pet pictures...




My most recent pet, Keller. Ryan saved him from euthinization at the vet clinic. He's a mini Australian Shepherd and the biggest genetic jack-up. He was mostly blind and completely deaf when we got him. Now, almost 4 months later, he sees too well (he waits at the front door to come in) and is still 100% deaf. Gotta love him though, he's so cute. I need a current picture since he's grown a bit.





L to R: William Edward Goat, Promise, Kaleb (my nephew) and me. William was one of our first ventures as a married couple. He chews the hotwire fence in the pasture and the tulips and every other plant when he gets out so he stays tied up. Promise came shortly after we were married too. Ryan hates horses but knows I love them so he bought her for me. After being bucked off several times and an overnight stay in the hospital (thanks to Sandy and Jesse for saving my life), Promise found a new home.



I'm sure this dog would be a lap dog if you let him. This is DJ, Ryan's dalmation. He's been around for 7 or 8 years and is the best behaved dog and is gorgeous. He hasn't adjusted the best to Scott but he's still an awesome dog.

* I have (actually they're Ryan's) two cats also. Rum Tum Tugger is the boy and he's a tabby. His sister is Wicket and she's a calico. They were farm cats that Ryan brought home shortly after moving up here when he graduated vet school.

Time Flies

Wow, its monday already. seems like it was yesterday that we took scott to get his shots. thursday was scott's big day, the day he might decide to no longer like nurse Sue. our appointment was at 6pm, we got there a little early. it was hell night for them. dr. lederman (the on-call doc) got called to the nearby clinic because Whooping Cough was identified there (3rd school in the area within 2 weeks). so, dr. miller (my doc) got called to deliver a baby in lederman's place. that left dr. tinker (my neighbor down the road) all by himself. scott got his shots from the nurses but not his well-baby check. tinker had blood taken to check my cough issue and took a quick look at me. he said my allergies were causing my sinuses to drain which was causing my throat to be irritated causing the cough. no cold. i knew the allergies and sinus part and was glad that i didn't have a cold, bronchitis or anything else. he gave me zyrtec and sent us home. two hours after we got there, we left. two stinkin' hours - that's too long.

thursday night i got to experience the side affects of the zyrtec, or was it that my tummy didn't like all the sinus yuck that had drained in there. anyway, my TMI (not as exciting as Cori's) was that i was up for a few hours with an upset tummy, the nastiest diarrhea i've ever had and lots of coughing. i tried to sleep in the spare bedroom but the coughing kept me awake for too long. friday i stayed home to get some rest. that morning mom and ralph came out to hang out with scott so i could sleep. i got a two hour nap in - it was glorious. friday afternoon i made a quick run to decorah for walmart and jc penny's. scott needed some cool weather clothes in his current size and i needed a few items from wally world. was supposed to be at jen and ryan's at 630 with my ryan. got home at 630 and still had to feed scott. just as i was walking out the door, ryan walked in. i thought he'd already gone to j&r's but he was still running vet calls. he left his truck running and jumped in the shower. we got to j&r's at 715. the boys were headed to the game for a 715 kick-off and ryan still had to eat. it didn't go quite as planned. but the boys eventually headed off to the game and us girls sat on the couch, fed our babies, chatted and watched 3 wishes. it was a breastfeeding and crying group night :)

saturday was another slow day. i scrap booked, killed a few pesky flies and did laundry - no cleaning this weekend. sunday was church, potluck and a true day of rest. i scrap booked a little more while ryan and ben played x-box. then took my kid upstairs, fed him and played on the bed a while before taking a kinda-sorta nap. it was a nice relaxing weekend. i have lots of cleaning to do and still haven't gotten anywhere on my septic tank drama.

oh yeah, and i hit a skunk on the driveway thursday night. killed one of our pets. my car smelled but by the next day a vulture had carried off the dead skunk from the driveway. AND, friday coming home from decorah, mom saw my cat half way down the driveway again. i thought it was a skunk, she thought it was the cat (similar colors). i slowed down and opened my door to call wicket when i got a wiff of skunk smell. it was so the skunk and not my cat!

So here’s the dirt about my neighbor who mailed me a letter. It came Saturday which was drama enough but anyway. It starts out nicely: “hope you’re enjoying Scott…” and stuff like that. The next paragraph is when the stuff hits the fan. He basically tells us that our septic system is on his property and he would like it moved. That it has come to the surface and splashes on him when he mows the lawn. Let’s just pause there… [if human yuckies are splashing on you, QUIT MOWING!] He also claimed that it was contaminating the stream down below, pause again… [you jack@ss, try to give me a guilt trip since I work for conservation of our natural resources. IF it is occurring as he stated, there’s 600’ feet of lawn and pasture before it heats the stream which would treat the concern by both state and federal standards.] It also tells us that Jan 1st gives us 3.5 months to get something done. Pause again… [who died and made him God. AND, the ground freezes well before Jan 1st which then doesn’t give that amount of time]. He didn’t know it was on his property, pause again… [neither did we, umm, its buried underground]. And it was cc’d to some female name at the bottom.

Here’s my thoughts (in addition to the ones above). Since he lives farther down the driveway and passes our house multiples times a day, why not stop and say “hey ryan, something is wrong with your septic tank, explain the details and ask us to fix it. Duh, we’ve always gotten along well with them. We both help each other out with different things. What did he do, cc it to his lawyer? I had so many other negative and mean thoughts that I won’t put on paper since they weren’t appropriate, just hateful.

After some further investigation. The letter was sent to the county sanitarian who I called but didn’t get a hold of. Received a letter from her last night though basically saying that we do have to replace our whole system, a minimum of $3k. And if we hit bedrock or clay like I’m assuming will happen, its an easy $7k. Also found out that the outlet pipe to the stream (what I thought might be his complaint for polluting the stream) doesn’t outlet to the stream. It’s about 120’ up in the fenceline along the pasture. Again, plenty of room to be “cleaned up” before it hits the stream.

Ryan and I doing some searching to get things in order to replace the system. It’s a state law that they have to be up to code when the property is sold. Unfortunately in the county I live in, there’s no one who checks and makes sure of that. And a first time home buyer doesn’t know to ask either. Stupid county! Because my previous landowner was not fully truthful, we’ll be paying the price, literally. That guy is a whole separate post though!

Thoughts for this morning:
~ It was just above freezing this morning when I left for work and its still September. I bet people at home in the ghetto-Fresno area are still hot. I wore a jacket the last two mornings to work!
~ Are my friends "black" or "African-American"? My buddy Shelly in college said that she was black. She's not African-American because he wasn't born in Africa. But Nebyou argued that his skin isn't "black" therefore he's African-American. Interesting thought. It came to mind as I was reading some stuff on diversity.
~ Why are people so stupid? My neighbor mailed me a letter. He's my neighbor, he could have stopped and chatted with me about his concern or even dropped off a note at my house. Mailing a letter to your neighbor... another interesting thought. More on that later!

i'm loving these "way back wednesdays" only i'm always a little behind. last week was something about sororities and frats. To take a picture drinking something fun. yes, i was part of a sorority, Alpha Delta Chi, but most of us didn't drink alcohol. so, none of those pictures. and i couldn't find a picture of me drinking anything else with that group so i have two pictures to share: one of me drinking and one of me with my sorority girls.

The first is of Nicole and me at Brooke and Ryan Phelan's wedding reception. I think it was just sparkling cider or something but i don't like it anyway. i doubt that i even had any to drink out of the glass.


The second picture is of Alisha and me at our national convention in LA one year. I couldn't find a picture of me and the girls either. So, i picked one with alisha since she just got married.

Pot Calling the Kettle Black
Each day I look forward to an update from my buddy, Cori. And yesterday I checked several times without ever seeing an update. So, finally I emailed her harassing about posting and she reminded me that I hadn’t posted either. Her comment was “people in glasses houses…” I so felt like the pot calling the kettle black so here’s my update – more than a few pictures.

As you know, Scott is now the focus of our lives. It’s a lot of fun. For a week, my nanny and Ugly (aka Aunt Janie) were out visiting. Now that I’m back to work, I didn’t get to spend the time I wanted to spend with them. But, I did have fun in the evenings and they had a great time with Scott and the folks during the day. Every night last week except one, I hung out with them. Tuesday we made supper at our house. Wednesday I hung out at mom’s with the old ladies and Scott while Ryan did AWANA JV. Thursday as soon as bible study ended, I headed to mom’s house. They’ve been sewing, sewing and sewing. Friday night we skipped the football game, ordered some pizza and went to mom’s right after work. I visited with the girls and the guys watched the ISU game. Saturday morning I went to mom’s where Nanny made my chocolate gravy and toast. Stayed for a few hours and then went home to clean. Good times.

