Creating space

You are all probably wondering how I'm doing. As of yesterday, I am 10 weeks along. Almost through my first trimester! Woo hoo! I am feeling great! Still tired, but not like I was. The only thing I'm feeling is my body creating space for the new baby.

Speaking of creating space... I began the task of cleaning out the closet in the baby's room. Quite a task. I've added some pictures... sort of half way through the process. There's stuff everywhere! But thanks to this task, I've cleaned out most of the closets in the house! Gotta find room for all this stuff. I am extremely glad we have a shed.



I also have to post the pic of the baby bag. Troy has told everyone about the bag. We were wondering around Babies R Us, just looking really. And of course, I find the clearance aisle. And behold, I find THE bag for me. I'm sure later down the road, I'll curse this purchase, but it's going to be so cool to carry at the beginning!

Morning sickness is NOT morning sickness....

because it lasts all day!!!!!!!

Good news! We're pregnant! Troy and I will be expecting a little bun in the oven in September. September is a GREAT month for babies! I should know, I'm born in it... and my brother, and my father, and my grandfather... and the list actually does go on in my family. So that puts me at about 9 weeks. We actually have known for a while, but we were keeping quiet to not jinx the whole thing. We have now had 2 ultrasounds, and we've even heard the heartbeat, so I'm feeling a bit more confident. In fact, I'll even post pictures! I know you all want to see the inside of my uterus! (I can hear Bret groaning even before he reads this.) Most people are asking me how am I feeling. As the title bares, I'm a little nauseous most of the day. The last 2 days I have actually gotten sick. But I think the worst part are the growing pains and bloating. I will not elaborate. I have no preference for whether it will be a boy or girl. Although, the little kiddo was moving around during the ultrasound, makes me think boy.

Prayers are greatly appreciated at this time! Keep us in your thoughts!

Snow melting?

...not in our yard. For some reason, our house is the only house in the subdivision that still has the front yard covered. This is not making it easy for Troy to remove the Christmas lights that are still hanging. I still have Christmas decorations that I have not been able to put away in the shed due to the foot of snow that has encompassed it. And for those of you that know me, it's driving me nuts. I am unable to have the perfectly clean house. There are things scattered about, and I'm about ready to add them to the trash. And most people enjoy snow. They get to play outside and watch children make snowmen... me no. I get a lousy cold. A cold that also knocks me out for my wonderful 3 day weekend. I get well enough to go back to work on the following Monday. Great. Now I get to catch something from all the sick people coming to the hospital. Sorry for the rant. I really hate snow. I'm also sorry for the lack of posts. There really hasn't been whole lot going on... that I can talk openly about. Now, my brother would post anything. His poor wife has to endure all the sarcasm and joking that my brother can come up with... AND post on the internet. I'm so thankful blogging wasn't around in high school.

We have been visiting some new churches here on the south side. Both Troy and I had been praying about if we should continue to commute to Common Ground every Sunday since our house church pretty much dissolved. So the first church we visited was a LARGE church that most of our house church had started going to anyway. Indian Creek is a nice church, but WAY too big for us. When you outgrow your sanctuary that was built to hold 3000 after adding additional services, you know you are just going to blend in. Well, Troy and I wanted something more quaint. Something that feels a bit more personal. Plus, the "baptismal cam" did me in. I always thought the whole point of baptism is to confess Christ before your fellow Christians and be baptized with lots of hoopin' and hollerin' afterwards. Not at The Creek. During the invitation, you see this video pop up of a guy in the corner getting dunked. Yeah, real personal. This led us to a small church called New Hope. TOTAL opposite. I think there were 15 people there besides us. We just didn't feel that that was for us. So for the past 2 Sundays (with a break inbetween for Troy to go to the Purdue Women's National Championship anniversary) we've been attending Grace Evangelical Church. Today we heard the actual pastor. Nice sermon, but halfway through, both of us couldn't keep our eyes opened. As we were walking out, I broke out into tears declaring, "I miss Common Ground!" So I think, after some prayerful considerations, we will be back to CG next Sunday. I don't know what we are going to do about a house church since there aren't any on the south side, but I don't think God will hold that against us.

