Baby Thoughts

The reality that I am having a baby is starting to set in. There is a crib in my dining room, I've started to feel the baby moving (woohoo!), and people are always asking me how I'm feeling. For a while, I didn't really feel pregnant. I knew it in my head, but it just didn't seem real. Now, with the expanding waistline and the fact that I can feel the baby from time to time, things are setting in.

As I have read on my friend Amy's blog lately, it is important that we be honest with ourselves and others on these issues. So I have to say, the whole concept of motherhood is quite scary to me. I have, for a long time, loved working and playing with kids in the 2-4 year old age range. And even now, those ages are much more appealing to me than newborns. While I love newborns and they are so cute, I have never been the person to run over and oooh and ahhh over newborns. So the fact that I am going to have one on my own is a little scary. I know everyone says, "Oh, it'll be different when it's your own," and I know that is true. But the fact is, I will still be dealing with the screaming in the middle of the night, changing diapers, nursing, and needing to watch the baby every waking moment (and probably many sleeping moments as well).

I am thankful that God built in 9 months to prepare us for motherhood. I don't think I could do it if it was just 2 or 3 months. At this point, though, I am almost half-way there - 18 weeks now! So I still have time to adjust to this whole idea - but not that much time. I am thankful that I don't have to be perfect and that God will give us grace as we learn.

A Hiking Adventure

Earlier in the week, I asked Scott if we could go somewhere today. So, we agreed that we would go somewhere, do something fun today. It was supposed to be 75 degrees according to the weather reports earlier in the week, but it turns out it was about 65, if that. We overslept so we had a slow start, but we finally left our house around 10:15 or so. We had to stop in Ellsworth to get some food, since I am completely low on groceries. But finally we were at Acadia National Park in Southwest Harbor area. We decided to climb Beech Mountain, because it looked like a short enough hike. When we got there, we let the dogs out to to go the bathroom and they met another dog, which they were excited about. Right about then, it started to pour. Oh, lovely. So we got into the car and decided to have lunch. It is interesting trying to make PB&J in a car with two dogs and plastic utensils. But finally we were able to eat and then the rain lightened up enough for us to start out on the hike. We gave the dogs some food and water, and got ready to go. Scott let go of Mia's leash to get his backpack ready, so I let go of Moxie so that I could get my sweatshirt on, etc. Well Moxie decided to get a head start on the trail, and Mia took off after him. No amount of whistling, yelling "food" or "treat", or their names caused them to turn around. I headed up the trail after them, and Scott was still at the car. At one point the trail split but I was pretty sure the dogs went up. Finally Mia came back to meet me, but Moxie was still no where to be seen or heard. Scott caught up with me and we went on up the trail. About 10 minutes later, we finally caught up with Moxie. I was relieved because I just keep picturing us going the whole trail and Moxie being way off in the woods somewhere and us not finding him.

Anyway, after that we tried holding their leashes, but Mia was basically pulling me up the slippery rocks. So I decided to let go of her because she is usually really good about coming back to us. Then a little later, Scott decided to try it with Moxie again. The first time, he took a very long time to come back. But then we just kept giving treats every time they came back to us, and by the end of our hike, Moxie was hardly going ahead of us at all. Once we finally reached the top, we met a few other people, but the dogs were good after the initial barking episode. Scott started up the fire tower, and the dogs with him, until the both realized they could look down and go scared. But a second try with some treats allowed them to go up as far as we could (it was closed at the top). It was so funny watching them, because they were still nervous but they did it.

Overall it was a great trip with some pretty views, despite the intermittent rain. After the hike, I convinced Scott (with some arm twisting) to go to Seawall. Seawall is one of my favorite places in the state, but today's stop was a short one. One of my favorite parts was when Moxie slipped and fell right into the ocean! So funny!

On the way home, we stopped at LLBean and Cadillac Mtn Sports, at Scott's request. Then we stopped in Hampden at McLaughlin's for lobster rolls. I was so craving lobster after driving by all the lobster pounds, so I was very happy when we got home and ate our lobster rolls. Yum!

A good day. Very tiring, but good.

New Crib!!!

