9lbs 11oz
20 1/2 in long
Precious!
Beautiful!!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Arrived...
Baby arrived last night at 11:08pm. My mom, sisters, and I were just on our way home from seeing "The Proposal" (Oh heavens...what a great movie!!!) when we all received a little picture text message from my brother.
Being a typical guy, all it said was "Our Baby." Don't get me wrong it was sweet, but no name, no weight, no length. So we texted back for more info. Here's what we got: Name - Zoei Joy. Weight - didn't know. Length - didn't know.
Well, I think Jake might have been just a little flustered because he did have the name right, but he told us the wrong spelling. :-) So here you go...the finally results.
Name: Zoey Joy
Weight: 9 lbs. 11 oz.
Length: 20 1/2 in
So there you have it. My sisters and I are heading to their house to do some "Welcome Home" cleaning, decorating, cooking. Then we'll head to the hospital to see the peanut. Pretty excited!!
Oh...I will post pics after visiting later!!
Being a typical guy, all it said was "Our Baby." Don't get me wrong it was sweet, but no name, no weight, no length. So we texted back for more info. Here's what we got: Name - Zoei Joy. Weight - didn't know. Length - didn't know.
Well, I think Jake might have been just a little flustered because he did have the name right, but he told us the wrong spelling. :-) So here you go...the finally results.
Name: Zoey Joy
Weight: 9 lbs. 11 oz.
Length: 20 1/2 in
So there you have it. My sisters and I are heading to their house to do some "Welcome Home" cleaning, decorating, cooking. Then we'll head to the hospital to see the peanut. Pretty excited!!
Oh...I will post pics after visiting later!!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Growing Old
Today I had the priviledge of going to a nearby nursing home to help run the "Barnyard Olympics" for the residents. Oh yes, this was as exciting as it sounds! They threw cow chips, played horseshoes, shucked corn...they only thing missing was a good old fashioned hoe-down!
What I realized today is that I don't EVER want to become old. It breaks my heart to look at this people. The one guy, Jack, used to be a dentist!! A DENTIST. Now he just sits there and has to be woken up when it's his turn. Or Trudy, she was eating a banana when she first got in the room. She was finished so Pastor B took the peel from her and threw it away. 20 mins later, her hands were in the same position (as if she were still holding the banana) and she asked the Director to take the peel from her hands! It took the Director 5 mins to convince her that her hands were already empty.
It really scared me. My best friend, Steph, has always said she never wanted to get old. I always just kind of laughed at her because it never seemed that bad to me. UNTIL today...WOW! I really pray that Judgement Day comes before I'm old or that the Lord takes me home. Death doesn't scare me, being old does. Is that weird???
Steph, if you're reading this, I am sorry for ever laughing about such a thing!
(On a slighty happy note, one of the ladies, Donna, was an absolute SWEETHEART!! She was dressed so beautifully and she must have thanked me about 20 times for coming. I did get a good laugh from Vivian. She did one mean victory dance after scoring 6 goals in Piggy Hockey!)
What I realized today is that I don't EVER want to become old. It breaks my heart to look at this people. The one guy, Jack, used to be a dentist!! A DENTIST. Now he just sits there and has to be woken up when it's his turn. Or Trudy, she was eating a banana when she first got in the room. She was finished so Pastor B took the peel from her and threw it away. 20 mins later, her hands were in the same position (as if she were still holding the banana) and she asked the Director to take the peel from her hands! It took the Director 5 mins to convince her that her hands were already empty.
It really scared me. My best friend, Steph, has always said she never wanted to get old. I always just kind of laughed at her because it never seemed that bad to me. UNTIL today...WOW! I really pray that Judgement Day comes before I'm old or that the Lord takes me home. Death doesn't scare me, being old does. Is that weird???
Steph, if you're reading this, I am sorry for ever laughing about such a thing!
(On a slighty happy note, one of the ladies, Donna, was an absolute SWEETHEART!! She was dressed so beautifully and she must have thanked me about 20 times for coming. I did get a good laugh from Vivian. She did one mean victory dance after scoring 6 goals in Piggy Hockey!)
Baby Niece Update
So here's the deal:
Tomorrow morning,
bright and early,
I will begin my trek home.
