knock it until you try it!).

6. I have a purse fetish (Ask Frank).

7. I am very competitive.

8. Desserts are my weakness.

9. I struggle with patience.

10. I can't wait to be a mother.

Here are the 7 people I give this "award" to (I tried to pick those that hadn't "won" yet):

1. Cristy

2. Megan

3. Jen

4. Elaine

5. Melody

6. Heather

7. Tricia

As One

2009-01-21T17:17:00.002-05:00

A few months ago, Frank and I were coerced. . I mean, invited, to attend our youth's Winter Rush trip.=) This is a trip the middle schoolers and high schoolers take ever year around the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The word around church was that it was a very enjoyable weekend. So Frank and I said, "Sure, we'll go!".

But what they didn't tell us was. . .

There would be no warm, sunny beach days (only cold 30 degree weather for us!).

There would be hungry teenagers in our midst who expected to have dinner!!!

There would be no 8 hours of sleep per night.

There would be a great chance for hearing loss.

There would be beach dashes at midnight!!!

But what we discovered was. . .

Hungry teenagers are wonderful helpers after the meal is over (Yes, the kids - well, at least the girls in my room - helped clean up afterwards.).

8 hours of sleep is overrated when it's compared to spending time talking, laughing and growing in the Lord.

Losing one's hearing isn't so bad when it's to the sweet, rockin' music of praising Jesus!=)

Beach dashes are crazy no matter the time of night - especially when the temperature is 30 degress outside and you know the ocean water isn't much warmer!!! (Sorry, girls, I just don't see the fun in this one!)=)

These are just some of the things we discovered on our time this past weekend to Myrtle Beach, SC. There are many, many more things in which I could talk about. Such as the day I found out we had a rock star in our midst (see picture below). Or the evening we had a boat making contest (again, see pictures below). Or the night that 2 teenagers made the awesome decision of accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. There are also many things I won't ever be able to put into words. Like how much fun it is to hang out and spend time with teenagers (yes, you read that right). Or how much I learned (I know Frank can say the same) about unity and following Christ as one body. Or how much growing I have yet to do (I mean, I knew there was some, I just wasn't aware there was SO much!).

This past weekend was a great trip, not only for the teenagers, but also for Frank and I.

Not a single one of us is perfect, but thank goodness we serve a God who is and who understands us (every part). I am thankful to the One who doesn't allow us to stay stagnate and whose mercy and grace is unending. Blessed be His name.

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all
lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is
one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all."

Ephesians 4:1 - 6

(These were our core verses for the weekend and the ones on which our theme was based.)

The Rock Stars

First attempts at Boat Making

"B's" Attempt

"S's" Attempt

The Watchers

New Year's Fun

2009-01-04T10:51:00.003-05:00

This holiday season, Frank and I travelled to PA to spend New Year's with my parents. This was nice because we not only haven't done it in a long time, but I was able to actually be there for my Dad's birthday this year (He is a New Year's day baby.). My parents also had a VERY full house this time around. Thankfully, Frank and I arrived a couple days before everyone else and were able to soak up some quiet, one on one time with my parents before the craziness started (And when I say craziness, I mean craziness! - all good, of course.)!=) We spent much of that time playing the Wii (We actually held a Wii Bowling tournament with everyone involved. Frank won, so watch out my Wii Bowling League cohorts!! He's on a roll!!) and playing card games (I actually beat Frank at the Lake Norman game - shocker, I know!). It was fun. We also got to spend a little extra time with my older brother and the best part, of course - sleep in!!=) Then one day during our trip it all changed. . .we no longer had quiet in the house. It was replaced by. . . are you ready for this?. . . . 16 people (5 of which were children aged 5 and younger) and 3 dogs!! What a house hold!!=) It was a lot of fun, though, to be all together again. You have to understand that this rarely occurs anymore, so anytime we all can get together, it's worth it. We again spent much of our time playing the Wii (my niece, Arlington, is GREAT at bowling!!!), playing cards, playing board games and eating up all of the yummy food my Mom had made (She goes all out for us. My favorite holiday food of all time, though, is her mom's persimmon pudding! Yummmmmmm!!!). It was a wonderful time and it snowed while we were there!! It started snowing on New Year's Eve Day and by New Year's we had a nice mound of white out in our yard. It was great!!

I posted a lot of pictures, so please be patient (I just couldn't decide which ones to leave out!)! I hope you enjoy them!

Happy New Year!!

