Missing my Hubby (and a challenge)

Well, it has been over a month now since my dear, sweet, wonderful, loving, kind, amazing, incredible, serving, caring, giving, hardworking husband went back to work at the factory. Oh, how spoiled I am!!!! I knew before that I was spoiled but didn't realize just how spoiled I was until the past month. I mean, I figured that since we only needed one cell phone because we were practically ALWAYS together and because we only needed one car because we were always together then I was no doubt getting to spend a whole lot more time with him than other wives get with their husbands. I knew I had much to be grateful for, but still, I didn't realize just how much! Having him gone for 9 hours a day definitely brought that realization full circle! (Please note, I'm not complaining, just sharing from my heart....) I mean, I have been greatly enjoying my time at home, at OUR home, but it's not so much because I'm by myself as it is because it's "our home". Oh, I am cherishing and treasuring my time with him more than ever these days! (Hence my lack of posts and pictures.) I love my husband so much and my heart just thrills at the sound of closing doors as he heads for the front door when he gets home from work. I know it seems so silly because he was working at the same factory the first 3 months of our marriage. But remember, we've been married for 12 1/2 months now and that means that for the past 9 1/2 months I've had my Hubby all to myself. I mean, when he's home he's always working on something book related, but when he's home I can get a kiss in much more frequently throughout the day than when he's gone for most of the day. :) Besides, just his presence in the house makes me so happy. I love knowing he's working on the couch while I'm doing dishes, cooking, cleaning, organizing, going through boxes (the baby's room is still 1/3 full of boxes). It's nice just to see him as I pass through the room. '

Over the past few weeks in our own place, especially since Scott is working 2 jobs (writing/being an author is always a full-time job) God has been reminding me of all the sweet aspects of being a housewife. I mean, I was still a wife for the 7 months before now but we didn't have a place of our own. It was challenging because I had to work hard and be creative to make wherever we were feel relaxing and restful but nothing beats having a home of our own that I can make a "haven of rest" for my Man (and soon to be, family). It is nice to have pictures up (even if they are mostly of *us*) and to have my candles and all the familiar things that were in our first place of residence as "husband and wife". I know Scott would say (and I agree), "it's nice to have our books out again!" :)

I love being married. I love having my own place to cook and clean in. I love learning all that God is continuously teaching me. I love planning snacks to surprise my Hubby with when he gets home. I love being pregnant and thinking that one day very soon I will have a little baby keeping me very occupied while "Daddy" is at work. :)

I don't know if any of this mumble-jumble has made much sense. But to change the subject I now have a challenge for all of my blog-readers:

I know I have not posted in almost 2 weeks and am planing a post with lots of pictures within the next week. But how about a little trivia in the meantime?

Can anyone guess how far along I am in my pregnancy and how many weeks and days are left till my due date? Rate how far along I am (weeks+days if not exact) as of today, June 23rd. If you can guess that correctly, than you'll have no problem figuring out how many weeks and days it is until my due date (that is of course, if you remember how many weeks a full-term pregnancy is). Sometime in the next few days (as long as someone has guessed correctly) I will do a Pregnancy update post as well as a "new home" post with lots of pictures.

20 Weeks

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant!!!! Woohoo!!! [Approximately] half-way there! Hopefully this baby comes on time (or even a little early would be nice! :) ).

The baby weighs between 9 and 10 ounces and is over 6 inches long (head to rump). Including it's legs, the baby is approximately 10 inches long! So, all in all, the baby is somewhere around the length of a banana. Which seems very strange when I think that I have a baby that is that long in my belly! :) Unfortunately I have not taken any profile shots lately so I don't have a picture today. :( I will however try very hard to make sure there is one for my next post.

I know I haven't written in over a week, and I am sorry to say that it is because my mind seems to have shut down a bit. What I mean is that every time I think of writing a post, I can't think of a whole lot to write about. We are greatly enjoying being home and back with family. It seemed like we were gone for so long.

I am enjoying being home so much that I have been neglecting my computer. I have 100+ new emails and sometimes it gets a little too close to 200. I go through and delete the ones I can every few days, and tackle a handful of the emails that need responses and so on, and so forth. I think I got backed up when we first got back to CT and I didn't touch my computer for over a week!

