Christmas Catch Up and Happy New Year!

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile since I've posted. Adam and I left our house on December 20th and went up to NJ for Christmas. We stopped in Washington DC on the way up--we spent the day walking around the National Mall area and then spent the night--and we got to NJ on Sunday afternoon. We had a very nice Christmas with my family and we even spent the 26th exploring the historic part of Philly with my parents.

We headed home on Sunday morning (the 28th) and spent 11+ grueling hours in the car...yuck! We hit a ton of traffic, mostly in the Baltimore and DC areas. No surprise there.

Now here it is, the last day of the year. I can't believe it! It really is true that time goes by faster the older you get. It's kind of scary!

Sometimes I feels like it will take FOREVER for June to get here so we can meet our little June Bug, and other times I surprised by how quickly my pregnancy is going; I can't believe I'm almost done with my fourth month! (By the way, my next appointment is Jan. 7th.)

So, with this new year that's upon us, I think we could all use this reminder. Slow down.

We get so caught up in things that don't matter that we forget to appreciate the things that do, don't we? I know I do.

Now, I won't make any New Year's Resolution, mostly because I think they are pointless, but when life gets hectic and I'm wishing for the day, week, or month to be over with I'll try to remind myself to slow down. I hope you'll do the same.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Am I a bad mommy (to be) already?

My friend, Beth, brought to my attention that I haven't posted anything about my pre-natal appointments! Yes, I have been procrastinating (which is something I do quite well) because I haven't scanned the ultrasound in to my computer yet, but here it goes.

We went to our first appointment in November. At the time I was 8 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I surprised that the very first thing that they did was an ultrasound! Of all the times in my life that I imagined going to my first appointment as a pregnant woman, I always pictured that I would go in, pee in a cup, get blood work and wait for the "official" results before the appointment went any further. Nope. Not how it went. I'm not complaining--I loved getting to the best part of the appointment right away! Adam and I loved seeing our little June Bug on the screen. Although at the time it looked like a bean. :)

June Bug- 8 wks 1 day Gestation

(picture coming)

We just went to our second appointment on Wednesday, December 10th. (12 weeks gestation) Adam came with me again because we wanted to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time together. The appointment was very short, especially compared to how long I was there the first time, but we did get to hear the heart beat--160. According to the old wives tale, the higher heart rate (I read the heart rate is usually between 120-160) indicates it's a girl, which is funny because my family is convinced it IS a girl. I guess we'll see in February when we have our next ultra sound!

Take a look at the pole on the right side of the page--before you leave tell us what you think we're having! (Yes, we know it's a baby...)

The List

My Cousin, Sue, posted this on her blog. I enjoyed looking for the ones that she has done, so I thought I'd post it too.

The things that I have done are in BOLD.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (Don't want to!)
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (does the one I adopted/sponser in India count?)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors (Germany)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia (Adam and I want to--hopefully some day!)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (SOON!!!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant


40/100 (41/100 in June!)...not too shabby for a 28 year old, I guess. There are a few things on here that I would NEVER want to do, such as ride and elephant, go bungee jumping, etc., so I will never get to 100--but I've also been to some amazing places that didn't make the list, so I'm OK with that. :)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Well, I've been gone for a while, but give me a break... I'm pregnant, tired, it's the holiday season and I'm a teacher. Need I say more? :)

Speaking of tired, I could really tell that my exhaustion has gotten the best of me this past week. Every year I am SO EXCITED to get our Christmas tree--we pick it out, string the lights and decorate it all in the same day. This year was MUCH different. We got the tree on Monday and put it in the stand. After that I became a piece of the furniture for the rest of the evening. Tuesday night is Bible study so no tree time. The rest of the week Adam had a church commitment so: Wednesday I managed to put the lights on the tree. I could do no more. Thursday I donned the tree with 10-15 ornaments; after that I was disinterested. Friday night? Same. We FINALLY finished decorating the tree together on Saturday morning. Whew. It looks pretty good but I threw out my wire garland last year and I never went out to buy more this year. I seems like a waste of time at this point! (We'll be in NJ from 12/20-12/27 or 28...an entire week of not seeing the tree anyway)

Here is the before and after shot of the tree. I'll have to take a picture of it decorated in the daylight, too.

Just got the tree in the stand!

Finally complete 5 days later!

