Wendy D. Smith

2009-02-23T21:13:00.002-05:00

Tonight Joel took Jake with him to worship team so that I could have a night all to my self.

This is what happened when they got home.

I changed Jake's diaper and put him in his jammies. Joel got him his milk cup.
He looked at me and said "night, night".
Me: "Is it time for you to go night, night"
Jake: "no, no" (very softly)
Me: "Is it time for mommy to go night, night"
Jake: "YES"
and he went and sat on Joel's lap.

He's such a daddy's boy at night! It was so cute and innocent that it almost made me cry!

I've got my work cut out for me....

2009-01-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

Tonight I saw a little glimpse of what the next few years will hold...

Jake bit my belly and broke a few blood vessels. The sibling fighting has already begun.

I think I better start praying now.

(But at least Jake is doing great sleeping in his bed!)

Random Thoughts from the last month

2009-01-20T21:37:00.002-05:00

Here are some random thoughts I've had over the last month....

1. Blood Diamond
Melissa suggested this movie to Joel and me, so we all watched it together. What an amazing movie! --- one I'm glad I've seen but not sure that I want to see again -- especially while pregnant.
Seeing the children soldiers made me so thankful that Jake and Luke are growing up in the US, but made my heart ache for the moms and little boys in Africa. I'm still trying to process what I should do about that --- just pray for them.. or do something more.

2. Because it's the right thing to do
I actually got catch a live version of the message this week at Riverview. Noel spoke on good deeds and not doing them just because it's the right thing to do, but because of Jesus. His message got me thinking that I want to look for ways to help out others when it is not one of those "it's the right thing to do" situations. For example, sending someone a gift card just because --- not because they are in need or their birthday or watching kids for a mom just because it is more convenient for her than me (even if I know I will be totally exhausted by the end).

3. I have the coolest son ever!
I'm so glad that I retired from teaching. Having more time with Jakers has been so much fun. He's growing up more and more each day... taking things to the trash, learning new words, able to open higher drawers and cabinets, figuring out how doors lock and so much more. He's also said goodbye to his crib at 16 months. For the past four days, he has taken all his naps and slept in his big boy bed every night. He made the transition very smoothly. I actually put the crib mattress back up to its highest position tonight... bye bye Jake's crib, hello Luke's crib.

4. Melissa
In November, Joel and I welcomed a new member into our house --- Melissa, a 22 year old college student. I absolutely love having her in our home! For one, it's nice to have another female around since I'm surrounded by boys. But I love that fact that she loves Jakers and the dogs and fits great into our family. She was even brave enough to take both dogs to the park today! It will be a sad, sad day whenever she leaves us!

I think that's all the thoughts I had... who knows with this pregnancy brain!

Best Baby Product I've seen in a While

2009-01-03T21:19:00.002-05:00

Joel and I had a little date night over Christmas break. We had a few gift cards so we decided to go shopping and spend them. I had a gift card to Target and didn't want to buy myself clothes since I only have a few more weeks to be in maternity stuff and don't have any idea about what size I will be after Luke comes, so I started look for stuff for Jakers (what any good mommy does right?).

I ended up splurging on a bib --- a all leather bib. They are called Lucky Spills by Mally Bibs (http://mallybibs.com/) It has a magnetic clasp and fits up to 2.5 years.

I absolutely love it!!! It was totally worth the $20! Because it is leather, everything just wipes off super easily and never stains. Plus Jake isn't strong enough yet to pull it off. And because it is magnetic, you can hang it on the fridge for easy access. I've pretty much thrown away all of my other bibs.

Oh, I forgot to mention, they are really cute too -- very stylish!

I can see

2008-10-25T10:18:00.001-04:00

I feel like a new person! I recently got contacts that I can wear up to a week at a time without taking them out. They are wonderful!!!! It is so nice to wake up and be able to read the alarm clock without reaching for my glasses.

I feel like a new mommy!

What your taste in art says about you

2008-10-23T17:02:00.001-04:00

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

The balanced, secure and realistic makes sense to me. However I have to say that I only like about 3 of the photos.

Jaker's Latest Mischief

2008-10-19T19:52:00.002-04:00

On Saturday Jakers had a little run in with the curling iron.

Notice that he wasn't phased much by it --- still smiling and eating happily as ever!

Here's how it looked on Sunday.

I think it looks a lot worse than it is. He hasn't complained about it at all. What a tough guy!

Welcome Ava!

2008-08-07T09:31:00.000-04:00

Ava Danielle was welcomed into the world this morning at 4:50 (i think). She weighs 6lbs 13 oz and is 20 inches long. She has lots of long dark hair.

As far as I know, everyone is doing well.

Belly & Baby

2008-07-22T21:03:00.002-04:00

Here's the belly at 7 weeks.

I found out my official due date is March 6th, but I'm going with March 10th... that way I'm not discouraged when I'm four days overdue!

Here's some of Jakers.....getting his first haircut.

and here he is cuddling with the puppies.

Jake's gonna be a Big Brother!

2008-07-08T07:22:00.001-04:00

I found out about a week ago that Jake is going to be a big brother. Joel and I are totally excited. (This was planned by the way.) The new addition is due sometime in early March.

Watch for belly pictures to come!

Baby Formula

2008-06-13T21:24:00.002-04:00

I have a mommy question for you all.....

I just recently had to start putting Jake on formula. I was wondering if anyone has used the Target or Sam's brand of formula before. They are about half the price of the brand name formulas, but are they just as good?

I bought one can of the Target brand to try out, but I'd love input from you moms!

Jake at 9 Months

2008-06-11T20:36:00.000-04:00

Summer Break

2008-06-09T21:42:00.003-04:00

It happens after each semester.

I get really excited that I'll have a break from work. And I think about how much I'll enjoy staying at home and accomplishing tasks.

Then after about two days of staying at home, reality sets in.... and I schedule all kinds of things.

I've been off work for about a month and I think I've only stayed home about 3 days. The rest of the time I've been working on RivKids stuff, Kids Kamp, tutoring, and other random projects.

Why can't I just sit down and relax??..... guess I have my Grandpa and Dad's genes... they both could(can) only sit down long enough to think of another project to tackle.

It's been a while

2008-06-02T23:03:00.002-04:00

A lot has happened since my last post....

*Jake has four teeth, working on his fifth.

*Joel and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.

*We went our first family vacation to the Anaheim California area to visit my best friend Daneal and her family.

*I finished work for the summer.

*A friend died at the age of 30, leaving behind a husband and 2.5 year old son.

Needless to say, we've had a gamut of emotions.

It's the latest craze...

2008-03-16T21:08:00.002-04:00

Jake in the Box --

Bozo the Jake --

Long over due

2008-03-11T22:25:00.002-04:00

Jake's sporting his camo outfit from Grandpa.

Check out my first hat!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T22:23:00.002-05:00

Joel & Jake gave a two dozen pink, white and red roses that are totally beautiful for Valentine's day.

My dad also sent me a bouquet of flowers.

This is what I gave Joel:

Yep --- that two of our kitchen cabinets on the floor along with all of my dishes. I was in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher when it happened. Believe it or not, 3 plates, 2 bowls and a few other things actually survived; however, the stove did not.
Hopefully our homeowners insurance will cover it for us --- they weren't sure because they had never heard of cabinets falling off the wall before.

