I couldn't resist...

I've been at work since 8:30 AM and am running on fumes at this point... so for my last hour at the desk I've decided to see for myself why Justin is so addicted to YouTube. And I think I found my answer... this is the most incredible tornado video I have ever seen!

mom is flickr famous!

Mom made it onto the flickr Explore page today! Congratulations... she is getting more and more famous!

We had a fantastic weekend. Sunday we were treated to Matt Cobb's worship leading - and the best part is he and Jill are not going anywhere! Worship felt alive, exciting, real, and fun for the first time in I can't remember how long. It's exciting to see and feel like we are really turning a corner at church - we're ready for whatever God has next for us. We're continuing to have revival services this week through Wednesday. We haven't "done revival" since Justin and I have been at the church for that very reason - we didn't just want to do something traditional for the sake of doing it. It really felt like the right time now. I'm praying that God actually revives us and we're not just reminded that we like hearing good worship or maybe old-school preaching or whatever preference it is that one might have about church. We need God to do His work in our souls.

first of many, many pictures!

Welcome, Luke, into the world! Xiaolei had her baby last night. Not too many details yet but I'll post as I hear. I have a feeling that Luke will be able to compete with his peers Suri Cruise and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt for most (attempted) photos taken! Peng is going to have to buy another camera to keep up with them all. I don't think I could resist either though, he is such a cutie pie...

emerging

I finally feel like I'm emerging from the "sick" stage of things. Yesterday I actually had energy, which felt wonderful. It's been several months since I felt any "get up and go." Thanks all of you for listening to all my kvetching about feeling sick! Today begins my 15th week of pregnancy. I'm kind of at that in-between stage where I can tell that I'm showing but I'm not quite ready for the full-blown maternity pants yet. I'm actually looking forward to getting bigger so I can wear those without having to hike them up every 5 minutes!

It feels like we've had an abbreviated fall this year. The changing leaves are still on most of the trees, but last Wednesday morning we were treated to about half an inch of snow on the ground in the morning. And it was COLD! We usually don't see snow until November, but we had a surprise this year.

In other news, our kitchen floor is still tile-less. I did break down and manage to bake a pan of corn bread the other night despite the disarray. I haven't cooked or felt like cooking in months so it was nice to have that fresh baked smell at least for a little while. Justin and I are on one of our hare-brained house adventures again and couldn't resist setting up an appointment to visit this dilapidated beauty in the perfect spot in East Lansing. It's a real steal for the price, really... it's in just the right state of disrepair for us... and it never hurts to dream, right? ;-) The problem with our little house-hunting hobby is that REALISTIC is no fun! One of these days we'll find the perfect place and actually BUY it. Wouldn't that be something!

new arrivals!

Yes, it's true, our prayers have been answered and Matt and Jill Cobb are coming! I'm so excited. They are moving up to Lansing from Monroe as soon as they can find a place to live. It will be great to have a new, godly couple in church. Also Jill is pregnant and due about two months before I am, so more babies... and Matt is going to be our new worship leader! Praise God for that one. We badly need a fresh perspective on worship as well as a new sound and energy. I will get a break from leading every week, and since Matt is a guitarist I'll be able to just sing or just play and not have to do both... or either (sigh of relief). I'm also very tempted to fulfil one of my last remaining musical ambitions... to learn to play the electric bass! No way I can purchase one right now, so if you or anyone you know has one sitting and collecting dust in a closet that I could borrow, I would be happy to free up some closet space for you. I'm ready to get funky...

Mattie caught chilling...

So Dick Cheney came to Bath today, and guess who got to stand guard in case someone decided to set the golf course on fire! The Lansing State Journal caught these two basking in the"glow" of VPOTUS this afternoon. I was wondering if they were anywhere near the "undisclosed location."

In other news, I just got the most awesome computer I think I've ever used... a tablet PC. I'm currently handwriting this blog entry and the computer is turning it into text as I watch. I am completely hooked and I'll never buy a regular PC ever again! I didn't buy this one... it's my new work computer... but I cant put my stylus down. It's insane!

more wedding photos

The compilation of wedding photos links - updated!:

Proofs from wedding photographer (e-mail me for the password)
Alexa's pictures (Need to activate free Snapfish account)
Mom's pictures (on Flickr)
My pictures (also on Flickr)

tile?

