Mommy Notes...

Everyone needs a little encouragment

2010-09-21T18:11:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share a blog with you that I have been following over the past few months. It has been a very encouraging and uplifting blog. I am going to put it under my favorites, incase you ever wanted to read it. It has really touched my heart, and I just wanted to share it with you. www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com

Things going on Around the House!

2010-09-16T16:04:00.005-04:00

So one of my on going projects to keep me busy while Jordan is gone is sanding down an antique table that we got from our neighbors back in Cape May. We actually swapped tables. Our table is has two benches with it, and they painted it black. The wood under it is absolutely beautiful, so I want to put it back to its original condition. Since Im pregnant I am limited to my options as far as paint elimination is concerned, so sand paper is the way we are going. Notice I said "we". The kids have taken quite an interest in helping me, they laugh at the noise the paper makes against the bench, and are going crazy with it. Over the past few days I have been working on more pacifier snugglies for my store. Here are two that I just posted today. I am making 2 of the same flannel every day, and I am trying to quilt a block everyday too, at that rate, I will have a restocked store in no time, and a quilt. Bonus! Hope you are all having a good day, and thanks for checking up on my blog!

A Fresh New Start

2010-09-11T14:08:00.003-04:00

It certainly has been a while since I posted on here last! Its amazing what you have time for when your kids have hand foot and mouth disease! I have been confined to my house for the last 4 days now..and let me tell you, as much as I hate it, I love it too. I cant go out and spend any money, so we are saving money right now, my house is pretty much immaculate. I have so much time for sewing and am also learning alot of patience along the way. You can never have too much of that. I also have absolutely adorable friends and neighbors who are taking such good care of me. Bringing me food, as the kids havent been eating because of cankers in their mouths, I am still eating healthy and the baby is still being well nourished. They also come over to my front step and talk with me, and make sure everything is OK and im not pulling my hair out yet! I am very bummed we wont be going to church tommorow. I love it so much and so do the kids. In other news, I have become somewhat obsessed lately with stalking other peoples blogs. There are some super encouraging blogs out there, and I love especially reading about peoples struggles, and how they come out of their struggles victorious, with God in the center of the equation. SO now, I have been inspired to start writing in my blog, and start another one. I know, I know...I havent updated this one since April of last year. I guess I just got a little burnt out and needed a break, but now I am refreshed, revamped and ready to go full steam ahead. My other blog, is going to be a sort of everything blog, things that I am working on, projects that I am going to be working on, self help information and just sharing all of the talents and gifts God has given me with anyone out there interested in "stuff"... so if you would like to follow my new blog as well, the address is www.littlesnuggliebug.blogspot.com Its going to be slow at first, but I am really excited about it! And I will make sure to update my blogs more frequently.. Also if you do not know, I have started selling alot of my sewed things that I make. I have a shop on etsy and am doing very well there . If you ever need unique baby shower gifts you should totally check my store out before you head to walmart or target, or wherever you get your baby gifts. They are inexpensive and absolutely darling! Oh I almost forgot the website for my shop is www.littlesnuggliebug.etsy.com

for Daddy....Our Kiddo's

2009-04-30T21:16:00.003-04:00

The top handsome little man is ofcourse none other than Mr. Handsome Pants himself, Micaiah. And the following two pictures are of the baby. The middle one is a picture of the babys arm, hand and fingers, and the picture at the bottom is of the baby's face. The two dark spots are the eyes, and the lighter spots underneath are the nose and the mouth. You can see the baby's hands on each side of its head. The baby is about 13 oz. I thought you all might enjoy a sneek peek or an inside look. Mainly this blog is for Daddy, so that he can see what his two kiddo's look like right now. Jordan is going to be coming back home in 15 more days!! We all cant wait to be back home altogether again! In seven days I am going to be able to talk to Jordan again when they hit port in Rhode Island, and then only 5 more days after they leave port in Rhode Island, they will be back in port here !!! I hope everyone is having a good week, and thanks for checking up on us!

Micaiah's Self Portraits

2009-04-13T12:57:00.006-04:00

My Micaiah...

2009-02-27T12:09:00.009-05:00

Well since I had a few minutes of free time on my hands I thought I would update on life a bit and add a few more pictures of the family, but mostly of the cutest little guy in the whole world. I have lost count of his teeth but the incisors are currently coming in and are taking their grand old time..so the nights for Micaiah have not been sleeping through the night as of late. All I can do is give him some tylenol for the pain and pray for him that Jesus will take his "owies" away. His ear tubes have been doing a fantastic job so far, but they do not completely eliminate the possibilities of getting another ear infection. So far so good though. Micaiah has been getting quite the little personality lately and its so much fun waking up every day and wondering what kind of mood he will be in and what things he will do today that will make me laugh and smile. He is a beautiful blessing, and I enjoy and fall more in love with him every day.

Jordan has just recently found out that he is going to be able to go on the "Dependable" again. He is leaving March 22nd and will be gone until May 15th. He is really excited about the trip and I am really excited for him that he has the opportunity to go. While he is gone I am going to try and plan a trip up to PEI for a little visit. I am pretty sure that I will not be able to go on family vacation. The doctor has given me three possible dates so far that the C-section will be done on. August 24th, August 28th, or August 31st. But those are full term dates, he may go earlier than that depending on the size of the baby and stuff like that. I have really been missing PEI and would love to go back home again before Christmas. eventually I will get to PEI in the summer time.. I hope..

From the top of the pictures to the bottom, are a little explination.. Micaiah and Daddy sharing some Valentine M&M's..he looooves M&M's but dont worry I dont feed them to him all the time!They are emergency foods when he has a really bad accident, I am not going to mention any of them because you will think very badly about me and I will feel even worse about it than I already do. Last week was a very nice evening so Jordan made a bonfire while Micaiah lounged in one of the camping chairs. Last month we had some snow that actually stayed over night! It was so exciting!!!! Micaiah has a snowball in his little finger gloves..those things are completely pointless because as soon as we got in the car and buckled up, they were already on the floor! useless I tell you! Ahh.. I love the next one. Micaiah is watching Jack's Big Music show on his "T.V. Pillow" and enjoying some kopke. When Jordan fixes something around the house, he has usually got his tool box out and so Micaiah takes out the screw driver and starts fixing his own toys..such a guy thing! And the last one , he is enjoying some Sonic ice..thats all that was leftover from the drink. well I think for now, you are probably exhausted from reading this "supposed to be" short post, soon enough though I will have another update and I suppose I should post a belly picture soon too huh! Well that can wait for a few more days! Love you all and thanks for reading! have a super day! I am off to get Micaiah a passport this afternoon so that if we can go home for a bit we can leave the country for a week or two! : )

This is how we hang in Jersey!

2009-02-05T15:59:00.003-05:00

"Got a comfy couch, my apple juice and not a care in the world!" Now this is the perfect example of a sitting back and relaxing position. Micaiah is quite the little comic without even trying.. Well two days ago we got up at 5:30 and headed to the surgey center where Micaiah got tubes put in his ears. The surgery itself only took like 6 minutes and then the doctor came out and said that everything went fine and that there was fluid in both ears. That explained why the past three nights prior to the surgery Micaiah and I were up for most of the night. The poor little guy was so tired and exhausted from the lack of sleep. Once we were finished at the surgery center we went home, but stopped off at starbucks so that i could have my pick me up venti white hot chocolate, and a breakfeast sandwhich. Once we got home, Micaiah , Sarah and me all went down for a nap and 4 1/2 hours later we all woke up. It was the most lovliest nap I've had in weeks! The kids went to bed at 8 that night and we followed a couple of hours later. The next morning I woke up at 9..everyone was still breathing, but very nicely asleep. They woke up a few minutes later, and we had a great day. Micaiah has to get antibiotic drops in each ear. 3 drops 3 times a day for 3 days. Thats a fun time. Last night Micaiah was awake 3 times, and that was a little disappointing, but I got a great sleep the night before and it was just what I needed. When Micaiah wakes up during the night there is no other place I would rather be than by his side, mind you i do wish I could sleep, but if me holding him or rubbing his head and back comforts him, then there is nothing in the world that I would rather do than be there for him. it is sometimes tireing but it is such a treat to hold him and make him feel better. It makes me feel good. really good. So I had a spare moment and thought I would try and stay ahead and update. We really appreciate all of the prayers so much, I think it helped me alot knowing that there is so much family support out there. I hope you all have a great week! And take a tip from Micaiah. Sit back and relax with a bottle of apple juice or whatever your drink preference is at the moment! Cheers!

My Future Little Farmer!

2009-01-26T18:29:00.003-05:00

And here we have Micaiah playing with Johnny Deere. I think that these are adorable pictures! I know that I am not the best about taking pictures of the kids..well I mean taking the pictures isnt a problem, posting them is somehow harder than the actual photo op. Anyhow, I am vowing to do better, since the grandparents cant be here to watch him grow up..well any family for that matter actually. So I will do better. Micaiah is in a serious need of a haircut. Its as blonde as Jordans and as thick as mine! I just dont want to go and do it, because I know he is going to look so much older if I do it.

We are all doing pretty well over here. I am having alot of morning sickness to keep myself occupied with pretty much on and off all day everyday..something I never had with Micaiah, but then no two pregnancies are the same. Jordan is being as sweet as ever, and is very attentive and makes sure I am getting enough rest, and telling me to relax more. I feel like a queen when I am around him.My man is awesome! We are not planning on finding out what we are having with this little baby either. There are not very many suprises in life, and I want this to be a nice one. I have no thoughts on what I would like, except to have a healthy baby, thats all I want.

This pregnancy is a high risk one because I am on medication for my siezures, so I will be having more doctors visits with my OB doctor, my Neurologist, and with a Perinantologist (a high risk baby doctor). The lovely thing about my doctors is that I am only 10 minutes away from the hospital and the doctors offices are all in the same vicinity...its very nice that I dont have to travel for hours! Anyways..there is a little baby update..i go back in 4 weeks. So far I havent gained any weight, only lost 4 pounds over the weekend becasue I was so sick. I am not going to complain. My goal is to gain a minimal amount of weight as possible, and the two things that are really helping me out are going to the gym on a daily basis, and eating only healthy food...i am praying that this pregnancy will be healthy, and that I wouldnt gain alot of weight...anyways, I will keep you posted! Im not showing yet, so a tummy picture I didnt feel was very necessary! Thanks for checking in on me! And I will try my best to update again soon!

Way Behind!

2009-01-09T08:58:00.007-05:00

I know its not Halloween anymore, but I have a good reason for posting so late. we lost our camera that night after we had taken the pictures and couldnt find it anywhere. I cleaned out all the nooks and cranies and simplified and turned my house upside down looking for the camera! But to no avail, so we just assumed that our camera was swiped by some trick or treater...We bough ourselves a new one and used it for a while, then one morning I woke up and it was sitting on the trunk infront of our bed...Jordan had found it on his pile of work t-shirts in the closet.. Why I never thought to look there is beyond me..nevertheless I am completely thrilled that we found the old one because the new one we have I am having issues with. It never takes good pictures! So now I figured I would post some pictures of that night. we got Micaiah dressed up as a cowboy and Sarah's mom had a bunny suit that she had sent along for Sarah, so she was a bunny with floppy ears.

My friend Nicole and I set up a "coastie" in our front yard, and it actually turned out pretty good. If it wasnt for the fact that we had to use a pillowcase for the head, It would have been perfect, but alas, we decided not to put a real head on the guy...we were fresh out. I am planning on posting some more pictures of my little cowboy and bunny from Christmas, but right now I am out of time...love you all and thanks for staying faithful!! XOXO

Punkin Pickin' at the Farm!

2008-11-13T14:10:00.003-05:00

Stop and Smell the Flowers...

2008-11-13T13:50:00.006-05:00

I have a little bit of updating to do, and since its raining outside I think that now would be the perfect time to do it. For those of you who are not into the facebook thing, I am posting a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. Not that I have really been doing alot of updating on there either. Unfortunatly our camera has mysteriously disappeared and I am literally flipping the house upside down trying to find it. My house has been completly spring cleaned downstairs and it looks nice and fresh and clean but still no camera. At least I have a clean house now right! So we got our new kitchen, but if I posted a picture of it, it would look identical to the picture I already have. The only two things that would be different is the color of the floor which is a sandyish color and my countertop which is a light purplyish brownish offwhitish ish ish ish color for lack of a better explaination of the color. But its a nice color nevertheless.

The pictures underneath this post are from the day we went to a local farm around here and picked out some pumpkins and flowers with out neighbors.The kids had alot of fun and we got some great pictures!We went on a hayride to get our punkins and took our pictures by the corn husk horse. The weather was perfect and all the kids were in a good mood, and so it was a good time had by all.We are all doing really good with exception of Sarah who has a cold right now. Micaiah has finally gotten over his double ear infection, which I am absolutely thrilled about that. Its nice to have him back to his normal self again. Well, thats the end of my free time. Hope you are all doing well!

2008-10-20T10:17:00.004-04:00

Well for nothing short of a lack of something to do, I have decided to make good use of my time and update you yet again, on things going on here. Both of the kids are down for a nap and there are like 3 or 4 guys in my house demolishing my kitchen. Yep.This is the last time you will be seeing these cupboards and floor. I am getting a brand new kitchen with hopefully new sturdy cupboards that I can put some of my heavier dishes in. I am also going to get new flooring too! I am very excited! I have no way to cook though and am living out of some of our moving bins which presently house my entire kitchen. SO for the next two and a half days I wont need to clean the kitchen! I knew Id get a break sooner or later :D..whatever works! So for our supper for the next couple of nights my friend Nicole who also lives beside me is going to be cooking for us and she is going to be getting her kitchen redone on wednesday afternoon and so I am going to cook for them the last three nights of this week. Its going to be a hoot. We are sharing houses right now. Sara is over there sleeping in Ethans crib. And Micaiah is fast asleep upstairs, although now I dont know for how much longer..they have a noisy machine on now..Micaiah got a flu shot when he went to the doctor and now he is sick. I feel so bad for him and have decided that I am not going to have him get anymore flu shots. The flu shots get changed every year and only are resistent to certain bacterias and viruses. OK. Well I am going to see what I can do now. Cleaning at this point is well, its pointless. Have a great day!

