The Gabbing Gerdes Gang

Josiah's Baby Dedication - Coastal Community Church, Virginia Beach, VA - December 4th, 2011

2011-12-04T20:50:00.001-08:00

We dedicated Josiah Timothy Gerdes to the Lord today! At the beginning of the ceremony, I was asked to give a little 1-minute "schpeel" and this is what I said:"Good morning! My name is Courtney Gerdes and this is my husband Jeremy and our sons, Jeremiah and Josiah. Today we are here to dedicate Josiah to the Lord. In just a few minutes, we'll be promising, before God and you all, that we will raise Josiah in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We want you all to know that this is not a vow that we take lightly. Jeremy and I were both blessed to grow up in Christian homes and we each agree that we learned SO many valuable and important things from our parents as we were growing up, which we hope and pray to pass along to our kids. To most people, today, December 4th, is just another day. But to my family, this day has special significance. On this day, 16 years ago, God graciously spared my father's life, after he suffered a heart attack. At that time, I was only in 7th grade, and had I lost my father at that point in my life, I feel my life would be very different and that I would not be the person I am today. My dad has had an extra special influence in my life. He's always been my knight in shining armor. In my eyes, he is one of my biggest heroes, besides God and my husband. Since his heart attack on December 4th, 1995, he's also suffered through a brain tumor, spinal meningitis, and a brain bleed, among other things. In these types of situations, most people would feel sorry for themselves or ask God "Why me?" Not my dad. He's used EVERY situation to glorify God. He views each health challenge as a way to reach out to others and testify to God's mercy, grace, and healing! That's the kind of life I want to live! I want to glorify God in everything I do. Jeremy and I hope and pray that our boys will seek to glorify God in everything THEY do. We know that we can not make the decision of salvation for our boys, so we hope and pray that through our example, and through the examples of others in their lives, like our parents/their grandparents, they'll someday make the decision to accept Christ as their savior. We are not perfect parents. But we know that God's grace covers our imperfections. We will keep that in mind today as we make these vows, on this day, December 4th, 2011."

Josiah's 1st Birthday!

2011-10-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

How is it possible that my "baby" is ONE YEAR OLD today?! It just blows my mind! This past year has flown by SO fast, I can hardly believe it! Maybe it's the fact that my two boys keep me so busy, or possibly the fact that we've had three different addresses in the past year. Maybe it has something to do with Jeremy being on night shift for the past three months, making life seem even more of a "blur" than usual! Whatever it is, I am just shocked that my precious Josiah Timothy is one year old TODAY!

I'll never forget Josiah's extra special entrance into the world - via successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)! It was something I had prayed for and desired for SO long and God blessed me with fulfilling that deep desire. If you have not read Josiah's birth story/my VBAC testimony yet, please feel free to read it (it can be found in the 2010 archives).

Josiah is SUCH a precious baby! Since the minute he was born, people have always commented "all that hair" of his and his gorgeous blue eyes! Once he figured out how to smile, he never stopped! He is ALWAYS smiling! I was so proud of him when he smiled all the way through his 1 year photos the other day. So precious to see those six little teeth (4 top, 2 bottom) when he smiles! What a sweet boy! He absolutely ADORES his big brother and loves to follow Jeremiah wherever he goes. One of my favorite things to do is to listen to Josiah giggle. Who can make him giggle nonstop? His big brother Jeremiah, of course! It's absolutely precious to witness! Seeing my boys interact warms my heart in such deep ways!

Because he wants to keep up with his big brother, he is on the move constantly - he was sitting up/rolling across the room at 5 months old; crawling, cruising, and climbing the stairs at 8 months old; and just recently took his very first steps at 11 months old. WOW! Josiah's first word was "mama" (yay!)at 5 months old, and shortly after that, he added "dada," and most recently added "hi, bye, uh-oh, and ni-ni" to his vocabulary. It's hard to believe that he'll most likely be speaking in two word phrases/short sentences by next year at this time.

I'm very happy to report that at one year old, Josiah is STILL nursing! This was a HUGE goal of mine and I am SO happy we made it to a year! From the get go, he has been a great little nurser, and I am SO thankful for the precious bonding time that nursing has given me and Josiah. I know it sounds crazy - but sometimes I miss waking up with him at night (he started sleeping through the night at 2 months old), as now he only nurses about 2-3 times per day. I don't plan to "wean" him, but rather let him decide when he is done. I am assuming that when we start adding whole milk to his diet next week, he won't have much more need for "mommy milk." We'll see!

To celebrate Josiah's 1st Birthday, we are having a party at a nearby park (Oak Grove Lake Park) and are inviting lots of the boys' friends to play, have lunch, and eat cupcakes. We are SO excited to celebrate with our friends! God has blessed us with such an amazing "family"/network/group of friends here in this area! We are so thankful!

God is SO good to give us such an amazing, precious, adorable, smiley, snuggly, giggly, loveable little boy!

Josiah Timothy Gerdes - Our lives were forever changed when God brought you into the world one year ago! We are so very thankful for you and we love you SO much!

Josiah's One Year Photos Slideshow

2011-10-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

JEREMIAH DANIEL IS 3 YEARS OLD!!!

2011-05-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Today, Jeremiah turns 3 years old! WOW! Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that we were rushing to the hospital, when my water broke two weeks before Jeremiah's due date! How was that 3 years ago, already?!

When Jeremiah came into my life 3 years ago, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine: to be a mommy. I am SO blessed to his mom and I praise the Lord for giving Jeremiah to me! He is SO precious to me! It's been such a joy to watch him grow, learn, and develop during these past 3 years and I am very excited to watch him become the young man that God wants him to be someday. I pray daily that he will choose Jesus to be the Lord of his life and will walk in the truth!

Jeremiah has been through TONS of changes in these first 3 years of his life. Praise the Lord for resilience in children! Jeremiah spent his first year of life in day care while I taught first grade for the third year in a row. He was well-loved and taken care of there, but I definitely missed out on some precious moments and am SO glad we made the decision for me to stay home after that. What an adventure we've had together these past two years, traveling for Jeremy's job, 2 times to Washington, and once to California. Just recently, I realized that in Jeremiah's 3 years of life so far, he has had SIX different addresses! WOW! That's A LOT of changes for one little guy! But he sure has done well, considering all of that! We all look forward to "settling down" soon, as God closes this "traveling" chapter of our lives.

Speaking of changes for Jeremiah, one of the biggest changes in his life occurred when we welcomed his baby brother, Josiah, into our lives this past October. What a precious time for all of us! I'll never forget the first night that we came home from the hospital with Josiah, after a day of LOTS of brotherly hugs/pictures/moments, and I looked at Jeremy, right before we went to sleep and said, "Our family feels complete. I love this feeling." Truly, I LOVE my husband, our boys, and our life together. God has blessed us tremendously. Yes, there are moments where I feel overwhelmed and struggle with with certain issues such as potty training, discipline, etc. But overall, life is GOOD! The boys and I always find ways to have fun together, whether it be through play dates, play areas, parks, toddler classes, etc. I really enjoy watching my boys interact. Josiah has the cutest little baby laugh, and Jeremiah is the one who is able to get him to laugh the hardest! It's so precious! Josiah loves to watch big brother Jeremiah play, dance, sing, etc. His face lights up the minute he sees his brother! I am really looking forward to watching their brotherly bond form over the years. Also, what fun it has been to put the boys in matching outfits! SO FUN for a mama!! :)

One of the most precious things to watch is Jeremiah's growing love and interest in God. During the past year, he's become quite the little prayer warrior, and LOVES praying for his friends, family, and those in need. I've heard it said that God finds children's prayers especially precious. I'm sure God is smiling when little ones are praying! I just know it! Jeremiah enjoys going to Sunday school, listening to his "Bible songs" (Cedarmont Kids), and hearing Bible stories. His two favorite Bible stories, which he can help "tell," are of Jesus's Birth, and Jesus' Crucifixion/Resurrection. Soon, we hope to start working on Bible verses together. He still LOVES to sing and dance. His favorite "Jesus songs" (in his words) are Jesus Loves Me, I Love You Lord, Down in my Heart, and Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord. When I hear him singing these songs on his own, my heart swells with joy and I feel like dancing!

Jeremiah also has started independently singing other "kid songs" such as Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ring Around the Rosie, Head/Shoulders/Knees/Toes, ABCs, and many others. One of these days, I need to record his precious little voice singing these songs! Speaking of his ABCs, he's starting to be able to identify some letters and their sounds. This makes the "teacher" in me VERY happy! He knows most of his colors, animals/sounds, can count to 20, is starting to learn some of his shapes, and even knows a few Spanish words. SO proud of my big boy! We are very excited about sending him to Greenbrier Baptist Weekday Preschool in the Fall on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. There, he'll enjoy daily Bible songs, Bible stories, crafts, Chapel, field trips, and will solidify many of the emerging skills mentioned above.

While we've been here in Bremerton, Washington for Jeremy's short term job transfer, Jeremiah has especially enjoyed going to toddler classes at the YMCA. On Tuesday/Thursday mornings, we go to a class called "1-2-3 Grow With Me" where the kids have "free play" with TONS of toys for about 45 minutes (any toddler's dream!), then the clean up the toys, and sit down on the carpet for a few stories, a snack, and songs. What fun! On Wednesdays, we attend a "Tiny Tots" class, which is a toddler tumbling class with mats, obstacle courses, a trampoline, ribbons to dance with, scarves to wave, and more! SO much fun! This past Thursday, while at Jeremiah's "1-2-3 Grow With Me" class, we celebrated his birthday, by bringing in goody bags and cookies for all of his friends! They all sang Happy Birthday to him and he was beaming! What special memories!

In today's post, I'll include the collage I made from Jeremiah's little party at the Y. Today, we are taking Jeremiah to Chuck E Cheese and Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate his birthday! We are all SO excited! So, sometime next week, I'll post other collages of our weekend birthday activities, along with Jeremiah's (and Josiah's) professional photos that we had taken recently.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jeremiah Daniel Gerdes! We love you and praise the Lord for you every day! We are so proud of you for the big boy you are becoming, the great big brother you are to Josiah, your growing love for the Lord, and the love you show us and others around you! We hope you have the most wonderful day today, as we celebrate YOU!!! :)

Introducing...Josiah Timothy Gerdes!

