Saturday to Saturday...

Highlights from this past week:

-- Saturday, the 12th:

• Went to "Real Life Scrapbooking" and not only got to visit with friends I hadn't seen in quite a while, but also got to make a really cute clipboard that will eventually go in my new "craft room"

• Left the crafting party early to return home, since Kassia was hungry and refused to eat from a bottle...(it was Daddy's first time hanging out alone with Kassia at home!)


• Worked on straightening up the house

-- Sunday, the 13th:

• Went to church in the morning


• Took a long nap in the afternoon


• Worked on straightening up the house

-- Monday, the 14th:

• Had an appointment with GE to have someone come out and fix our dishwasher...(and I'm pleased to say, it works just fine now - Hooray for not having to hand wash dishes!)


• Had help from my "interior designer" (Mom!) and made the formal dining room somewhat presentable...(she even found a use for my old baker's rack so that it displays some of my Polish Pottery, and it looks great!) Thanks again for your help, Mammo!



• Learned that evening that the family dog, Duke, who was 14 1/2 years old, had passed away... Sad times! He was the BEST dog ever and definitely more a family member than a pet! He'll really be missed...

-- Tuesday, the 15th:

• Had a "girls' day" with Mom and Kassia... We ran a few errands, had a delicious lunch at Cracker Barrel (I had the chicken and dumplings - my fave! YUM!), and stopped by Linens'N'Things on the way home, where Mom bought us our "housewarming" gift - the bath set I'd been wanting for our guest bathroom! It looks so great in there! I love the colors and the overall style, too! (I still haven't painted yet, and there are still some decorative touches that need to be added...but it looks so splendid already that I just wanted to share it with ya'll!) Oh, and did I mention that I have the world's greatest "interior designer?!"


• Made a late evening run to the HEB for some much-needed, "essentials"...(stuff to hold us over till the "big" grocery shopping, which will have to happen soon, as we're almost out of everything!)

-- Wednesday, the 16th:

• Went first thing in the morning when Target opened to get Kassia's pictures taken...finally! They turned out SO cute! I can't wait to get them back and buy some frames for them! And, I know all the grandparents will be aching for their copies as well... Kassia did pretty well for all the camera-flashing and positioning and clothes-changing that took place...although, she didn't smile except for at the very beginning...(she didn't frown or cry, either...just didn't smile...which kind of stinks, because that doesn't really fit her personality at all - she smiles ALL the time otherwise... Ah well...) I look at her in those photos and can't believe how much she's grown and how quickly time has flown!


• Had lunch out with Scott at Panda Express


• Worked on straightening up the house (does anyone see a trend here?!) We actually got quite a bit done that afternoon, though...enough where you could tell that we'd made a difference...and I got 85% of my clothes stuff sorted and put away...


• Went to small group (week 2) over at Chris and Lynn's and had a good time discussing the sermon and fellowshipping

-- Thursday, the 17th:

• Had an appointment with KHH to have someone come out and fix the crack in the grout in our master bathroom shower...(and now, it's as good as ever!)


• Finished the other 15% of my clothes stuff, so it's all finished now - Yay!


• Cleaned up our bathroom


• Did the dishes


• Had a "date night" with Scott... We had pizza for dinner, so I didn't have to cook...and then dropped Kassia off with Lynn, so Scott and I could go out for dessert at Baskin Robbins... We had a really nice time, just eating ice cream outside and talking and relaxing for a little while... Kassia wouldn't eat from the bottle again, though...so I'm going to have to do some researching to figure out what's the matter...(my guess is that I need to switch up the nipple and try a different one...we'll see...) We were really grateful to Lynn (and Chris, too) for watching Kassia for us! Thanks, guys! (And, as an extra side note, ya'll should definitely check this out: Baskin Robbins is having a special, "one night only" deal, where you can get a scoop of ice cream for just 31 cents! More info here...)

-- Friday, the 18th:

• Spent almost the entire day with a guy from Ranger American, getting our security system installed... He ran into a few snags, so it took him quite a while to get everything figured out...(although, he still had to leave without finishing up part of it, due to the fact that he couldn't get one of the lines to work...he thinks it may have been cut before the house was finished or something) He was here for 5 hours! And, I know he hadn't eaten anything...so I gave him a Snickers bar for a snack and sent him off with a PB&J, some Cheet-os, and a root beer when he finished up... Nice guy...