2008-10-17T08:31:00.002-04:00

Its amazing how quickly things change around here as far as the foster adoption service goes. There is a sister of Saras mom who is more than willing to take her. The only thing she is needs is her house inspected to meet DYFS (Departmen of Youth and Family Services) requirements. The same requirements we needed to have here. So on monday, her house will be getting inspected, and then if it passes, then she will be leaving us...i am not thrilled about this at all. But I have to be happy for her though, she is going to be able to stay with her family. The thing that makes foster care easier on me, is knowing that the kids we have in our home, are placed in our home for a reason even if it is only for a short time..and that God knows exactly what they need, when they need it and for how long they need it. So next week we may be saying goodbye to her, but whatever happens, its what God wants!And thats what makes it easier. We are hoping to be going to Mary's for thanksgiving this year, which would be alot of fun!! We really do need to visit eachother more often, considering how close we live to eachother. Im am getting really excited about vacation next summer!! I cant wait! Thats one of the things I need to do today, is go through the pile of emails I have been recieving regarding the cottages, but its going to take a little longer than a few minutes...Well I have to get the kids ready for appointments this morning I hope you all have a great day!

She's Here!

2008-10-13T11:27:00.002-04:00

Here she is! This our darling little girl, Leyla, and my friends baby Ethan. Micaiah is not in the picture because he was having a nap, I wanted to wake him up so badly because everyone was taking such good pictures, but I also wanted Micaiah to have a good afternoon, after a nice nap. Leyla is keeping us nice and busy,and they are both getting along so good together! Hope you are all doing well!

uhhh...hi

2008-09-27T23:17:00.002-04:00

This is so long overdue and I am soo sorry! I know you have likely been wondering where in the world I went!! While you have been pondering that question, I have been wondering where all the time is going?? Can't life slow down just a wee bit? I feel like my days are only two hours long, and thats only started to happen since Micaiah has been born..well enough on how frustrating it is that time flies. On to more cheerier things! Man..I dont even know where to start, its been months, so lets speed catch up! VBS was a great success, we had 35 kids this year, and weve already been asked to direct again next year, ofcourse we said yes, it was way too much fun! There is a Sonic here now! Yeay! Pete and Bek were here and it was a blast to have them here!! I had alot of fun..next time the stay has to be longer though. Mary came for a week too! It was really great to see them because I was starting to get a bit homesick, and I am very grateful that I got to see some of them! I am also looking forward to the possibility of going home for vacation next summer! A few weeks ago, we were able to have a really great visit with Jordan's mom and she was here for Micaiah's 1st birthday. He had a good time, He loved openeing the presents and was facinated with the wrapping paper, and tearing it into lots of tiny little pieces. After the presents were opened, we had some Dairy Queen cake! A huge treat, and we finished it a couple of weeks later finally..and thats enough cake until next year! Right now I am geting ready to start up Explorer Girls again! I cant wait! we start on Wed. and we will be kicking off the year with some tye dyeing and banana splits! Yum. I am working on a few visuals for the fundraiser and a few attendance charts. I spent the last few days this week making it look like fall around my house. I made a centerpiece that goes around my candle case thing, and I made a wreath,mom you would be so proud of me! It looks so nice and festive around here too,and the air is filled with the scent of cinnamon and fall...yummy. Alright thats a teeny update on our lives over here! Love you guys all and I will try to update sooner and a little more frequently from now on!

That's Life...

2008-07-25T11:08:00.003-04:00

Hello to all of you! Its great to be on blogger for a few minutes and update you all on my life. And throw in a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. Things with us all are going well. We are all busy with our own things right now. Jordan has been busy with work on base, and then mowing lawns until about 8:30 every night, and I have been busy planning VBS like a mad woman, but it is so much fun! I also have a cleaning job every Saturday cleaning a rental house. It comes complete with 2 bathrooms! My favorite part!! (just kidding) I get that part over with first. The cleaning usually takes me about three hours. Its becoming sort of routine now and that makes it go faster and its alot easier. And Micaiah is busy with being his adorable cute self and crawling around. He reminds me of Dash from the movie 'The Incredibles', He runs from place to place in a flash. Micaiah is such a boy when it comes to the fridge opening up. One second in hes in the living room and the next second hes infront of the fridge pulling out the strawberries, the potatoes, as they all go rolling all over the floor. The butter, he almost thre out a pie, but I caught that just in time (whew) and his latest thing has been the mushrooms. He sat on the floor the other day and took each one out seperately, and bit into a few. His face was just one of those that makes you fall on the floor laughing hysterically. I just love being a mom! I will post some pictures later, but right now, I need to get me and Micaiah ready becasue Daddy is going to take us out to eat at Wendy's! Love you all!

Brooks Wedding

2008-07-15T19:42:00.002-04:00

A long awaited reunion with Brook was awesome. She made an absolutely Beautiful Bride! The day was perfect and the scenery was breathtaking. Just before the ceremony started, Micaiah was fast asleep. He had been sick from the day we got there, and the day of the wedding he was finally returning to his normal cute entertaining self. We hada great time while we were up in New Hampshire. It is absolutely beautiful up there and we would definetely go visit up there again, now that we have connections. :) But before we do that Brook has promised to come and visit me within the next few months. And Brook if you are reading this...Im still keeping you to that my friend! So anyways,we endeded up leaving the next morning and made it back safely. Then it was off to our adventure out west the day after. But thats a whole nother story!

Picture Perfect

2008-07-11T08:42:00.007-04:00

These are pictures of our trip up to New Hampshire, and exploring parts of the White Mountains. It is an absolutely beautiful state. We have decided that we would not mind retireing there. There will be more pictures posted soon. Right now Micaiah and I are going on our walk. Have a great day and thanks for viewing my blog.

Bruised Knees and Sore Teeth...

2008-06-03T10:30:00.003-04:00

Im sure that if any of you are like Amanda, you have read this post "a LONG time ago" and are more than likely getting a little bored with the writing, but still admiring those adorable pictures of my son. I can help it that hes an absolute cutie pants! I just dont update as often because I like to at least have few comments on my blog, it gives me that little extra umph i need to write my post, knowing that more than two people are reading my blog and to remain faithful to you all by writing on my blog. That said : Jordan has been really busy working and working. He works on base from 7 until 3:30 and then he goes and mows lawns from 4 to 9ish. So hes a really busy guy. But I like to tell him how much I appreciate him working so hard, so that he can support us, and that most importantly I can stay home with Micaiah. He is such a wonderful guy. I dont know what Id do without him! As I mentioned previously Micaiah is crawling. Now he is speed crawling, especially when the fridge door opens. he's like a flash of lightning. He is such a boy! he also was really cranky while he was getting in his fangs, come to realize all four top fronts were coming in all at the same time. I was wondering about that attitude, since last time he hardly made a fuss. I dont blame the poor guy. I think Id be pretty cranky and demanding some medicine too. He pulls himself on whatever hecan reach now, and as I am typing, he has pulled himself up on the desk, and is reaching as far as he can for the keyboard. I think that hes starting to get bored. I think hes going to be starting his next step of walking. Hes already trying to push himnself up into a standing position. Its so cute, he puts his hands to his feet, and sticks his but way up in the air, and then usually falls back down. Speaking about steps. We have graduated from our baby car seat and gone to a big boy car seat. It was really exciting for us. Oh, and dont worry, the car seat is a rear front facing car seat, so hes in the rear facing position until hes old enough to face forward. The other baby car seat, his legs stick of the edge alot, so thats no good. So on friday night we went up to Mays Landing, which would be the equivalent of Moncton, except only 45 minutes away. We only have a Wal-Mart here (finally) and a K-Mart ( I wasnt in one of those for a long time, the last time I was in there, we went there for their store closing sale)and a Home Depot and Lowes, and thats about it. So not too much selection of anything here. Anyways we went on a "date" with Micaiah, he is such a good little shopper.We went there specifically to pick up a car seat, and we got the one that we wanted. It was fun. Well I didnt realize the time, and I really have to go and quickly make dinner!! Thanks for the audience, hope to do it again soon! Have a SUPER day! Love, and Hugs!

Mmm Mmm Mmmm!!

2008-05-17T09:01:00.008-04:00

Alrighty...time for a nice refreshing post...and a few up to date pictures..yeeeaaah! So there really has been alot happening here lately, I just didn't realize it. The weather is getting alot warmer here as you will be able to tell from my pictures. Although as you may have seen on the news, we have been getting not "buckets" more like "sprayer tanks" full of rain here. The little town beside ours, got flooded with a few feet of water, and people were in their canoes maneuvering around to different locations with their trusty rakes as paddles..They must have lost their real ones..I went for a walk yesterday. I had to go to the yarn shop and purchase another skein of yarn for a darling baby sweater for my neighbor who is due any day now, and then I am knitting a pink one for my friend who is due in September. But here baby shower is at the end of May. So I have been knitting every chance I get. Anyways back to my story. I left after it had rained all morning and it was clearing up nicely and the sun was shining and the blue sky was peeking through the grey clouds. But by the time I got to the yarn store,against my better judgment of course, the clouds had returned and they were looking very angry, and like they were just going to let it all go. The minute I stepped out of the store, wouldn't you know it started to rain. And then God at that precise moment sent me my friend Lacy. She was going to the Chinese restaurant next door for the first time to pick up her take out. She only live3s a few blocks from me, and we started chatting about how I was going to get home, and I told here that I had planned on running really really fast. But she offered to take me home. She didn't have her 18 month with her , which is a rare occasion since her husband is on a boat every two weeks, and she had also just taken the stroller out of her truck and she had the car seat in the truck. Now how perfect was that? Totally a God thing!!

The day before Micaiah and I went on a walk, even though I wasn't feeling good. I thought if I got some fresh air that would help, but I was tired too, and almost turned around because I felt like I was going to throw up etc. but then I was better and we went to the beach, because we heard the waves pounding against the shore pretty good. It was the perfect day for surfing, and t here were a lot of surfers out there. The waves were at least 8 feet high, and the tide was high. So we got out a little blankie and set up "beach". Micaiah had a field day! Let me tell you. The pictures tell it all! Want some sand? Its seems awfully tasty!! Mmm Mmm Mmmm! Bird watching is also a new and fun thing for him! Oh yeah and did I mention the big news! There are two more teeth coming in! The top ones, but not the front ones, the ones beside the front ones, hes going to have some fangs I guess. And Micaiah is officially crawling!! Which means baby proofing has been my latest venture..the things he finds to get in to...This weekend is one of Jordan's few weekends that he doesn't have to stand watch! So tonight we are going to the movies and are going to see prince Caspian! I'm very much looking forward to that! I think he is going to take me out to eat too!

Well in a nutshell that sort of sums up a few things... I am busy spring cleaning too by the way. There is going to be a big yard sale on base and I have got a whole crib full of stuff already. Thats the nice thing about the Coast Guard. Downsizing is always neccesary becasue housing isnt very big. I think I am going to go and give Mary and Amanda a call and see how those girls are. Hope you all have a great day! Lots of Love, Dianna

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-04-11T12:14:00.001-04:00

UPDATE COMING SOON!

2008-04-11T09:05:00.001-04:00

My Micaiah..

2008-03-31T22:40:00.000-04:00

Triscuts Anyone?

2008-03-31T22:36:00.000-04:00

Busy as a Bee...

2008-03-25T17:47:00.002-04:00

this is going to likely be a short post, because i am posting this with one hand while i am feeding micaiah. i am at a friends house using her computer,because i think that ours has a virus, which really sucks. But i did want to touch base with you all and let you know how we are doing and what we have been up to lately. We are definetly nothing short of being busy. I have taken in a 14 month old girl during the week, and making a little extra money on the side. Over the weekend for four days we took in a 10 day old foster baby. His name is Michael, and he is such a good baby, it was a tearful goodbye. I am going to miss him ,but it helps to know that he will be going back to his foster family again. It really suprised me how quickly I got attached to him. Jordan has been really busy with work as well, and we just found out that he got MK2, which is a rank higher than he is! I am so proud of him! And so excited for him! He is really excited too! We had a really wonderful Easter. We had Michael and Micaiah and went to our friends house for Easter Dinner and than spent the rest of the afternoon Wii-ing.I just watched while Jordan played again our friend. They bowled, golfed and played tennis, my sides and cheeks were so sore y the end of the night! Well I think thats really all I have tome for at the moment. Once I get the computer working again, I want to post some pictures of the little guy.I hope that you all had a wonderful easter! Love, Dianna

Spring is Here!! today anyways...

2008-03-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

Last night we had a really windy night. Complete with rain that came down hard and beat against the windows, lightning that was so bright that I could have probably read my book at 3 in the morning when I was feeding Micaiah and thunder that clapped so loudly and so long, I began to wonder how close to the house it exaclty was...it was so exciting and beautiful all at the same time! Today the ground is nice and moist complete with those trooper worms who managed not to drown in the down pour. I know this, because today it is sooo beautiful outside, and I decided to get my hands dirty in the garden!! I was sooo soooo excited! I planted my tulips which are poking their little heads out of the bulbs, and now I cant wait to see the orange and pink come alive in my garden! Its going to look so "dutch" when it comes time for them to bloom. I will be sure to post pictures. My hyacinth is about three inches tall now and I cannot wait for that fragrent pink flower to pop open.. that'll be a little while yet though I think. The daffodils around here are about 5 inches tall now. You want to know something else. I have some seriously hardy panzys..they survived the entire winter and are still blooming now! Soon I will be out with Jordan and Micaiah and we will be going to the local "plant stores" and will be picking up a few plants here and there to decorate the backyard again!! I cant wait!! I wish that I did not have so many things going on today, otherwise I would have gone for a nice long walk! I hope tommorow is just as nice! I hope you are enjoying your weather as much as I am, and if not, then you should come and enjoy some early spring with us!! Love Dianna

My Addiction....