Have an excellent week! Oh, and we have our 3 month appointment on Wednesday. Pray that all is well with our June Bug! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Adam and I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! We'd like to let everyone in on a little secret we've been keeping and today just seems like a wonderful day to do it.

So, our lips are no longer sealed... we're having a baby!!!

I've blogged a few times about the pregnancy but I've been saving them as drafts, so go back and read those posts!

Love to all!

I've Been Tagged!

My cousin, Sue, tagged me in her blog.

The instructions were to go to "My Pictures" and choose the fourth folder and then the fourth picture in that folder and then post that picture. Here's mine:

Last March Adam was in a car accident (we took pictures for insurance purposes). A teenage driver pulled out in front of him, giving him no time to stop. He had a few bumps and bruises and he had to go to the Chiropractor for many months, but he is completely healed now, praise the Lord! :)

As for our car... it wasn't even a year old at the time! We knew that the condition of the car didn't matter and we were thankful for Adam's safety...but deep down we really were still mad about the car. Thankfully, it was completely repaired and it still looks brand new. :)

Well, it's my turn to tag someone. Beth, you're it! :)

Still Germy!

Just a quick update:

Adam and I are both still sick! Please pray that we will be healed of this yucky cold soon... it's effecting both of our breathing, sleep, and ability to be as focused as we need to be on work during the day.

Thanks for your prayers! :)

Veteran's Day

I never really cared much about Veteran's Day when I was younger, but when I became an adult I realized just how important this day is, not just for the veteran's who put their lives on the line for their country, but for us non-veteran's, too. We need to remember to honor and thank those who served in our armed forces.

In thinking about Veteran's Day today, I decided to look up the history of this day and this is what I found (taken from the US Department of Veterans Affairs website):

"World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

When a bill went into effect that changed Armistice Day to Veteran's Day, there was much debate about when the day would be celebrated. Some wanted all holidays with patriotic significance to be observed on a Monday so that people would have a three day weekend, but other wanted this day to be celebrated on the 11th no matter which day of the week the 11th happened to fall on. Well, I guess we all know which side won that debate. :)

So, let me encourage you to go out of your way to thank a Veteran today. I will personally be calling my dad, Victor Iwanoff, to thank him for his service to our country in the Vietnam War. I remember my dad telling me stories when I was a young girl about the way the young men of this country were treated upon their return from Vietnam. It seems our country as a whole was too ignorant to know that they could support the troops, but not the war. My dad told me that after a year (or longer) of being in the Vietnam jungle, soldiers would return back to the US with out a thank you, but instead they were literally spat upon and protested against. When I got older this broke my heart for my dad--a man who wasn't even born an American but immigrated to the USA from Germany as a boy and still loved his country enough to enlist when his country needed him. He didn't wait to be drafted and he didn't run away like so many cowardly men did.

Several years ago I sent my dad a card for Veteran's Day letting him know that he is and always will be my hero. I thanked him for what he did and I told him how much his service meant to me. When he called me to let me know that he received the card, he told me that no one had ever thanked him before for that. I cried.

Dad, I don't know if you'll ever read this message, but thank you. Thank you for fighting for our country, even when it wasn't the popular thing to do. Thank you for being a model of courage before I was even a thought in your mind. But most of all, dad, thank you for being you. I love you!

So again, I encourage you to thank, really THANK, a Veteran today. I know you'll be glad you did!

Have a great day!

7 weeks, 4 days

That's how pregnant I am today. According to What to Expect When You're Expecting, the baby is the size of a blueberry this week, and in another 2 days or so Baby Lane will be the size of a large raspberry. They baby is starting to look, well, more baby-like this week instead of looking like a little alien.

I am getting pretty antsy...I can't wait to tell EVERYONE that we are expecting! My first appointment with my OB/GYN is on Friday. Adam is going to come along with me since we get to see the first picture of our little June Bug. I am already thinking about scanning in the ultrasound picture and putting it at the top of my blog page, but I guess I will have to wait until Thanksgiving to do that, too.

