Brilliant!!

I just saw this picture on Beth Moore's blog and I thought it was absolutely brilliant! I heart Beth Moore sooo much!! I hope that she doesn't mind me stealing it. Beth - if I could, I would give you a big hug and tell you that you are a woman after my own heart!



Apparently, the milk had reached its technical expiration date and her husband would not let her throw it out. So she clearly marked it as hazardous material in her fridge. Hmmm. Sounds familiar! :)

Break out the bows...

we're having a GIRL! I can't believe it! I think ever since I was like 15 I thought I was going to have all boys. I never imagined I would have a girl. But here I am - having a girl!

I'm so excited! I can't wait to teach her everything! I can't wait to see her wrap her daddy around her finger. I can't wait to see her big brother give her sweet kisses and be her protector. I'm excited to have a little princess. Don't get me wrong for a second - I love my baby boy!!! But an occasional tea party will be fun, too. And big bows and doll houses and Little House on the Prarie books. I love her already - and I can't wait for her to meet all of her new friends and family.

Yesterday an exterminator knocked on my front door and when I answered it he asked if my mom and dad were home.

Really?!

So you may be wondering...

why I got a decaf coffee this morning. You may not be. But if you know me, I'm not a decaf fan. It's not that it tastes different, it's just...well, what's the point?

So, if I haven't told you...let me be the first to say that I am going to have another baby! You're counting now aren't you. Ethan and his sweet baby brother or sister (we'll let you know June 16th!) will be 14 months apart. Crazy fun!!!

I am so thrilled! It wasn't my plan to do it this way. I had altogether very different plans. But Proverbs 19:21 says "Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." So I am trusting that He is up to something awesome and I am so thankful for another gift.

Broken Hearted

My heart is broken as I write. For the first time ever, my sweet baby reached for me, crying, as I said goodbye to him and left him in the very capable hands of his nanny. I used the same tactic my sister-in-law used with my niece five years ago, when she was crying and reaching in my arms for her mommy - Praise Baby. His sweet attention was focused on the screen and I was able to slip out. My attention, every thought since I left, has been on him. It's bittersweet. They say it makes you feel good to know that he loves you more than the nanny - and it does. But I hate to see him cry. I know he was probably happy and laughing before my car left the garage. And he'll be happy when I get home and pick him up.

For now, I need to do what I came here to do. Write Chapter 4. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to drink my decaf coffee, eat my apple cinnamon muffin, and write. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts with you. I feel better already. I'll leave you with some pics of that sweet baby. I hope they make you as happy as they make me.

And the winner is...

We didn't set out the other morning on a Sausage Egg and Cheese Biscuit tasting, but somehow that's what it turned out to be.

I had been craving one of those biscuits since Saturday morning. So on Monday, when Ryan and I were driving to work together, I asked if we could pick up a biscuit on the way. So off we were. We approached the McDonald's on Hwy 96, and Ryan assumed that we would just grab it there. Unfortunately for him, I had my heart pretty set on Dunkin' Donuts.

"That's like 15 minutes out of the way," Ryan said.

"No. It's more like ten. And I really would prefer the Dunkin' Donuts."

So my husband gave in and we headed in that direction. Things were going as planned as we pulled into the drivethru. We had hit no traffic lights and were right on schedule for my "only 10 minutes out of the way." Until...

Ryan rolled down his window ready to order and waited... and waited...and waited.

Ryan: "Hello? Is anyone there? I'd like to place my order."

Dunkin' Donuts: no answer

Ryan: "Hello? Can you hear me?"

Dunkin' Donuts: no answer

Me: "This is ridiculous! I wonder why no one is taking our order?"

Ryan: "I'm just going to pull up to the window. The intercom must be broken."

Me (to myself): I wonder why it worked for the guy in front of us who's picking up his order now?

So we pulled up to the window and a man with a headphone set came running up to the window.

Man with headphone: "Sir, it just beeped! You hadn't pulled up far enough."

Ryan (somewhat embarrassed): "Can I just get a sausage egg and cheese biscuit, a chocolate covered donut, and a small iced latte?"

The window closed and through the glass we could see lots of people laughing.

Me: "I'm sure they're not laughing at you."

