Our precious little miracle!

Our little miracle, Logan Daniel Cole, was born on Wednesday December 10th at 4:15pm - we are SO blessed! He is wonderfully healthy, weighing in at 6 lbs. 15 ozs and 19 inches long.



We have been absolutely flooded with loving family and friends these past few days. We cannot thank everyone enough for your prayers, encouragement, love, and sweet comments about our little man. He is truly a dream come true, and we look forward to sharing more about his life with you as the days go by.

Sorry it has taken a few more days to get this stuff up here, we had some difficulties with the network at the hospital and the pictures. There is a new link on the right that will have all our updated pictures of him, and there will be plenty! Between his Daddy and his Grampa, this little boy has already been the subject of somewhere around 500 pictures.

I'm sitting here with this little body on my chest, and I am freshly amazed at our God's creation, grace, and in awe of His design. Even just throughout the delivery, the things that God created my body to do in order to bring this little guy into the world, and the things that his little body knew immediately how to do...countless miracles within just a few hours and days.

We are madly in love with this little boy, and so incredibly grateful for everyone's love. Thank you!

A Christmas to Remember

I wanted to take you on a little Christmas tour of our home! I absolutely love the Christmas season, and I get an amazing amount of joy out of the traditions found in this season, and being in my home with it all decorated! I've always wondered why I love this season so much, and I think that one of the reasons is that while I was growing up, everyone came home at Christmas! I love my family to death, and this was definitely a time I looked forward to.

Our little yellow house - our neighbors are probably thrilled that we've done something with the outside of the house - they pretty much decorate for EVERY holiday, and we haven't done anything at all!

I love this little reindeer! I got him last year after Christmas for just a few dollars I think :) Definitely one of the best times to buy decorations.

Come on in!

This is one of my favorite little decorations - and it's so simple. I just fill it with the trimmings off the bottom of the tree, and some berry picks that I got a few years ago.

Our tree! We always do a real tree - I love the smell and the fun of going out to get it. Living in the city does provide a little bit of an interesting scenario, since the only cute little place to get trees only had $60 trees! So...we drove to Home Depot, not quite as quaint as a little church setup, or a tree farm - but still fun!

Another of my favorite things. Setting up Mom's Christmas village was always my responsibility (and privilege) and our first year married she gave me the wonderful gift of two houses and a few people to start my own village.

My favorite flowers

Our centerpiece on the table - I love the warmth of candles in the winter.

Another of my favorite decorations. These letters were a gift last year from my sister, and I love them! Danny and his creative juices put the candles behind them - which I don't think I would've come up with, but I love it!

Our upstairs banister wrapped in garland. We didn't do much else upstairs, other than a few things set on each of our dressers, and a candle in the bathroom.

We did do one last fun thing though!! This is currently hanging on the baby's crib - just waiting for him or her to arrive! I can't believe that we're going to have a baby in this house for Christmas! The stocking holder is mine from growing up - I believe that Mom painted them for us?

In case you can't tell - we love Christmas around here! We feel greatly blessed this year, and every year :) Assuming this baby arrives before Christmas (which we can't imagine that he/she wouldn't), in the next two weeks, Danny will finish his MBA, we will have a baby, and I will get to spend the first whole Christmas with my family in 3 years!

God has been wonderful to us.

Thanks for coming through our house!

One of "those" women

I've always told myself I'd never become one of "those" women. You know, the ones that turn crazy when they're pregnant, and the rest of the world can't wait until the baby's born just so that the hormones will return to normal levels, and so will she. I never understood how someone who has been given the amazing gift of a child about to be born could be so focused on something like their swollen feet, or how much their back hurts, and do nothing but exclaim just how much they want it out!!

I've seen the effect that this attitude can have on other women. The discouragement, heartbreak, and even bitterness that can arise in a woman who would give anything to be pregnant, but can't for multiple reasons, whether that be infertility, lack of a husband or just a phase of life that doesn't allow it. I've seen the woman who smiles sweetly, congratulates a couple that has just made "the announcement" and promptly finds herself a corner or bathroom to be alone where she can shed her tears; and the woman who just can't attend one more baby shower or dedication because of the heartbreak she herself is experiencing. The thought that my behavior could cause these kinds of feelings in someone else breaks my heart.

