Happy New Years!

Goodmorning Maryland!

It's Tuesday morning. The plan for today: relax. I think we're also going to take down the Christmas tree. Sad.






Above is a fabulous picture of me drinking ovaltine... Just woken up and without any make up.

So Im drinking ovaltine and enjoying the view. I love the homes around where my parents live. If it weren't the insane cost of living rates, I'd love to live in this area, too.





Well, I think I'm going to go work on some stuff online. Happy morning :)

- Andrea

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Goodbye My Lovely Baths

Well, I got some sad news yesterday... I have an infection (apparently I'm more prone to them because I'm pregnant). But that's not really the bad news. Ok, that's not GOOD, but the worse news is- I can't take baths for the rest of my pregnancy (of course, I can take SHOWERS.... Come on, or that'd just be gross). Drs orders. HOW will I live with out my lovely baths??




- Andrea

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Stone Springs Ln,Middletown,United States

The Tale of the Missing Key

Well, we stopped at a rest area to visit Mrs. Murphy. Mom took Charlie to the pet area and I headed inside. After I was ready to go, I noticed they have a starbucks. So I ordered two venti sig hot chocolates. Mom came in, visited Mrs. Murphy and found me. On our way out, she noticed she was missing the car key (how it fell off a key ring, who knows). So we retraced our steps and I think it's officially lost. My mom just went back in to see if maybe someone turned it in. Thankfully, she had a spare key in her coat. Thank Jesus :). We can keep driving.



(mom, retracing her steps)

- Andrea

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Somewhere in Pennsylvania

On the Road Again

Christmas flew by again. I'm not surprised :). But the end of Christmas means the beginning my trip with my mom.

My dad and Thomas are going to drive to Washington state later this week (Thomas is moving there), and my mom and I are driving to Maryland. It should be about ten hours.

I'm currently 26 weeks pregnant, and had an appointment today with my doctor. I have an infection :( and i've been instructed to NOT take a bath for the rest of my pregnancy. Ugh - I could cry. I love baths.

Charlie (the dog) is with us. He seems awfully content, but has been a little sick. He threw up earlier this morning, again. But I think he's feeling better? Poor Char-Char.




- Andrea

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Swanton,United States

Birthdays and Christmas

When Christma comes to town, so do the twins' birthday - Dec 26. We celebrated it a little earlier this year on a Sunday, tho.

Dan didn't get home until 3 am Christmas morning, so I stayed the night at my inlaws. Christmas morning was fun with everyone :). It seems like it's kind of the first Christmas that the kids really understood what was going on.

They always make me smile :). Lauren is such a ham and always asks me to take her picture. Thank you, Lord for putting them in our lives.




"hey Annie - take my picture!"


- Andrea

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Mishawaka, Indiana

Getting Bigger!

Well, I'm definitely starting to show :) I get mixed reviews. Some people tell me, "You're not really THAT big. You look like you're doing a great job with your weight." And then I have people tell me, "WOW - are you 8 months pregnant? No? Oh... are you having twins??" Nope. Just one precious baby girl. I'm beginning to get excited about meeting her!! I have my 4D ultrasound this Saturday and I couldn't be more excited. It's just amazing to me that I'm already 6 months pregnant. There's not that much time left. And believe me, as excited as we are to meet our precious joy, we have a lot to do in the time we have left. Wednesdays in January are dedicated to birthing classes (FUN!). February is the month of baby showers :). March is the final get everything ready! month. AND THEN SHE'LL BE HERE!! Yay!!!! Has there ever been a more excited mother to be? Probably :)

I had a fun day with Ann, Kate, Lilly, Judah and Luke yesterday! I haven't seen them in forever. I wish I had a picture I could post (apparently, Ann says she likes to read blogs with pictures ... Sorry!), but I left my phone at home on accident. It was weird not having it on me (because I feel like it's attached to my butt ... I put it in my back pocket when it's not in use), but it was also kind of nice! When I got home - a big fat ZERO people tried to call/text me. So ha! I did forget where the Olive Garden was at first (where Ann and I had lunch) and I thought "if ONLY I had my phone!" - but I found it. And it then seemed silly to me that I'd ever forget where it was. But it's probably because I'm pregnant :)

I'm ready for winter to be here :)

Call me crazy, but I do enjoy the changing of the seasons :). Time goes by so fast, doesn't it? I'm 25 years old, but I still feel like I'm 13 at times. Maybe motherhood will change that?

