american idol

you've seen the tv show for sure...but have you experienced the auditions? a dear friend of mine was brave enough to audition for the infamous american idol this past week. the first step was to get registered. but of course, it was on the hottest day of the summer when the heat index was through the roof! praise God though...we were there and back in two hours with our wristbands on! now, did you know that once you get that wristband, you have to leave it on and can't even get it wet for two days until the actual auditions! that was interesting...especially when you're washing your hands or trying to get a shower!

finally, the day came and around 4am we were off. we saw the sun come up from the parking lot as we waited outside with thousands of other people. after a couple hours outside (in the nice breeze i might add) they herded us in, checking our bags as we went. it almost felt like airport security. (we played the pregnant card though and were allowed to bring our own food in...another blessing from above!)

once inside we waited some more, did large group filming shots, saw Ryan Seacrest and around 11am, they started auditions. what a scene! huge sections of seats were corralled down to the main floor and 4 people at a time were sent to sing 10-40 seconds of a song for one of many producers. you were then told yes or no and that was that. around 7:30pm, my brave friend got her chance. she sang her heart out, and felt she did her best. they told her no thank you though, as they did to about 98% of the thousands who auditioned. they turned away many talented folks that day. (they allowed quite a few strange ones through to the next round though...all for good ratings i suppose.)

all this to say, i couldn't be more proud of my friend. she was more brave than i would have been. she allowed them to hear her clear, strong voice that i adore so much. and i trust the Lord has other plans for her gifted vocal chords. i'm thankful i could stand by her side.

josie girl

as most of us realize, August is almost over. i've been in my classroom lately trying to get it set up and ready for a new school year to start. that's a strange thing for me because i love setting up my room, but i also know this school year will be like no other...i won't be finishing it! "little one" will be here before the mid-year mark hits and i'm am certainly getting more anxious and excited for that to happen. as my belly grows so does my excitement and anticipation!



but as for the title of this entry, josie continues to be my source of companionship many days. what will i do at school all day not being around her? yes, some of you might know about josie's incredible loyalty to justin and her protective nature. but she and i have "bonded" (if i can say that about a dog) since living in the house together. what will i do all day at school without her following me around from room to room? will i worry all day about getting home to let her out? will she be bored? oh, if dogs could talk, it would be so much easier.



well, in case you haven't seen her lately, here's our josie (i took her picture and she definitely got annoyed and walked away afterward!)

"great giggles"

mom, mary, justin and i returned from visiting nana yesterday for her 83rd birthday. she recently entered a nursing home and it seems to be the best place for her. between stomach issues and her incresing dimensia, she can't live alone any more. it's amazing how many services they offer from physical therapy to manicures, from a greenhouse to biweekly trips to the hair salon. what a comfort to all of us knowing that she is being taken care of like she needs to be.

i didn't know quite what to expect in going to see her. though she has been growing more and more forgetful, i was still struck at her lack of ability to retain information from one moment to the next. i wonder if it's frustrating for her to have such a terrible short term memory, or if she is even aware of it. she is however, aware of how she looks, as seen by her fixing her hair in the car mirror after lunch and not wanting to use her walker. these glimpses into the nana i remember, brought a smile to my face.

the title of this entry, "great giggles", came from our time with nana in her room after lunch. she seemed to be more comfortable with less people around, and she seemed to be remembering us a bit more, if that's possible. as we talked, she seemed to giggle at the littlest thing. if you've ever been a situation where someone is ill and things are a bit awkward at times, when that person starts laughing, you can't help but laugh too. we all laughed about all kinds of things. but then we told her that i was going to have a baby. "oh really?" she asked, though she's been told this multiple times. i confirmed and then asked her what she thought it would be, a boy or girl. she hesitated and i didn't think she was going to respond, or if she waited too long, she might forget the question i asked. but she surprised us all and after a moment or so said, "make it a boy." i told her that she was going to be a great-nana when this baby comes. but after all her laughter, we told her we were going to call her "giggles" and the new baby...well he/she will just have to call her "great giggles".

