St. Louis and back...

This past weekend, Phil and I took a road trip to St. Louis, MO (Christmas gift from my parents). This first picture is Phil driving the entire way there and back. Anytime we take a road trip, I take a picture like this of Phil so I have many pictures of him driving a vehicle. Wendell stayed with Phil's parents so it was a nice get away for the two of us. We talked most of the way down about various things and had a great time "catching up" and remembered what the days were like with just the two of us.




This next picture is of us at the zoo, which was the highlight of the trip. We power walked the whole thing in two hours while it drizzled rain on us. There were a few other things that we could have done but it rained almost the whole time we were there.


We were walking up a hill at the zoo and then this ape (below) just appears, it kind of startles you at first because from a distance it looks real and on the loose. As you can see, he doesn't look very happy either.

And this last picture is what we did yesterday. Phil had taken Monday off as well so we were home most of the day and worked on a few things. Our goal yesterday was to get the old bed out of the spare room and get the new twin bed up there. So here is Phil (and Wendell) tearing apart the old bed so it can go back down the stairs. (When we moved in, it took us an hour and lots of shoving to get it upstairs because it really didn't fit around the corner of the stairs, so Phil decided that since it was old and we were getting rid of it then he'd just tear it apart to get it back down the stairs).

So we've begun the process of getting the room ready for Harli/Harley. It always seems so easy to imagine but when it comes time for the actual work then it always takes longer than expected. We did get the new bed up there but we haven't had time to rearrange much of anything else. I forgot to take a before picture so we won't get to see the full effect of all the work we're going to do. We think we're going to paint her room a light purple and yellow, then we have butterfly stickers to put up. The twin bed will eventually go in Wendell's room and then the crib to Harli/Harley's room... not sure when we're going to make the big switch. We have a bassinet that we can use for a little while before the crib is necessary. It sounds like fun having Wendell sleep in the big bed but I'm guessing there's no return to the crib once we change over to the bed. We'll see, there's really no rush but it would be nice to just have the rooms done/ready and beds where they need to be.

Well, that's all for us. We'll keep you posted on our excitement of "baby preparation". Less than 4 months to go, it seems so slow yet so fast at the same time.

Easter

Why is Easter important? I kind of feel like this subject can be uncomfortable to talk with to people that I'm not close with or that I don't talk about my faith with. But I also think it's important to be prepared/ready to answer a question like that. After listening to our church service on Saturday night it made me think about why Easter is important. Most people know the history: Jesus has the last supper, dies on the cross, then a few days later comes back to earth alive and well. I'm not sure if any of you have seen the Passion of the Christ (we own it if you want to borrow it) but I've only seen it twice. The first time was before Wendell and the second time after and I must say that having my own child makes a huge difference in how I view what happened to Mary during those few days. There is Jesus' story and Mary's story and they are both so different. So anyways, here are my current thoughts on Easter.

1. Jesus lived the life God had planned for him.. can I do this for God? could me, myself and I give it all up? (wouldn't it be so worth it if I did?)
2. Jesus freed me from my guilt and shame, that weight of a burdened life, when I asked him to take it away. (He paid that price when he died on the cross)
3. Could I willingly be beaten and then die like that? doesn't sound too hard knowing the purpose but could I? Could I send my child to be beaten like that?
4. Being the analyzer that I am, I am often questioning things in the Bible, like why? how? say that again? I recently bought a book that lays out historical facts.. and it repeatedly says. To be a follower of Christ, you must have faith. The facts are there but not all there.. so it comes down to faith.

So, can I do it on faith alone? Funny where my one seed of faith starts.. but that's another day.

"Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. " ... from one of my favorite songs

Hope you had a good Easter!

just having a snack..

This post if for family and friends who don't get to see us very often.

I don't usually show video's since my last one came through funny. One of these days I'll figure it out but I thought I'd try again. So attached is a video and Wendell and I just hanging out having a snack.

And here is a picture of me at 21 1/2 weeks (pregnant).. sorry it's out of focus, I took it myself.

I thought I'd update you on what we're going to name her, the baby. I thought I was 90% sure as to what her name would be then I go and type them out and find that I'm not so sure. As of five minutes ago, I was 90% sure that we're were going to name her Harlianne, but call her Harli. But now I'm not so sure.. 'cause I also like Harleyann, but still call her Harley. Wow, now I'd say I'm 90% sure it's going to be Harleyann. Could I just decide and be done with it? Not sure what Phil's going to say about all this... I guess we still have four months to decide.

simple, healthy but low in cost...

Hi Friends and Family,

This post is a letter to you. Phil has recently been told that he has to take another 5 days off (unpaid) in the next three months. This is the second time this year and we were just recovering from the last one. It just so happens that our grocery shopping that we do every two weeks comes out of his paycheck. So he has challenged me (in a fun kind of way) to come up with some meals to put on the menu that are simple, healthy and yet low in cost. Ex. instead of twice baked potatoes with the works I'd just make a simple baked potato with a dab of butter. Instead of lasagna with lots of cheese I could do plain spaghetti.

So my question and challenge for you is to help me out. Let me know what you make that would fit into the category of simple, healthy yet low in cost.

Thanks and I'll keep you updated with menu plans, Heather