I Have The Best...Sister

Last Friday morning, October 28th, I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 3:30 am to get to the Indy airport in good time for my 6:00 am flight to West Palm Beach, Florida. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I scheduled this flight; however, it was very well worth it since the reason of this trip was nothing more than to see my little sister. Let me just say that being her big sister is the closest thing I have probably felt to being a mom. In my previous post, I mentioned there have been times that I haven't felt quite maternal; however, when it comes to Nan, I think I have always felt a little "motherly"...in a good way. I'm very protective of her, and would do pretty much anything to make her happy. (And yes, she knows this!) :)

I had a fantastic time spending the weekend with her. We didn't do anything extraordinary...at least by others' opinion of a weekend trip to south Florida, but to me, it was extraordinary just to spend sister time together. As far as the weather, it pretty much rained the whole time I was there. When I got on the plane to head back home on Monday, the sun started shining. Not sure if I am the one that brought the bad weather or what. Regardless, we had a nice time: shopping, visiting with family and friends, and eating, of course! I was so sad to leave her, I cried a lot of the flight home. (Note: Remember I am an emotional pregnant lady!) I'm thankful for the time we were blessed to spend together and am very much looking forward to her visit home for my brother's wedding in less than a month. Woohoo!

I'm sure many of you have a sister and I hope you feel yours is the best;

but as far as I'm concerned...

Mine is!

Today, I'm thankful for the relationship I have with my sister.

Love you, Nan!

Pregnancy Update

It's so hard to believe I'm already 16 weeks! Four more weeks and I'll already be halfway through this pregnancy. I'm starting to feel a little more energy...and the more time goes by, the more excited I am! Let me also add the word emotional! It doesn't take much for the tears to flow. I think I'm starting to feel lots of motherly instincts as well - for which I'm grateful. I honestly haven't ever felt very maternal. I love children and have always wanted to eventually have them, but I just haven't ever seen myself as what I think of as "motherly." Just one of my fears, I guess. I have the greatest Mom in the world and she is plain good in that role. I have always wished that I had certain personality traits that she has - those traits that just make her a wonderful, caring mother. I'm thankful to start feeling some of those emotions and some of those things that I love so much about my mom. I'm praying that the Lord helps me to be a wise and loving mother.

I found a carseat on sale online @ Target and I just received it in the mail last week. I was excited for my first big purchase! Phil and I are planning to organize the nursery (which is now a catch all and storage room) here soon. I'm really looking forward to setting it up for Baby A!

At first, we had planned on not finding out whether we are having a boy or a girl, but we've now decided to find out but not tell others...much to their dismay. :) I wanted something to be a surprise and I think it will be something fun for Phil and I to share. We are just praying for a healthy baby. I'm supposed to go to the doctor this coming Friday and then they will be scheduling the ultrasound in the next few weeks. Yay! Praying everything is well with Baby A. I'm looking forward to hearing that heartbeat again!

 

I'm thankful for the blessing of life and of experiencing this pregnancy. I'm thankful for good health, for strength during busy or difficult days, and for God's grace in each step of the journey.

A Surprise Bridal Shower

I was invited to a surprise bridal shower on Friday, October 21st for my future sister-in-law, Jalena Arnett. It was a personal shower, so ya know - all the "fun" stuff. :) It is hard to believe that my "little" brother is getting married in a little over a month. 

 Those who attended the shower

~ The Bride-to-be ~

Sorry this picture is a little dark.

 The sweet hostess and her helper

The other lovely hostess

I'm thankful for my brother, Jonathan.

He has grown into a very nice young man, and I know

he wants to serve Jesus with everything in him. 

Congratulations to he and Jalena on their upcoming wedding!   

Pastor Appreciation Month

The month of October is set aside to show appreciation to our pastor for everything he is and does for our church. I helped my Mom plan it this year. Although October is always full of so many events and activities, it has been fun to show our appreciation in little ways throughout the month. Instead of doing something on just one Sunday during the month, we decided we would do something small each Sunday (excluding the very first Sunday as a lot of our congregation is very involved in the Old Fashion Day fundraiser at UBC - previous post - and we didn't want to overwhelm them too much). 

So, on October 9th, we had a "Food Pounding." I thought everyone knew what a food pounding was; but to my surprise, there were a few people where I work who had never heard of one, so just in case you don't know...it is as simple as everyone bringing in food for the pastor. I was actually out of town that particular weekend so I'm stealing a couple pictures from my Mom. (Thanks, Mom!) :)

On October 16, we had a special speaker for the AM service - Rev. John Case. He had a fantastic message to share and added a little humor which is always enjoyable. It was nice to have he and his sweet wife with us. After the service, we had a pitch in dinner and a money tree on which people could pin cash for the pastor and family.



