Soon to be a Daddy

Hello all this is Nick.
Since Candace changed the blog to "our" blog, I thought I would make an entry. Well, yesterday we went to the Beach, we figured that we better get out and do stuff while we have a chance. People like to tell us that we won't have time once the baby is born. I get that, but just don't need every member of St. Paul to continue to remind me! The beach was great and I was able to find a lot of shells that I am going to use when I talk to the Kindergarten class this week about Baptism. Candace wanted to take a "walk" on the beach and got upset with me when I wanted to stop and look for shells. She said she wanted to exercise and I said I wanted to stop on occasion and pick up shells...she ended up going for a "walk" and I stayed and picked up shells.
A lot has been going on at St. Paul this year. I am working on our summer mission trips to Panama and the Dominican Republic. I am really excited to go on these mission trips!
Until next time America....

Squee!!! :)

At long last we have finally ordered our flooring for the back bedrooms! For those of you who have been keeping up with our "home improvements", you know that this is another step in the master plan. The carpet back there has GOT to be some kind of a health hazard, and I told Nick long ago that we will not be putting our child in a room with that atrocious carpet. Also, it has been a source of embarrassment every time we have company and someone has to sleep in one of those rooms. Sooooo, no more! The next time our parents visit (sorry Murray, it won't be finished by the time you get here!) we will have beautiful new floors. Behold:

Isn't it beautiful?!?! It's wood laminate in "Rustic Oak". Fabulous! You may or may not know that Nick and I are avid online shoppers. Neither of us shop in the traditional way very much, so we usually find all the goods online. Nick in particular has a special talent of finding the best deals - I really don't know how he does it! In addition, we are also "thrifty" and always comparison shop and look for the best deals and how to make our dollar go the farthest.
That said, several months ago we began looking and comparing flooring for the bedrooms. Started with the regulars..Home Depot, Lowes...and then we started looking online. I found this website "Build Direct" which is basically whole sale flooring shipped to your house. We saw some that we really liked and ordered samples a couple months ago. We really liked the color and pattern, so yesterday, we placed the order! We were able to get a much higer quality product for just as much, if not a little less, so we are happy!
Once it comes in, we will be doing the install ourselves....much like many of the other projects we have done. We've sure learned a lot, and in the end, it has always come out looking pretty good (if I do say so myself)! This project looks doable, just time consuming - making sure everything is lined up properly, ect.
Thus begins what people refer to as "nesting" I suppose....We've got some clean up to do (where will the furniture go, and what junk can we get rid of) and then painting of what will become the nursery. I'm thinking of light blue regardless....blue is both mine and Nick's favorite color. I guess we'll see. They may not make any "girl" nursery decor in shades of blue if peanut turns out to be a little lady....
That, though, is a post for another day and time.

Surprise!

This past weekend I got to be a part of a good old fashioned surprise! It's been a while since I've had an opportunity like that, and let me tell you how much fun it was! :) Friday, I took a half day from work and flew to Kansas City to surprise my sister-in-law, Abby. Her family threw her a bridal shower Saturday.
With the provision and generosity of a dear church member, I was able to afford a plane ticket and join in on the festivities! It was a lovely shower, and it was so great to be able to see everyone - Moss' and Zimmerschieds all in one whack. Living in Florida is hard when it comes to family time, so we always cherish every moment we get with them.
We feel like we will be spoiled this year with all the great opportunities we will have to see and spend time with our families. A couple weeks ago, my dad came for a quick visit. In May, Murray (Nick's brother) will come and visit us for a few days. June will take us back to Missouri for Abby and Michael's wedding. In August, Gary and Nadine (Moss) will be coming down for my graduation, and hopefully my mom, Janet, will also be able to come....we are still working on it. November is the ETA of little Moss, and our family will be down to visit, meet the new one, and celebrate the baptism! We are already feeling some pressure to travel to Missouri for Christmas - it is the Moss year - but I said we will just play it by ear
Needless to say, we will be getting lots of good quality time this year!! Nick and I truly are blessed to have and be a part of such wonderful, loving, and Christ-centered families. We really couldn't ask for more.
So anyway, hope you enjoyed the surprise visit from "Uncle Tom", Abby! We will see you in 5 1/2 weeks!
P.S. I will try to post a few pictures as soon as Nick uploads them....