2010-11-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

We are very proud to announce the birth of our newest son...
Josiah Timothy Gerdes!
~October 22, 2010
~12:31pm
~8 pounds, 4 ounces
~19 1/2 inches long
~DePaul Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia
~Birthing Team: Midwife Tara Smith and Doula Stephanie Rockefort

We praise the Lord for our little Josiah, and give Him the glory for allowing us to have a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)!

Throughout our pregnancy with Josiah, we were blessed to have many of our friends and family pray for us, that God would allow Josiah to be delivered vaginally, but most importantly that both he and I would remain safe and healthy through the entire birthing process. Those same prayer warriors rejoiced with us when they heard the news of Josiah’s birth! Since then, many have asked to hear his “birth story.” Josiah’s birth was absolutely wonderful, and I am more than happy to share every detail. But, before I really begin, I have to explain one very important point. This isn’t really “my” story or “Josiah’s” story, but rather it is “God’s story.” It’s incredible to think that before the beginning of time, God had every detail of this story planned out. As we reflect on Josiah’s conception, pregnancy, and birth, we are clearly able to see God’s hand every step of the way. By sharing this story, my goal is to bring glory to God. So, I hope and pray that as you read, you too, will be able to see God’s hand. To God be the GLORY!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a mom. Truly, it’s always been one of my deepest desires, right along with being a wife and a teacher! I would see other women with their pregnant bellies, hear stories of births, and watch “The Baby Story” on TLC, all the while dreaming of also having the chance to be pregnant and birth a child someday. A year and a half into our marriage, Jeremy and I found out we were pregnant with our first son, Jeremiah! To say we were excited, is an understatement! I thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful, healthy pregnancy. Two weeks before Jeremiah’s due date, my water broke at home, and we rushed to the hospital, so excited to meet our first baby boy. After a couple hours of natural laboring, walking the halls, one of the nurses discovered while doing a cervix check, that Jeremiah was actually in the breech position, meaning he was butt down, instead of head down. My dreams were shattered and hopes were crushed when the doctor came in and announced that Jeremiah would need to be delivered via c-section. I begged the doctor to try to turn him, because I wanted so badly to deliver him vaginally. But the doctor refused, saying that it was unsafe to try to turn him, because my amniotic fluid level was low, due to the fact that my water had been broken for seven hours at that point. Even though I was scared going into the c-section, it actually ended up being a wonderful experience, as it was quick and painless. Best of all, Jeremiah Daniel Gerdes was brought into this world, safe and healthy! Praise the Lord! God blessed me with a very quick and relatively painless recovery. For the first month after Jeremiah’s birth, I was too in love and caught up in the “moment” of being a first-time-mom, to really focus on my disappointment I had in having to have a c-section, rather than deliver vaginally, as I had always hoped and prayed. Then, something very hurtful happened. When Jeremiah was about one month old, a family member was visiting us, and made this comment when we were talking about Jeremiah’s birth: “Oh! That’s right! You are one of those lazy ones that decided to take the easy route and have a c-section, instead of delivering the natural way!” Ouch. That stung. Although, I am sure that particular family member was just joking, his words cut me really deep. All the sudden, I wondered if everyone viewed me in the same way he did. Did everyone look at me and think that I actually “chose” to have the c-section? The more I thought about it, the more I realized how sad I was that I didn’t get to have the birthing experience that I had always dreamed of. This started a long and painful journey of feeling “robbed” of my desired birthing experience, which would take me the next two and a half years to heal from, emotionally and psychologically.

Thankfully the story does not end there! At one of my doctor appointments, after having Jeremiah, the doctor explained that because of the type of horizontal incision he had made during the c-section, I should be able to have a vaginal birth some day. That gave me hope, and over the next couple of years, I started to research a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and all that it entailed. During that time, I spoke with other women, who had had successful VBACs, in order to gain more confidence that a VBAC was possible for me. My sister had two successful VBACs of her own, and was a huge inspiration to me. When Jeremiah was just over a year and a half old, we were having the time of our lives in California, on one of Jeremy’s short-term job transfers, and we conceived our second son, Josiah! Josiah’s conception was the start of my journey toward my very own VBAC.

When I was about 12 weeks along in my pregnancy with Josiah, we returned to Virginia, after a wonderful 5-month “adventure” in California. Knowing my desire to have a VBAC, my dear friend Karen recommended that I start seeing the midwives at DePaul Hospital in Norfolk. I called and scheduled an appointment right away. Because I was attempting a VBAC, I was considered “high risk” and could not be seen in the actual “midwifery center,” but rather, would be able to be seen by the midwives in the WomenCare center, an extention of the hospital. I just felt blessed that I was being allowed to see midwives, as I had learned through my research, that they were very into the “natural” birthing process, which was my desire. During my first appointment with one of the midwives, I learned some very uplifting statistics about DePaul. First, there are as many midwives as OBs who deliver babies at DePaul. Second, DePaul has the lowest c-section rate and the highest VBAC success rate in the state. After that appointment, I just knew this was the hospital for me!

My friend Karen also recommended that I visit her Chiropractor, Dr. Tiffany Fernandez, who specialized in a chiropractic technique, called the Webster Method, which is used on pregnant women, to encourage the pelvis to open up and the baby to get into the head down position, which is optimal for vaginal birth. I had my first appointment with Dr. Tiffany Fernandez at 12 weeks, and was very encouraged to learn right away that not only is she a believer in Jesus Christ, but she has also had a successful VBAC! Praise God! Throughout the rest of my pregnancy, all the way up until I was overdue with Josiah, I enjoyed chiropractic care from Dr. Tiffany, and also her husband Dr. Lou. With Jeremiah’s pregnancy, I had a terrible sciatic nerve pain, which made for many sleepless nights. However, due to my chiropractic care with Josiah’s pregnancy, I never had any back pain, and Josiah did indeed get into the perfect head down position, just as the Webster technique boasts. Dr. Tiffany was kind enough to invite me to a few of her classes where she taught me more about the Webster technique and also gave tips for a healthy labor and delivery. I learned so much through these classes. I praise the Lord for using Dr. Tiffany’s chiropractic care to help me enjoy an even healthier and more comfortable pregnancy with Josiah!

Another very important part of my “VBAC team” was my Doula, Stephanie Rochefort. I met Stephanie through a friend on facebook. At the time we met, Stephanie was working on her Doula and Child Birth Educator certifications, and needed to attend two births in order to be completely certified. Because she was still a Doula “student” she did not charge us for her services, which was a major blessing to us, financially! She was an incredible source of support through the end of my pregnancy (from about 30 weeks on), and was a very important part of our labor and delivery process. She, along with my Chiropractor, Dr. Tiffany, invited me to my first ICAN (international cesarean awareness network) meeting/support group, which played a HUGE role in my psychological healing process. At the ICAN meetings, I learned even more about c-sections, VBACs, important health statistics, my rights as a woman, and many other important tidbits of information, which helped me to feel empowered as a woman attempting a VBAC. I praise God for ICAN and the healing He brought to me through this amazing group of women!

As you can see, God blessed me tremendously with an amazing “VBAC team”: friends and family members who continually supported me and prayed for me, wonderful midwives, a loving chiropractor, an incredible doula, and a great ICAN support group. On top of all that, I had God on my side, so I knew that no matter what, whether God allowed me to have the VBAC, or if He decided I would have another c-section, I was in the palm of His hand, and there was no better place to be! Throughout my entire pregnancy with Josiah, I kept reciting Pslam 37:4 (NASB), “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” It gave me so much comfort to know that God absolutely knew every desire of my heart, and that He had His best in mind for me. God is SO good!

Now that I have shared all the “background info,” it gives me great joy to share the amazing story of how God brought Josiah into this world!

Thursday, 10/21/10

10:00am
I dropped Jeremiah off at my friend Karen’s house. Karen graciously agreed to take Jeremiah for me, so that I could attend my full day of appointments in peace, without having to bring a toddler with me. I was very much looking forward to some “mommy time!” Since Jeremiah was going to be at Karen’s all day, I packed food, extra clothes, etc. for him. I even packed pajamas, “just in case” he ended up spending the night, if I happened to go into labor, since I was already five days overdue.

10:30am
I went to the acupuncture appointment, via the recommendation of my doula and chiropractor, on Thursday morning. I LOVED it! I've never felt so relaxed in my life! I'm serious! This warmth came over my lower tummy (where I had been having all of the cramping, pressure, etc.) and I got into a deep state of relaxation. The minute I got down off the table, I felt my first little "gush" but tried not to get too excited about it, because I thought it might be heavy discharge. On my way to my appointment, I stopped at Panera Bread for lunch. I was on my way to my long 3-hour appointment at DePaul anyway, so I knew everything would be ok. Well, on my way there, while I was walking into the WomenCare center, I felt four more little "gushes" and pretty much knew at that point, my water must have at least somewhat "broken." I was getting pretty excited at that point!

1:00pm
I had a great NST (non stress test) at my appointment, and then OB Dr. Hughes confirmed with a litmus test that my water had in fact broken (even though it was just leaking) and I was 2cm dilated, so he sent me over to labor and delivery! Dr. Hughes was incredibly positive and encouraging, and told me that in his opinion, I had a 90% chance of having a successful VBAC, since my water had started to break on it's own, I was already dilated, and the baby was in such a good position, so low in my pelvis. I praise God for Dr. Hughes' encouragement, as that surely was a great way to start out! Thankfully, Jeremiah was already with my friend Karen Miller, during all of my appointments that day, so I knew she'd be able to take him for me that night too, which put my mind even more at peace. On my way over to labor and delivery, I made all of the necessary phone calls. I called Jeremy and Stephanie to tell them to join me at the hospital. I called Karen to make sure it would be ok if Jeremiah stayed with her overnight. My parents (from Wisconsin) had visited my sister in northern Virginia earlier that week, and were visiting my brother in North Carolina at the time. They were only five hours away, so I made sure to also call and let them know what was going on, so they could start their journey toward the hospital, too. I was so excited that things were REALLY happening!

2:00pm
Jeremy and Stephanie arrived at the hospital shorty after I called each of them. I started walking the halls and having a few mild contractions.

6:00pm
I started having stronger contractions. As Jeremy, Stephanie, and I walked the halls, Stephanie made sure to time the contractions for us, and they were about one minute long and 3-6 minutes apart. During each contraction, I would have to stop what I was doing and concentrate on breathing, as they slowly became more and more painful.