Our refrigerator is now sitting in the midde of our living room next to the stove, which is strangely disconcerting. We finally finished tearing up the floor in our dining room and kitchen. We had a bit of a history lesson.. instead of just pulling up a carpet and pad like we thought we would be doing, we ended up finding a layer of flooring from each decade, one on top of another! We started by ripping up the 90's berber carpet, underneath which we found a very 80's patterned carpet (country blue and mauve, of course, like everything else at the church). Under that carpet was a sticky pad, which had cemented itself to some very red, very 70's "faux brick" press-and-stick tile. We attacked that mess with roofing tools and finally putty knives and hammers to reveal the original green 60's linoleum underneath. Phew. We went out and bought our new backer board and slate tiles, had them delivered, and then the tile guy didn't show up. I am hoping that our new living room decor (ie the fridge and stove) is very, very temporary.... oy vey!

clouds have lifted

Finally, the rain has stopped here after a solid grey, wet week. September is here in all its glory. On the right are some type of lily that is planted frequently in the gardens all over campus, and they turn these beautiful shades of orange and yellow. They were especially striking by the Natural Science courtyard fountain today, where the benches are in danger of being gloriously overrun with vibrant, robust vines. The trees are starting to show signs of turning also, but still have another month or so to go.

Along with the sunshine I've felt God's peace returning today. It feels so awful when we drift into such relentless self-centeredness for a time...When the understanding that it's really about more than you comes back, it's such a welcome relief, like a glass of cool water. It's so hard sometimes to just let Him care about you instead of wasting your own energy on yourself. I'm sick of me. I'm glad He's still there.

Our grand, baby-inspired house project is about to begin! Justin, Matt and I began clearing out the basement last night to start preparing for its transformation into our master bedroom. I am especially excited, though, to FINALLY tear out our stinky, nasty, stained, doggy carpet in the dining room and re-tile that and the kitchen floor. This weekend, Justin and I are deciding on tile (or slate, or brick) for our floors and will get the material to start on Monday.

This weekend is also Jake's 2nd birthday, which gave the "boys" an excuse to go toy shopping earlier this week. With the amount of enjoyment that Dad and Uncle Mattie get out of toy shopping, our child is never going to lack for things to play with I can tell you that! :-)

the big event

Alison and Taure's wedding was beautiful. I have a bunch of photos here at my Flickr site. Tropical Storm Ernesto decided to show up and make us forsake the outdoor gazebo, but the room where we had the ceremony and reception had a panoramic view of the stormy waves. I was so glad to finally meet the bridesmaids, Alexa, Tracy, Antonia, and Cheryl. They were all gorgeous in their pink and green dresses, but no one was as beautiful as the bride!

Justin performed the ceremony, and even in spite of a mix-up with the pianist everything went smoothly. Everyone seemed to have a great time and was dancing the night away. It was great to connect with family and friends that I havent seen in years as well as meet my new ones. It was especially fun to hang out with our new niece and nephew, Mercedes and Dalton. Mercedes had to know ALL the details of how Alison and I misbehaved when we were kids!

On Monday we went up to see Nana and Dudley in New Hampshire. It has been far too long since we have been to see them. Nana took us to a farm to get ice cream and a beautiful apple orchard... and I forgot my camera. Of course. Nothing can capture the smell of fresh, piney, mossy New Hampshire air though.

After a long drive back to Michigan, we're catching our breath and gearing up for the rest of the month. It's going to be a rough one at work for me as I am very busy with the returning students. School's back in with a vengeance!

what a month can bring

First of all, my apologies for my lapse in posting! August and September have been so full of news and trips and work. I think I have filled most of you in personally with the events of the month, so I will now go ahead and put them up here.

Yes, it's official... I'm pregnant! I found out a week after I got back from Alison's shower. After a flurry of doctor's visits and worrying that everything was OK, an early ultrasound confirmed that the baby is in the right place and growing normally. As of today I am 9 weeks and 3 days along, and my due date has been bumped up to April 9th. If Murphy's Law is in effect, I will be having the baby on Easter Sunday and the preacher will have to miss church. :-) It is too early to tell if it is a boy or girl, but we will find out as soon as we can. Justin is already making grand plans to renovate our basement and move his office into the house.