Anniversary

2008-12-28T20:10:00.002-05:00

Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary. Hard to believe that 5 years have gone by so quickly!! We went out to dinner with my parents, brother, aunt and grandma this evening to celebrate and while we were there we discussed the past 5 years. We were all surprised to realize that every anniversary we've celebrated, my parents have been there for it.=) Frank and I actually began our married life being with my parents (On our way to our honeymoon spot, we were in a car accident -Frank's jeep was damaged- and ended up spending the first 3 or so days of our "honeymoon" with my parents.), so it only seems fitting that we celebrate each year with them.=)

It was a nice evening, though and I know I speak for both Frank and I when I say that the Lord has blessed us richly through these past 5 years. He has seen us through a lot and we are excited to see where He takes us in the future! I am truly overwhelmed and grateful for the gift God gave me in my husband! Thank you, honey, for a wonderful 5 years!! I love you!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-27T13:33:00.004-05:00

It is hard to believe that Christmas has come already! The nice weather has made it even harder to believe that Christmas has already come!! For our Christmas in FL, the high was 80 degrees! Not quite the white Christmases I remember growing up!!=)

Thankfully, the weather does not determine or change the specialness of the day. This year Frank and I decided that we would start our family traditions (You know, those things we'd like to do with our children.). So Wednesday morning, I made our birthday cake for Jesus and Frank and I had a nice Christmas Eve meal and then went to church. Christmas morning we got up, read the story of Jesus' birth (Luke 2) and prayed. It was very humbling to put aside that time to focus on the reason we celebrate that day. Definitely helped us to remain focused on what really matters on that day (and every day).=) Anyway, I digress.=)

After this time of reading and prayer, Frank and I exchanged gifts (we did not get anything big for each other - just a couple of small items) and then got everything ready and headed to Frank's parents' house. Upon arriving we found Frank's nephews already outside playing with their toys. They were very excited about what they had gotten and immediately shared with us that they had gotten a Wii.=) We went in to Frank's parents' place and everyone gathered down there to exchange gifts. The boys received a Nerf Wii game (really fun game!!) that we were able to play with them later that morning/afternoon. After unwrapping gifts, we spent some time playing games and catching up with all of the excitement for the day. Frank's brother-in-law made us steaks for lunch and they were yummy!=) It was nice to be there and just spend time with Frank's family.

After heading home to gather more presents (and our birthday cake for Jesus), we drove over to Carrie and Jonathan's to see what had gone on there. Marcail, of course, was very excited and couldn't stop going from toy to toy.=) We spent a nice evening visiting with them and celebrating Christmas. Marcail had fun showing us her jumpy house and I had to get in there with her!=) It was a very nice time of fellowship. We ended the evening by singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and eating the cake!=)

The day after Christmas, Frank and I were blessed to have the opportunity to visit with some friends that we don't get to see very often. One of Frank's closest friends lives out in TX at the moment and he and his wife were in visiting his family for the holidays. We, of course, had to take advantage of that and spend some time with them. Even if it was a lot shorter than we would have liked!=)

We are now up in PA, visiting with my family for the next 5 days or so. Unfortunately there is no snow (yet - I am remaining optimistic!), but it is very nice to be with my parents. All of my siblings will be here on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas and New Year's together. It is going to be a FULL household!=) But it will, of course, be lots of fun! Until then, though, Frank and I are looking forward to some relaxing and some good visiting and best of all, some good eating!=)

Happy New Year!!

Reindeer

2008-12-22T20:01:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share something really cute with you guys. Yesterday, while Frank and I were driving out to the island, we passed a car that had something sticking out of it's window and trunk. It took us a minute to realize that the items sticking out of the windows were antlers and the item sticking out of the trunk was a tail!! On the front of the car was a red ball! It was a white car that tried to look like a reindeer!! It was pretty funny!! I took a couple of pictures (trying to make sure the car didn't know what I was doing!) and I hope you'll be able to pick out the details, at least a little bit. Hope you get a kick out of it as much as we did!=)

Christmas Fun

2008-12-14T19:11:00.003-05:00

This past week I was able to attend Marcail's very first Christmas program (working at the school where she attends definitely helps with this!)!! It was a cute program where the kids sang a few short songs and wished everyone a Merry Christmas! Then Marcail was able to lead the blessing and parents were able to stay after for cookies and punch. Jonathan and Gabe made it down to see her program as well. I know she was very excited to have Daddy and Gabe there!=) I feel very blessed to be included in so many of her activities! She is definitely my buddy!=)

Yesterday, Frank and I were able to have Marcail spend the night with us (we try to do this once a month, but unfortunately we allow life to get in the way and are not always able to do this). We had lunch with the Hicks' and then afterwards Marcail left with us to do a little Christmas shopping (and when I say a little, I mean a little - the place was packed!!). Our first stop was Barnes and Noble where we happened to arrive just in time for a story telling. Marcail sat right down and listened very well to the story (the story read was The Polar Express - Great book!!). She was even able to hold up the Santa and say, "The first gift of Christmas!". =) She was loving it!! After the story was over, she was given a candy cane and a cookie on a stick (she had also gotten a bell to ring for the story) - of course, the candy cane was the first to be eaten.=) So after this nice break from the shopping frenzy - =) - we headed over to Old Navy where Marcail was ever so helpful in picking out a Christmas present for her cousin Arlington (although we ended up not getting her present there).=) Afterwards we headed home for a short rest.