11:30pm
After about five hours of walking the halls, practicing different laboring positions, and being monitored every hour, I started to get just a bit discouraged, as my labor actually slowed down a bit. Contractions started to spread out to about nine minutes apart. Nell, the midwife that was on duty that night, checked my cervix and discovered that I was still only 2 cm dilated. She recommended that I take this opportunity to get some rest, and she gave me some benadryl, in hopes that it would help me rest and relax overnight. At that time, Stephanie went home to get some sleep, since nothing was really happening, and I had been told to rest anyways. The benadryl really did nothing to relax me, and I was still in quite a bit of pain during each contraction, so I really could not sleep at all that night.

Friday, 10/22/10

2:00am
Nell came in to examine me and found that I was still 2cm, so she decided to really break my water (with the hook), and sure enough, that REALLY brought on the contractions! From about 2:00am-7:00am, I labored through intense contractions that were right on top of each other, with really no breaks in between. I tried every position possible, to try to get some relief from the pain, but nothing helped. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even sit down, and laying down made me want to scream. The shower was the only thing that seemed to help, but even still, the pain was absolutely excruciating. After no sleep, and nothing to eat for the past 12 hours, I was getting exhausted.

7:00am
I was checked again, and found to be only 3cm dilated. After seeing me go through so much pain through the night with no relief, Jeremy decided that I should get the epidural. At the time, I cried, because I really did want to try to do everything completely naturally and drug-free. I started to feel like a "failure" because I had “caved in” to the drugs that I so desperately tried to stay away from. Stephanie arrived at the hospital, just as I was getting my epidural. I thought for sure that she’d be so disappointed in be for “caving in,” but I was wrong! She was completely supportive and uplifting. She didn’t make me feel bad about it at all. She acknowledged that I really had tried my hardest to labor naturally on my own. It took a few tries for the anesthesiologist to get the epidural in right, so that was pretty painful. But as soon as it was in, I felt an immediate sense of relief! It honestly reminded me of the warm, peaceful, pain-free feeling I had at the acupuncture appointment the morning before. It was wonderful! Finally, I was able to actually lay down, for the first time in over five hours. It felt so good!

8:00am
Midwife Tara had just started her shift, and so she came in to check me. She told me I was 4cm dilated. She was extremely encouraging and told me everything was going to go well, and that she was very excited for my VBAC! I was so encouraged by her positive spirit, too! Tara and the nurses were completely supportive and loving! I am SO blessed! After receiving my third bag of IV antibiotic to protect the baby from the Strep B that was in my body, the nurses hooked me up to the pitocin. At first, it wasn’t hooked up right, and Stephanie realized that the pitocin was actually dripping on the floor! So once they finally got it hooked up to my IV, things started to move pretty quickly! The next two hours, were amazingly wonderful and I was able to just lay in the bed and relax, completely free of pain. I wasn’t even feeling the contractions at that point. If it weren’t for the monitors, telling us when the contractions were happening, I would have had no idea I was in labor. That epidural sure does work!

10:30am
My sister, Chasey, and niece, Madison (from northern Virginia) arrived at the hospital and stopped in to see me. It was wonderful to be able to actually talk to them, since I was so relaxed from the epidural. They would not have wanted to see me in the pain I had been in, just a few hours prior!

11:00am
The nurse checked me and I was already at 10cm, fully dilated!! I was shocked! Just a few minutes before that, I had started to feel the pressure of some of the contractions and had commented to Stephanie that I thought I might have the urge to push, but wasn’t sure, because I'd never done this before. I shared with my "team" that I REALLY desired to be able to do some different positions when I was pushing (hands and knees, squatting, on each side, etc.). I really did not want to be on my back when I was delivering my baby, because through my research, I found out that the pelvis opens up 30% more when a woman is in any other position than lying on her back. The nurses listened to my requests, and were able to turn my epidural down, so that I could still feel and use my legs. It was WONDERFUL! I had the best of both worlds: no pain, but still able to use my legs! So cool! Obviously toward the very end, when Josiah was crowning and coming out, I had some pretty intense pain. But thanks to my amazing, supportive team, I was able to work through the pain. Most importantly, I knew that God was with me. I could feel His presence in such a strong way! I cried out for His help many times in those last moments of pushing, because it was such hard work! When things got really hard, I kept repeating to myself Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It helped me stay focused on my goal!

12:31pm
After an hour and a half of pushing, we welcomed Josiah Timothy Gerdes into the world! I was able to deliver Josiah in the squatting position, at the end of my bed, which is JUST what I always wanted!! As soon as he was suctioned, etc. he was put on my chest and I was able to nurse him right away! He latched on perfectly and fed for 20 minutes on each side, while Tara finished stitching up my small, second-degree tear. It was so incredible!

Soon after Josiah was born, the pediatrician discovered that he had some fluid on his lungs. Because of that, he was breathing at 100 respirations per minute, and needed to be hooked up to monitors and an IV. He was not allowed to breastfeed for two days, because they were afraid that he would aspirate the breastmilk, since he was breathing so fast. It was very hard to not be able to bring him back to our room with us, and to see him hooked up to all of those machines. When he was two days old, we were allowed to breastfeed again, and two days after that, his breathing had slowed down enough for him to be sent home. God healed him! We brought Josiah home on Tuesday, October 26th! What a joyous day for our family of four!

God is SO good to have allowed me to have a successful VBAC! It was definitely one of the biggest desires I've ever had on my heart. I knew so many people were praying for me the whole time, during all of the labor and delivery. I've never felt so bathed in prayer in my life! I am just SO BLESSED! I feel so good about being able to deliver a baby the way God designed for my body to deliver a baby. I praise the Lord for a successful VBAC, and am so thankful for the support team (Jeremy, midwives, OBs, doula, chiropractor, supportive friends and family) He put in my life, to encourage me every step of the way. Even though I did end up getting the epidural and pitocin, I am still thankful that I was able to experience just a little piece of natural labor. I praise God for every moment He allowed me to experience, as it was all I ever dreamed of, and MORE! After lots of prayer and anticipation, it was so beautiful to see God’s plan unfold in the birth of my second son, Josiah!

Welcome to the world, Josiah! We are so glad that God has given you to us! We look forward to the many wonderful memories that we will make with you. Most importantly, we pray that you and Jeremiah will come to know the Lord as your personal Savior someday. We love you SO much more than words could ever describe!

STILL pregnant on our DUE DATE, 10/16/10!!!

2010-10-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we have officially reached our due date and are STILL pregnant! I am actually feeling pretty good, but am also REALLY wanting to meet this baby! We are ALL so excited to welcome him into our lives!! Can't wait to see our boys together!!! :)

Yesterday, I had an appointment, with an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech confirmed that he is head down (yay!), and she estimates him to be 8.5 pounds. WOW! She did warn us that there is a margin of error in the testing, so there is always a chance he might not actually be that big. But, still! She also says he has a big head, with LOTS of hair! Apparently, in ultrasounds, hair shows up as "white stuff" that swishes around in the amniotic fluid. She pointed out his hair to us, and even printed out a picture of it (along with others)! Jeremiah was born with a FULL head of hair, which went down over his ears and down his neck. So, we have to wonder if this baby has as much hair as Jeremiah did. We'll see!

At yesterday's appointment, we also found out that I am 1 cm dilated (yay!). It's not much, but at least it's something! Over the course of my pregnancy, I have been blessed to have met all four midwives (Blair, Nell, Tara, and Jennifer) and have now met two of the OBs (Dr. Hughes and Dr. Dixon). Dr. Dixon swept my membranes yesterday around 11am, and ever since then, I have been feeling regular contractions, more pressure, and lots of cramping in my lower tummy. Last night, before bed, I timed my contractions for an hour, and they were about 2 minutes long, 3 minutes apart.

I am so thankful for my doula, Stephanie Rockefort, who has been answering my calls/texts every couple of hours, helping me figure out what to "do next." Stephanie is actually a doula student, needing to attend births, for her certification, so she is not charging me a penny! What a blessing to have a FREE doula! She has also had two VBACS, so she understands my passion for wanting to have my own VBAC. Truly, what a blessing she is to me!

If you are reading this, please be in prayer for the baby and I through the remainder of the pregnancy (hopefully not too much longer!), labor, delivery, recovery, bonding,and breastfeeding. Also be in prayer for our precious little Jeremiah, as this will all be a big change/transition for him! We have everything ready: bags are packed/in the van, double stroller is in the van, carseat is installed, crib is up, clothes are washed/put away, big brother/little brother tshirts are made, and now we are just waiting...and waiting...anticipating the exciting moment that we will see our precious baby's face for the very first time!! Come ON, baby!!! We are SO excited to meet you!

Maternity Photos, by Jena Cornell Photography

2010-09-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day 2010!!! To Daddy/Love, Jeremiah

2010-06-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's a BOY!!!

2010-06-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

On June 3rd, 2010, we had our 21-week ultrasound, and found out that Baby #2 is a boy!!! We are SO happy and excited that Jeremiah will have a little BROTHER!! How fun!! The baby appeared to be very healthy, measured normally, had a heart rate of 147 bpm, and is estimated to weigh about 1 pound. Praise the Lord! Watching Jeremiah's reaction during the ultrasound was absolutely precious. He pointed to one of the first profile shots on the screen, and said, with excitement, "OH! HI, BABY!" So sweet! We are thankful that Jeremiah will be able to hand down all of his clothes to his little brother---what a financial blessing! I am SO very excited to dress "my boys" in matching pajamas and outfits on special occasions! How fun!

Jeremiah is 2 Years Old!!!

2010-05-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today, my precious "baby boy" became a "big boy" when he turned 2
years old! I am so glad that I have taken so many of my own pictures,
as well as having professional pictures taken along the way. It's
been so fun to go back and reminisce! Just for "memory sake" I
included Jeremiah's newborn and 1 Year pictures, along with his 2 Year
pictures that were taken today, on his 2nd birthday! :)

I feel SO BLESSED to be able to call myself Jeremiah's mommy! God has
blessed me with many wonderful things in my life, but Jeremiah
definitely is at the top of that list, second only to his daddy. :)
Here's a little "recap" on the first two years of Jeremiah's life,
along with with some other updates.