I don't have much to write about. I started learning how to quilt. Fun :). I'm hoping I can do some good with that. We've started a new teen bible study at the New Buffalo Youth Center - it starts today. So I'm geared up for that.

I may be going out to Iowa again near the 10th of December to be with Dan. I am so ready for him to be home.

The holidays are on their way ... and Dan is still in Iowa. I hate being apart from him. He is my best friend. Thankfully we have our cell phones to stay in touch, but it's just not the same. Thank you, Lord, for making it feel like it's going by quicker than I expected! Hopefully, Dan will be able to take his law exam in the next few weeks ... and then come home to me! It's crazy to think it's been almost two months that we've been apart. But it was important to me to change doctors as soon as possible. Who wants to change doctors near their sixth month pregnant?? Not me. Changing at four months was bad enough.

Well, several things have happened since my last post. Dan had the swine flu. Yay :) (I'm just glad that someone in our family got it over with and survived!). Thankfully, I didn't get sick with it (I don't think). I suppose I might have mistaken a mild case for my common pregnancy symptoms (stuffy head, drippy nose, queasiness, etc). I haven't had a fever that I'm aware of. Although a couple times I thought I did. My doctor put me on tamiflu, and since then, I still seem to be fine. I haven't gotten my H1N1 vaccine. I'm not terrified of it (you've heard the stories), but I don't think I'm really ready to go out of my way to get one. If my doctors have one I can take in the office, fine. But otherwise, I'm thinking I'll take my chances. We'll see. If there's another huge outbreak in January ... well, I just might change my mind. I did get my regular flu vaccine. So that's good.

Dan has gotten all the way through the transfering process - mostly. All he has left is his law exam. Talk about a long, expensive, stinking process. But we'll soon be a family back home in Indiana :)

I went out to visit him in Iowa the week of the 9th. It's crazy how fast it went.

What else... during my 18th week pregnant, my aunt did an ultrasound on me, and we found out we're having a girl! Yay! I have another ultrasound tomorrow (this is my 21st week), and I'm holding my breath, waiting to see if anything has 'changed'. It's totally possible. When I told my sister I'm having a girl, she told me she'll believe it when she sees it, because she has a picture of TJ's labia, too. Let's just say I'm holding on to all of my receipts.

I finished my baby registry. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I need. So to all of you moms out there who have been combing through my registry to give me some advice - I have SO appreciated it!! And a big, huge thank you to everyone considering getting us something for the baby from the registry. We know you don't have to do that, but it will really be a big help to us - who knew babies could be so stinking expensive??

I'm trying to rack my brain for any other important news. ...... None comes to mind :). But after tomorrow, I will certainly have a bit to gab over :) I'll be baaaackk!

Here are those pictures I promised from Brown County:

Brown County 2009

The best weekend every two years has come and gone. Sad to say. Every two years, my family travels to Brown County State Park near Nashville, Indiana for a reunion. This year, I drove down to Indianapolis on Thursday and met my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, brother and soon to be sister-in-law. The next day, we met the rest of the extended family at the state park. I took pictures of the family on Saturday - which was a lot of fun! I'll have to post some here as soon as they're ready. I haven't even uploaded them from my camera yet. I've just been exhausted from the trip. Dan drove from Iowa Friday and left Sunday afternoon. I'll get to see him in one more week again. That helps a lot, since we can't be together right now.