• Enjoyed a lazy evening with Scott, sitting around watching TV and movies: "Juno" and "August Rush"...both really entertaining in different ways...

-- Saturday, the 19th:

• Yes, I'm up at 5am! I couldn't sleep... I finished feeding Kassia and tried to lay back down, but all the chocolate from the ice cream I ate during our movie-a-thon kept me awake so that my mind wouldn't stop thinking or be quiet! So, I decided I'd update the blog instead...which is all that's taken place so far on this Saturday... However, I do happen to know that we'll be "working on straightening up the house" today during the day...(imagine that!) And, that we'll be spending the rest of the afternoon and evening over at my parents' house, hanging out, relaxing, grilling, and enjoying each other's company, so I'm looking forward to that...(and hopefully, I'll have some great photos to post from it, too!)

Alright, well, I guess that about catches me up! I really will try to be better about posting more often...and taking more pictures, too... This past week was actually really busy for me... I even had things written down on my calendar... Glad it's time for the weekend again, though... Well, I'm going to go try and lay back down and sleep for a little while...before it's time for Kassia to eat again... Talk to ya'll again soon!

PS. I couldn't finish posting this without Kassia waking up and needing to feed first...*smiles*

Has It Really Been THAT Long?!...

Yep, I guess it has! Almost a month has gone by since my last blog post... (I suppose that's what happens with a baby that takes up most of your time...and a new house and other random day-to-day "stuff" that takes up the rest...) So, here's a glimpse at the highlights of the last month or so (and in no specific order):

• Kassia's grown and grown! I can't believe how quickly she's changing...it seems like she looks a little different and a little bigger every single day... How is that possible?! My sweet "baby" won't be a baby too much longer... She had her 2-month check-up on the 21st of March...(yep, that would be the "21st of March" that just happened to be Good Friday, so we spent Easter weekend at home, trying to recover from her 2-month shots and missed the Easter service that Sunday... Ah well, I guess there's always next year to take photos of her in a cute Easter dress...) At that appointment, she weighed 10lbs, 13oz and was 23 inches long... We went back to the hospital yesterday, because she has a yucky eye infection in her left eye...and when they weighed her then, she was 11lbs, 4oz! She's literally "growing like a weed!" The doctor prescribed her some eye ointment that we have to give her twice a day for the next five days...and see how she's doing... Let me tell you - putting that ointment on the inside of her bottom eyelid is NO fun...and even with Scott and I tag-teaming it, it's still quite a chore...(and it breaks Mommy's heart to see her so uncomfortable! I was in tears last night while trying to administer the treatment...) I'm hoping to finally schedule a time to get some professional photos done next week sometime, after she's feeling better... We'll see how it goes... I'm listening to her semi-cry/moan on the baby monitor right now, as she's in her room in the crib "trying" to take a nap... I'm trying to get her used to her bed now that her room is just about finished...so that we can make the transition from the pack-n-play... We'll also be experimenting with trying to sleep most of the way through the night over the next couple weeks... I'll keep you posted on that one... (Oh, and speaking of her room...the painting was a success! Everything looks so cute all put together...with the crib set and some of the decorations... We just have one last "project" to complete, and then I'll take some pictures of the finished product and post them here for ya'll to see...)
• A friend of ours from Germany was in town for a week back in March for a military training class at Randolph AFB...so we got to hang out with him on a couple of evenings... It was so good to see him! We've known Lindley for years now, and we spent a lot of time with him and his wife, Emiley, and their kids when we were stationed back at Spangdahlem... We miss them a ton... They're really wonderful Christian friends! We went to dinner with Lindley and some of his other friends from here in the area the first night...and it was a little "different" for him to see Scott and I with a baby... Lindley came over to our house the second night, and he was used to sweet Kassia by then... He used his video camera to record me showing off our new home...(even with all the piles of stuff and boxes everywhere!)...so he could show Emiley when he got back to Germany... I also recorded him playing with Kassia on his lap... She was really enjoying the attention...and I don't think Lindley minded playing with her, either... Even though the time was short, we really enjoyed getting to see Lindley and just hang out and chat and catch up... Thank You, Lord, we really needed that!