I spoke too soon

Well, I had mentioned that I thought the worst was over....that was my big mistake. Peanut has been extra naughty the past couple of days, and now, to top it off, I have a head cold. Woohoo.
This is just not a convenient week to be sick. I have lots going on, and want to be able to enjoy it all. Oh well, I will just pray that I can kick it fast.
On a brighter note: So far, the visit with dad has been good. I picked him up on Saturday evening, and we went out to a nice Italian restaurant in Lakeland called Mario's. It was fabulous, and as a bonus there was a man playing beautiful guitar music the whole time we were there! It was fun. Yesterday, we went to church, had a nice lunch at a salad and sandwich shop - Crispers - ate outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Later in the afternoon after a catnap, dad and I went and walked around Lake Hollingsworth (about 3 miles around)while Nick worked and had HS youth night.
Today is the boys day together, at least for the first half. Sadly, I have to come to work, but I came in early so I could leave early. Nick and dad are going to run a couple errands, eat at Rib Crib (I don't know which one is more excited about that! :))Then, they are going to see the Ben Stein documentary "Expelled" at the movies. I went with some friends on Friday night, and it was great! Very interesting what is happening in the scientific community. It's shows how advocates of Intelligent Design are being ostracized and "expelled" from the scientific community. It is very interesting, and opens the gate way to lots of good discussion. I would highly recommend going to see it. You can read more about it on the website: http://www.expelledthemovie.com/.
Anyway, I better get to working so I can leave early and enjoy the last day with my dad!

It's the little things in life....

Well, my wonderful husband is off again....this time to Minnesota. He is going to a conference on how to handle "crises" during mission trips. He was really excited about going, so I am hoping that it will be a good one. It'll be great for him since he's taking a group of High School kids to the Dominican Republic this summer. He'll be back late Saturday night, though, so it's a quick trip.
In pregnancy news, I think (and pray) that the worst of the "morning sickness" is over! I laugh about it, though (you have to) and jokingly say "I don't know if I'm getting better or just used to the pain." (I'm pretty sure that's in a country song, but I can't think of which one it is.) The fatigue is still heavy, though.
I have been blessed with a friend at work who has a little 2 year old. She has been very sweet to me (we walk a mile to a mile and a half every day on our break), and today gave me a book on breastfeeding. It's from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and looks like a good one. Since this is totally foreign and something I already worry about, it'll be nice to read through it and at least try to convince myself that I'll be more prepared when the time comes!
As you may or may not have noticed, I finally figured out how to put the baby ticker on my blog. Isn't it CUTE!!!? I love it. :)I get excited over the smallest things, hence the title of the post. The website is really cool, and I can create a new one after the baby is born with their name and all. :)
A good friend from church was so sweet and is lending me LOTS of her maternity clothes. She just had a baby at the beginning of February, and is just getting back into her "normal" clothes. That is going to be SUCH a big help. Plus she has really good taste, so I will be looking good! :)She lent me several tops, two dresses, a pair of jeans, dress pants, cords, and a skirt. Don't worry, though. I'll have to do some of my own shopping, too. That way I can return the favor to someone else after my time is done. That's going to be my excuse anyway.
I'm not quite at the point to where I can wear any maternity clothes, but my regular clothes are becoming tight. It's the horrible in-between stage where you just look chubby, not pregnant. Poo.
In other news, my daddy is coming to visit!!! Yea! Since both mine and Nick's families live so far away, we always cherish the time we have together. Here's one of my favorite pictures of us (it's a little old - a year or two, but I still like it).

He will only be visiting from Saturday evening to Tuesday morning, so we'll have to squeeze in as much quality time as possible in a short amount of time. One exciting thing is that he will get to worship with me at St. Paul on Sunday morning. With him being a pastor and all, he doesn't get weekends off and has never worshiped at our church here before. That'll be fun!
Before I pick him up on Saturday, I have a baby shower to go to for one of my friends. She's a sweetie, and is having a little girl. It was fun picking out a couple things for her and knitting a little hat and slippers for her.
In other news NEXT weekend, I will be off on another adventure for which I am EXTREMELY excited about. However, it's still a surprise, so on the off chance of this person reading my blog between now and then, I will hold off on the details....don't worry, though. More to come later.
Excitement begins soon. I just have to get through one more day of work!!!

Things I've learned about pregnancy

Here are a few musings:

1. Suddenly, people think it's ok to ask you very private and personal questions.
2. When people find out you are expecting, they scream and get excited as if you were telling them THEY were pregnant! :)
3. Even though you look like death warmed over (peanut has not been nice lately) people still find the need to come and ask how you are feeling. Hello!!! How does it look like I'm feeling!
4. Saltine crackers are a girl's best friend weeks 8-???
5. Food is thought about almost as much as the baby...what, when, where, how much, etc.
6. Bonus: My nails, which always peel and break, have never looked better!
7. Boy or girl, boy or girl.....as long as it's healthy - honest!
8. People are suddenly a LOT nicer to you. I'm the same person I was last week before you knew I was pregnant. I'll take it though....
9. Since I'm not showing yet, its fun to interact with people who know, and who don't know....maybe that's just me...
10. Try as they may, boys just don't get it.