We went to our friends' Matt & Elisha's house on Thursday night. It was great fun, especially to see their two daughters be so funny and entertaining. Their youngest, almost 3, has recently transitioned out of her crib. So, they decided to give us their crib! Wow, what a huge blessing. Here are some photos. It is in practically perfect condition, and it is pretty much what I would have picked out myself.

Movie & Play Reviews

I realize it's been too long since my last update, and I do have many things to share. First I will start with reviews of movies & a play I recently saw.

1. Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carell was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I laughed, I cried, and I just really enjoyed the entire movie. Steve Carell (from "The Office") is a great actor, and in this movie he is a widower and single father of 3 girls. He is also a writer and writes a column called "Dan in Real Life." I don't want to give away the plot, but the movie is basically about family, love, and what's really important in life. The daughters are at times completely mad at their father for various reasons, and one even screams out "You are a murderer of love!" which is one of my favorite parts of the movie. But they also love him deeply, and they are truly a family. As for family friendliness, the movie is rated PG-13 and is a lot "cleaner" than most other movies with that rating. There is some sexual innuendo, and a bit of minor language, but overall I felt it was good. You can check out PluggedIn for a more comprehensive review. This will definitely be a movie I will purchase.

2. Expelled with Ben Stein was a documentary showing how the concept of Intelligent Design is not allowed into the "scientific" circles of how the world began. Ben goes through many examples of scientists with more letters after their name than you can imagine who have been "expelled" from the scientific arena because of their openness to even discussing Intelligent Design. It is informative and actually funny in some parts, especially at the end when one of the top "experts" on evolution and a self-proclaimed athiest tries to explain why he doesn't believe there is a God. Or, I should say, he's somewhere between 50 and 99% sure there's not a God - he knows it's higher than 49%, but he's not willing to put a number on it. Hmmmm isn't he going to be surprised someday? Anyway, this was an excellent film. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be informed on how closed minded our academia is in the US. Whether you believe in evolution, creation, or intelligent design, this is worth watching.

3. Alice in Wonderland, a play starring Kelsey Burt, was a fabulous production. We saw this in Brooks, Maine, and the theater was packed out. The costumes, the music, the singing, and the actors were all fabulous. Kelsey did a wonderful job as Alice, and was quite entertaining to watch. The many other students who played the other roles were also great, all using facial expression as well as creative costumes to play their parts. Definitely the highlight of last weekend!

Well there will be more to come, as I have much more to update, but I wanted to start with this.

Wow, wow, wow, what a weekend

This has been a tiring weekend, and I'm about to go to bed so this will be short. Friday night we went to the church to be there with 18 teenagers for the 30 Hour Famine. The famine started at 12:30pm on Friday and went through 6:30pm Saturday. We met at the church at 7pm Friday night and had 24 hours full of "Tribe Games", free time, devotions, movies, etc. The one thing that was missing from the weekend that is usually present in all youth activities was FOOD! (I did eat, of course, since I am growing a baby).

It was a great weekend, but it was very tiring! We finished off the weekend on Saturday night with a big feast which all the parents brought. After cleaning up, Scott and I were finally able to come home and crash. This morning we went to Sunday School and 2nd service, since we were so tired. Then we stopped at the store on the way home and got some food for lunch. We had my mom, Paul, and my gram over for lunch. We had salmon, burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, potatoes on the grill, salad, and more! It was delish.

After lunch, I spent time planting my flowers that I got at the perennial swap at church (oh yeah, that was also part of Saturday morning). While I was outside planting, I heard a beep and looked up and saw my wonderful friends Amy & Kevin!!! They drove in our driveway for a mere 5 minutes to say hi. It was SO wonderful to see them, even for a few minutes. Hopefully they'll be moving back to Maine sometime soon and maybe even live near us : )

So now, I've been totally relaxing, took a nap, and watched some mindless television. Although, Extreme Home Makeover was a real tear jerker tonight. Maybe I'm just more emotional...

Ok, now I'm saying goodnight.

Creative Memories FINAL Sale

Ok folks, I am truly getting rid of my inventory. All prices you see listed here are my cost - I'm not making a profit on selling these! Prices are negotiable, so I am even willing to go lower. This will be my final sale before they go on ebay or craig's list. This is a LONG list, and items will be first-come, first served.