My parents and my brother and his family are coming down for Thanksgiving, as I've mentioned before, and it is not until then that we will tell my brothers (we'll have to call Christopher) and the rest of the family. We plan on making our Happy Thanksgiving phone calls to our aunts and uncles and then we'll clue them in as to what we are most thankful for this year. :)

I am still feeling pretty good and I am blessed that I have not had any morning sickness (yet)! My major pregnancy symptom is still extreme fatigue and all the other minor things that I blogged about before.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Adam and I went down to Mooresville last weekend to tell his parents and sister that a new baby is on the way. We went out to dinner with them first and when we got back to their house we showed them some of our pictures from the Alaskan cruise we went on in August. The last picture in the album was a picture of the positive pregnancy test. They all seemed pretty excited, and my sister-in-law wanted to take credit for it being her idea (ah, the mind of a 16 year old). It wasn't the high pitched crying, laughing, and screaming reaction that we got from my parents, but we were both just happy that they seemed happy, and that's a good thing. :)

House of Germs

My house has become a house of germs over the last week. This past Monday Adam came down with some cold symptoms and I knew we were in trouble. Adam doesn't just get a little, get over it quickly kind of cold. His colds come on strong and stay for way too long.

This time he has been ultra careful to not get near me. I didn't ask him to, but he decided to spend the past week sleeping in the guest room instead of in our bedroom because he didn't want me to get sick.

Well, his efforts were in vain. :( I got sick anyway and I've been miserable the past couple of days. I've had the worst post nasal drip I've ever had--my throat has been so sore. But, thankfully, it seems that I am already starting to get over it. I'm just praying that my cold symptoms won't last as long as Adam's (who's still suffering by the way).

I plan on spending a good part of the day disinfecting my germy house.

Have a good weekend!

God, Government, and the Gospel

My pastor, Will Tuboren of Calvary Baptist Church, preached on this subject today in light of the upcoming election on Tuesday. I take notes every week, but I felt the need to share the message in this way this week because I think it challenges us all (including me!) to rethink our attitude and to get rid of any fear that we may have about Tuesday's perceived outcome.

Will gave us four specific challenges that I will share with you, the heart of the message comes from Romans 13:1-7. I encourage you to read it along with all of the other references posted.

Challenge #1:

Remember to keep things in perspective!
-Our hope is in Jesus Christ
-Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20-21)

Challenge #2:

Remember that God is Sovereign above all things!
-All governing authorities, both good and bad, are ordained by God. (Romans 13:1)
-Examples:
I Kings 12- wicked king
John 19- Just before the crucifixion Pilot tells Jesus that he (Pilot) has the power to crucify Him. Jesus tells Pilot that the only reason Pilot has this authority is because God allowed him to have it.
Romans 9:16-18- Pharaoh is in place because God ordained it to be that the Jews could leave and go into the Promised Land

Challenge #3:

Remember that we must submit to governing authorities, unless our submission leads to sin (what God has called us to do as followers of Jesus Christ).
-Romans 13:2-5: Paul says that to fail to submit to governing authorities is failure to submit to God and it will result in punishment from both the government and God.

Example: Our government says we have to pay taxes (no matter how high!) and we must do so in accordance with the law and with God's Word. (Romans 13:6-7 and Mark 12)

However, there is cause for civil disobedience! Examples of this from the scriptures:

-Daniel 6: Daniel couldn't submit to a law that said he couldn't pray. The consequence? Daniel was thrown in to the lion's den, but the Lord delivered him.

-Daniel 3: Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego wouldn't worship and idol. They were thrown into a fiery furnace and the Lord delivered them.

-Acts 4: Peter & John were punished for telling people about Jesus. They were released and told they were not allowed to witness anymore but they did it anyway because they knew that they were ambassadors for Jesus Christ and for heaven.

Considering Civil Disobedience?

-Consider the grievousness of the action that is sanctioned by the law
-Consider the extent of the unjust law's effect.
-Consider how the civil disobedience gives a witness of the gospel.

THE WAY WE SUBMIT TO GOVERNING AUTHORITIES SPEAKS OF THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY! (wow! those words really spoke to me!)

Challenge #4: God's values must become our values!

-We must consider what each candidate says about the value of LIFE, MARRIAGE & FAMILY, and the POOR and OPPRESSED.


Prayer:

What do we need to pray for? Join Will, my church, the community of Winston-Salem, and the nation in prayer for:

-God's will to be done
-God to be glorified in all things
-and for the glorious Gospel to go forward


Final Thoughts...

"Some of us are going to be jubilant over the outcome of the election, others bitterly disappointed. But remember, regardless of who wins, the City of God endures."
--Chuck Colson, from the article, "A Sacred Duty: Why Christians Must Vote"

Rainy Day

It's a dreary, rainy day here in Winston-Salem but Adam and I intend on making the most of it anyway. Today is the Barbeque Festival in Lexington, NC (just a short drive from us) and Adam is excited to get down there and get his hands on some NC style pulled pork. As for me, I'm just going a long for the ride and to browse at the merchandise displayed by various vendors--I'm not a barbeque eating kind of girl.

