Last Day

Today I'll be teaching my last aerobics class until after maternity leave. I thought it'd be bitter sweet...instead I'm psyched about it! Especially today. I went to bed late last night (no that doesn't mean I slept in and skipped my morning workout...I just rode the bike rather than doing the cross trainer or treadmill) and am zapped of energy this morning. Knowing that this is the last class will be the only thing that gets me through aerobics this morning! I'm sorry to say that I don't have any pictures of "pregnant Staci" teaching aerobics. This is a picture of our aerobics room (it's usually lighter than this...but this pic was taken at 5 am)

On a different note...today Dad & Mom are driving up from TX to spend some time with us! They're gonna be here thru the 4th and are gonna help us work on the house! I'm excited to get to spend so much time with them! It'll be really nice to have Dad here to help Mike out. I just haven't been much help to him lately. I'll be taking off work tomorrow and Friday to stay home and help. Yay!!! (I'm really excited about getting to sleep in past 4 am!) Here's a picture I just love of Dad & Mom.

Storage Space

We've been working on our laundry/mud room for awhile now. This week Mike purchased the cabinets and painted them. Last night he installed a base cabinet & countertop by the dryer and a wall cabinet above it and also one above the dryer! The only one left to install is the one above the washing machine. I'm am really excited to start using the new cabinets! They are giving us so much new storage space!

In other news...next week will be my last week of teaching aerobics until after I get back from maternity leave. I'll be 33 weeks pregnant and am starting to slow down. The first of July seemed like a good place to stop. Don't worry...I'll still be coming in early and getting my own work out in...I'll just get to do it at my pace. There have been some days lately where it's been hard to get up in front of a class and put on a smile while I teach step or cardio kickboxing with my back and hips just aching! This will be the longest break I've had from teaching since I started teaching aerobics in 2000. I hope I remember what to do when I come back after maternity leave!

Since a blog isn't a blog without a picture (and since I don't have one of the laundry room)...I'll leave you with a picture of a beautiful KS sunset.

Yearning

Every summer Mike and I look forward to a Colorado vacation. We dream and plan about which 5 mountains we'll climb that summer (although we've always only gotten in four 14ers in a week). We go through all our gear and make sure we have everything we need. We make plans to meet up with Ben & Julie in Buena Vista at some point during the trip. As the day approaches the atmosphere is almost electric with excitement!!!

Well....this summer we won't be making our mountain climbing trip (mainly because I'm 32 weeks pregnant!) Now don't get me wrong, we wouldn't trade this baby for anything...but there are days where I can just feel the mountains tugging at my heart. I love having time with Mike away from all the convinences of everyday life. We park our car, strap on our packs, and then it's just us, a mountain, and God! Not only do these trips draw me closer to my husband...they also draw me closer to my creator. Everywhere I look I see the awesome power of our almighty God! How people can see a view like this and think the world is just a random happening is beyond my comprehension.

Right now I'm just feeling a longing to have that special quiet time with God. Time away from the business of work and everyday life. Time to take a deep breath and just sit down and marvel at the glory of His creation! Since I can't do that in the Rockies...I need to take time to slow down and notice Him where I am. I am so thankful that I don't have to go to some special place to be able to spend time with God. He is with me everywhere I go. I have done nothing to deserve the salvation that He has so freely given me through Christ...yet He had mercy on me and drew my heart to Him. I am so thankful for the relationship that I have with my Savior and pray that I am able to share this love with our children!

Heavenly Floating

As you are well aware of...summer days can get very HOT! Our friends, Mykael & Angi, loaned us a 13' wide 36" deep pool that they used last summer (they got a bigger one this summer). It is still a little chilly, but we've both been in. Mike actually got in the day we filled it up. He's CRAZY! Our water is well water...so it's really cold! I waited a few days and let the sun heat up the water before I ventured into the pool. We bought a cheap blow up raft to use in the pool and it feels so good to just float around! The raft is thin enough that I can lay on my tummy and float in the pool. I haven't been able to lay on my tummy for soooo long! It feels WONDERFUL! I've also been told that the pool will help if I start swelling. Sounds like a good excuse to have a lazy afternoon :)
 

Heartburn

This was a long weekend. I finally made it to bed around 9:30 last night. I slept really well until about 11:30. It was then that I woke up to terrible heartburn (I look forward to heartburn free days again...once the baby's born!). Mike got up and got me one of my pills (I can take Zantac safely during pregnancy). It wasn't until about 1:30 am that it subsided enough for me to fall back asleep....then the alarm went of at 3:45 am. Yuck! So this morning I'm EXTREMELY tired (it wasn't a very restful weekend anyways). Now I need to try to work up enough energy to teach aerobics class at 9 am. Pray for me :)

Happy Anniversary!