Once we were done resting, we headed out to WalMart to get our sugar cookie dough, icing and wrapping paper. Marcail and I were deciding together what kind of wrapping paper we should get and I have to say that she did pick up some really cute wrapping paper. It was funny, though, because we were still looking around the section when we found other wrapping paper that was a little cheaper (and just as nice). So I tried to talk Marcail into buying 2 rolls of wrapping paper for the same price as the 1, but I was out of luck. She kept telling me that the one she had was much nicer. When I asked her why we couldn't put the other one back, she said, "This one's my boy." =) Cute.=) Frank was there at that time as well and we couldn't stop smiling at each other over that one. We decided the price wasn't that different (it really wasn't) and it wasn't worth the agony of separating Marcail from "her boy".=) So we got Marcail's choice.=)

When we got home, Marcail and I got busy making our Christmas cookies. We rolled out the sugar cookie dough (I usually refuse to make store bought cookies -if you know me, you'll understand - but I have to admit that this is a life saver when making sugar cookies with kids!!) and started punching out shapes. The bear seemed to be Marcail's favorite. That and spreading flour out on the dough.=) After we got the cookies made, we ate dinner to allow time for the cookies to cool. Then it was icing time!! Marcail helped pick the colors we made and we each got to lick a spoon (even Frank joined in!) and decorate our own cookie. Marcail ended up wearing some of hers on her face, but I think she had fun in the process.=) We ended up making cookies for Mommy and Daddy and for her teachers at school. We ended the night by reading an interactive nativity story together (the title of the book is called What God Wants For Christmas - I love it! I use it every year with the students in my class. 7 children get a box and as the story goes along you open up the box and put that piece in the place where it belongs in the nativity). It was a lot of fun - oh, we did end up watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 3, yes, 3, times, too. That part. . not so much fun.=)

It was a great time spent with Marcail! Frank and I are realistic and realize that we will not always be this close to my sister and her family so we love taking advantage of spending time with them and their children. They have a very precious family and we are thankful to be so close to them for however long the Lord allows.

Please enjoy the pictures below!!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2008-12-04T17:42:00.007-05:00

For Thanksgiving this year, we had the wonderful opportunity to travel up to PA to spend it with my family. This is especially special because it's been about 5 years since I've gotten to spend Thanksgiving with my family. A short side note, though: I called my parents to tell them about Frank and I coming up (Frank strongly urged me to do this - I had wanted to just drive up and surprise them) and my dad's first response was: "You're kidding." I said, "No" and he went on to explain that they had been invited somewhere else for Thanksgiving this year. I was very thankful that I had followed my husband's advice and called!!=) This is especially funny to me, because last year my parents, brother and grandma ended up eating at Ruby Tuesdays for Thanksgiving. So I wasn't very worried about just showing up! I'm glad I called!=) Anyway. . .

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Frank and I were able to take 2 extra days off of work to compensate for the drive up there. The day that we drove up it had snowed in PA, but thankfully had stopped midway through the day and the roads were clear. We had slow going on the way up, but it was worth it once we got home. =)

Thanksgiving day Mom, Dad and I got up at 7 to walk in a Turkey Trot (5k) in Uniontown, PA. Yes, it was quite chilly that morning (I believe it was 25 degrees out, although that may be optimistic thinking on my part), but I have to admit that it was nice to get out for the walk. Salvation Army was the sponsor of the walk and I made decent time. My parents on the other hand smoked me. =) They walked around once, followed the runners in and thought they had posted a great time!! And they truly had!! Then they noticed that I wasn't around and they started wondering what had happened. They finally discovered that they had only done half of the walk!=) It was pretty funny! My mom did make sure she went back and told the right people what had happened. We didn't stick around for the results, but instead headed off to do a little Christmas shopping and enjoy some coffee. Then it was back home to finish watching the parade.

Later that evening we (my mom, dad, brother, grandma and husband) had the opportunity to go to Upper St. Clair to have Thanksgiving with my cousin and his family. It was a nice time to visit and catch up with them. They have a lovely home and were very kind to allow Frank and I to join them at such late notice. My cousin's wife prepared a very yummy meal and we all ate until we were stuffed!=)

The rest of the trip was spent visiting with family and doing a little bit of Christmas shopping. On Sunday, my younger sister and her husband came over and we had another Thanksgiving. It was nice to see them and I was grateful that they came (they had spent Thanksgiving in New York with his family). We also spent some time playing on the Wii (My mom was determined to get one while we were there. My brother was nice enough to stand in line for 2 hours Friday morning to make sure she had it! We had a good time creating our Mii's and playing the different games) and playing our normal Lake Norman card game (This game does have another name, but I can never remember it. So it is now named after our family vacation spot.).=) My brother, Zac, also taught us a new card game and that was fun to play too. I have to admit, though, that it's hard to play any game with Frank, because he tends to win them all (He is just so stinkin' lucky!).=)

It was a wonderful trip (although I did lose my voice the day after we got there!! Yeah, try catching up with your family when you have no voice - I was finally able to squeak out words by Saturday.) and a great Thanksgiving! I am thankful for many, many things, but one of the biggest things I'm thankful for is for my family. Especially my husband who makes sure I am well taken care of and who will do a 12 hour drive in one day just so I can see my family. I am truly overwhelmed.

