Goodbye 2008

Here's a month by month account of the highlights during our 2008.

January: Our new niece, Rachelle, came into the world.
February: Mark gave me an unexpected gift!
March: Our nephew, Frankie, was in town for a visit.
April: Spring arrived and we visited the Indianapolis Zoo with our niece, Avery.
May: We celebrated birthdays with a family cookout at our home.
June: We enjoyed a vacation to Gatlinburg, TN and attended the US Diving Olympic Trials in Indy.
July: Sheba turned 4 and we hung beautiful new drapes in the living room. (Thanks Peeper!)
August: We went to our final adoption seminar, decided on the agency we wanted to work with, and began the process.
September: We finally took the vacation to Montana that we've talked about for years! Plus Mark caught his trophy size fish. :)
October: We sold the Acura Integra.
November: We voted in the 2008 Presidential election.
December: Mark completed the bathroom project, we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas, and we are officially "active" with our agency.

We wish you all a Happy New Year!
May the Lord bless you in 2009!

The Reason...

In Sunday School today we were talking about ways to keep Christ the focus of our family Christmas celebrations. One person was talking about his 20 year old daughter's boyfriend. He is invited to their home Christmas morning and they told him they will read the Christmas story from the Bible together. His reply? "Cool, I've never read the story before." I think we take for granted that everyone has read about Christ's birth.

Below is the passage from Luke that tells the story of Christ's birth. I hope you enjoy reading it, whether it is your first time or your one thousandth.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

A Night Out

We attended our first party of the holiday season this week. Mark's work had a nice get together at Belle Vita at Geist. The appetizers were delicious!! Mark's co-workers are very friendly and it was really nice to finally meet them.

Here we are at home before the event:
I forgot that many of you haven't seen my "new" hair yet. New stylist = darker color + more layers.

Merry Christmas, friends!

The End is Here -- post by Mark

After working non-stop, day and night, for a mere 20 months, the bathroom renovation project is finally done. It seems like just yesterday that I started demolition. What started off as a nice little project soon blossomed into nearly a whole-house renovation. In addition to the bathroom itself I completed several other small projects along the way: wiring our master bedroom ceiling fan to the switch on the wall, installing a second ceiling light and a new wall switch in our upstairs hallway, installing a vent fan in our downstairs bathroom, insulating our attic crawl space, installing a new window which required taking down half of our vinyl siding, running a second HVAC duct to the upstairs, painting our pantry and installing new wire shelves, replacing the drain pipes for our downstairs bathtub and now I’m replacing two walls in the finished portion of our basement. Ah, the joys of owning an old house…

I’m really pleased with the way the bathroom turned out. I did everything you see (and everything you don’t see) in the photos of the bathroom including: framing, drywall, mud and tape, subfloor, tiling, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, wainscoting, trim, painting and installation of the cabinets, shower door, hardware and toilet. Out of everything, I vow never to tile a shower again. Everything else was easy compared to that.

Now, for my next project….perhaps our garage should be a little larger…

p.s. If you want to see photos of the original bathroom, check out this post: March 2007

Christmas Country Style

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday and we hope that you all did as well. For the first time, I made pies entirely from scratch. Even the crust! And I have to say that they turned out pretty yummy. Crust is not nearly as intimidating as I thought. How do you like my crust center? First person to name the shape wins bragging rights.

Mark took the opportunity to work some more on the basement project. Since this photo was taken he has also hung the insulation and is ready to drywall.

Saturday we picked out our Christmas tree and let it settle in to its new surroundings.
Then we decided we just could not be outdone by the Billmeier's. So, we headed to the Bruce barn and taught Sheba a few country dance moves...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Mark and Sheba are so exhausted from all the dancing they can barely stay awake to hang the lights on the tree!
Hopefully we can finish the lights and other decorations today!

Busy

What's been keeping us busy? Lots of projects around the house!