Yesterday morning I woke up again having contractions, and thought to myself "Maybe this is the day!" Mind you, this is the same thought I've had almost every day since my doctor started checking me almost 2 weeks ago and said she didn't think I had much longer to go. Needless to say, an hour and a half later, I had only had one other contraction. I pitched quite the temper tantrum at God in the shower, and another at my poor husband a few minutes later.

About 30 minutes later, in the middle of my quiet time, I had a complete emotional breakdown when I realized that I have become "that woman", and for a while, I felt like I have somehow failed. I have become what I always said I wouldn't. I still regret much of the attitude that I have had for these last months, but I am also reminded that God's mercies are new every morning - thank goodness for that!

I can't wait for this baby to be born. Mostly, I am just really excited to meet him or her, find out if it is a boy or a girl, see what the baby looks like! But I have also found myself complaining about the other negative parts of these last weeks of pregnancy far too often. I sobbed as I prayed and asked for God's forgiveness, and His help in being patient and trusting in His timing for this little one to arrive. I was encouraged by James 1:2-4 ~ "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith provides endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing". When I get to the end of this, it will be in God's timing, and His timing is perfect! Though I feel like it has been long enough, apparently it has not.

So, for those of you who have been offended, hurt, or even just annoyed by my complaints or comments, I want to apologize. I am sorry for my negative attitude, and for any temper tantrums of mine that you have had to witness. Especially for those women that struggle with this area in particular, for any of the reasons above, or for others I didn't think of - I am so sorry. I cannot imagine this pain, and would never want to assume that I can. My heart breaks for you, and you are in my prayers. Please forgive me for any offensive or thoughtless comments I have made.

This is, and has been, a hard season, but that does not change things. Every moment of every day I am witnessing, and carrying, a miracle. I am about to enter the season of life that I have waited for for a long time. I am SO grateful. Every day I work with families who don't make it this far with a healthy baby. We are so blessed in so many ways, and I do not want to lose sight of that for one minute! This baby is a gift of God, and we cannot wait to meet him or her, but we will do so in His timing, not ours. Hopefully that will be soon, and we will be home long before Christmas with this little one. But if not, I am trusting (or trying really hard to!) that it is for good reason, and we will love this baby even more by the time he or she gets here, whenever that may be.

Pediatrician

So...the other day, I had a slight panic moment when I realized that I have yet to choose a doctor for this baby! I have NO idea how to go about this process - so I thought I'd turn to you all for help!

For my local friends: Do any of you have a pediatrician/family practice doc that you love? I'd like to stay as close to the city as possible - but I'd be willing to drive to White Marsh or Towson.

For my out of town friends: What do you look for in a pediatrician? Do you go and interview them? How does this whole process work? Do you prefer a straight pediatrician, or a family practice doc?

Thanks ladies!!! Guess I should start to figure this stuff out :)

Four

This is an email forward I got - but I'm gonna use it as a blog post! I'd love to see your responses, either in an email or on your blog. :)

Four places that I go to over and over:

1. Home
2. Church
3. Caregroup
4. Work

Four people who e-mail me (regularly):

1. Danny
2. Libby
3. Julia
4. Melissa

Four of my favorite places to eat

1. LongHorn Steakhouse
2. Chick-Fil-A
3. Panera
4. Noodles & Company

D) Four places you would rather be:

1. Anywhere with my family all together :)
2. Bermuda
3. On a trail ride with my horse
4. Shopping and having coffee with my mom, aunt and sisters.

(E) Four people I tag!

1. Melissa
2. Danielle
3. Liz
4. Kristin

F) Four TV shows I watch:

1. Friends
2. Lost
3. Hopkins
4. Any other medical/mystery/CSI type show! :)

How about the rest of you? What are your "fours"?

So blessed!

Danny and I feel so blessed this week! In only the last 7 days, I have had one baby shower at work, one at church, and found out about a family shower being thrown for Baby after he or she is here!

We are so grateful for the effort people have gone to just to shower us with their love and excitement as we have this baby.

On Halloween, there was a "Halloween party" at my work, or so I thought. I signed up to bring crab dip, and when they called me back to heat it up for the party, I was shocked to see a big sign in the lounge that said "Welcome Baby Cole!" Two of my friends at work had planned the whole thing as a surprise, and I definitely was!