Turtles

2008-11-15T20:05:00.001-05:00

Yes, you read that right. Turtles. Frank and I have new members in our house. They are the best pets ever, though. They don't bark, they don't chew up furniture, they don't scratch, they don't shed . . need I go on?=) All they require is some water some food and a place to lay out on. It has taken us a little while to get them settled in their new home, but we think we've finally got it down.=) Here are just a couple of pictures of our turtles. Oh, their names are Mal and Wash (If you don't know where the names come from, go out and rent the series Firefly or the movie Serenity - you won't be disappointed!!). Enjoy the pictures!!=)

Concert

2008-11-09T18:47:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday Frank and I were able to attend a Steven Curtis Chapman/Michael W. Smith concert down in St. Augustine. Since the concert was in St. Augustine, Frank and I were able to stop by his parents house before the concert and spend some time with them. It was nice getting to spend some time with them and to just visit. They are really great in-laws!=) Anyway, after some visiting Frank and I took off for the Amphitheater in St. Augustine. We were very glad that we left something early, as parking was quite a mess! We were directed into the Amphitheater only to be redirected back out onto the main road (it would have been more productive to have stopped the flow of traffic into the Amphitheater as soon as they knew there was no more parking. Just a thought, though.)! It didn't take us too long to find another parking spot, though. It was a pretty nice night, too, so we had a nice walk to the Amphitheater.=) The concert itself was very, very good. I have been a long time fan of Steven Curtis Chapman [Short side note: In 2004 we had purchased tickets to see Steven Curtis Chapman in Lakeland, FL. Well, the week of the concert I got very, very sick - head cold - and we ended up not being able to go. After that we agreed that if we ever had the opportunity to see him again that we would go not matter how sick either one of us were!=) ] and his All About Love CD was the first gift Frank ever gave to me.=) He has always written his own music and almost all of it is based on Scripture. There are many Christian artists that I enjoy, but he has always seemed the most real to me. And seeing him in person only helped to strengthen that belief.=) The concert's main focus was on worshiping the Lord and glorifying Him. Michael W. Smith was good, too. He led a lot of the praise and worship music during the second half of the concert. It was neat to hear the two of these artists together and to see that they had each brought along one of their sons to play in the band. Steven Curtis Chapman did end up sharing about the loss of his daughter earlier this year and it was moving to hear how his family was coping through it all. He was very real and said that through all of it he has come to see how real God is and how everything is truly His. He went on to explain that through this situation his realization that God is truly good has only been strengthened. It was nice to hear, though, that he is still human and that there are many days in which he struggles with the loss. Great concert, wonderful testimony and fantastic worship of a holy God!!

"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." Rev. 4:11

Party/Family Visit

2008-10-24T17:00:00.000-04:00

For those of you who keep up with my sister's blog (Hicks Family Four), this might be a tad bit of a repeat.=) I do promise, though, not to say the exact same thing as she did!=) Moving on. . .

This past Saturday a few members of my family flew into town for my nephew's first birthday. My parents, sister and husband and aunt all flew in on Friday afternoon to be here for the festivities that awaited us on Saturday. It was nice to see them and spend some time with them. Especially my younger sister and her husband as we do not get to see them much at all. So it was REALLY nice to get to spend some time with them. My parents ended up staying at my sister's house while Frank and I had the privilege of having my sister, her husband and aunt stay at ours. Much Wii was played at the house at night.=) It was a lot of fun!

ANYWAY, (I am digressing and not really talking about the party much, am I?). . .

Saturday morning we arrived at the party house between 11 and 11:30. Some of us helped get the last minute things taken care of, while others (cough, cough - Tom and Frank) turned on the sports channel to await the upcoming college football game.=) Around noon the first guest arrived and the party was in full swing!=) Gabe's party theme was the farm, so my sister had farm plates and cups. She also had made a cute cow cake as the main birthday cake!

After the guests arrived, we blessed the yummy food from Chick-Fil-A and mingled with the guests. My sister even had a little table off to the side where the kids could decorate their own cupcake as well as a fall picture. It was really cute. One of the guest's children decorated her cupcake the right way - with lots of frosting!=) (I told her I wanted her making my cupcake!)=) When all of the eating was done we eagerly awaited for Gabe to blow out his candle (which he didn't really do. . Marcail - the big sister - helped out on this end) and dig into his cupcake. Then we waited some more. . and some more. . and some more until finally. .. . his little finger touched the icing and he brought it to his mouth! We all held our breath to see what he would do next and then he did .. . . nothing.=) Mommy (my sister) helped show him how to tear up the cupcake and eat it piece by piece. Apparently Gabe's not into the whole messy scene.=) It was fun to watch him try, though!=)

Next came present time - to which all of the children there (with the exception of some friends' baby) decided to help out with.=) And they no only helped out with the opening, but also with the putting together.=) It was neat to watch the kids try to help the adults with the assembly of the toys. They actually did a great job. As for the birthday boy? He enjoyed the toys after they were put together.=)

I think it was quite the successful party. Gabe seemed to have a good time (As did his sister, who also scored some nice gifts!) and it was nice to see everyone who came for the party.