• We went to go see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Majestic Theatre downtown...and it was spectacular! It was a combined belated birthday present for both Scott and I from my parents... We went to dinner at a restaurant on the Riverwalk beforehand, and then walked to the theater from there... And, yes, Kassia went with us! She was quite startled in her sleep by the pipe organ playing... And, she did really well during the first half... But, during the second half, she started to get hungry and needed a diaper change, so Mommy missed a little bit due to that... The whole thing was so amazing, though! We loved it! Thanks again, Mom and Dad!
• Kassia had her first "IKEA experience" last Thursday! Mommy was so proud! I had my mom snap a photo of us outside before leaving... I hadn't been to IKEA in what seemed like forever...(I know it was while I was still pregnant...) I bought a few new things for the house, mostly for the kitchen...like: a new tea pot, some "chef-like" cans to hold my cooking utensils, a couple of drawer organizers, some cutting boards, and some other odds-n-ends... I also got a cute new lamp that will eventually be sitting on the cabinet I'm hoping to return and buy for behind the new sofa... We're also going to eventually be getting a TV cabinet that comes from the same set, so we're excited about that... The living room's really going to look nice when we get everything all put together...
• And, on the topic of "living room" and every other room in our new house... Nope, we still haven't gotten everything unpacked yet! I have a feeling it's going to take quite a while... The weekends are really the only time we can fully devote to getting stuff settled in, since both Scott and I are home to take turns keeping Kassia entertained... We're excited for the plans we have for decorating, though... It'll just be a few weeks before we get to see them "in action"... And, I have high hopes for splitting the 3rd bedroom into a guest room/craft room... It'll be really nice to have all my scrapbooking and cardmaking stuff all organized and to have a nice space to be creative in...
• We got to spend a lot of time visiting with my brother, my mom, and our nephew, Caleb... He really had a good time coming over and hanging out with us...and we were so glad to see him! He enjoyed throwing the football around in the backyard, since there's plenty of space to play and run... He "helped" Uncle Scott with some boxes and played in the loft upstairs... He watched a little TV here and there to take a break from running around... But, the coolest part of the whole weekend was making tie-dye t-shirts! He asked Jeff, his dad, just what "tie-dye" was...so Jeff showed him some pictures of shirts on the internet...and that was it - Caleb said he just had to make some! So, Jeff, Mom, and Caleb all went to Hobby Lobby before coming over and bought a tie-dye kit and some plain white t-shirts, as well as some extra dyes that weren't included... And, we were off! Saturday afternoon was spent just trying to figure out the whole process, so we only finished three shirts...(two of which were Caleb's, so he really enjoyed that) Then, on Sunday afternoon, we finished up shirts for everyone else in the family and for a few friends as well... Caleb wasn't too interested in the actual process anymore, though, since he's only 5 and a half years old... All he wanted to do was just "point"...(tell us where the colors should go...) The rest of the time, he played outside with a toy car and some of our leftover bricks, making roads for the car to drive on...and he also had a lot of fun rolling down the driveway! We sure do love that little man! And, the t-shirts turned out awesome, too!
• We've been busy with the New Braunfels campus of RCCC... Scott's been helping out with the praise band by playing guitar for the service on Sunday's... He also sometimes helps to "set up" and "tear down" before and afterwards... And, tonight marks the first meeting of our combined small group with Chris and Lynn, so we're all really excited to see what God's going to do with that... For now, the McCord's have graciously decided to use their home for us to meet in until Scott and I have our house more "visitor-friendly"...then, everyone will meet over here... What a neat opportunity... It's definitely a "God thing"...

Other than all that, we've been: trying to grow our yard from dead and brown to green and thriving, trying to get some sleep when we can, trying to learn the "ropes" of owning a new home and having to pay all the bills that come with it, trying to spend time with family, and trying to relax every once in a while...

So, yes, it's been a very busy last month!

A Rainy Monday...

Yep, the kind of day where you feel like curling up on the couch or in a comfy chair with a warm blanket, a steaming cup of hot cocoa, and a good book... One of these days...(hopefully, in the near future)...I hope to have a room set up to do just that... I'm hoping to transform the room I'm in now (the 4th bedroom) into a cozy office/library once our stuff arrives...complete with a small sofa, two armchairs, and a bunch of bookshelves... I'm looking forward to setting up/designing not only this room, but the rest of the house as well...especially Kassia's room! It's going to be so fun making her little room all pretty! I'm washing all the linens for her crib set today...and tomorrow, my parents and I are going to buy the paint and painting supplies to decorate the walls... I'll definitely have to take some "before and after" pictures, so ya'll can see the difference...