Naptime

2008-02-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

YUCK!

2008-01-18T18:23:00.000-05:00

After Jake's 4 hour nap this afternoon, I did what any mommy would do. I fed him and went to change his diaper. He decided to pee all over himself --- including his face and yes, into his wide open mouth. I could tell by the wrinkled up look on his face that urine doesn't taste very good!

He's a biggin'

2008-01-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

Jake went to the doctor yesterday for his 4 month check-up. He's doing great. He weighed in at a whopping 17 lbs 5 oz and measured 27 inches! No wonder my arm hurts after I lug him around in his car seat!

Mark it on the Calendar

2008-01-15T16:46:00.001-05:00

Jake decided that Monday was the day he was going to learn to roll over. He rolled from his back to his tummy while I was trying to change his diaper.

Here are a few new pictures of him.

2008-01-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

Guess Jake had a little too much fun playing in his exersaucer! -- yeap, he's sound asleep, snoring.
(Thanks Aunt Jennifer for giving it to him --- he loves it soo much!)

Whoa Baby 2!

2007-12-29T05:01:00.000-05:00

My list of pregnant girls just keeps growing! Here's an update....

Katie D.
Katie B.
Andrea H.
Autumn
Daneal
Rachael L.
Tiffany
Kim
Hanni
Suzanne
Kelly
Emily
Laura (twins)
Jennifer
Shannon F.
Sarah J.
Andrea K.
Rachel
Heather L.
Carly
Katie M.
Shanna
Melissa

Rachael H. had a baby boy in November.
Nicole had a baby girl in November.

It's an official Baby Boom!

Christmas Pictures

2007-12-15T21:16:00.001-05:00

We had our Christmas pictures taken today. Here are some of the good ones.

The Family:

Jakers

Check out that Schwuchow smirk!

Jake-in-a-Box

Look at the cute little tongue!

The Family around the fireplace. (I wish we really had one!)

Giggles all Around

2007-12-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

At small group last night, I was playing with Jake. I was tickling his cheeks with his toes. His face lit up, he smiled then began to laugh! It was the first time he has ever really laughed. What a precious moment.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2007-12-08T19:58:00.000-05:00

Tonight we took Jakers to the local city zoo for its Winter Wonderland of Lights. He got to see a few animals, sit on Santa's lap and enjoy the winter weather.

New Accomplishments

2007-11-28T15:21:00.000-05:00

Jake is changing and growing all the time. It seems each week he's doing something new. Yesterday he played in his exersaucer for the first time. He loved it. He plays with all the toys and spins around in his seat.

He decided that it was time for him to sleep through the night. Joel put him to bed at about 9pm and we didn't hear a peep from him until 7am! It was a great night of sleep for all of us!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-25T17:53:00.000-05:00

Here's some pictures of Jakers on his first Turkey Day!

As promised

2007-11-12T21:10:00.000-05:00

Here are a few recent pictures of Jake.

He had his two month check up today. He weighed in at a healthy 13 lbs 9 oz and measured 24 1/2 inches. Both his height and weight are in the 90th percentile. He also survived his first set of shots. He cried some, but I think it was mostly because he was hungry. I had started feeding him while waiting for the nurse to come and he was very upset that I took away his bottle!

Random Occurence in November

2007-11-10T20:46:00.000-05:00

Today while Jake was napping, I was outside helping Joel prepare the yard for winter. With the "help" of the dogs, I had finished picking up all the sticks, had rolled up the hoses and put them in the shed and decided to sweep all the mulch back into the mulch beds. As I was doing so, I felt a sharp prick through my glove on my thumb. (I was wearing those little little gloves for winter.) I thought to myself, "Wow, I must really have a sharp little piece of wood stuck in my glove." I looked down and much to my surprise, I saw a bee stinging me. What in the world!?! I thought all the bees were either dead or "hibernating". Needless to say, I made sure that bee wouldn't live to see next summer!

Homemade wipes

2007-11-09T17:01:00.000-05:00

For those of you who like to use organic and homemade products for your babies, here is an easy recipe for homemade baby wipes. I've been using them on Jake for about 2 weeks and they've worked great!

1 paper towel roll (cut in half so it looks like a toilet paper roll)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon baby oil
1-2 tablespoon(s) baby wash

Mix the water, baby oil and baby wash together. Place the paper towel roll in a plastic container of your choice and pour the water mixture over it. Let is set for 10 minutes or so then pull out the cardboard center of the roll. The wipes then begin from the center.

I promise to post some new pictures of Jake this weekend. But for an update --- he smiles a lot, is trying to talk a lot, giggles a bit, and has learned to play/interact with his toys -- especially those with eyes.

Jake update

2007-10-23T19:52:00.001-04:00

Here's a few random facts about Jake.

1. He's now eating 5 ounces at every feeding.
2. He hates it when you take the bottle away from him to burp him midway through his feeding.
3. I think he weighs about 11 pounds (I weighed myself and then me holding him, and the difference was 11 lbs.)
4. He's begun to smile.
5. He tries really hard to roll from his back to his tummy. But he gets stuck on his side.

Now for a few pictures from this week (... what you really wanted to see)

(This was after I woke up from taking a nap with Jake in the recliner.)

prayer request

2007-10-22T15:44:00.000-04:00

I just received a call from my friend Tricia. Her husband, JR, had an accident last night and somehow a pair of needle nose pliers ended up in his eye. They are on their way now to Ann Arbor so JR can have surgery on his eye. If he gets an infection in his eye, he could loose his sight. Please take a minute and pray for him.

Whoa Baby!

2007-10-22T07:38:00.000-04:00

Katie D.
Katie B.
Andrea
Autumn
Daneal
Rachael H.
Rachael L.
Nicole
Tiffany
Kim
Hanni
Suzanne
Kelly
Emily

Yep, that's the list of all of my friends that are pregnant. ( I hope I didn't forget anyone.) Need less to say I think there is going to be another baby boom

2007-10-21T18:10:00.000-04:00

Jake had a few things he wanted to say.....

By

By

What kind of reader am I?

2007-10-16T07:39:00.001-04:00

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Book Snob
Dedicated Reader
Fad Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Look what I can do

2007-10-14T20:06:00.000-04:00

This is Jake's favorite thing to do these days....

I didn't think I'd have to start wrestling him for diaper changes already!

2007-10-08T13:03:00.000-04:00

Jake doesn't like to sleep on his back flat, so he's been sleeping in his bouncy seat. I've been trying to teach him to sleep on his back little by little. So today I propped several blankets under one end of his crib mattress and put him down for his nap. I went back about 10 minutes later and he had totally rolled to one side of the crib and was sleeping on his side. I thought to myself, "Is he supposed to be able to roll completely onto his side already?" Hmmm.... perhaps he'll be rolling over soon and then will be able to sleep on his tummy-- where he's most happy.

Happy 1 Month Birthday Jake!

2007-10-08T08:49:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it?! Jake is already one month old! Time does go by so fast!