healthy ultrasound

as i sit and type this, there are six ultrasound pictures hanging on our fridge. we were in awe to say the least tonight. we saw the four chambers of the baby's heart, both sides of the brain, two legs, two arms, an adorable nose, fingers, toes, ribs, a spine, kidneys, a bladder, a stomach and the list goes on. how amazing that they can measure different parts of the baby and then tell you his/her weight (and yes, i wrote his/her...our will power held strong and we did not find out!...but the nurse who did the ultrasound knows!) our baby is a healthy 15 ounces-almost a pound! doc said that puts us at about a 7 pound baby at delivery time. sounds good to me. most importantly, they said everything looks healthy. what a blessing. so here are two pictures of our little one. the first is of the feet and the second of the whole body with the baby's feet above his/her head. the baby was moving around quite a bit so it was hard to get some of the shots. at one point, the baby was actually holding on to his/her feet and it was adorable! enjoy the pictures and if you pray today, please thank God with us, for a healthy ultrasound.

the cape

after spending four days in the cape with my family, i thought it appropriate to share a few highlights. we did some day trips and visited great towns while there. we shopped, shopped, shopped, took some pictures, ate some ice cream, and shopped some more! while in the vineyard, we spend the day with an amazing family who graciously gave up their day to be with us. i so appreciated their kindness, humor, generosity, and obvious love for the Lord.

a few reflections and memories...my mom continues to strike me as one who loves to give. she is so generous and giving and i so appreciate it. doug's humor continues to strike me when i least expect it...and the "constipated bert" impression will forever live on! ashley, i did not know so well, but now that i have spent more time with her, i can say that i greatly appreciate her straightforwardness and her smile. marmo...what to say about mary? she laughs more than anyone i know, she enjoys every minute of life, she's kind, compassionate and though i gave her quite a hard time here and there, i'm so grateful she's my sister. last but not least, is my husband. what did i learn from him or see in him on this trip? i saw his gracious and gentle way with me once again, in helping me, taking care of me, and just spending time with me. and i saw him relax and rest, which i am so thankful for considering all the work he faithfully does.

and with one updated pregnant pictures...a great vacation now comes to a close.

before and after

now that we're living in the house, it seems a good time to show some before and after shots, especially for those who are far away. i just recently finished a memory book of pictures detailing the entire process, so here's just a taste.

the kitchen before...and after

the downstairs bathroom before...and after

as you can see, God has certainly blessed dad and justin with amazing talent and skill.

can't believe i'm doing this

well, it seems to me that a great way to keep up with friends is through a blog...and since our family is going through some major changes these many months, it seemed like a good time to start one. justin and i are in our first house and have jumped head first into all that entails. he and dad have worked vigilantly to fix everything in the house and what a blessing they've been. i cannot say enough how blessed i am to have such a determined, hard-working, and diligent husband. not to mention, a father-in-law who would spend countless days here, long past dark, helping his son and daughter-in-law to get into their new house. we have the longed for CO (certificate of occupancy) in hand now and have enjoyed 2 weeks here in our new house. what a blessing!

as if that was not enough, we are also expecting our first baby! baby baloche or "little one" as i have been calling him/her is due at Christmas...on Christmas! we'll see if we have another holiday birthday in the family. this baby business is not what i expected. i cannot seem to wrap my arms around the reality of a little person being made and growing inside of me. the Lord's handiwork is more than evident and i am in awe of His working within me...yet i cannot grasp it...some moments it's more real than others...like the first ultrasound when we saw that little heart pumping at 7 weeks old! or the second ultrasound when "little one" rolled around frantically, turned, and waved at us with both hands as if to say, "here i am mom and dad! can you see me?!" maybe when i'm feeling like this is all just too surreal, i'm just to focus on God's work in all of this and remind myself of those little moments. for so long i have clung to psalm 139 and how many times i have read "He knit you together in your mother's womb"...and now i'm watching and standing by as my belly grows and He creates another one is His image. praise God!