Adam told me that Sarah Palin is going to be in Asheville tomorrow, but I don't think we are going to go. I'm not in the mood for a 4 hour drive (round trip), especially on a Sunday.

There's not much else to report from the land of the Lanes. Have a great weekend!

(Sur)Real Life

Today I am 5 weeks and 3 days pregnant and besides my breasts being sore, being tired all the time, and some mild cramping/pulling in my lower abdomen, I don't feel any different. There are times throughout the day when I have to remind myself that there is a little Lane growing inside of me. :)

The reminders that I am indeed pregnant are coming more from the few people who actually know about the pregnancy at this point asking me how I'm feeling, the gifts I've been receiving, and my husband rubbing my belly, which, by the way, is too cute for words.

When I got home from work on Monday (or was it Tuesday?) Adam greeted me with a dozen beautiful red roses.

My friend Cynthia suprised me with an adorable onesie and one of those baby blankies with a bear head on Wednesday night at dinner--our first baby gift! :) Cynthia and I went to Panera after work for some girl talk. Guess what topic dominated the conversation? Thank you, Cynthia! :)

More updates to come!

Finally...

Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamed of what it would be like to have a baby of my own. I loved my baby dolls and I would wish they would be real babies for me to play with. I never grew out of it. As I got older I would dream of what it would be like to be pregnant. To take the test and see the positive result pop up. To cry and laugh. To share the exciting news with a loving husband. I am ecstatic to say that I finally know what those things feel like-- I'm PREGNANT!!

I had my suspicions last week; I was so tired that I would be asleep on the couch by 8 o' clock. I knew that my monthly visitor was due by the end of the week and I was praying that this month my visitor would finally get lost. :) Friday came and went and by the grace of God I was so busy that I didn't have much time to think about it during the day--well I thought about it, but I didn't obsess over it. Saturday morning I went out early to pick up a few things I needed to prepare dinner for company we were having on Saturday evening, so I picked up a test, too. On my way home Adam called me to let me know he was going out to pick up a few things himself--it was perfect timing. As soon as I got home I took the test. As I sat there waiting I prepared myself for the digital "not pregnant" that I saw last month. I gave myself a talking to saying, "If it's negative it's OK. You're period is late. You can test again another day." When I got done talking to myself I looked down at the test and saw it: PREGNANT. I lost it. I cried. I laughed. I momemtarily lost my voice. I kept saying, "Oh, my God....Oh, my God." And then "Thank you Lord!" over and over again. I was shaking. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. I'm going to be a mommy! Reliving it in my mind now is making me cry all over again...

The night before Adam had asked me to upload the rest of our Alaska pictures to the Walgreens website so that we could have the rest of the prints made. Thinking of this, I grabbed the camera

and took a picture of the test stick and uploaded it to the computer. When Adam got home I told him that I was going through the rest of the pictures online and that I needed his help to determine if a few of the pictures were already printed or not. When he come into the study the picture of the pregnancy test was on the computer. He looked at it. Got closer to it. Looked again. Looked at me. I was smiling and teary. He had a big smile on his face as he hugged me. I think it took a little bit for it to really sink in for him though.

I showed Adam a picture of what the baby looks like at 5 weeks pregnant and we agree that it looks like an alien. So, we've affectionatley named him or her so until further notice. :)

We are eagerly anticipating the ultrasound at my first doctor's visit on November 14th.

More updates to come!

The Dixie Classic Fair

OK, so I wrote this last week and I forgot to post it--Life is busy! :)

On October 8th Adam and I headed over to Winston-Salem's yearly claim to fame--The Dixie Classic Fair. It's held on Winston-Salem's fairgrouds, right across from Wake Forest's football stadium. I've never been to the state fair in Raleigh, but I can't imagine that it is any bigger than the Dixie Classic Fair--it's that big.

