Our Simple Adventures

A simple afternoon

2012-02-02T13:36:00.003-05:00

I've really missed blogging. A lot has been going on lately, and yet it seems like not a whole lot has changed. Don't you know exactly what I'm talking about? We had a wonderful weekend away at the Pastors and Spouses' Retreat. One of the highlights to the weekend was taking Mia swimming in the pool. She LOVED it. Last night a big announcement was made at church - the old church and the building attached to it are finally under contract and will hopefully be officially SOLD by the end of this month. Another major praise to go along with that is that our house was not part of the offer so we still have a place to live! Woohoo! Not sure when we'll be packing the boxes now, which is a major relief. I'm caught up on work for now and Mia is sleeping peacefully in her pack-n-play. Yes, I still hold her until she falls asleep and some days I hold her for her nap time. Is that what the book says to do, oh probably not, but I've heard too many people say, "Cherish this time", and so guess what? I'm cherishing this time. Every afternoon (at least we try to make sure it happens) we have cuddle time. I stop what I'm doing (yeah the dishes, laundry, cleaning, church work, emails, etc. gets put on hold) and I hold Mia and have cuddle time with her, and it's priceless.

Haha, and I'd have to say that this is a pretty priceless combination as well. I still need to try the natural bliss caramel flavored creamer...ugh, I'm not sure I should try that though...

Yeah I'm still posting

2012-01-31T19:23:00.002-05:00

So things have been kind of interesting lately. Yeah, I will admit this...I've been dealing with some kind of depression. I'm not sure why it hit, but it has and it hasn't been fun. I'm usually such a joyful, fun-loving kind of person, but my personality craves accomplishment and words of affirmation and when those are in low supply I suppose things seem to crumble a bit. Haha, so have I not accomplished things or had words of affirmation? Well...I think I've been looking in the wrong places for a lot of my senses of accomplishment. There are days when I allow things to just bug me too much - will people think that I'm not working as hard as I did before I had Mia? Will I let things slip too much? What do others really think about me? I better do this and this and this so that others know I'm still trying my hardest. What does the future really hold? What does God really want? And the list goes on. I'm beginning (finally) to realize that these things are just weighing me down WAY TOO much. I'm part of a group on facebook where we are just so honest with our struggles, and so I share this struggle. Not to show weakness, but to show that there is great strength when we admit to those around us that we do struggle, that we need to find strength not in accomplishments or encouraging words, but in Christ and in a relationship with Him.

This time last year

2012-01-13T13:50:00.003-05:00

I said to Mark, as I'm holding VERY ACTIVE Mia..."Can you believe that this time last year I was going to the doctor every month?" Mia smiles. "Isn't it hard to believe that we didn't even know we were having a girl this time last year?" Mia smiles. Then as we're getting ready for bed I say..."So, do you ever think about having another one?" It's probably a good thing it was dark and I couldn't see his reaction :) Mia was sound asleep, so I'm not sure if she was smiling or not.

Mia's 6 month pictures...

It's so hard to believe that this beautiful little blessing from God is already 6 months old. Mia, we love you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much, and you bring so much joy to our hearts every day!

It's just an advertisement, but it made me cry

2012-01-05T19:29:00.002-05:00

Just the other day Mark and I were driving (I'm not sure where and it doesn't matter), and we heard an advertisement for Indiana Wesleyan University come on the radio...do you know what happened? I felt my eyes get kind of burny and all of the sudden a tear trickled down my cheek (Ooohhhhh, and I do remember that we were driving by the river after making a stop at the recycling "center"). Mark looked at me and said, "Are you crying?" Yup, sure enough. The radio made me cry. It as though I could picture my college days as the ad talked about the benefits to an education at IWU. I could see my friends, many of whom (see, that IWU education is shining through) I haven't seen in YEARS...wait, all of whom I haven't seen in years - some I haven't seen since I left the school. Ugh. Even now as I take the time to write these words I remember the late nights and almost missing my Greek final one semester (not one of my wisest moments!) Pizza and movies. Baldwin dinners. Hot chocolate and walks. Handy Andy. Hobby Lobby. Noble Romans. Steak-N-Shake. Applebees 1/2 off appetizers (How in the world did I not gain 100lbs at school?) Oh yeah, rollerblading and having no concept of stopping - thankfully Indiana is a flat state so the paths didn't really have hills. Slip and slide in the dorm (totally approved...haha) Music blaring. My relationship with Christ strengthened. My call into ministry affirmed. My life changed.

Some days I wonder if I made the wrong choice leaving IWU after my sophomore year. But as Mia attempts to help me write this and Mark is playing with his new knife sharpener I think that that decision may not have been one of my brightest moves, but it sure took me down a path that I love :) Oh and I'm sure that I'll still cry probably every time I hear K-Love air that ad for IWU

Christmas, Elmo, Camo, High Chairs, and 6months.

2012-01-03T18:53:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures of what's been going on around here lately...

Mia's last present from "Santa" was this Elmo - she loved it so much! Her face lit up when she opened it and her arms started going crazy. Mommy and Daddy got a little teary eyed.

An excellent combination for Mia - feet and Elmo! Her Elmo slippers are a little big, but they sure do keep her entertained.

New Year's Day we went to a cabin that Mark's family loves to visit. We figured it would be very appropriate to dress in camo for the time at the cabin :)

Mia is now using her very cool high chair. She looks so little in it. That's a good thing!

I took quite a few 6 month pictures...she's quite active now so getting pictures is becoming more difficult.

"Mommy, is this good?"

I've missed blogging

2012-01-03T18:45:00.002-05:00

Whew, it's hard to believe that Christmas came and went and here we are in the start of a brand new year. I'm not sure what it is about this year, but I truly believe it's going to be a great year. I think it's going to be a year of growth, and I do believe that some of the hardwork from the past few years will really begin to pay off this year. Tonight I had some quiet time (usually I get quiet time in the morning, but tonight Mark was giving Mia a bath and I just sat on the couch and prayed and read the devotional book Jesus Calling). I journal my prayers and tonight I closed with "Father, I know You are speaking. Help me truly listen." Then I opened up the devotional book and read these words, "Come to Me with a teachable spirit, eager to be changed. A close walk with Me is a life of continual newness. Do not cling to old ways as you step into a new year. Instead, seek My Face with an open mind, knowing that your journey with Me involves being transformed by the renewing of your mind." Whew, yep that about sums up how I have felt about walking into this new year. It will be a year of newness, a year of sitting before Jesus with a completely teachable spirit and a true eagerness to be changed. I want it to be a year of walking close to Him and not clinging to old ways of doing things.

Wide awake at 2am

2011-12-23T03:45:00.005-05:00

Mia hasn't been the most sound sleeper the past couple of nights. Mark had to get up at 3:15 Tuesday and Wednesday morning because of over time...just for the record I got up with him. So last night after a good chat we all agreed that it would be a full night of rest. Ha! Guess who woke up at 2 and was wide awake? The one feeling the need to blog right now. Of course. But at least I was able to wrap a few gifts, do some laundry, get the dishes done, post some pictures on facebook, and of course blog! This has been what I would call a full ministry week, and there are some other things coming up that will add to that! But let me share with you a few fun pictures from this full ministry week:

Please meet Baby Mary sporting her Camo, and the Camo Ghost Shepherd (he played his part so well - Ooooooooooo)

Barry, we love when you sing "Little One"!

I LOVE this picture. It just makes me realize how much I love what I do, and how spectacular our Undefeated All-Stars are...ha, and how much they make me laugh!

The whole crew that participated in the program! 18 Undefeated All-Stars. I'm pretty sure that's the most that we've had participate since I've been here! Don't they look AMAZING????????????

For some reason this picture almost brings tears to my eyes....maybe it's the fact that I'm so glad that Mia has these wonderful young women to look up to as she grows up!

I think it would be appropriate to title this "Mommy and her assistant!" Mia has been a true trooper! She's gone to meetings with me, pre-marriage counseling sessions, sat through more church services than most adults do, had her first youth group over-nighter, and puts up with mommy working from home. She's such a blessing!

And speaking of blessings...I look at this picture (and the fact that Mark agreed to look festive for Christmas with us) and realize how blessed I am. I have an incredible husband who does his best to support the call God has placed on my life for ministry. He stands by me through crazy stressful moments and smiles with me at accomplishments and just the plain old good days. I also think that two years ago I never would have dreamed we'd be holding a baby in our arms this Christmas! Last year I had no idea how much joy "Little D" would bring us.

Well, now that I've been wide awake for the last 2 hours. I'll get one more load of laundry done, have some quiet time, and hope to sneak back to bed for a few minutes of rest before we start our crazy day that starts our crazy Mia's 1st Christmas weekend :)

9 days before Christmas

2011-12-17T15:29:00.003-05:00

Some people spend that 9th day before Christmas wrapping presents, baking cookies, cleaning for visitors, shopping, or finishing up their Christmas cards. You know what I did?

Walked around the outside of the church to make sure everyone was safe from wild animals as they played manhut.

Tried to figure out the interesting odor coming from the youth room

Ate wings (and for those of you who stopped and were overcome by the wing smell - be thankful that was the smell that welcomed you!!!!!!!!)

Decorated t-shirts for the Christmas program

Talked to teens and kids about all kinds of stuff

Did the countdown for a water chugging contest 15 minutes before bed! Oh wait, that was on the 8th day before Christmas because it was 12:15am.

Listened to snores

Prayed for a youth ministry that God has totally blessed us with. As I sat there waiting until that last Undefeated All-Star fell asleep I was overcome with how blessed we are to get to work with this incredible group. A group that shows leadership, integrity, and kindess in a lot of what they do.

Haha, now on the 8th day before Christmas - we've had our typical crazy day-before-the-program practice, and taken nice long afternoon naps (futons are comfy, but...)!

I wouldn't have spent these last 2 days any other way :)

Journeys

2011-12-15T05:50:00.005-05:00

Last night in our Making it Real Bible Study we talked about the journey Mary and Joseph faced from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We talked about our own journeys. I just spent a couple of minutes looking for pictures from different journeys that I've walked. Here are a few

Ah sweet IWU days! Days of staying up until insane times of the morning then sleeping until 2pm on a Saturday. Days of almost missing finals...haha, who needs Greek exams? Days of solidifying my relationship with Christ. Days that would prepare me for future moments of complete confusion. Days of amazing friendship that would last through thick and thin.