Hope Christ blesses your week!

At long last, the beans are spilled....

I have been waiting patiently to be able to finally share the good news with everyone. Nick and I are expecting our first child the first week of November! My due date is November 5th.
Yesterday we went in to have our first sonogram, and everything looks good so far! It was truly amazing to see the little one move around and hear the heartbeat.
And it has been confirmed that there is only ONE peanut in there. :)
A common question I have been getting is "how are you feeling". Well, I have see the good the bad and the ugly, so I can't really complain too much. I have been completely exhausted, and starting about two weeks ago along came morning (all day long) sickness. It's the strangest feeling ever. You feel nauses and woozy, but at the same time you feel like you need to eat something! Crazy....
Anyway, to answer another question, yes we plan on finding out the sex of the baby, or as my father-in-law puts it - find out if the peanut is smooth or crunchy! :) He's quite a character. That won't be for another 10 weeks, though.
Monday, we will meet with my doctor, and Nick will get to meet him for the first time, so that will be nice. In the meantime, I have pages of paperwork to fill out....let the fun begin! :)
Needless to say, both sets of parents are completely thrilled. It'll be the first grand baby on both sides, so I'm sure it won't lack for attention. :)
So with that, I leave you with the "first shots" of little Moss. Let the adventure begin!
(O.K. So blogger is being bad. I will attempt to load the pictures later.)

Absence

Well, that's the life of a DCE wife, I just gotta say. He's here today and gone tomorrow....and the next day, and the day after that.......
Tomorrow Nick will be leaving for Seward, NE (I'm so jealous)for the first stop on the Concordia tour. He is taking 4 of his high schoolers to visit 3 different Concordia Universities. First they fly to Nebraska to visit CUNE, then they fly to Chicago and drive to Mequon, WI to visit CUW, and finally they drive back to Chicago to visit CUC (formerly CU River Forrest). They fly back to Florida Monday, but does he come home then? Nope. He then will have a friend pick him up and take him to the LYF (Lutheran Youth and Families - or something like that) annual retreat that runs through Wednesday.
Really, I don't know why I'm complaining. He will be home for two whole weeks before he goes to his mission conference in Minnesota. :)
So I will be all alone for a week. Well, Charles will be there to keep me company when he's not running around in the back yard stalking lizards and squirrels! :)
Despite missing my husband, sometimes, I will admit that it is nice to have some all alone time. It gives a person time to think, un-wind, not have to worry about anyone but yourself. I suppose it will give me a chance to clean the house a little better. It's not looking so hot right now.....
I've been exhausted lately anyway, so maybe I can even squeeze in a couple of naps this weekend! Isn't it funny how as a kid you "hated" naps, but as a adult they are considered special treats? Ah perspective....

Alright, now to share some joy! I am currently in the middle of working on my final big project to complete my MBA (Part 1), and I have been blessed with an amazing group of people to work with! They are all pretty easy going, but great students. We are WAY ahead of where we need to be at this point, and we may get to finish two weeks early! That would give us all a nice break (about a month) before we have to get started on Part II.
I turn in my application for graduation tonight, and I registered for my FINAL class on Monday!!! I am just so excited and wanted to share. Lots of wonderful things are happening in my life right now, and I feel so blessed!
I pray the same for all of you. Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter celebration!
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Patience

Patience is one of those things that is so hard to practice. Whether waiting for a loved one to get well, anticipating graduation or a wedding, waiting for the birth of a child, or looking forward to retirement. No matter what stage of life you are in patientce is practiced. In a recent Bible study, I found out that one definition of patience is long suffering. Sometimes it feels like that, doesn't it? Thanks be to God that we can go to him for stregnth and endurance during these times.

Nick and I had both excitement and hard times this week. This past weekend we took some of our High School kiddos to the LCMS District Gathering in Orlando. It was a good time, and I think the kids really enjoyed it. There was an amazing guy named Ben Glenn that speaks and also draws with chalk. He is AMAZING! You can check him out at http://www.chalkguy.com/. If you ever have a chance to see him, jump all over it. The theme for this gathering was "MADE". We are fearfully and wonderfully made to do good things that he has prepared for us to do. How can we serve him? What are our gifts? It was great!

The down side is that Nick came down with a nasty viral infection that Saturday. He woke up with a fever and ran one off and on until Thursday. Around Wednesday, he developed a nasty cough. He is feeling somewhat better and I finally felt safe enough to share a bed with him last night - but only after everything had been thoroughly washed! I had him quaranteened and took up residency in the guest room on the other end of the house. I wanted no part of that. I think I washed my hands about a million times, too. It's hard to not be able to go near your spouse for such a long period of time and to watch them suffer. I'm glad he is getting back to normal.