12x12 Albums & Pages
Evergreen with Foil Wreath $26.60
Gold Dust Pages (2) $11.90
Natural Pages (2) $11.90
Baby Pages $16.80

8 ½ x 11 Albums & Pages
Cranberry Album $19.60
White Pages (2) $8.40

7x7 Albums & Pages
Bloomin’ Pink Album $14.00
Enchantment Coverset in lily pad (2) $11.90
Petal Coverset $10.50
Sky Coverset $10.50
Amore Coverset $14.00
Gold Dust Pages $7.35
Spargo Pages $7.35
Black Pages $7.35
Black ‘n Blue Pages (2) $5.00

PicFolio Albums
Cream Milestones (11x14) $30.80
Triumph Memory Chest (with tan $21.00
Minutes Album [6x7], Storybox
Metro, and storage box)

Organizers & Totes (40% off retail price)
12-inch DecoFile Organizer $10.80
File Mate $6.00
File Mate Folders (2) $4.80
DecoFile Decorative Supply Organizer with Folders $12.00
Makers Pocket $3.60
PowerSort Dividers (2) $2.80
NegCare Envelopes $4.80

Tools
Personal Trimmer (3) $13.65
12” Straight Trimmer (2) $13.65
Custom Cutting System (CCS) Mat & Blades (2) $16.80
Oval Patterns $9.80
Square Maker $14.00
Geometric Multi-Maker $18.20
Mini Square Maker $11.20
Corner Rounders (3) $5.60
Scissors $3.00

10x12 Paper Packs
Shades of Red, Orange, Amber, $4.20
Yellow, Green, Olive, Blue,
Purple, Pink, Black & White
Earthly Elegance $4.20
Garden Illusions $4.20
Coffeehouse $4.20
Rainbow $4.20
Asian Myabi $4.20
Ruled Paper - Black $.70

12x12 Perfect Fit Paper Packs
Perfect Fit… Oranges, $5.60
Blues, Purples,
Perfect Fit Baby Boy $5.60
Perfect Fit Baby Girl $5.60

Other Paper Packs
Short Cuts Cool $4.90
Groovy Girl Album Kit $4.20
Gizmos ‘N Gadgets Album Kit $4.20
Cottage Power Palette (Includes $41.97
2 packs Perfect Fit paper, 10 Jumbo
Great Lengths sticker strips,
4 Title sticker strips, Storybox set,
And Power Palette Book Volume 1)
Chalet Power Palette (minus $34.97
Storybox set)
Jewel Snap Pack $7.00
Neutral Snap Pack $7.00
Done With One Holiday $2.45
Done With One Party Time $2.45
Calendar Paper $2.45
Storybox Metro, or Paradise $7.00
Idea Books, Etc. (40% off)
Page Patterns Organizer & Tabs $5.25
Page Patterns Spring ‘02 (3), $3.30
Fall ‘03, Fall ‘05, Spring ‘06,
Summer ‘06
Color Confidence Fall ‘05, $3.30
Winter ‘05, Spring ‘06, Summer ‘06
Fast Formulas 4th Ed., 5th Ed., $6.00
Product Collection Ed.

Journaling Supplies
Basic Round Tip Pens (2) $7.42
Basic Fine Tip (2) $7.42
Classic Round Tip $7.42
Bright Fine Tip $7.42
Clarifeye Pet Eye Reduction Pen (2) $3.15
Clarifeye Red Eye Reduction Pen $3.15
Black Round Tip Pen (3) $1.96
Black Fine Tip Pen (5) $1.96
Photo Labeling Pencil (4) $1.35
Precious Element Round Tip Pen in
Patina, Copper, or Silver $2.10
Precious Element Fine Tip Pen in
Silver or Copper $1.96
Write Again Correction Paper in natural $.84

Adhesives
Tape Runner (3) $5.25
Mini Tape Refill (3) $2.60
Medium Photo Mounting Corners $5.25
Large Photo Mounting Corners (2) $5.25