Then on Sunday, our caregroup threw a church shower for me...which was so much fun! Every second of it was a blast, and I'll have to post some pictures later of the amazing decorating job!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way to helping us prepare for this baby. Every time I walk in the nursery, I am amazed at how much we are loved, and the number of people who have helped, purchased gifts, made gifts, donated clothes, etc. just to help us get ready.

Thank you. We look forward to introducing him or her to you, not too long from now!

Handsome Man

It's not his birthday, our anniversary, or any "special day" in particular.

I just wanted to let the world know how much I love him. We've spent just over 4 years together, from when we had our "DTR" at Fall Retreat with CRU. (For those of you who aren't familiar with this particular term, it stands for Define the Relationship) At times, I can't believe it's been 4 years already, and at other times, I can hardly remember what it was like not to have him there.

I just love him. With everything in me, I fall in love with him more every day. We have our challenges, our hard days, and life is by no means a fairy tale, but I love it, and I love him.

Day after day, he works endlessly to care for me, to serve me, and to care for our little one that isn't even here yet. 2 1/2 years ago, he started his MBA - not because he wanted to be in school again (although he does enjoy the learning) but mostly because he knew that it was a wise step that would be necessary for him to provide for us throughout the rest of our years. This program has been hard! Like I said, he does enjoy the learning aspect of it, but there have been many seemingly pointless class sessions, projects, and even field trips throughout the whole process.

Every day he leaves in the morning and spends 9 hours of his day working to provide for us, without a breath of complaint, even though he doesn't really love what he does, or all of the people he works with.

Especially in the last 7 months, he has come home from his days ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done around the house. He trims and pounds meat that needs to be cooked, because it makes me nauseous. He cleans the bathrooms so that our little one isn't exposed to any chemicals. He gets up in the middle of the night for juice when I'm nauseous, and has wet more washcloths and held my hair away from my face more times than I'm sure he'd like to even think about! He has turned a junk-filled office into a beautiful nursery, ready to welcome this little one to the world. He does these things, not because he is asked, but because he wants to, before I have asked for anything. In fact, he hasn't let me clean the bathrooms or the kitchen floor this entire pregnancy. I'm spoiled rotten by this man, and I certainly never wonder if I'm loved!

Almost every night, before he goes to sleep, he makes sure that he talks to Baby for a minute, prays for us, and waits for his or her "daily kicks for Daddy". I can't wait to see him be a daddy :) He's gonna be great!

I could say so much more, and could come up with more and more ways that he loves me.

Some days, it's scary to love this much, but I wouldn't give it up for the world. He is my best friend, I love the feeling of his arms around me, and I still treasure waking up next to him every morning.

What can I say, I just love him.

Yummy chicken recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes, adapted from one of my sister's recipes. It's really yummy and pretty easy!

You will need:

• 1 pack chicken breasts


• 1/2 bottle or so of your favorite barbecue sauce


• Deli ham


• Cheddar cheese

I usually try to pound out the chicken so it's kind of thin, it cooks faster, and is more tender that way!

• Tenderize chicken
• Place in 9x13 pan (or smaller, if it will fit)
• Lay ham slices on top of chicken
• Top with cheddar (or Swiss cheese, if you like it)
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or however long it takes to cook the chicken all the way through. This will be affected by how thin you pound it out!

It's really yummy, and is pretty good left over. Enjoy!

Baby Room!

This weekend Danny, his brothers, and his dad spent all day Saturday working on our nursery. I was at work all day, and I came home to a completely different room!!!


When I left - this is what it looked like - yes, along with the pile of junk in the middle of the room.

This is what it looked like sometime in the middle of the day....

And this is what it looked like when I got home!

I absolutely love the room :) It's perfect! I'm always a little afraid that things I like in my head won't look like I imagine them, and it'll already be done, so I won't be able to change it!

My wonderful mother has graciously agreed to make the curtains and a crib skirt for me, and I found the perfect fabric here! I'm excited to see how it looks in the end - and it's been fun to watch it start to come together!

Well...that was Saturday. Sunday was a little bit more of an adventurous day. I was supposed to work on Sunday night, so I was able to go to church on Sunday (a great blessing, especially on a weekend that I'm working!) Unfortunately, I started feeling strange partway through, and began to suspect that I was having some contractions closer to the end of church.