Because tomorrow
Valentine, NE --
which has a
current population of 2,860
will increase by 1.
That's right ONE.
One beautiful,
and I'm quite postive,
PERFECT little girl.
The doctor declared
that it is time for
this little sweet pea
to make her debut.
So I will drive,
not too fast,
I don't want a ticket,
but with intent.
Because I'm beyond
elated to meet this
sweet, little girl!
Tonight, as you
say your prayers.
Please pray for Dani, Jake,
baby, and a safe delivery.
WHO'S EXCITED!?!?!?!
Tomorrow morning,
bright and early,
I will begin my trek home.
Because tomorrow
Valentine, NE --
which has a
current population of 2,860
will increase by 1.
That's right ONE.
One beautiful,
and I'm quite postive,
PERFECT little girl.
The doctor declared
that it is time for
this little sweet pea
to make her debut.
So I will drive,
not too fast,
I don't want a ticket,
but with intent.
Because I'm beyond
elated to meet this
sweet, little girl!
Tonight, as you
say your prayers.
Please pray for Dani, Jake,
baby, and a safe delivery.
WHO'S EXCITED!?!?!?!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Weekend Recap
(Isn't this the cutest little bird feeder???)
Since being a teacher does mean I have all summer off, I am enjoying being able to just take off during the week and go and hang out with family. That's exactly what I did this week.
On Wednesday afternoon, after a full day of working at school, I met my Aunt Candy over at the Scholastic book fair. (Yes, I went twice...books are a great thing!) After a little browsing over there we headed over to her house in Markesan. Candy has been traveling away from home ALL summer...she literally goes home for a day and then packs up for the next trip. SO...we got the laundry caught up and just hung out around the house.
Thursday morning, we packed up and headed over to meet the Naumann's at a cottage they had rented on Lake Ellen near Cascade, WI. (I couldn't ever get back there again without the help of our "lady" (GPS)...what did we do before Mapquest and GPS???)It was the cutest little cottage. Quaint, quiet, calm. The perfect setting for a much needed getaway.
That night the boys were all away, so it was a nice girl's only evening. (Candy, Desi, Becca, and I) We made a wonderful supper of pork chops. Most likely the best pork chops I've had in quite some time. We even figured out how to start the charcoal grill on our own. We had wine and of course chocolate...a staple for any event with my Aunt Desi!
Then the fun really began...we decided to try and take the pontoon for a spin! OH MY! I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time. We did manage to unhook it from the dock and it was running, but we didn't go far. In fact, we called it a boat float instead of a boat ride. We ditched the idea and decided we would wait for the boys to come back the next day for our boat ride! I'm sure the neighbors were all entertained! Sadly...I was laughing too hard to get any pictures of this wonderful experience! Just use your imagination!
We finished the night off with some rousing games of Shoot the Moon and Phase 10.
Friday morning, we slept in and lazed around for a bit before getting ready and heading into town to see the cute little shops. We found just a darling little cafe with sandwichs and salads to die for. It was just the cutest little place. The next place was packed full of things. I did find quite possibly the creepiest Santa Clause figure I have ever seen. (Sadly the pic is on my phone!) The best buy was my new Rain Stick. I'm so excited to have one for my classroom!
When we returned from our excursion in town, the boys were back. Desi and I went for an afternoon kayak ride around the lake. (Something we could easily handle!) Ben even got Candy to go out on the paddle boat. There was much fishing off the dock taking place. Sam even caught a pretty nice Northern. But this little guy was my favorite....sadly though he swallowed the hook and when they released him, he simply floated to the bottom! Poor guy!
After supper, we did get to go on a nice pontoon ride. We even stopped for awhile and fished. The boys were pulling in quite a few fish. We played more card games and then finished up the night watching "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." What a hoot!
Saturday morning we got up and Candy and I headed down to Milwaukee for a quick run to Northwestern Publishing House. As soon as we got back to Markesan, I took off for home. Boy...was I tired last night. But I had a great time!
(Ben eating his cereal...I thought it was quite creative!)
Today I made a nice lunch and then headed over to school to try and get a whole list of things accomplished. The list is still quite long, but I'm going to call it a night!