Stickers
Kaleidoscope Arctic or Radiance $2.45
Holiday Tree Decoration $2.45
Fundamentals (4) $3.85
Festivities $3.85
Elegant Laser Letters $4.73
Heritage $3.85
This & That Sprinkle $3.85
Sun & Fun Sprinkle $3.85
Harvest Orchard Laser $3.85
Winter Medley $2.45
Baseball (2) $2.45
Wheels & Whistles $2.45
Soccer $2.45
United Kingdom Outdoors $3.85
Outback & Rainforest Fun $2.45
Sightseeing Europe $3.85
Australia Down Under $3.85
Jumbo Great Lengths Cabana $1.75
Spring, Birthday, Celebration,
Kids, Autumn, or Travel
Jumbo GL Blue & Aqua (4), $3.15
Red & Pink (3), Orange & Amber,
Yellow & Chamois, Green & Olive,
Purple & Eggplant, Neutral, Party
Time, Best Wishes, Holiday Sparkle
Holiday Fanciful Trimmings $3.85
Getaway Travel $2.45
Las Americas (3) $2.45
Decades 50s $2.45
Decades 60s $2.45
Pastel Dimensions $3.85
Rainbow Dimensions $3.85
Asian Myabi Great Lengths $3.85
Jewel Great Lengths $2.45
Bright Great Lengths $2.45
Lazy Days Album Kit (stickers & $4.20
Paper) (2)
HUGE Assortment of ABC/123 Stickers - Large and Small

Die Cuts
Bib, Bottle & Pacifier $.10
Baby, Buggy & Booties $.10
Pets $.10
Turkey & Acorns $.10
Pumpkins $.10
Scarecrows $.10
Apples $.10

Cool Discovery in the Garden

Yesterday as I was finishing up putting some organic soil in my flower garden when I encountered the strangest thing. I dug up a section of soil, and with it came a huge bee! This was seriously the biggest bee I've seen in a long time. It couldn't fly, so I managed to get it onto my shovel to take over and show Scott. Then I put it out on the grass. I went back to digging, and when I did, I found 2 more bees! Crazy! They were down under the dirt. I've never seen this before. That time, Scott was nearby so he came over and looked, and I ran in to get my camera. I am now trying to figure out what kind of bees these are. I think it's between a bumblebee and a carpenter bee. If anyone knows based on these photos, feel free to let me know!

Nearing the End of the First Trimester

Well I am now 13 weeks along, and I am looking forward to the end of the first trimester, which is officially after the 14th week. So confusing, I know. I am still learning. Anyway, this morning I was hit with some morning sickness and I decided to stay home for the morning. I am going to head into work in a few minutes, and thankfully I am feeling a bit better now.

Yesterday I went into Burlington Coat Factory to check out their "Baby Depot." WOW do they have a lot of stuff in there! It was fun to look through everything, but it was also overwhelming. I haven't the slightest clue what I'm going to need, other than a crib, changing table, and some clothes... Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit, but I definitely need some help on figuring out what the essentials are. I am thinking we will register at the Baby Depot and at Target, since they both have a lot of great stuff. Although, I am a little frustrated that practically everything is made in China. I don't want lead going into my little baby's mouth!

Well anyway, I still don't look very pregnant, although I want to start taking photos because I want to compare the various stages. I guess I'll sign off for now. Nothing else very exciting to report here, but feel free to post comments on what some of the "essentials" for having a newborn.

Gardening

Today I spent some time working in my flower garden. I am determined to not let it go unattended like it did last year. So I've been adding some organic top soil to the current soil, and then I'll be putting some fresh mulch. I've also moved a few plants and been pulling out a lot of weeds. Here are a few photos of how things are going so far:

Nursery Update

Well I decided that the best way to make my decision was to order something from each set so that I can see the colors in the room. It's too hard to tell online. Plus, I can return the items right to a Target store, so I don't have to worry about shipping back what I don't want. So, once I get the items I'll let you know what I've decided! Scott likes both sets so it really comes down to the color scheme and which one I like better...

Nursery Options

So I am starting to think about how to decorate our baby nursery. I have been thinking of an ocean theme, but I'm open to other ideas. We already have the room painted a nice aqua color - perfect for a boy or girl. Since I can't get the photos into my blog, I'll link to my top two favorite bedding sets. Please comment on which you like better!