After the party was over, we had the chance of traveling out to the Northeast Florida Fair in Callahan, FL. We got to see livestock (cows, rabbits, pigs, ducks, roosters, etc.), watch Marcail play a couple of games, visit with friends, get our picture taken (Friends of ours - check out their blog: In His Images - had a booth there and were taking pictures for only $5), and eat yummy fair food (You know, BBQ, funnel cakes, kettle corn. . yumm!)!!! It was nice to go out there and walk around for a while. It did get quite nippy though after a little while. I'm amazed at how quickly it can cool down!! Actually felt a little bit like fall!=)

Sunday was the last day my sister and her husband were in town, so after church we all went out to dinner together. Then my sister's husband (who loves the beach) asked to go down to the water. Now, please know that it was not warm on this day. The wind was blowing, it was chilly, no sun in the sky. Not really beach weather. However, my sister's husband was determined to go swimming in the ocean and being the good hosts that we are, we obliged.=) So after lunch we drove down to the beach, found a nice place to park and watched as my sister's husband took off for the ocean and dove straight in!! It was quite the sight!!=) After this (and after he had dried off) we went back to sister's house before taking my sister and her husband to the airport.

That evening we all just relaxed around the house and visited with one another. It was a great weekend and a great visit! I can honestly say that one of my favorite things to do is to spend time with my family! I love them very much and truly appreciate every opportunity I get to see them! They're a lot of fun!=)

Tagged

2008-10-22T17:25:00.000-04:00

Okay, I read a couple other blogs and finally figured out what I'm supposed to do (or at least I think I know what I'm supposed to do!). My sister-in-law tagged me and now I am supposed to write 7 interesting things about myself that others may not know. I am with my sister and think that this will be tough. But here we go. .

1. I hate, and I mean HATE, being called Teenie Beanie. The only people ever allowed to do such a horrid thing has been my family. And they are on thin ice now if they ever do it!=)

2. I, too, have always wanted a horse. I imagined my horse being white (all white) and beautiful! I planned for my horse to live on my grandparents land and for me to come over and ride it whenever I wanted (without cleaning or grooming it, of course!).=)

3. I love everything Chinese. Most of you who know me already know this, but for those of you who don't - surprise! No, I'm not a communist (so, okay, I don't love EVERYTHING Chinese.. sheesh, I have to be so specific!), but I do love the Chinese culture, the Chinese people, the Chinese language . . . I could go on and on. My husband always jokes with me that I'm more Chinese than he is.=) (Totally not true, though.)

4. I do not enjoy living in FL. I actually think that's an understatement. . .definitely an understatement. I envy those that have gotten out of this state (i.e., Jen). I am just serving my time and waiting for the Lord to rescue me from this prison!=)

5. I have obessive/compulsive tendencies. Ask my husband what happens after I vaccum a carpet and he walks on it. Go ahead, I dare you. . .=)

6. To me, NFL football is the only resonable sport out there to watch.=) I always get so sad when February comes around, the Super Bowl is over and I have to wait until the fall again for some good Sunday afternoon entertainment!! And of course, Pittsburgh is the only great team out there to root for!!=)

7. I love Ryan Reynolds. Yes, I've said it. I love Ryan Reynolds (Don't worry, Frank knows all about it.)! He may not have the cleanest mouth in the world or pick the best movies to star in, but man, is he cute!=)

Alright, well, I have managed to write 7 not so interesting facts about myself. I hope you all enjoyed a trip down Kris's lane. =) Now I know that we're supposed to write down 5 (5, right?) people to continue the tag, but I'm tagging everyone on my blog list. So if I have your blog on my site, then considered yourself tagged!=) I love you all!

Adventures in Baby-Sitting

2008-10-13T17:35:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday Frank and I had the privilege of baby-sitting Marcail and Gabe while their parents had a night out and away from the house (It was their 5 year wedding anniversary.). I picked the kids up from Carrie and Jonathan around 1:00 p.m. and drove them back to my house. At this point we picked up Uncle Frankie and drove back over to their place so that they could both catch a nap (This plan didn't work too well with Marcail - she had actuallly fallen asleep in the car on the way home to my place, so she wasn't really in the mood to lay down again.) before we really started the fun!=) After naptime, we got Marcail and Gabe into the car and went to do one of Marcail's favorite activities - shopping!=) We drove up to our local Target, got Marcail a "smoothie" (Strawberries and Creme frappuchino), settled Gabe in the cart and took off!=) It ended up being a short trip, but it was nice to get the kids out of the house for a little while. Plus, Marcail got to pick out what kind of cookies she wanted to make that evening after dinner (She made a wise choice in picking out Pillsbury's Deluxe Chocolate Chip Cookies) and Frank and I were able to get ourselves a nice treat (Ice cream - yumm!!). Then it was back home for dinner, baths and play time. We had a nice time making the cookies and playing together. Marcail and Gabe played together nicely and even managed to make a small tower out of the blocks! Although I think Marcail's favorite toy was her Uncle Frankie!=) After playing for a while (and having a cookie) it was time for bed. Frank and I got the kids settled (It took a little while with Marcail - she had to have her belly rubbed) and then he and I pulled out our ice cream and settled down to watch a little TV. Thankfully, Gabe slept pretty peacefully throughout the night (with the exception of 5 - 6 a.m.) and with some minor exceptions so did Marcail. We did wake early though (6:30), to the sound of Marcail coming into the bedroom to let us know that it was time to wake up.=) Uncle Frankie explained to Marcail that it was still dark outside and therefore NOT time to wake up yet. So Marcail climbed into bed with us and rested with us until about 7. Then she and I got up to make some breakfast and get ready for church. Gabe slept in until about 8 that morning, which was nice. Then it was his turn for breakfast and his turn to get ready for church. Frank and I did fail the "Can you get yourselves, plus 2 young children ready and make it to church on time" test.=) We got to Sunday School about 10 minutes late (which I guess isn't TOO bad, right?) and since I had to teach Sunday School that morning, Frank graciously offered to deliver both children to their respective places (nursery and Sunday School). After Sunday School and church we made our way back to Carrie and Jonathan's to wait for them to arrive back home. The kids were happy to see Mom and Dad and Mom and Dad were pretty happy to see the kids (Frank and I were happy to see them, too - we were ready for OUR naps!)!=)

