Pie Baking 101

Hannah, one of the single contract staff members at camp, wanted to learn how to make pie so on Friday I gave her a little lesson.  She wanted to make a blueberry pie for a staff farewell party this Saturday so we found a good one at Betty Crocker.com.  It was fun to be able to pass down to her the “dying art” of pie making that was taught to me from my mom.

Rolling out the dough…

...and the beautiful finished product!  And it tasted fabulous too!

Week 33

Here I am.  Yep, it’s true.  I’m really this big. 

I just took a quick look at the last shot we took at 26 weeks, and I can’t believe how much more I’ve popped out.  Seriously.  I guess that’s what’s supposed to happen though.  I’m feeling pretty good for the most part - just the usual stuff that comes with the 3rd trimester - can’t really complain.  I’m getting used to waking up in the middle of the night for visits to the bathroom, so I’m sure it’s nature’s way of preparing me for middle of the night feedings, which is good.  People keep asking me if the heat is bothering….frankly…I’m thinking,  “what heat? - do you people know what the poor people in Omaha are experiencing with all that 90-something temps and full of humidity stuff?” So no, I have nothing to complain about as far as heat goes either.  We’ve even remained air-conditioning free so far….

Really, we’re just getting super excited to hold our little boy.  We put together the bassinet the other day (Thanks for the loan Mackrills!), and now I just walk by the room and stare at it.  It’s a little surreal….but awesome too.  I’m also working on a little project to restore an old dresser for his room.  We have two child birth education classes next week too, so we’re gearing up for this little guy.  According to my due date we’re about 71/2 weeks away, which of course in the funny world of time and space is a relatively long and short period of time.  In my mind, it feels just around the corner.

July 31, 2004

Three years ago Sam and I made vows to one another before God and before many dear friends and family. By God’s grace we vowed to love one another, to serve one another and be by one another’s side for as long as we live on this earth.  I am so thankful for these last three years - for all of of the funny moments, the great moments, the challenges, the growing, the struggling, the walking through life together - it’s all a gift from the Lord.  As the Lord allows I look forward to many, many more years by Sam’s side, and I am trusting that as we look to God He will sustain our marriage and be glorified in our lives.

As I looked back over our photo albums today, I thought It would be fun to share a few shots with you of our special day.

As you can see, we were nice to each other.

We danced to Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable”

A Little Blood, Sweat & Tears

Sam’s parents, came up for a four day visit about a week and a half ago.  It was great to see them!  We worked our tails off and got tons done around the house and property as they came with a “work weekend” mentality.  It was inspiring to have them here to help us with some hefty projects.  One of the which was clearing out junk and scrap metal from between our garage and shed, and from in the middle of the rapsberry bushes.  Do not ask us how these items got here…we do not know, nor do we understand why anyone would want to leave them around as long as they look like they’d been there.  But, the reality remained - they were there, and they needed to be dealt with.  Other projects that were completed were trimming back a tree, cutting fire wood, clearing brush, replacing our shower drain pipe, washing all of the windows, stripping wallpaper and painting our bathroom, weeding, and transplanting some baby lilacs. Tough work sure is great when you’re working with people you love.  Here’s a few pictures of our work:

Randy & Sam pulling the tub out from the raspberry bushes.

Yep, a three-piece set…anyone interested? 

Who knows how this boat fit back in the bushes…but the raspberries got fed up and started growing right inside the boat.

This woman is a machine! 

Yes, it really all came from inside the bushes. 

Bonnie painting after having to scrape wall paper off in one spot that had been adhered with hot glue…hot glue people?..seriously?...do not ever convince yourself that that is ever a good idea. 

We had great times of relaxing too, but we are so thankful for ALL of the work they put in with us and blessed us with!

Fundamentals

Yesterday was the first family camp softball game, a men’s game between the staff and campers.  This year I have been given the role of team manager.  Due to various circumstances it happened that we were without five of our regular missionary staff players…key players.  I was scrounging to find enough players to make a staff team, and we ended up having ten players.  With four outfielders that was just enough and everyone would have to play the whole game.  From a realists perspective, I thought we were toast.  One staff member informed me that we always lose the family camp 1 game.  Oh well.  I encouraged the guys to just make contact and not try to kill the ball…and guess what!  That’s just what we did.  While the camper team had a few home runs, we hit none.  However, we hit a lot of solid base hits and some doubles.  I had a triple but the third base coach told me to go home.  It feels sick to be running home and see the catcher get the ball in his glove when you’re still five steps away.  The ‘Pete Rose’ dive was not enough to earn us a run.  Nevertheless, solid hitting and GOOD fundamentals in the field gained us our first win of the season.  Our early first inning lead of 5-2 helped us hold on to a 9-7 W.  It’s all about the fundamentals.