Last night for the first time, Jake decided that he wanted to be awake from 11 to 1am. Joel and I tried rocking him to sleep, singing to him, but nope, he was totally content to lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling fan. However he did reward us for staying up so late. After he ate at 1, he slept until 6:30! That's his longest stretch so far!

Here's a few new pictures for you.

More Jake Pictures

2007-10-01T14:24:00.000-04:00

Here's what you've all been waiting for.... More Jake pictures. Sorry I'm so bad about posting them.
But first, here's a picture of Dungy at the new dog park. We took Dungy, Stokley and Jake yesterday. The dogs had a blast!

Here's Jake in his Halloween costume. Isn't he adorable?

Jake's first road trip

2007-09-26T10:52:00.000-04:00

Monday was Jake's first official road trip. Since it was a B-E-A-U-tiful day and there probably won't be many more like it and he had a great night of sleep, we decided to meet my mom and her neighbor in Holland Michigan for some shopping. Jake did great on the 1.5 hour car trip -- he pretty much slept the whole time. He very much enjoyed the stroller ride through the outlet mall that had about 4 stores still open. But best of all, he enjoyed seeing Nana (or maybe she really enjoyed seeing him!). Either way, it was great to know that he's a good traveler!

On other Jake news, for the past two nights, he's eaten at 9pm, 11-12ish and then not again until 4am and then again at 7am. So Joel and I have been getting much more sleep than we anticipated. What a great baby!

(I know... I'll have to post some more pictures later.)

Jake's second doctor's visit

2007-09-20T12:10:00.000-04:00

Jake went to the doctor yesterday. He did great the whole time --- never cried! He now weighs 9lbs 4 oz --- up 12 oz from last week and is 22 1/2 inches long. I can't believe that in one week he gained 3/4 lb and grew 1/2 inch. It just reminds me that he won't stay little long!

This week I've been working on getting Jake to sleep on his back flat in his crib and trying to help him learn to sleep on his own. I had one successful attempt yesterday. I laid him down still a bit drowsy in his crib and he was able to lay there, look around and be content until he fell asleep. Today I was also able to get him to put himself to sleep both in his bouncy seat and his crib. However, I wasn't so lucky last night! About 2am I put him in his bouncy seat after he finished eating and he slept for about 1/2 hour. When he started to cry, I picked him up, put him on my shoulder and he immediately stopped crying. So I went out and laid in the recliner with him --- we both feel sound asleep until 5am! But at least we're making progress during the day!

Jake Photos

2007-09-18T20:15:00.000-04:00

Jake's first week at home

2007-09-17T20:10:00.000-04:00

Things have gone pretty well for Little Jake since he's come home from the hospital. The first two nights were a little rough --- Jake had some stomach issues, but since then he's done quite well at night. He usually sleeps for 2.5 -3 hours at time, so I'm able to get some rest at night. Plus Joel has kindly taken baby duty from about 9pm to midnight so that I can sleep then.

Here are some highlights from Jake's first week at home:
Wednesday: First doctor's appointment
Thursday: First stroller ride while walking Dungy and Stokley
Friday: Went grocery shopping with Mom and Dad (he made it through Aldi, Horrocks and Walmart)
Saturday: Nana came to visit me again and we went to Riverview to hear Daddy sing and lead worship
Sunday: Went to Target (he likes to ride in the car)
Monday: Went to the post office and then to rescue Dad who had locked his keys in the car

I'll post more pictures tomorrow, but I'm too tired to do it tonight!

Love is really Patient

2007-09-11T13:57:00.000-04:00

After my little emotional episode on Friday night, God granted me my wish. I woke up about 1am, went to the bathroom and felt a little "pop". Without feeling any contractions, my water broke and Joel and I were on the way to the hospital by 1:30. When we checked in, my contractions were right on top of each other and very strong. I was dilated to 3. So they moved me into a room and soon I had my epidural (I totally recommend them). I feel asleep and the next thing I knew the doctor was checking me and I was ready to push. 1 1/2 hours later at 8:40 am, Jake William Smith came into the world weighing 8 lbs 14 1/4 oz and measuring 22 inches long. (I knew he was going to be long when I heard them say the head had crowned and I could still feel his feet in my ribs.) We are all doing quite well and at home now!

Love is Patient

2007-09-07T22:33:00.000-04:00

I'm starting think God got it wrong on this one. Love isn't patient. I'm almost four days overdue with Jake, whom I love very much. And my patients are wearing very quickly.

I think being overdue is one of the cruelest ways to learn to be patient. I know it's only been three whole days since his due date, but I really want to hold him. I know he's coming..... you think I'd find comfort in that. But nope, I want to hold him NOW!

I was doing pretty well until tonight. I told my parents both goodnight and went upstairs to take a quick bath and head to bed. As I stepped into the bath, my pregnancy emotions totally overtook me and I just cried. I just want to see Jake's ten little fingers and ten little toes. I'm tired of guessing what color eyes or hair he'll have or how much he'll weigh.

But then I got to thinking about the two Riverview moms who lost their babies this summer and I thought, my waiting a few extra days is nothing compared to what they are continuing to deal with. So I pulled myself out of my pity party and decided that I can learn patience.

Love is patient. Love is patient. Love is patient. Love is patient. Love is patient.

D - Day

2007-09-04T18:25:00.000-04:00

Well, today is Jake's due date, but we have no Jake yet. I went to the doctor this morning and Jake's ready to roll, but my cervix isn't quite yet. So hopefully within the next few days he'll be coming. If not, I will be in shape from all the miles that my mom and I have walked.

I'll try to keep you updated until the time comes!

I'm ok

2007-08-24T18:23:00.000-04:00

Just in case you were worried, all the tornados have passed and we are OK.

11 more days

2007-08-24T16:28:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to get a little bit impatient. I really want Jake to come. I've been trying to stay at home and relax a bit, but I'm kinda of running out of things to do. I want to stay at home and relax and rest up but yet I'm getting stir crazy. So I had to go out and do some shopping today.

On the other hand, due to the 8+ inches of rain in the last week, our spare room in our basement flooded again. So Joel had cut a couple of wholes in the drywall and we've found several places where the walls were leaking. A guy is coming out tomorrow to fix the walls. But that still means my spare bedroom is a disaster. Hopefully we'll be able to have it all fixed and put back together before Jake comes and we have a house full of people. If not, our guest bedroom will become the downstairs living room.

The tornado sirens are going off... so I'm going to go head to the basement with the puppies!

Confession

2007-08-22T12:36:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to deny something for a long time. I've tried talking myself out of it, hiding it, convincing myself that I could resist it. But yesterday I came to the conclusion that I just can't deny the facts anymore.

I was reading Chosen By God by R.C. Sproul. In his second chapter, he addresses the issue of God's sovereignty and human freedom. He listed an analogy that he had heard that at first he liked but after thinking about it, found it absurd.
"God's sovereignty and human freedom are like parallel lines that meet in eternity."
He dismisses this analogy because "by definition parallel lines can't meet" so the analogy doesn't make sense.
Here comes my issues ---- I am officially a math geek!! You see, there are different types of geometry and in elliptical geometry all parallel lines intersect. So I had to go search google to make sure that I was correct. So I guess I can't deny the truth anymore! I am an official math geek. I've tried to fight it for so long, but I'll just have to face the truth!!