Scott and I have been married for 10 months and 1 week. The day we got back (after driving 12 1/2 hours from NC) my husband ended up driving 12 1/2 hours back to NC that very night because of an emergency in his family. I stayed up here because mentally and physically I was not prepared for the trip so shortly after arriving home. The next day felt like torture. I started off the day trying to be cheerful and get the errands done that needed to be done (mind you I cried myself to sleep the night before). But it was not easy. In the entire time that we had been married, we had never spent more than 9 hours apart and knowing he was so far away did not help. He decided to fly back the following morning which meant so much to both of us, but I was very glad to learn (as a result of our short seperation) that I loved him so much I couldn't bear being apart for even 36 hours! It gave me a greater understanding of what it must be like for all the wives of our men overseas and made me value my time with my husband even more. I know that in the future there will be nights when we will not be able to be together because of book stuff and what not, but I am determined to keep the number of those nights as low as possible! The baby and I will go wherever he goes, no matter what it means. I am so thankful and grateful for my husband. God continues to amaze me in how His blessings continue to overflow.

This month is a very special month as it is my parents' 25th wedding anniversary and my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. I am so thankful that God has given me such a great example of what it means to stick things out and be willing to walk together through the thick and thin.

Well, I guess I did find something to write about. I hope it wasn't too confusing! :)

Update - Long Overdue

I am sorry that it has been so long since my last post. We have been rather busy and I must admit I have enjoyed my little "sabbatical" from my computer. For the past week I haven't even touched my computer except to charge our ipod and have used my Hubby's to check my email real quick when I have gotten a chance.

We are finally home. Not in our own place yet, but home! We have been home for 1 week now after spending several days with our dear friends Tony and Shayna and visiting with Shayna's family. We had so much fun there and you can see a couple pictures here. We played lots of Uno Attack and had some yummy cheesecake with strawberries our last night. Sadly, I forgot to take out my camera during our stay there :( and so wish I had taken some pictures! I had intended too, but the only time it crossed my mind was when it was inaccessible.

It is strange to think that it has been over 4 months since we started out on our first Book Tour, but it is also so exciting to be done and wonder what God has in store for us now! :)

The prenancy is going well. Here is a picture of me at 15 weeks and my friend at 25 weeks...

I am now 18 1/2 weeks along and had my first prenatal visit today. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat which the midwife had no trouble finding (she didn't have to try at all) and it was so cool! I am starting to feel some slight movement and know it will only get more intense as time goes on. :) I am sure I am feeling the baby more than I realize too, because since it is my first, I don't necessarily figure out right away that what I'm feeling is the baby.

My siblings love just looking at my belly which seems to be growing little by little every day. :) They are almost as excited as I am... :)

We are starting to adjust to being home and knowing that we're not driving off to some other state in 2 weeks. :) We aren't completely settled in yet, but we're getting there. I am enjoying catching up with our families. Even though we all talked on the phone and skyped several times while we were gone, it's not the same as being in person.

There's an update for you all. :) I will try to make sure I don't let 2 weeks go by before posting again. There is just so much other stuff going on to keep me busy right now that I'm hardly getting a chance to go online at all never mind write a blog post. :)

No, I'm Not Dead :)

I know, I know, there has not been a new post in over week! I am still alive, I just don't have wireless internet access and am not getting much computer access either. Sad to say, you may not get much of a real post for the next week or two.

Everything is going well. We are in North Carolina and enjoying visiting some of Scott's family in between book events. I am finally completely out of the first trimester sickness stuff and am just waiting to get home and go to my eye doctor to see about helping my headaches/migraines become less of an issue as currently they are a daily occurrence! :) (No, it is NOT fun!)

Baby seems to be doing well and I can't wait to here the heartbeat when I have my first prenatal visit! I must say, I am TOTALLY siked about this baby!!!!!!

That's about it for now. My eyes can't take much time on the computer without giving me a headache and my head is reminding me that I've been on here too long already.

9 Month Anniversary

9 months since I said "I do!" 9 months since my new husband carried me over the threshold into our first home. 9 months since my entire life changed. 9 months since my life became centered completely around my husband. 9 months.