Messiah College Falcon days...well, its obvious from my picture choice that those days were filled with fun and excitement, huh? Haha! Messiah Days were mostly educational days for me. Oh yeah there were some incredibly fun moments with that Smith Apartment, but Messiah showed me strength I didn't realize I had. My education there pushed me to grow in ways I never thought were possible. I am very blessed that the journey brought me friends that I will have for a lifetime too :)

October 18, 2003...our journey down the aisle. Our journey to start a brand new life together. A journey that would take us through all kinds of adventure, but would bring us so much closer than we were on that day we got married.

I will call this the AMPED Journey - even though it's only a few of the teens from my AMPED days it's a very appropriate picture for that journey. This AMPED group and I kind of grew up together. I know I made a TON of mistakes on that journey, but they were awesome through each obstacle. Haha, I made my first ER trip with this crew, went on my first youth convention trip with them, and had a bunch of other firsts there - with that many first you're sure to grow in the journey's path.

This picture was taken less than a month after we moved from one CWC to another!

Ah, our Tropical Christmas Program from last year. I will admit that it was a tough journey to come back home - a lot changes when you're gone for 4 years and then try to sneak back into a life that you haven't had for so long. Mark adjusted much quicker than I did...haha, and we say he's the one that struggles with change! And yet, I look at this picture and I am so grateful for the journey "back home" that we made 4 and 1/2 years ago.

And then there was our journey to the hospital on July 2nd! Our parking garage ticket states that we arrived at 10:33pm. (I have that written down...I've got a good memory, but that's pushing it to remind what time we got to the hospital when I was in labor!) This parenthood journey has been FARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR better than we could have even tried to imagine.

I can honestly say that a few of these journeys I wanted to take. Others were a major struggle for me. Some of the journeys prompted me to make countdowns, others forced me to feel so much dread that I could barely sleep at night. I had a very tough time with my journey "back home" as I've mentioned a few times. You've got to realize that that was a huge adjustment for me. I went from a full time ministry position in pretty much one particular area of ministry to a part time position that forced me to work outside the church too, and required me to split my attention in a couple of different directions.. I really had a tough time with that wondering why God would put me on a journey that would force me to spend less time "in ministry". What I realize now, about 4 years later, is that the journey "back home" placed me in situations to do far more ministry than I ever have before. A friend of mine just "wrote" on my Facebook wall..."Our friendship has got me through a lot of trials these last few years. I am eternally grateful ♥" Statements like that make the difficult journeys worth every single painful step!

What journeys are ahead? Haha, I have NO idea, but I do know that my past journeys have made me who I am today. They have stretched me, strengthened me, brought me to laughter and tears, and have created me to be me. I hold memories from each journey and I will probably share those memories with others as I walk down each journey God has for me. Don't allow your journeys to overtake you. Grow through them. Be who God is creating you to be!

Teaching her young

2011-12-14T08:15:00.004-05:00

I think I was a senior in high school the first time I rode a luggage cart. It was at a Penn-Jersey Susquehanna Zone Retreat. I saw that empty luggage cart, and just felt the need to jump on it and go for a ride. Of course one of the women from my church didn't help my temptation by saying, "Shannon, I'll push you if you get on there!" Well, that was the encouragement I needed :) Hopped right on there and down the hall we went. Haha, um, nearly 13 years later I feel it necessary to teach my daughter to follow in my footsteps! Just wait until we get to the District Ladies' Retreat this year!!!!!!!!!!!!! There will be sooooooooooooooooooooo much to teach her. Too bad Daddy will be taking her home for the night :(

It's the little things

2011-12-12T05:45:00.003-05:00

Last night we had a 2 hour practice for our upcoming "Perfect Christmas Program". It was so much fun! The little inside jokes that we try to sneak into our programs each year crack me up! The way the teens interact with each other, and the examples they are to the younger kids makes me smile. The fact that kids go from not wanting to really participate to asking for more lines makes me feel like something is going in the right direction. Teens offering to help with additional things - like putting every one's lines from Luke 2 on note cards. Our sound guy seeing what more he can do to make this an even better program from moving things around to adding music here and there. These are all things that may seem little in the grand scheme of things, but let me tell you what - it's the little things that make some of the biggest differences.

I'm happy

2011-12-11T08:16:00.002-05:00

This is kind of strange - I'm at the church office without my little sidekick. Daddy is getting the two of them ready for church and I'm finishing up some last minute office things before the craziness of the day starts. So, one of the things on my list - blog! I've been in a very reflective/writing kind of mood lately and so I figured I'd share some thoughts on here.

Friday night our little family ventured into our "old zip code" for a wonderful date night. Mark and I were able to spend 4 hours in the car drinking coffee, munching on some snacks, and TALKING! We talked about all kinds of stuff - it was my idea of a perfect date :) As we sat through this year's performance of Calvary Wesleyan Church's (Bethlehem) Living Christmas Tree I couldn't help but just smile. I looked over at Mark holding Mia and just smiled. I smiled because I wanted that baby girl for so long. I smiled because I had a feeling this time last year (when we knew I was pregnant but didn't know if Little D was a boy or girl) that we were going to be holding a precious little girl in our arms this year. I smiled because I'm happy. I'm happy with where we are in life. Are all of our questions answered - nope. Are all of our "stressors" under control - haha nope. Are all of our dreams going in the direction we planned - not quite. But...I love where we are in life. I love being an assistant pastor in our church. I love the group that I get to work with. I love the opportunities that have come my way just recently. I love my precious little family. There were times when it was hard to sit through those performances - remembering that we had a different life when we lived in that zip code. There were times when I wanted so badly to be able to go back in time to when our address was different. There were times when I would cry as we would head West on 78 leaving the Lehigh Valley. But not this year. This year I smiled - sure, it was hard to leave our dear friends and not know when we'll get to see them again. But I smiled because I like the list of things to do that sits on my desk at 200 Miller Road in my Tennessee Volunteers decorated office. I smiled because I'm happy with where God has led us on this crazy adventure.

Yeah...I'm happy :) Oh and I better get back home and see how the "getting ready for church" progress is going. Plus I have to get out of the office before people start showing up early - I'm in my favorite pair of sweatpants that are looking a little rough!

2011-12-06T14:58:00.002-05:00

We love watching Mia enter into all kinds of new territory! One of her current highlights has been eating oatmeal at night before bed. She LOVES it! She eats right off of the spoon like a true champ. Of course diving into the spoon makes it so much more fun for her, and a little interesting for Mommy and Daddy. But it's all good. We love this new adventure :)

Look, I finished all of my oatmeal!

Something else Mia has discovered...her TOES! And of course what is the best thing to do when a baby discovers toes...put them in the mouth. Oh YUMMMMMMMMMMMM! This kid cracks us up every single day (a couple of times a day!)

Today

2011-12-03T17:32:00.002-05:00

Today I kept saying "Who's 3 months old?" Haha, Mark looked at me and said, "Um, not Mia!" Right...She's 5 months old. Next month she'll be 6 months old - half way to a year. Whew it's so hard to believe that July 3, 2011 at 7:35PM our wished for child entered our lives and has added more joy to our hearts than we ever thought possible. Mia, you are a true blessing to us. We thank God every single day (quite a few time during a day) that He blessed us at just the right time with you. We will do everything in our power, and mostly with God's help, to raise you to be all that you are called to be. We will love you, care for you, and even though some people think we'll spoil you we'll just say we'll shower you with all the possibilities we can provide for you (but spoiling won't be in our vocabulary!) We love you Silly Goose, Biggie Biggie, Tink Pot, and whatever other names we'll have for you as you grow :)

Blessed

2011-12-01T12:14:00.004-05:00

Our Wednesday night Making It Real series is "The Journey" by Adam Hamilton. Last night we talked about the visit of Mary and Elizabeth. We talked about Mary being blessed. The discussion was pretty interesting - what's your definition of blessedness? According to a lot of people (not the people at the study, these are more general ideas of blessings) blessings come materially - we get a raise a work, we are able to get a new car or a new house or do those renovations on our house, we get to take a dream vacation or get the newest techy kind of thing, and the blessing lists goes on. I'll admit that I can fall into that trap. Haha, could easily say to Mark, "Remember when we both had really good incomes? Remember when we'd spend x about of dollars on a weekend going out to eat? Remember when we bought this or did that..Remember when?" But...let me tell you about the blessings that have come into my life just recently.
Every single day I look at Mia and I realize what a blessing she is. There were about 4 years when I wondered why we didn't have insurance and why we couldn't start a family like everyone else seemed to be doing. But...oh she was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo worth the wait! She is a major blessing!

I'm blessed to have people who turn feel comfortable enough to turn to me for advice and comfort. When a friend needed someone by her side the other day, I got a text message and I was there in an instant (or as quickly as I could be). That visit was a blessing.

I'm blessed to discover other Christians out there- fellow believers that we just make connections with from the start and realize that there is something special in the relationships.

I'm blessed to have a job that I LOVE. Being a pastor can be crazy tough at times, but there are so many highlights - teens getting it and making good choices, couples asking you to perform their weddings, baby dedications, connections over coffee or at sporting events. Oh it's such a blessing to do what I love.

Do my blessings match the world's ideas of blessings? Probably not! But I'm blessed beyond words (even though I used quite a few in this post!)

The Swings

2011-11-24T08:15:00.003-05:00

Today we moved the swings. I cried. We moved Swing #1 up into the attic. This is the swing that Mia spent sooooo much time in - haha the swing that she slept in for the first 2 weeks. The swing that I would watch at 2am just to make sure she was ok. The swing that forced me to sleep on the couch (but hey, at least it was sleep!) The swing that she'd watch Sports Center in early in the morning after Daddy would leave for work. The swing was moved to the attic, haha just in case there's ever another Little D.

We're moving Swing #2 out to the church for other little babies to enjoy. Ah Swing #2 is also a special swing. That's the swing that allowed me to sleep in my bed again. Haha, that's the swing that Mia decided to growl at randomly one night (and we never got it on video though we tried). Swing #2 was the best $25 we ever spent at a yard sale. We hope more little friends enjoy Swing #2 just as much as Mia did. We also packed away newborn clothes, 0-3 months clothes, and even a few 3months outfits. Ugh. We put away extra baby stuff that we don't use any more. I can't believe that just this time last year we were announcing our big news about Little D, and now we're packing away some of Little Miss Mia D's baby stuff.

This Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T08:19:00.003-05:00

I am so thankful for so much this year, but here are a few highlights:

I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who loves his girls more than he could express in words!

I'm thankful for an amazing little family that shares similar interests - Go Yankees, Vols, and Eagles...oh yeah and INDIANS!!!!!

I'm thankful for an incredible family that showers love on us...especially on sweet little Mia!