When Jeremiah was born, I was teaching first grade at Atlantic Shores
Christian school. Because I had him at the end of the school year, I
was able to stay home with him for the first three months of his life,
since it was "summer break" for our school. Those first three months
were SO precious, as we really bonded closely as mother and son during
that time. Jeremiah was a "breastfeeding champ" from the get go, so
that made for very special bonding, too. So many of my colleagues
doubted that I would return to teaching the following year, because
they thought I would not be able to leave my baby, after being with
him all day/every day for three months straight. I did, however,
decide to return to teaching in the Fall, and though it was very
difficult to hand my baby over to other care-givers, things were made
just a bit easier with Jeremiah's day care being just downstairs from
my classroom. A TRUE blessing! I was able to stop by and visit
him/feed him every two hours or so, and that was very nice. Even
though I had an excellent third year of teaching first grade, I still,
from time to time, feel bad about missing out on some very precious
moments in his life, when he was being cared for by others.

That being said, after much prayer and consideration, Jeremy and I
decided that it would be best if I not go back to teaching, after I
completed my third year. This was a very hard decision, since
teaching is truly one of my deepest passions. But, I have come to
learn that I have developed an even DEEPER passion in life: being a
mommy! Even though I know I'm not the perfect mother (who is?!), I do
feel like it comes naturally to me, and that it's something that God
has always planned for me to do. This past year, staying home with
Jeremiah, has been one of the BEST years of my life. I feel like I
have been able to really pour into him, by have constant one-on-one
time with him. Because I was not working this past year, Jeremiah and
I were able to go on two different short-term job transfers with
Jeremy to Bremerton (near Seattle), Washington and San Diego,
California. Our family made wonderful memories through our many
adventures in both of these incredible places! We are so thankful
that God blessed us with these opportunities to travel! Our little
Jeremiah has really become quite the "world traveler"...well,
ok...more like "United States traveler" as he has seen more of our
beautiful country this past year, than some people see in a lifetime!

It is an understatement to say that Jeremiah has "grown up" a lot in
the past year. Besides becoming a "bigger" boy, size-wise, he has
also grown in leaps and bounds, both developmentally and spiritually.
The most rewarding thing to see has been his spiritual growth. Some
would argue that 2-year-olds aren't "spiritual." For those that feel
that way, I just know that if you hung around Jeremiah for a while,
you might just change your mind! He has become very familiar with
prayer, as we pray before every meal, at bedtime, and basically
whenever we want to talk to God! :) One of the most precious things
to see is when I just start praying out loud in the car, and don't
even realize he is listening (for example if we drive by a car wreck,
or if God puts someone on my mind who is in need of prayer), and I
look back and see Jeremiah with his head bowed, his eyes closed,
whispering his own "versions" of the prayers. Of course, his favorite
part of the prayer is the "AMEN!" which he shouts out every time!
Truly WONDERFUL to see/hear/witness! He also has a great LOVE for
music, specifically praise music. Whenever I get out my guitar and
start worshiping the Lord, Jeremiah starts dancing around and clapping
his hands, with a HUGE smile on his face. Absolutely precious!
Jeremiah also has a very tender heart, which we have prayed that he
would have, even before he was born. It's not uncommon for us to pick
him up from nursery and have his nursery teachers tell us that he went
around hugging and kissing the rest of the kids, while he was playing
with them! That's music to a proud mommy's ears!

It's also been a true treat to witness Jeremiah's growing vocabulary.
At one year old, he was only able to say the following four words:
*Mama
*Dada
*Baba (reffering to bottle)
*Duck
Over the past year, with the combination of having his ear tube
surgery around his first birthday (his hearing has GREATLY improved),
having constant one-on-one attention/learning time with me, and just
getting older/more mature, Jeremiah more than quadrupled his
vocabulary. We started keeping a journal of his words, and so I will
do my best to re-create that list here:
*mommy (instead of "mama")
*daddy (instead of "dada")
*sippy
*hi
*hello
*bye/buh-bye
*no
*please
*thank you
*yellow
*blue
*poo-poo
*pee-pee
*potty
*apple juice
*milk (sounds like "muck")
*cookie
*snack
*Grammy/Grampy (sounds like "mammy/bappy")
*Uncle (sounds like "unc")
*boo-boo
*booty
*belly
*baby
*head
*eye
*ear
*nose
*mouth
*toes
*hand
*book
*ball
*car
*light
*night night
I KNOW I am forgetting to list some of the words he says. But this
list just gives a "general idea" of things he says on a daily basis.
Pretty exciting! He's able to point to/say all of his body parts, on
his own, which is also fun to hear/see! He's working on his animal
sounds and is now able to identify/make the sound for almost all of
the animals, but specifically cow, pig, horse, duck, and sheep. We
are working on his ABCs with him, and so far, he can only say the
first three: A-B-C, but we are hoping that by his third birthday, he
will be saying them all/singing the song, all by himself! He is also
able to count to three, but his favorite number to point out and say,
is the number "2"--which is perfect because that is how old he is
right now!! :)

As far as I can tell, Jeremiah is pretty excited about being a big
brother! Whenever we are around little babies, he always points them
out and says, "baby," and we work on being gentle, etc. I always
explain that "mommy has a baby in her belly," and so now he is able to
point to my belly and say "baby." We know that the new baby will
bring on HUGE changes for all of us, but especially Jeremiah, as he
gets used to being a "gentle" big brother, and sharing his mommy and
daddy. We pray that God would equip us with the tools we need for
teaching Jeremiah how to be a good big brother, although, I'm sure
some of that will come naturally to him, too!

I'll end with a special little note that I wrote for Jeremiah today,
in celebration of his 2nd birthday:
"Jeremiah, words cannot possibly begin to describe how much I love
you! I am tremendously blessed to be your mommy! I PRAISE THE LORD for
giving you to me, as my son! These past two years have been the BEST
of my life, and I can't wait to see what God does in your life in the
future! Happy 2nd Birthday!"

WOOHOO!! BABY #2!!! Jeremiah is going to be a big brother! Baby #2 is due on October 16, 2010!!! We are SO excited! God is SO GOOD!

2010-04-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Our 6-Day Road Trip from California to Virginia

2010-04-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT five months in California! We were sad to have to leave, but also ready to settle down for just a bit/take some time off from traveling for a while. We followed a wonderful schedule every day, which seemed to work well for Jeremiah. We would wake up at 4:00am and hit the road around 4:30/5:00am. Jeremiah would usually sleep for the first 3 or 4 hours. Then we would stop for breakfast, etc. We'd get back in the car and drive for another 4 hours and then stop for lunch. Then after that, we usually only had just a short drive left, in which Jeremiah would usually nap again, before we reached our destination in the early afternoon. We always made a point to find hotels that had pools, so that we could spend a couple hours swimming and let Jeremiah get his energy out before dinner and bedtime. All three of us were in bed by 8:00pm every night!! Jeremiah did so well, and either slept, watched movies, looked at books, or played with his toys/stickers. We were so proud of him, especially since this was a really long trip for such a little guy.

Our Road Trip Route:

Day 1: Coronado, California---Williams, Arizona

Day 2: Williams, Arizona---Moriarty, New Mexico (stopped to see Four Corners Monument)

Day 3: Moriarty, New Mexico---Tulsa, Oklahoma

Day 4: Tulsa, Oklahoma---St. Louis, Missouri (stopped in downtown STL/saw friends, Minellas)

Day 5: St. Louis, Missouri---Beckley, West Virginia

Day 6: Beckley, West Virginia---Virginia Beach, Virginia

While were in CA, we rented our house out to wonderful renters. These renters would like to buy our house this summer/fall, if everything works out for them, financially. So please keep this in your prayers! That being said, when we returned to VA, we needed to find a place to live. God led us to Royal Pointe apartments, located in a GREAT area of Virginia Beach! Two of our friends live here in the complex, and three of our friends live within a mile or so! We are very close to both interstates, which makes for easy access to all of Hampton Roads. We are renting a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, which is about the same square footage as our house, but feels bigger because of the wonderful set-up!! :) There's also a pool here, which we can use from May-September!! We LOVE it! :) It just so happened that there was a "special" going on when we signed the lease, so the security deposit was only $100 (instead of the typical $400) and we get April's rent FREE!!! Wow!! That's great! God is sooooo good!

"Quick Trip" to San Francisco, CA with Rachael Stults (my nephew Nate's wife)

2010-03-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

"Quick Trip" to Sun City West, AZ to see Walkers, VanderJagts, and Riesenbergs (my cousin and her family, visiting from IN)

2010-03-19T00:45:00.001-07:00

LEGOLAND!!! (Our friends, the Galbraiths, gave us free tickets to Legoland in Carlsbad, CA!!!)

2010-02-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

Grammy and Grampy Stults came to visit us for a whole week!!!

2010-01-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

We moved to the BEACH!! (Coronado Shores on Coronado Island, CA: 10 high-rise condo buildings ON THE BEACH with 4 pools, 5 hot tubs, 8 tennis cts)

2010-01-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009 Roadtrip: Glendale/Sun City West/Sedona/Flagstaff/Grand Canyon, AZ; Hoover Dam; Las Vegas; Bakersfield/San Fernando, CA

2010-01-01T00:07:00.001-08:00

FUN Weekend: Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Little Tikes Car, Sea World, Jungle Bells (zoo lights), and Christmas Collage!!!

2009-12-20T23:42:00.001-08:00

Los Angeles, California!!!

2009-12-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

"Christmas Craft" Day with Becca and Matthew!!!

2009-12-07T15:28:00.001-08:00

Happy 27th Birthday, Jeremy!!!

2009-12-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

"Christmas Tea" Event at CEBC with Britta and Becca!!!

2009-12-04T23:07:00.001-08:00

Jeremiah's First Christmas 2009 Craft! :)

2009-12-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

We bought an "InStep" bike trailer/double jogging stroller (from Craigslist) for just $55!!!

2009-12-04T22:53:00.000-08:00

Our THIRD visit to the San Diego Zoo!!!

2009-11-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Weekend in Arizona (Tucson, Tempe, Sun City West, and Glendale)!!!

2009-11-29T23:30:00.000-08:00

The Wild Animal Park!!

2009-11-23T15:21:00.001-08:00

Coronado Island and Imperial Beach with Britta Pearson!