Hope everyone had a blessed weekend!
Here is the shutterfly link to the rest of the pictures from the weekend!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Missing Out
Every year there is one summer event that I truly look foward to. The Arise and Shine/20s and 30s Retreat. This is weekend, although hot, humid, and sticky, is such a blast of much needed refreshment and refocus.
Sadly...this year I had to miss out. With all of the moving and planning for the new school year, I thought it was still going to work out just fine. Until low and behold, I had a training that I had to be at for school, PLUS it was VBS this week at our church. I just couldn't justify leaving to go and then missing these things. It was tough. A tough decision, even on Thursday morning I was still thinking about just packing up and going, and it was super tough to be here in Wisconsin (where it also was very hot, humid, and sticky) knowing what I was missing down there.
Instead of St. Louis, I traveled over to my grandparent's house for the weekend. I had a great time hanging out with them, but am still sad I missed out. The perils of growing up!
In conclusion, the theme was "Be Ready..." based on the passage from 1 Peter 3:15. From the reports back it was a great weekend and lots of great speakers once again.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Books...books...books....
Tomorrow morning I am going to try to find the Scholastic wearhouse in Windsor. (I've been told that near Waunakee...thank goodness for GPS!) I just found out about this great sale for educators is being held next week which includes saving between 50%-80% on each and every book. The sweet woman who told me about it said you can get books for $1!!! I'm pretty excited.
In the spirit of being excited to go and look at books...I thought I would share with everyone some of my favorite books.
As a child, one of my all time favorite books was "Three Little Kittens." My Grandma Ohlmann always says that when my parents went to the hospital to Jake and I spent the few days at their house that was the one book they had to read over and over and over again. They really did love me because I can only imagine how annoying that book was after the first 5 times.
One of my all time favorite books in grade school was "No Flying in the House." Miss Greve, now Mrs. Abbott, would read that book aloud and it was always one that I just loved and looked forward too.
I just finished reading the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series....and I that was a great series, however I think my favorite series is the Janette Oke "Love COmes Softly" series. I know they are a bit cheesy and predicatable, but something about the truthfulness in them just makes me happy.
I did read a great book this summer. "Love Finds You in Valentine, NE." I'm not even kidding it is a book and a great one at that. It was so fun to read a book that takes place in/near Valentine. It was a nice way to think back on Valentine and remember why I love it.
What are your favorite books?
In the spirit of being excited to go and look at books...I thought I would share with everyone some of my favorite books.
As a child, one of my all time favorite books was "Three Little Kittens." My Grandma Ohlmann always says that when my parents went to the hospital to Jake and I spent the few days at their house that was the one book they had to read over and over and over again. They really did love me because I can only imagine how annoying that book was after the first 5 times.
One of my all time favorite books in grade school was "No Flying in the House." Miss Greve, now Mrs. Abbott, would read that book aloud and it was always one that I just loved and looked forward too.
I just finished reading the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series....and I that was a great series, however I think my favorite series is the Janette Oke "Love COmes Softly" series. I know they are a bit cheesy and predicatable, but something about the truthfulness in them just makes me happy.
I did read a great book this summer. "Love Finds You in Valentine, NE." I'm not even kidding it is a book and a great one at that. It was so fun to read a book that takes place in/near Valentine. It was a nice way to think back on Valentine and remember why I love it.
What are your favorite books?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
10 Reasons Why I Am Writing...
Thought it might be a good idea to write out the reasons why I am writing...I have a feeling this will be harder than it sounds!
1 - To share my faith.
2 - To keep in touch with my friends and family as I begin my teaching career in Madison
3 - To give myself an outlet to just write when I need to release
4 - To have a place to share cool finds
5 - To have a place to write down dreams
6 - To have a place to write down my goals and have people to help keep my accountable.
7 - To use a journal to chronicle this new journey in my life....living in Madison should be some good stories...
8 - To share funny teaching stories - kids really do say that funniest things!
9 - To find myself
10 - To become better at sharing my thoughts and feelings...
So those are a few of the reasons why I started this blog and why I'm trying to get back into again.
1 - To share my faith.