I'm thankful for a job I love and that allows me to work from home so that I can take care of Mia too :)

November 18, 2010

2011-11-18T13:44:00.004-05:00

I'm sure I'll forget that day one of these days, but one year later I can still remember the day VERY clearly! I was so nervous. I sat in the waiting room wondering. I answered the nurses questions and with a spin of a little wheel thingy she announced...June 29th. I confessed that I did NOT crave anything healthy and actually had Spaghetti-O's for breakfast. The mid-wife laughed, and then gave me soooooooooooooooooooo much information - think about whether you'll nurse or use formula, you'll have to wear your seatbelt differently when you get bigger, if you're still getting sick we can give you medication, Flinstone Vitamins work too, and the list went on. Blood taken. Information overload and I was out the door. I was really pregnant. Our "Little D" had a due date.

One year later...

I can drink coffee and actually enjoy couch time and not have it be "Ohhhhhhhh I'm sooooooo sick" time! Plus I've got a super cute Vols fan sidekick next to me now!

I can actually bake 10 dozen cookies in one day...and not get so sick that I have to go stay on the couch for hours! And have a wonderful helper in the kitchen.

One year ago today I was so overwhelmed (haha and craving Chinese Food, which I picked up for supper, on the way home from my appointment). Today I'm smiling with a full heart of love for our sweet "Little D" named Mia!

And a little side note...guess what we had for supper tonight? Yup, Chinese Food :)

4 Amazing Months!

2011-11-04T11:39:00.002-05:00

July 3, 2011

August 3, 2011

September 3, 2011

October 3, 2011

November 3, 2011

We've been parents to this amazing little girl for 4 months!!!!!!!!!! It was just about this time last year that we found out that we were in for a new adventure when those magically lines showed up on that little stick! Haha, actually it was exactly a year ago today that I was pretty sure I was pregnant! Oh wow...a whole year ago! We never could have imagined that we could have this much love in our hearts for this incredible "wished for child".

Pictures, Dedication, Snow, and Halloween!

2011-10-31T02:20:00.006-05:00

Wow, so in mommy news...2:15 has now become a good wake up time for me. Not really by choice, though! For some reason I've been wide awake around 2-2:15 for the last couple of days. Part of me is a little okay with this - I'm actually able to get quite a bit accomplished between 2:15 and 4:30 when Mark and Mia usually come downstairs! This morning I decided to use my time oh so wisely and post a couple of updated pictures. Mia is soooooooooooo amazing. It seems like she's doing something new all the time. She loves grabbing at things right now like people's hair, glasses, and she LOVES hold our hands. She also enjoys saying "No" to us by shaking her head. Haha, thank you "Your Baby Can Read" for teaching my almost 4 month old to say "NO!" Excellent! We are so blessed by this sweet little girl. It's so hard to believe that it was almost a year ago that we found out that we were in for a whole new adventure!

One of our friends took these incredible pictures of us last Saturday. She took soooooooooo many really good pictures, but here are a few of our favorites

Mia's Dedication: Sunday, October 23, 2011 - a very special day for all of us!

She watched Dr. Wood almost the whole time. It was as if she understood everything about the moment! So priceless!

She held on to his finger throughout the majority of the dedication. She knows how to melt hearts!

Mia's first snow!!!!!!!! Saturday, October 29, 2011

I think she'll be daddy's big helper - she loves riding in the truck while he plows!

Mia's First Halloween...okay, well, Mia's first "Day Before Halloween!"

We decided to dress her up in her Future MHS Indians' Mascot Costume for church the Sunday before Trick or Treat since we're not taking her out. Mark and I decided to go as MHS fans!

Mia loves her sports!

2011-10-11T10:43:00.005-05:00

Ok, these first few pictures really don't have anything to do with sports, but they're super cute pics!

I'm 3 months old!!!!!!!

And I'm not too sure about getting my picture taken right now

I LOVE my new Pumas - minutes of entertainment...look at the left shoe, then the right, back to the left, then right again!

Friday night means Friday Night Football! Go Indians!

Daddy and I love cheering for our favorite high school team!

And Mommy makes sure to take me around to see my friends from middle school and high school - they kind got to see me grow while I was chilling out in Mommy's belly!

Going to away games is tough work

Um, I thought I was at a soccer game...why am I wearing a football hat?

Mommy and Mia at another soccer game.

And this my friends is a perfect Saturday night...chewing on my fingers and watching the TN Vols play some football!

I never thought....

2011-10-06T09:08:00.003-05:00

that I'd be okay to go up 2 dress sizes for you. I never thought that I'd be alright to function even though I did not get a good night sleep because your noises, coughs, and little whatevers kept me up. I never thought I'd smile at drool. I never thought I'd pass up on getting stuff for myself so that you could get more outfits, shoes, or toys. I never thought that I'd stop what I was doing just to sit long enough to do nothing but hold you. I never thought that your smile could make me melt or that I'd have a tough time getting ready for the day just because I'd only want to sit and watch your every move. I never thought I'd be fine with just sitting on the couch on a Friday night with nothing to do and no place to go. I never thought that being your mommy could be this incredible. I never thought that I'd look at your daddy with more love in my eyes than when we said, "I do", but when you're right between us I look at him with way more love than I ever thought possible. Thanks for changing my life so much Mia Elizabeth...we're all so much better with you in our lives!

Because she's just so cute...

2011-09-23T14:15:00.003-05:00

Here are some recent Mia pictures! She is the most amazing little blessing! She makes us smile every single day - actually A LOT every day. I find myself saying to Mark all the time that, "She's so cute". This time last year we had no idea that this was the plan for our lives, but we are sooooooooooooooooooooo happy with our special blessing!

This was taken on September 3rd - she's 2 months old!

Mia absolutely LOVES ALF! She makes all kinds of fun noises when we watch him together!

And here she is just chilling...this was definitely an outfit that mommy picked out! Comfy pants, a cool shirt, and of course we HAVE to have matching sneakers!

The book I want to read

2011-09-17T11:43:00.003-05:00

I've been doing a lot more reading lately...it's good work from home work. It keeps my mind going, and it allows me to find some unique teaching illustrations, all while allowing Mia to sleep peacefully in her swing. One of my favorite things to read right now is autobiographies. I've read about the struggles that athletes have had with their fame and decisions. I've read about singers, cooks, politicians, and actors. I've even snuck in a few church leadership books. And you know what conclusion I've come to? I want to read a different book. I want to read the book by the person that struggles almost daily in his or her call from God. I want to read about the tough days of trying to do the right thing when it seems like everyone who makes the wrong choices succeeds. I want to read about the days that it is so tempting to give up, but you don't and you honestly aren't sure why you don't quit. I want to read the last chapter that says, "You know what? I'm still trying. The blessings haven't come in quite the way I've imagined. Oh they're there throughout my journey, but I'm not giving millions of dollars to an organization, or taking life changing missions trips, or spending a month in my cabin tucked up in the woods, or, or, or....I haven't quite reach the goals that I was sure I'd be holding in my hands by this chapter of my life; I'm just getting up each day, seeking God's will for my life, and trying." Haha, maybe I need to write the book I want to read.

Mia's big fall plans

2011-08-31T07:53:00.006-05:00

Mia has big plans for the fall, whether she realizes it or not! Haha, first of all, she is starting "school"...okay, don't freak out on us. She's not really starting school, but we do want to try "Your Baby Can Read" with her. So far it's worked out pretty well because she seems to like the DVD and will sit and watch it for the 20 minutes or so. And let me tell you - this mommy can get a lot done in 20 minutes!

Mia wanted to be like all of her other Undefeated friends from church and get a first day of school picture on Monday, August 29th!

We wouldn't be very nice if we just made our 2 month old attend "Your Baby Can Read" school, so we're all about having a lot of sports fun! Mia is a major football and soccer fan. Do you know how difficult it is to find maroon and gold attire in the 3 month size?????????? Well, the best I could do was to get Redskins onesies and hope that we can pass them off for MHS Indians. And because I get asked what my little boy's name is when she's in pink I figured we better add a headband to this outfit!

Some kids watch cartoons...

2011-08-25T19:34:00.003-05:00

Mia watches Bible study DVD curriculum with mommy! It's true! She was asleep in the office this morning so I figured I could get in a good cup of coffee (I needed it after being wide awake at 3:50 this morning) and watch a couple of lessons for the upcoming Making It Real series starting in September. As I was watching the one lesson I heard a little cry come from Mia's office chair. I picked her up (no, I don't pick her up at every cry!!!), held her, and we watched Andy Stanley's "Your Move" together. I think she liked it! Most kids learn their numbers, alphabet, and colors first. Mia will be learning her books of the Bible, praise and worship songs, and will preach her first sermon before she goes to pre-school. Haha, and if daddy has anything to do with it, the message will probably somehow have a story about deer, cars, or tools in it. Oh what a kid...

Mia's lessons for mommy and daddy

2011-08-24T10:31:00.002-05:00

I am an organized person who likes to know what is going on and when it's going to happen. Haha, pregnancy doesn't work too well for people like me! I never really knew when I was going to get sick, or even what would make me sick. I never knew when I'd get a good night of sleep and when I would be up 4 times during the night and when I would wake up at 3am. I knew Mia was due on June 29th, but I also knew that she probably wasn't coming right on that date - ugh, so, how do you organize and prepare when you don't know when you'll need to be prepared and organized? And now? Well, I like some structure to my day - hahahahahah! I can almost hear you laughing at that statement! Yeah, what is structure? Monday I was able to get 4 hours of church work done. Today? Well, we went for a walk in the sanctuary (so that she wouldn't disturb Gumpa on the phone because she was screaming). Then we sat and got to watch one Wednesday night Bible study video. And after being out there for a whole 2 hours (of which I probably got 1 hour of work in) it was time to head out for a nice drive on the country roads of this small town to hopefully get Miss Mia calm. So, Mia's lesson for mommy - just try to go with the flow MOM!

But what about Mia's lesson for daddy? Mark is a fixer. If I have a problem, he wants to fix it. If you have a problem, Mark wants to fix it. If Mia has a problem, Mark feels as though he HAS to fix it. Do you know how tough that is? How do you fix a problem that you have NO idea what it is? A baby screams - but why? She's not hungry (or at least we don't think she should be - but maybe she is). She's got a clean diaper (we're positive of that one). She may be in pain, but we don't know because she can't just come out and say, "Hey, this hurts! I'm telling you my belly really hurts!" She may be tired and fighting it (No way, not our kid!) Mia's lesson to daddy - you can't fix all the problems DAD!

Whew, it's tough being a parent to an almost 8 week old who's already got some personality in that little body!