Here's a picture of the Saddle barn:

Normally, I horseback ride with everyone else, but obviously I can't ride a horse pregnant. So I took pictures of the little kids riding the ponies around the ring. Fun :)

What was the highlight for me ..? I suppose seeing everyone and spending time with family. I enjoy the moments when we're all in one room, just talking. You can't really plan for that, it just happens. It's weird to think that in two years, when we go back again, I'll be 27 and have a one and a half year old.

Finally. The move is over. I'm in North Liberty, Indiana. And I feel like I can finally relax. It's been one crazy month and a half. When I got back from my trip to Maryland, it was just a whirlwind of packing, cleaning, touching base with the realtor, etc. And now things are finally calmer. Dan is still in Iowa and will be until he transfers. Hopefully that will be within the month. I really hate being without him. Thankfully he's not alone. He's staying with our pastor and family. So that's good. And I'll see him this next weekend and the weekend after that. *sigh* it will just be better when we're both here and finally getting somewhat settled.

Yesterday, I got to eat dinner with my inlaws. It was so weird being there and knowing that I wasn't going to be spending the night (which normally we'd have to since we lived 6+ hours away). My sister-in-law, Tori, spent the night at my new home last night. That was fun! We made chocolate pudding and popcorn, drank milk and dr. pepper (hey, this all may sound gross together - but I'm pregnant). And then we watched The Addams Family in bed until we fell asleep. We had a good time :) !!

For some reason, I keep waking up in the middle of the night (well, around 4 am) to go to the bathroom (Ok, THAT part isn't so weird to me). And when I do, I can't get back to sleep for the life of me. I've been up since about 4:45 am this morning. And now it's going on 7:30. Ugh. I'm finally starting to feel sleepy again. I wonder how long Tori will sleep.... Maybe I should go back to bed. I just want to be sure she's got everything she needs when she wakes up - food, able to shower, etc. OK - I'm going back to bed!

I just realized that the post below isn't really finished :) Hey, it's late, I'm pregnant and I'm tired. :) When I get back into town, I'll finish it :) Be patient.

Emily and I leave tomorrow for home. Our train leaves Union Station in Washington D.C. at about 4pm. It arrives in South Bend, Indiana at about 8am on Thursday. Then my train leaves from Niles, MI at about 11 am Thursday and arrives that evening in Ottumwa, Iowa at about 6:30pm. Dan will pick me up from there, we'll stay in Ottumwa for the night and head back home the next day after he's done with work. Sooo... I leave tomorrow, but I won't be home til Friday. Yay : / . Well, lots of time to read, reflect, journal, and study God's word, right??

The Battle of Gettysburg

"The Battle of Gettysburg. The third day. Pickett's Charge. The air hung heavily. The acrid smell of gun powder and the stench of the dead."

- Quoted from "Thomas" in the movie "Heart and Souls".

In the 11th grade, I thought I could handle AP US History. First of all, I have a mother who is absolutely in love with US history. Practically every vacation we ever took growing up was to an historic location. Many times to Gettysburg. So you'd think I would do well in this class. No, for all intents and purposes, I failed it and took regular history over the next year. To this day, I'm not entirely sure why I failed it. I'd imagine I simply didn't take it seriously enough or do the work needed to do well. I wish I could get a re-do. What's interesting to me is that all throughout college, I loved to take history courses - and I did very well in them. I hope to take more! I just enjoy learning about our history. Now, again, I couldn't tell you how many times I've been to Gettysburg. My parents currently live in Middletown, Maryland and I could probably go to Gettysburg anytime I'd like to. But it wasn't until this trip to Maryland that I truly began to understand what happened there. It seems I could never wrap my head around it before. There was much I didn't understand, and among them, the most befuddling question I had: why on earth would Pickett make that kind of seemingly suicidal charge?? Well, as mentioned, on this trip, I began to see Gettysburg with new eyes. I better understand what Lee intended for this fight, why certain pieces of ground were so important, and why Pickett would do something as seemingly foolish as his charge. I know that there is so much more history to understand there, but this is a very good and hopeful start for me!