Remember that rain in June that flooded many homes in Indy and south? Well, we weren't flooded, but we did get enough water that requires some work in the basement. Mark has torn down the drywall on two walls, sealed the block foundation, and is now reframing for new drywall.
You may not know this, but we get a TON of leaves in our little yard. In order to fit them in the compost area, we have to mulch the leaves first.
We recently picked up the crib from my brother's house and Mark had it set up in 15 minutes!
Monday our fridge decided to die and we came home to a puddle on the floor. Everything had thawed (thankfully our beef is in an extra freezer in the basement) and spoiled and the fridge was not fixable. Let me tell you about H.H. Gregg...they price match! We found a great deal online at Costco and H.H. Gregg matched it PLUS delivered the next day.
Some of you have asked how to pray specifically for our adoption so I made a little list on the right. Feel free to pray for us as God leads you. We appreciate every single prayer!!

November

This month is National Adoption Month so I thought I would share a poem that was read to us in our home study class.

Trip to Australia

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You’ve heard it’s a wonderful place, you’ve read many guidebooks and feel certain you’re ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.

So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you’ll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait—and wait—and wait.

Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, “Relax. You’ll get on a flight soon.” Other people actually, get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry “It’s not fair!” After a long time the ticket agent tells you, “I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat.”

“By BOAT,” you say. “Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane.” So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat. It is a long trip, many months over much rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three times, marveling about each trip.

Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air.

People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, “Oh, be glad you didn’t fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy.”

You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.

Nov 4th

Feeling like fall

It seems like we had a long summer and I hope I'm not too quick to say that fall has finally arrived. (I heard we may have temps in the mid-60's later this week.) Mark has cleared our yard of leaves once (into the compost pile) and looks like he'll need to do it a 2nd time pretty soon. And we have our bright yellow mums on the front steps. The biggest indicator? We've started pulling out sweaters!

In celebration of fall, I redecorated the blog and made a little layout of the newest Rachelle photo we got in the mail last week. How cute is she?!? (I left the strips of paper at the top blank so Ashli can journal whatever she wants.) I also made pumpkin bread. Yep, all in one night with time to spare to watch some football (if that's what you can call the Colts having a lead and then blowing it in the end).

Enjoy the scenery!

If Sheba Could Vote...

Quirky?

My longtime friend, Peeper, tagged me on her blog. So now I am to tell you 7 of my quirks. I'm not sure how quirky I am. You be the judge...

1. If I don't think about it, I have a tendency to speak fast. My brother used to interrupt me and say, "Can you say that again in English?" My mom used to run a camp for kids with asthma one week in the summer, Camp Superkids, and I was a counselor in high school. On the last day we had to showcase our "talents" and she had me speed read a poem. The kids thought it was hilarious.
2. Almost every morning after I get to work I sneeze 3x in a row. That's how I announce my presence and my co-workers chuckle every time. :)
3. I'm very competitive. I've mellowed in my "old" age and even let Mark win games sometimes. There may be one or two of you who remember a certain apple bobbing contest though...
4. I'm not a fan of shortened names. Ok, maybe it's just MY name I don't like shortened.
5. If I'm sitting on a couch, I have to have a blanket covering my lap. (Even in the summer.)
6. As a kid I went through a stage of wanting to be called Annie and would not answer to Stephanie, except to say: "I NOT STEPHANIE, I ANNIE!"
7. Anytime I leave the house I have a short conversation with Sheba. It's always the same, "Bye Sheba. Be a good girl. I love you and I'll be home very soon."
   

Maybe I do have a few quirks. The fun part is that I now get to tag other bloggers to tell us about their quirkiness. :) I tag:

1. Heather - view this activity as something to take your mind off of the Seattle weather
   
2. Stephanie - you can't pretend you missed this one
   
3. Lori - you might notice your name here, I'm not sure
   
4. Jen - maybe this will prompt you to blog ;)
   

Slideshow

I guess I never posted a link to all of our Montana vacation photos. Here's a breakdown of how we spent the trip:

• 1 night @ motel in Glacier National Park
• 3 days/2 nights backpacking in the back country of Glacier National Park
• 1 night @ hotel in Great Falls, MT (the best LaQuinta Inn ever!)
• 5 days/4 nights @ lodge in Paradise Valley, MT (day trips to Yellowstone National Park & fly fishing on the Yellowstone River)
• 1 night @ hotel in Butte, MT

Sold

Late Harvest

We didn't get to have the garden we really wanted this summer, but we did plant the three green bean plants that grew from seed in our little basement container. For about 3 weeks now we've been picking 5-6 beans twice a week to enjoy with our dinner. The funny thing was that the first night there was only ONE bean ready. I cooked it with our asparagus and yes, I cut it in half so we could each taste it! :)

These pole beans are much tastier than anything I'm finding at the grocery these days. Next year we plan to start earlier and plant more!