As I look back over the past 9 months, I am just in awe as I see all that the Lord has done (knowing that there are things He's done that I can't see and may never see). I also feel strange thinking about how much I've grown in such a short time. I feel so much older and yet I find it hard to think that I'm old enough and mature enough to be a parent this year. That alone scares me. But God wouldn't give us this baby if He didn't think we were ready, and I rest in that knowledge.
So much has happened over the past 9 months and through it all I've grown in the Lord, grown in my relationship with my husband, grown in my relationships with my family, and grown in my roles as wife and homemaker. God is doing so much and sometimes I think I take too much of all that He's doing for granted.

It is so amazing to me how He has used the past 3+ months to teach and grow me in little things along the way. My routine is so different from what it would be if we were more stationary. It's more like I don't have a routine right now. :) One thing that I think has become part of my routine is that when we arrive at our next destination I "let things go" in a way. I know that once I need to start preparing for our next trip, I'll be packing things totally different, and I stress less over things by not worrying about keeping it all neat and organized for a week or two. Now that is NOT me! I am always so organized and keep everything so neat. But right now, until we get back to Connecticut, I am much more relaxed letting things just go until I need to prepare for the next trip. And, because of our consistent travelling and being on the go pretty much every day, that is what I need. When I was trying to keep it all together every day, I was stressing myself out and not getting much of a chance to relax. I've always been a perfectionist and although I thought I had been growing out of it, God has been working particularly on that area in my life. As I think about it, this is probably a good thing for me to be learning right at this time, because as our family starts growing, I am not going to be able to keep everything perfect every day. Now mind you, I'm not learning that it is okay to just leave everything here or there and not pick up after myself, I'm learning that everything doesn't have to be absolutely perfect all the time.

One thing is for sure, I'm always learning. There is always something new that the Lord is teaching me, and when it comes to marriage, that seems to be more true than ever! I know I will always be learning and growing in my marriage and I am just so thankful to have a Husband who is just as eager to learn and grow and is determined to keep our marriage focused on God. Marriage is not always easy because you have to communicate with someone else and you have to be willing to give up your selfish ways to include your spouse, but it is definitely the most wonderful thing in the world!

I am so excited to see all that the Lord has done just in the past 9 months and can't imagine all that he has in store for us in the next 9 months!

The above pictures were taken while we were waiting for some lunch after a signing last weekend.

14 Weeks and an Update

Today I am 14 weeks along in my pregnancy. The baby weighs approximately 1 ounce (depending on which source you are referring to) and is between 3 1/4 to 4 inches long. I wasn't planning on posting another "baby bump" picture so soon, but then I realized that because of Internet connections, if I can even post for the next 4 weeks, it most likely will not be with pictures. So, I figured "why not?" :)

Everything is going well. I seem to be poking out even more (I know, I shouldn't be surprised) and am just so excited about this little being part of our little family. Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but we are NOT finding out what we're having. However, I'm really hoping it's a girl and actually bought a couple cute "girl" outfits last week for the baby. They were 80-90% off and I just couldn't resist! I saved $56! At the very least, I figure if we don't have a girl, I could always give them away as baby gifts. But that would have to mean that the first few aren't girls because I just LOVE these outfits! Okay, so maybe I love almost ALL outfits! :)

I am just about completely through being nauseous all the time and only feel sick when I've gone too long without eating. Praise the LORD! :) That is truly a blessing! I'm starting to feel more "funny" feelings in my lower abdomen although nothing I can attribute to the baby just yet. :) A few more weeks for that.

We are greatly enjoying our stay in Georgia! We have so much fun with our hosts and I must admit I'm sad that our time is almost over. Next Monday we head for North Carolina! 4 weeks there and then HOME!!!!! So, we are trying to take advantage of what time we do have left here. :)

Yesterday it was around 60 degrees here and just beautiful out! I got a good walk in and was hoping to walk today, but alas, Georgia thinks it's a part of New England. I woke up to a light covering of snow on the ground and now it is raining. Apparently by March Georgia is done with all this kind of weather so this is very abnormal for everyone in Georgia (what was that about global warming?????? Don't get me going on that.). Even though it is less out of the ordinary for us, I must admit that I was hoping for warmer weather by the time we left. Normally the flowers are coming out by now, but they're a little late this year. Hopefully Spring will at least be showing itself more by the time we get to CT. :)

I snapped this picture (below) of my darling Husband to check the lighting in the room and it came out so perfectly, I just had to keep it! :) Scott has been doing lots of writing the past few days on his 3rd novel as well as applying small edits here and there to Offspring. I can't wait to see Offspring printed and read it again in printed format!!!!