2008-02-26T13:38:00.003-05:00

Terribly sorry I have not posted lately! I have been pretty busy with alot of stuff....i dont know exactly what, but I know that before I know it, my day is over again....Between doctors appoinments, planning meetings, preparing for meetings, teaching explorer s, planning family nights, going to church, cooking and whatever else, Jordan Micaiah and I have been pretty busy! And in my free time I havent been on the computer, except to check if its my turn on Scrabulous yet! Its such fun by the way, ladies! I thought that before the month is over I better check in a minute and write a "brief" blog, we'll see where that take me! So like I said, lately the computer has been off the TV has been off and Jordan and I have been snuggling on the couch together with our nose in our books! I am so addicted to reading its not funny. Last night Jordan was so tired that he was in bed by 9 and I had just started a book and I said Id be up in a few minutes. I should have said hours instead. 109 pages later and a clock that said 11:00 I had to force myself to go to bed, it was so hard to put down my book! Its one of my favorites I think, and that I am reading it again, is definetly saying something about how good the book is. The book by the way is called "The Princess" by Lori Wick, one of my absolute favorite authors, I only have a few chapters left, and I am already itching to get back to it, but it makes it so much better to have to wait for it! Although truthully that wont be too much longer! Miciah is doing really great. I took him back to the doctor to check up on his ear infection and he still had it, so they put him on a stronger antibiotic. His routine is becoming somewhat normal again, and he is starting to sleep good again. Part of that has to do with his teething I think. He is the most pleasent well behaved baby ever, and the old ladies at church just love him so much. Every week they say, my goodness he is getting so big, and he is such a good baby, I didnt hear him at all during the service! I swell with pride whenever I hear that! The dasy have been warm and cold here and there, yesterday was a pretty nice day and we spent close to an hour on the swings at the playground infront of our house! Micaiah just loves being outside! He is really starting to get around now. He never stops rolling until he rolls into something and cant go anymore, he is kicking his feet against the floor and can scoot himself around a little bit, Jordan and I are convinced that before too long we are going to be chasing the little dude around the house. The daffodiles are coming up now and there was a bunch of crocuses in the yard that were very cheerfully waving their yellow heads in the sun. A sure sign of spring! Last wednesday though we had a nice little snow fall that accumulated about an inch of snow tops, and the salt truck and snow plows were out full force.. Ive just learned to roll my eyes and chuckle over the whole matter! I wonder how people from NJ would handle the roads in PEI...that would be a sight to see! Hope you all have a good day! I am going to go get the mail now and then warm up my place in the couch again and curl up and read my book. I am almost done and when I finish it I am going to work on the hat I am making for Micaiah right now. I am making it so that itll cover his ears good! I'll post a pictures of the hansome boy ing it when I finish it! Love Dianna

Before I was a Mom...

2008-02-15T15:46:00.001-05:00

Author: Unknown ..... Before I was a Mom...I made and ate hot meals. I had unstained clothing. I had quiet conversations on the phone. Before I was a Mom... I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday. Before I was a Mom... I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies.Before I was a Mom... I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about Immunizations. Before I was a Mom... I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on or pinched by tiny fingers. I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts, and my body. I slept all night. Before I was a Mom... I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. Before I was a Mom... I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. Before I was a Mom... I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important. Before I was a Mom... I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Rolly Polly Olly..

2008-02-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

Lately Micaiah has been really really facinated with the mirror, and gets the giggles whenever I start talking to him while we are infront of it. This was taken after we got back from one of our walks, and our cheeks were all nice and rosy. For the past few days Micaiah has been really fussy. I think that we may have some teeth on the way...i hope anyways! Last week became a weeks of firsts for Micaiah. We had to go to the doctors office, and he had his first ear infection..while we were waiting for the doctor in the room, we put Micaiah on the table there and he played with the noisy paper that they have laying on there. Well then he decided that since this was a week of firsts for him that he wanted to roll over and so on that high table he rolled over! We were soo excited!!! (i was by the table just so you know.) Now he has really got the hang of rolling from his back to his stomach, now we just need to perfect the stomach to the back and we'll be going rolly polly olly all over the house. Im sure once he starts crawling, he will be so much less frustrated with not getting to where he wants to go. He is sure trying hard to get closer to his toys with his kicking...well as I am doteing over my handsome little man, he is awake, yet again and Jordan is home for lunch...gotta run!

Stampot, Snert and Potatoes....

2008-02-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

I love boerekool stampot and snert!! But I wonder what reaction people around here would have to that?? I think the thing that has made me the most famous is my potato salad...they've never tasted a potato salad that actually had some flavor to it..just the bland blaa version of the potato salad...eew. The potato salad is requested at every get together that we go to. I had a few requests to make that for my "dutch night" but why in the world would I want to give away a recipie that makes my cooking famous?? If I gave it away I wouldnt be famous anymore and neither would my potato salad! Besides I dont think thats a very traditional dutch dish anyways. Although my friends think that because I grew up on a potato farm that potatoes are very dutch.... I also thought about making boterkoeke (however you spell that) But I think they might be appalled at the amount of boter in it....yeah..especially considering everyone in that cooking group claims to be a health fanatic... Just wait till they taste some good solid dutch food! They wont be able to resist!!! :)I appreciate all the suggestions!They are great! My turn isnt for a few months anyways so I have a little time to think about it. I wonder if they even sell boerekool here???huh I should check. I sure do miss that stuff!

A Night of Cuban..mmmm...

2008-01-26T09:19:00.001-05:00

Right now I have Micaiah sitting in his seat, sitting beside me and admiring me with those big ol' adorable blue eyes of his...and grinning constantly... *sigh*... I love being a Mommy! He is being kept occupied for the moment with a calculator...can never start with that math too early... although he likes it in his mouth more than anything else. We were going to do something sporatic today...but I dont know if that is going to happen. Its hard to find something to do just like that, around these parts...especially when the grass is blaa and brown..but I am going to have a look see on the computer and see if we cant find something to do. Last night at church we had a food and fellowship evening with the ladies from church. It was so much fun. Its like a cooking club at church and we are going to meet once a month and cook a different kind of ethnic dish that they are going to teach. Last night my friend Milly taught us how to make a few Cuban dishes...I cant pronounce them very well but they were sooo yummy! I have the recipies on a sheet of paper right here so I can tell you what they are! Here is what we made: our appetizer was "Empanadas" like a Spanish turnover. Side dishes included Black Beans and Rice, Steamed Plantain, and our Entrees were Vaca Frita (Translated "fried cow") and Ropa Vieja (translated "Old Clothes") they wer emostly meat dishes with cumin, oregeno, onions, garlic and bell peppers! They were some yummy though. And guess what they want me to teach one night.. Dutch Food...so for all my fellow dutch family out there, any suggestions would be great.. well the little guy is ready for his nap now, so I better go and feed him now! I hope that you guys have a great weekend! I know I plan too!

Ugly Pride...

2008-01-24T09:46:00.000-05:00

So I was just doing my devotions, and this morning in particular, it hit me like a ton of bricks...talk about conviction. I have a huge problem...its called Pride... "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, and the Lord Almighty" (Isaiah 6:5) I had to translate this bible verse into my own words, which took me a few minutes to figure that out.But this is what I came up with : " Now that I have seen the heart of the Lord, I realize that my pride has blinded me, and I have really missed out on what God has to offer me, because I am more self absorbed, telling myself how much I better I am than they, and yet here I am the one who is missing out on the glories and the riches of the Lord, becasue I am too busy thinking about the greatness of me instead of the greatness of HIM." Paraphrasing this has made me realize how self-absorbed I really am, and that I need to ask the Lord to forgive me and to constantly help me overcome my pride. This is a little portion of the devotion that Beth Moore wrote that truly spoke to me this morning: it cheats wherever it plays: My name is Pride. I am a cheater. I cheat you out of your God-given destiny... becasue you demand your own way. I cheat you out of contentment.... because you "deserve better than this". I cheat you of knowledge... becasue you already know it all. I cheat you of healing...becasue you are too full of me to forgive. I cheat you of holiness... becasue you refuse to admit when you are wrong. I cheat you of vision... becasue you'd rather look in the mirror than out the window. I cheat you of genuine friendship... becasue no one is going to know the real you. I cheat you of love... becasue real romance demands sacrifice. I cheat you of greatness in heaven... becasue you refuse to wash another's feet on earth. I cheat you of God's glory... becasue I convinced you to see your own. My name is Pride. I am a cheater. You like me becasue you think I'm always looking out for you. Untrue. Im looking to make a fool of you. God has so much for you, i admit, but dont worry.... If you stick with me, You'll never know.

2008-01-23T20:49:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Dad we have a beautiful picture of our family.. This I believe was taken just after we arrived in PEI. I thought that if I posted a picture of us on the blog it would be entertaining for you, and it would also make it look a little more colorful on the screen, and besides that a picture of me! Tonight I was at Explorer Girls. I have not taken Micaiah since Jordan came home, and the girls really miss seeing him, so I think that in a couple of weeks I may take him. Tonight we had a really good lesson about Grace, andI was really excited to hear the girls talking about what they got out of the lesson, and that they liked the story that I shared with them. I just love teaching Explorer Girls so much, and I love being the "coolest teacher ever!"

Things around here have been pretty slow except for today when it got kicked up a notch. This morning I took Micaiah to Rainbow (the pediatrician) for his wellness visit. He got four different shots of vaccinations, and so he is feeling a little crummy and under the weather right now.. :(

Then this afternoon I went to Bible Study with my friends. Right now we are doing a Beth Moore Study. I dont know if any of you are familiar with her or not, but if you are, you know how awesome and life challenging and changing her studies are. I love it so much! Then I had Explorer Girls tonight. Tmmorow I think I am going to be home all day, and that will be nice. I have plans on going for a walk, but we'll see how that goes, all depends if its sunny or not. Well I am going to go and spend some time on the couch with Jordan now!

My M&M's

2008-01-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

Micaiah's First Christmas...

2008-01-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

A Change of Blog...

2008-01-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

Well.. I thought that since we are in a New Year that my blog needed an update..in more ways than one. Jordan has decided that he is going to start his own blog, so now this page is truly my own. So a little revision was neccesary. I hope that everyone has been having a good year so far. We had the best time ever when we went home to PEI for Christmas. It was quite a while since we were home last and this year we brought along Micaiah for ride. All the family really enjoyed taking care of him, and he didnt spend alot of time on his blanket, there was always someone eager to hold him. Tante Amanda and Uncle Pete got to meet him for the first time too and they were both quite taken with him. We saw Amanda for the first time in church on Christmas Day, and she ran straight for me, or so I thought..then she passed me and went to the car seat. Micaiah was sleeping, and so Matt and Amanda sat beside us on the other side of the car seat, and she kept on trying to wake him up by playing with his fingers, lifting up his hat...and finally she suceeded and got him out of the car seat just like that...and eventually she got around to saying hi to me... While we were home we got to enjoy lots of snow, winter driving, family,the fresh smell of Christmas tree, BANG, and pineapple punch..it was just so much fun and I cant wait to do it again! We are now back home again and getting back into the swing of things. We are continuing our fostercare again, although as of right now we dont have any kids yet, but am looking forward to getting some calls soon. This year Jordan and I have volunteered to lead and organize Vacation Bible School at church. We are so excited about it and are already eagerly working on what we want our goals to be and what we can do to make this VBS an opportunity to plant seeds in all of the kids who come this summer. Micaiah is growing so much now, and he is really starting to do alot of exploring. We bought him a bouncy seat thing, I dont know what its really called. he sits in the seat and his feet touch the floor and he is able to jump up and down to his hearts content. He is also reaching for objects now, and drools and drools and drools. His babbling is always so much fun to listen to, and he loves playing with Daddy. I think its safe to say that we are both really happy to have Daddy back home again...by the way, you can find the link for Jordans blog under my list of links. I think he would love to have a few comments! Cheers

15 Days and Counting...

2007-12-07T08:50:00.000-05:00

This is Micaiah after every single nap, he is the most smiley baby ever, he always starts to squeal with delight as soon as I walk in. the crying always turns into smiles. He is really starting to "talk" alot and we have quite the conversations together. he is starting to imitate my my facial expressions too. The most comical one is when I chew my food, he sticks out his tongue, and trys to chew too. And when he lifts his eyebrows.just adorable. In 15 days Jordan is going to be home, and we are soo excited! The day after he gets back we plan on leaving for our trip up to PEI to be home for Christmas. We are both really excited about going. Amanda cant wait to see us. She hasnt met Micaiah yet, and she said she is going to steal him the entire time that we are there. Micaiah has not met Uncle Pete yet either. So that is going to be lots of fun! Jordan and me are both looking forward to the trip up to PEI, we are planning on doing it in one day, but we'll just have to see how it goes. How long it takes to cross the border, what the weather is like, the road conditions, but eventually we will get there .

I think in a little bit we are going to run off to the grocery store after Micaiah has a bath. I dont have anything left in the house for breakfeast, and I need to get some more milk too. Im all out. Well Micaiah is letting me know that he wants his bath now, so we have to go. Talk to you later!

All Set for Winter!

2007-12-05T21:23:00.000-05:00

Here is a happy little guy ready to go out and about in his new hat that I knit a couple of nights ago. He grew out of the other ones he had, and he needed one, so that kept me busy for the night. its complete with earflaps and a pom-pom. For the most part he likes it except for when the earflap goes infron of his eye and he cant see. He doesnt quite understand yet that if you keep your head straight the hat wont move..and that the hat is a little lose on his head yet probablly doesnt help either. Now we are all ready for winter so bring on the snow ********

...He'd Rather be Naked...

2007-11-19T21:52:00.000-05:00

...an ode to my kitty kat...

2007-11-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

...what can I say..the picture says it all..whatever that is....

...Im not the only one who likes an m&m now and then...

...I have such a great helper while Jordan is gone...

Pictures!

2007-11-15T17:47:00.000-05:00

Here is my darling absolutely adorable son Micaiah. Really Daddy , he is getting hair! Its just blonde thats all! Hes sitting on the newly refurbished couch. And Man is it comfy! So comfy daddy that we dont even sit in the rocking chair to eat all the time amymore, we like the couch now too! We cant wait for you to come home and show off the new house! :) Oh yeah Grampa, we just wanted to let you know that the tshirt you got Micaiah fits him now, and he wears a whole lot!!

