Long days, short nights...

For those of you who don't already know, last week I started working for Providence Health System. I am once again working in the Marketing department helping with the summer events. Call me crazy, but I am really looking forward to the next few weeks there. It won't be a long-term thing, mostly because there is a baby coming my way, but I can at least get the planning started and assist with training an intern (hopefully) before the baby arrives. So far things are going really well. I am having to jump in and start from scratch, but the challenge is exciting.

I am also still subbing at Westside, but the school year will be wrapping up at the end of May, so I will be able to focus completely on my Providence job. For now, the two jobs are keeping me plenty busy - today I worked 11 hours. Yikes! I am tired, but not exhausted, and not at all stressed (yet). =)

Last night our baby was awake (what seemed like) all night long. I didn't sleep very well - hard to do when the person living inside is practicing soccer and gymnastics - but today was good none-the-less. I have to admit that a nap would be nice, but we are heading out to Sherwood to have dinner with the Diefenbaughs to celebrate Brennan's 2nd birthday! Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures and post again soon.

The three sisters...

This weekend we welcomed a new niece into our family. Yep, Macy had another little girl. Melaney (pronounced Ma-lane-ee) was born on Friday at noon and weighed in at 9 pounds 9 ounces. The two older girls were both born over 10 pounds, so Macy's doctor induced a weeks early... and she was still a chunk!

Big sisters, Maleah & Mariah, can't get enough of their newest family member!

We had a great time visiting family, and even got to spend a few hours with Forrest and Amy and take a quick trip to the Costco home store while we were up north!

Welcome, baby Emmett...

Congrats to Brent and Hannah, proud parents of one of the cutest boys around. Emmett Brenton Noel was born last Friday morning. I have been dying to post a congrats message, but wanted to give Hannah plenty of time to announce the birth to all mutual friends who read both blogs. Anyway, I haven't met the little guy yet, so I stole this picture from his mama's blog... I think he is pretty handsome, and I can't wait to meet him - hopefully soon!

Long time coming...

I just realized that it has been a while since I have written anything about us on this here blog. I guess some people that check it want to know more than the fact that I have birds in my backyard... so I'll try to get you caught up.

I have 2 more days in the second trimester of this pregnancy. Again, I can't believe how fast it is going. I check my countdown every day and had gotten used to seeing three digits... not anymore, we are down to double digits. That means that we don't have much longer before this kid makes an appearance. (More on that below, but I am getting ahead of myself).

This weekend Merrick's parents came up and we got a lot of fun errands done. We visited a bunch of furniture stores, and (I think) finalized our decisions and picked out furniture. We ordered a crib, found a dresser that we will buy and stain our selves to match the crib, and picked out a chair for the baby room (which also has to be ordered, but we first need to pick which leather swatch we like best). We feel really good about the things we found and all that we were able to accomplish while his folks were in town. I am sure they just loved us dragging them around town all day, but we had a blast. We also picked our our crib bedding, and then last night found out it is discontinued, so I wend to PB Kids today and bought the pieces that I want. I am excited about everything, and will post pictures once most stuff is in the room and put together. We also rented "The Pursuit of Happyness" this weekend since Gary and Margaret had never seen it. I loved it as much the second time as I did in the theater. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It is a little stressful, but truly inspiring!

We also started our "birthing" classes this weekend. (I actually prefer to call them "baby" classes - the less we talk about labor/birth/delivery - the happier I am). It is a little early, but I really wanted to take this more natural class rather than the ones given at the hospital, and this was our only option for a spring class. We were a little worried about what were were getting into when signing up for something called "holistic childbirth education," but were both pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed our first class.

Merrick and I have both been fighting some nasty little virus, and I got pretty sick on Sunday night, so I ended up calling in sick to work on Monday. I was supposed to teach all day, but my body really needed the extra sleep. It is always weird when a sub has to call to request a sub, but us subs get sick too. What was supposed to be a nice relaxing day was a little hectic when one of my midwives called and asked me to have another ultrasound. We had to drive all the way to West Linn, but we got to see our little one again, and that was definitely worth it. It was just a precaution, and everything is fine. Baby is happy and healthy, and measures a little big for its due date (well, only by two days, but we are proud anyway). I drank juice instead of water this time, so it woke up and was a lot more active than the last time we were in. We saw it drinking, breathing, and watched its little eye moving all around checking things out. The baby sleeps with its little arms up over its face and head... pretty cute to see.

Tuesday I call my "chore" day. I didn't work Tuesday either, so was home and able to get a lot done around the house. There isn't a lot to do, but it is nice to just keep on top of things. I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms (not the whole morning, but I get tired easily, so I had to take some breaks in there). I made cookies, did laundry, and the greatest accomplishment was organizing my scrapbook stuff in the bonus room!!! Today I picked up a huge work table from my parent's house, set it up in my "scrap-booking paradise" and am now officially open for business. I can't wait to have another free day to hopefully get a lot of my projects finished up. So, Shannon, Kristen & Marisa, let's plan another scrapbook day!