The guy at the window handed us our bags and my flustered husband pulled right off.

Me: "Wait! You forgot your coffee!"

Ryan: "What?! I thought they gave us everything?"

Me: "Why would they put an iced latte in the bag?"

Ryan: "That does it. I'm going in and getting my coffee and I'm getting one of those biscuits!"

He leaves. Forgetting his wallet.

Fortunately, one of the laughing girls (still laughing) ran out with Ryan's iced beverage, meeting him in the parking lot before he was even more embarrassed at the checkout counter with no money.

Fifteen minutes later...we were heading towards the interstate.

Me: "Ryan, you need to pull off on this ramp if we're going to go downtown."

Ryan: "I'm driving to McDonald's to get a Sausage Egg and Cheese biscuit. We'll see who makes a better biscuit." Almost as if to make me feel somewhat remorseful for this monumentally long detour, but I'm sure it was only out of curiosity.

The trip through McDonald's went much more smoothly and so after he had tasted his breakfast sandwich I asked Ryan who won.

Ryan: "Hands down...Dunkin' Donuts."

Ethan's Baby Dedication

Ethan had his Baby Dedication on March 9th this year. This was such a sweet service, held for many parents and their precious children. As our Preschool Minister said, the dedication was more for the parents than for the children. And as a parent, it was extremely meaningful. God gave us this amazing baby! Somedays I still can't believe that. He actually trusted Ryan and I enough to place Ethan in our hands for his time here on Earth. And it is our calling to place him back in His. So that was this very special day.







*I would like to take this time to give MAJOR props to the Preschool Ministry at our church. You all are AMAZING. The prayers that you all have prayed for our children, the way you have encouraged us as parents, how you all are there with huge smiles everytime we come through the door. I thank God for each of you!!*


We were so grateful to have Ethan's Pap-Pap and Grammy Musser and his Mom-ma Ocker with us for the dedication.




Our Pastor of Emerging Generations gave a very brief message at the beginning of the service and one of the things that he said that remained in my heart was that we, as his parents, are called to train Ethan according to his "bend". God has fashioned Ethan in a way that will be different from our other children. He has given him his own personality, his own desires, his own calling - and we are given the "without God, forget about it" task of raising him so that he is equipped to be all that God has planned for him. Wow, we need God.

Ethan threw his first, very short-lived, temper tantrum at Chick-Fil-A tonight. I thought it was adorable (don't judge me) and Ryan had his own, very different, opinion. I know that the next time, I won't find it quite as endearing, so I'm already calling my mom friends and asking for advice. My point being, we need God...and we desperately need each other. I'm so thankful for the friends that I have with children older than Ethan - and for all ya'll with smaller babies and none at all. But it's so nice to know that we don't have to face parenting alone.

It happened again!

My ever-present fear of not being prepared has once again surfaced subconciously in the form of a dream.

Anytime I have something big coming up I will inevitably have a dream prior to the event where I am anything but prepared for said event. Take for example...the biggest day of my life, my wedding day. I can't tell you how many dreams I had where the Bridal March would be playing, all of the bridesmaids would have completed their walk down the aisle and someone would be finding me in my sweat pants. I would wake up completely flustered. Yet somewhat relieved.

Right before my qualifying exam I dreamed that I was putting together my powerpoint presentation during my exam and the clock kept ticking and my committee kept getting madder and threatening to walk out.

The list could go on and on. The typical cycle goes something like this. The date for the big event is determined. I begin to prepare for the event. I typically over-prepare for the event. And then I have "the dream". Depending on how big the event is, I could have multiple reoccuring dreams. (Was that redundant?) Then the event happens and everything works out fine! Always. Now there are some things that go wrong or that I'm not prepared for. But what I'm trying to tell myself is that everything usually works out. Oh! My dream last night...

So I am in the process of looking for a job teaching chemistry. And I had the worst dream last night that I got a job teaching and of course, I was not prepared for the job. I couldn't get there on time, so I missed classes. I hadn't read the chapter, so I couldn't teach the material. And even if I had been ready to teach, in this dream, I couldn't even find the classroom!