He did have some company as Charles, our cat, was also VERY sick. We kept thinking it would get better, but on Tuesday morning we woke up and he looked like death warmed over. :( Poor kitty. I took him to the vet, they told me he was on the brink of pneumona, and he got the works! A kitty IV with shots for antibiotics, antihistimine, and B12. He looked like he had a camel hump for the rest of the day with all those fluids pumped in him. We got sent home with two different types of pills that Nick has been giving him for 10 days. We are just about half way through with those, and he seems to be feeling better, thank goodness. Hopefully he will be 100% recovered soon and back to his normal self!


Anyway, needless to say it has been quite an eventful week!

Well I guess that's about all I can say for now.....more to come later....

Knitting....Finally

So I never really have posted any of my knitted projects. I know that trying to describe something is futile compared to posting a picture. So, Julianna, this is for you. Candace's Knitting Expo:

Project #1 - Hat for my Sis - Free Pattern stolen from Jo's blog.

Doesn't she sport it well? She was made to wear hats! That's my dad looking super cool in the back ground! :)

Much to Julianna's disappointment, my sister loved the hat. I always freak out a little when making hats because I'm the model and I have an unusually small head.
**Note: This hat did come out way too big, but I was able to improvise, cut out the first ring from the very top and sew it up. A good knitter could tell, but the recipient couldn't so I guess that's o.k.

Project #2 - The Falling Leaf hat that was originally for mom, but Courtney stole it! :) Mom said she would wear it WAY more than she would. She's right. Pattern from Knitty.



I LOVED this hat and selfishly wanted to keep it for myself. The pattern was my first attempt at a "lace" pattern, and it just turned out so well. But, what am I going to do with a hat like that in FL. Also, it was an easy decision since the whole tiny head thing played a factor yet again! :)

Project #3 - Green Sweaterlette (I'm glad my sister likes knit-wear. She is an awesome recipient!) P.S. I also made one for myself in purple merino. The sleeves and body are both slightly shorter than this one, but essential the same. I love it!
It goes great with a white T and jeans. Pattern - Randomly found free online - lots of errors in the written pattern, though. Guess you can't complain much if it's free!

Up close

Back

Front

Project #4 - The Purse - I carry it almost every day. Pattern from Knitty

I love the diamond pattern - very fun and cleaver.

The second strap acts as a nifty closure

I even broke out the old sewing machine and lined it. It was pretty much a necessity because (as I have learned) knitting is much more "stretchy" than crochet, and the purse would have quickly lost its shape without the lining.

Project #5 - Mom's Head Warmer (see Jo, I made one too! :) Actually two-another went to my mother in law) - Pattern from Knitty

Mom doesn't really like to wear hats because she says they don't fit right due to her hair. She really liked this and said it did the trick.

Project #6 - The most beautiful hat ever (ok so I finally kept something for myself. I was lucky enough to have exactly (and I mean exactly) enough yarn to make two of these hats - the other went to my sister in law.)

I love how the top looks like a flower! Thank you super cool yarn!

I also really dig the cable stitches all around. I found this pattern free and randomly online. Free online patterns are hit and miss. This one was definitely a hit. I think this pattern would look equally as beautiful in a solid color - you would be able to really see the cables better that way.

Project #7 - Inspirational Booties for Emma Kate
So I got this fabulous pattern book - Simple Knits for Cherished Babys. It has some beautiful patterns in it. I've made these, along with a different bootie pattern (only one so far), as well as a knitted teady bear I just finished this weekend (he's cute, but he definitely looks hand made! Maybe I'll do better next time. I haven't quite mastered the art of seaming.)
Anywho, I have a couple other patterns lined up from that book. Babie stuff is just too much fun to knit. It's probably my favorite thing. So here are the booties:

As you can see, they are knit (garter stitch) all in one piece - very cleaver.

Here's a finished one before the trim work.

Finished! I went with something totally different I thought would fit the mommy and baby's personality better. They turned out really well if I do say so myself. I love these because they are so simple and even a slower than snot knitter like myself can whip these out rather quickly. I'll definitely be using this pattern again.

So there you have it. About a half a year's worth of projects. Better late than never, eh?

Romantic Simplicity

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm about as low maintenance as they come. What you may not know is that I have never been a fan of Valentine's Day. In my opinion, it's about the LEAST romantic day of the year. Let me explain.... V-Day is a day where you are expected to be romantic. That's kind of an oxymoron to me. Romance isn't in the gift giving, card exchanging, or flower sending. It's the moments that come unexpectedly. When your sweetie does something for you "just because". Those are the times when the romance shines brightest.

