February/March 2010

Here's an update of the last month and a half!


At the very end of January/beginning of February, I peed on a little stick and this is what happened:

:) We're pregnant!! :) We had an ultrasound on February 16th were we got to see the tiny embryo and hear the little heartbeat. Since I was only about 7 weeks along, there wasn't really much to see, but obviously it was very exciting and made me cry (can you believe that?). Right now (March 15th) I'm at 11 weeks and we're due October 4th. I'm feeling good---some days are better than others...the thought of lots of foods make me nauseated, and I've gagged/dry heaved countless times but only thrown up once. Some days I'm extremely exhausted, and other days I feel pretty normal. All of these things though are signs of a healthy pregnancy, so I definitely try to have a great attitude as I'm kneeling over the toilet or resting in bed! We had another doctor's appointment on March 9th, and everything was great!


On to other news...
Has anyone ever tried ear candling?? Somehow the idea of it came up when I was hanging out with Betsy and Alison one day, and we decided we needed to do it! It felt kind of weird, but our favorite part was looking at all of the nasty earwax at the bottom of the candle when we were finished!

Betsy getting her ear "candled."


And me doing Alison's ear.

Ahhh, memories! :)


The weekend of March 26th Benny and I were in Louisville, KY for an "Adopting for Life" conference. We've been talking about adopting for a while, and know it's something we have a heart for. We didn't know if we'd have our own kids first or adopt first, but we had heard about this conference from the Ambuehl's and decided to go. It was definitely an amazing conference...we received lots of great info about the adoption process, and were also spiritually and emotionally enriched. Jon and Liz Horn were there too, and it was such a blessing to share this experience with them.


Benny is coaching an Under-15 club team for Hoosier FC. They had their first tournament March 6-7, and they definitely showed improvement from the first day to the second. I got to sit with all of the parents during the games, and they were fabulous!! The absolutely ADORE Benny, and kept telling me how much their sons think of him. One of the dad's told him, "You really have found your calling." I couldn't agree more!!


Saturday night, we introduced our friend Andrew to a night of "firsts" in Anderson. (He just moved to Anderson this fall and is the wide receiver coach for the AU football team. He's worked the past two summers at K-Kountry, which is how we got connected with him.) We took him to a yummy rootbeer/hotdog drive-in restaurant named Gene's (he hadn't eaten there yet), went bowling (it was his first time to bowl in Anderson), and then came back to our house and played "Pass the Pigs" (he'd never played this fantastic game before).

Benny and Andrew acting tough after some intense bowling:


And not so tough:


And posing with this fun bowling pin!


Yeah for mega-long catch-up posts!! :)

Indiana Ice

Last weekend, we took a group of students to an Indiana Ice hockey game (they're a minor league team in Indianapolis).




Nothing like fearing for your life during the game...


Sarah with the Ice mascot...Big Foot.


The girls...Sarah, Kelsey, Maddie, Katie and me.

Some of the fellas...Brian, Jake, Benny and Matt. (The theme for the evening was "Island Attire Night." Matt was the lone member of our group who decided to dress up, and he went all out! He even brought sunscreen so he'd "smell" the part!)

Katie and Patrick.

Raleigh and Jordan (Jordan was just hired to work at K-Kountry this summer!! We know he's gonna love it!!)

The girls outside after the game with a big ice skate: Sarah, me, Katie, Maddie and Kelsey.

After the game, we treated the students to appetizers at Cheesburger in Paradise.

Katie, Sarah and Maddie:

We had such a fun evening with this great group of students!

Christmas '09

Okay, I'm FINALLY updating with Christmas pics!! :)

The weekend before Christmas, our neighbor Matt (soccer guy) spent the day with us. The guys were troopers and made Christmas cookies with me!

Benny and Matt making the dough:


Matt got a little messy decorating the cookies...


The masters at work:


Benny got to drive up to Lafayette on December 21st. I had to stay in Anderson to work, but got to join them on the 23rd.

Benny, Kathy and Shaun:


A silly one...


Shaun, Benny and Kyle on "Christmas Morning" (we opened presents on the 24th because I had to work again on the 24th at 7pm).


After I got off of work on Christmas Day, we drove to Columbia to spend a few days with my family!!