All in all, it was a great time of being with the kids this past weekend and we were glad to give Carrie and Jonathan a chance to get out and truly celebrate their anniversary without any distractions!

Would we do it again? Definitely! Would we do it again next weekend? No!!=)

Date Night

2008-10-10T23:41:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, on my way home from work, I was pleasantly surprised by a phone call from my husband who told me that he was on HIS way home from work. This was the surprising part (not the phone call part - we do that quite often!) - that he would be on his way home at 4:00 in the afternoon! When I asked him what was bringing him home so early, he answered that it was because he wanted to take his wife out on a date! This was very nice to hear!! Over the summer we had tried to have a date night at least once a week, but once school started it had become a little harder to do. So coming home yesterday to my husband was such a very nice surprise!!

We ended up driving down into Jacksonville and getting a quick bite to eat. Then, we had a little extra time to kill before the movie and decided to spend it in one of my husband's favorite stores - Best Buy.=) After that we drove to the movie, got our tickets, popcorn and pop and made our way into the movie theater. We ended up seeing the movie Fireproof. If you haven't heard of it, please check it out at Fireproof.com. Both of us had wanted to see this movie for a little while so we were happy to get the chance to see it last night. And I have to tell you that it didn't disappoint. I am not one to advocate for a movie, but this movie is definitely one that I highly recommend. No matter where you are in your marriage (or relationship), this is one worth seeing! It was a very encouraging, uplifting movie. And the message stayed true. I really enjoyed it (so did Frank). It was a great reminder of Who is the ultimate example of love (But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8) and Who is the One that truly sustains marriages. Like I said, I really liked the movie!=)

After the movie, Frank took me to Starbucks for a quick cup of coffee and then, unfortunately, it was time to head home (After all, Frank and I both had to get up for work this morning!)!

We had a great time out and about together last night. It was just a wonderful time of being together! Thank you for letting me share it with you!!

Weekend Getaway

2008-09-25T23:00:00.000-04:00

Frank and I spent a nice Saturday and Sunday in Tampa, FL last weekend! It was a nice little getaway and gave us a nice chance to forget about everything back at home!=) We left early Saturday morning and made it to the small town of San Antonio around noon. Frank took me to a Mexican Restaurant for lunch that he and his friends had gone to a lot during his 2 years spent at USF (University of South Florida). It was a nice little place and it was great to see a piece of Frank's history! I took a couple of pictures of the restaurant (Much to Frank's dismay!), we looked around the town a little bit longer and then we headed on into Tampa. Once we got to Tampa, Frank drove me through the USF campus (well, as much as was possible, anyway - that campus is HUGE!) and showed me where, sniff, sniff, his dorm used to be (they have since torn them down and replaced them with sorority houses). Again, much to his dismay, I took several pictures!=) I think Frank found it hard to believe that I actually enjoyed seeing all of his old hangouts and school, but I really did!! It was a lot of fun!!=)

After seeing the campus, Frank and I checked in to our hotel and just rested up a bit. After that we hit the streets on Channelside Drive! Basically we just walked around for about 10 minutes or so and then got back to the car (there wasn't much to see down there). We then headed to a town next to Tampa called Ybor (pronounced E-bore) City. I was able to see one of the game places that Frank and his friends used to hang out at during their school days! Again, I was loving the history!!=)

By this time we were pretty hungry so we decided to travel down one of the main roads right outside of downtown. We ended up finding a pretty nice place to eat and thankfully we made it into the restaurant right before it downpoured!! While it rained outside, we had a nice dinner inside!!=) After dinner, we tried to find somewhere to eat for dessert (to no avail) and instead found the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stadium (Yes, I had to take a picture!). Then it was back to the hotel for the night!