16 more days!

2007-08-19T19:24:00.000-04:00

Just a little over two weeks until Jake comes (hopefully less than that!). I finished his room this weekend. Here are some pictures.

I'm really surprised at how well I've been feeling. I still have a good amount of energy and haven't gotten to the point where I want to scream "Get this baby out of me!"

I just realized today that I've been off from work since August 1st and I still haven't taken a day to just stay home and not doing any running around or work at the church. So I think I'm going to do that tomorrow. Perhaps I'll stay in my pj's all day and catch up on some chick flicks, or doing a little cooking (I made some really good chocolate chip cookies today!). I'll let you know if I actually force myself to relax or if I give in to my "have to accomplish something" nature.

On a sad note, my grandmother's husband (she remarried about three years ago) passed away yesterday. Because of my due date being so close, Joel and I are not going to be able to travel to Indiana for the funeral. Thankfully all of my extended family except for my brother's family lives right in Hobart, so she'll be surrounded by family.

23

2007-08-12T14:29:00.000-04:00

Only 23 more days until Jake's "scheduled" arrival!

I'm not screaming any more

2007-08-12T14:21:00.000-04:00

I'm not screaming anymore because I have a wonderful husband who has willing slept downstairs on the couch so that I could have the whole bed to myself! How great is he!?!

We've been trying to enjoy hanging out with each other as much as we can before Jake comes. This past week, we celebrated Joel's birthday with dinner at PF Changs and watching The Bourne Ultimatum (which was very good -- I highly recommend it if you like action films). On Thursday we went to Grand Rapids to see Over the Rhine play at Fredrick Meijer Gardens. And this weekend we've managed to watch Stranger than Fiction, V for Vendetta, and Music & Lyrics. On Saturday we made a spontaneous trip to the dog beach. Stokley and Dungy had such a blast playing in the water and with all the other dogs. Joel and I both managed to get sunburns from running after the dogs up and down the beach as they went to great everyone they saw. My summer is now complete (although I don't want it to be over yet) since I've made it to the beach at least once!

Now... to go clean up all the sand we brought home with us!!

I'm so mad, I'm screaming!!!!!

2007-07-30T21:11:00.000-04:00

For those of you who know me well, you know that I like to make lists and complete them. Well, I've had a project on my list to do before Jake comes that I've been trying to do all summer. I just wanted to touch up some paint in the office and our bedroom. We originally purchased the paint from Sears, so in May, I went to Sears to pick up the paint. --- No such luck, they were out of the quarts. I went back in June, they had one of three colors that I needed in stock --- OK, we are getting somewhere. I go back in July, still out of the other two quarts. (I'm getting pretty frustrated by this point, especially since it takes about 15 minutes to track down someone at Sears who works in the paint department.) Finally, last week I was able to get the last two quarts that I needed. My project will finally be able to be crossed of the list.

So tonight I spent half an hour touching up spots in the office and the bedroom. I walked back into both rooms about an hour after I was done just to find that both colors were WRONG!!! Now I don't just need touch-ups, whole walls need to be repainted! Will this project ever end?????

Now I have the dilemma --- Have I completely forgotten what colors we chose? or Has Sears changed their bases and the paints no longer match?

Plus, touching up paint was a small task that I could accomplish, now I've created a big tasks that Joel will have to fix. I'm just so frustrated that I could scream each time I think about it!!

6 Weeks and counting

2007-07-25T18:33:00.000-04:00

Wow! I just can't believe that in about 6 weeks Jake will be here. He's moving so much.... kicking and stretching. I'm getting very eager to see what color hair and eyes he has and just who he resembles.

Our house is pretty much taken over with baby stuff.... high chair, two car seats, a stroller, a pack-n-play, bouncy seat, swing, rocker, exersaucer, not to mention tons of way too cute clothes and little teeny tiny socks.

I've spend a lot of time this week starting to make sure that I have everything that I need for myself when Jake comes. Moms -- if you have any suggestions of little things that you needed/wanted in those first few weeks, let me know.

I visited the doctor today. My belly is measuring exactly where it should be for 34 weeks and Jake's heart rate is about 150 --- which it has been throughout the whole pregnancy. Anyone have any bets on when if I'll go early, late or right on time? I should start a poll of when people think I'll give birth!

Amazing Kindness

2007-07-14T20:32:00.001-04:00

Thursday night we had small group and discussed Donald Miller's book Searching for God Knows What. The chapter we talked about most dealt with Jesus and some of his attributes --- one of which was kindness. Then I went to work on Friday. I went in and checked my mailbox where I found an envelope labeled "For the Baby." I went ahead and opened it. I was totally shocked by its contents! It contained a check for $50! Now that would be a generous gift no matter who it was from, but it was from a woman from Africa who has been taking classes in the math lab for about two years. She's someone that I do not see on a regular basis, have never had in an actual class and who doesn't even know my last name! I was totally blown away! What an example of the type of kindness that Jesus portrayed.

Thanks Elizabeth!

A couple more pictures

2007-07-14T20:19:00.001-04:00

Here are a few more pictures.

Betsy, who actually likes us now!

Joel and me (I'm about 27 weeks pregnant here.)

Olivia and Betsy saying goodbye after playing together all day.

Pictures as promised (long ago...)

2007-07-09T19:50:00.000-04:00

As I promised....

Yummy cakes --- I think I had about four pieces of each!

Some of the family enjoying the food.

Molly, Karen and John enjoying the backyard swing.

Olivia scanning the room to see who she could steal some cake from next.

I wanted to post more pictures, but my computer is not cooperating with me!

Only 8 more weeks until Jake comes!

It's July already......

2007-07-02T20:52:00.000-04:00

Wow! The summer is about half way gone and I feel like it has just begun. Here's a summary of the past month and a half:

1. May 20-21st --- spent some time in Indiana with my parents, Tony, Jennifer and Olivia for Olivia's second birthday. (I'll post some pictures later --- my CD isn't working right now.)

2. Memorial Day Weekend --- had a cookout at our house with Joel's parents, Molly, Myron and Betsy and our friends Ryan, Rachael and Andrew. And began painting our new spare bedroom downstairs.

3. June 2-3 --- traveled back down to Indiana for my first baby shower (again I'll post pictures later). Jake got some great things --- stroller, car seat, highchair, bedding, exersaucer, clothes and much much more!

Oops --- I forgot to mention in here that I started back to work for the summer session at LCC. I'm teaching one class and working 6 hours in the lab.

4. June 8 --- My parents came up and brought the rest of my shower gifts along with a glider to go in Jake's room.

5. June 17-22 : Kids Kamp week ---- This year I didn't help out as much with Kids Kamp. Instead of running the evening kamp like I've done the past two years, I was in charge of registration and the guides --- a much lighter task. However, I still needed to be at both morning and evening kamps most days. In the midst of this week, Joel was able to finish painting the spare bedroom and move all the furniture downstairs. I'm actually kind of jealous of our guests --- the room is really cool!

6. June 23-24: Joel and I headed down to Indiana for a second shower for Jake with all of Joel's family. Again we were showered with many wonderful gifts --- blankets, clothes, books and more!