It's Tough Work...

2011-08-22T12:55:00.002-05:00

Mia went to work with mommy today, and let me tell you what...creating a new Facebook page for women's ministry, sending emails, and working on a new Wednesday night series is TOUGH work for a 7 week old! What will she do when we're in full fall gear with games, visitations, AM and PM Game Time, Wednesday nights, special events, and all the other stuff?

Back to work

2011-08-22T06:34:00.002-05:00

Yesterday as I sat in church and then hung out with some of the kids and teens I realized how much I have missed working at the church. My hope is that our precious little girl will allow her mommy to get a lot of work done in the upcoming weeks. Haha, we've got big plans for her - there are devotionals to prepare, AM Game Times to work on, events to plan, and games to attend. Oh wow, I never thought I'd be this ready to get back into my church routine, but seriously LET'S GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Important Days

2011-08-18T12:50:00.003-05:00

We've been able to take Mia a bunch of different places lately and she seems to enjoy the variety in her life. A couple of weeks ago we went to Pine Grove - the church Mark and I met 10 years ago! Ah, that's where the Mark and Shannon adventure started. Then this past Sunday we went to Bethlehem - where the ministry adventure started 8 years ago for us. Those are important churches to us and we want to make sure that Mia knows that (although I don't think she completely understands it just yet). Of course she'll know that our current church is important to us too - she's already spent quite a bit of time in the office with mommy! We've also taken her to Panera (haha, that was mommy's favorite place to have meetings in the Lehigh Valley. Well, that and Dunkin' Donuts, but so much of the youth group worked at Panera it just made sense to meet them there!). We've also taken her to Dick's Sporting Goods and Famous Footwear in search of a new pair of sneakers for mommy (she hasn't gotten a new pair since Christmas and is now facing sneaker purchasing withdrawal). Yesterday she cried a little when we left the Christian bookstore - ah, it's great to teach her young! Today she made her first trip to Starbucks. I'm telling you, I am one proud mommy!

We LOVE our caramel lattes! Nonfat milk of course - we've got baby weight to lose :)

Slacker

2011-08-04T15:09:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm now a blogger slacker! Would you believe that I'm consumed with other things?
Things like
-looking up colic
-going for drives
-attempting to exercise, go to the grocery store, and make dinner when daddy gets home
-trying to stay caught up on my reading so that I still kind of feel like I'm "working" even when I'm off.
-carrying a crying baby
-making bottles
-washing bottles
-washing clothes
-changing diapers
-drinking coffee (I'm so making up for all the coffee I didn't drink between November and July!)
-sleeping when I can
-And...holding one very cute baby girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With all that great stuff who has time to blog?

Youth ministry prepared me for a baby!

2011-07-25T11:15:00.002-05:00

I must put out a warning with this post - it could be a bit more on the gross side of blogging!

I've come to realize that youth ministry has prepared me for a baby! Allow me to mention some of the similarities...

*Who needs sleep? In youth ministry sleep seems to be something that is an option - especially when it comes to all-nighters!

*Naps are key! If you stay up all night, when do you find time to sleep? Well, that's what naps are for, correct?

*Burps are exciting stuff! I've noticed that we cheer Mia on while trying to get her to burp, and when she does burp we make a big deal about it -"YEAH MIA!!! Good burp!" hmmm...almost sounds like a youth ministry game, doesn't it?

*Smells...haha need I say more?

*You never know what will end up on your shirt. Believe me, Mia has provided us with stuff on our shirts that is comparable to our worst yuck days in youth ministry!

*You can drive yourself crazy trying to figure it all out. When Mia cries we want the answers to her woes. We want to make it all better! I know there are numerous times when I want the answers for teens, and try as I might there are times that I just can't calm them down.

*Nothing can prepare you for everything! We've heard the stories, read the articles and some of the books, and did our best to prepare for life with an infant, but...there are situations that they just don't tell you about in the articles, books, and stories! Haha, that's the life of youth ministry!

*Multitasking! There are times that I'm working on a Sunday school lesson, children's church, youth stuff, emails, and reading almost all at the same time - or so it seems! There are times that I'm attempting to change a diaper, make a bottle, and feed myself - or so it seems!

*You always have your eyes on the rear view mirror in the car!

*Some days it's the most stressful thing you'll do and the best all wrapped up into one crazy package!

Dear Mark,

2011-07-22T08:55:00.003-05:00

10 years ago we started "dating"; I guess that's the right word to use...I'm not too up to date on the correct relationship lingo. All I know is that July 22, 2001 you asked me to be your girlfriend for the second time and I finally agreed. 8 years ago we were preparing for our wedding that was less than 3 months away and not exactly seeing eye to eye on where we would start our marriage adventure. 4 years ago we made a big move that changed our lives, it changed how we would see ministry and it would change our passion for reaching out to hurting people. 1 year ago we had a pretty uncomplicated life, but we disagreed on starting a new chapter of that life. Today, I love you more than I did 10 years ago, 8 years ago, 4 years ago, and even last year. I love that you were an incredible boyfriend who turned into an amazing husband who is now the world's greatest daddy (well, at least Mia and I think so!). I love that you are willing to stay up until 11PM with our baby girl even though you know that alarm is going to go off way too early the next day. I love how you hold us both with love and a sparkle in your eye that says you've got all you've ever wanted and more (even though neither of us are a 67-69 Camaro!) Dear Mark, I love you so much! Happy 10 years to you and I'm looking forward to MANY MANY MANY MORE HAPPY YEARS WITH YOU because YOU ARE THE BEST!

Rest!

2011-07-21T11:41:00.003-05:00

What a concept, right? I'll be honest, rest is something I struggle to do, even now with my 2 and 1/2 week old sleeping contently in her swing (yeah yeah we aren't following the book!). Rest is something that my body demands and the signs of that desire are all over the place. Rest is something I've avoided in great quantity since oh about July 1st! Rest is something that I need to reexamine. Rest is what my devotional reading about this morning!

"Rest in my presence when you need refreshment. Resting is not necessarily idleness, as people often perceive it. When you relax in My company, you are demonstrating trust in Me. Trust is a rich word, laden with meaning and direction for your life. I want you to lean on, trust, and be confident in Me. When you lean on Me for support, I delight in your trusting confidence."

Too often I think that if I'm resting I'm wasting time. I do think that there are times that we waste valuable time, but I'm also attempting to learn that I can waste valuable time by trying to avoid rest and continue to be busy just to be busy. Resting means a couple of new things to me right now. It means spending time watching my daughter's facial expressions change second by second. Resting means quiet time with my wonderful God who has blessed me so greatly. Rest means taking a nap just because I can right now and realizing it's okay because I'll probably be up for an hour throughout the night. Rest means leaning on God's strength to endure the stresses seem as though they will overtake me. Rest means ending this blog and heading to the couch to drift off to my own dreamland while I watch our precious little girl sleep.

Oops, I never did head to the couch! I opted to rest by exercising instead. I need that kind of "rest" too ya know :)

The "test" I think I'm glad I "failed"

2011-07-18T20:04:00.005-05:00

I know that I shouldn't use the word fail, but let me just explain! I'm not seeing myself as a failure and I appreciate all of the wonderful words of encouragement that have come my way since I posted those thoughts the other day. I got my 2 week check up call today. I answered the phone and when I heard who it was on the other line I brought in the confidence voice! I have been feeling A LOT better since about this time last week, but I still have my moments. Of course I had to have a couple of moments during our phone conversation. So, the woman asked me the same questions I was asked on a form in the hospital. I was told to think back over the last few days and answer honestly (was there another option?) When the evaluation was over I scored higher than I did in the hospital - this is one of those tests where a higher score isn't exactly a move in the right direction. I instantly felt like "Uh oh, now what?" Of course I was encouraged to speak to someone and was told that my doctor's office would be contacted. Ugh. And then the woman mentioned trying a new mom's group or something like that. Whew, my ministry wheels started turning. I got really excited. What if we would offer something like that? Haha, I kind of started to talk to the woman about this and she reminded me that I have a lot to deal with right now. Little does she realize that me trying to help others as I work through all of this myself may just be the best cure for this chapter of my life that I am tempted to label "craziness".

So, is it possible that my "failures", my "oh what was I thinking's", and all of these "cry my eyes out moments" are building blocks for something very incredible? If that's possible then like I said, "I'm glad I failed!"

Oh and just a note, one day these posts won't be about pregnancy, labor/delivery, postpartum, etc. But for now I NEED this! So if you don't want to read about those things then avoid this blog for a little while! Haha!

2 weeks ago

2011-07-17T15:32:00.005-05:00

I've got this problem. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but here's what I do... Today is Sunday, July 17th. Mia was born exactly 2 weeks ago today. So, what do I do? Around 9:30 last night I looked at her and said, "Well, 2 weeks ago Mommy and Daddy headed to the hospital." Around 8 this morning I thought, "Well, it was about this time 2 weeks ago that they said they were going to break my water!" And now as I stare at the clock I think, "And it was just around this time 2 weeks ago that I was feeling pretty good thanks to that epidural!" When 7:35 hits I'm sure I'll let out a few tears and think, "At just this time 2 weeks ago our lives changed forever with the first view of our beautiful little girl."

It's good to remember that day, and I know that I'll never forget the moments that have shaped our lives, but sometimes I worry that I'll forget that one moment. I'm afraid I'll forget that last night out that Mark and I had before we had Mia, or our last drive together to the hospital. I'm afraid that I won't remember life with Mark - the walks we took in the hospital hallway or how he slept so uncomfortably in the chair by my bed. I'm afraid I won't remember that feeling we shared when we first looked at Mia, or how proud we were to show her off to our family. I'm afraid the stress of that first night will fade into a distant memory. It bugs me that these 2 weeks have gone by so quickly and that we're staring at a regular routine starting tomorrow. It bugs me that if 2 weeks flew by, what will the next 5, 10, 18 years be like?

So, whether I've got a problem or not, I'm going to keep up with it...it's hard to believe, but this time 2 weeks ago Mark finally was drinking a Pepsi and not a Coke! Haha! That was our one major battle during labor and delivery - poor guy could only find a Coke to drink. It was rough on him!

Breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and some good tunes!

2011-07-16T11:48:00.004-05:00

This post will be a bit more upbeat than the last one! We had a GREAT night last night, which makes for a much better day today! The other day I went out to the office for a little bit. I guess I must confess that I really enjoy my job, and will probably not be able to stay away for the time period I had planned. Before we went out to the office we stopped by for some breakfast sandwiches. I had to get a picture with Mia and the infamous breakfast sandwich because that was my first true craving with her! Of course as I craved those I also got super sick at even the thought or smell of coffee - it was a tough 2 months! But now we're back to the regular coffee schedule (I drink it whenever I want it! There are advantages to this formula thing!). Today I had Mia right next to my desk listening to the music selections that I played everyday out there before she was born and even had in my labor and delivery room. She seemed so content. What a blessing!