Our local radio station, WBFJ, hosted a FREE concert at the fair on Wednesday and Adam and I were excited to see Josh Wilson, Mandisa, and Matthew West live. In addition, we were able to get into the fair free by bringing 10 Lowe's Foods brand cans of food. What a deal! (A savings of $16!) It was a bit rainy when we got there, but the grand stand was covered and once the concert got started we forgot all about the rain. The rain subsided by the time that Matthew West sang his last song and we were able to walk around and get our fix of fair food--elephant ears and ice cream. Yum! We didn't get to see the Swifty Swine Racing & Swimming Pigs which was a disappointment, but there's always next year.

MANDISA

MATTHEW WEST

On a seperate note, Adam and I are doing well. Nothing new is going on in our lives, we're just busy with work, church, and life in general. My life is extra busy this year because I am the Yearbook Advisor. What a job! I mean that in everyway you can make it sound... At times I love it, at times I hate it, but anyway I look at it, it has added extra stress to my life!

Oh, while I'm rambling here, let me just say to my friends and family in New Jersey that we will be in NJ for about a week at Christmas and we hope that we will be able to see all of you! I don't get to get up to NJ as much as I'd like and that makes me sad at times, but that's the brakes I guess. Being a teacher you'd think I would have more time to get away, but in the past year or so my get aways have been to other places leaving no time or money for good old Jersey.

Of course my NC friends know that I'm from NJ, but I don't think I've ever pointed out on a map exactly where I'm from. So, here it is--Jersey. If you find Barnegat Light on the island (Long Beach Island) off the coast and then move your eye straight along the water to the mainland you'll see the area in which I grew up, Barnegat. It's not labeled on the map, but it's there. A seaside town with a quiant downtown. All the buildings downtown are historic; the church Adam and I got married in is one of these historic buildings. Every time I go back to Barnegat something is new and different. I'm not sure that I would necissarily live in Barnegat today, I like living in a bigger city, but I love it. I'll always love it. When I'm there it still feels like home.



Ok, now for my New Jersey (& PA) family and friends. Let me intice you to come down and visit me by showing and telling you about where I live: Winston-Salem, NC.

That's all for now. Have a good week!

Random Thoughts

I'm sitting at my desk fully aware that I have real work to do, but I've been a procrastinator my entire life... so here I am blogging instead. Up until now I've been posting about significant things (well, significant to me) but today I thought that I just give you a glimpse in to my very random mind. Here we go...

The "Amazing" Race: (The Ultimate Reality TV...)

I can't wait for the election to be over! I don't know about you, but I am so sick of campaign ads that it's not even a pleasure to watch TV. Before I left for work yesterday morning the Today Show had a teaser as to what was coming up in their next half hour. One of the things they mentioned was "Why you can't get through a commercial break without seeing at least one campaign ad." It's a sad day when the media has to explain this to the general public.

I am in no way trying to come off as unpatriotic; I love this country and I am constantly telling my students that they need to remember how blessed we are that we live here. And yes, I still believe that. It's just been an extremely long race and I think our country is ready for the struggle for power to come to an end.

While I'm on the topic of campaigns let me get this off of my chest. Vote! Vote, vote, vote, vote, vote. And if you don't... Don't complain! OK, I feel better. :)

For voter registration information, visit the following link:

http://www.eac.gov/voter/Register%20to%20Vote

Cloth Diapers:

I know, you're asking yourself, "What the heck is she blogging about cloth diapers for?!?" (And, no, I'm not trying to imply anything either...) For some reason the topic of cloth diapers has come up several times in the past few weeks and I have to say that the idea of using them on my future children does not thrill me. We live in a nation, dare I say world, of convenience and it seems to me that disposable diapers are truly one of those great conveniences! I know that using cloth diapers will lessen our environmental fingerprint, but there are other ways that I do my best to recycle, reuse, reduce. However, I did read that you can go from newborn to potty trained for $300 with cloth diapers or $3,000 with disposable diapers. Now, this figure of $300 seems a bit low to me. If my figuring is correct, assuming that a diaper is changed anywhere from 7-10 times per day, and also assuming that the mommy doesn't live in the laundry room, wouldn't it be a wise idea to at least have 15 diapers on hand? Even with that, wouldn't you constantly be washing diapers? Since this topic keeps coming up within my circle of friends, I looked on line and found that the average price for a decent cloth diaper is $17.

$17 x 15= $255, and that's just for one size diaper. Factor in the different sizes, extra washing (water and electricity), detergent, and precious time and that cost goes even higher. Am I wrong?

(I have no idea who this baby is!)