In the morning we grabbed some breakfast, drove past Busch Gardens and headed home. It was really nice to get away and even better to spend the weekend with just each other! It's getting harder and harder to get away like that and we truly enjoy each opportunity we have to do so!! Enjoy a couple of pictures from our getaway!=)

Baby-Sitting

2008-09-14T16:53:00.000-04:00

Frank and I had the opportunity to baby-sit for Carrie and Jonathan while they got a night out on the town yesterday afternoon/evening.=) It is always fun to spend time with Marcail and Gabe! Marcail is so animated now and talks almost like a grown up!=) We had a great time playing with her Thomas trains and watching Thomas on T.V. Gabe tried to stay in the action by crawling around and "talking" on the phone!=) Here are just a couple of pictures from our fun night with Marcail and Gabe (As you can tell from the one picture, Marcail loves her Uncle Frankie!). Enjoy!

New School Year/Tropical Storm Fay

2008-08-23T14:15:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I know it's been a while since I last posted and I apologize for the delay. Since coming back from WA, I have been busy preparing for and starting my new school year! It seems as though the last few weeks have just flown by! But it has been good.

The new school year officially started (for me) on August 6th. This was my first day with my new class. For those of you who don't know, I teach 4 year olds (they turn 5 throughout the year) in a private faith based school. Our program is advanced (our prek program is equivalent to a kindergarten program) and it can be challenging. Right now I have 14 children in my classroom and they have been going through the adjustment period very well. I am looking forward to this new school year! The kids definitely keep me on my toes! =) Thankfully, this year I have a pretty even balance of boys to girls. Although my boys this year are definitely all boy! =) As I said, they have already been keeping me on my toes! =)

Along with school comes hurricane season for us down here in FL. Most years, Jacksonville does not really get hit with any hurricanes. They usually end up veering away from us or losing their strength and we usually only end up with rain. This year, however, brought us something a little different. Tropical Storm Fay hit us last Wednesday evening and stuck around until yesterday. My school was closed from last Wednesday until yesterday. Thankfully, it was just a tropical storm! We were hit with lots and lots of rain and some "mighty" winds, but that is all. No major damage and we only lost our power for about 5 minutes at a time. I talked with several of my parents (who live in a different county) and unfortunately, they had lost power for several hours. So I am very thankful for our continued power! It was nice to have the time off from work (who doesn't love days off?!), but I have to admit that I am actually looking forward to going back to school on Monday! I guess a 5 day weekend can cause cabin fever!=)

Frank actually had 2 days off from work this week as well due to Fay. It was nice to have him home those two days! We spent much of our time watching Season 1 of One Tree Hill. =) Good times.=)

Other than that, things are moving along. Frank remains busy at work and church. We both have recently started to work with the youth at church. It is quite a blessing! We have a wonderful group of youth at church and they are a joy to be around! We feel very blessed to be able to work with them! Our church also just held Mercy Days. This is an outreach program to the community that our church began last year. It occurs right before public school goes back. Our church gives out backpacks filled with school supplies as well as food and clothing. Talk about an extra blessing!! We were very privileged to be a part of that! It makes us very thankful for everything that the Lord has given us! God is good. More than we know. . . .

Announcement

2008-08-23T11:09:00.000-04:00

Frank and I are very excited about where the Lord is taking us in our marriage and we wanted to share a part of what He's doing with/in us!

Frank and I have been in the midst of an adoption process for almost a year now. This past July we learned that we are officially on the waiting list! We are very excited about this blessing! Please join with us in thanksgiving to the Lord for this wonderful opportunity and blessing! Please also pray with us that the waiting time will go quickly and will be short! We ask for the Lord's timing, but are very anxious to welcome home the child He sees fit to give us! Thank you!!!

P.S. We are adopting from Taiwan. Just in case you were curious.=)

Washington Visit

2008-07-20T00:17:00.000-04:00

What a special time it was in Washington! I had not seen my friend, Cristy, in about 5 years and a lot had changed since then. It was such a blessing to get to visit with her, her husband and their little girl. We had some wonderful days just talking and catching up. And contrary to what I had been told, the weather was beautiful!!! I almost felt as though I were still in FL.=) I didn't have to pull out a sweater once!!=)

Cristy and her husband, Edwin, took me to Pike Place Market on the Sunday after I arrived. That place definitely offered some neat tourist type gifts, but was also really neat to walk through. The restaurant where Tom Hanks eats in Sleepless in Seattle is there, plus the first, original Starbucks (there was a LONG line for that coffee!)! I also walked past many stands with fresh cherries, veggies and who can forget the Fish stand. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to see the guys toss fish to anyone, but it was still neat to check it out. That day I was also able to get a picture of Mt. Rainier (which is somewhat ruined by the addition of the Seattle Seahawks stadium - sorry, Edwin!) and a couple of nice scenic pictures. Cristy and Edwin were also nice enough to drive me up to the Space Needle so that I could get a picture. After that we travelled the 3 hours to Kennewick, where Cristy and Edwin live.