Well I saw on my comments that a few of ya'll wanted to see some pictures of the new living room. It is not done yet, but here is the most recent one. And that baby on the couch is Micaiah, and the black blob in the bottom middle of the picture is Mylo. As you can see the walls are a very nice olive color, and ofcourse a picture doesnt do it quite justice, but it still looks good. If you want to see the living room the way i see it, the invitation is open, anytime anyone feels like visiting New Jersey, you are more than welcome! We love having company! So this is my house right now. Next week we will be squishing a tree in here somewhere to put all of those pakje night and family night presents under! We cant wait to see all you Canadian fans out there! I am going to go knit on my couch right now, since I have two free hand! Love you all!

An update..

2007-11-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

This blog is definetly due for an update... I have some time right now.... so I am going to get Micaiah who is having a very bad dream, and sounds like he definitely needs some mommy love.. Ill be back to try this again in a bit.. So two hours later, and I am hoping that Micaiah will be asleep for a little while. The two of us have been adjusting to life without Daddy for the next two months, and we are handling it pretty well,we just take it one day at a time. Next week after Thanksgiving we are going to put up the Christmas tree, and make a gingerbread house, well I will be. I recently repainted the living room and gave it a makeover. It turned out really nice. The walls are an olive green and the couch has a new couch cover thats chocolate brown, and puts a completely new twist on the room. It looks very enticing and cozy. I am planning on making my next project the rocking chair. It does not have any zippers on the covers and I cant remove them either, so I am going to make a new cover, and one that I can wash ata that. I think it will be a nice chocolate brown too, if I can find the right material. I'll have to look around for that. Jordan and me are emailing eachother every day, and he sounds like he is keeping pretty busy.Maybe I can get Jordan to enter a blog, but I know he is really busy on the boat, so if he cant I will relay what hes doing onto the blog myself. Speaking of which, I need to go and email him now before I go to bed. I need to catch up on some sleep I missed out on last night, by not getting to bed until 2am. I'll try to be more diligent in my posting...

The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives!

2007-11-03T15:54:00.000-04:00

I am on again.. Jordan left yesterday to go on the "Dependable" a 210 Coast Gaurd Cutter, for two months.. we both are missing Daddy alot, but we are writing on here so that he will know what is going on with us everyday, and show him pictures of Micaiah as he grows up in the next two months. Yesterday was the toughest day for me. I drove Jordan to the boat and kept on kissing him, and then had to reluctantly let him go,we watched him walk onto the boat until we could'nt see him anymore and then we went home. Micaiah slept for a few hours and that was really nice. He hasnt really slept much since though. And between him and the cat.... agh.. lets just say it hasnt been my best sleep ever. The cat drove me more nuts than anything else so I let him out at 5:30 this morning, fed Micaiah and then went back to bed again. At 6:30 somewhere in my sleep I heard him meowing from outside, but I figured that since he wanted to go outside that he could just stay out there. then when I did go to get him at 7:30 he was MIA.. Today went alot better than yesterday. The TV kept me occupied and things off of my mind most of the day, but I will admit that I cried a few times, but for the most part, I am done, and am moving on, I cleaned the house today, and did some laundry too! Next week I am going to repaint the living room and then will eagerly await the day after Thanksgiving.. then I am going to decorate the house for Christmas!!! I m really excited about that!!! Hopefully Daddy will email us soon so that we can hear about how things are going on the boat and in which direction he headed..and ofcourse I really want to hear about how exciting his trip is. I am so happy for him that he got a job on the boat. He just happened to be at the right place at the right time! And we found out last friday that he got the opportunity to go. I am really excited for him, because he will have the chance to get a higher rank now. Well hopefully we will hear from him soon so that I can let you all know. I better get going, Micaiah is hungry and is crying out for me. We love you Daddy! And all of you faithful readers out there, we love you too!!! Oh and by the way, the cat came back about an hour later, just incase you were concerned about him!

Bath Time!!

2007-10-12T18:19:00.000-04:00

I have a spare moment right now... I can hardly believe it! I am getting so much done today! Got the bills paid, fed Micaiah, did two loads of laundry, fed Micaiah, Jordan came home, rolled up his sleeves for inspection, fed Micaiah, spent the rest of the afternoon working on birth announcments, talked to everyone and their gramma who called me on the phone...

the next day

So much for my blogging efforts yesterday.. I tried. Last night Micaiah was kind of fussy so he got his first bath, which he was not too thrilled about at all as you can see. But after he was all snuggled up in clean clothes and fresh blankets, and I sang him a few songs, he was out like a light, and didnt wake up until three this morning. Advice for anyone out there with kids. If you want your kids to have a nice deep sleep, I totally recommend the Johnson and Johnsons bedtime bath. it really does work. I love using it for my foster kids too.

Today on base there is an Oktoberfest, and so this afternoon we may venture off over in that direction and see whats all going on. Jordan has watch this weekend, but at least I have Micaiah to keep me busy while Jordan is working. I also have housework and that will keep me quite busy too. I suppose I should sort of take advantage of Micaiahs down time and maybe get some of that done soon...

The weather is really changing here. Yesterday and today, Jordan has been wearing his winter jacket to work, so my guess is, that its getting colder. I am so enjoying staying in the house and getting some things done that I have wanted to get done for a while now. But today I am going to put all of that on hold for a bit, and I am going to finish baking my cookies that I started last night, ( I didnt know there was no eggs in the fridge..oops) and then I am going to spend the day snuggled up on the couch, maybe with a blanket, and knit. Oh and inbetween there a few times feed Micaiah. Well I better be off! Love to you all!

Dedicated to Amanda..

2007-10-03T15:27:00.000-04:00

Well... thanks to Amanda you are reading this...my dear little sister who said she would not be blogging because it was too boring, now look at her! Writing a book well worth publishing someday!! Today I have been having a really good day! I had a wonderful sleep last night again and Micaiah only woke up once again, I am so glad to be back on that schedule again, and that'll teach me not to eat broccoli while nursing! The poor little guy was so uncomforatable for the past two days, but we have it all out of our system now and are feeling much better. He has been sleeping lots, but thats probably becasue the last couple of days absolutely wore him out. We went for a little walk to the mailbox this afternoon the two of us and while we were there, we met our new little neighbor Aubery who is only 5 days older than Micaiah and has 10 times the amount of hair! So that was fun for us, and we will be getting together soon for playdates and then the other two girls who are expecting in january and may will be able to come along too! Its actually kind of exciting that there are finally some kids starting to show up in the area. This housing spot was only full of married couples until Aubery and Micaiah showed up!We started a new trend!!!Yeah!! Lets see..we are getting ready to start decorating around the house for fall, unfortunatley for us, we dont get the beauty of the maritimes around here..the leaves are green and then they are the color of dead brown and then they fall off...I wish they would turn oranges and reds and gold and yellows, but brown is OK I guess... Yesterday I was young and now I am old..pfhaahaahaa...just kidding I feel no different but I am sure excited I was a mom by 23! I had a really nice birthday yesterday! Jordans mom is here right now and so I am just getting spoiled! All I feel I am doing lately is relaxing, I almost feel like royalty, she enjoys helping me out and so I am taking advantage of that, once she is gone, Im going to have to do everything myself again! It was such a treat to have Mom and Dad and the kids here too, especially since I havent seen any of them since Matt and Amandas wedding last summer, well except for Dad when he and Pete visited after they got back from their missions trip to the Dominican Republic. Its so nice to see how proud Micaiahs Pake,Beppe, Gramma, and Grampa are to have him as a grandson. Grampa is hoping to be able to see him in a few months, which will be exciting!! Well I think Ill go and have another piece of birthday cake, and make sure I have everything ready for Explorer Girls tonight!! Be sure to thank Amanda for her inspiration! Love Dianna

Micaiah..

2007-09-28T17:13:00.001-04:00

Baby Micaiah and Daddy..

2007-09-12T10:06:00.000-04:00

love

2007-08-29T17:02:00.001-04:00

I Wonder....

2007-08-08T19:52:00.000-04:00

I can count the weeks remaining on one hand now, and its both exciting and a little scary, but more cool than anything else, because this child will be ours, and I get to keep him or her. This is a gift that God has given us. It almost feels like a birthday present that is sitting infront of me, but I cant open it yet because it isnt my birthday yet. I kind of know what it is, but I dont know the details of it. What the baby looks like, if its a boy or a girl, if the baby has lots of hair like I did, or no hair like Jordan. How much the baby weighs, will he or she look more like mommy or more like daddy? I also wonder what out reaction will be when we finally see our baby, but Im even more curious of what daddys reaction will be when he holds his own baby in his hands for the first time?? Im sure there will be some tears on my part, consider watching "Birth Day" makes me tear up just about everytime the mom realizes she just delivered the baby, and holds the baby for the first time...I cant wait to find out the small details,but soon enough everyone will finally know! Will it be a boy or girl?...I wonder....

A Time and a Season...

2007-06-30T09:17:00.000-04:00

"So, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."Ecclesiastes 3:1 Xaviers time left with us is too quickly drawing to an end.He will be leaving on Tuesday to live with his new family, possibly for life. He is going to live with his aunt and uncle and his two brothers in New York. It is going to be a hard transition for everyone involved. The foster parents, the kids, the aunt and uncle, and even the case worker I think. Everyone loves them all so much, which is something they are thouroughly enjoying. It makes it just a world easier to let Xavier go, knowing that God will have his hand on him for the rest of his life, knowing that in the time ahead when he has no clue what is going on and wondering where we are, Jesus will be comforting him and he will be under His wing. He is just the most precious little blessing ever! Xavier will always be a part of our family forever, and we will always love him too. So even though this may be a sad time, I am going to be happy for him. I am going to trust God to take care of him. I know that Xavier is in good hands, and will finally be able to grow up with his brothers in a good home. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Happy Fathers Day!

2007-06-16T22:04:00.000-04:00

My husband told me that I need to get off my feet for the night and unwind. Yet here I am infront of the computer blogging.. I sort of figured I owed it to those of you who faithfully check my blog, and leave comments which are always appreciated! Things here have been hectic over the weekend so far. We have another foster child for this weekend. His name is Dominic and he is 7 years old. He is such a sweet kid, very polite, well mannered and quiet. Xavier and him are having a ball together I think, and even them sharing a room together is working out well, especially since Dominic is such a heavy sleeper. It is soo nice. Because Dominic doesnt wake up when Xavier does, if he cant find his pacifier. Dominic will be here till monday, this is just a vacation placement for him. Next week and the week after he will be here for the two weeks, while his other foster mom is on a sebaticle for nursing. I am really enjoying Dominics company alot. Jordan is on watch this weekend, so it is a little tiring I will admit taking care of the boys by myself during the day, but next week its going to be alot easier. But I am just so in love with being a foster mom! I love it! The pregnancy is going really great too. I am getting anxious to have this baby for a few reasons, some of which includes, my constant backache will be gone, i can do normal work again, and most importantly of all, I will get to meet my little sweet precious baby, who will be all our own! To keep forever!!!! But I still have 10 weeks left...And no for any of you who think I look ready to pop, like right now, I am not expecting twins! Now time to put up my feet and relax! Catch you another day, another time! And Happy Fathers Day to the two best Daddies in the world! I love you both! Take a day off, put up your feet, grab a beer and relax! Love Dianna

The Tummy..

2007-06-15T13:26:00.000-04:00

My Lil' Sweet Pea...

2007-06-15T13:23:00.000-04:00

A Day Out at the Zoo and Beach..

2007-06-15T13:12:00.000-04:00

Lifebooks...

2007-05-21T18:35:00.000-04:00

Today, I finally started my five years worth of unscrapbooked scrapbooking...It was just one of those things that I needed to start, and once I started I couldnt stop, until I was forced too by Xavier. He wanted to get out of bed..so I had to put down the scissors and glue, and pick up the cookies and bottle instead, but I have every intention of picking up right where I left off once the little man is in bed again! I am so excited! Right now I am working on Xaviers "lifebook" which is a book that we as foster parents are encouraged to make for the kids that come into our home. It is basicaly just a photo album with pictures of them while they stay in your home. But I decided that I am going to take it to the next level with my kids and am scrapbooking them their albums, I just think it is so much more personal, and scrapbooks are fun to look at once in a while, and plus there will be lots written about the pictures as opposed to just a bunch of pictures with no names, or dates or any nice to know information like that.. I think that it will make them feel like, however brief a time they were here, that they always will be part of our family...

From the Lips of a Child..

2007-05-19T21:08:00.000-04:00

Today Xavier and I spent part of the day at a Foster Parent Appreciation Lunch. Jordan was supposed to come, but has watch this weekend. I was not going to go, because I didnt know anyone there, and I just didnt feel like going... but I made myself go, because I knew that in the end, I would be thankful I went, and I was. It really was alot of fun, and I think that it was really good to go, and meet other foster parents. Meet people going through the same things you go through, weather it be good or bad. They also had a program for the kids, but Xavier was still a little too young to participate. They had "Tigerman" there, and he spoke to the kids about how bullying was bad, and how to relieve anger. He had them rapping songs and clapping. Then he asked some of the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. An 8 year old boy said " I want to work for my Dad when I grow up", a 5 year old girl said, " I want to be a doctor when I grow up and help people get better", and then a four year old little girl said, " When I grow up I want to help kids find homes..." Man, that just hit me and I wanted to cry... These kids have all been through so much in their lives, they usually all come from a place of neglect, and no love. Yet when these kids are put in a home where they know what it means to be truly loved, and given a new chance to shine in the world, their thoughts dont turn to themselves, their thoughts turn to others, and making a difference in their lives...We could learn so much from these kids. Another reason I was really glad I went was because they had a couple of speakers. One of them was a 10 year foster mom, and had 34 kids that had gone through her home already. She said she doesnt refer to them as foster kids and doesnt introduce them as foster kids, but as her kids. They call her mom mom and her husband Pop. It was really encouraging to listen to her speak about her experiences. I also met a few other foster parents today too. One of the ladies I met has a 2 year old boy that she got when he was 4 days old, and she will be adopting him on Monday. She was so excited that the whole process would be over finally by then and that she would be able to hold onto the certainty of know that he will forever be hers, and she will be his. I am very excited for her and her husband,and I was so happy that I went.