That being said, I just learned that two of my friends, both with newborns, are using cloth diapers. I am truly interested in learning about their experiences! I won't say that I 100% against trying this when God blesses Adam and I with a child, but it's going to take a lot of convincing that it's worth it. :)

Thanksgiving:

I know it's still two months away, but I am excited to say that we will be hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year. My Mom, Dad, Brother Michael & family, and my in-laws will be joining us. I'm pretty excited that family will be traveling to us for a change! I'm also excited that my brother and his family will finally get to see our house! (Now I just need to get Christopher down here...) Speaking of our house, here are a few pictures that I took a while back but never posted:

Dining Room- I painted it Woodlawn Colonial Gray this summer

Kitchen-Painted it green, but can't remember the name of the color off the top of my head. My dad put up the awesome "tin" back splash for us on my parents last visit.

Our new kitchen table. Up until now we still had my table from college. It took us a while to find one that we both liked, complimented the space, and came at a reasonable price. We love it!

Family Room: I painted this room and the hallway by our garage Toasted Almond. I also hung the ceiling fan (all by myself, thank you very much!) early in the summer. I just recently hung new curtains on the windows in this room and the windows next to our kitchen table, but I don't have a picture to share of those yet.

Downstairs Powder room: This is the first room that I painted soon after we first moved in to the house almost a year and a half ago. I recently added the shelves above the toilet and I also found a curtain that matched all the colors of this bathroom perfectly.

A close up of the shelves

I stenciled this around the same time that I painted the bathroom

OK, so the pictures aren't exactly random thoughts, but I DID randomly add them. :)

That's all for now!

Alaska, The Beautiful (Part I)

08-08-08 was a day that Adam and I had marked on the calendar just like the rest of the world, but for a different reason. Yes, we were excited about the start of the Olympic games, but we were even more excited about going on our Alaskan cruise. We left on Friday afternoon and traveled for approximately 17 hours until we reached Anchorage, AK. This was certainly not a fun day--we took three different flights to reach our final destination. But the long hours and lack of sleep was worth it. We arrived at our hotel in Anchorage around 1am (5am EST), slept for a few hours, then headed off to check in for our criuse. We got to walk around down town Anchorage for a couple of hours while we waited for our transfer to the ship, which was docked in Whittier, AK.

Below is a picture of our cruise itinerary which was as follows:

Anchorage, AK; Whittier, AK (embarkation); College Fjord; day of cruising; Glacier Bay National Park; Skagway, AK; Juneau, AK; Ketchikan, AK; day of cruising; Vancouver, BC (disembarkation).

We took almost 500 pictures while on vacation so I had a tough time choosing just a few of my favorites to share with everyone. Here they are:

Anchorage Information Center: Aren't the flowers beautiful? This exact picture was sold as a postcard in all of the local shops.

Whittier, AK, our embarkation port. This small town is about an hour from Anchorage and can only be entered by driving through a three mile long tunnel through a mountain. The tunnel serves both cars and trains but is only wide enough for one way traffic. A strict schedule is kept and is held in place with a traffic light to ensure safety. The picture almost captures the entire town of Whittier--it's that small! See the pinkish building in the background? It's the home to ALL of Whittier's population!

College Fjord: We cruised College Fjord (pronounced fee-yord) very early in the morning on the first full day of the cruise. The picture below was taken as we were exiting the fjord, but it showcases all of the glaciers within the fjord. Each swipe of white up the mountains that you see is a different glacier. These glaciers are all named after east coast ivy league colleges.

Glacier Bay National Park, Margerie Glacier: First of all, let me just say that Glacier Bay National Park was AWESOME. I think that Adam and I both agree that this was the highlight of our entire trip. We truly were thanking God for His beautiful creation the entire day...we were in awe and overwhelmed that He created such beauty for us to take pleasure in.

The picture at the top of the blog page is also of Margerie Glacier, however the picture below allows you to see more of the glacier's detail. The face of the glacier is 250 ft. high from the top to the water. Because we were standing on the top deck of such a large ship, we really had to put things into perspective to understand just how massive this glacier is. Once we realized that the bushes we were looking at along the shore with our binoculars were actually FULL GROWN trees and the little specs of movement around the glacier were seagulls, we got it. Although it seemed that the ship was so close to the glacier, we were about 2+ miles away from it. I still am in awe when I look at these pictures! We visited four glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park, but this glacier is the only one that is advancing instead of receeding. We were also blessed to see this glacier calve twice! They call the sound of the ice falling off of the glacier Arctic Thunder. It truly is amazing!