General Lee won at Chancellorsville in May, 1863. Like many folk, he was ready for the war to end. When he laid his sights on Pennsylvania, it was with the intention of obliterating the Northern army by invading the North. He understood that the Northern army would follow him, which Major General Hooker was encouraged by President Lincoln to do. Lee intended to surround the Union military and pick them off one by one. On the first day, he was in a very good position to do just that.

You can read about what happened on the first, second and third days on Wikepedia. I won't bore you with all the details :) But I mentioned in my last post that I learned quite a bit and that I would share a smidge on here. You're welcome!

Trip to Maryland

Well, I made it! I met my cousin, Emily, in Michigan on Tuesday. Wednesday, we headed out by train to my parents' home in Maryland. We arrived Thursday at Union Station in Washington D.C. at about 2pm. From there, we took the Metro train to my mom and dad's, took showers, and then headed to the Cracker Barrell for dinner with the family. Today, we went to Gettysburg - and it was great! I'll have to get on and blog about what I got out of it. But I need to cut it short today. Tomorrow we head to Mount Vernon!

Waiting in Ottumwa

Dan has been working in Ottumwa exclusively since about the middle of August. Ottumwa is 2 hours away from where we live in Des Moines. Yes, so he has to drive 2 hours to work, work an 8-12 hr shift, and drive 2 hours home. On his 12 hour days, he usually spends the night to save energy and time. Tonight is one of those nights. And since I'm traveling by train from Ottumwa to start my journey to my parents' home tomorrow, I came along with him.

I used to HATE coming with him down to Ottumwa. Sure, at first, it was kind of fun, being in a new place and all. But then I decided that there was nothing for me to do while I waited the 5 hours for the hotel to allow me into our room. There was one horrible day when I had to be in this town for about 8 hours with what I thought was literally nothing to do, but to walk around maybe Target and sleep in the car. That day I was forced to find something. To my delight, there actually is more here than I thought. There's the library, where I can take my computer and use the free wifi. There's a movie theatre. Yes, I can walk around Target, Walmart or the Mall (although the mall isn't very impressive). They have a beautiful central park. There are restaurants and fast food places where I can eat and read or use the computer. No starbucks though. I do know people who live in Ottumwa, but to this day, I have never run into anyone. Sad.

This morning, I drove us here so that Dan could sleep on the way. When I dropped him off at work, I was soo tired - I slept for a good three hours in the car :). When I woke up, I went to Walmart, got some snack supplies for my trip and assembled everything into my carryons. And now, I'm at the library, using my computer and their free wi-fi. Here is my view:

It's the Wapello Courthouse. I'm sitting on a stool, working, facing the windows, and the courthouse is just across the street.

From here, I'll probably go check us into the hotel. Maybe sleep some more :). I do need to make some phone calls, etc. We are in the middle of trying to sell our house, of course. There is still a lot to do, even if I am escaping for a few days. *sigh* I wish Dan could escape, too. He needs to more than anyone I know.

So tomorrow morning, my train leaves from the amtrak station at about 10 am.

I have never before been on an amtrak train. My dad says he enjoys it. I hope I will, too! Again, I know I've said this before, but I'm just so glad I don't have to drive.

Did you know that Tom Arnold is from Ottumwa?

That is SO weird to me, because I just can't imagine him walking along the streets of this town. Or .. shopping here or going to school here. It's like I imagine he just appeared in Hollywood one day, without a past of his own :) You know, I love the show 'Roseanne'. And, of course, Tom Arnold was on that show for awhile. Do you remember 'The Lunchbox' from the show? It was the restaurant that Roseanne and her sister Jackie ran together? Well, there is a little luncheon here in Ottumwa called 'Canteen Lunch' that 'The Lunchbox' was based on. It kind of makes me want to stop by there on my way out of town! Miss Universe of 1956, Carol Morris, was also from Ottumwa.