There is no price on Mommies!

2007-05-07T03:43:00.000-04:00

I would expect that none of you are awake right now, but me..it is 3:00 in the morning over here, and Xavier has been waking up quite a few times tonight, which is OK because I havent been able to get to my "deep sleep" stage as of yet...and I have been having quite a time sleeping in any position becasue I have a cramp in my side...so since I am awake now, I thought what better time to update my blog than now! So here I am in the middle of the night listening to the silence...which I have to admit I have not heard for a while..the only thing I hear is the humm of the computer and an occassional "ayeyaeyae" from my little sleep keeper upstairs as he talks himself to sleep...There hasnt been too many new things going on here..Jordan is at his second job mowing lawns full time now after work, and I am at my full time job as a mommy... You know that I read on the internet that some people did research on what the salary of a stay at home mom would be if they got paid for everyrthing they do..the total came out to $138,000 a year..Wouldnt it be nice if us moms got paid that much! Im sure there would be many more stay at home mommys if we got paid that much, and Im sure that men would rule the work force... Xavier has been growing like a weed, and I think that his teeth are finally thinking about showing their pearly white faces! I think they are what keeps us up at such a fine hour tonight... And I cant wait (thats an understatement) until he is sleeping throught the night. By about the time that happens there will be another cry in this house to keep me up at night...what a vicious cycle...im seriously thinking, another rocking chair upstairs wouldnt hurt.At least I wouldnt have to count my way downstairs in the darkness. The weather here has been getting really nice, and most days are perfect beach days, now if I can convince Xavier that the beach is as much fun as I think it is, we'll be making that walk there everyday! And I can start my tan.Its been between 20-24 here, so the furnace is of for the season, and the windows are all open during the day letting the sea breeze sweep into my home and tease me to come out and enjoy the fine day.Every day is a beach day. Soon it will get too hot to be outside and the windows will me all shut to keep out the humid air and Ill have all my airconditioners cranked to full blast, and be as still as I can, so that I dont work up a sweat walking from the living room to the kitchen! Thankfully those days are not here yet! And I will go outside everyday until I cant anymore! I love the summer!

The Bump...

2007-04-04T09:30:00.000-04:00

Here it is, I finally figured out how to post some pictures on my blog from the new camera, so I thought I would post some pictures of Xavier and yes "the bump". I have had quite a few requests for a picture of the bump, so here it is. Things here are going really well. Jordan and I have been spending alot of time outside lately, working in the garden and planting all the new plants that we bought. We also bought a new bird feeder since the last one got smushed when someone stepped on it ... And we got a rod that the new bird feeder can hang on. This morning I had a beautiful red cardinal at my bird feeder which was soo cool! There are also sparrows at my feeder, and lots of robins in the garden digging up the worms I would guess. The weather here has been absolutley beautiful lately, today though and yesterday it was cloudy and dark outside. I looked at the long term forcast and it looks as though April showers will bring May flowers. I hope that you enjoy the pictures that I've posted and the updates.

A Night in the Pool...

2007-04-04T09:06:00.000-04:00

Totally Relaxed..

2007-04-04T08:56:00.000-04:00

After a night in the pool, Xavier was toast and well so was mom and dad for that matter. He was totally relaxed and after he was out of the pool and, and out of wet swimming trunks and in some nice fresh dry jammies and diaper he had a warm bottle to fill his tummy again. He fell into a sleep of exhaustion.

.......... Got Milk?..........

2007-04-04T08:51:00.000-04:00

Imaginings of This and That...

2007-03-26T21:14:00.000-04:00

I think that it is high time that I made time to update my blog..I am beginning to feel ashamed a bit for slightly neglecting this blog. Over the weekend Jordan and I were going to go on a sparatic trip to New York, but then realized that we could not leave the state with Xavier so we went to Mays Landing instead and discovered a whole new world, called "Babies Are Us"... a world full of the most expensive smooshy rocking chairs I have ever sat in, and the coolest hippest looking strollers, that were expensive too, but it sure is nice to imagine me rocking in that rocking chair, and pushing that stroller in downtown Cape May... Thats what I am going to save up my money for next, a rocking chair, a cool hipp stroller, sweet adorable baby clothes and cute hot mama clothes...I think that the mom needs to look just as hot and cute as the dad and the baby! After we spent the amount of time allowed by Xavier, we went to the truck and all had lunch which I had packed for the outing, Jordan and I were satisfied on a chicken sandwhich and some Doritios(which I havent had in a long long time) and Xavier his bottle. Then we went a few doors down after lunch to Best Buy and found our dream flat screen 42" TV, which we are going to save up for next, and we finally bought the camera that we saved up for! Now I have no excuse to not be able to post pictures on my blogs as well. So as soon as I have some blog worthy pictures you will see them on here. We left two very happy owners of a new camera the new James Bond movie, and a very cranky Xavier. On Sunday we all had our much needed naps after church. Then last night we watched our marathon of shows first we started off with the Amazing Race, and was honestly rather happy to see the old couple go home. Then usually we watch Desperate Housewives except for there are stupid repeats on now and incase you hadnt noticed, I am not the most fond of repeats..well then we watch the Apprentice and things are getting pretty heated up there now. I thought it was really time for Angela to go, the Trump dude put her way up on a pedestle. I liked her, but someone had to go. Today Xavier was just as cranky as he was for pretty much the whole of last week, and so I took him to the doctor today and finally got the reasoning behind his crankiness, he has an ear infection, so we got antibiotics for that, and some perscription medication for his coughing. I really hope that he will be better and back to his lovable cute self again soon. Well I think that will about do it for now, so until something new comes this way..have a good one!

I love my Flip Flops!

2007-03-15T13:18:00.000-04:00

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day outside, and the weather is really warm. Its a jeans, t-shirt and flip~flop day totally! Later on I am probablly going to go for a walk with Xavier in the stroller. Maybe we will wait until Jordan gets off of work,and go with him, since the day is so nice. This morning I took Xavier to the Pediatrics and he got some more immunization shots and is finally up to date. It was also nice to know that the Pediatric clinic there takes our Insurance too, so I think that I will be taking our baby there too, because it really is a very nice, and friendly clinic. Yesterday I went for another checkup and the doctor said that everything looked good. We got to hear the babys heartbeat again! That to me is always the best part, I think because it makes my pregnancy more real to me. That there are two different heart beats in me, my own and the little baby in me that is taking shape and being created every day. This week the baby is four inches long! 1 inch longer than last week! Its so amazing how fast hes growing now! And its so exciting to watch the progress every week. I have added that website right here. It tells you what the baby is doing this week, and pictures of what the baby looks like, and I just love the website! http://www.pregnancy.org/pregnancy/fetaldevelopment2.php Its the coolest thing ever! Well I am going to make an attempt at catching up on emailing, and then cleaning up my house! Have a great day!

So what's it called?

2007-02-25T19:27:00.000-05:00

To keep my wonderful readers interested in my blog and in my life, I must update once in a while so that you can know all of the new and exciting things that are going on in our lives right now...there is not that much ever going on, except feeding Xavier, putting him to bed, getting him up, playing with him, giving him a bath, and getting up with him during the night, which we are both getting used to now I think. Last night I was so proud of him, he only woke up a few times, and we only had to go into his room because he was rageing mad that he couldnt find his soother...so we inserted it in his mouth...instant gratification...total silence...oh what a beautiful thing it is! But there is nothing in this world better than being a memee... So here is something I have been dealing alot with lately...the names of a pacifier, seriously, how many names does one object need? So far I have been hit with these names: A soother (which is what I call it, and the name by the way totally names its purpose..to soothe the baby) then there is a ninny, a binky, a nooky and a bubu...and Im sure thats only half of the names to be sure.... Well my Xavier is calling for me, so I must go and see what the problem is, until later...

Week 12...

2007-02-21T10:19:00.000-05:00

So, its been a bit of time since I updated...no news for the most part is good news I guess... Xavier is doing so much better now that we have a routine, a schedule, and a little better understanding of eachother..Knowing which of his cry is which, knowing when to give in, and knowing when to just let him cry. I must say though he has really improved alot since the last time I updated, and he has also not been crying near as much as when he came here first. Last night it was warm enough out to go for a walk, so we went for a walk to the pond where the geese were, and then walked around and back home again. He loves being in the stroller and didnt make a peep while he was in there for like the whole hour. lets see I have also been battling a ridiculous cold that I cannot seem to shake for the life of me! So yesterday I called the doctor and made an appointment for friday, but ofcourse today my nose is barely running! Go figure..that always seems to happen! Next time Ill remember that when I get sick to call the doctor right away so that Ill be better faster! we are already in Week 12 of the pregnancy. This week his vocal cords are forming, his eyes are beginning to move closer together, his ears shift to the normal place on his head, his liver is beginning to function, and the pancreas begins to form insulin. The babys average size in my tummy this weeks is incredibly 2.13 " (5.4 cm) and weights approximately 0.49 onuce (14 grams) awwww..... Im so excited! I cant wait to meet the baby!!!

Xavier...

2007-02-12T09:18:00.000-05:00

A Happy Sleepy Baby...

2007-02-12T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Weekend...

2007-02-12T08:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry I didnt get a chance to update over the weekend, but somebody thought they would pull an all nighter, and not give me any sleep on Friday night...so we spent part of the day Saturday driving around, and ended up going to Mays Landing, to get some more special bottles for him. He slept on most of the drive,but did wake up, so I fed him a bottle, and then we went to Wal-Mart, which was absolute chaos as it always seems to be on a Saturday...so we made the trip in and out as fast as we could. We went out with a box of diapers and some more bottles. Then we drove all the way back home again, and stopped at the grocery store and picked up some more fruit and vegetables for Xavier. So he will be a happy guy for about another two weeks or so. He ended up sleeping for about 4 hours and so did Jordan and I. It seems like whenever the baby sleeps, I try to get some sleep too. Yesterday at church, all the old ladies fell in love with Xavier, and they keep saying that what we are doing is just such a wonderful thing. Everyone wants to hold the baby, which suprising enough to me, was OK with me, it gave my arms that break they needed. Today he has been here for a week already, and its time to start making some changes with him. He is really used to being held like 24/7 , so I am going to start weaning him off being held so much, because holding that baby all day long is absolutely exhausting for me, and he needs to get used to being on the floor, and getting strong. Develpomentally he is only 4-5 months old, and is just learning to turn over, so I am going to focus on working on his arms and legs, making them strong, and getting him to learnt to play on the floor by imself with his toys. I may sound kind of mean, but it really is for his own good. Plus when he has his "down time" then I can get some housework done, or cook supper, or whatever.So right now he is in bed for his moring nap sleeping, and looking as cute as bug.++

A Day Out...

2007-02-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

I really have no idea where my time is going...It seems like only a couple of hours ago I was sitting in this chair yesterday morning and writing my next blog. Its 8:00 and I have Xavier in bed already, he was kind of fussy through the night, but I think that has something to do with the fact that he is teething.. poor little guy. So now I will write a quick update and be off to cleaning this chaos up all over again...where in the world does all this mess come from anyways??? Yesterday afternoon, Xavier and I went for a drive up to church , because some people were simply dying to meet him. So we went to the nursery where Laurie teaches some of the kids (from the homeschool co-op) and put Xavier down on the floor by all the wooden blocks. While he drooled all over them, I was visiting with Laurie, and it was nice. Xavier is such a hard baby not to fall in love with, and his smiles and giggles are irresistable. Everyone that met him yesterday is falling in love with him very quickly. We came back home after a bit, and I put Xavier down for a much needed nap, and then I talked the rest of the afternoon away with Jordans Mom. I couldnt avoid her any long :0) SO we talked for a good hour, then Xavier woke up and then we had to go pick Jordan up form work. I actually made supper last night too, and Jordan filed our taxes, and after Xavier was in bed, we watched some CSI Miami, and then Survivor.. which I think by the way is going to be a very interesting game this season, especially with the fact that there are two immunity idols, and my guess is that there is one hidden at each camp, and nothing on Exile Island...but thats just my opinion. After that Jordan watched CSI Las Vegas, and I watched the first part, and then fell asleep on his shoulder. He woke me up at the end, and we went to bed, and I was up again at 11:30 with Xavier and fed him a bottle. Well I had better get going before the natives get restless and wake up....

Baby Xavier..

2007-02-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

Its so much more fun to blog now that, for one, I have things in my life to write about, besides what I cleaned in my house today, and two the best is seeing how many comments I can get from one post, so far the announcment of us having a baby, has the most comments, which I sort of figured would happen. Can you believe that last night I was so tired I fell asleep at 9...I tried so hard to fight and fight to keep my eyes open, but LOST didnt come on until 11 and I couldnt fight anymore knowing that I had to get up later anyways and feed Xavier his bottle... Yesterday was a very eventful day, letting Haile go in the morning, its so amazing just how quickly you get attached to a baby that has no decent Mom or Dad, and all they want is love, hugs and kisses..they are alone in the world, and for that time that you take care of that baby, be it two days, or 12 months, during that time, you develope a bond with that baby, you become their protector, their superman, and just..fall helpless, hopelessly in love with them... even though I know that Haile was only going to be with us for two days, I still did cry for a minute when she left. It was really hard to let her go, not knowing what kind of life she is going back to, but knowing that when she did leave, she took a piece of my heart with her... The case worker and I drove up yesterday and picked Xavier up. He needs to be in a home right now, where he gets one on one attention. He was very very neglected as a child and thrives on hugs and being held. I know he will get alot of snuggles here thats for sure. After we picked him up we went back to the DYFS office, where he had visitation with his bio parents. Then we took him to the pediatrician, and he got his checkup and then we took him home. I think that he still has some stomach problems even though the doctors say he is fine. He is absolutely adorable and his giggles are so cute. This morning he had a bath in the sink and smells like a Johnson and Johnson's baby. He had some fruit for breakfeast and somoe milk with baby cereal in it. We played for a while and I put him down for his morning nap. Now I suppose I should take advantage of this free time and clean up the house some. Thanks for all your comments again, and Im sure we will be reporting again soon. Oh by the way, Survivor starts tonight just so you know, and I have every intention of watching it....but we'll see what this day brings me today!