Mommy and Mia in the morning! We love our time together!

She usually makes this face when she first wakes up in the morning. It's almost like she's saying, "ooooo, I'm awake world!"

Yummy! And now I don't get sick before or after I crave them!!!! And I can have a 3rd cup of coffee with one if I want!

We said one thing and are totally doing another!

2011-07-15T16:03:00.002-05:00

So let's see, where do I start? Where do I start with all of the "we'll never's..."? We said I'd go through labor and delivery all natural! Haha, I had to get pitocin to help the process progress. I said no pain medication - I ended up begging for the epidural. We said no visitors until after the baby was born. My entire family came in before Mia arrived. We said no pacifier, and at the moment we are trying our best to get Mia's favorite nuk (the one she got in the hospital) in her mouth. We said no formula, and we're currently mixing up bottles! I thought postpartum was something I'd never experience...again I was wrong. I said I'd stay away from the church office for a whole 2 months. Shhh...I was out there for an hour and a half the other day and I LOVED it! Ugh, so many "We'll never's" and so many "or maybe we will's" to go with each one. Everyone says that each baby is different. I feel like I've failed in so many ways already. Okay, maybe failed is a super strong word, but I can't help but wonder if life will be filled with the "we'll never's" only to be met with more "oops, or maybe we will's". Hopefully I'll get better at this parenting thing!

She's HERE!

2011-07-06T10:02:00.001-05:00

Our Mia Elizabeth arrived on Sunday, July 3rd at 7:35PM. She weighed 7lbs. 15.6oz and measured 18 3/4 in. She is AMAZING!

Autobiographies, Biographies, and Strange Looks!

2011-06-30T08:28:00.004-05:00

Woah, more than one post in less than a week? Hey, when I all really do is go from sitting on the couch to sitting at the computer I've got exciting things to write about! haha!

With my time off before Mia is born I'm attempting to do a lot of reading. I normally do read quite a bit, but most of what I read is church related - spiritual growth, church leadership, youth ministry, etc. When I knew I was starting on maternity leave I figured I'd try some new reading topics - I wanted to dive into biographies and autobiographies of all kinds of people! I am having a blast reading about peoples' lives. Sometimes I'm shocked by what I'm reading. I've been inspired and challenged, and at times I just have to laugh about what people are willing to share with readers! In the last week I have read about the lives of Drew Brees, Kirk Cameron, Sharon Osbourne, Paula Deen, and most recently Laura Bush. Here's my absolute favorite part about these books...getting them from the library. You should see the look on their faces when I go to check these books out. They look at the books, look at me, look back at the books and then say "Um, these will be due back on..." Hey, I like variety, what can I say?

Time Off

2011-06-28T07:30:00.002-05:00

The long awaited due date is TOMORROW! It's so hard to believe! Haha, it seems so weird to think that we've known about our precious little baby since the beginning of November when coffee made me soooooo sick and all I wanted to eat were breakfast sandwiches (breakfast time, lunch time, ANYTIME!) It's hard to believe that since February 11th we've known that Little D was going to be Little Mia! It's hard to believe that our baby girl who makes my tummy go into all kinds of shapes will soon be doing her stretches in our arms and hopefully in her beautiful crib and pack-n-play and swing and and and all the other great things that we've had to get for her! You know what else is hard to believe? It's 8:30 on a typical week day and I'm still at home, blogging...I'm not at the church. Weird.

Time off - 2 weeks for Mark when Mia finally arrives. 2 months for me. Sunday after church I said to Mark, "I know that life will be different when she gets here, but...I don't know that I can do it. I don't know if I can really take 2 months off!" But today as I sit here, with wonderful praise and worship music flowing through my computer's speakers I think I can handle it. I think I crave it. I crave it because I need to refocus my attention on some things. I need to refocus on my relationship with my wonderful Jesus. I need that to just flood me, flow through me, and energize me. I can't wait to focus my attention on my family. Our family! Our new family! Our precious baby girl Mia...our "wished for child". Who knows maybe this time off will benefit us - me, Mark, Mia, and ministry...4 m's, huh? Yeah I think we're ready...haha, but is our little Mia ready?

36.5 Weeks!

2011-06-05T15:40:00.003-05:00

Hey Mia, we'd love to know when we're going to meet you. We're hoping that we don't have to take a July picture...that would be like 40.5 weeks. Um, no thanks sweet little baby girl!

Once upon a time...

2011-05-05T17:15:00.002-05:00

Mark and I have finally decided to start shredding some "older" documents from before we even moved here. I found myself doing the "Wow, once upon a time..." quite a bit as I was going through our old pay stubs, bills, and other statements. Then I realized something: For every "once upon a time" that would try to sneak in and send a small wave of depression, I'd have a "but now" that would brighten my mood a little bit.

But now...
We have our priorities more in order
We are both excited about welcoming Mia into our lives
We don't need a marriage counselor on speed dial (haha, that's a little bit of an extreme)
We're both growing spiritually
We're happier than ever before

Haha on a less serious note my most recent "once upon a time" goes a little something like this...
"Once upon a time, I could wear regular clothes." I treasure these moments of getting to carry our little girl, but I think I'll celebrate when I can wear jeans without a full belly panel. You know how I'm going to celebrate? A nice LARGE CARMEL FRAPPE! But not too many of those joyful drinks or else I'll still be sporting the full belly panel jeans!

May's belly picture

2011-05-03T11:45:00.002-05:00

And here we are at 31.5 weeks! That means that Little Miss Mia is coming soon! Mark and I spent most of Saturday working in her room. We put carpet in it - sorry to all of you hardwood floor fans out there, but we are NOT fans of hardwood flooring. And we actually got the crib in there too. Of course we'll have to take everything out of it and wash it again before she arrives, but it is soooooooooooooo cool to have it all set up. Hopefully this coming weekend we'll get the rest of the furniture in there. Today I added a very personal touch to her nursery - my Berenstain Bears book collection....in an orange crate (of course!)

Our Little Yankees' Fan!

2011-04-26T07:36:00.004-05:00

I'm serious! Almost every single time we watch a Yankees' game there is a party in Mia's world...or Mommy's tummy! The best one - last night as Curtis Granderson stole second base in the game against the White Sox Mia went CRAZY! I use the term crazy because not only does she seem to be a Yankees' fan, but she also seems to enjoy Crazy Train by Ozzy! Oh my...are we ready for this?

No, I'm not posting a picture of Ozzy! We'll just focus on her being a Yankees' fan for now!

New pictures

2011-04-04T04:51:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month so that meant...belly picture day! I'm not a huge fan of this picture. It was a compromise - I wanted to add at least another layer, but Mark wanted to make sure that everyone could see how big our Mia is getting...haha, not Mommy! Although, one of the teens did inform me yesterday that every time he sees me I'm eating. Yeah, a teen guy should talk, right? Mark is loving this...well, what he loves the most is when he and Mia can play. Mia will move and then he'll push on my belly to get her to move more. He loves watching my belly jump. I love that he loves our baby girl so much already!

We had to get a picture of Daddy "holding Mia" too!

June 29th

2011-03-29T10:02:00.002-05:00

3 months from now - June 29th! The big official due date of little miss Mia Elizabeth D'Agostino. Will she come on that date? Before it? After it? We don't know, and really it doesn't matter. What is pretty cool though is that June 29th 2001 Mark and I went to a sprint car race - kind of together. It was the first thing he invited me to, but there were a lot of other people with the group (including a girl I was sure was his girlfriend). At that point in time I was so upset with him for asking me to go along that I was sure nothing would ever happen between the two of us. Here we are almost 10 years later getting ready to welcome our first baby into the world. What an incredible adventure!

I KNOW!

2011-03-27T06:29:00.002-05:00

I know that i really need an update on here and I'm hoping to get to it. The month of March is almost over! I can't believe that Mark and I are staring at less than 13 weeks before our lives change sooooooooooooooo much with a very special arrival. Life has been full of Babies' R Us trips, registries, questions, tears, cravings, belly movements, and the regular routine of ministry (haha, is there a regular routine of ministry), MI, and substituting. I'll attempt a better update later today or tomorrow or some time this week :)

Our Little Girl's Got Style!

2011-03-07T09:26:00.002-05:00

Here are some "summer" outfits for Mia to wear to Gumma and Gumpa's house...Thanks Gumma!

And here are the contents of our surprise package from Cabela's! Thanks Aunt Staci and Uncle Adam...Daddy LOVES this stuff.

We now have pink camo for Daddy's girl!

Mamma Mia...

2011-03-07T09:07:00.002-05:00

Look at Mia's Mamma!

Waiting for the bump...

2011-02-28T18:33:00.002-05:00

For a few weeks I've been able to feel our little baby moving around inside of me. Mark has wanted to feel this each time I make mention of feeling her move. Early Sunday morning we were both pretty awake, but knowing the alarm wouldn't go off for another 2.5 hours we decided to not get out of bed. Mark had his hand on my stomach and after a couple of minutes he goes, "Did she just move?" "Yeah she did! You felt the bump!"

As I was doing my devotions that morning I realized that there's a lot of times we've got our "hand on the stomach just waiting for the bump". Sometimes we've waited for years - waiting to feel God move in our lives. Waiting to see God move in the lives of our friends and family. Waiting to see God do something miraculous in what seems like an impossible situation. When Mark felt our little Mia bump it reminded me that we will feel God's bump too. We'll feel it, we just need to wait patiently. Who knows, it may come at 4am on a Sunday morning...

Mia's first photo shoot!

2011-02-17T06:42:00.002-05:00

Here are our ultrasound pictures from Friday (well, a few of the pictures!) Mia did very well for her first "photo shoot"

This is probably our favorite profile picture of her because you can also see her little hand - almost makes us think she's waving to us!

Her little arms!

Little legs...they remind me of little frog legs, cute little frog legs of course!

And finally a little foot!

Valentine's Day Gift

2011-02-15T17:12:00.003-05:00

Mia got her very first Valentine's Day gift yesterday...a cute (but not too frilly) heart onesie. Thanks Gumma and Gumpa! Mommy and Daddy got a present too - they totally enjoyed their yummy Valentine's Day cookies!

Mia's Stuff!