2009-11-21T22:23:00.000-08:00

Back to the San Diego Zoo!!!

2009-11-19T17:05:00.001-08:00

La Jolla Beach (Seals!) and Balboa Park

2009-11-17T14:25:00.001-08:00

First Play Date with "Christian Moms of East County San Diego" playgroup (from meetup.com): Thanksgiving Placemats!!

2009-11-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

First Visit To: In-N-Out Burger, San Diego Zoo, Mission Valley Library

2009-11-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

We made it to San Diego, California!!!

2009-11-12T19:30:00.001-08:00

We finally made it to San Diego, California!! This is Jeremy's third voluntary shipyard transfer this year (first was Georgia, second was Washington state). We had such a blast together in Washington state and are really looking forward to making memories here in California, too. The west coast is so beautiful! Our flights went well and we had no major glitches, which was a nice surprise, compared to our very "eventful" flights to and from Washington this summer. God is good! Jeremiah was very excited to see his daddy again!! It feels good to have all of us back together, as our little family of three. While we are here, the shipyard is paying for us to stay in a fully-furnished 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo, at a complex called Portofino, which also has a pool, hot tub, and fitness center. Our condo is a few hundred square feet bigger than our house back in VA, so it feels very roomy to us! We're just right across the street from Costco and Ikea, so of course we had to get a Costco membership!! So fun! We are thankful for the friends we have already made here. Our new friends, the McKinneys, are also here on a shipyard transfer from Portsmouth. Matt and Rebecca have a 2 1/2 year old son named Matthew, and so far the boys love playing together! We are looking forward to making many great memories with them, and also hoping to meet lots of other great friends along the way. My childhood friend, Britta Pearson, lives here, so it will be fun to reunite with her soon, too. As our Christmas presents to each other, we hope to purchase season passes to SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and the Wild Life Park, so we can attend whenever we want to. All of those places, along with the gorgeous beaches, are just 8 miles away from where we are staying at Portofino! How cool! So far, we are loving it here!! More details and pics to come soon, so keep posted!

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Princess Anne Park & Z Pizza with M4C Playgroup / Our Last Day Together :(

2009-11-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Sadly, the Adventures of Jeremiah and Sierra have come to an end. :( It has been a huge blessing to be able to watch Sierra these past two and a half months while her mom, my good friend Karen, has been student teaching. I wish I could keep watching her until Karen finishes student teaching in December, but that is not possible, since we leave for San Diego next week. Today was a bittersweet day, as we were very sad to say goodbye to Sierra, Karen, and Brian, and also our Moms 4 Christ friends. But even through the sadness of saying goodbye to great friends, we take joy in knowing that soon we'll be in San Diego with "Daddy." We miss him so much! We will always treasure these precious friendships that we've been blessed with. As a tribute to the time we've had with Sierra, I'd like to share the short letter that I wrote to Karen and Brian, thanking them for the honor of caring for their precious little girl. (see below)

Dear Karen and Brian,

Thank you for giving me the wonderful opportunity and honor of watching your precious little girl! Sierra is so special to Jeremiah and I, and we are so thankful for the adventures we had together and the memories we made. It's been a blessing to hear all her words, see her many expressions, and watch her grow over time. I wish you all the very best and pray that God blesses you tremendously as you transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4!! Way to go with student teaching, Karen! You did it!

Love,

Courtney

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Lynnhaven Mall Play Area with M4C Friends

2009-11-02T10:02:00.001-08:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Hunt Club Farm with Miss Kristen and Wyatt

2009-10-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Turkey Pictures/Walk Around Kemps Lake with the Ducks

2009-10-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: "Fabulous Friday Four" / meeting up with Miss Allison, Lily and Vaughn at MCPA

2009-10-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Botanical Gardens with Miss Emily + Baby Ryley

2009-10-21T10:23:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Fall Craft with Moms 4 Christ Playgroup

2009-10-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Visiting Baby Ryley/Miss Emily

2009-10-19T09:17:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: ENT/Audiologist Appointments at CHKD (for Jeremiah)

2009-10-15T10:47:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: 1st Day at Sierra's House/Play Date with Miss Emily/Ryley

2009-10-14T09:14:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: "Pooh" and "Eeyore" Costumes & Play Date at MacArthur Center Play Area with Miss Allison, Lily, and Vaughn

2009-10-09T08:39:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Miss Lettie's House (M4C)

2009-10-06T08:49:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Walmart "Adventure"

2009-10-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: MacArthur Center Play Area with Miss Allison/Lily and Miss Kristen/Wyatt

2009-10-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Chrysler Museum of Art with Moms 4 Christ Playgroup

2009-10-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Walk/Playground/Picnic at Oak Grove Lake Park with Friends

2009-09-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Campostella Square Park

2009-09-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Neptune Festival at Virginia Beach Oceanfront

2009-09-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date/Walk at MacArthur Center Play Area / Funny Home Pics

2009-09-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Greenbrier Mall Walk/Play Area

2009-09-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at the Zoo with ASBC friends

2009-09-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Walk/Picnic at Botanical Gardens

2009-09-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at City View Park (M4C)

2009-09-21T09:06:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Walk/Swinging/Picnic at Oak Grove Lake Park

2009-09-18T09:27:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Jumpin Monkey with M4C Playgroup

2009-09-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date/Walk at Botanical Gardens with LOTS of friends :)

2009-09-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Mt. Trashmore Park with M4C group and Miss Brandy/Ethan

2009-09-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at MacArthur Center Mall Play Area with Miss Danielle, Corynn, and Chloe

2009-09-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Miss Allison's

2009-09-11T09:41:00.001-07:00

MacArthur Center Mall Play Area

2009-09-10T09:54:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Lynnhaven Mall with Kristen and Wyatt Howard (and Coastal Community Church play group)

2009-09-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date in our "new" Play Area (garage) with Kristen and Wyatt Howard

2009-09-08T09:33:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date/Walk at Allison and Lily's House

2009-09-04T09:53:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Lynnhaven Mall Play Area/Lunch Date with Sierra's Mommy (Karen)

2009-09-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Play Date at Schafer Home (Moms 4 Christ Playgroup)

2009-09-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and Sierra: Greenbrier Mall Pet Store and Friendly's Restaurant

2009-09-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Adventure Begins: Jeremiah and Sierra, Fall 2009!

2009-08-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

While my good friend Karen student teaches this Fall, I have the great honor of taking care of her daughter, Sierra, who just happens to be one month older than Jeremiah. They always have so much fun together!!! Today was the first day that I babysat for Sierra. Sierra and Jeremiah have had quite a good day so far, and are napping at the moment. I decided to take this "down time" to post some pics/details on our blog. So far today, the two cuties have enjoyed a walk in the double stroller, racing cars down the hallway, dancing to music, practicing animal sounds with Baby Einstein, coloring pictures, and making music (out of keyboard/drum/guitar toys). Sadly, our morning walk was cut short, when it started to sprinkle just a bit. :( I just have to add: I recently bought the double stroller from a posting I found on Craigslist for $12!!! What a deal!

This is what we have planned for the rest of the week:

*Tuesday: mall walk/lunch date scheduled with some of my friends

*Wednesday: "splish splash" play date with our M4C play group

*Thursday: still "undecided" (possibly swimming with my friend Emily)

*Friday: play date at our friend, Allison's house (five babies all together!!)

What a fun, busy week! No matter what, I praise God for this precious time I have with Jeremiah and Sierra. What a blessing to be able to watch them grow and learn....together!

Beach Day (One and Only this Summer): Virginia Beach Oceanfront

2009-08-30T11:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we spent just a bit of time at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. In previous summers, we've made it to the beach every other week, or at least once a month. But since we were gone almost the entire summer (end of June, all of July, beginning of August), we obviously haven't had many chances to "hit the beach." We decided this weekend was the perfect weekend to go, because there was a surfing competition going on. About eight years ago, I learned to surf, and even though I'm not that good, I still love to participate. I especially love to watch other people (who are actually really good!) surf. Because I've done it quite a few times, I know it takes great swimming ability, major balance, and extreme muscle control. So I am just amazed when I watch "real" surfers!! Enjoy the pics!!

Ocean Breeze Waterpark: Virginia Beach, VA

2009-08-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to Ocean Breeze Waterpark with our friends, the Wood Family. Ryan (age 9) was in my first grade class three years ago, and since then, I have become quite good friends with his mom, Amber. Amber and her husband, Johnny, invited Jeremiah and I to join them today, and we were so happy to go! Jeremiah and Randy (18 mos.) had a blast together, as always. The last time I went to Ocean Breeze was over three years ago, when I worked at a summer day camp for ASCS. We used to bring the day campers there every Tuesday. This was Jeremiah's first time there, so it was fun to see his reaction to everything. Ocean Breeze had a wonderful little baby play area for Randy and Jeremiah to splash around in, complete with mini water slides and a lazy river. How fun for them! Amber and Johnny were kind enough to watch Jeremiah and Randy (a big job--to chase after two toddlers!), while Ryan and I went on ALL 16 of the water slides together. We had such a great time! God blessed us with a beautiful, sunny day. It was supposed to rain, but thankfully, the rain held off until late afternoon, as we were leaving the park. What a fun day! See pics below!

Glad To Be "Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig!"

2009-08-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Has it really been three weeks since I last updated this blog?! Wow! Time flies! We had a wonderful time in Wisconsin, but we are so glad to finally be home! We returned home one week ago Tuesday, and have been busy busy busy every since, catching up with bills/paperwork/house stuff, hanging out with friends we haven't seen all summer, etc. So I am now just getting the chance to post pictures and write details about our two week trip in Wisconsin. God kept us safe through all of our travels (flying and driving) and blessed us with being able to introduce Jeremiah to tons of family and friends. God also brought us through one of the hardest things we've had to go through: seeing our son in the hospital (more details below: keep reading). Through it all, God was there, every step of the way....just as He always is!

Here are the highlighs of our trip:

Seeing Jake and Calle's New House

We started off our two-week (7/28-8/11) trip to Wisconsin by flying into Chicago, IL, and driving 2 1/2 hours up to Jake and Calle's house (brother and sis-in-law/bride and groom!) to stay with them at their new home in Madison overnight. It was great to see the home they just purchased, and epsecially great to see them!