We got to spend a couple of hours with my (step) sister and brother, Chris and Crystal. Crystal is married and they have a precious little boy named Ian (1 1/2 year old) who I hadn't met yet!! It was so great to catch up with them, and to meet Ian!!
Me and Crystal:


My older brother David is a pilot/flight instructor. He wanted to take Benny flying while we were in town! But, Benny didn't just go for a little ride...he flew the plane!! He drove the plane while it was on the ground, did the takeoff, and flew around Columbia! (David landed the plane.)

Benny and David in the plane:


Doing their checkoffs:


And afterwards! Can you believe how small that plane looks??!!


I also got some precious time with my dear (and one of my longest) friends Liz and her family. (I mean Rory...that's for you, Leslie and Jess!) I am so thankful for her, and that no matter how much time passes between visits, we could spend hours talking!

Me and Liz with her beautiful girls, Charlotte and Riley:


Benny and Jon (Liz's husband):


The last night we were there, we played an intense game of Sequence with my Mom and David.
My Mom and I with our bowl of popcorn, ready to play!



Merry Christmas!! :)

Bacon Or Eggs

Last semester Benny and I took over leading the soccer team small group, "Bacon or Eggs." The guys and girls meet together every other week, and we have really enjoyed investing in these awesome students. After our small group time during finals week, Benny and I made breakfast for dinner for the students.

Matt (one of the soccer guys who lives across the street), learning how to make french toast.


Jordan, Adam and Jake.


After dinner, some of the students stayed after for a little boys vs. girls game of Catch Phrase. It was pretty hilarious.


Sarah, Abbey, and Katie.


Patrick, Matt and Benny. (Matt was really dizzy after spinning and spinning in our desk chair. We all found this rather funny.)


The next two pictures aren't actually from Bacon or Eggs...we had these three fellas over for dinner one night, and afterwards, Mitch and Jake decided to armwrestle. Adam was the referee.



We are so blessed by our relationships with these students, and we can't wait to see how the Lord will continue to work in their hearts!

Birthing Center Christmas Party

December 4th was my Christmas Party at work. Our cute managers made it a tropical Chrismas theme!

The weekday night nurses: Jacole, me and April. I love working with them!!


Rachel (evening shift unit secretary) and Amy (day shift nurse).


This is me DOMINATING one of the games we played. :) For those of you who don't know, I LOVE wrapping presents. One of my favorite things about working at the Buckle in high school was that we had free gift wrapping, so that meant I got to do a lot of it at Christmas time. For the game, we had to put oven mitts on and race against the clock to wrap a gift. I had the fastest time! (I know, I know....this is a very practical skill)


Me and Courtney (weekend option day shift nurse).


Our management staff: Kara, Lori, Stacey and Sarah.


Jacole chillin in the hammock with Santa.


It was really fun to hang out with these girls in a relaxed envoirnment outside of work!

Thanksgiving 2009

We were blessed to get to spend some time in Lafayette for Thanksgiving. Wednesday afternoon we drove over, had dinner with Benny's Dad and Leta, and then got some time with the Galemas. Thursday we had a delicious meal with Benny's mom and her side of the family and then had to head back to Anderson so that I could work at 11pm. We love our family!

Me and Benny:


Benny and Larry:


Me and Leta:


Me, Kathy and Benny

Fort Night and Beef and Boards

A couple of weeks ago, some of the fellas from the AU soccer team decided they wanted to come over to our house to build a fort. Yes...the kind you used to build in your parent's living room with all of the blankets in the house when you were eight years old. So on a Wednesday night, they came over, hung out for a little while, and then got to work on their masterpiece. It was rather hilarious to watch...they took apart our sectional couch, turned the pieces on their sides, and said things like, "this will be the living room...this will be the foyer....this will be the game room...this will be the bedroom..." They draped the blankets everywhere, and even stapled a few sheets to the wall! Here the boys are...super proud of their finished product:






Don't they look like little boys? So cute...


Eating their Taco Bell in the game area/kitchen:


All playing around on Facebook in the "bedroom":


The finished product:

They definitely ALL slept in the fort (including Benny) and probably got a whopping 4 hours of sleep. I think they're all excited about doing another "Fort Night" sometime soon!


Friday night, we went with Benny's Dad and his wife to watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at a fun dinner theatre place in Indianapolis called "Beef and Boards." We had a yummy dinner, and then got to watch the show!


The dining room/where we sat for the show. They took away the buffet tables and the stage slid out to where the buffets are now.


We'd never been to a dinner theatre before, so it was a great new experience!