Well, after coming home, resting and drinking water, they had not stopped, but were in fact becoming more regular. So...we spent the next few hours in the hospital. The monitor confirmed the contractions. They did some labs, one of which predicts delivery within the next 2 weeks - which was thankfully negative! My doctor sent us home with instructions to take it easy for a few days, call out of work, and call her today.

The contractions have continued, they kind of come and go with intensity and frequency. Because they're not continuing to get stronger, I will be returning to work on Thursday, but only for 8 hour shifts, not the normal 12.

We are increasingly thankful for God's grace in keeping our little one safe, but I would be lying if I said that we aren't a little anxious as well.

Because of all this, Danny stayed home with me yesterday, and rather than sitting being anxious, we decided that Danny would work on the baby's room some more, with my "supervision" and company. :)

Danny working on the crib

My small amount of assistance :) I wanted to be involved at least in some part!

The final product!!!

We love it - and look forward to lying our little one in this crib, rocking in this room, and adding more designs to the walls, depending on what this little one is!

There's a lot going on here in our house these days, but we're trusting and thanking God for each moment, trying to relish these last months as just the two of us, and looking forward to the day we get to meet our little one - just not too soon!

Under 100!! (We hope)

Wow! I opened my blog this morning, and I can't believe we have less than 100 days left of this pregnancy (hopefully). In ways it seems like it's gone by quickly, but most of the time it feels like it's been a long time. Not in a bad way at all, it just takes a long time to grow a baby :) Maybe some of that is because we found out only days after we moved into this house, and it feels like we've been here for a while already.

We're still getting ready for this little one to arrive, although I'm feeling much less uptight about it than I thought I might. Mom and I bought fabric for curtains and a crib skirt this week, so we have colors now. I ordered furniture the other day, after months of looking on craigslist and emailing people, and then not hearing back, or hearing that it was sold. JCPenneys was having a sale, and we decided it was worth it to not have to think about it anymore. On Saturday the 27th Danny, along with his dad and brothers, is going to hang the trim and paint the baby's room! It's crazy - completely. It's beginning to feel more real. We registered on Labor day and it was strange to walk around and think about where these things would go in our house, how we'll use them, etc.

Sometimes I don't feel old enough to have a baby yet (I think that's what a lot of other people think too!) but then again, sometimes I don't feel like I'm old enough to have a house, or a real job, or a husband, etc. But, we are very very excited for this new phase, and can't wait to meet our little person!

25 week marveling

This past week at work I had an interesting, amazing experience. On Saturday, Baby and I hit the 25 week mark of this pregnancy. I realize these 2 things don't seem to have anything in common, but I promise they do :)

At work, we have what is called the "resus" team. This is short for resuscitation team. This team includes a nurse, resident, fellow, and whomever else may be necessary. We attend all premature and otherwise possibly high risk deliveries in order to provide care for the baby. On Friday, I was assigned to the resus team.

Usually, this means that my day would probably include 2 or 3 full-term deliveries that are high risk for whatever reason, or maybe one preterm delivery that we then bring down and admit to our unit. However, on Friday, this meant 5 full-term deliveries that we attended and sent to full term nursery, 1 29-weeker that I admitted to our unit, and one 25-weeker. While I've been resus before, I've never had anything smaller than a 28 weeker, and even then, that was only once. I was definitely nervous knowing that a 25 weeker was on the way, for 2 different reasons. First, 25-weekers are fragile!!! They're still really little, and really early! Stabilizing them is not always easy. Secondly, being 25 weeks pregnant, I wasn't sure how it would feel to see a fresh 25-weeker and be responsible (as part of a team) for the survival of this little one!

God's grace was very evident throughout the delivery and resus of this 25-weeker. The resus went beautifully, the team worked together well, and I was wonderfully supported by both our doctors and my charge nurse. I was so grateful for God's grace throughout the resus! It went as well as it could have, and the little guy did really well! He still has a long road of him, but a good start always helps.

Later on, as I stood by the bedside, I just marveled at the goodness of God. Knowing that this perfectly formed little baby is just about the same as my little one brought me to tears. I wonder, why does God allow mine to stay in my womb and continue to grow when this one was brought out early? On the way home, I heard a song and one of the lines is "God is God and I am not, I can only see a part of the picture He's painting. God is God and I am man, so I'll never understand it all, for only God is God." What a perfect chorus to hear that evening. I am not God, I never will be, and I may never understand it all, but God is God. All I know is that I am amazed at the life He's growing in me, and His goodness to us throughout this pregnancy.

