Doctor's Appointment (for Amy)

I went to the doctor yesterday. She did not do much, but she just made sure that everything seemed to be going okay. I got to listen to the baby's heartbeat, I love that sound. It is pretty exciting. Up until now, the only things telling me that I was pregnant is the test and the nausea. I am happy to have another little sign.

I also found out that Good Sam has a new 4D ultrasound machine. Dr. Smith wants an ultrasound done at 19 weeks. That is late enough to see the sex of the baby, but not for the 4D ultrasound. I was a little disappointed. She quickly told me that Good Sam is offering a complimentary 4D ultrasound later in the pregnancy, when you schedule one at 19 weeks. That made me very happy. Maybe we will be able to see a little more of the baby before he/she is born. That will be exciting.

I will keep you updated. Thanks for reading.

Viewing the Lunar Eclipse

Early this morning Amy and I got up to watch the lunar eclipse. It was spectacular! I awoke at 2:30am to see if anything was happening, but it wasn't. Then, I got up at 4:30am, and the show was on. When it came close to totality (completely covered in the shadow), Amy, Callie and I covered up in a blanket and sat out on our driveway and watched it for about 15 minutes. I've not went back to bed, so I'm a bit tired tonight, but it was well worth it! What a way to start the day! If you missed it, expect another on the evening of February 20th. Hey wait, that is also my birthday!

12 Weeks Pregnant

I am now 12 weeks pregnant. I am feeling great and I haven't had any more problems with nausea. The above is a representation of what our baby may look like. He/she is 2.5 inches long and 2/3 of an ounce. He/she is still very small, but mostly fully formed except for the fat and the brain. I go to the doctor this week on Wednesday. I am excited. I hope she tries to listen for the heartbeat. I love hearing that sound. I can't remember if the doctor listens for a heartbeat at 3 months or 4 months. I will keep you updated.

Cassidy's First Day at Rend Lake Preschool

Today was Cassidy's first day at her new preschool. She started this morning at the Rend Lake Marketplace. For now she is only going to go there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She really had a good time today. She play outside with sidewalk chalk and she said they even went for a walk. During the learning centers today, she chose the dramatic play, art and the writing centers. She did not want to leave. When I picked her up, the other children were getting ready for nap time. Cassidy asked if next time she could stay and "sleep over". I think is was a successful day.


In the picture below, Callie is happy, she just says "cheese" and squints her eyes when she knows there is a picture being taken.

Pictures of us from the Parade

We had a good time at the parade on Saturday. The kids had so much fun. They both loved getting the candy. It was not hot like it usually is this time of the year. We had an enjoyable time.

Back to School

Today was my first day back with the students. I have six classes this year, so I will be pretty busy. Plus, my classes are all pretty big (around 30 in each class). It makes for a long day, but most of my students seemed pretty good.

I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine. I think I am a bit happier when I know I have something to do everyday. Plus, I know my neighbors are glad to see me go back to work. They probably think I’m a bum all summer.

Cassidy starts preschool next week. She is really looking forward to it. Amy has been feeling better, and Callie has just been being her rowdy self.

Making Things Better

I had to go back to work today. I know you all have sympathy for me. But just remember, that even though I only work for nine and half months, I only get paid a nine and a half month salary!

Below are some pictures of a project I did. I think it made an improvement. Everything is not completely done yet. When it is, I will take some more pictures for your viewing pleasure. I think it made a big difference!

BEFORE

After

10 Weeks Pregnant

Well, I am 10 weeks pregnant. I have been feeling pretty good. I haven't even had to take any anti-nausea medicine for over a week. Everything seems to be going well. The baby is almost 2 inches long and weighs 5 grams. He/she looks a lot more like a real person, not an alien or a seahorse.

I am not sure the girls really understand about a new baby coming. Well, Cassidy might understand, but I don't think Callie does. She is still the baby and I don't think she is ready to give up that role. I know when the time comes, we will all adjust.

A Brand New Start

I want to take a moment and share some of my thoughts this morning. Amy and the kids are away at church, and I have been working on the house. I took a break to listen to Joel Osteen.

During his message, Joel told the story of George Forman. As a young man, George was thinking about skipping school. One of his relatives said, “Go ahead George, skip school. You are never going to amount to anything anyway. No one in this family ever has.” Not wanting to end up like everyone else in his family, George decided that instead of skipping school and heading down the wrong path, he was going to make something of himself. Soon after, he joined the job corp. While there, he found out they had boxing. He had never boxed before, but decided he wanted to try it. When he went to the practice, the coach discouraged him. He told him that since he had no experience, he was not going to waste his time on him. Feeling dejected, he turned to walk out. As he was leaving, an assistant coach stopped him and offered to train him. That assistant coach gave him a pair of boxing shoes, which was the first gift George had ever received. Although many people along his path tried to discourage him, one year later George Forman went to the Olympics and received the gold medal in boxing. He went on to become one of the greatest boxers in history.