I think that's about it for updates. My sister turned 18 recently (which made me feel old for some reason, really weird!), and I am just so thankful for the technology that we have! I got to watch her open her gift from me and see her reaction and everything and it was just so much fun! Although the world we live in today is crazy and scary, there are definately some advantages!!!! :)

I know it's been awhile since I updated, so I hope this makes up for it! :) Stay tuned though for another post later this week......

Week 13

Today I am 13 weeks along in the pregnancy! I am just SOOOO excited! I'm really hoping that the baby is a girl (although I'll be happy either way). I have had 3 dreams so far about the baby being a girl or holding a newborn girl (didn't figure out who's baby it was before waking up). So, we'll see.... :) I am doing well. The past few days have been pretty rough with feeling very nauseous after eating anything. It is beautiful weather here in Georgia. Yesterday it was raining and it was still fifty degrees out. I just love when the sun is shining and I go outside and it actually feels like the sun is shining because it is so warm. :) Of course, have I taken advantage of this nice weather and gone for a walk? Not yet, but I'm planning to. :)

Here is my first "baby bump" picture. Not much yet, but I wanted to start when I am barely showing so I (and anyone else) can see the progression each week.

On Saturday Scott was doing a signing at a mall and I decided to walk through some stores (imagine my delight when I found a Motherhood Maternity store there). I found this jacket (I'm always wearing one of these, and 2 of mine don't fit anymore because they are too tight if I zip them up) and Scott said I could get it. I was so excited!!! :)


Then Scott was looking around at all their sale items (the jacket was on sale too, I was so happy) and found this outfit and told me to try it on because he really liked it. So I did, and he said we should get it. It's so nice when my husband is looking for things for me. :) I don't remember even seeing this outfit when I was looking around before.

So, it's official, I have bought my first maternity clothes. :) They are SOOOO comfortable! You can't see much of the pants in the above picture, but they are cotton and are so comfy! My husband has GREAT taste! :)

As you may notice in all of these pictures, I am now wearing only my glasses. I have a lovely tendency to get headaches that turn into migraines almost every day and my contacts do NOT help in that area. So for now I am just sticking to my glasses. I just hope I can wear my contacts again by the time the baby's born. I miss my contacts!!!! I forgot how quickly one's glasses get dirty! :)

I haven't been up to too much lately other than accompanying Scott on his book signings (which we had every day last week). We are enjoying a few days rest before it starts again. :) We can't wait to get home (to CT) and stay in the same place for more than 3 weeks! :)

Valentine's Day (a day late)

So, I meant to do this post yesterday, but my computer was acting up and had to settle for reading more of Scott's second book (which I'm loving, by the way). In past years, (once I was old enough to realize what Valentine's day was) my Valentine's day was spent corralling my siblings into planning surprises for Mom and Dad to make the day special, for them! :) It usually included serving them dinner (that we cooked) in another room of the house so they could eat by themselves. Last year was a little different. For the first time I had my very own Valentine, my Fiance! However, my Valentine was going to be working on V-day so we celebrated on February 11th which was his day off. He surprised me with a small red bear, flowers in a mug (with hearts on it, of course), Chocolates, and a very nice lunch! He had the whole day planned out for us! We decided that from that day on we should always celebrate Valentine's day on the 11th. (As you can tell, I will take any opportunity to show my husband he means the world to me, so even though Valentine's day is a "worldly thing" we can still take advantage of it!)

So this year, I made plans for us. I made sure I had the ingredients for a Chocolate cake (that ended up with a pink heart on the frosting thanks to sprinkles) and also bought the ingredients to make us a nice meal. I couldn't find a nice card, so I wrote him a love letter, which I knew he'd prefer anyway. Knowing my husband, as I looked at all the valentine candy (and the ridiculous prices) I finally decided to get him some ordinary Reeses Cups! They're his favorite and since I don't prefer them (although I don't mind them, but that means I always go for something else if we're deciding to get a little treat) I knew he'd love to have them!
Now, I will admit that I did constantly remind Scott that since he got me a bear (that was maybe 6 inches tall) last year, he had to get me one this year. I told him it could be really small, I didn't care, but he had started a tradition, and he should keep it! So, on February 10th, he went shopping and I made our cake (which he didn't know about). We ended up deciding to start our little celebration that night because we were going to get the house to ourselves. After he got back I had asked him to go get me something from the car and to just put it on our bed in the bedroom. Well, then he kept telling me that he had done that and that I should go make sure he got the right thing (or something like that). So I went into the bedroom and found this (see below) sitting on my pillow with a single Red Rose sticking out of the heart! It was so sweet (although a bit bigger than I had expected!!!! :) )