7. June 25: A friend from church, Eric Craft, installed my new dishwasher and pantry cabinets! Woohoooo!!! No more wasting time doing dishes!
PS: Eric did a great job and cleaned up everything --- he even moved and cleaned under my fridge (which he totally didn't have to do). I'd recommend him for any construction needs at your home!

8. June 28-29: My mom came to visit. She cleaned my house for me on Thursday then we went shopping at Birch Run Outlet mall on Friday. Jake got so many new clothes since both Osh Kosh and Carters were having major sales --- almost everything was $5.

9. June 30: Joel, I and the puppies headed down to Winchester, IN for the day to see Joel's gramma who is in her last struggles with a brain tumor. We were thankful that we decided to go down for the day since Joel's dad went to the ER with chest pains. (see Karen's blog for more details.)

Whew ---- maybe that's why the summer seems to have gone so fast! Now it's July and only 9 more weeks until Jakes comes! I'm getting really anxious to be able to hold the little guy. I can't wait see what color eyes and hair he has, to hold his little hands and rub his little feet. At night I like to go in his room and rearrange his clothes or unpackage something new.

I think that gives a pretty comprehensive update on the past month of my life and the reasons for my lack of posts. I'll try and be better --- and post some pictures soon!

Education

2007-05-16T19:42:00.000-04:00

If you are at all interested in education, I suggest reading A Different Kind of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto. He won New York Teacher of the year three years in a row. I think it will change the way you view public school --- but I'll let you come to all your own conclusions.

So if you are looking for something to read this summer, I highly suggest it.

Prayer

2007-05-14T18:32:00.000-04:00

I just received a call that a good friend of mine, who is exactly one week behind me in pregancy, lost her baby today. She was also having a little boy.

I'm sooo sad for her. I want to go be by her side, but I think that might be way to hard for her.

If you could pray for them, Tiffany and Bret, I'd and they'd really appreciate it!

Two Saturdays in one Week

2007-05-11T20:31:00.000-04:00

Joel had half a day today to study, so he decided to take the other half off and study from home. It really made the day feel like a Saturday. We slept in, ate breakfast in bed, and took the puppies for a walk. Then we decided to go out to lunch and spend the afternoon grocery shopping. It was fun to spend the whole day with him.

To top of the day, we had a great dinner -- sirloin steak on the grill with grilled onions and mushrooms, baked potatoes and watermelon. Just when we were thinking that life couldn't get any better, our neighbor, Leah, brought over Coldstone ice cream! How sweet is she!?!

And just think.... tomorrow is Saturday!

By the way, I've started making some meals and freezing them for when Jake comes. Anyone have a good recipes that can be frozen?

Let the summer begin

2007-05-08T21:30:00.000-04:00

Ahh.... summer has begun! This weekend Joel and I had a cookout with our small group --- brat, hotdogs, and hamburgers on the grill with pasta salad and other yummy summer foods!

Tonight we sat out and enjoyed our fire pit for the first time. Life can't get much better than sitting around a fire with your best bud and two favorite puppies, enjoying a beautiful night!

And to think... it's only May 8th.

No more teachers, no more books....

2007-04-30T08:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right.... this week is finals week at MSU, which means it's my last week of work! WOOHOO!

I am really ready for a break to stay home, hang out with my puppies and complete some projects before the baby comes.

By the way, for those who haven't already check Molly's or Karen's blogs, we're having a boy! --- Jake William Smith. Since we've found out, I've started getting his room ready, hung up some of his clothes and ordered his furnature. Good thing I ordered it now because it takes 12-16 weeks to come in!

Here's a picture of the little guy!

Bad Blogger!

2007-03-14T20:30:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I've been such a bad blogger during this really fun stage of my life. Life has just been full lately. I had a great trip to Texas with my mom to see Tony, Jennifer and Olivia. We went to the Gulf of Mexico, ate at the Rain Forest Cafe, went to the zoo, rodeo and a Sheryl Crow concert. Plus it was just so much fun to hang out with Olivia for a solid week. We had tea parties, played at the park, played birds, ducks, and horses and even had a short little slumber party one night. I miss her big hugs already!

On Tuesday I had another doctor's appointment. Joel and I were able to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time. The doctor said my weight gain and blood pressure were very good. We also set up the appointment for my first real ultrasound. April 17th we should find out if we'll have a Jake or an Ella! I can't wait!

My belly has been growing. I can't really wear any of my pants anymore without the help of a safety pin. I've also bought my first several maternity shirts -- which fit rather nicely!

I'm so jealous.....

2007-02-24T20:46:00.000-05:00

I've been really busy with work, Rivkids and tutoring so I haven't had much time to think about the nursery --- even though I do have a theme picked out. However, my mom has had plenty of time to get hers ready. Here is where my baby and Olivia will stay when they visit Nana.

Aren't you jealous that you don't get to stay in such a fun room? A guess I better get myself in gear!

Joel and I did wander around Babies R Us for about an hour today. We picked out a stroller/car seat combo and decided that we both like darker wood for the furniture. And I did by a stuffed frog for the baby, since frogs are the theme.

Second OB appointment

2007-02-13T21:18:00.000-05:00

Joel and I went to my second OB appointment today. I was hoping to be able to hear the heartbeat. The Doctor (who I really liked) thought we'd be able to hear it because "I'm skinny" (didn't he notice my baby bump?). But the baby was way down deep. So instead he decided to give me a quick ultra sound so that we could see the baby. So Joel and I were able to see our little "frog" hopping all over my belly. It's an active little one. It was so fun to be able to see what's inside of me and know that it is growing and forming normally. I can't wait to see it again --- and to find out if it will be Jake or Ella.

First OB appointment

2007-01-17T07:47:00.000-05:00

My first OB appointment was pretty uneventful. I had to answer a ton of medical questions, including if I had been beaten lately, had a physical exam and had some blood drawn. I didn't get to hear the heart beat, bummer. But maybe next time!

Yesterday I had my first encounter with morning sickness --- or perhaps just a reaction to the prenatal vitamins that I started. About thirty minutes after I took the vitiamins, out of no where, they decided to come back up. I had absolutely no warning. It was rather strange. So today is a test to see if I can keep them down or if I need to look into a new vitamin.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Sleepy O so sleepy

2007-01-14T19:29:00.000-05:00

I've never wanted to sleep so much in my entire life! I think I've taken more naps in the last two weeks than I did in my entire college career. But it definitely beats being sick! The puppies love taking naps with me --- especially Stokley. He's always ready to curl up in bed with you!

This past week school started, tutoring starting and life has exploded. But after 13 hours of sleep on Friday night, I had a very productive weekend. Here are some of the things I accomplished (we all know how much I enjoy accomplishing things):

1. wrote a syllabus
2. created 20 homework quizzes
3. adapted 30 worksheets (thanks to my friend Andrea who lent me hers!)
4. made four worksheets
5. wrote one homework assignment
6. updated class notes
7. finally took down my Christmas tree
8. cleaned
9. paid bills

I actually feel prepared for this week.