Besides, I have been blessed with a husband who shows his love to me every day (well most every day....no one's perfect. :)). I suppose that's a big reason that V-Day is just another day to me.

O.K. so I won't be a total pessimist regarding this day of romance. It does bring a reminder that it is important to show love to the ones you care for, and continue to build your relationship with the spouse.

Nick and I had a most wonderful evening... He bought steak and shrimp to grill. We made salad and bruchetta with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil for appetizers, and toasted the evening with a bottle of white wine. Then we watched a movie from good 'ole Blockbuster. What a fantastic way to celebrate - a quiet evening, good food, and wonderful conversation reminiscing about the day we met.... I'll choose that any day over waiting outside for 2 hours while people smoke waiting to be seated in a crowded restaurant.

Ah, I guess "they" are right...it really is the simple things in life.

Speaking of which, our college friends Josh and Rebekah T. came for a quick visit on their way to see Rebekah's parents along with their kids - two of the most adorable children I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Ethan is all boy at 3 1/2 and loves his Thomas the Train pals. He is also quite a big eater. He got down on those chicken strips and french fries! :) Ellianna is a beautiful 11 month old little girl. Gorgeous blue eyes and a smile that could win over any one. I had the distinct pleasure of holding her during the church service this Sunday. She danced with the music, slept during the sermon, and smiled sweetly as the pastor blessed her during communion. What more could you ask for? Seriously?

The only complaint I have is that currently I have a nasty stomach virus of some sort. It's been in full swing since Friday, and it's term in office is way past due. I am able to go to work and stuff, but I'm exhausted and uncomfortable. So, I am praying that this will pass soon. I have a big week at work and school... Apparently it's going around - my boss had it, and my co-worker that sits next to me is out sick today.

Other than that, I can't complain in the least. I am truly blessed with all that I have. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you also!

P.S. If Nick will ever load pictures on to the computer, I will post knitting pictures as requested by Julianna. It will prove to be an explosion of yarn! I also have a couple Christmas pics as well.

40 Days of Community

Some of you may heard of Rick Warren and his book "Purpose Driven Life". Well, a couple of years ago our church - St. Paul Lutheran - did a "40 Days of Purpose" during Lent. It was awesome, and it really focused on building your relationship with God on an individual level. This year we are doing "40 Days of Community". This takes it a step further and focuses on "what in the world are WE here for". As a church, as the body of Christ, what are we called to do together? It fits perfectly with our new mission statement - Connecting the Community to Christ. I am excited about going through this study and all the wonderful things that will come from this.
The Sunday before last, everyone participated in a day of prayer and fasting to prepare us for what God will be doing in the coming weeks and ask his blessing upon this journey. This Sunday started off the first day, and so far the daily devotions have been really good. We had our first small group gathering last night and mainly focused on how we are called to love one another and what that means. How can we reach out to others in Christ's love?
It was pretty profound to really take a closer look at 1 Corin.13. It's a passage that I have read countless times and could probably recite if I had to - at least most of it. But when I really stoped and studied it, I heard God speak the words in a whole different way.
Take out your Bible and read it. God is telling us just how important it is to love. He says if we do not love, nothing we say, nothing we know, nothing we believe, nothing we give, and nothing we accomplish matters at all.
It's pretty convicting to read this and other passages regarding love. How many times have I failed to show love to others around me? Thanks be to God for His bountiful grace that covers my many sins and short comings.
May you be blessed by the love that you give and the love that you receive this week and always.

Jimmy Needham

If you don't know who he is, find out and listen to his AMAZING music. It makes me happy. :)

And wouldn't you know it, he's a Texan!