Alrighty, well, I'm off to take care of some chores around the house...

So Long 28...

Yesterday was my 6-week post-partum check-up...(wow...I just used a lot of hyphens!) And, everything looks good... I'm happy to report that I'm almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight already...(what a blessing!) And, now that I've been cleared to start exercising again, hopefully that last little bit will disappear soon! With the go-ahead from the doctor, everything should start returning to normal soon...(although, these days...especially with all the changes going on...I'm not exactly sure how to define "normal"...I guess just: "somewhat like it was pre-baby"...) So, yeah...I'd like to be more mobile now...I'd like to set up a work-out schedule of some type...I'd like to be able to bring heavy sacks of groceries in the house by myself...those kinds of things... Of course, I'll have to start out slowly and gradually work myself up to that...but it's definitely something to look forward to...

What else...?

Well, we found out yesterday that our shipment from Baltimore made it here! I called today and went through the usual military hassle and got our delivery date set up for next Thursday, the 13th... So, we'll finally have our "stuff" after not seeing it in over a year... We can't wait! It'll be a lot of work to get everything unpacked and settled in, but it'll be so nice once it's all finished...

What else...?

Today, I turned 29 years old! Yep, "happy birthday to me!" Mom took me out to a late breakfast at IHOP, and then we did a little shopping around the Forum... Being out with a six-week old kind of causes the day to go a bit slower...(since Kassia eats every one and a half to two hours)...but it was nice nonetheless...(and, I sure appreciated Mom's patience...) The cold, rainy, windy weather was just to my liking as well...and made for great napping weather later in the afternoon... Scott brought me "sunshine" (as he sweetly called it) in the form of some very pretty yellow flowers and a card...as a surprise when he came home from work this evening... And, I think the plan is to just "veg" in front of the TV with a yummy bowl of ice cream for the rest of the night...

(Yep, a huge, extremely deliciously fatty bowl of ice cream way late in the evening... Right...so I guess that exercise plan I was talking about at the beginning of this blog will just have to be postponed a little...)

Alrighty... Well, we'll see how 29 really feels tomorrow...

"Ch-ch-changes..."

Change #1: We have a new house!

And, the feeling is so very different...

It's been such a long time since we've had a place of our own...and it's kind of hard having to leave my parents all over again... But, what a blessing to actually OWN a home! God is so good to us... We're slowly but surely getting things settled in...(well, as much as can be expected until our shipment from Baltimore arrives...and still no word on that yet...) And, we're looking forward to decorating and making this new house a true "home"...

Change #2: We have a new baby...

Our sweet baby girl, Kassia, just turned six weeks old yesterday! My how she's grown! I'm so amazed at her everyday...always so patient with me...teaching me all kinds of new things about being a mommy... She's wonderful...and really, too wonderful for words... I never thought parenthood would be like this... I love her SO MUCH...

Change #3: We have a new church home...

We're so excited to be a part of the new satellite church and all the great things God's got planned for this new fellowship of believers... He's already moving and doing so many neat things, it's hard to keep up! We're looking forward to seeing how God's going to use us and the other people He's put into leadership positions to draw people to Himself...

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There's really so much I want to write about...and so many more things I'd like to say...but, I'll have to save them for another time... I sure do miss blogging everyday...just jotting down my thoughts...or writing about the happenings in my life... I'm hoping to do better about it now that we have the internet hooked up here at the new house...and now that Kassia and I are starting to get on more of a schedule...(sort of)... So, there's more to come! Stay tuned...

House Update - Jan. 11...

We went back through yesterday and checked to make sure that everything we'd pointed out that needed to be repaired before the drywall goes up was taken care of... And, it all looks good... They've also put our insullation in now... The drywall's just sitting in sheets in several rooms of the house, waiting to be put up...so it shouldn't be too long now... Oh, and we were happily surprised to find out that a "little extra concrete" was poured in the back for our patio...so instead of the usual "3x3" slab we were supposed to get, we were blessed with an area that squares off with the house! So very nice!

The VA inspector was supposed to come check the insullation sometime yesterday afternoon... And, then, there was another person who was going to be overseeing the plywood installation that was also supposed to be stopping by... Hopefully, both guys made it over there and did "their thing"... If so, the drywall should be hung by the beginning/middle of next week, and then it takes 5 to 7 more days for all the taping and such... But, after all that...then, they'll start working on taking care of all the cosmetic stuff inside...and it should really start to look like a house... Yep, not too long now... We're really getting excited about being in our new home... Such an amazing blessing to have a home of our very own!