Scott wanted me to see it right away so the Rose could get into some water, and apparently the large bear (instead of a smaller one) was because he didn't like any of the smaller ones! That's okay, I love my bear! I especially like that it has the year right on it!!! :) I have the most wonderful husband!

So, what did you all do for Valentine's day?

As a side note, here is a picture from our stay with Bryan Davis and his family:

Update

Well, I think it's time for a little update. We arrived safe and sound (and without too much sickness on my part) in Atlanta, GA on Monday afternoon about 1:30. We are greatly enjoying spending time with our hosts and it is nice to be staying with another couple who likes to stay up as late as we do! :) We have had lots of fun learning new games (Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne) that they have been kind enough to teach us, and I have a feeling that the next time we play, there will be much more of a "competitive" attitude in everyone. :)

I was very happy to get a bunch of yarn in the yesterday for a secret project and can't wait to get started on it!

The next 3 weeks are pretty full for Scott as far as booksignings and school events go and so I know we will be pretty busy. :) Although busy is good, I can honestly say that we're both looking forward to when we get back to CT and aren't having to always keep in mind that we have to "pack up and go" in a couple weeks!

The pregnancy is going well. I am now into my 11th week and hopefully heading towards the end of the intense sickness. The baby is approximately 2 inches long and I am just constantly in awe as I read about the baby's growth at the awesome creation of our incredible God.

Well, I think that about wraps it up for now. I hope all my readers are having a nice week and not getting burried in too much snow as that is what seems to be happening in so many states right now.

Just Stuff ~ Part 4

Hello to all my blogreaders! Well, our time in Missouri is just about over. I have re-packed all of our suitcases and all that is left is devotional stuff and the usual toiletries (oh, and food) which I will pack tomorrow morning before we leave. Our goal is to head out between 9 and 9:30am. We shall see how well we do with it. Our destination: Tennessee, where we will be staying with author Bryan Davis and his family. Scott stayed with them for a short time almost 2 years ago and I am greatly looking forward to meeting them!

We have greatly enjoyed out stay in Missouri. Although we didn't have any official events, Scott got to meet author, L. B. Graham and I got to get some lots needed rest. We also have greatly enjoyed getting to know our hosts and I've enjoyed playing games with their 2 daughters. At first we were a little afraid that even when it's my first time playing a game, I am unbeatable. But yesterday one of their daughter beat me twice at Uno! Very impressive! I was glad because I was starting to feel bad because I was winning every single game we played. But it was lots of fun!

The past couple days my pregnancy sickness hasn't been quite as bad which I think is due to getting lots of rest. It's either that or the fact that I'm getting a little more used to it. :) I have been experiencing lots of "twinges" as the baby is growing.

On another note, I am just about done with studying A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. It has been a great study and will go into my special stack of books that go everywhere with me because I should always be reading them. I am greatly looking forward to doing a study on 1 Peter (using Putting On a Gentle & Quiet Spirit by Elizabeth George).

I want to leave you with an interesting and encouraging quote from A Woman After God's Own Heart that I came across in my reading yesterday:
"Very few things in life call for an instantaneous decision on your part. Keep your cool. Make delay your first strategy for avoiding chaos and crisis. A good rule of thumb to remember is that most things seem more important in the present than they actually are. Wisdom waits. Will you?"