So why did I recite that story? I think because I often hear the voices of discouragement in my life. Quite often those voices come from within, but sometimes they come from my environment. I’m sure we all hear the negative voices from time to time. They tell us, “you can’t,” and “you’re not smart enough.” Those voices are powerful. And if we let them take root in our lives, they will keep us from receiving God’s best.

It’s important to not allow those voices to take hold in our lives. Like George Forman, we have to decide in ourselves what direction we want our life to go. I’ve decided that instead of listening to those negative voices, I’m going to do my best to declare victory in my life. When I hear someone discouraging me, I’m not going to receive it. Instead, I’m going to declare God’s favor in my life. Joel Osteen says we should remember that we are children of “The Most High God,” and that God wants to bless our lives. I don’t always agree with everything Joel says, but I don’t think it would hurt for me to start believing for a bit more in my life; believing for a better direction in my life; believing for a better attitude; believing for God’s best. So, today is a new day, and a brand new start.

A Light Stand

Recently I mentioned that I had started to grow some pumpkins. However, I started them really late, so even if they make it I don’t know if we will have pumpkins by Halloween. In an effort to speed things up a bit, I decided it might help if the little plants had some extra light. Since I had recently changed out a fluorescent light for a ceiling fan in our living room, I thought I might as well put the light to use. I attached it to the bottom of an old card table, and walaah… light stand. Now, I can add a few extra hours of light for the little plants. Hopefully it will make up for the late start.

Here is a close-up picture of the little sprouts. I hope our neighbors aren't wondering what the mysterious light is in our back yard. Thanks for reading!

Hot Days of Summer

Wow, these are hot days! We have a little program that tells us the outside temperature and it reached 100 degrees today!

Tonight we took Cassidy to Bible school at Park Avenue Baptist Church. Some of our neighbors invited her. She really had a good time. I think we will take her the rest of the week.

That's about all that is going today. I (Ryan) went to the high school to do some work yesterday and today. I will try to post some pictures soon of what I did. Also, the pumpkins have sprouted and are just starting to grow some tiny leaves. I am really happy with them so far. I sure hope they can at least make some small pumpkins by Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, HERE is a great link for Halloween ideas. I think we are going to try some of them this year!

This Weekend and Stuff

Apart form Amy feeling really nauseous from time to time, this weekend is going pretty good. Last night our friends Ryan and Becky came over for “game night.” We have been getting together fairly regularly to play games. Last night’s big event was “killer Uno.” It was very exciting! We also enjoyed some gourmet popcorn from a place in Chicago, as well as great conversation.

During last night’s match, I mentioned that I had recently read where many people are getting into the art of roasting their own coffee beans. A lot of people order green coffee beans over the internet, roast them in some sort of a home-made contraption, and then grind them for what is supposed to be the most delicious cup of coffee imaginable! Apparently, some of the devices can even be made from old popcorn poppers. Here are a couple of links that I think you will find interesting.

http://www.homeroasters.org/

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/12/homemade_and_se.html

Another totally unrelated topic that came up last night during our game was the little known fact that Disney puts strange things into their movies. Cassidy was watching Aladdin, and I mentioned to our friends that someone once showed us the place in the movie where it says, “teenagers, take off your clothes.” Our friends were surprised. There are other Disney movies which have inserted words, phrases, and even pictures which are probably not for little kids. Although I’m unsure of their motives, I still like most of the movies. Here is a link which talks a bit about this.

http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/tcom103fall2003/gp13/gp13.pdf

What else is going on? Well, my tiny pumpkin plants are doing well so far. I hope the heat doesn’t get to them. If you have nothing else to do, and if you are awake early in the morning, look this week for Mars. It will be close to the moon and a group of stars called the Pleiades. Thanks for reading!

Getting Ready For School

This is the time of year I start trying to get ready for school. Some teachers really look forward to going back, and some do not. For me, it fluctuates. As of yet, I can’t say that I am really looking forward to going back. I know once I get in the routine that will change. As I’ve always said, teaching is the best of jobs, and the worst of jobs. When things go the way they should, I find myself saying, “I can’t believe they pay me to do this.” But on really bad days, I begin to ask myself, “Why did I go into this field.” I suppose every job is like that.

Amy had playgroup today. She said things went pretty good. Unfortunately, she just isn’t quite herself these days. Pregnancy generally does that to her a bit, but this time it seems more prevalent. She is still struggling with sickness, but she tries to hide it. I’ve also noticed that things bother her more right now. I hope that passes or it will be a long nine months.

What else is going on? I doubt any of you care too much about this, but I planted some pumpkins the other night. It is really way too late for them, but I thought I would try it anyway. I’ve always wanted to grow some pumpkins for Halloween. Who knows, maybe they will make it. The photo below is of the two mounds I have in the back yard. If they spout, I will post more pictures of them. I also put a picture up of our little pool we got from Walmart. It’s small, but the kids just love it! I couldn’t remember if I had posted a final picture of our painted house or not. It’s still not completely done, but the front is (well, mostly).

Thanks for reading!