Ocean Set

Safari Set

Sunny Days

I love sunshine. I love warm weather. This week, we've had both. We started the week a little cool, but then each day it got warmer and warmer. It topped out yesterday with 75 degrees!!! Yes, on April 18th in Bangor, Maine, we had 75 degrees. That is insane! Scott and I took Mia and Moxie for a walk up the road across the street, and they had a great time. We were both sweating because it was so hot, and the dogs were panting and couldn't wait until they got to the stream. The only bad part was when they met some other dogs near the end of the walk and it became very noisy because of all the barking!

Anyway, today is not going to be as warm, but it is still sunny and nice. Mia and Moxie are both outside right now and they are totally content. Ahhh, summer! I love it!

Today I have lots to do, since this week has been really busy. My house is a MESS, so this morning is going to be filled with lots of CLEANING. Last night, I encountered an ant infestation, so I need to really clean all the food off the counter and wash all the dishes and also locate where the ants are coming in and try to block them off. ICK! I vacuumed like 50 of them last night, and then sprayed some stuff to kill the ones that were continuing to come in.

Well I'm off to start laundry, one of the 700 tasks for the day...

The Big News

Well I suspect if you read my blog, you probably already know this. But now it's officially public: I am pregnant! Scott and I are expecting a baby and we are very excited. We have waited quite a while before doing this, but we finally decided to take the plunge.

So, our baby is due on November 3rd, so right now I am about 11 weeks along. It is all a new experience, but one I am trying to enjoy and be patient with. So far the side effects have been primarily fatigue (frequent naps and going to bed early) and a little bit of nausea. I am hoping that will pass soon, after I'm through my first trimester. But we shall see.

Anyway, to those of you who were keeping my secret, feel free to share!

Spring Is Coming!!!

Well I think Spring is on it's way. This past week, we had 3 days of close to 60 degrees! Woohoo! On Tuesday I came home and took a nice walk/jog with Mia. She loved it, and I enjoyed breathing in the fresh spring air. Then Friday morning I got up and it was beautiful, so I took her for another walk/jog in the morning. It was great, except this time, she decided to bark like crazy at the neighborhood dogs. She also spotted a pair of ducks in the stream near the end of the road, and she was quite interested in going after them. Thankfully, she did not decide to lunge for them, and they ended up flying away. Don't worry, I didn't forget about Moxie - he's just not that good at going for walks. But, he does love to play stick, so I spent quite a bit of time outside with him throwing sticks over and over. He's much better at fetch than Mia.

Here are some photos proving that Spring is on the way. My flower beds are not in very good shape, and I really didn't take care of them last year, but things are still pushing through the dirt!

Beginner's Luck

Yesterday I was introduced to a new experience: Basket Bingo. Now I want to preface this with two statements: 1. I don't generally support the concept of gambling and 2. I went because it was a fundraiser for my place of work, and given that I'd like to keep my job, I decided to support it. I also feel that playing Bingo to win some free Longaberger baskets is not necessarily wrong - basically I see it as giving a donation to a good cause (i.e. my workplace) and having the opportunity to get something free.

Anyway, for any of you who know me, you know that I am very competitive (watch out Amy and Sarah), but Bingo is a game of chance. There is really no strategy involved at all. However, it is still easy to get caught up in the excitement, especially when you are down to needing only one or two numbers. After I was informed of all the rules and how to actually play (it was confusing at first, but I caught on), I ended up getting into it. The first few games went slowly, and I didn't even get close. Then came the game where I just had a good feeling. I got down to needing two numbers left to make a Bingo. Then, both of my numbers were called. So I called out "bingo" and ended up winning a beautiful Longaberger Pot Luck Basket and a cream colored dish that went with it (valued at $93.00). Yay for beginner's luck.

Therein lies the reason that I have always chosen not to gamble - I can see how easily I could get addicted. Once you win, you just keep thinking, oh, maybe I'll win the next one. Or, if you're not winning, you keep getting excited that you might win. It's an interesting experience. So I probably won't play Bingo again until next year, if we have another fundraiser. But I was very pleased to come home with something nice that I never would have purchased for myself...