This past Sunday, October 23rd, we had a Cleaning Supply Pounding. Those kind of things can get expensive so it was nice to be able to provide our pastor and his family with household items that are always needed. I don't have a picture, but they got things like dish soap, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and paper towels.

This coming Sunday, October 30th, the plan is for everyone to bring in different gift cards as a gift to the pastor and family. The Sunday PM service will be a singspiration if all goes as planned. I will actually be out of town and am sorry to miss it; however, I'm very much looking forward to flying to Florida for the weekend and spending time with my fanastic sister!

Today, I'm thankful for my pastor and his family. I'm expecially thankful for a pastor's wife who I can go to in confidence and whose life is full of prayer. A pastor's wife can either make or break the pastor's ministry...and I'm thankful we have a good one!

It's A Girl...for Israel & Heather Fry

My good friend, Heather, is expecting. Little Miss Kaitlyn is expected to arrive at the end of November. I am the chairperson for the shower committee at our church so I was honored to recently host her baby shower. Here are a few photos of the occasion.

Guests

Gifts

Games

Game: "My Water Broke"

To play "My Water Broke," place one plastic baby inside a 6-oz. plastic cup. Fill each cup more than half way with water and place them in your freezer at least 24 hours before your baby shower. You can use ice cube trays and place frozen ice in cups too (which is what I did).  

When the shower starts, give everyone a cup with their baby frozen in the ice. At some point during the party, the ice will melt and their baby will become freed - thus, they can say "My water broke!" The first one whose water breaks is the winner. 

 Guessing Heather's tummy size

Heather measuring her actual tummy size

Comparing everyone's guesses to Heather's actual size

Food

My fantastic helper & friend - my Mom :)

My lovely friend & the Mommy-to-be, Heather



October Occasions

October = Busy, busy, busy!

Although our October schedule is normally very full, it is also one of my favorite months of the year. I love the fall season - the leaves changing, the smell in the air, wearing boots, knee socks and hoodies, and all the fun festivities that come with it! 

The first weekend started with a Homecoming Weekend at the school we both attended. Friday, September 30th, they hosted a chili supper and concert. It was fun to be able to catch up with old friends and spend time with family. The chili was yummy too! This was followed by an annual fundraising event on Saturday, October 1st called Old Fashion Day. People used to dress up "old-fashioned," but they don't do that as much anymore; however, that is sort of the theme. They set up a large tent on the school grounds and it is filled with all kinds of different booths. They sell anything from all types of food to clothing, crafts, and kids stuff. There is also an annual football tournament that draws a large crowd. We had a good time and it is always an event in the fall that I look forward to as we normally see several friends that we don't see often. Too bad the only pictures I have to post from the event are of Phil and me. Oh well - better than nothing at all I suppose.

On Sunday, we went to a church to sing with my family. My brother and his future wife and Phil and I rode together. We were caught in traffic jams both on the way and on the way back. It made it a little nerve-wrecking on the way there, but on the way back, we had to entertain ourselves.

 Phil trying to make people laugh

During our little traffic jam, we all planned to go to a local corn maze the following Friday, October 7th. I had never been in a corn maze before, but it was a lot of fun and I'd love to do it again. Definitely needs to start being a part of our fall traditions.

Most of the time, we weren't even with the guys.

We were either running from them or trying to hide.




We were really close to them at one point and it was funny to hear them say, "We're so confused." They obviously didn't know where they were at all.

 

After they caught up with us, we finished the maze together. They admitted they were getting worried about us because it was getting dark.

As previously stated in an earlier post, our 3rd year anniversary was October 11th. We celebrated by going to Brown County (Nashville, IN) for the weekend. We left on Saturday, October 8th and stayed until Monday afternoon. Phil and I had a really good time just getting away and spending time together. We did a lot of shopping (poor guy!), but I think he actually bought more than I did so I didn't feel too bad. We also had quite a bit of time to relax which was much appreciated! I don't have very much energy these days, so relaxing is always fine with me. It was a fun weekend spent together.

  Taking a picture of ourselves

Some of the Brown County shops

The trees were beautiful

Today, I'm thankful for the beautiful fall season and the opportunity to make good memories with my husband, friends, and family.