House Update - Jan. 4...

Yesterday afternoon, we finally went through the house to do a "walk-through" before the drywall can be put up... There were several things that we made sure to bring to the attention of the foreman: 2x4's we weren't too pleased with...door jams that seemed off kilter...plumbing blocks and ceiling fan supports that weren't too sturdy...things like that... I think he'll have plenty to take care of and check up on... Once those repairs are made, they'll start putting in the insullation... Then, another inspector will come in...(this one from the VA)...to make sure the insullation is up to par with "Energy Star"... And, after that, the drywall will start going up...more than likely toward the end of next week... The bad news is that they've pushed the closing date back even further now - till the end of February... I know God's timing is perfect...and I sure do want a "quality-finished" house rather than a "quick-finished" house...but, I do have to admit that in my human self, I'm kind of disappointed... I'd really hoped to be in the house before the baby came... And, then, when that didn't pan out...I hoped to at least be in just after the baby came...and to get our stuff out of storage and all that... Now, we have to do a ton of paperwork to file for an extension so that our household goods can stay in Baltimore just a little bit longer...(the military never makes anything simple or easy...) Ah well... Again, I know God's timing is perfect...so when we finally do move in, I'm sure it'll be extremely blessed... So, that's about it for now till they can start working on the inside/"cosmetic" parts of the house after the drywall's installed... They said that once the drywall's up, everything else tends to go much quicker... We'll see...

House Update - Nov. 18...

It's becoming our "Sunday afternoon thing" to drive out to the house site after church and see what progress has taken place over the last week... I'm always surprised by what new sights I see each week... This Sunday revealed new supports that were added to the first floor ceiling to help with the second floor above...plumbing and piping that was near being finished...and the beginnings of electrical systems being put into place... I was excited to see where the "pot lights" are being put in the kitchen...and just as excited to see the indications of where outlets would be located in each of the rooms... I have a feeling that it won't be too long now before they start putting up the dry wall...and then the walls will actually look like walls...how cool is that?...

House Update - Nov. 11...

Scott and I went to go see the progress on the house this evening... There's now a driveway, a sidewalk leading to the front door, and a sidewalk around the corner of the lot... And, there's actually a front door now as well! There's definitely been a lot of work on the inside, too... They've laid down the lines for all the plumbing...red and blue hoses for hot and cold water... And, they put the tubs and shower pieces where they belong in the bathrooms...(no more random garden tub sitting in the garage...) They've also been working on putting in all the ducting for the air conditioning... It's so neat getting to see all the aspects that go into building a house! (These photos were from this past Friday, the 9th, but the house looked the same when we visited it this evening...so we didn't take any new ones...)

House Update - Nov. 4...

The house is coming along nicely... All of the cross-beams have been taken down now that the other beams are set, which means that they're ready to start doing "stuff" to the walls and inside the walls... Supposedly, this week, they'll be starting on some of the mechanical issues, like the air conditioning ducting, as well as starting up the electrical and plumbing parts to the house as well... The outside of the house is also changing... They've painted most of the wood outside, and they're working on pouring the concrete for the driveway, walkway, and the sidewalk that runs around to the side of the house... It's really such an amazing process! Scott and I are floored everytime we show up to see the progress...

So Much Can Happen in 8 Days...

Especially with the weather being so nice! Scott and I took a drive yesterday evening and went to check on the progress on the house... And, as we pulled around the corner and the house came into view...we were SO surprised! The house actually looks like "a house" already! It's amazing how quickly it's being built... Scott took some pictures on his lunchbreak on Thursday, the 18th, and they were just starting to frame the second floor... And, by the time we went yesterday evening...well...I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves!

Oct. 18, 2007

And, 8 days later...

WOW, huh?! Yep, we were pretty taken aback! All of the windows are in...the outside's almost finished, except for the brick...and the beginning of the roof has already been put in place! It's really such an exciting time!

But, we're still praying about what God wants us to do... No hints from Him as of yet...so, we'll just keep seeking Him and praying and waiting...trusting that He'll answer us in His perfect timing...

Lord, we truly want what You want... We know that Your way is best...and that Your plans are far greater than we could ever imagine... We know You see the "big picture"... Help us to be sensitive to Your Holy Spirit's leading...and to be obedient to Your will...