Have a good week everyone!

What did we get ourselves into?

This weekend, Troy and I did something I NEVER thought I'd be a part of. We went to a Monster Truck Jam. We went with the Andy, Amanda, Brian, and Cindy. We thought it would be a fun roadtrip to Columbus, OH. Mostly, though, to get to see Brian have fun. All I really knew of Monster Jam was that it was going to be LOUD. And they weren't joking. I'm glad we brought earplugs. This was worse than any of the concerts Bret and I had ever been to. It was also very dirty. The whole floor was dirt. The first ten rows of the arena were blocked off and covered with yellow plastic. We were in row M. Think about it... the first 10 rows... M is letter 12. We were THAT close. It was also an asthmatics worst nightmare. Exhaust fumes, dust, smoke... it was an RT's assurance that I would continue to have a job. Anyway, it wasn't a bad experience. I probably wouldn't drive to Columbus again to see it. But it was a lot of fun watching Brian. He had a blast. He got a Monster Mutt t-shirt and a Monster Jam blanket. He got to see Monster Mutt in person. We took lots of pictures for your perusing enjoyment.

A little side note. Please pray for my nephew, Grant. He's having a some tummy troubles right now and spent most of the weekend at Riley Hospital. He's home now, but they aren't entirely sure of what's going on. We love you little guy!!!



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Happy Holidays!

Greetings friends and family! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I know we did. We started the week off with having our own Christmas gathering at home with our parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and our adorable nephews. Fun was had by all. My HUGE turkey came out terrific. In fact, we're still eating on it. The only thing about Christmas that does me in is the numerous amount of cookies we have. Mostly from Troy's mom, Cindy. I've even taken some to work and we still have some left!

Christmas eve was split into a couple of Christmas's. First, we went to my parent's to have breakfast.... ahhh, Krispy Kreme.... and to open gifts. Actually, most of the enjoyment came from watching Grant open his presents. It is so much fun to see him react. My mom cleaned out Christopher & Banks for me. Thanks mom! And Bret and Erin made sure I got Pushing Daisies so I won't be without it when it goes off the air next season. Troy is really enjoying his new rocker from my parents. Although, now I have to stare over it to the tv from my recliner. I hope everyone enjoyed the gifts we gave as much as the ones we got!


After Christmas with my folks, we headed to Bedford. No Christmas lasagna this year. In fact, the food fair was mostly snacks. Not quite as many mouths to feed without the Weavers. It was good to see mamaw and the rest of the crew. I was thrilled that the family decided to open gifts early so I could see them b/c we had to head back to Indy by 5pm. The hospital never closes... in other words, I had to work Christmas Day and the day after. We were extremely short staffed, but we always manage to do it. Christmas Day, many of us brought in food and the hospital provided lunch for the workers. It was very nice... even though we had to eat quickly.



I'm thankful it is the weekend now. Poor Troy has caught a cold. I'm trying to avoid it. But the weather is nice and warm and rainy. I'll think I'll stay in and enjoy my gifts. Thanks to all! Have a happy new year!

Here's the pictures!

Sorry for the long delay. A lot has happened in the last few weeks. Thanksgiving came and went. I had to work that day, of course. Sick people can't be left to fend for themselves in the hospital! But we did celebrate it with my family the previous Sunday. It was a great feast! I especially enjoy getting to see my nephew and hear the new things he says.

The weekend following Thanksgiving, we went to Louisville for my cousin Nicole's wedding. I was so happy for her! It was also the first time I got to meet Paul. Not bad, Nicole! Here are a few pics!



Since then, I haven't been doing anything other than work. Troy has a cold I'm trying to avoid. But I did purchase the Christmas turkey for our shindig coming up. I made the lady at the register laugh because I could barely lift it! So everyone coming to our place... be prepared for turkey!

Here is the link to snapfish to see the rest of our Washington, DC pics!