2011-02-14T10:29:00.003-05:00

Well, little Miss Mia is already getting all kinds of really great stuff! I'll have to take pictures of the beautiful furniture that we bought her and her new heart onesie! But here are a couple of cute gifts that she got on Saturday!

Haha, daddy says ONLY pink camo, no pink frilly stuff. Yeah I'm not sure that he's going to win that one! We'll see! One thing we're sure about...she will be the owner of A LOT of ORANGE!

Our "NOT" So Simple Adventures

2011-02-12T07:03:00.003-05:00

Last night after getting to see our wonderful daughter for a few minutes at the doctor's office we went and got her furniture for her room. Because we're not quite sure what's going on with our housing situation (the joys of having your house for sale when you're expecting a baby) we've decided to store the furniture at my parents' house. Mark was putting stuff on their back porch and he said something about the adventure starting. Then he added...our not so simple adventures. How true, but I've got to admit...How exciting!

19.5 Weeks!

2011-02-06T15:44:00.002-05:00

What else is there to say? Here I am at 19.5 weeks! As my sister-in-law told me today, I'm starting to look very "Momma cute!" Mark enjoys making fun of my growing belly and has told me that maybe I should watch what I'm eating because I'm starting to get a gut! Such a sensitive guy I've got! Friday we may just find out if Little D is a little girl or a little boy.

Shredding!

2011-02-02T08:33:00.003-05:00

Isn't it amazing how snow can (sometimes) inspire us to get those odd jobs done? I've been staring at a stack of papers from college for quite a while now. I've known that I need to shred them - I mean I doubt that I'll use a paper that I wrote over 10 years ago, and Greek has now literally become Greek to me. But, can I admit a little secret? I'm a little sad to see these things go. Yesterday I opened up my Greek binder and found a study group schedule. I signed up for a Tuesday 9pm study group. Haha! I'm barely awake at 9pm anymore, how in the world did I figure that was a good time to study? I also found my resignation letter from almost 4 years ago. Whew, it's so hard to believe that it's been that long since our lives changed so drastically...and as we're learning in such good ways!

Well, the blogging break was nice, but I suppose there's a lot more to shred. Memories to hold on to for a few seconds. And, time to make space for new and upcoming memories like all of Little D's artwork!

FINALLY!

2011-01-26T05:43:00.003-05:00

Ok, so silly me...I thought I could attempt to upload a whole 3 pictures at one time and that it would work. Wow! What was I thinking? So, these are already almost a whole month old! Oops!

Cool girls in a family get matching hats for Christmas!

Even Little D got some presents this Christmas! Mommy and Daddy are already listening to Little D's tunes!

This was taken the first Sunday of January so that would have been 14.5 weeks! I think February's picture will be a little more pregnant obvious!

Frustrating!

2011-01-26T05:35:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning and now this morning I have attempted to post pictures on here and for some reason blogger is just not allowing me to do it. ERRRRRRRR!!!!!

Pictures

2010-12-21T08:04:00.003-05:00

This is my first "belly" picture. We're going to take them the first Sunday of each month. There's December's picture...haha, I'm ok with this one!

We love this picture of our sweet Little D!

Grandma D seeing Little D for the first time!

I'm actually starting to feel a little better. This "morning sickness" thing sure has been an interesting...I don't even know what to call it, but it's been interesting.

Ha! I thought I was ready....

2010-12-09T06:33:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's almost 2 weeks before Christmas and our tree isn't up, our Christmas cards (that I've had since October) haven't even been opened, and there are still gifts to get and LOTS of wrapping to do. What happened? I'm ready to feel like a human again...

I'm Ready!

2010-11-18T09:47:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting here in the office being very thankful that this time next week I'll be getting ready for Thanksgiving with our family! I'm sitting here thinking, "Ah, a day off in the middle of the week for Mark...no 4:15 or 3:15 alarm to disturb us" I'm ready for good food and fun times with family. I'm ready for the holidays. I just want to enjoy them this year. I'm seriously thinking about getting out the Christmas cards and starting to work on them. I'm just ready for the holidays! Not the most exciting post, but just thought you'd like to know that I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas to get here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soooooo much to report

2010-11-07T07:09:00.002-05:00

Haha, oh wait no, not really. Life has seemed kind of boring actually. Mark's been working a lot of overtime this past week and I finally got called back into school. Between his work schedule and me in school and doing church work we haven't really done a whole lot of fun and exciting stuff. Oh wait, I lie...we went out looking for deer last night. Haha. I last for about 30-45 minutes and then sleep. Of course I was attempting to get a nap in and Mark spotted a little buck so that was sooooooooooooo worth waking me up. Ah, the joys of boring adulthood!

Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-18T06:16:00.003-05:00

Coolest ice cream place on LBI!

It was a little windy at the top of the lighthouse

Haha, ok, VERY windy

It was even windy inside the lighthouse

217 steps to the top! Woohoo!

Taking a picture at the end of "our" street

A very special place for us...my family spent a lot of time around this area!

I LOVE this picture!

Walking down the street...a lot has changed, but my love for this place never will

An unexpected good-bye

2010-10-17T16:29:00.002-05:00

Mark and I had an awesome weekend away at one of my absolute favorite places in the world. When I was younger my family was always at Long Beach Island - or at least a few times a year. Since we sold the house there we don't get down nearly as much as we did (obviously). It had been 12 years since I had been there. I was so excited to see the things that didn't change at all and I thought that I was ready to see things that did change...We got to the island after dark on Friday night and as we traveled down the main road I spotted one of our favorite ice cream spots...the Skipper Dipper. That meant one thing - OUR STREET! I begged Mark to turn down the street, understanding that there was only so much that we could see in the dark. We spotted it - the house. Oh I saw some changes that were made, but it was so good to see it, to remember the fun times that we had there, and to tell Mark about it. We drove by a few times and then I realized something, it had the wrong number. Our house was 20, not 16. And then it hit just like one of those familiar waves...our house was gone. One of my favorite places of all time was now someone's driveway (to a REALLY nice house), but still, our house was gone. I cried like a baby. And then I woke up Saturday morning just ready to live on the island for a weekend. Yeah, our house is gone and it was a good-bye that I was NOT ready to say, but my love for that place is stronger than ever before. The love that brought us to LBI still flows through my veins and I'm convinced that even though the house is not there, my heart (or at least a couple of pieces of it) is! I can't wait to get back there - it will not be 12 years (hopefully not even 12 months) until we get there again! I'll post pictures soon!

Not so exciting busy schedule

2010-10-14T18:57:00.003-05:00

Have you ever felt like you're running and running and wondering where you're going? We've kind of been having a week or so like that. I feel like our schedule has been so full this fall, but I can't honestly say that there's a lot of stuff happening to blog about it. Our lives kind of consist of school, high school football games, church and church related activities, and Mark working. Whew, exciting blog material, right? I haven't even taken pictures since some time in September at like the 2nd football game of the year. Whew, that's crazy. Ok, it's soon time to refocus...maybe then I'll have some exciting blog news...maybe??????

My love

2010-09-24T07:09:00.003-05:00

I am so blessed! I've known it, but I don't show it or tell it enough. I watched a movie today where the "right" couple didn't get to be the couple until years after they should have been. Just seemed so unfair that they missed so much time together. They missed years of happiness with the true love of their life. I know that I complain at times about how different Mark and I are, but as I watched that movie I quickly remembered the summer we started to fall in love and how we've been blessed to be falling in love with each other more and more for more than nine years. I love this guy and love each day with him!

School classrooms, hallways, and a softball

2010-09-22T15:05:00.002-05:00

I've had the opportunity to spend most of my week in a very familiar place...my old high school. I substituted last year too, and the first few days were kind of awkward and honestly brought back a lot of memories. Nothing ever really stopped me though. I walked through the same hallways, sat in probably some of the same seats, remembered exact locations of conversations, but nothing literally stopped me until today. For some reason a softball grabbed my attention. It was a softball thrown by a friend of mine from high school. There wasn't anything super spectacular about that bright (ok, it is starting to fade) yellow softball, but it almost paralyzed me for a few short moments. I stood there, staring into the glass case. 99...a year where we all promised that life would never change. 99...the class of 99...friendships, memories, drama, pain, laughter, tears, it all came flying back at me in that moment as I stared at that softball.

In the spring of 1999 we were all looking forward to the summer - to graduation, to a summer of memories, and then to the fall when we'd all go our new ways, promising to keep the valued friendships of high school. We wanted the future and we wanted it right now. I look back and I think, "What if I enjoyed those long senior-itis filled days a little more? What if I would have gone to one more football game, or hung out with my high school friends just one more time?"

The truth is we can't go back in time, and honestly I wouldn't really want to. But I want to enjoy my 2010 so that in 2021 I'm not looking back and saying, "what if I would have..." I'm glad that softball stopped me today, and I'm looking forward to...TODAY!

Updates and Changes

2010-09-14T10:42:00.002-05:00

Ok, so it's been way too long since I've actually taken some time to blog! Here we go (again). My blog list is quite a bit shorter. I tried to remember the blogs that were updated more often or the brand new ones and so if I missed one I do apologize, but please send me your address!

Let's see, what's been going on in the last year? Haha! Couple of highlights:
-We went to our first ever hockey game (so cool)
-Mark got a JOB!
-I did a lot of substituting
-3 weddings!!!!
-2 camps!
-And a ton of other stuff that there's absolutely no way I'll remember. So let's just start from here and move forward!

I'm loving fall - I say it every year, and I'll always say it! It is my favorite time of the year. The cool mornings seriously make my coffee taste better. Friday night dates are spent with a crowd of people cheering on our favorite high school football team! Saturdays usually mean at least one soccer game! It's just a grand time of year! Hopefully I'll have more exciting stuff to report. I'll do my best!

WOW!

2010-09-02T19:25:00.001-05:00

I need to get back into this...writing on this blog. I'll attempt it...soon...

It's Been FOREVER!

2010-05-30T04:58:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a very good job updating this, but my guess is that not too many people read these things anymore thanks to Facebook!

Not a whole lot of new stuff to report and so that's why I've just kind of forgotten about the blog. Maybe I'll attempt to do better at updating this summer...maybe.

What a weekend

2009-11-24T06:31:00.003-05:00

Did you ever have those moments where you look around and are just LOVING the moment? I have to say that this weekend was filled with those moments. Friday night our high school team finally beat Steel-High 14-13 in one of the most incredible football games I have ever seen. We were certainly there at the high school to welcome home the "boys", the cheerleaders, and the band. We were just so happy for those MHS Indians! Saturday morning as I got up to head to a meeting I can't say I was having one of those moments, but once I got to Milton and started connecting with some women there I was living in that moment. Saturday night we watched as people laughed, ate, and just had a great time of fellowship at our spaghetti dinner and pie auction. It was one of those moments where I was just thrilled to see our people having a great time together on a Saturday night (haha, and we weren't all at Wal-Mart!) Sunday afternoon we finally got a hayride to fit into our crazy schedules and it was soooooooooooooooo fun. Here are some pictures.