Scrapbooking Retreat

This weekend I had the opportunity to do something I haven't done in quite some time... going on a scrapbooking retreat. My friends Sheila and Julie were organizing it, and it was a "no frills" retreat - aka cheap! So on Friday afternoon I headed down to the Bar Harbor Inn, scrapbooking bags packed in the back. Once at the Inn, I met up with Sheila and the other ladies, and they helped me carry all my junk upstairs. Sheila then told me that the room we were supposed to stay in ended up having a pipe burst, so they had to change our room.... this could be really good or really bad. Well, it turned out to be wonderful! We had a 2-story room! You walk in and see the bed, sitting area, bathroom (with a tub with jacuzzi jets), and desk. Then, you go to the left, and there's stairs leading up to the next level, where there is a king-size bed, another sitting area, another bathroom, and an 0cean-view deck. We had a sweet suite!

After getting settled, we headed to the scrapbooking room to get started. I had not been able to get as many photos developed as I wanted to, but I did have enough to get to work. On Friday night I completed 20 pages (without journaling). Woohoo! That night I went to bed later than usual, but still early for a retreat weekend. Saturday we had a lovely breakfast and then headed back to the room where we were working on our albums. We had a great time working Saturday, and I completed another 18 pages in my Heritage album (no journaling). Then I got caught up on my journaling in my family album and also worked on journaling in my youth group album. I realized on Friday night that I had forgotten something very important - my paper!! Thankfully I had thrown in a few new packs which allowed me to do the heritage album, and I was also able to mooch off a few friends. But I didn't get caught up on the youth group album since I really wanted my brighter papers for that. Finally, today I completed a little gifty album for someone and caught up on last touches of journaling.

It was a very productive weekend, with lots of laughter, fun, but also scrapping. I told the girls when I got there that I was going to be serious, and I was! In total, I completed 38 pages (20 with journaling), caught up on journaling in 2 albums, and completed a small gift album. Plus we went out to dinner Saturday night at Geddy's, which was very yummy. And I took a bath both Friday and Saturday nights since I never get to take baths at home. Yay!

On the way home, I drove back with Vernelia and Sheila, and amazingly we fit all of our stuff in my car! We stopped for lunch in Ellsworth at the new KFC/Taco Bell. We probably waited 20 minutes for our "fast food". But it turned out okay, because we finally got to eat. I was really happy to finally be home, and Mia and Moxie were extremely excited to see me. It was quite cute. Then I snuggled on the couch with Scott while he watched a movie, and I ended up falling asleep. Finally, I woke up and did a few things around the house. Now I'm ending the evening watching "Extreme Home Makeover". Overall, a great weekend.

Blah

That is how I'm feeling today. I started the day by going to the dentist's office waaaay too early. Upon returning home, I read a little bit and then curled up for a nap. Then I was up to do some business for a few hours, although I don't feel that I accomplished very much. Then I ate some food, followed by some surfing the net. After this I convinced Scott to watch a movie with me, so we watched "Enchanted" which I got on netflix today. That was very cute, but I did start to drift off to sleep at the end.

I wasn't feeling that great today either, so I had to eat things that were pretty bland - oatmeal, soup, chicken and rice. Now I'm sitting here on my couch - I opted out of going to the Good Friday service with Scott cause I wasn't feeling well. I'm feeling quite lazy, but when I get up and move around, I feel pretty icky. So now I'm watching Jeopardy, which I don't even like, but there's nothing else on. Urgh.

So that's about it... blah. Sorry for the lack of posting lately, but my most recent posts didn't get many comments, so I was punishing you all! Just kidding. But come on, comment people!

Snow Camp Recap Part 2

Ok, I am a bit more awake than I was last night, so I'll try to finish this. I think I left off with Night Sledding, which was so much fun. We finally got done sledding at 11:30pm, so we didn't actually have lights out until 12pm. The next morning we were up for devos at 8am, followed by breakfast at 8:30am. After that, we had some time to get ready (for those who were still in pjs) and then we had our group worship and devotion at 9:45. I actually spoke this year for the first time, which was a little scary, but I think it went okay. Thankfully I've gotten a bit better at public speaking than when I was in high school.