Christmas Letter 2007

You faithful readers, may already know of most of the happenings of my year, but just in case you missed something, here is our Christmas letter for your reading pleasure.....
Rejoice Friends and Family!
It’s that time of the year again – time to reflect on all the blessings we have received this past year and celebrate our greatest blessing, Christ Jesus our Lord!
This year has certainly been an eventful one for us. Last Christmas we did a “tour-o-Missouri” and were able to visit most of Nick’s side of the family. We stopped in Higginsville, Tipton, Kansas City, and, of course, Springfield.
Nick continues to stay busy at St. Paul, and with various youth activities. For the second year in a row, he had the opportunity to co-chair the Florida/Georgia District Middle School Gathering. He had a great time spending one weekend with over 800 participants! He also spent many hours preparing for the National LCMS Youth Gathering that took place in Orlando, FL in July. Candace, two additional adults, and 22 high-school students had a great time during the five day event.
Candace is still enjoying her financial analyst position with Marriott and is looking forward to finishing her MBA at the University of South Florida in Tampa this coming summer. After many years of crocheting, she took on a new challenge and learned to knit this summer. She spends any free time she can manage to find between work, school, housework, and helping out with the youth, honing her new skills. Candace continues to enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes on Nick. 
We were fortunate enough to do some traveling this year. In May, we took a trip to Texas to visit Candace’s family and attend the wedding of Kim Pfluger (now Miller), a life-long friend. Also in May, we traveled to Missouri for a long weekend to help Nick’s parents move into their new home. It is beautiful, and we look forward to many happy memories that will be made there.
June brought us to Indiana for Candace’s family reunion to celebrate her grandparents’ 70 years of marriage. In August, we were fortunate enough to be able to travel to Illinois to attend a friend’s wedding, as well as visit with a lot of our college friends we don’t get to see very often. As you can expect, we had a great time.
Remodeling phase 2 took place at the end of August. We removed (in both bathrooms) our old cabinets, countertops, and faucets and replaced them with new ones, including a medicine cabinet/mirror/light fixture. It was hard work, but it looks great! Nick is by no means a handy-man, but is slowly picking up on things (except for the plumbing…..Nick tried to put on a new valve which did not work and sent water spraying from the wall into the bathroom!)
The fall saw some difficult times as we had to say good bye (for a little while) to Candace’s grandpa Harold. It was a beautiful service and celebration of the 90 years of earthly life Christ blessed him with.
Thanksgiving was again spent with our good friends Dave and Sonya Timmerman who now live in Coco Beach. We are excited they are so close now!
In early December, we celebrated our 5th anniversary (a little bit early) by going to Discovery Cove in Orlando to swim with the dolphins! We also got to pet a two toed sloth, a small anteater, and stingray, as well as feed many different kinds of birds. It was an amazing experience, one that we won’t soon forget.
This Christmas will be spent in Texas with Candace’s family, and in January, we will travel to Missouri to have a “late” Christmas with Nick’s family and celebrate Murray’s (Nick’s brother) 21st birthday. We are eagerly awaiting the vacation, relaxation, and the time together with the ones we love.
As we look back over the past year we give thanks to the One who gives us all that we need and even more, and we look forward to the promise He has given to all of us – fulfilled in His birth, death, and resurrection. May your family also find peace and joy in this assurance.
Blessings this season and throughout 2008! ~Nicklaus and Candace Moss

Like being a kid again....

That's pretty much what our Thanksgiving can be summed up as. For 3 whole days I had no responsibilities, no cares in the world, got to do what I wanted to, and so forth and so on. The boys pretty much sat on their arses the entire time playing Command and Conquer on their computers they figured out how to sync together. What nerds, and what boys!!! Normally this would have bothered me to no end, but with cable and Dave and Sonya's big screen, I was perfectly content to watch food network and TLC's What Not to Wear, and paid no mind to the boys and their game. Also, one afternoon, Sonya and I ventured out to do a little bit of shopping. It was mostly window, but it was successful in that my single purchase of the day took care of my sister. Not only was I excited to find exactly what I was looking for ON SALE, but now I have one of my toughest people off my list. Her, my dad, and Nick have got to be the hardest people to shop for, but it all the more exciting when you find something you know they will like (hopefully).

Keeping true to our tradition, we ventured out one evening and took pictures that will go out in our annual Christmas letter. Both Dave and Nick love photography, so we get "free" pictures at studio quality! Thanks boys!! Here are a couple "contenders" we are trying to choose between. Which one do you like?
#1

#2

#3


Just for fun, here is a cute pic of Dave and Sonya - the best hosts ever!!


We also had fun cooking lots of awesome food. The pumpkin pie bars were alright, but the Oreo truffles were amazing!! (Yes, Jo, those are the ones.)I will definitely make those again even though they were a bit time consuming. Late at night we amused ourselves with poker, trivial pursuit 90's, hearts, and phase 10. Good times, good times. True friends are one of God's greatest gifts. People who you can be yourself around and don't run screaming in the other direction. :)

Here's hoping you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are blessed with an even better Advent and Christmas season!

Prayer Request

Unfortunately, this blog entry comes with sad news. Over the Thanksgiving holiday a close church friend's husband was in a terrible accident where 60% of his body was severely burned - 25% of his body is 3rd degree burns. He is at supposedly the best burn unit in the southeast in Augusta, GA undergoing treatment. He was supposed to have his 3rd surgery today on his L arm and R leg. He has already had his R arm, L leg, stomach, and back worked on (scraped and cleaned out). Multiple surgeries are certain to follow. They have sent off a removed portion of his unburned skin to Boston so that they can "grow" new skin for him - this will take at least 21 days to harvest. Amazing, isn't it?

