2008 Christmas Letter

Snow Day

I was transported back to being eight years old today...well, kinda. We had a big snow storm move in yesterday, really our first of the season. We were offered a fine layer of freezing rain that turned the road into a slippery bathtub, and then we were blanketed by some seven to nine inches of snow.

Awesome, or so the little boy inside me cried. Well, not really so awesome when you consider that I spend most of my days on the road.

I woke this morning to find the beautiful white covering and did what any working man without a teenage son would do. I strapped on my boots, pulled on my hat, and started blazing a path to my car door. That done, I got myself ready for work, and then went about using the path I had just made to go out and test the roads. I got as far as a half mile outside of town, found a couple of cars already in the ditch, and decided the trek to work wasn't worth it. Really, my main reason for getting to the office would be to then travel another 25 miles further east to where I had a meeting set up for 9:30. There was no chance of actually making it that far in that amount of time, so I turned around and headed home.

Fortunately, I keep a contact list with phone numbers and the like with me when I travel so the day wasn't a total loss. I spent the next several hours making phone calls and double checking on projects.

The snow day is giving Katie (whose school was cancelled along with everyone else's in a hundred mile radius) and me some time to do a few other things. Butlers was calling my name from about four different directions for one thing, and there is a few household things we will be able to catch up on. (It always amazes me how that laundry keeps piling up day after day as if we were getting more things dirty.)

I guess in the end I will have to give in to my eight year old self and enjoy the snow day even if I won't be spending the day building a snow fort or playing Nintendo.

Productive Weekend

We had a very productive weekend! We were finally able to spend time at home and get some things accomplished.

Here is our list of tasks we were able to cross off:

1. Grocery Shopping
2. Cleaned Bathroom
3. Did Dishes
4. Decorated outside with Christmas lights, garland, and tree
5. Wrote our Christmas poem to send out with our Christmas cards
6. Put all of the laundry away
7. Swept and mopped the floors
8. Made a card for Thatcher's birthday
9. Wrapped all the Christmas presents
10. Fixed the vacuum
11. Vacuumed the whole house

We even had time to watch a movie, take a nap, read books, and lounge around.

I'm trying not to focus on the fact that our Christmas tree is still lacking ornaments. :)

28 Weeks

Thanksgiving weekend was a lot of fun. We managed to make it to Ryan's aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner and to my Grandparent's house for dessert. On Friday, Mom and I were up and ready to shop by 3:00 AM. We got lots of great deals, and I'm now done with our Christmas shopping! For the remainder of the weekend, we spent time with Ryan's family.

I'm officially into my 3rd trimester!! We had a doctor's appointment today...time for the glucose test. We will hear about the results tomorrow. Baby has been moving around like crazy the last few weeks. Seems like the baby has been most active at nighttime and when I am trying to sleep.

We put up our Christmas tree tonight. We only went as far as putting on the lights...ornaments are for another night when it isn't so late.

I will leave you with a current belly picture! :)

Student Letter

I have a young boy in my class who has been struggling to pay attention and focus on what the class is working on. He is more interested in socializing with the kids around him. Sometimes I have to tell him 2 or 3 times to get something out before it actually happens.

Anyways, his mom has noticed a drop in his Language grade and was wondering what was up with that. I sent a note home explaining his current behavior in the classroom and how he might be able to bring that grade up with a few extra listening skills.

The next day, I received an apology letter:

I'm sorry for my behavior. I'm not going to have to be told 2 or 3 times anymore. I'm going to complete all the homework I get.

That sweet letter made my day. :) And he had a much better day!

Julie's Wedding

Well, I survived Personal Attendant duties for Julie's wedding this weekend. I had a great time being with Julie and enjoying those rare moments with a bride before walking down the aisle. She was a beautiful bride,and I was honored to be able to share in her special day. Here are a few pictures of the wedding day.

Pictures

Here is a recent belly picture at 24 weeks. We had our monthly doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Baby is healthy. I have gained 9 pounds in the last month...which is good considering I didn't gain any weight the month before.





Here are a few pictures we took for our Christmas cards. Enjoy!