I didn't even know I was worried about teaching. Maybe it was my mind's way of telling me that subconscioulsy I know that going from a laboratory to a classroom will be a huge jump and honestly, I'm a little intimidated by the thought of it. But what I hope I've learned from my experience with these dreams in the past and the typical outcomes of the big events is that it's going to be okay.

I know this isn't very deep, but can anyone relate?

Consider a pin ball...

then consider my thought processes. So similar. I go from one place to another in my mind just like that little pin ball in that big machine. Ricocheting left and right and up and down. It doesn't help that my screen saver is a bunch of pictures - taking me down memory lane. Which is so fun..but kind of distracting.

This is why I need your prayers. I am on an intense week of writing and my brain goes from one thought to another - and they're usually not connected. Help!! I just want to be able to write two consecutive paragraphs without getting distracted. This is why I absolutely cannot facebook right now. (Maybe someday)

On a random note - (here I go...) Did you know that at the McDonald's in Chambersburg, PA they have high definition TVs and video games?! What happened to the good old play ground?

OK - enough distracting myself, I'm back to work!

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! It has got to be my most favorite holiday. I remember when I was in high school, when a girl would receive roses, they would announce it over the intercom and the girl would get to leave class and go get her flowers! I told my mom how sad I was that I never got called to go the office to pick up roses. The next Valentine's Day, I got called to the office to find a beautiful bouquet of roses from my dad. How sweet!!! I always knew I loved this holiday - Ryan and I have shared many special Valentine's Days. But I never knew how much I would love this day until I had my sweet baby boy! We had the very best day! Here are some pictures and a video. Enjoy!

Valentine's kisses from Daddy!

I love you this much!! Happy Valentine's Day!

Pictures

Here are some pictures of who I think is the cutest baby in the whole world!



He is becoming a pro at eating rice cereal! What a big boy! In fact, he's not so much a fan of his bottle anymore. Any suggestions?



This was Christmas at Grammy and Pap-Pap's. All comfy cosy in his Christmas pj's from Aunt Karyn!



Ryan and Ethan on Christmas morning at Gramma and Pop's (my mom and dad) Is this not the cutest hat ever?!



I love this kid!!

The Top 7 Reasons Why I Loved "New In Town"

7. It's really clean!
6. I'm just such a huge fan of Mr. Harry Connick Jr. (Hope Floats)
5. I'm a sucker for accents.
4. They scrapbook.
3. They bring up Jesus in everyday conversations.
2. It made me laugh out loud.
1. I heart Blanche!


Go see it! You'll love it!

I'm discovering something about myself that may not be a surprise to many of you. I'm finding that I can be at times quite shallow. When it comes to movies I'm perfectly okay with someone going from thirteen to thirty via magic dust and watching Hollywood's happy endings, but when it comes to something as sacred as my prayer life, I'm greatly in need of a swim to the deeper end.

Where did this come from? Ryan was going through an old prayer journal and he came across a date from 2001 where he had asked me how he could pray for me. Here's how the list went: Pray for me because I have a Physical Chemistry exam at 6, then a history quiz tomorrow at 11, I also need prayer for a paper that I have to write. Oh and something about psychology - I forgot I took that! That was it!! Fast forward to my most recent prayer request - I need prayer as I write my thesis. Eight years have gone by and my prayer life has barely budged from the daily happenings in my school-life. Now granted - I have been in school for more years than most people would attribute to my age - but I would have hoped that I would have matured spiritually as I did academically.

I'm being hard on myself - but sometimes I think that's good. And I know that God loves to hear our every prayer - I will never debate that. But why wasn't there sprinkled amongst the prayers for good grades and academic endurance a prayer for the lonely, the sick, the hungry, and those who don't know how much Christ loves them? Why weren't there petitions for growth in love and humility? I'm reminded of Scripture that exhorts us to seek first the Kingdom of God.

I'm doing the Beth Moore Bible study, Esther. And it is wonderful! Beth pointed out that when Esther's eyes were opened from her sheltered life as a queen to what was going on beyond the palace gates she realized that it was time for some serious prayer and fasting and was quick to do so. My prayer is that my eyes will be opened from my sheltered life, to all that is going on beyond my own "gate" - and realize that now is the time for some serious prayer and fasting.