thoughts

I feel like I should blog something, but I have nothing--and yet way too much--to say.

I feel ginormous...I can't believe I still have to wait out 9-ish weeks for this kid to get out of me.

mmm..chocolate ice cream...with sprinkles....and hot fudge..... sounds so good.  I'm going to have to settle for my banana, though ;)

My back is killing me. Thank goodness for the chiropractor....we have a date Friday.

I love my pumpking spice candle. It's the best smell in the world.

I love fall....80 degree weather? I'm so over it.

I love cuddling with my freshly bathed daughter in her UGLY Dora pajamas (she picked them out).

I love cuddling with my sandy, dirt encrusted daughter.

I can't believe I'm going to have 2 kids. Really? I feel like I just graduated HS a few years ago (it's been 10 btw).

My husband is driving me crazy. I spend the whole day cleaning and he still comes home and picks up. He was grumpy today when I got home from work. I don't know why.

Why is staying in a budget so difficult? Our grocery budget is over every month and I can't figure out why. I'm under my weekly budget, but at the end of the month.....we're over the total. ugh. I'm trying! I'm really trying!

I miss my mom.  I need her beef stew recipe and it's bugging me that I can't just call her for it :)

What else is God going to teach me this week? Sometimes I want to say, "okay! I've learned enough for a few days!" ;)

My back still hurts....working today didn't help.

I'm excited for SG on Sunday night. I really like getting together with everyone.

Addy and I are going to check out a toddler music class on Monday morning at Hope church if anyone wants to join us.

I like our new van, but I love my little Elantra.

My bible has a new stain on the cover. I don't know what it is, but it won't come out. Ink maybe? Who knows.

Why won't my daughter stop eating crayons? I've disciplined her multiple times and she just keeps eating the tips. I'm surprised she hasn't pooped a rainbow.  Needless to say, the crayons are shelved for a while.

At least she hasn't drawn on anything but the paper.

yet.

I'm ready for Nick to get home from worship team practice so we can talk about how much we are bugging each other.

We have a date Friday night.

Our first child-free time in about 10 weeks.

It's way over due.

I think I'm going to go read for a while.

Addy and I need to do a library trip tomorrow so we both have some new things to read.

I hope the grumpy gray-haired librarian isn't there....I'm not in the mood to charm her.

She seems to not realize that toddlers are noisy...
and pull things off shelves....
and try to chew on books....
and if they aren't in strollers, they run rampant.....

...but I know that I'm going to have to charm her, so I might as well psych myself up now :)

I have too many thoughts going on.....
picture a ferris wheel of words going around and around and around.....

Read more...

Adelyn's "new trick"

...please excuse the bloated lady in the background ;)

Read more...

please pray

My mom headed out to the Middle East this afternoon with 4 others.
I can't give any specifics due to security for the group. Please keep them in your prayers.

Read more...

God has something else in mind...

....and that's totally okay with us! :)
A couple days ago, I posted this hinting at some possible changes with our family. Today we got the verdict.
About 2 weeks ago, Nick applied for a Territory Customer Service Manager position (still within John Deere) in Pasco, Washington. He basically would have gotten to drive around and work with farmers and dealers all day....sort of his dream job :) He has never been much of an office-type of person and he likes being out there and getting his hands dirty...this job lets him do that.
We have always been open to the possibility to leaving the midwest for a while...in fact, I really want to go somewhere else. I grew up in Waukee and went to college in Pella, Ames and then Des Moines (yes, I transferred a few times) ;) I've never lived anywhere outside of Iowa and Nick and I think it would be a good thing for our family to be somewhere unfamiliar.
When the Washington job opened up, Nick said, "babe, what do you think about Washington". I didn't even hesitate. I said, "go for it". He had the interview last week and we've been waiting to hear yes or no until today :)
The probability of him getting the job was high that this weekend I was researching school districts and neighborhoods, and looking at houses online. We found out today that the hiring manager made a decision to go with another guy for the job. I guess God decided there's something better for us.
We are both disappointed, but relieved at the same time. I was freaking out over the timing. With baby boy joining us in a few weeks and our house needing fixing (sore subject)....I was nervous about what we would do if he did get it and had to be out there in a few weeks.  Everything would have changed for us....we don't know anyone out there!
I'm disapointed b/c I know he really wanted the job and this is what he wants to do. The area is gorgeous and isn't too far from Canada, all of those vacation options within driving range! :) We both know that God has something better in mind. His timing is better than ours :) Jobs like these open up all over the U.S...so we are still keeping our eyes peeled...so who knows what could happen in the next few weeks ;)

Read more...

my two cents...

I'm not one to get into political discussions...let alone blog about politics, but I just need to get something off my chest and I'll be good :)
A physician whom I don't know or have any affiliation with, sent this letter to President Obama regarding healthcare and where he sees part of the "real issues".  After I read it, I wanted to high five him and say "right on!".  Although, he does say that fixing this "culture crisis" will make health care difficulties disappear. I disagree with that...I think it will help immensely, but it's definitely won't fix everything!
I see patients like this everyday at work. They eat fast food for every meal, smoke 2 packs a day, drink 6-12 beers a day, have smart phones, cable tv, designer "duds" and we are paying for their insurance because they are on Medicaide because they can't "afford" insurance or work. It's so frustrating and so hard not to become judgemental when you hear their "sob story" of how sick they are.....I sometimes just want to scream "quit smoking! Stop drinking so much! Quit eating crap all the time!".  DUH!!!!
Then they argure that "healthy food" is too expensive. In the long run?? They are costing us billions of dollars....get rid of the cable, shop at Target or TJ Maxx, get rid of the smart phone and get a basic cell phone for crying out loud....and there's the money for fruits and veggies.
Now, there are definitely persons out there who truly are disabled, unable to work and can't afford insurance...and I see people like them everyday at work too....I'm afraid that these people who are abusing "the system" (whatever system that may be) are going to ruin it for those who truly do need the help.
Anyway, that's me on my platform...here's the letter:


Dear Mr. President:


During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.
While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one pack of cigarettes every day, eats only at fast-food take-outs, and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer. And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture" a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me". Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.