Week 10...

2007-02-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

We are now in week 10 of our pregnancy. This week the baby's head is already half of the size its going to be by the time "he" is born. This week his eye lids are fused together so that the iris can form. The color of the baby's eye is also determined at this point. The baby is now 1.22" long. This morning Haile left to go back home again. She was alot of fun to have here, and I am going to miss her sweet smiles, but knowing that she is going back to a good home helps alot. This afternoon, I am going to go pick up the baby. I am excited about meeting him because he is absolutely adorable. Then tonight LOST is going to be back on TV again! Yeah!...well kind of, I really want to watch it, but at the same time, I dont , I would rather just wait until it comes out on video so that we can watch all the episodes in one shot...so I may watch it, but I may not...it really is rather hard to resist....

Baby Hailie..

2007-02-06T07:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning I got a call from DYFS (Department of Youth and Family Services) (the fostering placement office) and they were asking me if we would be willing to watch 3 month old Hailie until Wednesday morning.. She needed a place to stay for a few nights because the foster family she is with right now also have another foster baby, and that baby has Pnemonia right now and is at the Childrens Hospital, so until tommorow Hailie will be staying with us. She is doing really well and is full of smiles for anyone who gives her some affection. She is drinking good too, and she slept through the whole night. I dont think I slept as well as she did, I guess because I was expecting her to wake up and I was going to be ready.Whenever she naps today so am I ... well after the house work is done. Shes asleep right now in the car seat from the ride to base. I had to drop Jordan off, so I can go cleaning today. She loves the car rides, and I have to be honest I like them too, because she gets a bit of sleep then. Whenever she wakes up I am going to giver her a bath, so she will smell all fresh and clean. Well that has been the past day in a rather petite nutshell. Im sure I will be on again soon, until then, God Bless!

We are Having a Baby!

2007-02-04T21:05:00.000-05:00

Hello to all who like to keep up with us Spanglers... We have a little news to report... We are getting a foster baby on Wednesday, and we cant wait to meet him. Hes five and a half months old. Thats about all I can say about him for the moment becasue he is a foster child. We are however also expecting our own little baby in September, which we are totally stoked about! The other night we went for the first ultrasound, and it was way cool!! We got to see the baby, and we also got to hear the heartbeat, even though "he" is only the size of a peanut shell. I was totally blown away by how detailed "he" already is , and the fingers and toes are formed, and "he" is already wiggling around in my tummy, even though I cant feel anything yet. I put "he" in quotation marks because we dont know what we are having, and its just easier to say "he".So, well thats our Big exciting news of the week! And we are so excited about being a mommy and daddy very very soon!

A Good Time..

2007-01-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

From Monday until Thursday morning we had the great privilege of having Dad and Pete visit with us. It was really really great to have them here. I think they really enjoyed being here too, and just finally relaxing after two weeks of going all over the place. They just got back from the Domnican and apparently had an awesome time! They showed us all of the pictures they took, I think somewhere in the 700's and they also showed us all the souveniers that they brought back too, which were really cool to see! Dad brought me something too which I thought was way cool. He brought me a pink tablecloth with matching placemats that an 85 year old lady in the Dominican had made by using a frame and just wrapping the yarn around it, that tablecloth is the coolest thing Ive ever seen! And its mine ! :0) It is now sitting on my dinning room for all to see and admire..I love it! Last night Jordan bought me a huge boquet of flowers because I wasnt feeling good, there are pink and white carnations, red gerber daisies, and bright yellow roses, the buquet is absolutely beautiful and fits perfectly with my new tablecloth. While Dad and Pete were here we took them on a tour of sorts through Cape May, we showed them where our church is, and we took them to the "boardwalk" of Cape May, we also had to take them to the Fudge Shop, which is a must if you come down here, they make all kinds of chocolatey goodness there and everything in the store is hand made, so I bought Dad and Pete some peanutbutter cups, and I bought Jordan some Turkish Delight which is his absolute favorite, and I bought my self some chocolate fudge. We also went to Sunset beach, where there are a few things to see, like the beach and a concrete ship built in World War 1, we took them to the light house at the point of cape May, and showed them the bunker that was there. There was also a pond close by the beach and the bunker and it had a flock of swans there. I thought that was pretty cool, because I had never seen any swans in real life that I can recall. Whenever we finished that excursion, we went home and got warmed up, because it was not warm out at all, so I made some hot chocolate and coffee and we enjoyed some of our fudge shop delicacies along with our hot drinks. Another night we went to Mays Landing, because dad forgot his camera battery charger in the dominican, which by the way is gonig to be on its way back home pretty soon, so he needed another one, so we went to Circut City and picked one up for him, and while there Pete advised us on a good Memory something for the computer, he revamped the whole thing for us and it works really well now!!! We are so happy! After the shopping Dad took us out tot eat at Chili's which was sooo good! Everyone really enjoyed their food and Corona's. After we got some sustinace in us, I wanted to go to EB Games, because I wanted to see if there were any new Nancy Drew games in which there were, so I bought 2. And whenever I finish with them I may send them over home so the other kids can enjoy them! I was sad that Dad and Pete had to go, but I know they are really anxious and excited to be getting back home again, and I think everyone back home is ready to get things back to normal, including a few things like Dad making tea in the mornings and hanging up the slingers for Rebecca's birthday! SO I am happy for them, but I hope that they will come back again soon, because I had so much fun with them while they were here!! This morning Jordan left at 4:00 am for work, because it snowed last night, and so I guess they have cleaning up to do or something, but Jordan will be home shortly after lunch for the rest of the day, because he went in so early. Im sure that when he gets home he will take a nap or something! And me, well I just love being in my nice warm house knowing that it is cold outside. We might also get our fence taken down today, so they can put a brand new one up! The did the housing unit beside us, so we are really ready for our turn now, but it had got to be a very cold job to do...well for now thats all I have going on, I may go play some Nancy Drew now for a while and see if I can get any further in the game...

Can't Wait!

2007-01-19T19:40:00.000-05:00

The weather here has been turning slightly cooler over the past few days. and tonight the weather reminds me alot of nights in PEI when the wind howled around the house in the middle of a snowstorm, and the house made soft creaking noises, as if the wind was shifting the house in a different direction, except there is no snow around he. Today we got our official New Jersey Resource Family Home License in the mail, which will definetly be framed and hung up on the wall with the rest of the Certificates of different things. So it is paperly official now and everything, which we are both very excited about!We are also very excited about house guests who are coming on Monday or so. Dad and Pete are going to back from their missions trip to the Dominican Republic, and I am very excited to hear about the trip and just to visit with them and see them!

A Lovely Day..

2007-01-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

So today is Sunday...I have not updated in a while, but I think that mainly has to do with the fact that there is not a whole lot of new stuff going on around here lately... Although I do have some very exciting news!! We finally got approved , and are officialy fost-adopt parents now. We dont have any kids in the house yet, because fost/adopt kids arent as popular as foster kids, but we are being patient and know that God knows exactlly what He is doing and that when those kids are supposed to come, they'll be here and you'll be one of the first to know about it. I noticed that my blog is looking a little blah lately, with so many posts and no pictures (thats my idea of a boring blog) and so I need to scrounge up a few pictures or take some of something.. Last night we went over to our friends house, (who are a CG Family too) and we watched to football game between the PA Eagles , and the NO Saints, it was actually a pretty good game. The Saints won in the end 27-24 . This weekend Jordan is on watch, which means that he stays on base from 8:30 am to 11:00 pm and keeps an eye on things. when people call with problems that they need fixed in their houses or whatever , Jordan fixes it or calls the right people to fix it for them..So I spend the weekend by myself..but dont ask me what I do, so I relaxed yesterday, baked some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and made some dip for the game last night and them watched a movie doing nothing, not even knitting!! If you can believe that! Well I need to go get ready for church and eat some breakfeast, etc. But yeah , thats my little update for now! Oh and I was also going to mention that it was in the high 50's yesterday and it was sooo mice outside, that I turned the heater off and opened all the doors and windows and let all the beautiful, warm fresh air in!! it was fantastic!!

A Weekend Away..

2007-01-08T10:56:00.000-05:00

Jordan and I spent this past weekend chaperoning the youth group from church on a ski/snowboarding trip to the Poconos in PA... we however did not get a chance to go skiing or snowboarding due to the fact that there was somewhat no snow in the mountains because it has been so warm in this area..they even tried to make man-made snow, but it was too warm as well for that too, although there were those faithful few snowboarders on the hill..it would actually be better to label them as mudboarders because that was pretty much what they were doing, playing around in the mud! After we got all disappointments out of the way, we went to Plan B (the no snow plan) the kids went bowling on Friday night, and had lunch at the ski resort, as planned. The next day we started out with breakfeast by the pool in the hotel we stayed at, and then we had devotions. The afternoon was spent either swimming or playing games in the lobby , the ball room, or in the hallway of the rooms...After supper we took the kids to see some different movies at the theatres. Everyone spent the rest of the evening doing different things, including sitting in the hallways once again, snacking , knitting, or doing whatever it was they wanted to do. They were restricted from going downstairs by us, because there was a bar downstairs and there was a rough crowd down there that night. The night before, there was actually a situation where someone got kicked out of the bar and ended up smashing in two car windshields, and denting the from of one of the cars. The cars were also located on two different sides of the hotel, and we were very thankful that it was not one of our vehicles.This incident had happened around 3 in the morning, and it was not our kids who did it either, and I think the front desk lady finally believed us after a while. But that was our excitement for the weekend.On Sunday we drove home and got here around fourish. We got home, after dropping everyone off, and unpacked and relaxed for the rest of the evening. But that was our fun for the weekend in a nut shell.

Holly Days...

2007-01-05T11:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I suppose I do have a little bit of updating to do.. Merry belated Christmas and happy New Year to you all! It it wonderful to be in this New year.. I wonder what will all happen this year for us? I really actually would rather not know.. to tell you the truth. We spent Christmas in Seattle, Washington with Jordans folks this year, and we had a marvelous time. It sure was nice to do nothing but sit around and eat chocolate and Christmasy things. We baked about 6 trays of cookies one day, and Im sure that right now there still is not a big dent in them. Everybody loved them, but they are like the cookies that dont want to go away!! The only way I could think of getting away from them I decided was to fly far away from them...haha Im just kidding, they were good, but you do know how it goes, after you bake something you just totally lose interest in eating it, and you somehow seem to get filled up by the aroma of the baking... We did some really cool things while we were there. One day we went to the Pike Street Market and picked up a few cute little things from different venders around the area. Jordan actually picked up a few things that were made in Uganda, and the guy who was selling the merchandise was actually from the Jinja are , where we were doing our missions work, which was way cool. So we talked with him for awhile about the area. It sure is a small world sometimes! After a morning at the Pike Street Market we went to the Seattle Aqaurium, which was alot of fun as well. There were quite alot of different fish to look at, and there were sea otters, seals, puffins, and jellyfish, and an octopus, the octopus was probably one of my favorites, I think mostly because I have never seen one in my life before... it was definetly a fun time to be had by all. One day Mom and me spent the day together and went to a few different yarn stores, some simply darling ,and another right down snobby... (I didnt buy anything there..) . After we spent enough time in the yarn stores, Jordan and Emily met up with us and we went shopping for a bit and then we saw the movie " A Night in the Museum" (or whatever its called) and I wont give it away, but its a really really great movie and the only thing I will say is " I cant believe that Dick vanDyke plays the bad guy! I love his acting and I have never seen him play a bad guy in any movie before now! That totally threw me for a loop! Christmas brought lots of nice presents, and I was glad after all that I took a fourth bag with us...It was a really great Christmas. We got home two days before New Years Eve, at 2:00 am and went to bed a short time later. The next day was church and I got up and went myself because Jordan was to tired form driving the night before, and when I got home we were really lazy for the rest of the day. The next day we didnt wake up until 12:30 and I have never slept in so late in my life, we unpacked our stuff, and did laundry cleaned the house and then sat down and watched movies the rest of the night and waited for 2007 to come around , we bought Pirates of the Carribean Dead Mans Chest so we were watching that and didnt even realize that the New Year came, so five minutes later we rang it in with a kiss and proceeded to watch our movie again. It was a good New Years Day. That was our Holidays, and we simply hada wonderful Christmas time!

The Shortest Blog I Ever Wrote...

2006-12-12T09:14:00.000-05:00

Im going to take this moment...and brag just a little bit... I got my Christmas shopping all done!!! Its such a great feeling!!O.K. Im done now. So I guess you may be curious what Ive been up to lately. Well to tell you the truth not very much at all. I am still a knitting freak (according to my darling sister Becc) she is so nice to me..all the time. She is even thinking of visitng me, but she never lets me get in the loop, and can you believe it! She commented on my blog! Its almost as if the king of england commented on my blog, for that never happens! Today I am going to go cleaning and I am also going to go and get my lesson ready for EG (Explorer Girls) tommorow night, we are gonig to be talking about nail care, so I have a few things to pick up for that. I am very excited about it. The girls in my class are so interesting, and quite the young ladies already. Which makes teaching them so enjoyable, I look forward to every Wednesday night! Well I must get my cleaning stuff together...and throw my vacuum in the truck and what not.. I love you guys, and just so you know, your my biggest fans!

They Really need a (KA) Knitters Anonymous...

