Up To Our Ears

Yesterday morning my mom, her neighbor Kay, and I headed down I-83 to pick up her daughter from the airport. Laura had been in India for several months working with disabled children, and so despite being awake since Tuesday, Indian time, she had lots of stories to share as we drove home from BWI. Laura and I are only about 2 years apart in age and grew up playing together in the span of backyards between our houses. She has an incredible story of her own to share, surviving a really painful burn accident, but her love for Jesus and compassion for others just radiates out of her bright smile and joyful approach to life.

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As soon as Mom and I got back and ate a quick lunch, we started working on the corn crop she had brought over that morning. Pete had graciously husked it for us while we were on the road, and so all that remained was to cook, cut it off the cob, and store it in 1/2 pint freezer bags. It seemed like a small amount compared to what we've done in previous years, but we were both grateful it wasn't larger. After sitting for nearly 4 hours in a car, standing over a hot stove in a steamy (though air conditioned) kitchen, then sitting in the heat & humidity outside to eliminate corn juice being splattered all over the place...we were tired! After dinner I crashed onto the couch--literally--and hardly moved the rest of the night.

Here's some pictures for those curious about the process. Natalia really enjoyed moving (er--throwing) the cooked corn cobs from bin to bin to cool them off. Yum...there's nothing like fresh corn from the garden!

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Tonight we're going to go watch my home church's softball team play in the playoffs. Right now they're ranked in 2nd place. Natalia LOVES watching baseball, seeing some of Mommy's extended family, clapping and yelling "hit the ball guys!" Of course she also remembers that they sell "LOLLABOPS" at the snack bar! :o)

For My 100th Post I Thought I'd...

...forego the commonly held tradition of posting 100 Things About Me, or some of the other things people do--something else has been on my radar and I'm dying to tell you all!

The ECHO and regular sonogram stuff went extremely well this morning. They want to see me again in 4 weeks so they can check for directional blood flood, etc. This will be easier to detect the older the baby is. But everything looked great. The main arteries were crossed as they should be and the 4 chambers looked perfect. The technician wasn't in any doubt that we're having a boy!!!

Needless to say, Pete is thrilled, and I am too! Now we're just going to have to help Natalia make the transition of saying she wants a sister to calling the baby in Mama's belly "Adam". When we told her today she was excited so I don't expect the gender to be an issue for her come December. All she cares about is that she's getting a baby for Christmas!

To finish this post out I thought I'd thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. We truly do sense God working.

And, I wanted to share some new photos of Natalia. I decided to do a little photo shoot at my parent's place over the weekend, again using their beautiful sunflowers and gardens as backdrops. Enjoy!

Trials and Joys

I had another routine appointment yesterday morning. Everything is going really well. The baby's heartbeat was good and strong, about 150 beats, and "he" (it's so wierd to call it "it") was squirming all over the place.

I have been having fluttering and popcorn popping sensations the last few weeks, but now I can definately feel jabs. The movement hasn't been disruptive to my sleep yet, which is nice since Natalia loved to kick and punch me in the ribs when I was sleeping...that will be coming I'm sure. Speaking of Natalia, she is simply loving the idea of being a big sister! She received two "big sister" kind of books for her 1/2 birthday and they are now favorites. She still insists that she's getting a sister for Christmas. We hope to find out on Monday at the ultrasound.

Pete's going with me on Monday, for a few reasons. He, of course wants to be there for the experience, but especially if the baby cooperates and is in a good position for us to check things out. We also will be having an ECHO done to check out the baby's heart in greater detail. Again, this is just precautionary, though doctor ordered, because of Natalia's heart condition.

I'm feeling much better and able to navigate through the world of smells nearly problem-free these days! That's definately a blessing. I'm still tiring really quickly, but that's to be expected and I know I'm especially affected by the extreme humidity we've had recently.

On a completely different note, in the past few weeks Pete and I have had multiple "heavies" come our way, (I already blogged about one of them)...but all are things we can walk through with God's help. We've already experienced great peace and reassurance, but we're human and it still has been a struggle at times. I've found it especially hard to sleep some nights, but it's primarily been because my pregnant body is already waking me. Spending time with the Lord, reminding myself that EVERYTHING that comes to me first filters through God's loving hands and is intended to grow me and/or bring blessing to others and honor Him somehow--this has refocused my eyes and given me great hope even in the moments when I question how that is possible.

One of those things in particular could be of some duration, we just don't know. If you think of us, please pray. Pray for wisdom, protection, and a right attitude, and that God would work in our favor, convincing all involved that our intentions and words are true...and that we would release the outcome to the Lord. He is always Faithful.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

Okay, so it's a cheesy title but it was the first thing I thought of.