Glacier Bay National Park, Lamplugh Glacier: This is the third glacier we saw during our time in GBNP. Look at the picture carefully... does it look blue? It is! In fact, if you look at any of the glaciers you'll notice that they all have a blue tint to them. This has to do with how tightly compressed the ice is. Notice anything else? Look along the bottom and toward the right and you'll see a waterfall. Just beautiful!






Glacier Bay National Park, Johns Hopkins Glacier: At this point we were about 5 miles away from the glacier. This particular glacier calves such giant pieces of ice that it is not safe to get close to it. Even at five miles, the view of the glacier was spectacular!

We've been home from our Alaskan adventure for almost a month now and we are still reliving the feeling of being surrounded by breathtaking beauty! With that being said, there is still so much to tell about our vacation, so stay tuned for Alaska, The Beautiful Part II!

They're ba-ack!

I originally logged on tonight to finish the post I have been working on about our trip to Alaska, but I realized that all of my pictures are saved on our personal computer and currently I am using Adam's work computer. Bummer. But the good news is that the pictures are ready to go, I just have to upload a few. So, I'll save talking about Alaska until next time (but it was AWESOME...I had to get that in there!)

In other news, today was the first day of school in the district I teach in. I've been asking myself where the summer went, but I guess I really did accomplish a lot with all of my house projects, taking to classes, and doing about three weeks of traveling between FL, NJ, and AK.

I was expected today to be a really bad day, but praise the Lord it turned out to go more smoothly than I thought it would! I'm teaching all seniors this semester and holding graduation over their heads is all that's needed to keep them on the right track. With that said, I'm already looking forward to the weekend and my first day off of school on labor day! (I know, I'm pathetic.)

Alaska details and pictures coming soon...

Disney Pictures, As Promised

I am FINALLY posting pictures from my trip to Walt Disney World with my cousin Deneen back in June. We had been talking about going to WDW since before I did an internship with Disney back in 2002. Since I finished that internship six years ago, we figured it was about time we made our way to Disney together.

Here are some pictures (with commentary) from our trip:

Expedition Everest, the newest ride at Animal Kingdom. It's an indoor roller coster that switches track and directions. A good portion of the ride is in reverse! I have to admit I was kind of nervous about this one (the older I get the more of a baby I become about these things) but it was an awesome ride!!



Costumes from the Narnia movies:

The White Witch

Lucy's Costume and information plaque

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E (who else?!)

The beautiful Cinderella Castle

And who other than Prince Charming and Cinderella!

The Crystal Palace Restaurant. Deneen and I went there for a character lunch with Pooh and friends. Fun and Yum!

Me with my buddy, Pooh Bear.

This was too funny. Epcot added this new feature to Spaceship Earth (the ride inside of the big golf ball). These are pictures I took of the animation that came from the ride.

Yes, I AM cheesey...

More fun with photos! I hate that this picture has the glare from the flash, but it's the only one I have and it is too funny not to post! Neen should contemplate starting her own Purple Hat Society.

I took a quiz after we took the animation tour. The quiz tells you which character you are most like. Needless to say, I was pretty pleased with the results!

I have some catching up to do!

Alright, I promised that I'd update my blog, so here I go! I decided that I should start with our trip to Los Angeles back in March. Adam and I took off to LA for spring break and we had so much fun! I think we both agreed after the trip that we had even more fun in LA than we thought we would. We started our trip by visiting Grauman's Chinese Theater, The Kodak Theatre (where the Academy Awards are hosted), and catching a glimpse at the famous Hollywood sign. Then we hopped in an open air mini bus and took a two hour celebrity home tour. And that was just our first day in LA! We spent the next week going to Disneyland and California Adventure, visiting movie and television studios, going to a live taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, and taking an unexpected trip to Universal Studios Hollywood. We truly had a wonderful time. Southern California is absolutely beautiful!

Here are some pictures from our LA vacation:

Adam at Grauman's Chinese Theater

The Kodak Theater & The Hollywood Sign

One of the highlights of the trip for me...visiting the set of FRIENDS! Look how happy I am!

Malibu...just gorgeous! Notice how the PCH runs directly along the ocean!

Stay tuned for Disney pictures (I'll try to post them later today) and of course, pictures of our Alaskan cruise! We leave for Anchorage, AK on Friday!