Day 7 and the trip home

We had another fun-filled and busy day the final full day of DC. We made it to our country's Capitol! And what a beautiful place it is! We got to do the first floor tour which is mostly about the rotundra. Amazing how large and grand it is! They then take you into the old meeting rooms. Once your done with the tour, they let you wander around the first floor on your own... but only since the Senate was already in session. The House was empty though, so we somehow got tix from a security guard to go sit up in the balcony and look down on where all our laws are made. It was kind of cool and see it.

Next we visited the Library of Congress. We were somewhat disappointed. There wasn't much to see other than the Gutenburg Bible... which don't get me wrong! It was nice, but that was it. Otherwise, unless you're doing research, the library isn't much to look at.

Next door, we visited the Supreme Court. Much more interesting. They don't have hearings on Fridays, so we got to go into a court and hear an explanation on how the supreme court works. Troy was more annoyed with the rather clueless lady who kept asking questions like, "If all judges are equal, why is the chief justice called the chief?" "How does he get elected?" And that was right after the tour guide had just explained it. The tour guide was getting rather annoyed with the lady. It was amusing.

And again, we managed to find another mall. This one was in the union station. It pretty much surprised us, because when you walk in, all you see is a bunch of asian keosks and some restuarants. It took some exploring to find the good stuff! I was a good girl and didn't buy more shoes...

which leads me to the fact that we had to buy another suitcase for all the crap we... er... I bought. Grant and Brian will be happy with us! Every time we went in somewhere, we found stuff for the boys! I had so much fun! We really need a kid. hehehe But we did manage to get everything and us home safely this evenings. The ride was less bumpy, but we were still in the very back... by our choosing. They were the only seats left together. Although, this trip, more people had to use the lavatory. And for some reason, nearly everyone left the doors open after they were done, which made it very noisy for us. Troy kept reaching over to close it. I, on the other had, was sound asleep most of the trip. We are glad to be back in our house and our bed. Troy is a little less happy since he has to go to work Monday. I took all next week off too. hehehe

Some more pics of the trip! But remember these are only a segment of our pics. I'll try to post a link to all of them once we get them organized.

Day 6 and my feet are killing me!

We finally made it to the National Mall. I can't remember the last time I walked this much. First off we overslept, so we didn't leave the inn until 10am. Secondly, it was decent out but WINDY again. At least the sun was shining. We went to the Washington monument first. It was really interesting. I didn't realize it was actually commissioned while he was alive. You can see where they quit building and waited to start again. Money was an issue even then! We did get to ride to the top. Very high. Pretty view though. We had to get tix early to ride up, so while we waited to do that, we decided to venture to the White House. hehehe. The reason I'm laughing is because we had just walked to the front of the place after walking all the way around it and being shooed away from the "tour" entrance because Senator Lugar didn't bother to return Troy's emails, when we got shooed away by a police officer informing us that the White House grounds were being closed off. Wha?! Then we saw it, or... heard it. The helicopter overhead. Apparently somebody important was either coming in or going out. That kind of made up for it... not really. Been better to have seen some secret service men around.

Then we vistied the WWII memorial, and walked up the reflecting pool to Abraham Lincoln memorial. It was impressive. You always see pics of these places, but until you've been there, you don't really realize HOW big it is. And it's not just a statue, all the carvings of his words around it. The Gettysburg Address. Very inspiring.

So after our trip up the memorial, we headed to the Vietnam Memorial. Very touching. As was the Korean War Memorial. Inbetween the two, we stopped to grab a snack at a cafe. While we were sitting outside enjoying the warming sunshine, I suddenly felt something grap my leg. I looked down and shrieked because a squirrel had decided I smelled good and grabbed my leg!!! The only people around were this older couple and the man said,"You know those have rabies." Thanks. ,The squirrel continued to make interest of me until I convinced it I wasn't food, nor did I have any of interest. It then went over to bother the older couple.