So I had my dates wrong. For some reason I thought my parents' anniversary was the 17th...but it was yesterday the 16th! Oh well :)

Yesterday was my parents' 33rd wedding anniversary. I have been very blessed to have such good examples of a godly marriage. They are more in love today than the day they married and it's very obvious. When I was a kid I'd get embarassed when I'd walk into the kitchen to find Dad hugging Mom and kissing on her. They were never afraid to show their love for one another in front of us...and I am so grateful for that!

I'll never forget a conversation that I had with mom when I was a kid. I thought I had a question that would really "get her". I asked her, "Who do you love more? Me or Dad?" I was surprised with her answer. She said, "I love you VERY much...but I do love your dad more." At first that kinda hurt my feelings. But...the more I thought about it...I really liked her answer. I learned a very powerful lesson from her that day. The relationship with your spouse is so important and it should come first! You need that solid foundation to have a strong family!

Dad is always doing sweet, romantic things for Mom. I'll never forget the time I got home to find Caleb & Tyler lighting candles in Dad & Mom's bedroom. They had been helping Dad set up a massage table in his bedroom (complete with Enya and candles) and Dad was running a warm bath. He told me Mom would be getting home shortly and I should take Caleb & Tyler out to eat. I was in HS and understood. I was outta there faster than you can say go! Of course I was embarassed (and thought it was so funny that Caleb & Tyler were helping Dad get all this set up)...but I also felt such security knowing how much Dad loved Mom! I liked knowing that he was doing something so special for her!

Because they have such a strong faith in Christ and strong love for one another...their godly marriage has influenced many others. Caleb, Tyler, and I have been so blessed to have such wonderful parents and role models. Thank you for always showing your love for us...but more importantly...thank you for loving each other!

{I would upload one of their wedding pictures...but I'm at home and for some reason my internet at home won't let me upload pics to blogger. I'll try to add one later.}

What's in a name?

I'm sure my family is crying this morning. The Mavs lost last night...again. Dad & Mom had the family over to their house to watch the game. I wonder if everyone still left with a smile on their face?

There's someone who may not be rooting for the Mavs to win. RyAnn is pregnant and she said in her last blog that when she first got pregnant she told Nate that if the Mavericks won the championship (and they have a boy) they could name him Dirk! She said she never thought the Mavs would make it to the finals! I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

Grown Up?

My mom sent me this email today. She must have been remembering summer's past. She's always been the joke writer of the family ;)

Pleasant Ridge Kids know they have grown up when:

1. Doing the "wild thing" doesn't make you think about Iron Springs.

2. Wearing a long sleeve dress shirt when you're going to be outside for hours in 100 degree heat never crosses your mind.

3. When it has been years since you have "washed" your hair in the lake.

4. You no longer think a fan hung by ropes from the ceiling is adequate for sleeping during the summer.

5. You haven't taken your full length mirror off the wall lately to take on a trip.

6. You don't get matching t-shirts for plane trips.

7. TNT makes you think of dynamite.

8. JAM is something you put on your bagels.

9. Paper hearts are something your kids make at school on Valentines Day.

10. Your current friends don't know that "Bible Study" is a card game.

11. The only Blue Bird you see is out your living room window.

12. You no longer recognize every truck stop between Arlington and Colorado.

13. You don't ride in a bus to formal events.

14. You wonder why someone started a Herbert Club.

15. 5th quarter means you have now found $1.25 in your car.


Feel free to think of more and post them in the comment section!

Memory Lane

Dad has started doing something really neat. He has been scanning in all of their pictures from their old photo albums. It's fun because we can go look at the pictures anytime we want now (even if we're not at their house)! I found this picture this morning when I was looking through one of the albums. It's of Dad rocking Julie (Haker) to sleep when she was a baby. She now has 3 kids! Wow!


Another picture that I absolutely love is this picture of mom in the first years of marriage. I love this picture because I KNOW there HAS to be a story behind it! I have yet to get the real story of this picture out of my parents. They claim they don't remember anything unusual about it. Someday I'll learn the truth! :)

AT LAST!!!

Taco Bueno is as much a part of my family as breathing! For as long as I can remember, every Sunday evening after church we went to Taco Bueno with the Rhodes family. I remember when we were young we'd play the video games at TB while waiting for our food. They had PacMan and Pong (really high tech!) TB was a cheap meal for a family of 5. The kids were allowed to get 2 party items (now $0.69 each) and then we'd share cinnamon chips for dessert.

I remember going to college at ACU (Taco Bueno was founded in Abilene in 1967) and listening to Kyle Rhodes complain about the fact that there wasn't a TB in Arkansas where he was going to school. I didn't relate to the withdrawals he was having...until we moved to Kansas! The last Taco Bueno was in Denton. Mike and I would always stop there on our way back from Texas. It was sad to know we wouldn't get to eat it again for months!