Visiting College Friends

The next morning, we drove up to Trego, WI to see Lisa (a friend from college) and her adorable son Ryan, who happens to be just three months older than Jeremiah. The last time we saw each other was when we were both pregnant with the boys, so it was fun to have the boys meet for the first time. They played so well together. Jeremiah especially enjoyed Ryan's HUGE play gym and car. That evening, we drove down to Eau Claire (my college town!) to meet up with my friends Sherri, Ashley, Sarah, Amber, and Bethany for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It was so fun to see two pregnant bellies: Sarah and Amber are both expecting babies!! That night and the next day, we stayed with Jeremy's family in Chippewa Falls (just next to Eau Claire) and had a blast with them!

Meeting Uncle Shane for the First Time

At the end of that week, it was finally time to drive to Sturgeon Bay (eastern WI) to see my family!! My older brother Shane was already there, and it was fun to introduce him to Jeremiah. :) Jeremiah had a great time playing with his Uncle Shane. Since Shane's family wasn't there yet, and Jeremy also was not there yet, we decided to go on a "date" the next night, just the two of us! What a blast! We ate cheese curds, had ice cream, watched a sunset, watched fireworks, and talked for hours. What a special memory!

Church Picnic

Every summer, my hometown Church, First Baptist Church of Sturgeon Bay, has a Church Picnic. Since we live so far away, and are rarely home in the summer, I haven't been to one of those picnics in a long time! So I finally got to attend one, and I saw lots of old friends! Fun!

Cousins

The week of the wedding, family started pouring in! This was my favorite part, because I just love having everyone together, especially since it hardly ever happens. On Monday, the rest of my brother Shanes family came (my sister-in-law Janette, my nieces: Anastasia and Alexia). Unfortuntely my nephew Nate was unable to join us. :( Jeremiah met Janette, "Stasia" and "Lexi" for the first time! That day, my sister Chasey and her family also arrived. Jeremiah knows my sister's family well, as they only live three hours north of us in Virginia. It was so awesome to see the cousins playing together that week. We just missed Bronson and Taylor (who came just before the wedding) and of course Nate, too (Jeremiah's other cousins, my niece and nephews). Chasey and her family were staying right down the road from my parents house, at Bridgeport, so we all enjoyed splashing around in the two pools together! How fun!

Family Pictures/My Dad's 60th Birthday

Since my dad will be turning 60 this month, my mom decided to suprise him with a birthday party (since most of our family was there by that time--two days before the wedding) and also hire a photographer to take family pictures. We had such a blast! I think my dad felt really honored!! Here's the link, if you'd like to look at the pictures (you don't have to have a password, but rather, just have to type in your email address): http://normannphoto.instaproofs.com/enterEvent.php?id=143460&returnURL=/collection.php?event=143460

Getting Ready for the Wedding

The week of the wedding, we were all busy getting things ready for the big day. Three days before the wedding, all the "ladies" in our family (me, Calle-the bride, Chasey-my sister, Janette-my sis in law, Nana-my sister's mother in law), helped Calle decorate her programs. We shared some great laughs together! The day before the wedding, we helped decorate the tent, where the reception would be held. That night, we enjoyed a wonderful rehearsal dinner (fish boil!) at Scaturo's (where Jake and I used to work!) and Jeremiah got to meet my grandparents, his Great-Grandma and Grandpa Walker!!

Wedding Day

It was supposed to rain on Jake and Calle's wedding day, but we prayed, and thankfully, God blessed us with a beautiful, sunny day! What an amazing outdoor wedding! It was held at Wave Pointe Resort/Marina, right by the water!!! I had three jobs: doing the flower girls' hair (my nieces Lexi and Madison), being Calle's personal attendant, and helping run the sound for the wedding! We all had fun dancing together too!

Toward the end of our trip, we faced one of the scariest things we've ever been through:

Jeremiah was hospitalized for Pneumonia...

Here's the story....

On the morning of the wedding, we took Jeremiah to the ER because he had a 105 temperature. The were able to lower his temperature, and the also took a blood test, which indicated he had a virus. They sent him home, with instructions to give Tylenol/Motrin every three hours and keep him hydrated. So Jeremy stayed with him all day while I went to the wedding (they stopped by for just five minutes, as that was all Jeremiah could handle---he was so sick). Later that night, we took him back to the ER because he was not being very responsive and was very lethargic. We were in the ER with him all night as they gave him a battery of tests: spinal tap (to rule out menangitis--Praise God that was negative!), nasal influenza test (that was negative), blood tests (still viral), heart monitor, oxygen monitor, and a chest x-ray. The chest x-ray found the beginning states of Viral Pneumonia. So he was put on oxygen and give IVs the rest of the night and we were admitted into the hospital for all of Sunday. God worked a true miracle, and my Monday morning, the doctors and nurses were in shock by how well he was doing. They gave him another chest x-ray and his lungs were completely clear! Amazing! What a miracle! God is so good! On Monday they discharged us, and gave us the clearance to still fly out on Tuesday, to return home to Virginia. This was a very scary experience, but God was with us every step of the way, and even though we were worried about our precious little boy, we felt God's blanket of peace around us the whole time. We know that God allows us to go through things for a reason. We hope that someday we will be able to use this story to share with others how BIG our God really is!!!

Visiting College Friends in WI: Lisa/Ryan, Sherri, Ashley, Sarah, Amber, and Bethany

2009-08-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah's First Time Meeting: Uncle Shane/Fam, Great-Grandma/Grandpa Walker, lots of Great-Aunts/Uncles

2009-08-19T12:13:00.001-07:00

Wisconsin Moments(Visiting Renards Cheese Store, Hanging Out with Grammy and Grampy, Wedding Suit, 5th Haircut) / Jake and Calle's Wedding

2009-08-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Farewell, Washington....Wisconsin, Here We Come!!!

2009-07-27T14:04:00.001-07:00

Our last weekend in Washington was just perfect. Here's a little "recap":

On Saturday, we took the foot ferry over to Seattle for the day. The ferry is just so fun! We got some really great pics of the Seattle skyline from aboard the ferry. The main reason for visiting Seattle again, was to go up into the Space Needle, where you can see all of Seattle from really high in the sky. The first time we visited, we didn't have a whole lot of time, so we just stood next to the Space Needle and took pictures. But after hearing friends rant and rave about the view, we decided we just had to check it our for ourselves. So we did! What an amazing view from the top! Wow! The Space Needle is located in Seattle Center, where there are all kinds of fun things to do. So we spent the afternoon exploring that area. To get to and from Seattle Center, from where we unloaded from the ferry, we took the monorail. It was so fun! Of course, this was Jeremiah's first time on monorail, so it was great to be able to see his reaction to it! On Saturday evening, we stopped downtown to watch the "Alaskan Airlines Seafair Parade." There were some really cool floats, and we were especially shocked when we saw former Green Bay Packer coach, Mike Holmgren, riding in one of the cars! So cool! As we got ready to board the ferry, headed back toward Bremerton, God blessed us with the most amazing sunset! What a way to end our trip!

Yesterday (Sunday) we enjoyed a great sermon at Olympic View Assembly of God Church, followed by a really yummy potluck. Gotta love church potlucks! Then we relaxed together as family all afternoon and evening. So nice!

I've been packing all day today, to get ready for our trip to Wisconsin. We will fly out tomorrow morning at 7:30am, which means we'll need to wake up around 4:30am to get to the airport on time. If everything goes as planned, we will have two flights (Seattle to Salt Lake City-2 hrs, Salt Lake City to Chicago-3 hrs) and will land in Chicago around 6:00pm. Long day! We are so excited to see our friends and family. Here's the "plan" for our two-week trip to Wisconsin:

*July 28: fly to Chicago, IL, rent car, drive 2 + hours to Madison, WI to stay with Jake and Calle

*July 29: drive 5 hrs to Trego-see Lisa/Ryan, then Eau Claire-see college friends, then family

*July 30: spend day with Jeremy's family

*July 31: breakfast with Jeremy's family, then head 4 hrs to Sturgeon Bay to see my family:)

*August 1-10: family :) Jake/Calle's wedding (8th)!!! :)

*August 11: fly back to VA

If you are reading this, please do me a HUGE favor and stop to say a quick prayer for us, as we travel. We have quite journey ahead of us, and I am praying for God's protection the whole time. Thanks in advance for your prayers! Because we will be so busy visiting friends/family over the next two weeks, I will be taking a hiatus from this blog, but will be sure to post again, as soon as we are finally "home, sweet, home" in Virginia in mid-August! Be blessed!

2009-07-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Making Plans for our Last Weekend in Washington

2009-07-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this weekend will be our last weekend in Washington. Even though Jeremiah and I will be leaving on Tuesday for WI, Jeremy will be staying here to finish his transfer through Friday (July 31st), then will head back to VA for a week to check back into the Portsmouth shipyard, then will join us in WI on August 5th. I have a feeling that these next couple of weeks are going to fly by quickly between seeing friends, hanging out with family, and helping with the wedding! I can't wait to see everyone! If Jeremy doesn't have to work tomorrow, we hope to take the foot ferry from Bremerton to Seattle for the day to see Pike Place Market one more time, and also get a chance to actually go up into the Space Needle, which overlooks the entire city. It's supposed to be sunny and in the 80s tomorrow, so that would be the perfect day to see the city again! I SO hope Jeremy doesn't have to work! Sometime this weekend, I'd also like to head to downtown Silverdale for the "Whaling Days." I'm not exactly sure what that all entails, but maybe we'll just have to check it our for ourselves, and find out!! No matter what, I hope that we get some good, quality time in together, as our little family of three. :)

Our 5th Washington Play Date!!