The girls!

And look at those guys!

The whole group...I'm so blessed to be their youth pastor!

And of course we have to make sure that everyone sees that I made sure to match the hat and sweatshirt. Of course my black gloves didn't match, but I don't have TN Vols gloves yet...haha!

You never know what you'll find!

2009-10-22T08:00:00.003-05:00

My sister-in-law and niece said that they found these on the photographer's website! How cool! We had these pictures taken just about a year ago! We had so much fun that day. The whole crew!

Gumma/Grandma and Gumpa/Pa with the grandkids!

My bro and his family!

Marky D and me...this was my favorite one of us.

My oldest brother and his family

Me and my brothers!!!!!

The kids and spouses

I can't wait to blog!

2009-10-19T16:25:00.002-05:00

I've been without a computer all weekend! AHHH! I wanted to blog so many times while we were away, but I guess I'll just have to try to remember it all and as quick as possible since I have a board meeting at church tonight. I should get a few things done before it too. Oh well, so here's a quick review of the weekend.

Friday - Mark and I spent over 13 hours working on Wesleyan Women stuff for the 2010 retreat. Then we were absolute fools and went to the football game in the ugly cold rainy weather. It was our homecoming though and we WON! 9-7! Got home and packed for the weekend.

Saturday - up at 4:30AM to get things together to leave for the Wesleyan Women Oasis. Left the house by about 6AM. Spent about 3 hours at the Oasis and then headed to an old favorite hangout to meet up with some friends. Talked to the girls for about an hour and then did some shopping. Saturday night we watched our nephew on MTV Made - sooooooooooo cool to see him on TV! Way to go Anthony!

Sunday - AMAZING! Went to Jersey City First Wesleyan Church and had an awesome time. It was so different than what we usually experience on a Sunday! Haha, we didn't get out of church until after 1PM! Of course it didn't start until 11AM...or a little after, but still. After church we drove like 5 minutes to Liberty State Park and saw the Statue of Liberty. We're already making plans for our JCFW friends to take us into the city! Can't wait! After that we just weren't quite ready to come home so we decided to go from one extreme to the other and found a cute hotel to stay at in Lancaster.

Today - shopping at the outlets and home.

Whew and now work and laundry are staring at me...YUCK! Oh well, it was such an amazing weekend with my awesome husband. Thanks for a great adventure!

10 hours for this?

2009-10-15T19:18:00.002-05:00

I don't really know how long it took me to make this simple video, but it sure felt like it took a LONG time! I still need to make copies of it, print off about 100 more pamphlets, and make up over 20 retreat packets for Saturday. But every time I watch this video I remember why I love women's ministry! And why it's worth 100+ hours if that's what it takes to help minister to hurting women.

They make me so proud

2009-10-06T05:49:00.004-05:00

I've had a few moments this past week when I just stop and realize how proud I am to be an aunt and youth pastor to so many wonderful growing kids and teens! Last Thursday night at our Secret Sister banquet one of the young adults in our group got pie in her face...who did it? Only the wonderful masterminds of two of our teens! I was so proud at that moment that I just wanted to nearly cry. Then there was Friday night...how could I not be proud of this?

I couldn't let them have all the fun without me!

This is the best way to celebrate someone's birthday!

My brother and his wife

My sister-in-law and her husband...haha...Happy Birthday to my big brother Bob!

I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband!

And on to a more serious proud moment: Saturday night we went to a football game and it was a PERFECT night for some yummy hot chocolate. The only bad thing - the lines were insane (thanks to the bands having their breaks during the 3rd quarter). I was going to "pretend" to be the aunt of one of the band members and sneak in line with her, but decided not to. While I'm sitting there watching a great game that awesome Undefeated Teen hands me a cup of wonderful hot chocolate. I know her parents were proud of her thoughtfulness, and I gotta say that I'm proud to say she's part of the youth group at our church!

So in so many ways these crazy kids and teens really do make me VERY proud!

My first day of school...

2009-09-25T05:37:00.002-05:00

As a substitute was yesterday! Yup, called me in for high school science. I wonder if it scared them when I laughed at their request for me to come in for high school science? I was so nervous as I walked up to that high school (even though I tried to look as calm and cool as possible all dressed up and sporting my ever so cool Panera travel mug). I went right into the office and confessed that I was shaking with nerves. I said, "My word, I'm a youth pastor, I work with teens all the time, but this is freaking me out! High school science, really?" Wow, what an experience! I can't wait to go back. I loved it. Totally loved it. The students could not pronounce my last name. One thought that it was a good boxer's last name. My poor niece wanted so badly to call me by my first name and that's how I almost started to introduce myself, but oh well...it's a learning process. So, I wonder what school adventure is next? haha!

Teaching them young

2009-09-22T09:15:00.002-05:00

I'm not positive on what my little friend was doing here, but I thought we'd go with the image and I'd copy her! I like to think that she's praying and that we're doing a great job of teaching the Undefeated Kids at a young age to pray.

Pictures on my camera

2009-09-08T14:51:00.005-05:00

I really need to post on here more, but so much has been happening with the new church. Anyway, here are a few pictures to basically sum up the past few weeks!

Nothing like riding luggage carts at youth camp - Mark was a pretty scary driver though.

Roll Dog...I miss my friend!

One of my beautiful sisters! (For those of you who don't know - Lauren really isn't my sister, but she and a few other girls from Bethlehem will always seem like my sisters!)

Marky Mark and I are so stinkin' proud!

Rachel!!!!!!!!!!

I told Mark that a really good anniversary gift would be to take me to see my friends in Jersey City!

Hannah said I looked weird - I was proud of that statement and told her to take my picture!

Too much rain at the baseball game...

Someone doesn't seem to be LOVING her Senator's hat!

Another photo by Hannah

Me with my GREAT nieces...no really they are great, but they're also my great nieces

My awesome niece Cecily!

Me with the great nieces and nephews! Such a fun day at Gramma D's!

No more summer

2009-08-30T14:35:00.002-05:00

Most people are sad to see summer end. I have to admit that I kind of like the idea! I'm not a huge fan of the shorter days, but I LOVE fall! I'm so ready to see some leaves changing colors! I'm ready for Friday night football games, a nice cup of coffee on a chilly fall morning and just the smells of fall. I'm ready to trade in my summer tank tops and flip flops for my favorite sweaters and hoodies and favorite hikers. Ahhhhh...tonight we're having an outdoor fellowship after church and I'm so excited to throw on my jeans and hoodie and enjoy the hints of fall in the air.

And in other random news - I keep hearing a weird humming noise in the church. It's real short and spaced out, but it reminds me of a hearing test. I think I need to find out what it is.

Summer Pictures

2009-08-13T15:54:00.003-05:00

I was looking through some of my pictures recently and here are some good ones that I found that I never posted! Haha, I tried to get them in order from earlier in the summer until more recently. Enjoy!

Haha, this picture cracks me up! Dr. Babb, Dr. Wood, Rev. Simpkins, and can you believe Rev. D'Agostino? Haha, oh yeah...

Me with my awesome nieces...we all had our hair done the same way...oh and I just realized we all had orange on. Can you tell that they're my nieces? I love them so much!

What else would you do with a blue pom pom? Just seemed right to put it on my head.

Work nights at our church also mean socializing nights for me! I love acting like a goof!

Mark with Tricia's earings in...yeah one ear...he's soooooooooo HOT!

Poor guy...no battery with the flashlight

YUMM - family reunion food! I loved hanging out with my GREAT niece!

Thanks for letting me borrow your bike, Chase!

This was just nasty looking water - seemed like a good picture to me!

And the latest picture...on our way to Dutch Springs with a van full of Undefeated kids and teens! That was an awesome day!

Now I'm off to a Wesleyan Women planning meeting and an Undefeated hangout to watch the Eagles! Ahhh fall is in the air people...bands are practicing their field shows, football is coming on TV again, and yeah that's about it, but fall is coming!

Our week away!

2009-08-01T17:24:00.004-05:00

Mark and I just got back from a few days in TN and it was amazing! When we finally found our cabin (which was 3 miles up on the mountain) we discovered it was a good thing that it was so far up the mountain and tucked in behind lots of trees because there was very little privacy. haha, I mean call me crazy but I do tend to like some shades on windows....ok, we had some shades, but not really enough for my liking. Add to that the fact that the Ober Gatlinburg little sky lift thingy's track was right above us. Thank goodness for trees with leaves! Ok, here are some of our pictures...we really didn't take too many this time, but the ones we took were good ones!

One of our first purchases...haha, I don't believe pastors should have reserved parking signs, but um, this may find its way to a certain parking lot in town.

Wednesday we headed to Knoxville and look what we found! UT!

This is Mark's favorite picture. He told me the whole time we were in Knoxville I had a crazy smile on my face. I told him he can do all his Christmas shopping online this year thanks to the UT's bookstore online!

Wednesday night we were enjoying our time in the hot tub and thought we were going to have a visitor...who doesn't love seeing a black bear walk right by their car?

My job

2009-07-13T16:02:00.002-05:00

There are days when my job is very difficult...last night was one of them...do you know how tough it is to have baby food shoved in your mouth?

Haha, I love being a youth pastor!

Living on the Wild Side!

2009-07-06T16:43:00.004-05:00

Mark and I decided that since he worked at the new church all day on Friday and we spent most of Saturday doing yard work that we would take the afternoon off and head out on a wild adventure! Haha, our wild adventure took us to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park. Here are some pictures from our adventure. I'm not going to include all of the animal pictures because well...they're animals and I thought that pictures of us would be more fun!

Haha, watch out Marky D ostriches have a long reach!

This was probably one of my favorite animals there! Pretty cute, right?

Not going to lie, I was a little freaked out at one point thinking that it was going to attack me through the fence. Hey, I'm not an animal person!

I don't know what it was, but it was so stinkin cool - check out it's crazy horns! And I loved that it ended up looking at me!

Mark had to get this freeze pop because it was HUGE!

The safari was pretty wild we had bison, longhorns, elk, llamas (which made me think of a daycare book - Llama Llama Red Pajama), deer, and stuff come right up next to us which was pretty cool too. We're already thinking about taking another trip to live life on the wild side!