Tomorrow is my first doctor's appointment. It's supposed to take 2 hours. I have to meet with the nurse first then the midwife. I'm sure that it will be a fun time of being prodded and pricked -- I'll let you know how it goes! I'm hoping that I will be able to hear the baby's heart beat tomorrow.

The best Christmas Present ever!

2007-01-03T15:53:00.000-05:00

Joel and I received the best Christmas present ever this year. We didn't get it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. But December 26,2006 will be a day that I remember forever! We were give a very precious gift. However, we are going to have to be very patient --- it takes 9 months to get here!

Yep, that's right! I'm pregnant! September 4th a new baby will bless the Smith household! I'm so excited, I can't wait to be a mommy (to something other than a puppy).

And for all of those that want to know, yes, we will be finding out if it is a girl or a boy.

(By the way, I've five weeks along and the baby's heart starts beating this week!)

Hello 2007!

2007-01-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

I love New Year's Day. It is such a great day to stay home and relax in your pj's.

Joel and I had a wonderful Christmas season. We spent several days with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and niece and a couple of days with Joel's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece. It was so much fun to have kids at Christmas and to get to see them open their gifts and play.

Here are a couple of pictures from the Holidays:
The family:

Olivia standing on her present:

Dungy after all the excitement was over:

Today is the last day to relax. Tomorrow I must start thinking about the Spring semester which starts on Monday!

Ahhh..... a sigh of relief

2006-12-12T07:56:00.000-05:00

I gave my final yesterday, finished grading and put the grades in the computer.

Christmas shopping is done.

It's time to relax!

I've decided that I'm really going to try to relax this Christmas break. Usually I try to accomplish a project, but this year I'm not. (Ok --- I may do a few small things around the house, like touch up some paint, and clean the carpets --- we all know that if I don't accomplish something each day, I feel like a loser.) I'm going to spend time with my puppies and catch up on some movies!

Sounds like a great plan --- we'll see if it really happens.

New Look

2006-12-04T09:33:00.000-05:00

I thought my blog needed a new look. Time to re-decorate. Do you like it?

What time of day are you?

2006-12-03T08:45:00.000-05:00

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary.
You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward.
Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts.
All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

I miss being home

2006-11-30T20:31:00.000-05:00

I'm discovering that I don't really like working 12 hour days. I've been working a lot of them lately; hence the lack of blogging.
Here's an outline of my day today:

5:10 Got up and let the puppies outside
5:30 Let the puppies inside
6:15 Got up to find the dogs had chewed up a bouquet of flowers. They were mad that I didn't let them in our bed.
8:00 Left the house to hangout with Missie
10:00 Left Missie's house to work at the church
11:50 Left church to work at LCC
5:00 Left LCC to work at MSU
8:00 Left MSU to finally come home to see my cute hubby and doggies
8:30 Blogging

Thankfully I only have two more weeks of work left!!!!! Then I get a four week break from LCC and a three week break from MSU!

Joel and I had a fun Thanksgiving. We spent a couple of relaxing days at my parents' house. We hung out, shopped, visited my Gramma, and golfed. (I had fun driving the golf cart!) Then we came home to a slight drain problem and had Joel's family over for dinner. It was nice to see all of our families.

Hopefully I'll be better at blogging over the next few weeks.

I'm still here

2006-11-28T08:02:00.000-05:00

Sorry.... I've neglected my blog lately.
But I promise a real post soon to catch you up on life!

Introducing...

2006-10-23T16:53:00.000-04:00

Meet the newest member of the Smith family! Dungy is a 7 month old chocolate lab who came to live with us last night. He and Stokley have a blast together. He can't wait to meet you!

Fall is here....

2006-10-06T18:40:00.000-04:00

Today before I went to work, I had to pull my scraper out of my trunk and scrape my windows!

I'm so not ready to do that everyday!

Sunday nights

2006-10-01T19:19:00.000-04:00

I love Sunday nights. Ever since college, I've used Sunday nights as a night to get a jump on the week. I always feel so productive on Sunday nights.

I had a productive Sunday afternoon today. I graded all 135 quizzes and I even took time to write compliments on their papers, which isn't something that I normally get to do. Then I typed up a lesson and did some other miscellaneous housework.

Now it is 7:17 and I'm in my pajamas and ready to relax for the rest of the evening! What a great way to start the week.

My mom and dad came up for the day on Saturday. It was fun to hang out with them. We went out to eat then came back here and watched football. Good family time! I like getting to do all those things that we would get to do if we lived close. I felt bad for my mom though. She spent most of Friday night in the ER for a migraine ---- and she still managed to make it up here on Saturday. What a trooper!

Where have the last two weeks gone?

2006-09-25T20:38:00.000-04:00

I can tell that work is back in full swing --- life has exploded in the past two weeks.
Here's a quick recap:

I went to my cousins wedding in Indiana. It was very interesting since her husband is Serbian and they were married in a Serbian Orthodox church.

I went to the eye doctor and spent $300 on new glasses.

With the help of my graders, I graded 144 exams last week. (They didn't do as well as I had hoped. I always hate when my students don't do well. I wish I had time to help them all one-on-one. It is amazing how their attitudes towards math can change by a simple one-on-one conversation and a little pep talk.)

I took the third-grader that I tutor for out for pizza. She's a really cool girl. I enjoy spending time with her.

I cleaned my living room carpet.

Joel and I started a new (additional) small group. We're going through Mere Christianity.

I was able to get ahead on lessons, homework assignments, and quizzes for trig!

I feel that I've neglected my friends lately though. Mari, Jessica, Lynners, Josh, Daneal, Autumn ---- I've thought about you all a lot this week but just haven't had the chance to call! Miss you guys!

Say It Isn't So!

2006-09-13T18:29:00.000-04:00

Both today and yesterday I saw someone walking around campus with overalls one --- with one strap hooked and the other undone. Tell me Vanilla Ice is not back in style!

Dodging Bullets

2006-09-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

Joel and I have dodged two huge bullets in the past two days. Yesterday I took Stokley to the vet because he had been having issues with his back right leg. If he jumped off something and landed on it wrong, he'd not put any weight on it for a while. Since it happened about 4 times over the weekend, we thought it was time to get it checked out. The vet kind of scared me at first because she was pretty sure he had torn his ACL --- which meant surgery. The cheaper of the surgeries was $1000 and couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't happen again. The second, better surgery which kind of reconstructed the knee was about $2500. So I was sitting there thinking where are we going to get this money and looking at Stokley saying how can I not spend it on you. But after looking at the x-rays, the vet didn't see any signs that the ACL was ripped. So she thinks he probably just sprain (is that the right tense?) it. I was so relieved. We just have to keep Stokley calm and rested for 2 weeks --- no play dates or long walks. And he has to take some anti-inflammatory medicine.

Secondly, Joel has been having some issues with his front teeth and wasn't sure if the nerve was dying or if he needed to have them replaced. So he went to the dentist today, a dentist that goes to Riverview and is a friend of ours. He doesn't think that the nerve is dead, so no root canal. He just grinded a bit down on Joel's teeth and said things look ok! Yeah -- no new teeth for Joel.

Praise Jesus!