2006-12-07T08:06:00.000-05:00

Hello my dear faithful blogger readers, I am so sorry that this entry has taken so long to get online..but I think it only fair to say that I have become obsessed with knitting that I thought nothing else really mattered that much anymore, until I got a a little side note hind from Hannah, wondering if I had truely fallen of the face of the planet...Im here to tell you nope nothing of the sort has happened! I have been trying for the past couple of weeks to madly whip out knitted Christmas gifts, and with each passing day realized I have one less day to get it all done.On Sunday night though I did take a break and went to the Opera. Phantom of the Opera as a matter of fact. It was most facinating thing I have ever watched. And definetly worth the money we spent on it. I got all dressed up in my Evening Dress, and Jordan put on his suit and looked simply smashing. But he always looks really good anyways! I made sure to take some pictures of us. We were not allowed to take pictures there, but we took some when we got home. I have to review them to decide if they are blog worthy or not. We also put up our Christmas decorations over the weekend too, which I enjoyed alot. The Christmas tree is all up and decorated. We are using the fake one because we are going to be going to Seattle for Christmas thanks to Gramma and Papa. I have not met all of the family on Jordans side yet, but perhaps when we go up there, Ill meet a few more friendly faces. Jordans Mom and Sister came over a couple of weeks ago for thanksgiving and we had the most delightful time ever! Mom cooked thanksgiving dinner and it was wonderful, there was lots of Turkey meals after that dinner. And every dish was delicious. Jordan was also very outnumbered with knitting needles while they were here too. Lots and lots of clicking and measuring to be sure! I have also got my work schedule changed so that I am only working thursdays now and every so often a saturday. Which was kind of a bummer, but at the same time as I have experienced over this week, I was able to whip out a sweater which happens to be the first one I designed all by myself so I hope it fits the person its for!, and I knit pair of socks, so last night I actually didnt have a project on the go so I decided to start another pair of socks becasue the last ones were rather addicting! I have just learned how to make then thanks to my mother-in law (MOM) who is the best knitting teacher on this planet by far! I love Socks! And now I can knit anything!Wahoo! For all you knitters out there, dont be intimidated by socks, they really arent as scary as I thought they were going to be! :) Thats about all the new I have to report so far. We still havent heard anything abouth the foster and adoption so please keep that in your prayers, we really appreciate that alot! And hopefully Ill have more news soon!!!

The Backyard Exhibit...

2006-10-31T09:16:00.000-05:00

This is my backyard..On the right we have the storage shed, where we keep all of our storage shed stuff in....and then the bench, and the two tables , Jordan bought me as an anniversary present, to decorate my backyard. The big huge plant there is one that Jordan had to unearth and throw away at work one day, so he brought it home for me and rescued it. It is thriving and even had red blooms on it. The plant is somewhat fragile, becasue the leaves are so big, the just sort of floop over...its not a happy camper through wind storms either...neither are my vines. In the garden I have Lobelia..lots and lots of lobelia, and some sort of plant and a rose bush. I have a few rose bushes out front, and a mum which is blooming yellow right now. And ofcourse I cant forget my brick walk way, but that was there already...And on the left you can see part of my ugly burgundy fence which seperates all of the backyards. Right up my the base they are replacing some of the fences.. I wonder if they will replace mine? I hope they do..ours shakes pretty redically whenver some one enters or exits our house complex...I love my backyard!

Kitchen

2006-10-31T08:53:00.000-05:00

And this is where I do all of my cooking and baking, and wonderful smells always drift to the rest of the house from this room. This is my kitchen. On the left of the kitchen, imagine that there is a fridge in that corner, and then in this front corner here with the toaster and coffee maker, we have two bar stools to sit at the counter here... And that is a little glimpse of my house. As of yet I do not have updated pictures of the Living Room or the Dinning Room...

Up Up and Away...

2006-10-31T08:36:00.000-05:00

Mylo agrees that this is the perfect place to sleep, when one is tired...This is a fully furnished IKEA bedroom, my designs, not theirs. It can be for either a boy or girl, or both. The bedsheets have all kinds of animals with moustaches on them. The rug has a cute little elephant on it, and the white boards above the bed, that Jordan so nicely hung up for me, are magnetic boards, I dont have magnets yet, but they will be used to hang up pictures that they make, pictures of the childrens families and then the dressers are one for each of them to fill up with clothes. At the ends of the beds, there are little trunks that they can store things that they like in there, or things from home. or really whatver they want. I cant wait until the bedroom is filled up with the pitter and patter of little feet. Behind me there is a little table and chair set, as well as yet another closet that we are using for storage. Who knew I would ever have enough stuff, to be able to fill up all of my storage closets? I only have like eight of them! Right now its filled with Jordans collectibles and an old dresser thing from Kodiak. Obh yes and then there is the walls, which is painted a color call up,up and away..its a very fun color, I love it. I also had to make the bottom sheets for the beds because I couldn't find single sheets anywhere...and I wasnt really thinking about it while we were at IKEA..so we went to Walmart which is only an hour and a bit away, and I picked up some material from their small selection of fabrics that they have there...

2006-10-31T08:23:00.000-05:00

This is the other end of the bedroom, where the new crib is. Behind that white door is all of that yarn. we also got a changetable too. I have a feeling it may come in handy. The bed and change table are both the products of IKEA. The other day I was at a little kids store, it was rather expensive but it was cute. Anyways there was this lady talking to the girl behind the counter about how she had bought her daughter a change table that she really wanted that was over $500. She said that, that was the only shower gift she was getting from her. Can you imagine spending that much on a change table that you will only be able to use for two years at the most? Im happy to brag that mine though it is only a plain jane one cost me less than $30. And the best part is, is that its going to work out just as well as a $500 change table.

Dot, Dot, Stripes

2006-10-30T22:57:00.000-05:00

This is the Master Bedroom, full of Stripes, Lines and Dots..Its painted in a Pumpernickle brown with Turquoise and Lime Green Stripes. The bed is a Temprapedic Mattress and the frame is a Sleigh Bed. The trunk at the end of the bed we got an Antique Dealership for a mere $60 it is full of blankets and pillows if anyone ever needs a place to sleep!(Not in the Trunk I mean, there are other rooms and places to sleep in this house, what kind of a hostess would I be if I made you sleep in my Rusty, Musty, Trusty Trunk? Obviously a hostess with NO mostess...) On the left of the window, there is a 6'x8' walk in closet full of clothes, believe it or not! Then behind the camera chick , thats me :0) , there is a baby crib and also another closet in the corner where at the moment I am keeping all of my sewing equipment and srapbooking gear in. Oh I almost forgot to mention all of the yarn taking over everything to the point where I wouldnt even be able to tell what color the carpet is except I do because its the same color through the whole house. its Standard Brown by the way...the color of the carpet.. Its also very dull and boring I might add, although it is new. While Im on the subject, care to know how I know its new? Because my feet and socks for some reason turned black when we moved in,it was soo yuck,... so obviously the carpet was replaced before we moved in, oh and the best giver away was the new carpet smell..you know???

The Sexy Sisters...

2006-10-30T22:40:00.000-05:00

A Closer Look..

2006-10-30T22:25:00.000-05:00

A closer look at the sands of Sunset Beach... Sunset Beach is known to contain the jewels of New Jersey, quartz stones that have been smoothed over time by the crashing waves of the salt water seas.

lalalalaa...Babe its Cold Outside...

2006-10-24T09:18:00.000-04:00

The weather is becoming cool and crisp here, and the thermostat gets a friendly little nudge in the warm direction from me in the mornings now. The leaves around the house turned brown a little earlier on in the month and have been somewhat striped off although there is still some greenery on there too. We have officially begun our Christmas shopping. And thats really all I can say about that..The plan for us right now is that we are going to spend Christmas in New York with Jordans parents. I think it will be alot of fun. We are likely going to drive there because we love driving around in our truck. Things with the foster/adoption process are coming along great. We were just waiting for my paperwork from the Doctor on base, but then we found out she moved to California, and so then I called the Head Doctor supervisor guy and he said he would call me when he had some information about the doctor to pass on to me, but she wasnt going to get there for another week or so, so I went ahead and made another appointment with another doctor for an appointment with her for this friday. But then I came home from work on Friday and the Doctor who moved to California, had called me and left a message with her phone number and so I called back not expecting to get her directly, which I did, and I asked her if she would fill out my doctors form and she said that would be no problem and instead of sending it back via mail she was going to fax it directly to our case worker. Oh Praise the Lord!!! I got to cancel my appointment for this Friday!! So now the next step is to get a letter in the mail from the house inspector with an appointment time on it, he'll come over ask a few questions inspect the house, let us know that day if we have been approved or not, and then he will send an email to the case worker, and as soon as the case worker gets the letter then we could get a phone call at any time!! We will be standing in broad daylight at the end of the tunnel!!! We are both gonig to be so happy when those beds upstairs will have little people in them. We have been praying for those kids already, that are going to be in our home, and if you would keep them in your prayers whenever you think about us, that would really mean alot to me! And it wouldnt hurt to pray for us either, that God would give us the right tools we need for this task that we are going to take. But we know Who goes before us, which is going to make this a lot easier knowing that the kids who will be in this house are supposed to be in this house for a reason. And that they will get all the Love we can give them, which is something that all kids deserve to have!

A Sunset on the Atlantic...

2006-10-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

IKEA...

2006-10-03T19:53:00.000-04:00

Oh yes folks!!! believe it or not my Saturday was devoted to browsing around IKEA,!! looking at the hip and chique new trends of the year!! I have fallen in love with absolutely everything in that store!! But I could only buy a portion of it. We spend 4 and a half hours first browsing both floors then starting from the second floor again and shopping for things that we needed. We had so much fun! We bought two toddler beds, a crib, three mattresses, two dressers, a change table, two duvets, two duvet covers and pillows and pillow cases, a little table and chairs set, a blue green and white mat with an elephant on it, and some IKEA star lights. We put everything together on Sunday and the room looks fabulous. I painted the room the thursday prior. I painted it the color "up, up and away", which is like a soft blueish periwinkle purply color, its so yummy! And the room is now as cute as a bugs ear! I cant wait till we are able to put some kids in that room. Our case worker came and did our interview with us today, and next week she is going to preinspect our home, and then the real inspector is going to come and inspect the home after that, and if our house is approved of which I am sure that it will be, then that guy will send our case worker and email, telling her that our home as been approved, and as soon as she gets the email we can get a phone call at any point. So, basically we are almost done! Please keep us in your prayers, as soon our lives will be changing slightly...Well I am off to play a game of LIFE with Jordan...

Another One Found Her Wings...

2006-09-26T08:22:00.000-04:00

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited that I feel I must tell my whole world, that Mary and Isaac are engaged!!(finally) So looks like Im making another trip to PEI next summer!! Oh Im so excited!! I cant wait! Mom and Dads 25th wedding anniversary is going to fall around there too, so we are going to be going up there too for a little celebration of sorts....we will have to come up with something...Lets see what else.. definetly nothing as exciting as that has happened this week yet, I worked yesterday, and that was pretty uneventful, today I am going to clean at the house I clean. This week we are finishing up our classes, which I am very sad about. I really have been enjoying them alot...but its one step closer to getting those kids.... Im so excited about that too!!! Oh, and tommorow we are starting Explorer Girls at church, and I have volunteered to teach the 8th grade girls, and Im really, really looking forward to meeting them. They also have a great ciriculum for this program too, which is very helpful to me. And this is fun, tommorow, I am going to go to a little knitting group that the ladies at church have, and sit and knit with some ladies, instead of by myself, it will be great fun!! And so Im excited about the next few days. On Saturday, we may be going to Ikea, to buy a few beds for the kids, so Im very excited about that possibility too..so as always, in the life of these Spanglers, there is alot to go around, and lots to do... oh, I have to tell you this, on Saturday I worked all day, and Jordan picked me up with the sniffles..I felt really bad for him, but he took me out for ice cream, and handed me a bag with a few little things in it, one was a wooden braclet, that is absolutely darling, one was a set of the most beautiful earings ever, they have little bronze leaves on them with a few turqouise and yellw beads, and he got me a set of blue and white shell type chimes... and along with that was a very romantic card...he is sooo dreamy! Well, anyways, I had better get to cleaning and stuff....again Congratulations Mary and Issac!!!

Just a Deck of Cards...

2006-09-19T07:24:00.000-04:00

It was a quiet day, the guns and the mortars, and the land mines for some reason hadn't been heard. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there. he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk. Just then, an Army Sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?" The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord." The Sergeant said, "Looks to me like you are going to play cards." The soldier said, "No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other Spiritual books in the country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards." The Sergeant asked in disbelief " How will you do that?" "You see the Ace Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God. The Two Represents the two parts of the Bible, the Old and New Testaments. The Three represents the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Four stands for the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Five is for the five virgins. There were ten, but only five of them were glorified. The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and the Earth. The Seven is for the day God rested after making His creation. The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons, and their wives- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the earth. The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him. The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone. The Jack is a reminder of satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways, and is now the joker of eternal hell. The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary. The King stands for Jesus, for He is the King of all Kings. When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year. There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week- 52 weeks in a year. The four Suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Each suit has thirteen cards- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter. So, when I want to talk to God I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for." The Searent just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?" Today thanks the Lord for all the men and women risking their lives everyday for our freedom.

Finally after 2 Years!!

2006-09-18T08:41:00.000-04:00

So, wait before the Lord. Wait in his stillness....You will know that you are heard; you will know that your Lord ponders the voice of your humble desires; you will hear quiet words spoken to yourself, perhaps to your grateful surprise and refreshment. ~ Amy Carmichael Just a few minutes ago I went on my run, and made it an endurance run. Wow, what a workout! On Thursday, Jordan and I left here at 6:30am to get to our meeting with The INS. Regarding my green card. Our appointment was at 8:15 which we missed by over an hour, because of construction, and the fact that there was two roundabouts we had to go through, not one! So, needless to say, the appointment that we had scheduledfor us 2 months prior, we missed, so we were getting more and more diheartened, as the minutes went by. Finally after asking a multitude of people for directions and praying the we would still make the appointment, and asking Him to help us trust HIM, we did get there shortly after 9. The security guard asked to see our appointment sheet. We told him we were slightly late.... he told us that if we wanted to wait the officer, who was supposed to see us, might have a minute or two later on in the day, so we began our wait, staring at white walls, a slightly dusty minature statue of liberty, and pictures of people who I dont know...and then we waited some more, observing the people in the office, some getting frustrated with their case taking so long, others finding out that it would take at least least ten years for their brother to come from turkey, becasue of the waiting period... and people studying for their test to become and american citizen. Name after name getting called...most of which they couldnt even pronounce...and then an american last name got called "Spangler".. music to my ears. So we stood up and gathered all of our paperwork together, three photo albums full of pictures with us together, a folder about three inches thick full of proof that we are married, that we live together, phone bills, marriage certificate, leases, rental agreements, paperwork for the truck, birth certificates, passports and so much more, we also took along some letters and emails exchanged between us during our times of seperation( we didnt take them all becasue we could have filled two potato boxes full). With all that gathered in our arms we proceeded to the officers office...and the interview began, have I ever imported drugs to the states? am I a prostitute? have I ever been arrested? am i part of a gang? Am I part of a gang that would try to destroy the States? And a few more of those off the wall questions.... I really had to stiffel my laughter... and then the only thing out of all my paperwork that I had so carefully put together, she wanted to see was Jordans birth certificate... well we did end up getting approved and so went out to Chilies for lunch, which is about 45 minutes away from home. There was shopping malls galore in Cherry Hill, but we just wanted to get out of that "place"....so maybe someday we will drive 2 hours to go shopping, but I know it is Not going to be any time soon. We got our cable hooked up on Firday, and so last night we watched the first episode of Amazing Race, and becasue we have a rewind button on our cable , we got to watch the first episode of Survivor too, commercial free. It was great, all of the commercials were taken out already. Wow where does the time go?!!! I better get ready for work.