Saturday night my friend, Laura, who works in our state office came up with her 3 kids and stayed the night. It was fun to sit and visit with her, eat some good grub and play with the kids. Sunday morning they joined us for church and then played with William the goat for a few minutes before they headed back home.

I was excited for an afternoon home with my honey and putting Scott down for a nap J He was eager to watch the Cardinals game on TV (the first game he’s seen for quite a while). So, instead of Scott taking a nap while I played with Ryan, I took a nap while Scott hung out with his dad. That night we had care&share group which is a small group from church who gets together.

Story of the week: while at our group, I decided to breastfeed Scott. I usually am prepared with a bottle for such outings. Scott, as usual, was making his sucking nose while he ate. As if that isn’t distracting enough, in between sucking noises, he was making a spitting noise too. I was super full and Scott was getting too much milk so he was spitting it out the side of his mouth. It was too funny (and kind of embarrassing). The kicker of the story is that all this was happening during prayer requests and prayer. So, here’s these people pouring their hearts out about cancer, etc and I’m sitting in the corner TRYING so hard not to laugh but not succeeding. Then Tracy, sitting right next to me, was also giggling and neither of us could stop. In the middle of prayer – I felt like such a heathen! It was too funny though and another new experience for us and our little guy.

New post idea for those who want to participate (Cori, Jen, ADX girls). How 'bout sharing a fun picture or two from college. Here's mine:

Big teeth. It was a fun shot taken when I was supposed to be in a conference in KY. I thought it was a great picture especially after getting married and having a father-in-law who is a dentist.

Cori and I were hard at work this day. We were recruiting at a job fair at our own university for summer interns. We had these stupid glasses to give away (like college students want that) and thought it was a fun photo op. We even got our associate dean to join in on the fun and take a picture wearing the stylish glasses with us.

My first kiss. Okay maybe not. Here, I snuck into the petting zoo super early one morning after taking care of my dairy cows to play with the animals. This llama was super curious and wanted to play too.

the last one for now. Here I was at the national ag ambassadors conference. The lead of the Cal Poly team (our rivals) was a buddy of mine from high school. So he pretended to propose to me at the banquet night. Everyone was watching and we both played it off. We had several people taking pictures for us so we could remember the moment. What fun!

Was and is and is to come...

Joining in on the girls' fun, here's a few photos of me:

These first two are the WAS. The top is me as a baby and the bottom one is of me, Mike Hamilton and Kristine (Tebbe) Johnston my senior year (i think) of college.

This picture above goes into the IS category (I don't have many recent pictures, especially not any of me looking hot).

And here's the IS TO COME. I'll be working on the flab areas , the tan and the arms. They say it takes 9 months to put it on so I have 9 months to get it off. But, I didn't gain any weight till I was 5 months along, so I'm giving myself 4 months to get back in shape.

Dad's Family

From L to R:
Sarah, DJ, Rain (Sarah's) & Scott (my cutie pa-tootie), Kaleb (jen's), Jeremiah (Sarah's), Jen, Ryann (Jen's), Nikko (Sarah's), me and my hot husband, Ryan

DJ's family

DJ (my brother for those who don't know) and his family from L to R:
Nikko - he's 3 I think and an absolute doll (and my favorite so far)
DJ - he's DJ :)
Rain - I think she's in 2nd grade
Jeremiah - he's a doll too but I don't know how old he is
Sarah - this is DJ's fiance. She's a sweetie

Nikko, me and Rain

We spent one evening of our trip to CA at DJ and Sarah's house. Nikko and Rain are two of Sarah's kids. Both were glued to me which was a lot of fun. Nikko loves to steal DJ's ball cap and wear it. That night he decided I needed to wear it and we had to take some pictures. We had a blast there, ate some awesome enchiladas and hung out with the family.

Thoughts of the day (things I have yet to share)…
- How many people can say their kid has crapped in their hand? I can. Yup, Scott was sick, doc said to give him a suppository. He crapped all over so Ryan washed him in the kitchen sink. Sitting back on the couch, we tried again and he started going again so I caught it. Some did manage to gather on my shorts. What a special moment!
- Is it possible to have a cold and not pass it on to your child whom you’re breastfeeding?
- Put Scott to bed at 10 or 1030, he falls asleep around 11, Pump at 3am to relieve pressure, breastfeed at 530ish, leave for work around 715ish. Pump at 10am, 2pm and head home to feed Scott again at 530pm. It’s a fun cycle. More sleep than most new parents get. It makes sense when you put it on paper why I can’t get anything done around my house. And since I have a cold right now, I get to add to that schedule: up at 2am, coughing for a few hours before I decide to get up and shower since I can’t get any sleep.
- AWANA, this is my first year not helping with the JV kids in AWANA. Its such a bummer to me since its held at our house and I miss the kids. Ryan is doing a good job of letting me be a mom on Wednesday nights but I want to do both and I get frustrated that he doesn’t include me since I still think I’m part of the group.
- We got 2.5” of rain last night with golf ball sized hail. That was great on crops, vehicles and gravel roads.

I can't believe its been 2 1/2 months since I've been at work. Holy cow, time flies when you're having fun! Lots has happened in that time and what a joy and blessing its been to be home to experience it all. I've loved almost every minute of it. Even the poopy diapers, the lots and lots of spitting up, getting pee'd on and pooped on (that's a story in itself) and so much more. Scott is has added a whole new dimension to our lives and we love it. I'm sure Ryan would like a little more of my attention - especially since 6 weeks has passed. Scott is so much fun - way better than that new puppy I wanted so badly (and got).

Scott
He's 2 months old now and absolutely adorable. His constant smiles and attentive big blue eyes are so fun. His cute little noises while he eats constantly crack me up as if they're the first time I've heard them. And the kid sleeps - gotta love that. We put him to bed at 10:30, he's asleep by 11 and usually sleeps till 6 the next morning. And I have a loving and wonderful husband who has fed him and put him back in bed so that I could sleep the past few days. One morning, Scott went back to sleep until 930 - halelujah!!!

Ryan
As mentioned above, he's absolutely wonderful! He did make a snide comment to me yesterday when he wanted me to get something at the store for his JV kids. So, I did my new mommy duty and reminded him of how much time I spend feeding Scott and pumping. I think he was just being a smarty-pants but I'm sure there was some seriousness there. He's awesome though - loves Scott and does great caring for him even though I nag him about it occassionally.

Me
Just enjoying each day - even if that means going back to work. I do have a cold or allergies or whatever it is. Started while we were in CA and I just can't seem to kick it. This morning I had bright green snot when I blew my nose so that was a new one. The dry itchy throat causes me to cough which irritates the throat more, etc. I'm glad to be back at work though too. I really do enjoy my job and atmosphere at the office.

More to come later. I have lots to share about Scott, our trip to CA and things like that.

Here's Scott's 1 month picture with an outfit from his papa.

Mandy, can you give me the www for the sign language info. The one you gave me before is on my work favorites page. thanks

Ryan & Scott hanging out at Grammy & Papa's house.

Okay ADX girls (and for anyone else for that matter), yes, we are gong to CA and yeswe are briging Scott. ANd yes Kristin, our trips will overlap! We're flying into Sac the night of Alisha's wedding (the 3rd). Katie's wedding is the 10th, and I have to be back in the Sac area Friday morning the 9th for wedding stuff. So, in between there, we (our "family") will be roaming around the ghetto-Fresno area. For you ADX girls, I'd like to try to get together with a bunch of you at one since we won't be around too long and have lots of family and other friends that wants to meet and see Scott. So, email me or leave a comment with a day that will work for you and I'll try to figure something out.

The last of our comapny left this morning. I really enjoyed all our visitors but I'm looking forward to a quiet night with just the three of us (and hopefully no x-box). Scott will be 4 weeks old tomorrow and he's already growing in so many ways. He's been smiling a lot this last week and he definitely is recognizing voices. He's such a culddle-bug and I love it. Okay, enough for now. I want to go home and clean in his nursery...

Okay, I finally added a few pictures. I've not been on the computer for a while since we've had 3 weeks of company and still have company. This picture is of Scott's first trip to the conservation center in our county. It was more of a trip for my niece, Ryann, as you can tell.