The recovery process is going to take months and will be a long road for both Jen and JD. Please keep them in your prayers as they go through this difficult time that is very touch and go right now. Physical healing and spiritual prayers are both needed.

P.S. We are also trying to think of things we can do for them, so any ideas are welcome! Our high school youth group (Jennifer is an AWESOME volunteer) is going to send a care package, but I'd love to hear other suggestions.

Thankful

Sometimes life just makes it plain hard to be thankful. After the past couple of weeks I have had, I'm searching for the silver lining. So, this great month starting off with my mom calling me on the 6th to let me know that Papa is now up in heaven playing scrabble with Chandler (my younger brother who passed away in 2001). My Papa was 90 years old, had 9 children (all still living), and just celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary with my Grammie this past June. He lived a long full Christian life, and I am happy that he is now home with our Savior and isn't suffering any longer. So, as far a funerals go, it wasn't bad. I ended up playing Lift High the Cross for the final song at the service (trumpet). It was hard, but it meant a lot to my Grammie, and God gave me just enough grace to get through it.

The nice thing was that I got to spend some time with my family. They are completely exhausting sometimes, but I love them all. It was wonderful to see my beautiful sister doing so much better. Even though she may not be able to see a difference, I certainly can! I just want her to be happy and enjoy the life God has blessed her with - she's always in my prayers, that's for sure.

Then, two days after I got back from the funeral ordeal, I had all of my wisdom teeth (3) pulled. Great fun that was. I am still in a mild amount of pain and still a little dizzy at times (that crazy pain medication really messed me up, but on the plus side, I felt no pain for 3 days), but I think I'm on the downhill slope at this point.

So on with the silver lining already. Yes. While in Indiana at the funeral, I knitted my sister a hat which for some reason she really seems to like. I was loving it until the decreases, but it just doesn't look right. I also knitted the falling leaf hat in knitty's fall patterns (version 2). Turned out a little big, but otherwise lovely. Darn if it's always got to be something! If I make it again, I will definitely go down from #7's to #5's dpns. It may be fine for someone. I will admit that I have an abnormally small head. It's true. I'm not lying. Anywho, I need to go yarn shopping again. I have completely depleted my yarn worth knitting supply. I'm starting to understand the concept of a "stash". Although, I am pretty particular and first like to start with a pattern and go from there. I digress.....

Thanksgiving is a mere two days away! And its all the more appealing since I have been on a liquid/soft food only diet for the past week. FOOOOOD!!!! MMMMMMMMMMM.....Nick and I are traveling over to spend the grand holiday with our wonderful friends Dave and Sonya again. We are so blessed to have such great friends. I'm about ready to head out to the grocery store to shop for the goods, and then I'm heading home to make these (pumpkin pie bars):


as well as some little delights I like to call Oreo Truffles!!! Be very very jealous. I will try to take some pics to share with you all when I get back!

Have a happy turkey day. :)

Halloween Fun at Work

So let me just tell you how BIG of a deal Halloween is in my office. People plan for weeks(months even)in advance in attempt to claim the coveted title of best team, individual, scariest, etc. It's sheer madness. I participated, but since I'm not all that "into" Halloween, I have no chance of winning anything, but that's fine with me. It becomes even harder for me to really get into it since I am not a part of a team, but rather and "individual contributor". However, I joined forces with another independent, and we were the Next Iron Chefs. It was great. I wore regular clothes, threw on my apron, and Ilia (my partner in crime) made us these rockin' hats. I must say that we looked pretty stinkin' awesome. Behold:



Is that not a great picture? Now, I must tell you how the whole thing works. It's not enough that you dress up, but you also must decorate your cube/ area to reflect your costume and theme. So, my desk became kitchen stadium:



Check out my fantastic Kenmore flat-top stove. I hand crafted it myself. :)

Among the craziness were teams that did: Candy Land, The Adams Family, Star Trek, Wild Hogs, Disney's Magic Kingdom (an entire department combined forces for this one with one team doing Monster's Inc., one toy story, one the Haunted Mansion, and one various Disney characters like Mulan, Fairy God-mothers, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, etc.), and my favorite, the IT help desk did the "Beyond Help" Desk Mental Hospital. Then in the afternoon, all the kids (employees kids, grand kids, nieces, nephews, etc.) come and trick or treat in all of our areas. It's so fun to see all of the kiddos in their costumes. It provides a safe environment for the kids, and is nice since this is the only trick-or-treating that some get to do since their parents don't feel comfortable taking them out at night.

So there you have it.... a snippet of the crazy place I work.

Something worthy...