After that, it was time for some more sledding outside!!! This time, we went on a trail through the woods instead of the road, because the road was getting very slushy due to the warm temps and sunshine. The sledding was tons of fun, as usual - I thought it was actually quite fast, and the trail was much narrower which made it harder to pass other people. I took some video of everyone on the last run, which you can check out at my facebook site. It started to rain and it was lunchtime, so we finally went inside (much to some of the kids' chagrin).

Lunch was great, and then we had some free time. I took a nap, or attempted to, during free time. Then some people went outside for snow soccer in the pouring rain (crazy!) and others stayed inside for a game of "Honey if you love me, smile". It was so fun watching the kids play the game - as usual, they were reluctant to play at first, but then they got really into it. This was followed by more free time, and then dinner. After dinner we had another devotional time with Kevin Smith speaking. Then we did another group game which DJ taught us - Signs. It was great fun, and people continued playing for hours (yes, hours) after it was officially "free time". Others did other games such as Cranium.

Saturday night we went to bed a bit earlier, but we lost an hour of sleep. All the girls slept in a bit more the next morning, and we started off again with personal devos. Then we had a breakfast of baked oatmeal - yummy! Then there was time to get ready/pack, and then we had our final worship time together. My wonderful hubby spoke and closed out the weekend. Then everyone got their stuff together, and then we had lunch. After lunch it was a bit of a waiting game, waiting to get everyone down the hill to the vans. The van ride home was filled with lots of mafia playing, which is quite funny to listen to in a van. Once back at the church, the students disappeared faster than I've ever seen - I think they were tired!! Scott and I returned the vans to Ford, and then went back to the church to get my car. Then Scott went to get Mia and I picked up Chinese food on the way home. Finally, at about 7pm, we settled in and had dinner and watched a movie. The end.

Snow Camp Recap Part 1

We are back. I know I've been kind of MIA in the blogosphere, but hopefully I'll do better soon. We left on Friday afternoon for Snow Camp with 33 teenagers and 6 leaders. We had 3 15 passenger vans plus a trailer for all the STUFF. We had a bit of a slow start, but finally got on the road by about 4:15. We arrived at Blueberry Mtn. Bible Camp by about 6:45, and then we had to park the vans and ride up with the staff to the lodge. Once inside, we had dinner which was wonderful - we were all so hungry!! Then we got our bags and took them to the rooms, and then we had our first worship and devotional time. After that was over, it was about 10pm. Time for Night Sledding!!! Let me just say, that is one of the craziest, funnest things I have ever done. Going down a hill in COMPLETE darkness (no moonlight or even stars out) at crazy speeds and not knowing when the next turn will come... yeah, crazy. There was a lot of crashing, a lot of screaming, and just overall fun. Scott and I went down together once, and I got so much snow on my face because everytime he'd use his feet to slow down, it would cause the snow to fly into my face. And we went super-fast when we were together.

Well I am so exhausted so I'll have to sign off for now. More to come soon...

Tag!

Ok, Amy started this so I figured I'd do it as well. You're supposed to take the letters of your middle name and tell everyone something about yourself. Mine is easy cause my middle name is short. And then you're supposed to tag the same number of people as letters in your middle name. But Amy tagged everyone that I would've tagged, so oh well. Here we go:

D - Daring. Yes, some people might say that I am daring, and I would also agree. I enjoy the adrenaline rush of jumping off a bridge into the water or rappelling off a cliff. Within reason, of course, but I do love a good dare.

A - Adventurous. This kind of goes along with the first one, but I love going on adventures. Traveling to exotic places, adventuring around Maine, or driving just for the fun of driving.

W - Worker. Ok, this is kind of a silly one, but I guess I am someone who works hard. If I am committed to something, then I will put my all into it in order to succeed.

N - Non-Conformist. I had to stretch on this one, as none of these words seemed to fit - nice, nifty, naughty, or normal. But I am definitely not a conformist. I don't like to just do what everyone else does - I try to be myself and encourage others to also be themselves.

Well I guess that's it for now!