We're all doing well and are really enjoying the time with our family members who have all come to visit Scott. He's been quite the popular boy. The college kids at church practically have to take a number since so many of them want to hold him. Its really sweet. Okay, I'm at mom's to check rental car prices for our CA trip. I better get at it and get back home so Mark and Eunice (G&G B) can love on their grandson!!!

Okay everyone, there's finally pictures available. I can't post them easily on my blog so I asked Kristin to post them to hers. There are 3 pictures from the first few days, check them out here. More to come I'm sure. Its been a wild week - me trying to do this parent thing and loving it. Very time consuming! We had Ryan's grandparents visit yesterday. Scott is their only great grand child and so it was pretty special. Plus, Grandpa made Scott's crib which is absolutely gorgeous. My sister was out visiting all week. We didn't get to spend much time together though. She came down with a light case of pneumonia and her daughter, Ryann, got bronchitis. Not fun but I'm thankful I got to see her a little bit and she did get to hold Scott once before she got sick. Last night Scott and I went to Living Stone (church). It was pretty loud and he slept through the whole thing. Afterwards we did the social thing and Scott got passed around from one college student to the next for a few hours. He's such a good baby (most of the time). Another full week on the way. Dad is flying in tomorrow evening. We're ready for him to be here but the spare bedroom has yet to be clean. And the way my days have gone, I won't have a chance to work on it much tomorrow either.

Yay, I made it... and it one piece... with only one major surgery. Not sure what mom posted before. She brought me the comments to the hospital. We were there 6 days and I was SO ready to go home. The first night was rough, not fun at all. A crying baby and I had no clue what to do with him. Finally called the nurse at 3am for some help - that Bethany is awesome! Still haven't had much for sleep after 37 hours of labor, several nights in a lovely hospital bed (I was so eager to sleep with Ryan again) and a baby who is ALREADY spoiled. The nurses loved him and I'm not sure if he spent much time at all in the nursery. Feeding time is quite the chore. Scott thinks I'm his pacifier rather than his source of food. He loves to go to sleep on his mama. Kinda frustrating that it takes 2 hours to feed him between his playing and falling asleep in between suckles. Today I'm finally tired and super frustrated that he's not eating like I want (even though the nurses assure me that things are fine). He is a doll. Today was his first outing. We came to moms for Ralph's birthday. He's looking so cute in all his matching gear that Katie bought him. The shoes are adorable. Still no pictures posted. Sorry guys, I can't post directly to my blog anymore and I just haven't found the time to do things the long way. I'll try to get something out soon - he's a cutie for sure.

Baby Boy Buitenwerf new name is Scott Ryan ( a few less B's) and he is 21 inches long, Tammy and Scott are doing well. She is so sweet with him and He loves to snuggle up to her ago to sleep. Motherhood seems to agree with her quite well, Ryan is quite the proud new father. What a wonderful journey hte Lord has instore for them..

Baby "B" finally blessed us with his presence @ 6:12 A.m. thursday morning, and what a blessing he is at 9 lbs and 1 oz Tam had to have a C-section (You can understand why) But what a woman,,, Mom and Dad were both awsome Ryan wanted to wait until Tammy was more alert to make the final choice on the name, So they are hanging onto Baby "B'' for now. the lenght had not been taken as of yet, but he is long... Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers........ Thank you Lord for you are so good

Tammy had a ultra sound on Monday, it showed the baby weghed around 9lbs and 12 oz and has a big head Ooooooouch. She was admitted to the hospital tonight at 5:oo pm and if she is not in labor in the morning ten they will induce her. I left her around 9:30 this evening and Ryan and her seemed to be handling everything just fine.... Well update when the baby is here Tammys mom aka Grammy

Hey its Tammys Mom, Just wanted to let you know what is going on... She had a saunagram on Monday and they said the baby weighed 9lbs 12 oz and has a big head.. Ooooouch. She went into the hospital tonight at 5 pm and if she doesn't have the baby on her own that they will induce her in the morning. We were there until about 9:30 and all was well. update as things progress. Keep them in your prayer please

Still no baby... Have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday and then I see Dr. Miller again that afternoon. We'll see what he says and go from there. I expect a quiet weekend - stubborn kid!

Its been a few days I know but we've been busy. Nope, no baby. Thanks Cori for finally posting that comment. We wish there was a baby too but he seems to be in no hurry. I am having braxton hix - those fake contractions. Their nasty but I'm alive still. I have another checkup on Thursday and see how things have hopefully progressed.

Okay, mom is making me pancakes for breakfast (she's awesome like that) and they're ready. More from me later.

dear diary

yesterday i made a "quick" trip to waterloo (the big city) with my folks. i was on the hunt for shoes for katie's wedding. target did have the shoes but not in my size - what a bummer to drive 90 miles to figure that out. so, of course i had to make a little purchase while i was there. target for me always means buttered popcorn jelly bellies. got those! i also purchased diary of a mad black woman. i'd wanted to see it but it came out in theatre after i was no longer able to sit through an entire movie comfortably. wednesday i got to watch Oprah and she was talking to the cast about the movie. it was fun to hear the inside scoop and made me want to see the movie even more. so, i splurged yesterday and bought it. what a cute movie with plenty of humor for those boys who get suckered into seeing it. i thought it was kinda like the black version of Hope Floats. what fun to watch, i might even watch it again tonight with some friends and i don't usually like to watch movies more than once.

still no baby. i guess he really isn't in a hurry. still hoping for 4th of july which is quickly approaching. we do have the carseat in the car for the day we need it. but of course, for those of you who know me well, i don't like packing in advance. so, we're still not packed for the hospital. i did plug in the video camera though to make sure its charged. and we do know what will go in the bag, its just not done yet :) still a little fearful of the process but the light at the end of the tunnel, the thing i'll focus on for an end result, will be seeing ryan hold that baby all snuggled up. i can't wait!!! last night ryan was sitting in the chair and he held the puppy like a little baby which just made me that much more eager to see him with a baby. I love my husband, he's so wonderful.

the nursery is done and now ryan is making a shelf to go in there. he's also been spending plenty of time out in the blazing sun working on the north porch. i have such a studly husband! last night he was all upset that "it looks like crap". it doesn't and i tried to assure him of that. i think it looks fine. he's a veterinarian, not a carpenter. i just think its awesome that he's willing and able to do that kind of work. so, the porch is slowly making progress again. there's so much on his honey-do list and i appreciate him working on it.

TGIF, enjoy this Independence Day!

Not gonna happen! went to see dr. miller yesterday. things hadn't progressed and he decided that inducing me wouldn't be the best decision. he thought that at this point (being only 2 cm), inducing me wouldn't do any good. so, now we're back to the waiting game. i'm trying to be patient but i was so sure that we'd be induced after sunday's drama of contractions. i can't believe there was NO change. that's life though and i'm just thankful that i'm not in the situation where i have to be induced because of problems. next week i go back for my regular check up. only this time dr. miller is on vacation so i get to see another doctor, a guy i've not ever met before. this should be fun. i'm really hoping to go into labor on my own before then. since i don't get to go early, i'll hope for the 4th of july again. i'm home today resting my back and hopefully having some quiet time. i'll keep everyone posted if anything changes :)

Am I a whiner???

yesterday was good preparation. those things called "braxton hix" really aren't fun at all. i had contractions ALL day yesterday and tried to ignore them but at times they'd cause me to double over for a bit. they're alot like menstrual cramps for those who can relate. i tried to be a trooper and worked finishing up the nursery and piddling around upstairs. ryan and i made muddy buddies (aka puppy chow) and headed for the church picnic. i drove seperately knowing that i wouldn't want to socialize much. and i was right, the pain got worse. finally an hour later i pulled ryan aside and we called the hospital. not knowing what to expect and not sure if i needed to go to the hospital, i chatted with the OB nurse. she asked a few questions and encouraged me to go home and take a warm bath to see if that would help. if not, then i should get to the hospital.

by time i got off the phone, things were starting to slow down so i didn't hurry home. by time i got home and got the tub filled up, lots of time had passed. so i took a bath and soaked for a bit before crawling in bed. mom came over to stay with me while my honey played some softball. (no, he's not a bad husband, he offerred to go home with me and i told him to stay). i was a bit bummed that things didn't continue to progress since it was mom and ralph's anniversary, the birth of a grandbaby would've been a great gift. but, no such luck. we'll have to wait a few more days, experience some more nasty "preparation" contractions before we get to see the end result.

today, i stayed home during the morning while it was cooler and worked on 5 loads of laundry plus cleaning our closet since we moved some furniture out of there into the nursery. just a few more days... keep praying!

light at the end of the tunnel

Visited the doc yesterday. must say i've been a bit frustrated with how he's not educated and explained things to me but anyway. my nurse, sue, is awesome and did some good explaining which helped determine that i should be checked "down there". miller said i'm dilated 2 cm and moving right along. a much better report than last week when he said the baby was in no hurry to come out. yay, there is light at the end of the tunnel. we discussed being induced and he actually explained a few things to me. so next wednesday he'll check me again in hopes (my hopes) that i've dilated and thinned more as well as have a bit of increased blood pressure. if all goes as planned, he will plan to induce me on thursday.

i'm excited and a bit scared. things are getting done around the house and we're ready for a baby but are we really ready? i fear the whole process - labor and delivery and then trying to figure out what to do afterwards. i can change diapers but breastfeeding - i have no clue! a week from now we might have a baby buitenwerf. holy cow!

i'm also a bit nervous about how things will change around our house - me being able to maintain our home, be a mom and eventually return to work full time. how our marriage will change and hopefully grow. how we won't be so free to go and do all the time.

TGIF. yup, i'm way excited its friday but i'm not so eager to go home to a non-AC house. yesterday it was 80 degrees inside when i got home. after bible study and 8 bodies were there for a few hours, it was 85 degrees. i was dying from heat and felt like the dog who was laying in the corner panting. today is supposed to get to 92 degrees with humidity - no fun. i'll probably hang out at moms where the AC is going :) Hope everyone has a nice weekend - especially those of you camping out.

I'm not sure if my attitude is: It's Wednesday!!! or if its Today is only Wednesday. Regardless, it is Wednesday today and therefore my week is half over. Last Friday my coworker, Tom's wife went into labor and had a boy. She's due after me and was 3 weeks early but now I'm super eager to be in her shoes and have this done with.

Yesterday Michelle came over and painted the first coat in the baby's room. Yay for Michelle and her kind heart. I'm still loving these part time days which keep me plenty busy. yesterday I actually rested, yep, I laid on the couch and watched Dr. Phil and Oprah. I felt super lasy but it was well needed. Sleep during the night has been less than I need which makes some restful time super valuable.

Sunday afternoon we had company. Two of the girls I met in Nicaragua came to visit. Both are now married and one has a little girl. It was super fun to see them. Anna, the younger sister has been living in Waverly for a year now so I see her every once in a while. They were so sweet, they brought over EVERYTHING we needed for our meal. What an awesome gesture, they didn't want me to do anything since I'm pregnant. But I don't like doing "nothing" so I quickly put together a Cornbread cake dessert.

I'm thankful the week is moving right along. Tomorrow I have a meeting with my Quality Steering Team for our area. They're my buds, especially a few of them. So, it will be fun to see them once again before I take a break from work. Pretty soon here I'll be in my last week of pregnancy - woo hoo!

What a week this has been. As of last Friday I started working 5 hour days instead of 9. It’s been so nice. Some extra time away from the office has been helpful in catching up on the list of things to do at home. Its also been good for my aching back and tired eyes. Friday, mom and Ralph joined me on a trip to Waterloo to purchase baby stuff. I bought all kinds of things that we needed and spent lotsa cash.

Because I know that I have some more time each day to get things done, I didn’t clean like a crazy woman on Saturday. Instead I piddled around planting flowers and transplanting plants in hopes of making my north porch look cute. Saturday night was Living Stone – a contemporary worship service at our church. As usual, we headed to the Rich’s home where everyone gathers and hangs out till all hours of the night. That night the Rich’s had to leave so we were the supposed “adults”. Its always amusing to hear the conversations of HS and college students and what they find important. Sometime after 11pm, Ryan was enthralled in conversation about predestination so I got up and went to curl up in the la-z-boy and fell asleep. Ryan woke me up to leave and then we stood there and talked for another short while and finally left at 1230. I was so tired by that point. Went home, took care of the puppy and went to bed.

Sunday after church, our small groups all gathered together to further discuss changing the church covenant. What a task at hand! The deacons, pastor and his wife have taken on such a big task where someone will be hurt, mad or offended. That night made for some interesting discussions and I’m curious to see how things will change in the near future. The change is needed but always difficult to accept by some – aren’t we all that way at times.

Monday was back to the office for a short day. I went home and fell asleep on the couch. Woke up in time to watch Oprah and was irritated when the TV was plastered with the Michael Jackson trial instead of what I wanted to see. That evening I cleaned house some, paid bills and laid in the hammock with Ryan as we watched our dogs play around us. Tuesday (another short day at work – woo hoo!) I stopped to visit my folks for about an hour then went home and Renessa came over for a little while. When she left, I made stromboli for Ryan and my parents for supper. Yesterday when I did finally leave work, I headed for the dreaded Wally world to make some final purchases for the baby, although we still don’t have the carseat purchased yet. Wondered around the baby department trying to figure things out. Got home in time to put away groceries and get a few things picked up before Ryan and Renessa came out for supper. We planned to go see Monster-in-law on the big screen but I had forgotten that there’s no way I can sit through a movie these days. The Z’s ended up coming over and the guys played with the potato gun while they grilled a pork tenderloin and potatoes. After supper the guys played x-box while Renessa and I chatted. It was fun to watch the expression on their faces as they were so into the game they were playing.

Another busy day today. Lots to do at the office before I can go home early. Can you tell that I like working shorter days?

By request, I finally added two more pictures: my melon and my living tumor with Keller

Wow, where does time go. And how much of it have I wasted lately? What am I doing with the precious time I’ve been given?

Last week I had two doctor appointments. The first was my regular check up. I’m now going weekly and go again tonight. The next day I had an ultrasound to make sure the baby is in proper position. The guy was awesome – unlike last time we had an ultrasound. They told me he would just check for position and I’d be on my way. But, this guy actually had a personality and explained things and showed me things. He took all the measurements again and said the baby at that point was about 6.5 pounds. Eeek, if he grows a half pound a week and goes to term, I’ll be trying to deliver an 8.5 pound baby. I also got to see HIS “parts”, his fingers, legs, heartbeat, etc. It was much fun but unfortunately neither Ryan nor mom were there to see since he wasn’t supposed to do all that.

It seems like we’ve had non stop company lately. I love entertaining but it does get tiring – especially with my current energy levels. Last Friday we had my folks and the Mitts’ over for supper and a movie. We fixed shrimp scampi for supper and then sat down to watch the Aviator (weird movie and too much foul language for me!). Then Saturday morning was my time to clean. I had plans on how I would get things accomplished and in which order so that I wouldn’t be on my feet or on my rear for too long at one time. Then Ally (she’s 10ish – a Mitts kid) called and wanted to hang out. She came over for a few hours and we scrap booked together and played with Keller. Not much time left for getting anything done around the house but I love kids and being and trying to be a positive influence in their lives. Saturday night Ryan and I went to the Lions Club annual fish fry. It was okay but definitely nothing fancy, they didn’t even have lemon wedges to squeeze on the fish! Sunday was the longest day of our weekend. We had church followed by a noon potluck. I was really encouraged with what Shane was sharing with everyone in the morning. After potluck, I stopped at mom’s (I so love that they are near) and then headed home to more company. Richie Ellis came over to help Ryan work upstairs and he brought the family. So, I got home to Sonya and the girls who were FULL of energy. No nap or relax time for me. Later that afternoon, some ladies of the church through a baby shower for us. It was awesome and everyone was so generous. Two of my favorite parts of the afternoon was mom’s food – always a treat, and Ryan’s boutonniere thing. Jeanie made one for each of us and his had a tiny beanie baby behind the flower. The only farm animal she had was a horse! Too funny, the guy who hates horses!

Its been another busy week at the office. And my back HATES the office. I sit too much and it just kills my back, I’m so uncomfy that I could cry. Instead I whine a lot :) I’m still officially working full time but have warned my boss that I’m ready to give up my desk for a while. My back just doesn’t handle all this sitting. I’m trying my best to help out my fair share with all the applications for our new program but then I feel miserable by time I get home. In fact, its so uncomfy I choose not to sit at lunch or supper. For supper I either stand and eat or lay down to eat. I feel lazy but my back is just yucky. I suppose that’s par for the course, especially with my added 30 pounds that’s all out front. Okay, off to work! Pray for me PLEASE!!!

Check out some new pictures I posted:
- Keller, our new puppy.
- Ryan and Renessa Zurbiggen, our buddies here who will be moving to SD where Ryan will start seminary.
- Two from last summer: Kaleb and I fishing and Kaleb's first parade.
- Our trip to Las Vegas last February. (this link takes you to the album which has several pictures in it)

Angels and Memorial Day
What a fantabulous weekend! Let me just say that I love 3 day weekends and short work weeks! What a busy weekend we had. Let me share some of the basics (in detail of course):

Keller
I finally got the puppy I’ve been wanting. For some time I’ve wanted another Australian Shepherd and bugged Ryan for one since before I was pregnant. Some people brought in 6 miniature Aussie puppies to the clinic on Friday. They wanted 5 of them vaccinated and the 6th one put down. The 6th puppy is very much a “special needs” dog. He’s deaf, has partial sight and looks albino. He’s white with a few brown spot areas on his rump and has the bright blue eyes that never dilate. Ryan, who is okay with having to put down animals, decided to take this one home for his wife. So, now we have a 6 week old, 5 lb puppy that can’t hear and doesn’t see the best. All this just weeks before we add a child to our home. Anyway, we joked that we would name it Helen Keller if it was a female. Since he’s a male, I thought Keller would be fitting for a name. My dog and cats really don’t know what to think about him yet.

Breitbach’s
Saturday I expected to get a few hours in at the office but figured out first thing in the morning, when I sat down to pay a few bills, that my back wouldn’t handle being at my desk for any amount of time. So, I piddled around the house cleaning and playing before supper plans with the folks. My parents treated us to supper at Breitbach’s in Balltown for our anniversary. The 75 minute drive to Balltown was beautiful as we crept along side the Mississippi River for some of the time. Breitbach’s is the oldest bar and restaurant in Iowa established in 1852. There is a 50 mile panoramic view of the Mississippi River Valley from there – it’s awesome! The restaurant had a neat history to it, good food and a fun time with mom and Ralph.

Chinese food and the Outback Steakhouse
Sunday after church, Ryan and I, along with Richie and Sonya, headed for Chicago. We stopped several times along the way, the first of which was 30 minutes later for lunch. We ate at a Chinese buffet that I like in Prairie DuChien, WI. Eventually we made it to our hotel, 30 miles outside the city. By that time I was tired and really could care less if we went downtown or not. So we headed for Red Robin (Chicago had food places that aren’t otherwise found in the Midwest). They closed 5 minutes before we got there and we were bummed that we couldn’t eat there. We settled on Outback and I had been fighting a yucky tummy all day and didn’t even want to eat. The best part about my food was the virgin strawberry daiquiri.

Autograph from a pro baseball player
Monday, Memorial Day, we had plans to catch the Angels v. White Sox baseball game. First thing in the morning, we headed into the city to pick up Jake. For those who haven’t heard me brag in the past, Jake Woods is a childhood buddy of mine who is pitching out of the bullpen for the Angels. So, we picked him up at his hotel on Michigan Avenue. And as soon as we walked outside, people flocked to him for his autograph. It was fun to watch and I wish I would’ve been carrying my camera to catch a picture or some video. While we headed somewhere for brunch, I asked Jake 50 questions about life in his shoes. There were plenty of places downtown to eat but not places to park. We headed toward the stadium, which took us into the ghetto real quick, and eventually decided to go back downtown. We ended up eating at some fast food type of steak sandwich place. Not ideal but it worked. On the way to the stadium afterwards, I had Jake autograph 3 baseballs for me. When we got there, we received some special treatment because we had a “player” in the van with us. It was all so amusing to me because Jake has always been Jake to me and I’ve known him since we were 12. We got to the stadium in time to see batting practice but had been given the wrong information on the time the gates open. After waiting an hour outside (remember – pregnant ladies have to pee often), we finally made it inside. Had great seats directly behind home plate. They were awesome – it’s all about who you know. Richie, our buddy that went with us, also got to meet (again) the manager, Mike Scioscia. When Richie was 17 and lying in a hospital bed with cancer, Mike (then catching for the Dodgers) made a personal phone call to Richie and later invited him to a game and gave him the royal treatment. It was quite a treat for Richie to see him again almost 20 years later. He also met and got an autograph from Rev. Jesse Jackson who stood next to him near the dugout.
We had a great time. Jake didn’t get to pitch because of the rotation but we did get our hopes up in the 8th inning when they had him warming up. I didn’t ever take a picture with him in uniform – I didn’t want to hound him like the typical fan, but I did take some video clips. I’m hoping that he gets to stay in the majors and we can watch him again sometime.

I have a few new pictures worth sharing: Sarah's kids, Ryann throwing a fit, Kaleb’s fit, Kailee's surprise and a cute cartoon about a Living will.

yup, its been a while since I’ve updated all of you with my thoughts. Its been absolutely wild – in a good way – around here. I’ve been working quite a few hours and the last thing I want to do when I get off of work is sit in front of the computer some more!

Let’s start with the anniversary. No, I won’t share ALL the details. Because I’ve already sat for 9 hours at the office, the last thing I want to do is sit down which meant going out to dinner was out of the question for me. I went to work early so I could sneak out early and get home before Ryan. Got home and picked up a few things quick before starting supper. As I was preparing the almond crusted salmon and doing a few dishes from the deer steak supper the night before, Ryan came home. He was early too, that little sneak. I knew he had to help my parents move a piece of furniture right after work so I thought I knew what time he’d get home. My gift to Ryan was being home early AND having supper on the table for him. Well, that didn’t work out and Ryan ended up helping with supper while I finished the dishes. The dessert (leftover oreo stuff from the night before) that I planned for supper was gone. Ryan had taken the remainder to work and shared and I wasn’t home when he got ready to stop that. So, we didn’t have an extravagant meal but it was nice. We had some broccoli smothered in cheese with our salmon since Ryan only likes veggies as a vector for cheese. The chilled strawberry wine in the fridge never made it out of the fridge since we were full. After supper we watched our wedding and CA reception videos which was quite fun. Instead of browsing through wedding photos and laying in the hammock, we caught the season ending episode of Navy NCIS (it’s a good one) and then played Tetris together on the xbox. Not exactly what I had planned but Ryan didn’t care and what mattered most is that we spent time together!

Found a cute quote to share, not sure what the source is:
"If evolution really works, why do mothers only have two hands?"

I NEED ideas for a good/thoughtful anniversary gift for Ryan. Share any ideas you might have, please.

Have I told you lately how wonderful my husband is? Last night I had a ladies salad supper at church at 630pm. At 515 my last client left the counter. I still had a few minutes that I needed to follow up with my boss, shut down my computer etc. At 530, I called Ryan to ask if he'd start making my salad for me (I had a half hour drive home still). He had already started it!!! Yeah, he's a stud! I got home right at 6pm and had enough time to take a potty break, drink a glass of milk, kiss my honey (a few times), grab my salad and head back out the door. What a huge help he was last night.
Then when I got home and was ready to whine big time because of my back ache (I ended up laying in the back of the church and almost falling asleep during the program), he went upstairs for Tylenol and brought me some water to help me feel better. He's so awesome!

The following is a weekly update that I get about the development of the baby:
This week, your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and is approximately 17.2 inches long. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her bones are hardening. His skull, however, will stay soft until after birth, to make it easier to squeeze through the birth canal. You may be waddling a bit now, as your baby fills out even more of your belly. It may be harder to sleep comfortably, too.

What else is new at the Buitenwerf house within the past week or so???
I spent Saturday morning at the office instead of at home cleaning. It was so nice to earn some extra hours without all the distractions. I’d like to take 10 weeks off when the baby is born and currently don’t have enough hours so I’m working to earn the 27 additional hours I will need. I’d like to have some extra hours on top of that in case I have to go on maternity leave earlier than expected. That afternoon I stopped at the flower shop in Clermont (nearest town to our house) and ordered some flowers for a new couple in town. While there I picked up some farm animal beanie babies for the nursery for cheap. How many of you can go to the florists and get a free lunch out of it. Well, I did. I happen to go to church with them and Jeanie was done eating and had left over pizza so she gave it to me. Sweet deal! From there I hurried home to hang out with the Ellis girls. They’re in 4th and 6th grade and have a fettish with my pregnant belly. Since their parents would be at an all day track meet, they came over and spent the afternoon with us. After I fixed them lunch, we watched Princess Diaries 2. I fell asleep! After the movie, Ryan entertained the girls with video games and I fell back asleep. I woke in time to make supper and take them to Living Stone, a contemporary church service.
Sunday after church, I had the best lunch with my parents and Ryan. I helped mom make fried catfish, mashed potatoes and green beans. It was so delicious, I love fried catfish and mashed potatoes. Ryan had to meet a client after lunch and he went on his way. I stayed most of the afternoon though. Dug in the freezer for some gingerbread cookies, helped mom print off some pictures of her grandbabies for her bracelet and worked on the wedding quilt for a while. Oh, did I mention, I fell asleep for a few minutes while mom was on the phone with my sister. I left there in time to grab some milk at the grocery store before it closed and head home. Yup, when you live in the “sticks”, IF there is a grocery store in your town, its itty bitty and closes at respectable hours so they too can spend time with family. Anyway, got home with enough time to change clothes, cuddle my honey for a few minutes, water some dying plants and then we headed to Ryan and Renessa’s for supper. Yeah, its rough bouncing around from home to home getting free meals. We had a good time with the Z’s as always and headed back home well after my bed time.
Last night we planted a bunch of lilac bushes down the West end of the house. That was a fun experience and a good thing to get accomplished finally. I made Ryan a quick meal and just as he got done eating he had to go on a call. While he was out working, I was working on quilt block designs. Still haven’t cleaned the house, the kitchen definitely needs some TLC as does our bedroom.

One highlight of my week so far is a guy who came into my office yesterday. This Mr. Thiese guy, in his 60’s, came to the office to work on some of his program stuff. When I got to the counter he said that he felt like he knew me. Usually that would be weird except I thought that maybe it was the Thiese I’ve heard Ryan talk about. In the few minutes we worked out the counter, I learned that he has a brand new grandson, the first Thiese boy in 30 years. I shared that Ryan and I had the same thing going – the first Buitenwerf in almost 30 years. It was so sweet when he shared that he already knew that and told me that I’m all Ryan talks about. Ahhh, how sweet!

I found my long lost cousin, Sarah. Okay, she really wasn't lost but I just haven't talked to her since I got engaged. I wanted to her to Ryan with a few pictures and thought this would be easiest, plus all of you can check them out too:
~ Trailer Trash Rehearsal
~ His adorable smile really is one of his best features
~ My honey and a few important ladies
~ He’s such a stud!
~ Ryan’s whole family
~ Dr. Ryan at work
~ Ryan’s babe and baby

Just a few things:
- I still think I have the worlds best husband even if he was a bit sassy this morning.
- My childhood friend Jake has made it to the majors. My first summer after graduation, Jake played for Cedar Rapids. Now, he's sitting in the bullpen for the California Angels. Check him out here. I'm so proud of him! I told Ryan that I'd have to be an Angels fan when Jake went to the majors... GO ANGELS
- Katie's wedding is just 123 days away. I'm so excited to see my girls and then go back to K-town and visit (with a baby and my honey).
- And for those who inquired, Dirk is the name that Ryan wants for our little B. I want Scott or Jake and we don't agree but both refer to him now by the names we like. Poor confused kid, we'll decide on something eventually.

Received the sweetest Mother’s Day card yesterday and want to share what was written in it:
“Mommy, I couldn’t let you go through your first Mother’s Day without getting something. Daddy helped me, a little. I’ll try and be nice to you today but its cramped in here! Love, b” Then in scribble (Ryan wrote with his left hand) “p.s. I like Dirk!”

It was the sweetest thing! He also got me a willow tree doll to add to my collection. It’s of a pregnant woman. I have such a wonderful and thoughtful husband!

Have I mentioned lately that I have an awesome and studly husband? Last night I needed to finish making my enchilada casserole for my Cinco De Mayo party at work. But, I got home and had a nasty headache and yucky tummy. So, I cuddled up on the couch and went to sleep. This morning when my alarm went off at 5am, my husband asked if I wanted help. He ended up following my downstairs and was a huge help getting the casserole finished and making guacamole. What a stud he is!

Last night was awards night for Awana. Yay, its finished for the summer and I'll have an extra night a week to be lazy, I mean, get things done around the house. I'll miss my JV kids and hope to have them over for video games, etc. It was so cool to hear each of them share what they've learned over the year. One kid learned that it was fun to learn about God. How wonderful! He could've never been interested in experiencing God until now. Yay for him.

Less than 9 weeks left. I didn't get a picture this week but my belly is 16" larger than pre-pregnancy and continues to grow! I go back to the doc on Monday and see what he thinks, if anything changes.

Okay, time to go home and eat left over enchilada casserole :)

Wow, how time flies when you're having fun. We spent the weekend in Prairie City and Des Moines this weekend. Thought I'd share a few things:
- My feet ached so bad with my regular tennies. Bought some new Ryka's (apparently made by women for women) with inserts and they've been wonderful the past few days.
- I hate sitting at a computer - it kills my back. As if the added weight from being prego isn't a big enough strain, I sit at my computer for 9 hours and then drive the 3+ hrs to DM. Not so comfy!
- We registered at Babies R Us this weekend for some items that we'll eventually need.
- It snowed Sunday night - barely a trace but there was snow! And its May!!!
- I continue to grow in the belly region - whew!

The Church Gossip
Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the
church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon.

She emphatically told George and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickkup in front of Mildred's house - and left it there ALL NIGHT

Just two quick things to share right now while I eat my lunch:

1. Check out this picture of DJ and Alisha (one of my ADX sisters). DJ proposed this week so I’m asking you to pray for them and their upcoming marriage in September.

2. Here are two updated photos of my watermelon, I mean belly. Only 9.5 more weeks (if he’s on time). And, no, I'm not having twins (that I know of).

I have such a wonderful husband. Last week was wonderful – he was so sweet and thoughtful. I even got a dozen roses one day. He was just more loving that usual. Not the typical guy love either. He hugged and kissed me more and didn’t necessarily have any expectations from that. He seemed happier. Finally I questioned him about it and he’d noticed too that his attitude had improved and his reasoning was that he’d had some time off work. The poor guy is busy at work and often frustrated with something there, then he’d have to come home to a whiny wife. Both of us feeling better was so nice. Our house was kept up and things were in some kind of order.

Ryan is awesome all the time (I just focus on the negative). I’m so blessed and so thankful for my husband. We’ll soon be looking at a two year anniversary. My how things have changed and how we’ve adjusted and grown together as a couple. In two short and sweet years, much has happened for both of us. Ryan has been a wonderful handy man and worked to remodel, build and create things for me. He understands that I speak all the love languages and works hard to communicate those with me.

I remember thinking a year ago about having children. And I’m so selfish that I knew that I’d have a lot to learn. But I also remember thinking that Ryan would have TONS to learn and to be honest, I was a bit concerned about how we would deal as parents. And I focused on all Ryan’s shortcomings (as if I don’t have enough of my own to keep my thoughts busy). Now, as this pregnancy begins winding down, there’s no doubt in my mind that Ryan will be the best dad and a wonderful example to his child. Oh, I’m so blessed to have Ryan as my other half!!!

I left off last time to go take care of my JV youth group. They’re a great bunch of kids who I’ve really grown to like even though they drive me crazy. Last night was step-up night which meant that everyone stepped up to the class they’d be in next year to experience it for a night. So, I picked up my current 7th graders and headed home. Got home and William Edward Goat was loose and out frolicking. All I could think of was my 200+ tulips. Fortunately he was down behind the barn. In the process of all that minor drama (fun), I climbed over a fence b/c I’m too lazy to walk to the gate. Zack, my little buddy, scolded me for climbing a fence and being pregnant. Tyler then piped up and said that he didn’t know I was even pregnant. Where has he been???? At least one of my kids uses my pregnancy as their prayer concern each week. Poor guy, and he’s super intelligent. Anyway, I pulled my shirt snug across my belly and asked if he could then tell I was pregnant.

When we were counting the number of kids to expect for JV, we planned on 9, which is 3 more than usual. When all was said and done and we started our program, we had 12 kids stuffed into our JV room in the basement. It was a ton compared to what we’re used to. All of a sudden, my shy 7th grade boys were quite outgoing. They’re used to having one girl in the group and she’s older so they’re not so worried about impressing anyone. Last night though, there were 4 new girls there. It was cute to witness those boys be so different than their usual behaved selves. Ryan, who will be teaching them next year, was gone for the evening (some call it work, I call it free supper). So, to make things easy, he planned a movie for them. Just one minor problem, I couldn’t get it to work right. And I changed the channel and couldn’t find the remote to get it back on the AUX channel. We (our friend Alan came over to help) ended up taking the kids upstairs to watch the movie. I knew I could work the system up there, even if might take me a few minutes to remember all the different settings. Got the movie started and settled kids down when my smart-alek mentioned that something wasn’t right. I said it was right and continued settling kids down and getting my growing self comfy on the floor. The movie was 2 minutes in when I realized something really was wrong with the sound. There was sound coming out but it was the surround sound doing a check on the system. Somehow I had pushed a button while I was fumbling around and jacked up the sound. Got that straight and restarted the movie. They got to see the first 28 minutes of it, not quite the full movie of course :)

Ryan came home from his meeting with Dr. Mike Hilton who was in town (from Purdue) to do some consulting with one of Ryan’s beef clients. So, we stayed up for another 1.5 hours chatting and going over the consulting stuff for the following day. I would’ve gone to bed except the client they would be working with the next day is also a client of mine. So, I got to take part in the conversations since I had planned the guys’ rotational grazing system and knew a little about his operation. That was fun but seeing 11pm on the clock when I went upstairs was not. Of course, I wanted to chat with my honey about my day and he wanted to sleep. It was soon 1130 before I gave in and rolled over for a little shut eye.

Don’t forget to check out the new pictures I’ve posted. One is of a cool celtic cross that I thought was neat (thanks Carrie). The other two are belly shots: one from April 14th (even though the date says 3/13) and one from April 18th.

My how time flies when you’re having fun (or when you’re swamped at work). We’re in the process of signing farmers up for a new program – very detailed and lots of shuffling papers. The hours pass pretty fast when I’m at the office. It is such a work load that I could easily work 10 hour days without blinking. And normally I would but this pregnancy thing takes lots of my energy, good moods, etc. So, I’ve been working 8.5 to 9 hour days to earn a little credit leave – which I’ll definitely need when the baby comes. I’ll have less than 8 weeks of sick and vacation time when July rolls around so I’m really wanting and needing to earn some spare hours. This new Conservation Security Program has been a great way to earn those hours. Anyway, today I took a little break. A bit jealous that Ryan was going out with some friends and some cattle guy for supper tonight, I decided that us wives should get together for lunch. Last minute, I called Jen for lunch since she’s still home on maternity leave. Picked up some lunch at the Keystone and went to Jen’s. We grubbed and then I held Daniel (almost 7 weeks now) and chatted with Jen. It was a well needed rest time just hanging out and fortunately I pre-warned my boss so the 1.5 hour lunch was no big deal to me. I’m thinking I’ll be working some Thursday evenings (when Ryan is at bible study) and some Saturday mornings to pick up extra hours.

On to other B news. Ryan was gone this weekend to a Men’s retreat and I stayed home solo. Usually it unnerves me to be out in the country, in an old scary house all by myself. And what’s worse is coming home to that dark monstrous place on the hill. But I survived. Yup, I didn’t have to stay at my mommy’s! Usually locking the door scares me more than anything b/c that’s acknowledging the fear. My door remained unlocked Friday night but I did have a minor fright. Went to bed and saw this light flickering and reflecting off my bedroom wall. Took me a second to figure out what it was. But I realized it was the burn pile I started outside earlier that evening – and it was still burning. It was 930pm, definitely dark. I crawled back in bed and said a quick prayer. Just told the Lord that I was going to trust Him to take care of the fire, keep it under control and that I would get a good night sleep. See, if I would’ve gone outside to check the fire, I would’ve been a big ol scaredy cat the rest of the night. So, I rolled over and went to sleep. Didn’t even think about it till mid morning on Saturday. Went out to check the fire and God had perfect control. Where the wood slats (from our remodeling) stuck 3 feet over the edge of the burn pile into the grass, they didn’t burn. I’m serious, they burned right up beyond the edge of the burn pit and stopped. The wood quit burning! How awesome is that!!!

It was a weekend of no TV. And I’m so thankful to Ryan for following through with that even though he loves TV and really wanted to watch the Cardinals. TV really takes away from our relationship but my husband doesn’t see that. Sunday afternoon though, instead of lounging in front of the big screen (big for us), we cuddled, chatted about our weekends, tossed a baseball out in the yard, piddled around together and then snuggled up in bed reading a book before I fell asleep. It was so nice! Yay for me and putting my foot down on the TV issue. Ryan has had the last two days off to work around the house. He’s been working on the trim upstairs (from the project we started pre-wedding). I’m so thankful for his hard work there too.

Just a couple of prayer requests to share:- Katie’s mom is battling cancer again which is draining for everyone in the family. Pray that God continues to heal her as she starts chemo yet again.
- Pregnant ladies – I know of several lately that have had minor to major problems with their prego’s. And, I know after 7 months that you become quite attached to those little boogars inside your belly. Pray for health of babies.
- I’m wanting to start a young mom’s group in the area. So, if you can be praying for the culmination of that – times to work out for mom’s and older/wiser women who are willing to watch babies/kids.
- Thanks for those who’ve been praying for me to feel good. Of the last 9 days, I had 1.5 that I didn’t feel good. That darn iron problem. The pregnancy is so much easier when you feel half decent.

Okay, gotta go take care of JV kids…

Yay for me and thanks to those who’ve been praying specifically for me to feel better. I’m on day 3 of feeling good – that’s a record these past 6 months. Lots going on as usual. Had my monthly visit to the OB yesterday. He had some blood tests done since I complained about feeling like passing out way too often. My hemoglobin showed for being low and so he put me back on the prenatal vitamin for iron. This is what caused other “plumbing” issues before so I’m hoping and praying that things will go normal. I just want to walk around and sing “I feel good….”

Other than that, I’ve just been major emotional and witchy. I’m so easily irritated and have lost my patience. That can be partly accredited to the insanity here at work and dealing with butthead people. Its frustrating though because I can see the attitude problem but haven’t been able to kick it quite yet. Perfect example:
Last night after getting done with JV youth, I chatted with my sister for a short bit on the phone while Ryan watched some TV. Just before 9:00, I asked him to turn off the tv, help me put away a few clothes quick and then have some quiet cuddle time in bed. I thought this was a perfectly acceptable request since we’d had a busy week so far, tonight is bible study and Friday noon he’ll leave for men’s retreat weekend. I thought it would be good for us to have some time together. After waiting 10 minutes, it was obvious that he was not going to turn off the tv so I got up and left the room. On my way upstairs with the clothes basket in hand, he said that he’d fold clothes if I brought them to him. FORGET HIM! The clothes I was carrying were already folded and the unfolded bedsheets and a few socks were upstairs. Made no sense plus it didn’t fix the Ryan focusing on tv instead of TB time. Oh yeah, I had asked him earlier to focus on me for a few minutes and he kept having to glance back at the tv – that drives me crazy. Anyway, so I went upstairs, put away clothes and then read for a while till Ryan got done watching his show and came up. He crawled in bed and went to sleep. No “I love you honey” or nothing! Grr, so frustrating. And it hasn’t seemed to improve either. Just a bit ago, I called and asked him to come home at a decent hour tonight so I could see him since he’ll be gone all weekend. He said he’ll try. WELL WHOOP-TI-DOO! Seriously, like he can’t make arrangements to tell his bible study buddies that they need to keep on track so it only lasts 2 hours instead of 3 or more.
See, all of this is really no big deal but it just ticks me off to no end. I could go on and on with the things that have made me crazy lately. And, I could only imagine that Ryan is in the same boat with me making him crazy. My husband is not perfect BUT he is wonderful and I do love him dearly!

I’m a whiny witch about at my wits end! I think that sums it up pretty well today :) Praise the Lord though I’m feeling better and that’s gotta help some!

What does Love mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined:
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Check out Caryn's website. She's the little girl that survived the plane crash on Easter and is fighting for her life in the burn unit. The site has daily updates, pictures and a place you can send a note to the family if you'd like. Take a peek

Monday I wrote about feeling good. Go figure that it all went down hill just after that. Had some major nasty cramp that lasted an hour that evening. Thought it was no big deal at first but it got worse. Felt like someone was stabbing me! After 30 minutes, we called the doc and he said it was probably round ligament pain. I got the pain part! Needless to say, I didn’t move much except a potty break, grabbed some food and later got up and went to bed. Tuesday night we hung out at the Royer’s and I got to hold Daniel. (He’s 4 weeks old now and I didn’t make him cry this time – woo hoo! This is the little boy that I hoped would be a girl so we could marry them off but he’s darn cute anyway and I’ll find plenty others to marry my child off to). I had the cramp scare again but it was just gas this time – isn’t that precious! Tuesday was interesting when I got home. Ryan was having a bad day and trying hard to not take it out on me. Its hard to leave work and work though and I was, needless to say, eager to go for a walk and then head off for bible study. Keep us in your prayers as both of our stress levels are increasing rapidly with work and the baby.

Otherwise not much going on. The usual schedule. But, I’m getting bigger by the day and need more clothes. Yeah, Ryan really doesn’t like when I resort to my last pair of normal pants that go low enough and were big enough. Their khakis and have holes around the pockets that highlight my undies. It is really tacky, I know but I hate to buy clothes that I won’t wear for too long. I’ll be shopping this weekend for another pair of pants as well as some shorts and capri’s. Wish me luck.

Each weekday, I receive an email that has romantic ideas I can use on my honey. I added a few of the recent ones I liked. They're excerpted from "Simply Romantic Ideas: 150 Fun and Creative Ways to Romance Your Husband". If you're not married, you can change it up a bit for your boyfriend or even a buddy.
1. Romantic Gift Ideas: Give him an envelope that contains a check and an announcement that says, "You've just won $50 (or whatever amount you choose) to spend any way you want, for being a wonderful husband!"
2. Ideas for Romantic Dates: Take your husband to the church where you were married and have a picnic lunch on the church steps or lawn. (Remember to bring your wedding album.)
3. Romantic Gift Ideas: Give him a card that acknowledges his provision, leadership, strength, courage, etc., especially when he is in a stressful season at work.

Amen, Amen, Amen to a refreshing and quiet weekend. It wasn’t as crazy as usual but still slightly eventful:

Friday night I got home from work and Ryan met me in the yard. He never greets me outside so I thought it a bit weird. Well, he wasn’t greeting me, he’d been called back to work for an emergency on his weekend off. There was a cow, actually a heifer, in need of some help. It was just 5 minutes down the road from our house and OB calls usually only take 15-30 minutes – enough time to pull the calf out, clean up and get back in the truck. I decided to jump in the truck with Ryan. Got there and the heifer was in a chute (good sign) but psycho as all get out – they usually are their first time around. The heifer had a really small pelvic area and the calf wasn’t coming out and wouldn’t keep his feet out straight. Some time later, Ryan informed the guy that he would have to do a C-section. Yup, those are fun and take more than 15 minutes. By now there was an audience and no one really wanted to be there. The owners were supposed to be out for their anniversary and Ryan wasn’t supposed to be on call and poor me just wanted to run a “quick” call. Needless to say, it was total NE Iowa style to get the job done. If you can envision, this psycho heifer being tied up with a halter, let out of the chute and turned around to put her head in the headgate was quite the ordeal. It took two ropes and 3 people to get the dumb thing where they wanted her. Then, they swung around a gate and tied it to the chute with Ryan’s log chain to keep it as a steady side panel. Then, they tied the heifer around her body, just before her hind hips, to the gate to keep her from moving all over and kicking the snot out of Ryan. Then Ryan got to start the procedure. Its an amazing thing to watch the incision of the skin and then the uterus. And then to pull the calf out from the side. All I could think was that I might be in a similar predicament in a few months – first time mom, stubborn baby that won’t come out, psycho mom and a doctor that has to do a C-section. Hmm… I’m not so sure I like that idea. But I did tell Ryan to remember this heifer when he thinks I’m whining a lot or have a bad attitude about the situation. Needless to say it was 2 hours later when we left the farm. The sun had gone down and I was freezing. Yeah, I had on scrub pants and a sweater, topped by Ryan’s coat but it was 40 degrees and I was just standing there. Burr, it was chilly after a beautiful afternoon.

Saturday, not so eventful which was good. We piddled around the house in the morning. That means that I was cleaning and Ryan was hiding out. I worked in the kitchen while Ryan worked outside. He’s good about helping me clean but also good about staying out of the way. The roofing guy family came to fix the leak from last year. You know you live in a small town when the roofing guy calls and tells you that he’ll pick up the supplies at the lumber yard and charge it to our account so that he doesn’t have to figure that into his bill later. We’ll see how well that works when we get the next rain. That afternoon we ran to Prairie Du Chien for a quick trip to Cabelas and Walmart. Of course, we planned our trip around lunch so that we could stop for Chinese. I was so impressed with lunch. The place changed hands and had some good food for less money. It was awesome. I usually don’t care to pay so much money for the buffet and then not eat it. But this had some more variety with a better presentation as well as a fruit and dessert bar. Nice stuff. We left there and spent too much money as usual but we needed a few larger items and both had birthday money to spend. That night we had the Ellis family (minus Sona who was at Women’s retreat) over for supper and a movie. Ryan had just purchased the Incredibles and everyone wanted to see that. I, of course, slept through it.

Sunday was such a beautiful day. It was potluck Sunday at church. Since we’re heathens and don’t attend Sunday school, we have to do something in that time before potluck. I wanted to go for a walk but Ryan wanted to grab a drink and sit in the park. I didn’t put up a fight (this time) and we ended up at the park with Tom and Alan (2 other slackers who don’t go to SS). For a mid-morning snack, I had a Milky Way ice-cream, twinkies and half a diet 7-up (yup, I'm prego). Good and healthy for the baby I’m sure. After potluck, Gayle came over. We took William (my goat) out for a walk. It was perfect weather and the first time I wore shorts without freezing. Then Gayle and I laid in the hammock and chatted for a while. The whole day was so kick back and wonderful. Mom came over and got some old wood that was taken out of the house when it was remodeled. I watered plants, laid on the couch for a short bit and cleaned up the kitchen again. I wasn’t hungry for supper really and wanted some popcorn but after my earlier eating habits, I thought it’d be good to have a decent meal. So, I made Ryan and me a light supper of Orange roughy and steamed vegetables. He was impressed. I don’t do much of the cooking and I definitely have a hard time choosing what to fix and how to get it accomplished but I was a pro in the kitchen this time. After supper I cleaned up the dishes one last time and then the folks came over for cards. We ended up playing Mexican train and us ladies beat the boys once again! Woo hoo for us!!!

Now, its Monday and I’ve felt good for 2 days now. Kinda rare for me. I did have the regular belly ache this morning but otherwise its not been bad. I’m excited to get home today and piddle around outside in the warm weather again. I love that my crocuses have flowers on them and that my tulips (I added 150 more last year) are coming up wonderfully. Spring is here, the grass is greener every day and I love this weather. I think I feel better just because I can go outside. Yay!

Had these pictures on my email this morning. These two are so cute. Check out the picture of Ryann and the one of Ryann and Kaleb together.

Some interesting thoughts and a prayer request from Tony Redfern who just arrived in the Philipines to do missionary work:

We arrived safely with very few travel disruptions after 31 hours of travel. We thank God for good health. We are still adjusting to the time zone. We are waking up at 12 midnight to 3 am ready to start the day! We are adjusting very well to Filipino food - we even ate fish-eyes! You have to suck the eyes out of the head of the fish - yummy! Craig and I are also adjusting to the culture and learning about the current reality of the church in Cebu City. We have been meeting with local missionaries, pastors and church leaders. It is amazing to learn why we are here teaching on "Leadership and Interpersonal Communication." It seems many churches are struggling with leadership issues. The churches of Cebu are in great need of strong spiritual leadership as Cebu City is known as the center of cult activity for all of the Philippines. Obviously, the cults and the culture work against the work of furthering the Kingdom of God. Please pray for us as many pastors and church leaders from conflicted-churches will be coming to the seminary class.

And for those who are interested:
Please continue to pray for the Stewart family. Connie and Sarah's funerals were on Friday. Caryn continues to fight for her life in the burn unit. She has 3rd degree burns on 75% of her body and is scheduled for more surgeries. Pray also for Brian and Christian as the mourn the death of their family and sit by Caryn's bedside. And let's also lift up the neighbors who've huddled together and are taking care of the dairy and the farm work that needs to be done in the mean time.