So, I found something that may be worthy of the beautiful purple merino I recently bought. What do you think? I love it, but am having difficulty with the pattern. I don't know if it's the pattern or the reader (I know that it's partly the pattern because I did find an error I could prove was wrong, so I feel slightly vindicated). I guess we shall see how it goes this weekend. Wish me luck!

My first time....at the Yarn Store

So I finally got to experience all that is a real yarn store this Saturday. It was quite exciting and beautiful. I went with the fabulous Julianna, Christy, and Christy's adorable daughter, Emma. That kid is too much fun. We had a great time. I did learn some things on our outing:

1)I want lots and lots of things that I can't have.
2)I'm super cheap and I believe this makes me the opposite of a yarn snob. I was amazed at how expensive a small bit of yarn cost. $17 for a ball of yarn! I hardly pay that much for an article of clothing. Although, I did not leave empty handed (thanks Julianna for prodding me along!). I got 4 sets of dpns in various sizes I need for projects I want to start, one ball of something beautiful called Rose Garden (It's oh so girly), and finally 3 balls of Merino in a royal purple - it's gorgeous!
3)If I had all the money in the world, I would build a house that had a room filled with yarn that I could look at, knit/crochet with, touch, etc. anytime I wanted. Knit and Knibble had a beautiful wooden table that I wanted to just plop myself down at and knit for hours. Unfortunately, we were on a schedule and that just wasn't possible.
4)I may be (apparently) the only person in the world that prefers to knit on metal needles. The girl at the yarn store said she didn't think they had any when I asked her for them. After a few minutes she did find them and said, "Oh, we do have them. I just didn't think we did since no one ever uses them." Gee thanks... I think the preference of metal comes from my years of crochet. Metal feels "right" and I like the ease of "slippage" they provide.

All in all it was great trip. After the yarn store, we went to hoyti toyti Hyde Park in Tampa. I was introduced to Anthropology where I beheld more pretties that I could not have. It was a really cool store, though. Then we went next door where I had a pumpkin truffle at Godiva - yummy!

But alas, I have the big dilemma of finding something worthy of knitting my 276 yds of purple Merino. Any ideas?

Excitement is a new Apron

Don't you just love surprises? In my family we have always had the tradition of giving "happy presants" on occation. A happy presant is a gift for no reason just to make someone you love happy. Nick won MAJOR brownie points yesterday. I came home, got the mail, and lo and behold, there was a package containing this:

How cute is that? I was just saying casually in conversation last week that I needed an apron (since I love the kitchen, but I'm a messy cook), but that it was hard because I didn't want a grandma flowerdy one. I wanted a young, sexy, house-wife one. I have to say that not only am I impressed he picked this out of an everyday conversation we had, or that he spent several days trying to find the "perfect" one, but that he hit the nail on the head so accurately. If I had to pick an apron out, I would have picked one just like this. Amazing! Maybe we don't give guys the credit they deserve. Just look what this one is capable of! :)

In other news, I have over 200 pages of reading to do this weekend!!! :P And I desperately need to buy yarn and dpns to make this:

Julianna, we need to make a date to go to the yarn store. When are you available? :)

The Wait is Over!

That's right. I've finally got some pictures of the bathroom rennovation process. It was quiet exciting, a definite learning experience, and only included one major catastrophie - which is not bad considering all the stuff we did.
So here is the process in pictures.

Our Bathroom right before Demo


Nick removing the old plumbing in our bathroom


Yea! The nasty sink in out! At long last!


Out with the old......


In with the new!

O.K. let me just tell you how much Charles did NOT like all of this mess and noise. However, as soon as we got the new one in, he had to come inspect it fully, and make sure that he claimed it as his own - just like the rest of the house. He cracks us up! :)



O.K. Charles we know the sink is yours......

Now for the before and afters for our bathroom:

Before (obviously)

After.....

and After

Next up was the guest bathroom. I must say that I got way better before and after photos of this one.

Right after demo


Good bye to nasty sink #2


This is a way before picture - before we got our new tile and toilets last year. Check out that rad pink tile and the designer toilet seat! And, WHO puts light blue and red together? That is NOT ok.


After!


Before angle two


After angle two


And finally....Before


After!

So there it is....we still have a bit of finishing touches to do. The tile guys have to come back and redo 1 tile in each bathrooms since the new cabinets are slightly smaller than the old ones. After that is finished we have to instal the baseboards. Currently, we are changing out all the light switches and outlets in our house since the current ones are almost 30 years old, broken, and/or nasty. Nick is doing them little by little after work each night. It's amazing how even the smallest things can make such a difference. The best part about this, besides growing in our marriage and the satisfaction that we did it ourselves, was that we saved a boat load of money on installation! Yippie! Happy rennovations to all.