Pictures from last weekend

2009-07-06T06:47:00.004-05:00

Here's a great site to check out to see the pictures that we sent to the local fire company:

http://www.millersburgfire.org/fullstory.php?88484

And here are our pictures of the damage that was done to our cars and house

Our Envoy got the most damage, but it's not horrible and we're getting it fixed next week. We're still amazed that our stickers were not messed up at all...haha, not going to lie a trip to TN to replace the sticker wouldn't have been a bad idea in my opinion!

I'm Amazed

2009-06-25T14:21:00.002-05:00

I'm amazed and yet I really shouldn't be surprised by the awesome things that God does. I'm finding that I enjoy those simple moments more and more. A bike ride that leads to a nice long chat on someone's front porch. A ride on the back country roads of this little town and seeing deer. A couple of moments in the pool with my nieces and nephews (and friends). Hanging towels out to dry. Watching old (from the 80's) sitcoms with my husband. Making It Real Bible Studies that totally fire me up! (Read Nehemiah - it's awesome). Walking through the doors of the new church and seeing what got done in a day out there. Picking carpet for the new church, and chairs, and tile, and counter tops, and paint, and and and...

I'm just amazed.

And the adventure continues again....again

2009-06-17T08:59:00.002-05:00

This year at District Conference something really stirred in me...okay I know it wasn't just something - it was someOne! I believe that God was speaking in an awesome way. I totally believe that He's got some great things in store for us and for our church. I also kind of felt that there was an obstacle holding me back from reaching what God wanted for me. I wanted to do this on Friday when I got home from conference, but after two really tough days at work I decided to hand in my 2 week notice at the daycare yesterday. It's really not the best timing - Mark isn't working and now I'm quitting a job that did provide us with income. What was I thinking? I'm thinking the words of the song that just came on the radio... God You Reign!

Pictures for friends

2009-06-03T11:12:00.004-05:00

I'm just posting a couple of newer pictures on here for some good friends of mine. FD and FZ enjoy! Haha, and I hope mom realizes how YOUNG I look!

Here's a fun picture...yeah that would be me with a sheet on my head. Our lesson was taught in a "tomb" made of sheet on Palm Sunday...I'm a creative youth pastor - made for a funny picture, right?

Mark and I bowling at 1:30AM at Breakout! This was the 2nd year in a row that he actually stayed up ALL NIGHT! Way to go Marky Mark!

My new friends!

No explanation other than I had a lot of coffee that day!

Do you know how hard it is to find these lights? I was very proud of my purchase! I used this light for a devotional for the church. It's not everyday you use a Spencer's purchase for a church devotional...well...hopefully it's not everyday!

Midnight Madness

2009-05-30T11:31:00.002-05:00

People always complain that there isn't anything fun to do around here on a Friday night. Ok, I'm one of those people and I complain that complaint almost every week! But last night there was something to do here and it was actually pretty fun...it was like Black Friday in May! Who doesn't enjoy grocery shopping with amazing sales between the hours of 8pm-12am on a Friday night? Who doesn't enjoy grocery cart traffic jams and people attempting to run you over simply because you're trying to find those Salt and Vinegar chips that are only 99 cents a bag? Who doesn't enjoy watching people run to that special midnight madness bargain? Who wouldn't love watching people stand in line just to get a grocery cart? Yeah this small town may not have too many exciting Friday nights, but when sales like this come our way watch out!

I like it this way

2009-05-20T10:22:00.002-05:00

So I guess I do have to admit that there are some things that I like about the turn our lives have taken. I like that we actually live in the same house now. I love that we can have our meals together. I'm really hoping that a job opportunity comes along that will help Mark stay very connected in ministry!

I'm having an "I know that nothing is impossible with God" kind of day! Thank goodness!

And the adventure continues...again

2009-05-19T17:18:00.002-05:00

I knew that I posted about my resignation 2 years ago a few weeks after I had actually resigned. It was too painful to write about right away. I looked up the post again and the title was "And the adventure continues". It was written somewhere in April of 2007 or something like that. So I found it only right to title this one as part two of that one...and the adventure continues again. Yesterday Mark had a "meeting" at work to find out that he no longer had a job. All I can think is this brings back so many emotions from 2 years ago. There are moments when I know that everything is going to work out and things are going to be better than before. But then I have my other moments where I'm just like, "um, ok, and now what?"

Haha, all I can say is "And the adventure continues...again". At least I don't think we're moving out of the area this time. Haha!

Only in this town

2009-04-29T14:49:00.001-05:00

Would you go to Wal-Mart and see an actual tractor taking up a parking space. Even better was the bag hanging near the wheel verifying my fear that someone really did drive the tractor to Wal-Mart for a shopping trip! You gotta love this area!

If only I had my camera

2009-04-24T20:44:00.002-05:00

Tonight a friend of ours came to visit us in this wonderful small town. Poor guy. After Mark spent entirely too long working on his car antenna (and we're not even sure if it works) we made him carry a VERY heavy organ back into the church (can you believe it didn't sell at the yard sale?). Then we thought we'd treat him to some authentic small town dining! We ordered Chinese food and thought that it would be so much better to take him to the place where we were ordering our food. Haha to our surprise there was a toilet sitting across the room from the counter where you order your food. Do you know what goes through a mind like mine when I see that kind of stuff? This would make an awesome youth video! I need to learn to start carrying my camera with me EVERYWHERE I go!

Ah and now it's bed time. I'm taking my very sun burnt arms and aching body up to bed where I will sleep until my alarm goes off at an insane time for a Saturday morning. And to think - next Friday night I get to stay up ALL Night! I have come to the conclusion that I'm losing brain cells each day. Who schedules a yard sale youth fundraiser one weekend, goes to an All-Nighter the next, and accepts an invitation to speak at a different church the weekend after that?

Random

2009-04-15T05:40:00.005-05:00

Aren't these the coolest flowers? Ok, well they are if you LOVE orange! My boss at the daycare saw them at the store and just randomly bought them for me. Wasn't that so nice?

Yes, this is the man I chose to spend the rest of my life with...hmmm....

I'm going to miss the parades

2009-04-12T06:59:00.002-05:00

Today as I was getting ready for our sunrise service I realized that this is our last sunrise service in this church. It's a good thing because we've been waiting for years to say that next year our sunrise service will be in the new church and this year we can actually say it. But it's also a kind of sad time. It's almost as though we're closing a chapter in our lives...a chapter that holds so many awesome memories: spilling grape juice on Easter dresses, sitting through all 500 verses of O Holy Night on Christmas Eve, throwing off our Sunday shoes, plays where I would laugh so hard I couldn't get through my lines, dedications, prayer times, etc. Earlier this week another thought hit me - what about the parades? Where are we going to sit for the 5 minute Memorial Day Parade? Are we going to have service on the Wednesday night of the Halloween Parade? Where are we going to gather for donuts, hot chocolate, and coffee for those parades?

I am more excited than I can even put into words about the new church. Believe me after working on that breakfast in that kitchen this morning I CAN'T WAIT TO GET INTO THE NEW BUILDING, but...I'm going to miss some of the stuff about this place too.

Happy Easter!

I love what I do

2009-03-30T06:26:00.004-05:00

I was reminded of that (I love what I do) this morning when I was looking through pictures that were taken 2 weeks ago at our "Follow Me" Game Time service. It was such a cool service where we painted feet and then let the kids, teens, and adults walk on this banner. Then we put the words "Follow Me" on the banner - showing that our group is following Jesus. When I saw these pictures I was reminded that you're never too young to follow Him. Check it out!

Yeah those little feet are reminders of why I love what I do!

Italian Pot Pie

2009-03-28T07:25:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday I had a blast with my in-laws! Mark's family makes Italian Pot Pie and that's what we did for my mother-in-law's birthday. So it was me, Mark's mom, and his two sisters cooking in the kitchen. Haha, what an experience! I got quite a compliment though - I'm a good "snake" roller! All those dedicated years of playing with Play Doh has finally paid off! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend!

My wonderful family told me I had to count every single one of these things...when I actually started to count they laughed at me...just doing what I was told. We figure we made about 1,600

Me and Cecily! Well, it's really Cecily and Me!

I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Haha, it's just kidding.

So much fun...I love these girls!

Chef Shannon!

2009-03-27T19:12:00.003-05:00

Haha, yeah I know it sounds pretty funny, but I must say I'm pretty proud of myself. Mark and I had a pizza a couple of weeks ago and he made a comment about trying to re-create a BBQ pizza that we would always order from one of the local places here. Well, today I thought I would have that waiting for him since he's put in such a long week at work. And I must say that my BBQ pizza was pretty rockin! I think we'll have to have it again some time. Since I was really in a cooking mood I decided to check out my Fix-It and Forget-It cookbook to see if anything sparked my interest! It sure did. One thing Mark and I loved to do back in the good old days (haha) was go out for breakfast. We're really trying to be smarter with our money, so I found this great breakfast casserole recipe and made it up today. I'm so excited to try it tomorrow! Sunday we're going to have some kind of roast recipe that I found in there too.

Well, I thought that I'd enjoy this free weekend, but so far the empty calendar has me more bummed than feeling relaxed. I guess I'll at least enjoy sleeping in tomorrow...if that actually happens.

Fun at the store

2009-03-18T07:01:00.002-05:00

You know those quick trips to the store where you're wearing your big baggy sweats, your hair is pulled back, and you have no make up on? It's those trips that you hope you don't see anyone you know, but you know you're going to! Haha, we walked into the store last night for 2 gallons of Green Tea and didn't we see our good friend? Of course we made sure she saw us (thanks to Mark saying "HEY" pretty loudly!) At first I apologized for how I looked and told her I knew I'd run into someone that I knew, but as we stood there and had a great talk in the baking aisle or wherever it was I realized that you can have fun at the store...even if you don't look the greatest.

And now it's off to work on tonight's lesson for church. We are doing this amazing series When God's People Pray. Whew, INCREDIBLE!

Cool Weekend

2009-03-15T16:31:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a great weekend. Mark and I spent Thursday and Friday in Baltimore for Fuel - the Wesleyan Youth Leaders' Convention. Pretty awesome. Got to hang out with some insane people, see the amazing area of Baltimore and had some incredible times of worship. I also personally think that I have found the best choice for carpet in the new church! Yesterday we got to get into the Lehigh Valley for a quick trip and I got the coolest birthday present! Check it out!

I'm voting for this for our new church's carpet!

My awesome guy sitting on an orange couch, drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee with me - yeah it's like all of my favorite stuff all together!

My newest favorite travel mug - it talks to me and reminds me that coffee makes me need to pee!