I'm happy to say that we can now have our Taco Bueno fix every week!!!! Hutchinson's Taco Bueno opened June 5th! Mike and I ate there for dinner on Saturday evening. It was wonderful! The food even tasted the same as the TX TB's! I'm sure the people sitting by the front windows thought I was strange...but I had Mike take my picture in front of our Kansas Taco Bueno :)

Night Owls

What time seems late for you on a week night? For me 10:00 pm seems soooo late! Mike has made sure lately that I'm in bed by 9 pm on week nights. Last night I fell asleep very fast. In fact I remember that I was singing a goodnight song to the baby and it actually put me to sleep. I was woken up by the phone ringing about 45 minutes later. Mike came into the bedroom looking for the phone and I remember saying, "What time is it?" He said it was 9:45 and I was thinking, "Who in the world calls people this late?!?!?" I forget that there was a time where I thought as long as you call before 10 pm it's acceptable ;) So after Mike tells me who I need to call back the next day...I drift back to sleep.

I'm woken up again at 12:30 am by the sound of loud motors. When I fell asleep last night our friend Chris was harvesting the wheat field across the road from us. He also works the ground surrounding our property. Well...I came to the realization that he was still harvesting at 12:30 am! After telling Mike how crazy it was for someone to still be up working just 3 hours before I have to get up for a new day...I fell back to sleep...this time to the sound of money (at least that's what that sound is for Chris!)

This is a picture of the wheat field to the east of our house. It was taken early one morning while the dew was still fresh :)

Birth-Day!

Tuesday afternoon there was an addition to our family! Julie gave birth to Collin Matthew! Mom, Grandma (aka GG), Jan, Ron, Matt's mom, Lauren, & Katelyn were waiting patiently at the hospital for his birth. He was 7 pounds 0 oz, 19 inches long. Julie went in to be induced at 7:30 am and he was born at 1:13 pm...so it was a fairly quick labor & delivery! I'll leave you with a picture of Jan holding her very first grandson :)

Day of Understanding

For anyone that has ever attended or visited Sooner Youth Camp, you know the true meaning of hot! As girls we always wanted to look our best for the evening worship. We would come back early from the lake so that we would have time to do our hair and pick out a dress to wear. Then we would sit in front of our box fans to keep from sweating until it was time to go to dinner. I remember one year that Megan and Shauna found a new use for deodorant. They convinced us (me and Juli Beth) that it was a good idea to put deodorant on our upper thighs. They were raving about what a difference it made! After the 2nd or 3rd night of doing this I finally asked them why in the world they thought it was amazing. They explained to me that it kept their legs from chafing and sweating as much where their thighs rubbed together. No wonder I didn't understand. My thighs didn't even touch! So basically I was just wasting deodorant.

I tell you this story because pregnancy changes your body and not too long ago I suddenly understood Megan & Shauna's reasoning. :)

Ottawa

This weekend we went to Ottawa for Mike's cousin (Derek's) wedding. We got to Ottawa, KS around 2:30 on Saturday afternoon and spent some time hanging out with Mark and Angela at the hotel. The wedding was a 5:00 and we got to see lots of Mike's family. We don't all get together very often because everyone is so spread out (Ohio, Texas, Kansas).

Saturday night we stayed up way too late playing cards and laughing. It was fun! Mark was happy because the Mavs won...so that was good ;)

Sunday we all went to breakfast at the Sirloin Stockade and then headed our separate ways back home. It was a short weekend...but it was fun!

(There's not very many guys that can pull of wearing a pink shirt...but I have to say that my husband is one that can! He looked HOT at the wedding!) 

More News

Mike talked to Angela today. She was telling him how she had began having 2nd thoughts about the amnio last Friday because of the fact that it can lead to a miscarriage. So she spent time in prayer about it. Mark really wanted her to have the amnio done. They went to the office and she said that she told God that if he didn't want her to do it he was gonna have to stop it because otherwise she was going to allow them to do the amnio.

So the sonographer hooks her up to see where to stick the needle and says, "This isn't Trisomy." Come to find out the baby has short umbilical cord syndrome, aka limb-body wall complex. From what I gather, when the cells are dividing rather than attaching to the umbilical cord...the abdomen attaches directly to the placenta. This leads to all the defects that were seen in their previous sonograms (bowel outside the body, abnormal spine & heart, and club feet). Their baby has a very short umbilical cord going from her abdomen to the placenta.

The diagnosis is 100% fatal. They have no idea how long the baby will live but they know that it's impossible for her to live outside the womb. She's 21 wks pg right now and they think that if the baby dies she might be able to deliver vaginally. By the time she reaches 24 wks a c-section will be the only option. It will have to be a vertical cut (not bikini cut) c-section to be able to get the baby out.

The good news is that it's not genetic or hereditary so they don't have to go through all that testing. It's just a random, very rare thing. Angela said she goes back and forth between wanting God to go ahead and take the baby now and wanting her to make it to term so she can maybe have the chance of holding her tiny hand for just a few hours.

Please continue to pray for them! I praise God that they have such wonderful family, friends, and church family that have surrounded them with support during this very difficult trial.