Ahh, vacation...and other details.

We just got back from 6 wonderful days in St. Petersburg, Florida. In case you didn't know - I LOVE the beach. I love to relax on the beach, read on the beach, play in the sand and the water. I love all times of day at the beach. I enjoy getting out there early when there aren't a ton of people there, I love the hot sun in the middle of the day, I love being snuggled up in a long sleeve shirt and sheet in the late afternoon with that wonderful beach breeze, I love playing in the sand and surf at sunset, and I love to walk late at night on the beach.

The water is so refreshing to me, it's almost as if I can breathe deeper just seeing the ocean!

This past week we got to spend some wonderful time with my sister and her 2 kids and with my parents. The weather wasn't fantastic, but we still enjoyed ourselves on the beach, at the pool, watching the Olympics and eating WAY too much food! I'll post pictures soon - when I get some uploaded.

We are awaiting a new computer at this time, since both of ours have officially declared themselves dead. So...if I don't post, or if you email me and I don't respond quickly, know that I just haven't gotten it :) I only have email when I'm at work right now.

Hoping to be back online soon...

Almost 20 weeks!

In ways, it feels like this pregnancy is going very quickly, and in others - it seems like December is still a very long way off! :) Now that I am in the second trimester, I am loving every second of being pregnant - well, almost every second anyways. I am almost halfway, and every day I grow more and more in awe of this gift.

We had our extended sonogram last week, and it was such a blast to see our little one move around, count all the fingers and toes, and make sure that everything is going well. I confirmed with the sonographer that there is no evidence of gastroschisis, omphalocele, neural tube defects or cardiac defects. She looked at me like I was kinda crazy until I told her that I'm just a paranoid NICU nurse :)

Doing a headstand! Sweet little face :)

I am feeling him or her move around on an almost hourly basis, which is SO fun!

I'm gonna try to have Danny take some belly pictures soon, I'll get them up as soon as I can.

Now...for you other mommies out there. I am getting ready to register, and wanted to enlist your help. What things did you have that you could not have lived without? What things did you think you would need, but never use? Let me know specific brands even :) And one specific product question - I'm trying to decide between the Graco Quattro Stroller, the Graco Metrolite, and the Chicco travel system - does anybody have experience with any of them? Or either brand in general? Thanks so much!

One of my favorite holidays

I've decided that next only to Christmas, July 4th is my favorite holiday of the year! Not just the actual day, but the days surrounding it as well. You see, we have great traditions in my family surrounding this holiday. In Western Maryland, there is a huge battlefield called Antietam. Every year, they open this up to the public for a FREE Salute to Independence celebration. It is usually attended by close to 35,000 people, and it is a blast!

We go up in the morning to set up a tarp with our name on it, and leave a car close to the entrance. We spend a few hours playing in the pool at my parents, and depending on how hot it is, go back up around 3 or 4 o'clock. We take chairs, card games, dinner, and have a big picnic on our blankets. At 7 o'clock, the Maryland Symphony Orchestra begins their concert, which consists of all patriotic music, and is the same fantastic performance every year! One of my favorite moments is when they play the Armed Forces Salute, which includes the theme song for each branch of our military, and ask members of each branch to stand when their song is played. They play the Air Force song, and my daddy stands up, and it's one of the proudest moments for me. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. :) You see, growing up in a military family, I am a sucker for patriotic things. I love the music, the red white and blue clothes (yes, possibly even including my underwear for the day) and the feeling of family tradition and fun. I feel like a little kid sometimes, and think that some years, I might enjoy it more than most of them do! The last song (1812 Overture) is accompanied at the end by the cannons going off, and kicks off the beginning of one of the most amazing fireworks shows I've ever seen.

The whole day is a lot of work, a lot of walking, we get home late and sit in a lot of traffic on the way out - but it is without a doubt one of my favorite days of the year. This year was a little different, with less people there, we bought dinner instead of packed it, and it rained on us - a lot, but it was still the wonderful day that I look forward to every year.

I know it is way after the 4th now, but I wanted to share with you this joy of mine.

What is your favorite holiday of the year?

News around here

What is this?!