2 - To keep in touch with my friends and family as I begin my teaching career in Madison
3 - To give myself an outlet to just write when I need to release
4 - To have a place to share cool finds
5 - To have a place to write down dreams
6 - To have a place to write down my goals and have people to help keep my accountable.
7 - To use a journal to chronicle this new journey in my life....living in Madison should be some good stories...
8 - To share funny teaching stories - kids really do say that funniest things!
9 - To find myself
10 - To become better at sharing my thoughts and feelings...
So those are a few of the reasons why I started this blog and why I'm trying to get back into again.
Movie Review: Julie and Julia
Fantastic.
1 - Meryl Streep...perfect person for the role. She did a great job!
2 - LOVE LOVE LOVE Amy Adams.
3 - Julie's husband, Chris Messina, was such a cutie in this film.
This was just a fun movie. I loved the vintage look in the kitchens. I even learned how to poach an egg! For anyone looking for a fun afternoon show...I highly recommend this show.
ENJOY!
1 - Meryl Streep...perfect person for the role. She did a great job!
2 - LOVE LOVE LOVE Amy Adams.
3 - Julie's husband, Chris Messina, was such a cutie in this film.
This was just a fun movie. I loved the vintage look in the kitchens. I even learned how to poach an egg! For anyone looking for a fun afternoon show...I highly recommend this show.
ENJOY!
Scariest Experience
I just found this great website: Imagination Prompt Generator. It gives you a prompt to write on. It sounds a little pathetic, as you would think I could find plenty to talk about, but it's 12:25am and I don't function well, but I'm determined to post something! :-) So here goes!
Prompt: What's the scariest experience you've ever had?
This took a little time to think about, but I think without a doubt the scariest moment I can think back to is the summer afternoon about 4 years ago.
It was a normal Sunday afternoon. Kendra had come to visit us at 1st Ave and we had just had a great time hanging out. THEN my phone rang. It was my brother calling from NE and he wanted to find out if there was anything valuable he could get from the Ahrens' house (Ahrens were out of town) because they thought the FIRE would come over by us. I just remember being so confused and then he explained that there was a BIG fire down in the City Park of the town of grew up in and it was headed towards our side of town which meant the Ahrens' house and ultimately my house.
It was the some of the scariest hours of my life. My dad wasn't in town, he was gone at some Neil Young concert AND I was stuck in EC and couldn't do anything to help. I remember Kendra, Steph, and I just sitting on my bed hugging, crying because we didn't know the extent of anything going on in our childhood hometown.
The fire did not come by our homes, but it did destroy quite a few. The park -- gone. Looking back, I am so thankful my dad WASN'T in town or he would have been in the middle of fighting that fire and that scares me more. It was hard to not be there during such devesation, but a blessing to look back and know that at that point I'm not sure I would have been much help.
Pic found here.
What's your scariest experience?
Prompt: What's the scariest experience you've ever had?
This took a little time to think about, but I think without a doubt the scariest moment I can think back to is the summer afternoon about 4 years ago.
It was a normal Sunday afternoon. Kendra had come to visit us at 1st Ave and we had just had a great time hanging out. THEN my phone rang. It was my brother calling from NE and he wanted to find out if there was anything valuable he could get from the Ahrens' house (Ahrens were out of town) because they thought the FIRE would come over by us. I just remember being so confused and then he explained that there was a BIG fire down in the City Park of the town of grew up in and it was headed towards our side of town which meant the Ahrens' house and ultimately my house.
It was the some of the scariest hours of my life. My dad wasn't in town, he was gone at some Neil Young concert AND I was stuck in EC and couldn't do anything to help. I remember Kendra, Steph, and I just sitting on my bed hugging, crying because we didn't know the extent of anything going on in our childhood hometown.
The fire did not come by our homes, but it did destroy quite a few. The park -- gone. Looking back, I am so thankful my dad WASN'T in town or he would have been in the middle of fighting that fire and that scares me more. It was hard to not be there during such devesation, but a blessing to look back and know that at that point I'm not sure I would have been much help.
Pic found here.
What's your scariest experience?
Back in Action
Yes that is correct...this little blog is back in action. I am ready to get this thing rolling again. I already know it will be a slow start, but a start is something!
Oh...and Steph...this is all for you!
Oh...and Steph...this is all for you!
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