Week 9 (and an update)

Hello to all my blog readers! This past Saturday we left Sunman, IN to go to a booksigning before making our way to Missouri. We spent Saturday night in a hotel and stayed up watching movies (which wasn't a good idea considering that we had a LOT of driving ahead of us on Sunday) and just having fun being together. Of course, staying up late meant that I was VERY hungry at 12:15 am. So, I decided to go downstairs and see if there was anything interesting in the vending machines. I know, I know, what I found there was not healthy, but nothing would have been open, and I just needed some food. :)

Sunday morning I typed our destination into the gps while Scott finished putting our luggage back in the car. We were delighted to see that it was 11:15 and we were supposed to arrive there at 3:08. That meant only 4 hours of driving (of course we knew that with stops it would take us a little longer to get there. We were driving along and when we were less than an hour from our destination, I started getting suspicious. The gps said we still had approximately a total of 100 miles to go, but it was after 3 o'clock and our arrival time was 3:50 (remember... all those stops? :) ). I wondered if the clock had gotten messed up on the gps so took it down to examine it. Sure enough, instead of saying 3:15 (like the clock on the dashboard said), it said "2:15". At first I couldn't figure it out. Then I realized that we must have changed time zones, which meant we had close to 2 hours to go still. But we finally made it just after 4pm, delighted to meet our new hosts (who are very nice, by the way). :)

So, on to the title of this post. :) I am now 9 weeks along in my pregnancy and the baby is growing a lot! And, in case anyone was wondering, it is certainly taking all it can get from Mama. :) I have not been feeling well pretty much all the time, with lots of headaches and my stomach is always uncomfortable. I am having to be very careful about making sure that I'm eating all that I need (which I haven't been too good at so far).

The Baby's ears are fully developed now as well as it's arms and legs and it's fingers and toes. It is just incredible to me, how much the baby grows in 1 week. Our God is so awesome! I feel so honored that God would bless us with this Little One and that there is a miracle happening inside of me. It makes me want to take care of myself all the more! I am so excited!

Go check out my Hubby's blog to see a couple pictures from the past week.

Just Stuff ~ Part 3

Here we are with another "just stuff" post. :) Where do I begin? Well, if any of you were still wondering where we've been since Sunday, we were at one of our favorite places! Can you guess where????? We were visiting our good friends over at Seven Sisters. We had lots of fun and took lots of pictures.

But before I get to the pictures, a quick update on the pregnancy: I am still experiencing LOTS of "morning" (a.k.a. - ALL DAY) sickness, but I know that it is a blessing in disguise. Other than that, not much more to report. :)

We played lots of games including Phase 10, Apples to Apples, Skip-Bo and Monopoly (for those pictures go here)

Originally we had planned to only stay 1 or 2 nights, but then decided to stay until Wednesday or Thursday. So, we decided that that was plenty of time to make a pregnancy/nursing jumper for me. So Tuesday morning, we began:

First we had to trace my size onto tracing paper and cut out the pattern peices. Then we cut out the bodice, and here is Jessica, getting ready to sew it:

Here Jessica is sewing the peices together:

What? You don't think the fleecy brown is pretty? Won't that be so nice and cool in the summer? Okay, so, the above pictures is the mock-up for the bodice. :) Now we had to cut out the REAL bodice and skirt! :) Everyone helped and it took us 4 1/2 hours from start to finish. However, we took a break for lunch, and we also playes a couple games of Skip-Bo in the middle too.

Here we discussing "something" (I can't remember what :) ):

I believe that Anna was working on the skirt there, and Jessica is working on the bodice. We didn't get any pictures, but yes, I did help with some of the sewing. :)

We we all are, that evening (and me in my new dress!) :) It is so comfortable! I am so thankful that girls were so willing to teach me and help me make this jumper. (THANK YOU! :) )

And what did Scott do for fun while we were there? He played Zoo Tycoon on the computer (making absurd situations, of course! :) ) and the younger children just loved watching him. Or rather, they all loved watching each other when anyone was playing it. :)

We had such a lovely visit. It started out because we were going to look at some apartments (which we never did) and then we were going to stay longer because there was a possibility that Scott could do a signing at a Library. When that didn't work out, we didn't mind at all because it was still worth the trip just for the visit. The on Tuesday Scott called a school to see if there was any possibility they might be interested in having him come. They said they'd love to have him the next day and he stayed all day and had to go back today (Thursday), so we had to stay 4 nights! We didn't mind at all! :) We were so grateful for the gracious hospitality we received from our good friends! I ended up not going with Scott either day because of my pregnancy sickness, but he did very well regardless.