Yes, it's true, we're having a baby!

Introducing...Baby Cole!

I know, the picture is not very clear at all. On the actual screen, we could see him/her kicking legs and waving arms, it was very fun :)

Our due date is December 20th, 5 days after Danny finishes his MBA, and 5 days before Christmas :) We like to cut things close around here ;)




He looks a little confused, huh?

We are very excited and feel very blessed at this point in life, and look forward to our little one joining us this winter. More updates to come!

What a gift!

I just wanted to share one of my greatest blessings in life with you guys. This sweet boy came into my life when I was 13 years old, and although I was not terribly interested in looking for him, we fell in love within hours. He's always been a great listener, although he never has much to say back ;) Let me introduce you to this love...

I started riding when I was 9 years old. I can specifically remember the birthday party with my family when I was given gift certificates for riding lessons. I was elated! I had wanted to start riding for a while, and since we had moved to Maryland, it was much more possible.

I took riding lessons at one facility until I was 10 or so, I guess? It was a very large barn, and the lessons only involved riding - all the horses were groomed and tacked and ready to go when we got there. Mom and Dad wanted me to learn the importance of caring for a horse along with riding, and a little more about the work involved, so I moved facilities somewhere around 10 or 11.

At this new facility, when I arrived for my lessons, I was responsible (with the assistance and supervision of my instructor) for the grooming and tacking of the horse I would be riding for the day. This all had to be done before my lesson time started. Shortly after starting at this facility, I was given the opportunity to lease the horse I was riding for lessons. "Happy Appy" was his name - and I thought he was the most beautiful horse I'd ever seen. Recently, I saw some pictures of him, and he definitely was NOT. But...I thought he was beautiful nonetheless. I had him for about a year and a half, and then my riding abilities began to outgrow his "exercising" abilities. I was absolutely heartbroken the day that my instructor told me it was time to start looking for another horse.

A few weeks later, my parents, my instructor and I drove out to a farm about an hour away, and about an hour later, I fell in love. We walked out into the field, and I saw a beautiful black (in my mind) thoroughbred in tall grass with yellow flowers. I walked him all over the field, brushed him, and followed him around as he wandered the field as well. A few days later, he came to my barn for a 2 week trial. He was a dream to ride, and very well behaved. 2 weeks later, during a lunch at Golden Corral, my parents presented me with a copy of his registration papers, with my name listed as the owner! I was beside myself.

Since then, I have continued to fall in love with this boy. We have had wonderful times together, when we ride for hours on end, day after day. We've also had times where I barely get to even see him, but it is always one of the most refreshing things in my life, when I walk into the barn, smell that wonderful barn smell, and see him point his ears towards me.

The gift my parents gave me that day at Golden Corral has been one of the best in my life, and I could never show them how grateful I am for him. Not just for the enjoyment factor, but for what having him as taught me as well. Caring for him, planning for the purchases that need to be made for him, and scheduling time to see him has taught me responsibility and priorities. Working with him on a day that he is being a pill has taught me perseverance and patience. Enjoying him, spending time on the trails, and doing jumping combinations has taught me how to relax and enjoy my blessings.

This boy has been an amazing gift to me, and will continue to be, I'm sure - for a long time to come.

Mom and Dad, thank you for letting me have this gift, for sacrificing much for me to have him.

Danny, thank you for working so hard to make it so that I can keep enjoying him.

I love this boy. I've ridden many other horses, but I can't imagine that any other will ever come close to the bond I have with this boy of mine.

Thank you Lord, for this gift.

What took you so long?!

Hi friends, I know this has been around a few times probably, but I think it's hysterical, and hope it brings laughter to your day. :) Now we have an excuse for going in a group!


When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants!
The dispenser for the modern 'seat covers' (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on th e FLOOR! ), yank down your pants, and assume ' The Stance.' In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake . You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold 'The Stance.'
To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more. You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you h ave to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail.
Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. 'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your preci ous, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT .
It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.'
By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too. At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.
You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting. You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this.'
As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?'


This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!

Settling in at home!

Wow, it has been a crazy week! Sorry for the lack of updates, but we do not have internet at home yet. Needless to say...that is definitely getting old! But, hopefully we should have it sometime soon.