Busy Busy Busy

Well, Katie usually does all the posting , so I guess the blogging has fallen to me tonight. It was a busy weekend; Katie and I went to Ames on Friday to her mom's work, where we had another ultrasound done just for fun. The tech there was able to tape the whole thing for us, which is fun to go back and watch. The little bugger was laying in a way that it was impossible to say if it was a him or a her, which is fine because we don't really want to know anyway. On the plus side we found out that our baby has long legs and big feet. I'm not sure exactly how you can tell that on a 1lb 5oz child, but it is what she said none the less. My child is probably going to tower over me by age thirteen :) Oh well, that is the way it works.

Katie and I also had the chance to do some Christmas shopping and hang out with Katie's family, which was pretty sweet. We went to Hickory Park, a restaurant I highly recommend, mmm mmm good, but if you're going, plan to get there early and wait for a little while before getting a table - apparently some other people think it is mmm mmm quality as well.

We have another crazy week ahead of us. We have the lazy boy chair we ordered two months ago finally arriving sometime on Tuesday afternoon, so I will have to get home to receive it. Also on Tuesday Katie and I have our doctor's visit (to be honest they seem a bit more concerned with Katie at the appointments then me for some reason), after which Katie and I will have to hurry back to Humboldt so we can vote, and I can get home in time to have a Butlers Meeting. On Wednesday night we start our birthing classes, hip hip hurray for two hours every Wednesday in November. With the Monthly Meeting at Butlers just around the corner, I will spend a lot of this week trying to get ready for that as well. Katie also has Iowa Test of Basic Skills this week, which adds a certain amount of stress to life, and I finally get to pick up my book and begin the second draft. I put it away almost four weeks ago in order to build some distance between its plot and my mind. This way I will have a more appraising eye when I read back through. Exciting stuff! It is going to be a crazy week with about a dozen other big things to do, but God is ever faithful, and that is about as cool as it gets. Anyway this blog is way long enough. Sorry for the extra words. I'm done now, blessings.

Busy

Sorry for the delay in our blog writing. It seems we have been extremely busy lately.

This past weekend, Ryan went to OC to help watch the kiddos while Kim and I spent the weekend shopping in Des Moines. We had a lot of fun finding good deals! I did some Christmas shopping, and I got some new maternity clothes that actually fit. As soon as I got home and walked in the door, Ryan said, "I'm not ready to have a 2 year old and a 10 month old." :) I think the guys were a little exhausted by the end of the babysitting weekend!

Ryan and I are really looking forward to spending time at home this weekend. Plans are to clean and organize the garage. And do report cards!

Ultrasound

Today Katie and I met with our doctor to go over the ultrasound results. (We had to wait from Thursday, through the weekend, and all the way till Tuesday to find out if our baby is healthy-wowzer!) Anyway, worries can go out the door. In our doctor's words, "The baby is very symmetrical." It wasn't exactly the good news I thought I was listening for, or at least not how I thought I would hear it, but good news it is. Happy Happy Happy! Our baby is healthy, and his/her femurs are the same size too :) I guess that is all for now. Praise be to God for his countless blessings.

20 Week Ultrasound

Ryan and I went in for our ultrasound on Thursday. We had no plans of finding out what we are having, which was good since the baby was not very cooperative. :) The little stinker was flipped over on it's tummy, so we weren't even able to get a great picture of the face. We have another ultrasound at my mom's clinic the end of this month, so hopefully we can get those pictures. This one will also be videotaped, which we are very excited about.

As far as we could tell, the baby appeared healthy, but we go back to the doctor on Tuesday for the official ultrasound report.

This weekend is a relaxing weekend for us. We have no big plans, except to enjoy the extra sleep and time together.

Busy Weekend

Friday, we went to OC to spend time with Ryan's family. His brother and his family were back visiting from California. It was fun seeing them and how much Jackson has changed just in 4 months!

Ryan woke up this morning really sick with flu-like symptoms. He has been in bed all day with stuff coming out both ends. Hopefully it is the 24 hour bug and he is better tomorrow.

I have started to feel much better the last two weeks of the pregnancy. I can finally handle walking into the kitchen and even cooking! Ryan really appreciates this change. :) We go for our ultrasound on October 2nd. But we don't want to find out what we are having, so it will be a surprise at the end. We have decided on our two names, which is very exciting.

Have a great week!

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