Personalities and Holiness

2006-09-11T08:25:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to work through how personalities and holiness interact with each other the last several days. I've kind of confused myself, so I'm seeking your help. I would love to hear how you think these two relate to each other. I've had some conversations with friends about it, but I'd love to get some other ideas. Feel free to point out flaws in my thoughts too!

So here is a situation that happened to help flush out what I'm feeling.

On Saturday, Joel completed a task that I had been wanting him to complete. So I walked into the room and told him that I was really proud of him. Several hours later in the midst of another conversation, he revealed that my comment rubbed him in the wrong way but he didn't say anything about it --- he just chalked it up to my personality. But I was hurt that he didn't tell me. In my mind, if my comment has rubbed him wrongly, then I need to know that so that I can change my actions otherwise I am sinning because I'm not being loving towards him. But Joel doesn't see it as a sin issue.

So my question comes in this world where we have so many personality tests and discussions about personalities and gender issues, are we creating different levels of holiness for different genders or personalities? (in my example above I think it's pretty clear that Joel and I have different levels of holiness in this case.)

Here are some of my other thoughts:
1. God only has one standard --- holiness. Even though we are saved by grace and not works, our natural response to His amazing gift of love to us should be to strive with His help to become holy. He expects holiness out of all of us --- no matter what our personality is. (Yeah, I do know that the Bible talks about those in teaching leadership being held to even a higher standard, but that is the only exception I've seen.)

2. In areas of sin in MY life, if I'm not quite sure it is a sin, a tend to error on the side of calling it a sin. But I also think that I expect others to view my life in the same way --- if they think that I might be sinning but are not sure, I'm expecting them to call me on it --- which I don't think many of them are aware that I'm expecting them to do it or that they are really willing to do so. I'd rather try to change things for the better that perhaps are okay the way they are than to get to heaven and hear God say "Well you just made it in by my grace" and not say "well done."

3. I fear that our culture, including myself, uses personality differences and gender difference as a cop-out. I know that in the past, I've said things were just personality differences because I was being selfish and didn't want to change.

So what are your thoughts on all of this? Am I out to lunch? being a heretic? expecting too much from people? I'm really interested to hear all your thoughts.

Small Group 2

2006-09-09T08:16:00.000-04:00

I've been for the last several months that Joel and I should be doing more to help people at Riverview get connected. Riverview really became our home after we were able to get involved, make friends, and have a deep sense of community. I just wanted others to experience that same feeling ---- which many of them are longing to have.

At first, I thought we should do that through our small group --- continue to open it up for new couples to join - which our small group has been doing. I didn't really know how else to go about it, except through our small group and Together activities.

Then we went to Mexico and made some amazing friends who are a bit younger than Joel and I, and mostly single. We've hung out with them quite a few time since Mexico and our friendships have strengthened. Many of them are desiring to be connected at Riverview and have their own "Riverview family." So Joel and I are going to have a small group with them.

We're definitely not replacing our small group ----- that is our place to do and be feed and be ministered to. We'd never want to give our small group. We just feel that we should be pouring into others lives. Our new small group (I call it small group 2) will be meeting twice a month on Sundays after church for lunch, fellowship and growth. I'm really excited about it and I think the others in the group are too.

We start Sept. 24th!

Labor Day

2006-09-04T20:31:00.000-04:00

Joel and I had a great Labor Day weekend. Saturday we spent working on the finishing touches of our fence, mowing lawn and cleaning house. I love when Joel and I have a blast doing work together. Sunday we had friends over for a "make your own quesidilla and smoothie" party. We had yummy food, a euchre tournament (which both Joel and I lost), played a mean game of UNO ATTACK and watched a movie. Stokley had a blast too -- he had four puppy pals over to play. We spent Monday at Birch Run, where we met some friends for lunch and did some shopping. Our best deal of the day was two pairs of adidias gym shoes for $50! We also both got new leather bags for work for a great price.

Hope your weekend was a fun and eventful as ours!

It's the small things in life

2006-09-02T20:44:00.000-04:00

Here's some pictures of Stokley helping me put away the groceries.

Guardian

2006-08-30T18:19:00.000-04:00

I took the Keirsey temperament Test. Here are my results:

Guardians are the cornerstone of society, for they are the temperament given to serving and preserving our most important social institutions. Guardians have natural talent in managing goods and services--from supervision to maintenance and supply--and they use all their skills to keep things running smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses.

Guardians can have a lot of fun with their friends, but they are quite serious about their duties and responsibilities. Guardians take pride in being dependable and trustworthy; if there's a job to be done, they can be counted on to put their shoulder to the wheel. Guardians also believe in law and order, and sometimes worry that respect for authority, even a fundamental sense of right and wrong, is being lost. Perhaps this is why Guardians honor customs and traditions so strongly--they are familiar patterns that help bring stability to our modern, fast-paced world.

Practical and down-to-earth, Guardians believe in following the rules and cooperating with others. They are not very comfortable winging it or blazing new trails; working steadily within the system is the Guardian way, for in the long run loyalty, discipline, and teamwork get the job done right. Guardians are meticulous about schedules and have a sharp eye for proper procedures. They are cautious about change, even though they know that change can be healthy for an institution. Better to go slowly, they say, and look before you leap.

Guardians make up as much as 40 to 45 percent of the population.

That description fits me well --- except for the part about keeping traditions. I definitely could care less about traditions.

I'm not a kid anymore

2006-08-28T18:18:00.000-04:00

I hate when I try to do things that I used to do when I was younger and can't do them so well anymore. Yesterday I jumped on a trampoline for about 10 minutes. Today my legs told me that I'm too old and out of shape for that. (hmm.... maybe it's just that I'm out of shape....we can hope!)

This weekend was a busy weekend. We spent Friday night with some "Mexico" friends watching a high school football game. It was a blast to be back in that setting. Then on Saturday we spent some time with Joel's family celebrating Betsy's 1st birthday. You can check out some pictures here. I worked a bit on Sunday then went to Riverview. Noel's preaching through Titus and I'm pretty excited about it. Then we spent the rest of the day with our "Mexico" friends.

I'm super excited about all the friendships we made in Mexico and even more excited at how we've kept them up as we've integrated back into our "normal" lives.

Here's a new picture of Olivia! I can't wait to see her at Christmas!

Disruptive Students

2006-08-23T18:32:00.000-04:00

Last night I had a pre-semester meeting for work. We spent about 1/2 hour talking about classroom discipline and disruptive students. This was my favorite story:

A fellow collegue of mine was getting ready to begin her class when she noticed a girl sitting in the front row nodding her head rather quickly in the direction of the pencil sharpener with a painful look on her face. So the instructor glanced at the pencil sharpener where she saw a guy sharpening his pencil. Then she noticed that a rather straight cut had been made across the back of his pants and partically down the side; so he had a nice flap. However, he wasn't wearing anything besides his pants! Not a sight she was excited to see. She always begins class with group work, so she waited until everyone was involved in the work and went over to him and said, "I don't suppose you've felt a breeze lately?" To which he replied, "Yeah, do you like it?"

Hmmm... what are you suposed to do in that situation??? Those college classes don't prepare you for that! What makes the story so much more interesting is to learn that his name is that of a Star Wars character! (and it is not Hans or Luke!)