Well, we are getting settled in to our new home - and LOVING it! We had a HUGE amount of help the day we moved - which we could not be more thankful for. On Saturday when we moved, the weather was absolutely beautiful, and the move went very well. Several people stayed at the new house for a little while to help us with the stuff we would need right away. So...we started the move around 10:15, and by 4:00 we were in our new home, with an unpacked kitchen, our bedroom furniture set up, and our entertainment system already functional. What a gift!

Today we were able to paint our bedroom wall, which we were glad to do, and hope to paint our living room and bathroom soon!

I will post pictures as soon as I can - once we have internet again!

Settling tomorrow!

Hey guys - thanks for your prayers! Just wanted to give a quick update. The house has passed all necessary inspections, and we will be going to settlement at 2:15 tomorrow after our 1:45 final walk-through!! :)

We are very excited, and a little overwhelmed at the idea of getting all these boxes packed!

Thanks for your prayers.

Closing delayed

Well, we weren't able to settle on the house on Friday. There was some permit that the seller didn't get for the house, and wasn't able to get in time. So...we could use prayer! We were looking forward to painting and cleaning over the weekend, and I'm really having to trust in God that we'll still get in on time.

Please pray that we can get in so we can still move on Saturday! Also pray for my heart and attitude, that I could hand it over to my Lord and be willing to accept whatever the situation is.

Thanks! We'll keep you posted.

Picture frames, anyone?

Alrighty - we have determined with this move that it was time to get rid of some extra things. If we haven't used it in the last year we've lived in this house and don't have specific plans for it - we don't need it!

So...here they are! We are giving away a ton of picture frames. They are all in good condition - many of them still have the price tags on them. I went through a phase where I bought (or my parents bought for me, would be more accurate) a ton of picture frames, with big plans for printing pictures and having them all displayed, but unfortunately - that just never really happened. So, here are some frames that we've decided we just don't think we'll use. If anybody wants them - just let me know! I'm happy to bring them to church or whatever - I don't mind holding on to them for a bit for my non-local readers if you're interested, I just don't need them long term. Let me know if you're interested! I'll try to delete the pictures as I find out people are interested. There's a lamp in there too, if anybody wants that.


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Thanks for looking! Let me know if you're interested in anything, and we'll work it out!

Busy, busy, busy!

Wow, who ever knew buying a house involved all these details?!

We've been very busy the last few weeks. Between paperwork, loan appointments, packing, and all the other details of normal life - it's been quite hectic around here!

This past weekend, we had a wonderful few days. Friday, Danny was off work, so we were able to spend the day sleeping in, packing, watching a movie, and packing some more. Saturday, Danny spent the morning finishing packing up the office and taking down the computer desk (quite a task) while I did some baking and cooking. Saturday evening we spent celebrating Danny's mom's birthday at Steve and Julia's. It was fun to relax and spend time with family! We left that night and headed straight to my parents for a wonderful day celebrating our Savior with my parents, my best friend growing up, and her parents.

What a fun weekend! Unfortunately, on Monday, it was back to the grind of normal life around here.

We settle on the house on Friday! I'll keep you updated as more details come along.

Pics - as promised!

Here are some more pictures of the house, as promised! It was great to be able to get back in on Friday for the home inspection. The inspector said it looked great, and other than a few small cosmetic details, nothing needs to be done!

This is the view from the back door (in the kitchen) towards the living room.

This is the master bedroom with the sloped ceiling.

This is the 2nd bedroom upstairs.

We are still very excited about this move :) We are going to settlement on the 28th of March, and plan to move on April 5th, so any local folks who want to help, just let us know!

Boxes and Tips

Help!!!

Last time we moved, it was out of an apartment and seemed much less overwhelming than this move does for some reason. Other than new furniture, we haven't gotten that much more "stuff", yet the thought of packing is really overwhelming to me.

Does anybody have any moving tips they've found especially helpful?

Also - if anybody local has boxes - we could definitely use some! I could pick them up, or we could get them from you at church.

Thanks!

New home

We got it!

The little yellow house in the above picture is officially ours!

We will be back in on Friday for a home inspection and will take more pictures then, but here are a few.

I love the window over the sink!

The view as you walk in the front door :)

We don't officially have a settlement date yet, it looks like it'll be towards the end of March, and we'll move soon after!

We are very excited and look forward to this new season of life as homeowners. Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for a smooth transaction.