For Sale

Maybe one of you local readers are looking for a fuel efficient vehicle? If so, check out our listing on Craigslist: 1995 Acura Integra

And here's the car...

Backpacking & Fishing

Almost Done - blog entry by Mark

Day 497: The project is nearing the end. It seems like just yesterday--er, yesteryear, that I started this project. Since my last blog entry I've completed all the tile, painted the walls and ceiling, installed the vanities, installed the faucets, hooked up the water supply (yes, we have running water now), installed the light fixtures and sealed the grout. I'm especially happy with the way the shower tiling turned out. I'm also pleased that the 36" wide vanities fit exactly in the alcoves. It's almost as if an engineer designed this bathroom -- oh wait....

tile shower with decorative accent and built-in shelves
16" tile on diagonal

maple vanities with solid surface countertop

A True Fish Story

We have many pictures to show and a few fun stories to share about our trip to Montana, but I'll save most of those for another day. Tonight, I want to tell you about Mark's favorite day of the trip... and this is no fish tale. ;-)

We were very fortunate to make a new friend at the lodge (Querencia) we stayed at near Yellowstone. Barrs is from Florida and spends a few months each year in Montana fishing and hunting. He was quite a hoot and offered to take us "for a drift" down the Yellowstone River on his drift boat. The early morning was rainy and cold so Barrs wanted to hold off leaving in hopes the skies would clear. We took off about 10am with cloudy skies but no rain. Thankfully, the sun came out early on in our trip and it turned into a beautiful day! Mark has been fly fishing in Colorado a few times, but appreciates pointers from those more experienced. I would categorize Barrs as semi-pro even though he would scoff at such a title. He has been fly fishing all over the world, including Africa!! Anyway, he was a great instructor for Mark and was very patient and calm. He told us a few times that it doesn't matter if you are holding the rod or steering the boat, everyone wants to catch a fish and feels like they are a part of it when it happens. Mark started off really well. Within minutes he caught his first fish. It was a nice size, but a white fish. Apparently, those aren't keepers. After about the 5th white fish, Barrs told Mark he was breaking white fish records. HA! The scenery was beautiful and I was documenting the day as the official photographer. Suddenly, a large fish jumped up and bit the dry fly...he was hooked! We were all excited because we could clearly see this would be the catch of the day. This fish did not have any intention of being caught and Mark had no intention of letting him go. It would be a war of wills. Barrs gave great instructions to Mark on where to move the rod and when to give the fish slack, etc. I'm not sure how far he pulled us, but our boat headed downstream and crisscrossed Yellowstone River for what seemed like a mile. The fish finally tired out and we were able to drop anchor close to shore and Mark reeled him in. WOW! Mark and Barrs were both so excited about this BIG BROWN TROUT. Barrs even said he has been fishing this river for over 10 years and has never caught a brown trout this big. They worked together to quickly unhook him, pose for photos, measure him, and release him back to the river. Mark's brown trout measured in at 20 inches, which is considered a trophy size fish! This is a story Mark will be happy to retell for many years to come.





p.s. We continued drifting down the river and Mark caught a total of 11 fish.

Tinker Bell Take 2

Another niece, another Tinker Bell outfit. ;-) Yep, I'm "THAT" aunt. LOL

I watched Rachelle a few hours Saturday while Ashli volunteered at Open Doors. I was too busy snapping pictures to realize the girl needed a wipe down. This is an example of why she and Sheba have so much in common right now. ;-)
This photo was a little blurry in color so I doctored it up and look how sweet it turned out!

Dresses & Dress Up

Avery admits to being a girly girl. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being girly...especially when you're 3 (almost 4). She likes dresses, princesses, and the color pink. (I also like to think she likes her Aunt Stephanie.)