The week in Kennewick was spent bike riding, going to the park/playground with Tory, playing Phase 10, Nerts, and Settlers of Canaan (I did not win much.) and visiting Edwin's work place. It was really neat to visit the winery and get a tour of the place. The building where the gift shop is located is beautiful!!! We were able to have lunch with Edwin that day, which was really nice. The land is perfect for grape growing (so I'm told) and is quite brown (but still pretty!!). I loved being surrounded by hills and mountains again, though!!=)

Unfortunately, my time in WA went by way too fast! Before I knew it Cristy and I were headed back into Seattle! Thankfully, her aunt allowed us to spend the night in her house so that we would not have to make the long drive into Seattle on Thursday morning. I thought that was very kind of her!=) Cristy was also very kind and came into the airport with me on Thursday just in case my suitcase was over the 50 lb. limit! If it were, then she was going to be kind enough to help me rearrange!=) Surprisingly, though, it was only 47 lbs.!! That was a nice surprise!!

I find that it gets harder and harder to say goodbye to those that mean the most to you. Although I was anxious to get home to see Frank, it was sad to say goodbye to my friend. It is a comfort to know that even though we are separated by many miles, we will forever be connected by the blood of Jesus Christ. How thankful I am to have Cristy not only as my friend, but also as a sister in Christ!!

PA Time

2008-07-19T21:16:00.000-04:00

Okay, everybody, I finally have time to sit down and write about my trips these past 2 weeks! I am hoping to attach some pictures to the bottom of these posts as well. Since I spent time in two different places, I'll be posting 2 separate accounts. I hope this is okay and I hope it helps lessen any confusion there may be!! Alright, now on to the vacations!!!

I had a great time in PA with my family! I slept in, visited with my parents, spent some time with my grandma and even caught up on my favorite shows!=) Here's the rundown of my week:

Monday: Dinner at Grandma's (yummy chicken, noodles, mashed potatoes, bread and for dessert. . . peanut butter pie! Yummm!!)

Tuesday: Dinner at Don Pablo's and then off to see Mame the musical at the Benedum in downtown Pittsburgh!

Wednesday: Tea with Mom, Sandhill Berries and then off to Connellsville for the John Woodruff 5K walk/run (I did not come in first!).

Thursday: Dinner out with Grandma (We went to a place called Grille 31 in Mt. Pleasant. It was pretty good. The only downside, as Dad would say, was the lousy atmosphere.).

Friday: A run to my old elementary school (Mom needed to drop some things off), iced coffee from McDonald's (really good!), and then a stop at the Pie Shoppe in Donegal for some really good cinnamon rolls and monkey tails. That evening we also went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game. All I have to say is that at least we got a nice fireworks display after the game!!=)

Saturday: DRAFT DAY!!! This morning we completed our draft for our family's upcoming fantasy football season. Everyone was on a Skype conference call (with the exception of Jess and Tom) and we successfully completed our draft in 2 1/2 hours. Yes, folks, it's that serious!!=) Then it was off to the airport for me!!

All in all, it was a great time! I am learning to take advantage of every opportunity to spend extra time with my family. You never know when it could be your last! And I am very thankful that I have a husband who is very understanding of this! It is always rough to be away from him, but it is nice to have him to look forward to coming home to!!=) The Lord has given me much to be thankful for. I am very blessed indeed!! I hope you all enjoy the pictures!!

Home

2008-07-07T11:12:00.000-04:00

I have made it to sunny PA! It was a pretty uneventful trip, but a good one. We did end up stopping in West Virginia Saturday night to help break up the long drive. I have to admit that as anxious as I was to be done with the traveling, it was nice to stop. My dad was even able to watch his NASCAR race that evening!=)

We ended up arriving at my parents' home around midday on Sunday and spent the rest of the day just relaxing and unpacking. I am officially set up in the guest room for the week. I am looking forward to spending some extra time with my parents this week as well as with my aunt and grandmother. I miss my husband something fierce, but I know that he is doing well. He is working hard and getting to spend some extra time with our niece and nephew. I am sure that he is enjoying his time with them!=)

This week should be quite busy! My mom has scheduled quite a few fun things to do! We are going to see Mame tomorrow in Pittsburgh, walking in a 5K race on Wednesday, visiting my younger sister on Thursday and going to a Pirates game on Friday! Then Saturday is our big draft for our family's fantasy football league. All of these things should make the week go by rather quickly! I'm sure that Saturday will be here before I know it!=)

Summer Vacation

2008-07-02T17:29:00.000-04:00

I am officially on summer vacation! It feels so nice to have a month or so off from work. It has been a great year, though! I have learned many valuable lessons from my preschoolers and their parents. And I have many wonderful things to look forward to this July! Right now, I am enjoying a nice visit from my parents. They will be here for a couple more days and then I will go back to PA with them on Saturday. I am looking forward to spending some one on one time with my parents. After that I will be flying out to Seattle to visit a very good friend of mine. I am really excited about that trip, since I haven't seen my friend since my wedding day, almost five years ago! Much has changed since then and I am anxious to see her, her husband and their adorable (almost) 2 year old daughter!! It should be a wonderful summer!
Once I get back from my travels I will spend some much wanted time with my husband before heading back to work. I am sad that he isn't able to travel with me, but he gives me something to look forward to when I come home!!=) Plus, I know it will give him much needed time with his friends and family! He is a hard worker and does his very best to please the Lord every day! I am very blessed to have him as my husband!
That is all for now! I will post again when I have some pictures from my time up in PA and Seattle.