We are back in southern Indiana for 2 more days. Time to pack everything up and head to our next destination in Missouri. We are greatly looking forward to the next couple months and the places where we'll be staying. :)

Drive from NJ to PA to IN

After a total of 14 hours on the road (including stops for fuel and a 1 hour stop for a nap), we arrived in Mentone, IN around 7:30 this morning. We drove the 6 ½ hours from New Jersey to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania for the Shane & Shane “Glory in the Highest” concert Wednesday night. Just before we arrived in Beaver Falls, we started toying with the idea of not staying the night in a hotel and driving straight through instead. I told Scott I was game to do whatever he was up to, and so after a few more quiet moments of thinking, he said “I think we’ll drive through the night.” So after the Concert, just before 11 o’clock (PM!) we headed back onto the highway.

The drive through Pennsylvania was uneventful for the most part, except for around 11 in the morning when after staying very close on our tail for quite some time, a very large 18-wheeler decided to pass us (we were in left-lane going at a decent speed). We had no problem with the truck passing us, but then, knowing that he was still beside us (he knew we had a trailer, and his cab had just passed the front of the car), at a high speed he started moving back into our lane, and he wasn’t even halfway past us yet. We hit the brakes, and the back end of the truck just barely missed us. I will admit that I had to work very hard, the rest of the trip to keep myself from getting nervous every time an 18-wheeler was passing us.

Scott's favorite part about driving through PA was that we got to drive through 5 tunnels (through mountains!). I have not yet gotten a chance to drive through a tunnel, but Scott says it's lots of fun! :)

We are very blessed to be staying with our new friends from the Seven Sisters blog. We are greatly enjoying our stay! Tomorrow I am looking forward to spending the entire day visiting while Scott goes back to the bookstore we were at tonight. We are going to try to not go to bed so late tonight as we did last night, but we plan on staying up late again tomorrow night! I so enjoy making new friends and getting to know other lovely Christian young ladies! I have been thanking the Lord this week for all the people that He has brought into my life and for new friends!!!!!!

(Above picture taken by my Husband at Harkness park in 2007)

New Jersey

Wow, does time get away from me! I can't believe we're already about to leave New Jersey! It has been 5 days since we left our beloved Connecticut. I am pleased to announce that there were no tears. They came very close to breaking through, but I held them back and made it out the door without allowing them to fall. Albeit, the last 2 minutes of saying "goodbye" to my family was a bit "rushed" as my Sister put it, but I did not want to start crying when we were so close to the door. I hugged my parents one last time and almost broke down, but I smiled and said "see you soon." :) God definately knew what I was going to need, because as it turned out, at the time that we were ready to say goodbye to my family on Thanksgiving night, my 11 cousins, 2 aunts, 1 uncle, and Grandparents were all there and half of the family were watching a funny movie and everyone else was playing games, playing with toys, or whatever. It definately helped that everyone was a little distracted. 5 months isn't that long, and with the technology that we have, it is very easy to stay in touch with our loved ones. Besides, it is always better leaving everyone with cheerful attitudes than being emotional and all sad when there really is no need for it.

4:oo Friday morning came very quickly for me, but I was up and in the shower by 4:05. Scott was up and ready for the day by the time I was done and we got what little stuff was left all gathered up before taking a few minutes to eat breakfast and chat with his family before we left. However, being SO early in the morning and the fact that although my body was functioning, it wasn't fully awake, I was not able to eat more than a few bites of oatmeal before feeling a little sick. Scott went outside to hook up the trailer while I finished getting things ready, and we discovered that it was POURING outside! We said goodbye and made it to the book signing in Waterford safely, and by 2:45 we SOLD THEM OUT! We did take a long break mid-morning for some breakfast. :)

We arrived safely in New Jersey around 6:15, quite tired! :) The past 5 days have been great! Our Hostesses have been terrific, and we are so blessed to have been able to stay with them.

Tomorrow morning we'll be heading to Beaver Falls, PA and then on to IN on Thursday!

Over the past week I have been thinking about how blessed I am to have my Husband. I love him with my whole heart and can't thank the Lord enough for putting him in my life. I love watching and listening to Scott as he talks to different people about his book and I am so proud of him for following his dream. Back in the begining of our relationship we were researching the possibility of starting our own Publishing House and what that would mean for us. I am SO glad that I encouraged him to follow his dream and not to let anything deter him from doing what he needed to do even if it was a risk. To all you married women, I encourage you to take a moment and thank God for your Husband. And be specific! Don't just say "thank you Lord, for my Husband." Think about the things you appreciate about your husband and be specific in your prayer.