I was blessed to grow up on fresh veggies and local fruit year-round because my mom spent endless hours canning and freezing the bounties from our garden and neighboring area. Though I often was a party (I'd LIKE to say it was without grumbling or complaining) to the harvesting process, I haven't until recently known how to do the rest.

I've got a lot to learn and am prepared to work my way through a few new ones each year...certainly not all at once! But, so far I've made or help to make strawberry jelly, sweet corn, and applesauce to freeze. And in a few weeks I'll can a large batch of peaches and pears for the first time. I don't make many pies, but there is now a cherry pie filling recipe in my repetoire that Pete DEVOURS! And there are plenty of ways that I've learned how to use the fresh berries my parents grow while they're in season.

But one veggie (or should I say, fruit) continues to puzzle me. TOMATOES

I'm not interested in making my own marinara or pizza sauce--maybe another year--but want to somehow preserve them in diced form for stews and soups.

I'm hoping to find jars no bigger than a soup can for storage and would prefer to can them versus freeze due to space issues when we get our big pork and beef order in the early fall.

Anyone have any suggestions or "recipes"?

A Tragic Ending

Last Wednesday we received some really sad news from one of Pete's former co-workers. One of the guys in his old department, and a good friend, lost his teenage son unexpectedly. Andrew was 16, and apparently just died in his sleep.

The autopsy reports came back inconclusive--maybe the toxology reports in the next week or so will show something, but the disturbing part is that they may never find a cause.

Last evening Pete, Natalia, and I drove down to Reisterstown, MD to see Ed at his son's viewing. It's hard to imagine his grief and what he'll face in the upcoming days and months. We're praying that he'll be comforted by those that love him, but ultimately that he finds peace with God in the midst of this terrible loss.

Please pray for him and their whole family. Andrew leaves behind his mother, younger brother, his father, stepmother and two stepsisters. We think that Andrew might have been the only believer in his family.

Pete often spent a long weekend each of the last few summers backpacking with Ed, and once Andrew went along. That was 3 years ago, but Pete really enjoyed getting to know Ed and his son in that capacity. Andrew had just been saying to his dad recently that he really wanted to go with them again this year--they were hoping to go sometime in August. Maybe Ed and Pete will still go...we'll see.

It's hard to imagine how God can use something as heartbreaking as this for His glory and our good. In the meantime I will set my heart upon believing what is True--

He alone is sovereign,

He is trustworthy,

He alone is the Source of true peace despite the most violent of life's storms,

and He knows intimately what it means to grieve.

Blue Skies and Refreshing Moments

Vacationing with little ones is never predictable or easy, but this past weekend we made our best attempt. We usually try to take a few days each summer to vacation with some close friends of ours, the Zimmermans. They now have a 3 year old, Kaleb, and a 4 month old, Lindsey. Natalia and Kaleb are quite the buddies, and it will be nice to have our upcoming little one close in age to their youngest once again.


Friday and Saturday were gorgeous days despite the humidity and high temps. We spent as much time as possible seeking out shaded spots at the park and cooling off in the pool on Friday...then spent a good 8 hours out on the water on Ken's dad's boat in Baltimore yesterday. It was so refreshing to hop off the back of the boat and float in the cool water. Natalia was barely on board all day!


Here are a few photos from yesterday. Pete was the photographer and only seemed to get pictures of Ken, the kids and I. Oh well.





















Check out the little lady's outfit this afternoon! Like her added accessories? (Sunday sandals and ladybug hat)

Family and Friends

My dad, brothers and Pete got to go on a 2-day kayaking/fishing/camping trip this past weekend. They returned Saturday night to lots of hugs and kisses. Natalia kept asking where Daddy was, Grandpa, her uncles...and saying she missed Daddy. I did too!

But the guys had alot of fun and got to relax, which was the whole idea. The ladies and kids got together for the day on Saturday. We enjoyed visiting at the neighbors kiddie pool while the kids cooled off, a nice lunch and some semi-down time while 1 out of the 3 kiddos napped. The girls played well together and we were able to talk and laugh. The guys got home just before dinner so we chowed down on some pizza before everyone had to head home. Some of them were smelling pretty fishy. :-P

Sunday after church and a quick nap for Natalia we headed towards the eastern end of the county to a birthday party. Our good friends' little boy Kaleb was turning 3 and he and Natalia are good buddies.

Here is a picture of the two of them enjoying their cake--and a friendly hug! :o)