We went over to celebrate my brother's birthday, albeit a few weeks late, Saturday night. I brought over some ice cream cake from DQ and a bag of goodies for Avery. She had fun opening her bag and the big hit was the Tinker Bell outfit with wings. She also really, really wanted some ice cream cake. Avery was very helpful and she carefully delivered each plate after I sliced the pieces. I think she was happy to finally eat her cake!

Briefly sharing a seat

Watering the flowersFirst, she put on the Tinker Bell outfit. Then, she added her pink sequin princess shoes. To top it off, she added the purple princess cap (from Holiday World).

She is definitely the cutest almost 4 year old we know! :-) (And Jason looked pretty cute in the fancy purple cap too. LOL!)

Dessert

Here's another recipe to try. I made it for a family dinner last week at M&A's and it was a big hit. Very easy too. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a fan of easy.

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided

1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

8 OREO Cookies, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

LINE 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Add condensed milk, juice and 2 cups of the whipped topping; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

MIX chopped cookies and butter. Spoon over whipped topping mixture. Cover with ends of foil and gently press cookie mixture into whipped topping mixture. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.

INVERT dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil. Spread remaining whipped topping onto top and sides of dessert. Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange over dessert. Store leftovers in freezer.

Stephanie tip: I used 2 extra oreo's and an extra sliver of the butter stick for the crust.

Pressure Scrapbooking

I felt the pressure and I hope I performed up to your expectations. :)

What's the going rate for a babysitter?

Because I think Sheba could go into business!

On a Saturday afternoon two weeks ago I babysat Rachelle while Matt & Ashli enjoyed a movie at the theater. We sat on the floor and played most of our 2 hours together. I sang all 4 of the songs I could remember: You Are My Sunshine, Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and The Wheels on the Bus. She giggled and giggled at The Wheels on the Bus. We also read a few books together. She requested Sesame Street at the Zoo multiple times (I think she liked the baby animal pictures).

Sheba, of course, took her duties seriously and was never far away. She let Rachelle tug her fur and play with her nose with no complaints.

I can’t believe how quickly Rachelle is growing and that she is 6 months already!

Around the house

We've been planning for new window treatments in the living room for quite some time. I had a difficult time making up my mind so I enlisted the services of my very talented seamstress, JPB (Jennifer Peeper Billmeier). JPB took her task very seriously and soon after I requested her assistance she was emailing me options. Then, she sent me this sketch and I knew I had selected the right person for the job!

I ordered our fabric from Joann's online since it was ONLY on sale online and not in the store. That's a whole other story.

JPB whipped together our new window treatments with a superhero type speed and now they hang in all their gloriousness. Our windows have never looked better!


And now it's time to share another fabulous recipe! I found this one on the Food Network website when searching for "heart healthy" recipes. I thought it sounded pretty good but we were both pleasantly surprised by its awesomeness! :) Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
8 ounces baby spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup low-sodium canned chopped tomatoes with juice
2 cups couscous, cooked

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove the chicken and set aside. To the same pan, add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the balsamic vinegar and chicken broth to the pan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the couscous in a serving bowl. Top with the spinach, chicken and balsamic-tomato sauce.

Stephanie's variation: I sliced the chicken breasts in half so each part was thinner. I used the whole can of diced tomatoes. I added some spices like thyme & rosemary. Since I used the whole can of tomatoes, my balsamic-tomato sauce was thin so I mixed a little bit of cornstarch with cold water and added to the simmering sauce to thicken it up. I cooked the couscous in broth instead of water. After the sauce was thickened I put the chicken back in the pan and then added the spinach back in so they could both soak up some of the sauce flavor. Then I plated the couscous, spinach, chicken, and sauce on top.

This meal is super easy and tastes gourmet! Plus it turned out so pretty I just HAD to take a photo.

Old Enough...

One night last week my phone rang. I saw that it was my brother and answered, "Hello." There was a pause and then a little voice saying, "THANK YOU FOR MY DRESS!" Avery is old enough to call us now. It wasn't that long ago when Jason would try to get her to say hi on the phone and she wouldn't do it. Can you believe this girl is almost 4?!?


p.s. The dress in the photos is not the dress I bought for her. Jenny, with her excellent fashion sense, picked out this beauty!