Jumping a Mountain with an 8 Ft Stick...

2006-09-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

So this is to be the continuation finally of my previous post. for those of you who do not know yet, well lets just start at the beginning shall we. 2 months ago we were pregnant. We were a little over a month along, when we lost our baby. It was one of the most devistating things I have ever gone through, however I do not want you to feel pity in your hearts for us. please. God has all the answers to all the questions we ever will ask him, we may not know why things like this happen, but I do know that I am going to make this experience in my life as positive as I can, and one day I am going to meet that precious baby of ours in heaven, but for now that little guy is going to hang out with God. About three days after the miscarriage, this guy Chris called me from the New Jersey Foster / Adoption Agency called me, and asked me if we were still interested in doing foster adoption. ( I had requested information from them) I told him we were, and so he asked if he could come over the next day and meet with us, and give us information. So the next day he came, and gave us more information than my mind could handle, so it was a good thing that everything was written down on paper. We thought and prayed about it and realized we still wanted to do it, so then we met with our case worker Lisette about two weeks later, and we started filling out paper work and telling her all about us. Last week we started our "parenting" classes. Its not really about parenting though, its about what kinds of situations kids go through, how to deal with them and so forth. we have the classes twice a week, on tuesdays and thursdays for three hours. the classes are alot of fun and are also really informative. I think that when we walked into that class room last week tuesday, we shocked about everybody when they realized first how young we were, and second that we WANTED to do this out of our own free will. Because everyone else in the class is there because they have family members in their home that they are fostering right now. Honestly, the people in the class can be so negative at some points, which frustrates me to no end, but then at the same time, I know that this is a different form of patience that the Lord wants me to work on. So I am marching forward.. I also may have told a few of you that I really wanted to adopt a baby girl named Patience. Well I was very sad to discover on tuesday that, that precious little Patience is getting adopted already. She is an African American baby and she has the brightest red curliest hair you have ever seen.. I hope that she has a really good life ahead of her. I cant wait to meet the kids that will be coming into our home, and may possibly become a part of our family!!!!! I am sooo excited! Now some of you may think we decided to do this becasue we lost our baby, but no we will continue to wait patiently on the Lord, knowing that he will bless us with our own children. I also have gotten involved in the church too. I am going to be a counselor/leader for a girls club called Explorer Girls. Its kicking off on the 27th of this month. So Im excited for that to start. Last Sunday I met Patience' s foster parents in church. Milly and Paul are very nice people. They also happen to live on the Coast Guard Base, and they are the only family on base who are foster parents until we get licensed. So its was so exciting to know that there is another Christian family on base. You have no idea, how weird it is to live beside people who drink over the weekend as a form of "fun" .. it can get a bit noisy sometimes...and the language!!! ...O.k. Im done..Oh and the other thing, I got a job at a yarn store ...yes that yarn store I really disliked...I still will only be ordering yarn from UnWind in Florida, because Ellen is such a great lady and I would still rather her have my business than the "other" store.... Oh and so guess what! My Mum-in-law started a little blog of her own which you absolutely must check out and comment on. It is so funny and for those of you who dont knit, you will get a sense of the secret world of the knitting life....its not always knits and purls...its a true story about that hate love relationships with YO's and Decreases.....www.knittybitty1.blogspot.com or in my links under KnitBit or something knittingish or momish in it... Well I must continue to organize the house as the "season of guests" approaches...oh and by the way, Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream is a very scrumptious little treat...dont worry mom Im on the run an extra 10 tommorow!

Part One of my Endeavor...

2006-08-31T22:01:00.000-04:00

Hello All. My life has been so hectic sine August 13th that I dont even know where to begin. I came home from Matt and Amandas wedding, with great anticipations about showing Jordan all of the wonderful things that I happened to collect while I was in PEI for the two weeks I was there. Including a bunch of fabulous yarn that I got at such an astronomically low price!!! Like one example is Noro Silk Garden Yarn, which I got for $6.50 a skein!!!And a sock yarn called Regia which for those of you who are not familiar with it, is a self striping yarn. Anyways thats just a few great yarns that I got that I just need to find a project to make with them! Well, anyways back to my original story, Jordan met me at the airport with a boquet of beautifully assorted pink flowers, t was terribly romantic! We kissed and then went to the carousel to wait for my suitcases. We waited there for twenty minutes and realized that my suitcases were not coming. so I decided to start looking for them. And eventually made it to the ticket counter and foun out that they never went on the plane with me from Toronto to, Allentown Airport. So we took our three hour drive home, oh and by the way i did find a closer airport to go to, so I am never going to go there again i dont think. Well, long story short, three days later, I was able to wear my cool clothes again, and be out with my work clothes! Alleluia!...Alleluia!!! When I walked in the door I was so excited to find all my "stuff" from Alaska!!Yeah! SO since I got home I have been unpacking, so thats why you have not heard a peep from me since then, I have been buried deep in my boxes....this is a to be continued I should leave off on a cliff hanger, but at the moment I cant think of one..so till later..I love you all and miss you all! .....to be continued

The wedding of the year!

2006-08-13T13:32:00.000-04:00

What do Geico Commercials and LOST have in common?

2006-08-02T13:02:00.000-04:00

So yesterday, I decided to beat part of the heat of the day, and pampering myself at the same time, by getting a manicure and a pedicure ...it was such a beautiful experience! that I thought I would just share that little bit of fun with you. Last night I made enchiladas for supper, which Jordan was very excited about, and we did one of the lazy night fine dinings, that we do on occassion if we dont feel like sitting on the stools by the counter top to enjoy our meal. We sit on the couch, use the coffee table to set our plates and drinks on, and then turn on our computer, and watch something. Well yesterday, I was so extremely stoked, because mom sent me the whole first season of LOST!! And, so before the third season started, I wanted Jordan to get kind of as hooked on it as I am. Well, so I popped in the DVD, and the "LOST" came winding into my screen ( if you know what I mean) and the music...oh it gave me goosbumps... and so now I really cant wait for the third season to come on TV. Hopefully our T.V will come before it starts.... so for the next few nights, you may find us "fine dining infront of the computer and watching an episode or two of LOST... I highly recommend it to everyone!

...Burnt Lips Hurt...

2006-07-31T12:54:00.000-04:00

Good After noon Folks, and my goodness isnt it a hot one out again today! Yesterday Jordan took me to Atlantic City, and took me shopping. Just the kind of therapy I needed! He bought me some really nice new clothes at American Eagle, and Areopostal and we went to the GAP outlet, but we walked out very disappointed to say the least, but anyways, I was very glad to be shopping somewhere other than K-Mart for a change! I cannot wait until they get the Wal-Mart up and running. Atlantic City, is so much different than Cape May, for one you cant see the water anywhere, there are Trump Towers,Trump Casinos and Trump Hotels wherever you look, and my goodness..i wouldnt call it exactly a breath-taking view or anything...but it does make you say holy cow once or twice... It is way too busy for me there, I have had my shopping fix in Atlantic City for at least two or three months. It is an absolute mad house. Well, about five we called it quits for the shopping and walked back to the truck, paid our ten dollars for our parking spot for the day, and headed out toward a little town called Egg Harbor. I am very curious about the name, and would like find out why it has such an odd name, and when I know the backround of it , I will let you know. Anyways, we went to Egg Harbor, becasue there was a resteraunt there that I wanted to try out sometime, "Lone Star" and no to my disappointment it was not the one they served salsa to you before you ate. It was a very good, very nice running little place though and they had many varieties of steak to pick from, so I had steak, and it was not to bad at all. Jordan had a side of ribs, and he said they were really good. We went home with out little shopping bags, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. It was such a great day. Yesterday morning, we went to church, it was another Baptist church, but it was a really nice one and I think we are going to go back there again next week. This morning, I went for my normal run at eight oclock, but 15 minutes in I thought I had better turn back around, because it was about as hot as florida out , and it was hard to keep a steady breathing rythmn. So I barely made it back to the house, before I thought my feet were going to go from under me, and I was going to faint. But I didnt. So I was very happy about that. That has been my day thus far, and I am having a really good day today too. I think this is going to turn out to be a wonderful week.Keep the Sunshine on your smile today, you never know whos day your going to make, but dont forget to apply a bit of sunscreen...burnt lips hurt...

ROAD TRIP!!

2006-07-24T14:07:00.000-04:00

I am getting very excited to be going home soon, and see everyone again! The weather has definitely been a little cooler here lately. Over the weekend, we had thundershowers all day Saturday, starting at three am and continuing on into the early part of sunday morning. On Saturday, Jordan and I went on a road trip. Jordan drove and I knit. Our fianal destination was to be Fort Dix, which is an Army and Airforce base. I told Jordan that if he saw something on the way to stop and we would check it out. Well about an hour and a half, or something like that, into our drive, we stopped at an antique store that was on the side of the road, and we went in. The rain was coming down in sheets, when we got there, and we were pretty wet, when we got into the store, just from our little dart out of the truck. Anyways, the antiques stroe had alot of stuff in it, you name it they had it, there was even a locker, from a guy back in the '40's and he had all newspaper clippings, hung up oif different women who were "scantily clothed" ( but in modern times now would be quite modest.) Anyways it was kind of cool, to see from all the little pictures of the models, how much style has changed from the 40's and yet, how some of the things they wore back then, you see quite frequently now a days. I love going to antique stores, because there is so much history, just waiting to be unwrapped under your careful fingers. We ended up buying a set of Websters dictionaries which were published in 1937, and an Encyclopidia set published in 1936. They are going to look really nice on the book shelf we will havein the living room, someday, when we find the one we want. Anyways we also got a wooden elephant that looked like it was pretty desperate for a home, so we gave him ours to live in for a while. About 2 hours later or so, we walked out of there with our highly prized possesions, and went on driving, for about 3 minutes, then we saw an AppleBees and realized that we should probably eat there. Who knows when the next time will be when we have an opportunity to eat there again. When we drove into the parking lot, you'll never guess what we discovered! A Wal- Mart!!! It was so exciting, for those of you who dont know yet, need to know that here the closest thing to a Wal-Mart, is K-Mart, where the prices are way more expensive! Anyways there is hope for us, there is a wal-mart, going in soon, well its there, the stuff , just has to make it there. Well anyways we didnt have time to stop in at wal-mart, becasue we wanted to make it to Fort Dix and see what was all there. We went to the PX/BX , and picked up some things... I forget what though...I think it was mostly for Jordan though, he bought me a magazine, so that was nice. Then Jordan got his hair cut, and I waited for him. Then we left, because thats all there was, that we needed to do. We forgot to bring our coolers to go shopping at the Comissary, and we had just gone grocery shopping last week, so we were not in need of anything too serious. Then we went on our way back home, which seemed like it only took half the time. We did go back to Wal Mart and we bought some carbs for my plants, and a bird feeder for my birds and some food for them, and its very nice to hear them chirping outside. I even had a bird with an orange beak at the feeder this morning, I think it was some type of wax-wing. But mostly I have tree sparrows, and ocassional starling and if there s bread outside a whole flock of selfish seagulls. I love my little back yard. Right now, my house plants are doing a little sunbathing on the porch, I think they love it there. This moring I had to give one of my plants a soap bath because he had little bugs all over him, he looks much more cheerful now.And thats the downlow on my plants. Well that hopefully informed you a little about how things are going here!

The Heat! I cant take the Heat!

2006-07-18T13:17:00.000-04:00

Today I am writing from the semi-comfort of my own home..its way too hot today! Im thinking that maybe air conditioning might be a good thing afterall.... Life has been grand since my last entry. I booked some plane tickets to go home in three weeks, I will be flying back north on the 8th and will be back here on the 23rd. Amanda and Matt are getting married on the 11th of August, and after that the whole Nieuwhof clan will be going on vacation for a week to Nova Scotia I think..somwheres. But I am pretty stoked about going back again, and being in some nice comforatable heat, instead of this insane heat here. Well I thought that an address would be appropriate for this blog so you could write me letters to put in the mail if you wanted to 1450B Delaware Avenue, Cape May, New Jersey, 08204, USA. That way I wont look like such a dork, traipsing over to my mailbox everyday and getting nothing. Well sometimes Bill does like to sit in my mailbox..but that is sooo not exciting! (hahahahaha!!! that one was for you Mom!) Lets see, Jordan is keeping busy with work, and his side job cutting grass for Bob. He mowed our lawn the other day because it was getting a little lengthy, and because I didnt want the birds getting lost...well OK so it wasnt quite that bad..but still. I have a little bunny rabbit that likes to hop though the front lawn...he looks so scrawny and hungry. So I decided he needed a little fattening up, so I threw some carrots out at him, but I think he thought I was going to hit him with the carrotts so he bolted out of the lawn..I havent seen the little guy since, and I also think that the carrots are still in the lawn, but I bet they are really limp and shriveled from the antagonising heat of the sun beating down on their once crisp little bodies...maybe the bunny will come back, who knows...yesterday I met the first person around here to say hi to me. She is my very next door neighbor in house C, and her name is Shelly..She seems like a very nice person, and invited me to come over at any time...so I think I might take her up on her offer. She is about the same age as me I think..I didnt ask her yet..but when I do you ll be the first to know! Well its really too hot to sit here...so I am going to find a dark cold place to sit, and organize pi