Hiking and Hunting

We went on a hike a couple of weeks ago. The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a lot of fun! We stopped to explore every little thing...centipedes, pretty leaves, pools of water, acorns, sticks, bark, a fun little toad and even a lizard! Gabe kept thinking that we were hunting, but either way, he couldn't get enough of it! He loves to explore.




Ryan took Gabe hunting at the farm. They had a lot of fun, but didn't see any deer. Gabe loved carrying around his gun (unloaded, of course) and they even sat up in the deer stand for awhile. Gabe loved hanging out with his great-grandparents and seeing his Aunt Jennifer, too!

Two Fun Facts

(because I can't seem to get my act together to add anything else)

1. We are having another boy. (found out on Thursday...very exciting!)

2. My sister had her little girl this afternoon! (I can't wait to meet her...who knows when that will be?)

And that is all for now because I really only got on the computer to find pictures of my new niece. I was all snuggly in bed, then realized that these are blogworthy events that shouldn't have to wait any longer to be posted. So there! Of course, as usual, pictures to follow. SOME DAY!

No Excuses (but I'll try anyway)

Soo, a few reasons why it has been almost a month since my last post:

1. I had no idea it was almost a month since my last post! I knew it was at least a couple of weeks...but wow! A month. Oops.

2. A lack of interesting goings-on to post about. Not to say we haven't been busy--there are a couple of new pictures hung on the walls, the fish get fed every day, the ants on the kitchen counter require a lot of energy to kill, Gabe and I have to sweep off the porch under our bird feeders every other day, there have been lots of fall recipes that have called my name...I could go on and on about daily life (really there is a LOT more to it) but things have been pretty calm around here lately. Ryan is getting back on a normal work schedule, Gabe and I go to my Bible study at church and meet all the kids at McDonald's afterward, we go to Awana every week and have verses to study for that, The Office, The Biggest Loser, and The Amazing Race call our names after Gabe goes to bed--all in all, we've actually been getting into a normal routine for the first time in about 4 years! Or maybe even longer...it's hard to say. I kind of like it!

3. I am never on the computer! Unless I am paying bills, I can rarely sneak away from Gabe long enough to do more than a quick email-check but Gabe really loves to play with ME. He is great at hanging out by himself while I am making lunch or dinner or if I need to get something done, but just about every other minute of the day he really likes to be hanging out together. We play Candyland about twice a day (Yes, more games are on our shopping list), he never gets tired of rolling golf balls back and forth with us across the living room floor, and he still loves playing with his trains, but they are so much more fun when I am in there playing with him. All of this equals no blog time! (and not much to write about unless you want to know who won the latest round of Candyland)

4. Last, but DEFINITELY not least, I wanted to wait to post about our special news until a few key people heard it in person...(they were told a few weeks ago, but it was my excuse for awhile!) but in case you don't know yet, Gabe is going to be a big brother! He is very excited about it (we are too, of course!) and he is pretty sure it is going to be a girl and she will have pretty pajamas. Not sure where he got that and why he so firmly believes it to be true, but we will find out the first week of November if he is correct. My due date is April 5 and so far everything is going great. I haven't been sick at all and have been able to keep running, so life doesn't feel a whole lot different yet. I think Gabe will be in for the biggest shock of all...He will have to share us!


Well, in case you are wondering how I was able to find the time to finally update this blog of ours, it is because Gabe is at Grandma's house this morning! I really should be getting other things done, as usual, but I know that I have neglected our faithful readers. SORRY!

A couple of other pieces of news:
Ryan has been feeling pretty decent lately. He is very tired all of the time, but hasn't complained of headaches or pressure lately, so that is a huge blessing. He still deals with allergies and it is tough to feel so drained all the time, but hopefully things are looking up. His next check-ups will be in December.