The Journey has begun!

Hey everyone, just a quick update today.

We arrived safely in New Jersey at 6:15 last night. Scott just updated on his blog, so go check it out here : Book Tour Begins.

I'll update with my own post soon! :)

Niagara Falls, NY

Finally, here is the long-awaited post...

Niagara Falls was BEAUTIFUL! We drove up to New York on Friday. The scenery on our way there was beautiful as well, even though it started raining at some point and rained the rest of the day. What a perfect time for travelling, this last month has been. As we've been travelling through Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York (which included parts of Pennsylvania as we crossed the border for awhile) we've travelled over many mountains and the trees are changing their colors. The bright Red, Yellow, Gold, Orange, Brick red/brown, and still Green leaves have made for very pleasant travelling. It is impossible to describe the beauty in all the scenery we've seen. We serve an AWESOME Creator!

(Notice the Falls directly to the left of the Rainbow, in the background)

Our original plan was to visit the Falls Friday evening when we got up there, but we got a later start in the morning than we had planned, and by the time we got to the area, it was almost dark and it was pouring. We spent the night in an "interesting" motel. :) It was pretty dingy but it was cheap, we were tired and we figured we'd stay at a nice hotel on Saturday night (which we did, and it had a heated pool and jacuzzi! :) ). So we decided that we'd go to bed early and get up to go to the falls for 8am. We didn't have to be at the book signing in Buffalo (20 minutes away) until Noon, so we had 4 hours!

On our way to the Falls we ate the rest of the fruit I had brought from the day before, and we figured we'd stop for breakfast after we had gotten our fill of the Falls. :) I brought my little "Point & Shoot" and Scott brought his nice Camera with all his nice lenses! Scott took a couple hundred pictures and they all are beautiful, but I haven't put any of those on my computer yet, so you'll have to be satisfied with the ones from my camera for now. Scott did post a few pic's on his blog though.

There was a constant rainbow the entire time we were there. And, you could see both ends of the Rainbow! It was breathtaking! :)

When we woke up in the morning, it was cloudy out and looked like it might start raining any minute, but nothing was going to stop us from going, so we headed out. As we started driving, the sun started breaking through the clouds, and by the time we parked our car, the sun was shining brightly and the clouds we starting to completely disappear. By the time we left it was cloudy again, but we felt so blessed that the Lord gave us bright blue skies, and let us see the Falls in all its splendor!

In this picture (below) you can see the mist rising up from the Falls behind me. When you walked down the "steps" in the second picture below, it was as if you were walking into the rain (but there were ZERO clouds in the sky), because of the mist.

We had to do a lot of walking to get to the "observation walks" (below) but I LOVED it! Because it had rained during the night, the Sun was shining through the trees, and you could smell the freshly fallen, damp leaves. I love that smell! Fall is my favorite season, and walking through the park that morning, I was reminded of all the reasons why I love it! :) We know our God is an awesome God and His creation is incredible, but we couldn't stop talking about it as we were walking to the Falls and then again on our way back to the car.

This was another "Fall" (or whatever you would call it) that you can see from where all the above pictures were taken.


Here's my handsome Husband doing one of his favorite things.... taking good pictures! (He's really good at doing it too! :) )

As for other news, we are completely out of the apartment. We gave the keys back yesterday. Our storage unit that seemed so big when we got it, is now completely stuffed! I still have some stuff to organize, here at my parents. Some of the things that I brought over here are stuff that I didn't have time to organize and consolodate before we left the apartment, so I will be working on that this week, as well as going through the stuff of mine that is still here from when I got married. It's great to be spending more time with my Family right now. I'm really going to miss them while we're gone, but I know it will go by quickly. :)

We are enjoying a quiet weekend, the only weekend for some time that we have had no book signings. We left it open because of the moving, and we're so glad we did! Not having the apartment now, is a relief because we're another big step closer to leaving for the tour. We're so excited! We can't wait! We leave in less than 4 weeks now.

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

Now here's a question for all my blog readers: What is the most beautiful place you've been to, or the most beautiful day you remember?

Leave a comment with your answer! :)