2009-07-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

God has truly blessed us with all the play dates we've been on while we've been here in Washington. We've had an average of about one per week (one of the weeks we had two). What a tremendous blessing, not only to have toddlers for Jeremiah to play with, but also for me to enjoy some much-needed adult conversation! Here's a "recap" of the play dates we've been on, since we've been here:

1st: Peacock Playtime (with Best family-twins from plane)

2nd: Point Defiance Zoo/Aquarium (with Grine family)

3rd: Mall Play Area (with Best family)

4th: Trampoline/Wagon (Grines's house)

5th: Bremerton Fountains/Evergreen Park/McDonalds Play Area (with Best family)

So, today we had our fifth play date! Wow! Fun times! It was supposed to be warm outside today, so our original plan was to take the kids, Jeremiah, and his two new friends, one-year-old twins (one girl, one boy) to the Bremerton Fountains to splash around. The six fountains are all lined up right next to each other at Harborside Park in Bremerton, right between the ferry and the Shipyard (the shipyard where Jeremy works). Since it was so chilly, Jeremiah just stuck his little toes in (see pic). Jeremiah has become quite good friends with his new little pals. We even caught him holding hands with one of them (see pic)! Adorable! We were only there for a few minutes before the kids started getting fussy, so we headed to Evergreen Park, where the kids played on the jungle gym and climbed the climbing wall. We had been there once before, but this was our friends' first time there. Then, we went to McDonalds, where the kids ate chicken nuggets (Jeremiah's favorite!) for lunch and played in the indoor play area (see pics).

What a fun play date! Since we leave next Tuesday already, this will probably be our last play date. :( Even though we are sad that our time is coming to a close, we are also excited for the next "phase" of our big summer adventure, as soon, Jeremiah will see both sets of grandparents and all of his aunts, uncles, and cousins! We can't wait!!!

Picnic in the Park (a restaurant)

2009-07-22T13:03:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah took a walk near Gateway Park today. It was only 60 degrees, so it was a bit chilly! We had to take jackets with us. Just recently, we saw an advertisement for a new restaurant, located right down the street, called "Picnic in the Park." So as we were finishing our walk, we stopped there to have some lunch. It was really tasty! Jeremiah gobbled up his grilled cheese sandwich, which was good to see, since he's been a bit picky lately, and not eating as much as I'd like him to. We also shared a fruit smoothy!! Yum! We are really looking forward to our play date at the Bremerton fountains tomorrow, and are hoping for some warm weather!!!

4 Weeks Down, 1 To Go!

2009-07-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe that Jeremiah and I have been here in Washington for exactly four weeks now! That's crazy! Time really has flown by. We leave in exactly one week, to fly to Chicago, then drive up to Wisconsin to see friends, then family for Jake and Calle's wedding. I've pretty much gotten to see everything and meet up with everyone that I wanted to. The only thing left to do is to go back to Seattle and go up into the Space Needle. When we were in Seattle three weekends ago, we stood next to it and took pictures, but we didn't go up into it. The Space Needle takes you WAY high up, where you are able to look out over the entire city of Seattle. My friends, Lisa and Annie, along with a few others, have ranted and raved about the view from the Space Needle, saying that it is definitely a "must see." So, if Jeremy is not working this Saturday, we hope to take the ferry over to Seattle, visit Pike Place Market one last time, and go up into the Space Needle. This whole time we've been here, I've been sure to keep us busy with play dates and other explorations. But this week, I am taking it easy, as I know when we get to Wisconsin, we are going to be crazy, non-stop busy, between visiting some of my college friends, seeing family (both sides), and helping out with the wedding. The only thing on our agenda so far this week is a play date for Thursday, with the twins that we met on the plane. We plan to go and splash around in the fountains in Bremerton. We can't wait!!!

Oregon was BEAUTIFUL!

2009-07-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

I feel so blessed to report that we had a wonderful time driving along the coasts of Washington and Oregon this past weekend! I am still in shock over God's incredible creation! The steep moutains, blue skies, beautiful beaches, and cool rock formations along the coast were all simply breathtaking! I am also so thankful for my friends, Lisa and Annie (from WI), who encouraged me to go on this wonderful adventure! I can see why Washington and Oregon were always some of their favorite states to visit as a family!

Here's a "recap" from our weekend:

We left on Saturday morning and drove two hours west, to Washington's coast. We spent the next two hours driving along the southern coast of Washington, on HWY 101, otherwise known as the "Pacific Coast Scenic Byway" which runs along the entire coast from Washington to California. We drove through a town called "South Bend" which I thought was neat, because my parents were born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. Cool!

We continued on coastal HWY 101, as we crossed the bridge into Oregon. I was so excited, as it was my first time visiting Oregon! We were amazed by the gorgeous coastline we saw from that point on! Wow! Our first stop was in Cannon Beach, in northern Oregon. Movies, such as the popular 1985 "Goonies," have been flimed there because of it's spectacular beauty. We walked around the cute, little downtown area and had some lunch. It was extremely hard to find parking, as this was quite a popular place! The beach was so pretty! The big rock (in our family picture below) is called Haystack Rock, and is the "signature scenery" for Cannon Beach.

After spending a couple hours in Cannon Beach, we drove two more hours south, along the coast, to Lincoln City, OR, where we had reserved a motel for the night. As we drove, we kept seeing Tsunami warning signs! Yikes! I'm sure thankful for the two sunny days the Lord blessed us with! Even with the nice sun, the waves were still huge, and the air was very cold. I can't imagine how it must be when there is a storm....or even worse: a Tsunami!! Eek! As soon as we checked into our motel, we changed into pants and jackets (it was cold!) and headed across the street, to the beach, to take pictures (see below). Our hotel was on the D River (the shortest river in the world!) which empties into the Pacific Ocean (see below). We ate at Kyllos Seafood Restaurant (on the beach) for dinner, and were able to take in the incredible beauty of the gorgeous sunset (see below). Wow!

The next morning, we headed one more hour south, along the coast, to Depoe Bay, then Newport. Newport is about halfway down the Oregon coast. This was, by far, my favorite part of the coastal drive! The beaches along this particular part of the coast were so incredibly beautiful! I made Jeremy stop the car every few minutes so that I could take pictures. Bless his heart----he was so patient with me! We grabbed a very quick bite to eat, and then started to head east on HWY 20, through the mountains, towards Interstate 5, which would take us back to Washington. I was so sad to leave! I wanted to stay longer, but with Jeremy having to work the next day, we wanted to get back at a decent time. The twisty, winding drive through the mountains was beautiful, too.

When we got to Interstate 5, I was thinking, "Oh great. This is going to be boring compared to the coast." But I was wrong! The drive along 5 was actually really pretty too! Yay! Our original plans for Sunday afternoon were to stop in Salem (right along 5) to see Jeremy's Aunt and Uncle, as well as Jeremy's friend. But none of them were available to hang out. Bummer! Oh well! So we kept heading north, toward Portland. We took a little detour so that we could see just a bit of the city. Cool place!

We ended our wonderful weekend by spending time with our new friends, the Grines. We stopped in to see them, since they were on our way home, about an hour south of Silverdale. The guys (Travis and Jeremy) went golfing while Sarah, Sarah's mom, me, and the kids (Seth, Ava, and Jeremiah), hung out at the Grine's house, eating pizza, jumping on the trampoline, and having lots of fun. It was just so cute to see Jeremiah and Ava play together again (these were the same friends we went to the zoo/aquarium with last week). They love each other!

We got home around 10pm last night, vegged out for a while, then headed to bed. What a wonderful weekend!

Today, Jeremiah and I have enjoyed sleeping in until 11am, and taking it easy. I can't believe we only have one more week left here! We leave for WI a week from tomorrow, already! Time flies! Through it all, God is good!!!

Oregon Pics!!!

2009-07-20T14:59:00.001-07:00

More Pics!!!

2009-07-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Oregon, here we come!!!

2009-07-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to report that everything worked out with Jeremy's work schedule and he has the weekend off! He's also able to use the rental car! So, that means we finally get to go to Oregon together! Jeremy has been there a few times before, but Jeremiah and I have never been, so we are really looking forward to it. My good friends Lisa (from college) and Annie (Lisa's mom) have let me in on all the "hot spots" in Oregon, as they used to travel there all the time as a family, when Lisa was growing up. So I already have my list of places that I want to see. :) Our "plan" is to leave early Saturday morning and spend the whole day driving along the beautiful coast of southern Washington and northern Oregon. At the top of my list of places to see, is Cannon Beach, where many movies have been filmed. I am really looking forward to seeing all of the moutains and gorgeous sights along the coastline. We have reserved a motel room in Lincoln City, which is about half-way down the Oregon coast. So we will stay there Saturday night. The motel is right next to a small state park with a public beach, so it will be fun to be able to walk along the shore there. Our original plan was to borrow our friends' camping equipment and camp somewhere along the coast, but at the last minute like this, there were no campsites still available. Oh well! On Sunday, we hope to drive over to Salem to see Jeremy's Aunt Joanna and Uncle John, and then meet up with Jeremy's friend Dan, who he knows from when they were in the Navy together. Dan was recently married, so Jeremiah and I will be able to meet his new wife. It will be fun to see everyone, since I haven't seen them since our wedding (three years ago) and they have never even met Jeremiah. Since we will be gone all weekend, my next post will be on Monday, where I'll be sure to update with lots of details and pictures!

Making Plans...

2009-07-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Since we had a sort of busy day yesterday, I decided that we would just lay low today and concentrate on making plans for the upcoming weekend. We are hoping and praying that Jeremy is off from work this weekend, and also that he can take the rental car (which he shares with another worker), so we can go to Oregon for the weekend! We are so excited! My good friend Lisa (from college) has told me all kinds of wonderful things about Oregon, so I've always wanted to visit. While we are there, we hope to stop in and see Jeremy's Aunt Joanna (Jeremy's mom's sister) and Uncle John in Salem. Hopefully, we'll also be able to visit Jeremy's friend Dan (from the Navy) and his wife, who also live in Salem. We really would like to take our time driving down the coast of Oregon on Saturday, then camping on Saturday night. My new friend Sarah (the friend we went to the zoo with last week) has graciously offered to let us borrow their camping gear so that we don't have to worry about renting it. What a blessing! On Sunday we hope to do a little more sightseeing, followed by a nice visit with our family/friends. Everything is up in the air at this moment. So, we'll see what happens!

Our 3rd Washington Play Date!!!