Respectfully,


ROGER STARNER JONES, MD

Read more...

changes on the horizon...

The last few weeks have been a little stressful overwhelming challenging interesting as far as happenings in our life :)
Obviously, the biggest upcoming change is baby boy joining us in 11 weeks (give or take a few). Buying the minivan was kind of a big deal for us too, but that was just overwhelming in seeing our savings drop a bit ;)
We have 2 more big huge possible changes coming up in the next few weeks, but I'm not quite ready to share, yet :)  I want to see where the next few days brings us....these changes may not even happen, but the fact that they are a possibility has me slightly freaking out. Everything we know could be about to change and it's hard having to "wait and see" right now.
I keep repeating Matthew 6 in my head "...do not worry about your life..." and the other verse where it talks about how the Lord will not give us anything beyond what we can handle (does anyone remember what verse that is?! I used to have it memorized, but am drawing a complete blank...if you know, then your help is greatly appreciated) ;)
I feel like this whole thing with the car and the minivan was God preparing us for something bigger...reminding us to trust Him and His timing.
I have mixed emotions b/c these are exciting changes, but just not the right time (in my mind) with baby boy on the way...
I'll keep you posted on what happens--regardless of whether or not this happens--when we find out and are ready to share....

Read more...

we. are. minivan owners. (!!!)

The last 2 weeks have been a total God story. I humbly use that term, knowing that compared to so many other people's stories, ours is nothing in comparion....but I have been shown, yet again, how faithful our God is.
I'm going to keep this short, if you want more details, you can email us :)
About 2 weeks ago, our Infiniti (we had it for 2 years) had a SLEW of issues...and expensive ones at that!
We had to get a new battery, new alternator, the dashboard circuitry somehow blew, the muffler cracked.....
ugh.
In the middle of all this we decided to get rid of it and get a minivan.We had been talking for a few months whether we should go with getting a van, or wait a while....vans are expensive and between then baby and getting our house fixed (they built it wrong...it's along story) we have some rather large expenses coming up :)
Last week, Nick listed the car on Craigslist. we got 3 calls on it within 3 hours of posting it! We didn't have the car back from Nick's family member who was working on it, so we were nervous that maybe we jumped the gun and were considering pulling the listing. Wednesday one of the guys called Nick again and Nick told him that we were getting the muffler fixed and the dash bulb replaced. Thursday he texted Nick b/c he wanted to look at the car AND he made an offer! By then the car was done, but the dash lights were still out and we couldn't figure out why. Nick went ahead and got the car and went to meet the guy...we were both thinking there is no way he's going to want it with no dash lights.....but he wanted it! He gave us just  a few hundred less than we were asking and we are both still in shock about it!
This whole time, I kept praying for patience....that we wouldn't rush into just getting rid of the car or buying the first van we came across. We have a tendency to jump into making decisions, and we really wanted to be patient. God knew what we needed and we were going to take our time.
When the guy bought the car, I about started crying. Every odd was against us in getting rid of that thing... yet it sold.  We started looking online at used vans at dealerships around Des Moines on Thursday. Friday we went and looked at 2 and made an offer on one. We aren't taking out any loans, so we had to be firm on a price. They wouldn't come down, so we walked.
We knew we wanted a more basic model...we don't need all the bells and whistles...and less risk of something needing replaced in the future ;)
That afternoon, we went with my stepdad and looked at a total of 15 vans (!!!). We had to wait until today to decide on a purchase, so we went to visit Nick's family in MN this weekend....which was good b/c it totally took our mind off of finding a van.
Today we got a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with just 27,000 miles on it (!!!!)...it's more than I ever thought we would find...the funny thing is that when we were looking at vans Friday, this is one that I just passed by b/c of the dark grey interior (dark interior + dirt and crumbs +kids = dirty interior that you can see).....but God knew what we needed and this van must be it :) I love it....and the dark grey isn't bad like I thought.
God completely rewards patience (although, I know that results are always amazing as this). These last 2 weeks, I've been reminded that God provides what we NEED.....not what we want....and not in OUR time frame ;)   I've learned to trust Him to provide for us and to be patient and have faith that everything will be fine.
Like I said, this is such a trivial thing compared to so many other peoples stories out there ,but I've learned alot the last 2 weeks and really wanted to share with you :)
Oh yeah.....here's some pictures of the minivan :) This car is going to be in our family for at least a good 10 years of so :)
...and by the way...I have never been against getting a van...they definitely don't have the style of an SUV, but the stow n go storage is the most amazing thing ever, it's going to accomodate our growing family and there is SO MUCH ROOM! :) Both Nick and I grew up with vans, so they aren't a new concept to us......but I haven't driven one in 10 years, so driving home today took a little getting used to. ;)

(no, it's not leather...which would have been nice...but none of the vans we had as options had leather...which is fine b/c this cloth interior is pretty nice...not like the old plush stuff that clung to every crumb and piece of dirt!)

Adelyn loves it too :)

Read more...

more congratulations!

Babies everywhere! It must be that time of year ;)

My wonderful childhood friend, Katie, and her husband Tony had their precious baby girl last night!

I haven't gotten to give little Leilahni a squeeze, yet, but you can bet I'll get one in soon!

Congratulations Katie, Tony and big brother Roman!

Katie and Roman earlier this summer

Read more...