We made our way around the Tidal Basin to FDR's memorial. I liked all the water falls, but by then I was so tired, and so was Troy that we really didn't pay too much attention to it. Our goal was to get to the Jefferson Memorial, which we did. I must say I like this one better than Abe's. Maybe because there weren't as many people there, but the statue just seemed more magnificent. Maybe it just looked better because my feet were sore. Anyway, I enjoyed it.

So we walked back to the metro to go find dinner somewhere. Wouldn't you know it? My loving husband found me a mall with a Macy's. And it was a really nice mall. We hung out for a couple of hours so I could oogle the name brand shoe stores. Now we're back in our room, and just plain exhausted. But Troy said I had to blog to remember everything we did today. I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am writing it. Tomorrow is our last full day here. To the Capitol we go!

Day 5 Washington DC

Today we visited the Natural History museum. I forgot to mention that yesterday we found out the American History museum is closed until the fall of 2008. It is fall!!!!! But alas, it doesn't reopen until November. I was majorly bummed. Apparently it's been closed for the last 2 years for major renovations. Maybe we'll come back with kids some day to see it. Speaking of kids, it must've been "field trip day" for several of the schools around here. The museum had lots of noisy pre-teens running amuck. It was still quite enjoyable to see the place. Got lots of pics. Even a few with Troy! My favorite part was the Gem collection. The Hope diamond is BEAUTIFUL. I told Troy I was taking pics of the things I wanted for christmas. The lady next to us laughed and said, "Isn't every woman?" I was particularly taken aback at the pink diamonds. I tried to take a pic, but without using the flash due to the glass case, it came out a little fuzzy. We also did another IMAX movie called "Deep Sea: 3D." Narrated by Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp. It was awesome. Although, again, we had to share the theatre with way too many younguns who couldn't keep their traps shut. They got a little better after it started and their teacher told them to be quiet. We then headed to Dupont Circle for some dinner at Kramer Books and Afterthoughts Cafe. The food was great, the pie even better. Much to my chagrin, I think I've gained about 10 pounds on this trip... even with all the walking! Tomorrow, off to the memorials! We're hoping it won't be quite as cold and windy. We're starting to think that next years vacation may involve a beach and a lovely placed call Hawaii. Enjoy the pics!

Right as you walk in, you're greated by this fellow.

Many of you realize that I couldn't go without seeing the Egyptian stuff. If they hadn't been sold out, I would've bought a mummified cat pendant. It was soooooo pretty!


This is the pic of the pink diamond. It didn't come out quite like I wanted it to, but you get the picture.

T. Rex, 'nuff said.

Ain't we silly?

Day 3 and 4 Washington, DC

Sorry for the delay of posts. We had a busy day on Monday! Where to start? We got up bright and early (at 8am) and headed towards the Air and Space Museum. My goodness! It was amazing! I couldn't believe the number of planes and space craft scattered throughout. We spent almost the whole day there. We even stopped to see an IMAX show called "To Fly" which was really neat. Mostly it was just nice to get off our feet for a few minutes! Not to mention, even though weather.com said there would be no rain, it POURED. So we were glad to be indoors. We ran to the ESPN Zone that evening to watch the Colts get defeated. We got lucky to find a section that was watching football and not the World Series. The Zone was cool. They even had tvs in the bathroom stalls so you wouldn't miss any of the game. The also had an arcade where we saw dozens of teens in costumes running around... what are they doing on a school night at the Zone? Anyway, today was probably one of my favorite days.



Day 4 was a little more somber. We visited the Holocaust Museum this morning. We stayed for 4 hours. It was really impressive. I don't really know how to describe it that would justify it. By the time we got done, I was sobbing. They don't allow pictures, which I totally understand. You really have to see it for yourself. How people can believe that it didn't happen is hard for me to imagine.

Afterwards, we headed to the Old Post Office. We went to the observation deck, 12 stories high. We got some nice pics of Washington from there. You couldn't stay up there very long because it was cold and blustery today. We headed back to the Inn at around 4pm and stayed in the rest of the evening. We're both a wee bit tired and our legs and feet ache. Tonight was a good night to just chill out. Hopefully tomorrow will be nicer and we can visit some of the memorials.