Today wasn't nearly as exciting (or productive) as yesterday. I worked this afternoon, and ran a few errands this morning. I currently have a headache, and am thinking about a quick nap before dinner.

Now you dear readers are caught up... at least until tomorrow.

Something to lift your spirits...

I was reading Kim and Andrew's blog this morning, just getting caught up on their lives. They are over in Lithuania serving at a college there. It is fun to read about life in Europe, especially now that they are raising their daughter there too. Anyway, Kim's latest entry was really profound and I thought I would encourage my blog readers to check it out. It is a great reminder message about God's provision in our lives. It is called "Look at the birds of the air..."

First housewarming gift, and my first visitors...

On Sunday my mom gave me this cute bird house for my new back yard. First thing on Monday morning I bought bird seed, filled the feeder, and hung it from a tree in my yard that I can see from my kitchen & living room windows. I have been waiting and waiting and today I had my first visitors! Two little chick-a-dees came to check things out and grab a quick snack. Hopefully they will spread the word around the neighborhood. I love having birds around, so the more, the merrier as far as I am concerned.

The earth laughs in flowers...

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday I went down to Woodburn with the Colemans to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. The weather was perfect, and the flowers were gorgeous. We even timed it right so Syd was happy to pose for hundreds (literally) of pictures. What a good sport!

Princess Sophie...

After our trip to the tulip fields, Marisa, Sydney and I stopped by Matt and Shannon's house to drop off a few things for them. It was fun to visit for a while and see the baby again. Mom and dad seem tired, but happy to be home with a healthy baby. Isn't she beautiful?

I'm going going, back back, to Cali Cali...

I just booked my flights and am going to California on May 4th to visit Kelsie!!! I can't wait. I haven't been down to see her since Spring Break '02, and have been saying I would go for the past 5 years. Now it is official - and I am thrilled! I must say thanks to Dorsey for passing on a free ticket to me, so the whole trip is only costing $50. What a deal.

A very happy Easter...

Congrats to Matt and Shannon who welcomed baby Sophia Christine into the world this morning. I got to meet the her this afternoon (I didn't have my camera, so I will have to post pics later this week), and she absolutely beautiful! She was about three weeks early, so is pretty little, but mom and baby are both doing great. It is fun to have so many babies in my life right now... good preparation for this summer!

The adventures of Spartacus, part deux...

For those of you who don't know, I have a little box turtle named Spartacus. He has been a part of my life since my sophomore year at Fox. I thought a pet would be a fun addition to a college dorm room, and we were only allowed turtles or fish, so I of course chose the turtle.

That spring, Spart moved home to Lake Oswego with me. One morning, before heading to work, I put him in the back yard. I had a large outdoor cage for him, so I figured he would be safe... little did I know that one of my dogs had a different idea. When I got home, eight hours later, I found a nice little hole under the cage. Kiku had dug an escape route for the turtle... and elaborate plan that I am sure the two had been working on for weeks. Now, he is a pretty little turtle, but he is fast! He had been out for some time, and had no intention of sticking around. I got flashlights and searched the entire yard for what seemed like hours. Eventually, I gave up and realized my little turtle was gone.

The following spring - a year after Spartacus had runaway - I was on my Juniors Abroad trip in Australia. Kristen, Tori and I were all in the same Internet cafe when I got an email from my dad saying "guess who came home!" The neighbor boy had come over with a bucket and in the bucket was, you guessed it, Spartacus! He had gotten all the way to their garden, and just hibernated for the year. He was home!

Now I have had Spartacus for almost 8 years, and in that time he has moved with us to 11 different homes. This week we moved him to our new house. Yesterday, we had him out because Merrick was cleaning his aquarium. I was in the yard pulling weeds, and was keeping an eye on him. Like I said, he is quick, so you can't ignore him. In the 30 minutes I was out there, he had crawled the length of our yard three times... I would go get him at the end of his route, and he would start over. Well, we went out to run a few errands before the tank was clean, so Sparty stayed in a box in the kitchen (he hates that). When we got home, I let him out again while Merrick finished up. I came inside to do a couple things, Merrick came in too, and we both forgot that Sparty was loose. About 15 minutes later, I panicked. I had done it again... I had lost my turtle. We searched the back yard, but I knew it had been too long, and he would be gone by now. There is a fence, but with big enough gaps for a tiny turtle to maneuver through. Merrick knocked on neighbor's doors and asked to search their back yards... I stayed in my yard crying, praying and looking. Merrick finally made it around the street to a house that backs up to ours and met Heather and Andrew. The three searched the nooks and cranny's of their back yard, but found nothing. As they were giving up, and walking back to the front of their house, Heather spotted my little run-away booking it towards the street! Merrick scooped him up and returned him safely to me.

So, once again, my turtle is home. He had a busy day, so once he was back in his aquarium, he buried himself and has been napping ever since.

A positive side of this mishap was getting to meet a few neighbors - we live around some pretty great people. I think we will like it here.