Also, my brother Mike will be deployed to Afghanistan on October 29th. PLEASE be praying for him. I miss him already--it is hard to think about him being so far away for such a long time (they are saying 10 months) and I can't even let myself think too hard about his safety there--we have to put him in God's hands! I'll put his address up here as soon as we know it so that anyone who wants to can send him a note or package. I know he'll be needing all the support he can get from us.

Ok, hopefully it won't be another month...I'll get some more pictures up here soon, too. Until then!

Last Weekend

We started out at the Johnny CASA 5-miler where I ran my hardest so that I could eat apple cider doughnuts at the orchard later...I didn't have my running partner with me, so I finished a minute slower than last year. Ouch. But I did win 1st in my age group! Oh, but I was the only one in my age group. Next year?


Ryan and Gabe on a hayride at the apple orchard...I think Gabe and I ate at least 6 apples between us--it was a perfect day on a really beautiful mountainside right next to Monticello. What a nice way to celebrate birthdays and family!


Dinner at a Thai restaurant was a nice way to end the day and officially celebrate Noah and Rachel's birthdays. Happy Birthday to both of you!


What I want to do when I grow up...Ambitious of me, I know, but something about working in an adorable little brick building selling nothing but crepes to people of every different background for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desert, and late-night snacks just calls my name. I think Gabe liked it, too.

A Slow Kind of Busy

Hmm. I don't even know where to begin! I guess with our visit to Colorado. Gabe and I had a great time being with my family for a week. Here are a few pictures from our trip:

A good one of Gabe and I...He doesn't like to pose for pictures lately. (He's 3, you know)


My dad took Gabe and Henry to go watch trains while my mom and I followed Mike around on his motorcycle and took pictures. Before the photo op, we all had lunch at Bud's Bar in Sedalia, where the only items on the menu are hamburgers, cheeseburgers and chips. Yum!


Mike LOVES that bike!

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Me with my brothers (Mike, Tim, and Chris)


Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Tiffany!


Congrats again to my big sister, Erin, due with Gabe's fourth cousin in November.

So, yeah! We had a very nice and relaxing visit to Colorado. Lots of good family time and so nice to see Mike for more than a couple of days before he is deployed. I don't know yet when we'll get to go back, but hopefully we'll get to see Erin and Mark's new little one before she gets too old. Ryan actually gets to go out without Gabe and I next week. He has some appointments and a fishing trip planned, so it will be his turn for some fun!

Hopefully he'll be feeling good by then. When Gabe and I got home from CO he had been feeling pretty sick and hasn't gotten any better yet. It's not the flu, but he pretty much has any flu symptom you could come up with. He's had a few appointments mixed in with the exhaustion and feeling horrible, so it has been a long week for him.

I'm going to run a 5-mile race this Saturday with a bunch of the women that I run with, and then we get to head up to Charlottesville to celebrate Noah and Rachel's birthdays at an apple orchard and a Thai restaurant. It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend--I've been loving this cooler weather! Well, hopefully that sums us up for awhile. Now if we can just get Ryan feeling good again!

Back to the Grindstone

Well, Ryan had a pretty full week back to work. He went in a few hours each day and had quite a few appointments. Besides being exhausted all the time, he's had a few headaches here and there. Hopefully he'll have lots of time to rest up this next week, because Gabe and I will be in Colorado! We got a last-minute flight out to visit my family while my brother Mike is out there. He'll be deployed to Afghanistan at the end of October, so I want to see him as much as possible before then. Anyway, I need to finish packing because we leave tomorrow, but I thought I would give a quick update first. More later!

There and Back Again

Yes. We are HOME. That makes me happy. That means that Ryan's MRI was fine and we don't have to go back until December! Good. I'm glad. And now I'm going to bed--it has been a long day. LOTS of traffic and driving. But praise God, NO MORE SURGERY! What an answer to lots of prayers!

Ryan will be starting back to work on Monday for just a couple of hours a day. What a blessing to have a job where he can set his own schedule and appointments to take it slow for awhile! Hopefully he will build up stamina quickly and really start to feel good soon. Until later...