I have been feeling pretty sick for the past few weeks but hopefully will improve once my first trimester ends in the beginning of October. I never though Indian food, Thai food, and chocolate would sound disgusting to me, but just typing them makes my stomach turn! bleeeah!

Also since my last post, we've had a visit from Jeanette, and just got back on Tuesday night from a trip to Connecticut for Alison and Taure's wedding. Lots and lots to write about. I will put up details and photos in other posts soon. I'm still trying to get my suitcase unpacked and house put in order from the past few weeks. We'll see if that gets accomplished tonight!

new england weekend

I'm paying the price for gloating about sitting on the beach on Sunday morning. I look like a tomato. But it was worth it... I wish I could go again today!

Had a great time visiting Alison and Taure out in Boston for the weekend. After getting up at 3AM, driving to Detroit, and flying out, Alison talked me into getting a pedicure... something I have never done... but I think I'm hooked! We shopped like madwomen (here is Alison waiting for the T to take us into the city) at the original Filene's Basement and other downtown bargain locales. Such a deal! We literally almost dropped at the end of the day, especially since I had been up since 3. It was definitely worth it, and Alison and I even found matching dresses. We were going to wear them to the shower but I chickened out at the last minute. I decided to save mine for the rehearsal dinner. I also went "shopping" in Alison's closet and came back with two full suitcases. I'm not going to need new pants for a LONG time!

Alison's shower was Saturday, and went really well. It was great to see so many friends and family, and to meet my new family-in-law. I have lots of pictures of the shower and the rest of the weekend up here. We hung out at Taure's mom's house in Providence on Saturday evening, had dinner with Dad, Lynne, and Auntie D on Saturday night, and hit the beach at Nantasket on Sunday, where I fried to crisp. I got to have a lot of my favorite New England foods... lobster, steamers, a half-sour pickle, a real hot pastrami sandwich, Polar birch beer, Cabot cheddar cheese, Portuguese chourico sausage, Richard's garlic olives, and even Carvel ice cream cake! Not all at once of course! I missed out on smoked bluefish and fresh tuna this time, but I don't think I would have had any place to put them! We're going back at the end of the month, so Del's frozen lemonade and a D'Angelo's #9 will have to wait till then as well. Ahh, the tastes of home. :-)

VBS expolsion...

Monday night we had 4 kids in our class of K-3, Tuesday we had 8, and Wednesday we had 18. It's like our entire neighborhood converged on the church all at once. It was fantastic. I think we had over 80 people on Wednesday night. Justin informs me that last night 20 of the kids came to evening service as well. We need to keep these kids... we need to step up. Shame on us if we let this opportunity go by. Please pray that we can figure out how we need to adjust for the sudden influx.. and soon!

VBS Day 2

I think my favorite thing about little kids is their honesty. Last night two of our adorable first grade cousins were sitting quietly during the Bible story when Kevin started talking about prayer. "But McKenzie and me don't know how to pray!" Dylan said, with eyes as big as saucers. I wish we would ALL admit that when it's true! Kevin made the most of the teaching opportunity and I hope these little ones will start talking to Jesus now.

Tonight we get to give away the electric scooter to the kid who brings the most friends. The competition is pretty fierce right now... both for the scooter and the boys vs. girls mission offering. Ray rigged up a pulley system with two buckets - one for the boys and one for the girls. Whichever one is heavier with change sinks lower. Right now the girls are kicking booty! The losers have to serve the winners cake at the end of the week, and there has been so much smack talk going on (mostly between Kadee and Andy the Arctic Ranger) that it will be a really fun time no matter who wins. Of course girls RULE!

countdown of craziness

3 more days until I hop a plane to Boston, Jeanette flies in, and everything needs to be done! Combine that with VBS every night this week and you get extreme busy-ness. VBS was great last night, Kadee and I get the fun of having the 1st-3rd graders as our charges. That is such a great age... they're in prime learning format and not "too cool" for VBS yet. We only had four in that age range but they all got lots of attention. We have large preschool and youth contingents this year.

Anyhow back to work. It's going to be a whirlwind week. I'm really excited for Alison's shower on Saturday, and for hitting the beach on Sunday! ;-) Although I hear that there are some major jellyfish this season... maybe they haven't made it up to Massachusetts yet.