2009-07-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

We had quite a busy and fun day today! We spent the morning in the pool, which made Jeremiah so tired that he took a three hour nap. Wow! After Jeremiah's nap, our new friends came over to our apartment to have snack time and play with toys. This is the family with the one-year-old twins, who we met when we were coming off the plane three weeks ago. They are also the same family we had our first Washington play date with (Peacock Playtime). After the kids had had their fill of snack and toys, we all loaded up in their mini-van and headed to the mall, where there is a play area, specially designed for young children. We've been there a few times, but our new friends had never been, so we got to "show them around." All three babies had a great time crawling through the tunnels, climbing up the padded slides, and walking around the play area together. We just got home, and Jeremiah is looking REALLY tired! He will sleep well tonight, I'm sure! We are planning another play date with this same family sometime next week. We would all like to visit the Bremerton fountains together, where people of all ages are allowed to jump in and swim around. We know the fountains well, as they are right next to the hotel that we stayed in the first week we were here. We just haven't been swimming in them yet, so it will be fun to experience that too! Praise God for play dates!! So far, we've had one per week, since we've been here. God is good!

Gateway Park/Jeremiah is 14 Months Old Today!

2009-07-14T15:10:00.001-07:00

The weather was just perfect today, as it was about 65/70 degrees, with a nice warm sun, cool breeze, and clear skies. So I figured, what a great day for a walk in the park! Just down the road from our apartment is Gateway Park, where there's an area for skate boards and also some trails. I can't believe we've been here three weeks, and just visited this park for the first time today! I was expecting just a small trail, but was pleasantly surprised to find a trail that went through a beautiful field and led to another trail....and another trail....and another trail....and so on. As far as I can tell, there are four or five different trails that we could have taken! Wow! We only had time to do two of them today, since it was getting close to Jeremiah's nap time. We'll have to go back soon to discover the rest! Some of the trails were paved, some were wooden (my favorite!), and some were gravel, so I took pictures of each kind. I also had to stop and take pictures of all the wild flowers and the flowing streams. One of the trails led us to a picnic table, where we had a picnic lunch. Jeremiah chowed down on his pbj sandwich, bananas, and milk, as we enjoyed the peaceful sights and sounds around us. What a gorgeous place the Lord created! The entire time I was walking the trails, I thought of my parents, as they LOVE to take in God's creation by spending lots of time outdoors. They would really enjoy this place. I really miss them and am so excited to see them in just a little over two weeks, when we head to Wisconsin!

Today is July 14th, which means my little Jeremiah is now 14 months old! He's 14 months on the 14th...cool, huh?! Wow! What a big boy! This first 14 months of being a mommy has been incredible, and I am so excited to see what God has in store for us in Jeremiah's next 14 months and more!

"No!"

2009-07-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

Recently, Jeremiah has started to say the word, "no." Eek! That can't be good if one of his only words is "no," right? So far he says mama, dada, baba, duck, uh-oh, hi (sounds like ha), yay (sounds ya).....and....no. Since he now walks all the time, he gets into EVERYTHING! He LOVES to toliet, so now we have to keep the bathroom door closed at all times. He also loves to climb in and out of low cabinets, which I don't mind all that much, as long as there is nothing dangerous for him to touch (glass, chemicals, etc.). He really likes to dig through the trash---gross! But more than any of these things, his favorite things to play with are power cords. Whenever he gets near a power cord (or anything else he isn't supposed to be getting into), we take both of his hands into our hands, look him in the eyes and say, "Jeremiah, no." Then we take him away from that area, across the room, etc., to try to remove the temptation. So now, when he is getting close to touching something on the "no-no" list, he turns to see if we are watching him, and when he makes eye contact with us, he says "No, no" to himself! What?! It's cute, and it's hard not to laugh. But the not-so-cute thing about his new word is that he has learned to use it when he doesn't want to do something. For example, if we are trying to put him into his pack n play and he doesn't want to go, he shouts, "NO, NO!" Or if we try to take something away that he isn't supposed to play with, he says, "NO, NO!" So that's not fun! Now, instead of using the word "no," we are trying to use the word "stop" when he is doing something he shouldn't be doing, just so that he isn't hearing "no" all the time. We'll see if this helps!

Olympic View Assembly of God Church

2009-07-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

Today, Jeremiah and I tried out Olympic View Assembly of God Church. Jeremy wasn't able to join us because he had to work. :( My sister goes to an Assembly of God Church in northern VA, and I've always enjoyed attending with her when we are visiting her area, so I had a feeling I would like this church too. I was right! The worship was GREAT! My favorite way of talking to God is through music, so the worship part of any church service is always really important to me. Most churches only do three or four songs and then they are done, and I'm always saying in my head, "I need more! Can we keep singing, please?!" But this church did a total of seven songs, scattered throughout their service! What an experience! All (but one) were songs I was really familiar with, so that was nice. Jeremiah seemed to enjoy the nursery too, with all of it's toys and things to climb on. Jeremiah is napping now, and I think I'm going to read a good book. Tonight, when Jeremy is done with work, we have dinner plans with our friends, the Scotts. I had the Scotts' daughter in my class two years ago and they now live out here, so it will be fun to reconnect with them. Sadly, their daughter (my former) student, is visiting other family right now, so I won't get to see her. :( I'm looking forward to catching up with the Scotts and getting their ideas about fun things to do and see around this area.

"OH, POOP!"

2009-07-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and I went on a little "adventure" to the library today. The bus got us almost all the way there, so we only had to do a little bit of walking, which I was very thankful for, since it was just under 90 degrees outside and VERY sunny! We were both exhausted by the time we got home, and Jeremiah had a VERY WET diaper from the two sippy cups of water/juice I gave him to drink. As I was changing him, I noticed the start of a very small diaper rash. He hasn't gotten one of those in a while. So I decided to let him have a few minutes of non-diaper time. BAD idea! Just last night, Jeremy warned me that I should NOT let him have non-diaper time while we're here in this condo, because of all of the carpets. Back home, we don't have any carpets, but rather all hardwood floors, so if he poops or pees, it really isn't a big deal---we just wipe it up with clorox wipes. I literally went into the bedroom for 30 seconds (seriously-that's it!) to get our library books from my backpack, so we could start reading them together. As soon as I came back into the living room, Jeremiah was sitting in a HUGE pile of poop, and on his way over to "paint the wall" with it! Poop was smeared all over the carpet surrounding him. Yikes! So I quickly grabbed him and gave him a bath, then scrubbed the carpets. I scrubbed...and scrubbed...and scrubbed...with soap...we don't have any carpet cleaner (we'll have to get some now!)...and the stain is mostly gone, but still sort of there. I am dreading tonight, because when Jeremy gets home, he is going to kill me! He just warned me about this last night! Uh oh! I'm in big trouble! I've learned my lesson! The diaper stays on at all times!

Point Deffiance Zoo/Aquarium

2009-07-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

Today, we went on our second Washington play date! We went to the Point Deffiance Zoo/Aquarium (near Tacoma/Seattle) with our new friends, Sarah, Seth, and Ava. Sarah and I met through her sister Lynsey, who I know Virginia Beach. As Jeremiah and I were getting ready to leave for Washington, Lynsey mentioned that her sister Sarah had just moved to Washington (Tacoma area) with her husband and two kids (Seth-5, Ava-1). So Sarah and I found each other on facebook, exchanged numbers, and made a play date for today! We had a blast, and were at the zoo from 10-5 together! We loved watching Jeremiah and Ava play together. They were so cute! Ava loved to give hugs, and Jeremiah actually returned her hug once! Seth was such a little gentleman, holding doors for us, being gentle with the babies, and letting us choose our favorite places to go before he made his choices. What a sweet kid! Some of our favorite exhibits included: elephants, polar bears, puffins (swimming birds!), starfish, seals, sea otters, and wallabies. The kids also loved the fountains!

More Pics!!!

2009-07-10T20:55:00.001-07:00

Errand Day :)

2009-07-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah and I had all kinds of errands to run this morning (Walgreens, Library, Dollar Tree, etc.) so we took the bus over to the mall area and were busy busy! We are looking forward to having a friend over for dinner tonight. We are also planning on a play date to the Tacoma Zoo/Aquarium tomorrow! Looking forward to that!

Jeremiah LOVES his new "Jet Ski" floaty!!

2009-07-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Since we had to pack light, we were unable to bring Jeremiah's leap pad water floaty with us to Washington. I was so sad, since I knew we would be in the pool a lot. :( But, recently, when we were grocery shopping at Albertson's, we found a really cheap "Jet Ski" floaty for Jeremiah to use! Yippeeee! We filled it up with air as soon as we got home, and before we could even get it into the water, Jeremiah crawled right in and scooted himself around in it (on the carpet)!! I forgot to bring my camera to the pool on the night that we first used the new floaty, but I actually remembered it when we went to the pool today. If you look closely in one of the pictures, you can see him kicking his little feet, which is a huge deal to me, as a former swim instructor! I try to expose Jeremiah to the pool as often as possible, in hopes to eventually teach him how to swim. Poor little guy is teething like crazy right now (four teeth are coming in at once), so he is chewing on everything and anything....including his new floaty! We just hope he doesn't pop a hole in it with his sharp little teeth! Eek!

My 26th Birthday was GREAT!!!

2009-07-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

I had the most wonderful day today! What a GREAT birthday! Jeremiah and I slept in and then were cheerfully awakened with "birthday" calls from my mother-in-law, mom, dad, sister-in-law, sister, and wonderful friend. I was on the phone talking to all these wonderful people from about 7:30am until around noon! I was also blessed with all kinds of texts, emails, and facebook messages. God has blessed me with some really wonderful people that He has placed in my life! Jeremiah took a 3 1/2 hour nap, so I was able to kick back and relax with a good book (one of my favorite things to do---which I hardly ever have time to do). Jeremy got home from work a bit early and was able to take me out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. He also treated me to a delicious Mrs. Fields cookie cake and some other little treats. Then I enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing massage at a spa. Wow! What a day! God is soooooooooooo good!

4th of July Weekend!!!

2009-07-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

The shipyard gave Jeremy a three-day weekend (Friday-Sunday) for the 4th of July! Yay! What a blessing, especially since he had been working 14-hour shifts for nine days straight before that. So we decided to take advantage of the time we had together and go to Seattle for the weekend. Our original plan was to take the car ferry from Bremerton, right into Seattle. But because of traffic, we decided to go to a different car ferry, which left from Kingston, and docked in Edmonds, which is just north of Seattle. We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend together, visiting friends and sightseeing. Keep reading (below) for more details and pictures!

Ferry to Edmonds (North of Seattle)

2009-07-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

We took the car ferry to Edmonds, which is just north of Seattle. We enjoyed being able to get a closer look at the mountains and surrounding areas.