If you want to laugh at other crazy stories of the classroom, see Rachel's blog --- Highlights from Multi-Cultural Counseling.

Sometimes Confrontation is Ok

2006-08-20T21:17:00.000-04:00

Joel and I had some issues with Lowe's and our fence delivery. However we finally got them resolved today and we received over $600 off our bill. I'm so glad the ordeal is over. But we learned a lot about confrontation and how to express disappointment and frustration without anger or being rude.

I'm a letter

2006-08-16T13:12:00.000-04:00

"You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, know and ready by everybody."
2 Corinthians 3:2

So what does my letter say? Do I accurately reflect Riverview? My family? Christ?
This verse has made me think a lot this week.

Let it sink into your heart.

All Puppies Welcome!

2006-08-13T14:15:00.001-04:00

After a long frustrating ordeal with Lowe's (the one on Cedar Street in South Lansing), our fence finally arrived. Thanks to the wonderful help of Keith and Jeff, our backyard is fenced in, complete with two gates! They did an awesome job despite some less than ideal conditions --- such as large rock 2 feet below the ground and lots of huge tree roots. JR also came over on Saturday to help us finish the project!

How many panels did we order?

Keith felt very manly using the auger to dig all 38 holes.

Jeff and his son Logan put all the posts in.

Joel and Keith hung the panels.

Stokley tried to find as much shade as possible.

Stokley is ready for all his puppy pals to come hang out in his new yard!

I hate waiting

2006-08-10T15:18:00.000-04:00

Usually on Thursday mornings I go into Riverview and do some work for RivKids. Not today. I've been sitting at home waiting for Lowe's to deliver my fence since 9am --- it's now 3:12 and no fence. So I called them. Opps --- they don't have enough panels of fencing and the salesman was supposed to call us. Needless to say, I was pretty mad --- ticked off in fact! Especially since we ordered the lumber last Monday so that they would have over a week just in case they needed to order anything. Arrgh....

I just got a phone call from the manager of Lowe's. They are picking up extra panels from other local stores and are going to deliver it today. She was very nice to talk to --- (she also called and scolded the salesman!)

a picture is worth a thousand words

2006-08-05T22:03:00.000-04:00

I've been trying all week to sit down and blog about our trip to Mexico but I haven't been sucessful. Trying to express my thoughts and emotions about the trip has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. So I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking.

The City

The store of the family we were building a house for.

leading down to our work site

their current house

the building process

the finished product

VBS -- Mexico style

The team

amazing sunset

I need a Melissa for my basement

2006-08-01T20:35:00.000-04:00

Joel and I spent last week in Tijuana with a group of 40 others from Riverview. What an amazing week. I still need some more time to process all of my thoughts from the trip before I can write them all down.

The small group we were broken up into for the trip was amazing. We rode together each day (an hour each way) to our work site. I really feel in love with our group: Joel, me, Jeff (works with Joel at JNL), Laurel (goes to Grand Valley), Stephanie (college student at Olivet), Kirsten (daycare worker in her 20s), Keith (he's going to put up our fence for us) and Tyler (he's joining the marines after he graduates high school). I miss them a lot. Maybe some of them could come live in my basement --- we have plenty of room!

Once JR gets all the pictures together, I'll post some of them.

I speak English

2006-07-31T16:04:00.000-04:00

Your Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English

5% Dixie

5% Midwestern

5% Upper Midwestern

5% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Just for Karen ---

2006-07-22T14:52:00.000-04:00

3 things that scare me:
Demons
Movies with witches
Not know details of events (yes, I am very anal)

3 people who make me laugh:
Joel
Hailey
Tony

3 things I love:
My family
Stokley
Potatoes

3 things I hate:
Slit pea soup
Not being in control
Someone calling me a bad name

3 things I do not understand:
Why men feel the need to compete most of the time
Why I can’t take my dog wherever I go
Why weeds have to grow in my flower/mulch beds

3 things on my desk:
Post-it notes
Pens ---(in a holder mind you)
Speakers

3 things I am doing right now:
Sitting in a chair
Typing
Reading

3 things I want to do before I die:
Visit Europe again
Have children
Parasailing

3 things I can do:
Wash Dishes
Teach mathematics
Organize --- Clean sweep here I come!

3 ways to describe my personality:
Diligent
Anal
Childlike

3 things I can't do:
Live without a schedule
Sing on tune
Play any musical instruments

3 things I think you should listen to:
Your parents -- they know a few things!
Wise people in your circle of friends
The person who knows you the best

3 things you should never listen to:
Someone putting you down
Someone telling you that you can’t accomplish something
Elevator music

3 absolute favorite foods:
Baked potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Fried potatoes

3 beverages I drink regularly:
Milk
Water
Mountain Dew

3 shows I watched as a kid:
The Rifleman
John Wayne Movies
Disney Movies

3 things I really want to do:
Eat --I’m really hungry
Own another puppy --- Stokley needs a buddy
Pay off my mortgage

Not as nerdy as I thought....

2006-07-20T19:37:00.000-04:00

I took the nerd quiz at www.nerdtest.com . I only scored as 56% nerd. But I thought the test was a bit skewed toward science and math nerds --- not necessarily nerds in other fields. But oh well.

I just cleaned my house today for the first time in two weeks. It was so nasty. I feel better when it's clean.

I can't believe we're heading into the last week of summer. Summer just doesn't feel like summer to me if I haven't gotten to go swimming or hang out on a lake. My childhood summers were filled with long days on our boat, tubing and skiing. Man I miss those days. We need to buy a boat! --- I've already got the skis.

Oh, my cousin's wife just a baby girl. Her name is Madison. I can't wait to get down and see her! As far as I know, her middle name is still up for suggestions.

Where has the Summer gone?

2006-07-13T08:18:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that we are have way through July! Joel and I spent the 4th hanging out with Molly, Myron and Betsy in Grand Rapids. We went to Reeds Lake to watch the fireworks. It was nice to have some time to hang out with Betsy.

Last weekend we went to visit Joel's parents in Indiana for his grandpa's 80th birthday. It was a nice time to catch up with some of his family. Plus we got to try out our new tent before Mexico.

This week is filled with wedding stuff. Joel is singing in a friend's wedding so we have a bonfire/cookout tonight, rehersal tomorrow and wedding on Saturday.

Thinking about all of this makes me long for when I was a kid and the summer seemed to last forever!

Coincidence

2006-07-02T17:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my parents came up to hang out with Joel and I for the day. We had fun pricing out fencing materials at Lowe's, buying a tent at Gander Mountain and a few plants for our yard at Horrocks. After a great summer meal of corn on the cob, watermelon, chicken, steak and potatoes on the grill, they helped us do a bit of yard work. We needed to trim some trees and cutback some shrubs. My mom really likes to use the pruning shears --- in fact she did such a good job that about 1/2 an hour after they left the dead tree we had in the back yard fell and took out almost all of another tree. We had just had a conversation about how we needed to cut down the tree and what the best way to do it would be since it has power lines on both sides of it. Thankfully when it fell, it fell into our neighbors yard and broke their power lines. By the way, the house is vacant and under construction. So we called the Board of Water and Light and they came out and re-ran the power line. Any one need any fire wood?

Here are some pics: