Weekend

I had a good weekend. On Friday night, Jeremy and I went to a 30th birthday party for our friend Mike. He was Jeremy's roommate before we got married. He and his wife are super nice people that I wish we found more time to hang out with :)

On Saturday, we stopped by "Brickerville" to drop something off at Jeremy's aunt's house and see if his grandpa was home. We chatted awhile with his aunt and uncle, but Grandpa was not home. We then went to the bulk food store in Kidron to pick up super cheap (but still delicious) lunch meat and cheese. Then, on to my parents house for a get together. We were celebrating a number of birthdays, but mostly my dad's 60th birthday and 30th year in the ministry. We had hamburgers and hot dog meal and a DQ cake - yum. As always, it was a bit crazy/loud. There are three girls (6, 4, 3) that love playing together, but don't always enjoy being disrupted by the little boys. The boys (1-1/2, 1-1/2, 1) that love to run in circles, squeal, and wrestle. Then, one tiny girl (2 months) that was overwhelmed with everything. I did capture a great picture of the boys when they were actually sitting. And my littlest neice looking very alert. We gave my dad a stone piece of artwork of the Lord's Supper. He had wanted this as this is one of his favorite parts of the Bible. It was a special memory marker for him and a good reminder where we will all meet again - around the banquet table with Jesus.

Sunday was a difficult day at Salem Mennonite, as my parents read a letter to the congregation indicating my dad's resignation from Salem as full-time pastor. This is not a bitter departure, or a moving on to another church as many resignations are. Instead, this was a result of the pain my dad feels from his continued back problems. He has had four back surgeries that were successful, but not successful in relieving the nerve pain he experiences. Please pray for my family and Salem as the transition happens in the next eight months. We went from church to have lunch at The Barn with Jeremy's parents, Grandpa, and his uncle and cousin. It was good talking with everyone. Jeremy's grandpa talked his ear off, which is why Jeremy wanted to see him - to catch up. So, it was fellowship and food.

Belly Bump

I had an appointment with my doctor on Monday, which is my reminder to take a belly bump picture. So, here it is....

Before... September 7 (23 weeks)

After/Now... September 30 (26 weeks, 5 days)


I am feeling good still. I am noticing that the days that I am on my feet for long periods of time, my back hurts some. That being said, when I did that before pregnancy, my lower back also hurt. I just come home and make sure that I put my feet up for awhile before walking or making supper. No new baby news. The baby is still kicking away and growing. Someone at school said it looked like I am having a girl based on how I am carrying it. Who knows though... it will be fun to find out on birth day. I made appointments with the doctor through December 14 - every 2 weeks after this next one on October 19th. I can't believe that I'll be doing 2 week appointments.. that means it is getting closer. I get to drink my sugar water next week to test for gestational diabetes. I hear it is not very tasty stuff. I guess I'll find out!

Love Is...

This week my goal is the next part of the verse ...

Love is not jealous, does not brag, and is not proud

I think this seems a little bit easier than last week, but I am sure that I will find the challenges. For instance, I am jealous of teachers who really don't have to plan lessons because they have the luxury of teaching the same thing they did last year. I have never had this luxury, but it seems harder to keep up this year. I am not only planning lessons, but the harder thing... creating curriculum from other books (some books are too high level and some are way too basic). Anyway, I do have some work to do. I am also jealous of the ease of which my brothers can invite my parents over for the evening because they live so close. For me, it is a great production to get to Dalton or them to get to Columbus. On the other hand, it is a whole lot easier than it was when we were in Colorado!

Life is going fine. Tomorrow, I go get a flu shot for the first time I can remember. They say because I am pregnant, I should get all the protection possible from these germ-y kids! Hopefully, the side effects will be mild. Jeremy helped out last night folding clothes and grilling chicken; it was so nice because yesterday zapped me of energy. (No, this isn't the first time he's done this, but I was just really appreciative!) One Tree Hill started up last week for anyone that is into that teenage soap opera (that would be me). The time switched to 8pm and I missed part of it. If you haven't been watching it, don't take this as a recommendation; this is for those who got sucked in first season like my friend Sandy and me. So, that's about it for us. I have a 4 week check up next Monday to see how Baby Yoh is progressing. That means belly shots for you. Hope all is well in your world. Have a great week!

soooo

I am sorry it has been almost a week. I am working to keep up with all the stuff at school - IEPs that need written in 2 days, lesson plans that need done, notes that have to be written, paperwork sent out, kids who are learning how to behave, etc. Yes, I am busy. I am so thankful for the way I used this summer to paint the nursery, research cloth diapers, register for baby stuff, and just orient myself to what pregnancy "is." Now that school started, I don't have enough time. Because I am a control freak, I want to create my own notes for life science. Neither of the books I have to use seem to be at the right level - too hard, or not enough information. So, I retype what I think is necessary and make my own. This is why it takes about 4 hours of time every weekend to get ready for the next week. I am not complaining; I am just realizing why my time is so consumed with school. The good news is that on Wednesday, I took the evening to go to a co-workers baby shower for a couple hours and just have some hang out time talking. It was nice to be with fellow teachers and talk about something other than school. It makes me feel like I am building relationships, and not just good work relations. Tonight, I am going for a walk and then work on cleaning the house a bit. We have company coming this weekend (Jeremy's mom and aunt), and although I know they could care less whether the house is spotless, it really needs to be cleaned - it has been awhile. So, that is what is on the plate for tonight. I hope everyone is having a good week. One more work day and the weekend will be here. You can do it!

On another note - a spiritual one - I have decided to challenge myself with I Corinthians 13 (the love passage). Loving God and other has been talked about a lot in our small group study. One practical check point for yourself is to read I Corinth 13 by replacing the word love with your name. For example, "Erin is patient and kind...." So, I thought I would work on one characteristic of love a week. This week it is Love is patient. I have a reminder on my desk. I think it has been helpful because it has become a prayer for me to breathe throughout the day. I challenge you to show others love through patience - on the road, in the grocery store, at work, at home.... God is so patient with us! Praise God

Jeremy's Birthday... continued

Well, here is the outcome of our much anticipated birthday celebration. We went to P.F. Chang's for supper. We shared crab wontons as an appetizer. Jeremy had the spicy chicken (similar to General Tso's); it was spicy, but not burn your tongue off! I had Buddha's delight with chicken instead of the tofu. I mostly just wanted all the veggies you get with that one. Because it was his birthday (and we told our waitress), he got a tiny chocolate dessert. From there, we headed to the Easton to watch.... G.I. Joe. Surprisingly, I didn't hate it. It is over-the-top, and totally unrealistic - does that surprise anyone? We were both entertained for the entire movie. At some point in the next few days, we are going to head over to Dairy Queen to pick up a blizzard. (He got some birthday coupon which is enough reason to go eat a blizzard!)

Today, I am going to work at school - need to get ahead. Jeremy is going to go work the OSU vs USC game. Tonight I need to make cookies for the youth group kick off of small groups tomorrow. Unfortunately, I probably won't be watching the game while doing that because we don't have cable hooked up. That is a funny story too.

We cancelled cable this summer, and it really has been nice to not have it. However, since Jeremy enjoys college football (and I do, too, just not to the same extent), and it seems to be most games are on ESPN. Anyway, yesterday, I thought I'll call and get us hooked back up with cable. I was on the phone for 49 minutes and 35 seconds with the customer service rep just trying to set that up. He was new to his job, slow, and knew nothing. I was proud of myself for how nice I was and patient. He explained that with basic cable I could just hook the cable wire back up to my TV and it would work. I thought, Great, I'll be able to watch the game. When Jeremy came home and tried to do just that, we only saw fuzz on the TV. So, I called back to talk to the tech support people. The guy told me I had some kind of video trap set up, and they would send someone out to get rid of it. (I guess they had put this on when we went to internet only, so we wouldn't get free cable.) The tech guy told me (and I am not kidding): "I'll send a guy out to remove the trap, so that we can log that we did that. Then, in a few days, call back, and you can cancel your cable and just keep getting it for free." That's right, the cable company's tech guy was telling me how to steal basic cable. I thought that was what he was trying to tell me, but it seemed totally unbelievable, so I asked him like 3 times to explain exactly what he was saying. Finally, I realized he was really telling me how to abuse the system. Crazy! Jeremy decided it must be that guy's last day on the job. I said if it wasn't, it surely should have been! Anyway. Long story, short - we are getting cable on Sunday, which is great for the future, but leaves me with no football tonight... maybe I'll get some chick flicks????

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my husband. He really is a great guy; if you are reading this, you probably already know that. :) We are going out for his birthday, although he is still deciding where. We eat out - umm, basically never - so deciding where to go when you don't go anywhere is a big decision. Either way, it is something to look forward to.

Tomorrow he is working security at the OSU vs. USC game, and I am working on school stuff.

Baby Bump Update

So, here is the promised picture of the growing bump...
August 22 (22 weeks along) ... for comparison
I realize it hasn't been long since the last one, but I am trying to take a picture on/near my doctor's appointment every month. So, in that vein.... September 7, 2009 (23 weeks, 3 days):

Be sure to scroll down to see what we did over Labor Day :)

Our 3 Day Weekend

So, here it is - Labor Day Weekend. See if you can find the pattern:
FRIDAY
5:30pm Get in car; drive, eat at Skyline, drive
11:30pm (Ohio time) Arrive at Super 8 in Effingham, IL; fall asleep instantly (Erin), watch some
ESPN (Jeremy)
SATURDAY
8:00am Get up; grab some breakfast; relax a bit; watch some ESPN (Jeremy)
10:30am Get in car; drive, eat at Burger King, drive, stop at rest stop - change to wedding clothes, put on make-up (Erin), take funny picture (note logo: Fight Against Obesity)
4:15pm Arrive in Lee's Summit, MO at ranch for outdoor wedding
5:00pm Wedding ceremony starts - very pretty, Claire looked beautiful and Taylor very handsome
6:30ish Get in car; Go to Plaza area of Kansas City, MO for reception catered by Eden Alley - all vegetarian and all very good; had a great time reconnecting with Colorado people; danced a little
10:30pm Get in car; travel to my cousin's house for the night with Emmy (fellow volunteer)
11:30pm Go to bed
SUNDAY
7:00am Get up; have a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit with mint, scrambled eggs, hot biscuits
8:45am Get in car; drive, drive, drive
1:15pm Meet David (Emmy's husband) near Pittsfield, IL; had lunch on side of road with David, his parents, and Emmy
1:45pm Get in car; drive, grab an ice cream cone at McDonald's, drive, drive; get snack food at Wal-mart; drive, drive, drive
8:00pm Arrive at La Quinta Inn on the east side of Indianapolis, IN, eat at Denny's, watch some ESPN (Jeremy, and Erin by default), go to bed
MONDAY
6:30am Get up; eat some breakfast in the hotel
7:30am Get in car; drive, drive, drive, drive
10:30am Arrive at HOME... yea!!!!!

If you didn't figure it out, the main pattern was "get in car and drive"; a secondary pattern that emerged is "watched some ESPN" :) It was worth going to reconnect, but I wouldn't go that far again any time recently. Thanks for those praying for safety in our travels.

Moving, Moving, Moving

The baby has been so active in the past couple weeks. It feels like a little jumping bean is in there. I really enjoy feeling it, and it always reminds me to be in prayer for the little one. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. He said everything looked right on track for the 22nd week (5-1/2 months). I said, "That's good." The appointments are very short, sweet, and to the point. The heartbeat still sounded strong and healthy. I will take an updated photo soon of the bump that just keep growing (and moving)!

School

It has started and I already need a break. I went Thursday and Friday last week. (School started on Monday.) I think I have just been trying to get all of it under control. For the most part, my kids are pretty good. It will take a bit of time to get us in the rhythm of things. It could be a good year. Who wouldn't be excited to learn biology? :) I feel more pushed because Jeremy and I are headed to Kansas City for a friend's wedding. I am excited for the wedding, but not so excited to be driving I-70 yet again. Please pray for my traveling patience.