Merry (belated) Christmas...

This year we spent Christmas in Pittsburgh and started our travels the day after. On the 26th we headed to Morgantown to visit Nathan's parents & siblings, then that night made our way to Charleston to see my Mom & Roger. Thursday we stayed in Chas. and headed north to Bridgeport on Friday to see my Dad, Amy & siblings. Then on Saturday we stopped by Philippi, seeing the extended family, before heading home. It was nice to see everyone but made for a long 4 days. We had a nice Chrismas and are now looking forward to the new year.

Since we didn't have pictures of our Christmas tree to share... it was taken down less than a week after we put it up, we thought we'd post pictures of the trees we did get to share in this past week. Enjoy!


This is Roland, Linda, Kristi, & Todd's tree. The lonely present belongs to Melinda & Jeff, they visited Morgantown earlier in the week.

This is my Mom & Roger's tree. Mom would say it was more Roger's... he decorated it with blue lights, and spray snow. Mom tried to make it better with silver bows and little tin ornaments. I thought it looked nice... at least there weren't icicles this year, I hate those.

This is Dad, Amy, Danielle, Jack & Andrew's tree. Its the only one picture that didn't blurr when I took a picture with the lights off. As funny as it looks, leaning sideways and all, it was a very pretty tree. They once again used the spinners that Dad and I used years ago. And as for the way it leans, I forget the story, but it had to do with the way the man at the tree farm

tied it to the tree.

This is Grandpa & Grandma Funk's tree. I wish I had gotten one of JD's tree (next door) but I forgot... it also has the setting beneath. I've always loved the way they did their trees, I was even able to contribute to the town setting one year, I gave each of them a ceramic house that I painted as a Christmas present.

Merry Christmas!!!

National Treasure: Book of Secrets...

Yesterday we finished the rest of our anniversary date by going to a movie. We put off going to a movie last weekend since there wasn't anything out that we wanted to see. So yesterday, we braved the last minute Christmas shoppers and headed up to the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets. We are both confessed action adventure junkies, and were really excited to see this movie.

Despite running a few minutes late, the Mills is about a 25 minutes away, we got to our seats in time to catch most of the previews including a 'short' starring Disney's Goofy. We even had time to run back out and get some popcorn and a drink.

We don't want to ruin the movie for those of you who might go see it, but it was GREAT! Neither of us take well to sequels, especially if they don't have the same people in them, but every once and a while (and it seems they have gotten better over the years) a movie comes along and has a wonderful sequel. This is one of those movies. It has all the same main characters, plus a few new ones (Helen Mirren & Ed Harris.) It has adventure, great action scenes, a mystery to figure out, plenty of laughs, and of course a little bit of romance mixed in.

We had a wonderful time and recommend this movie for everyone, even kids; it is a Disney movie after all... and rated PG for some violence and action. We would suggest that you see the first National Treasure before seeing the second, but it isn't mandatory.

We've included the link to the website so you can check it out yourself. Have a great weekend!

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/nationaltreasure/

sounding off...

On Wednesday morning Good Morning America (as well as many other morning shows I imagine) announced that Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. WHOA!!!! For those of you who may not know who she is, Jamie Lynn (16yrs old) is Brittney Spears' little sister.

It seems lately there has been a lot of talk about premarital sex, at least around here. Not only have we heard about it on TV and about celebrities, but we also are dealing with it in our small group.

Its terrible, but when the announcement about Jamie Lynn was made, I wasn't shocked. Okay, maybe I was a little. But it seems to be everywhere and everyone is okay with it. I guess what shocked me most about what I heard, was the fact that this girl was supposed to be a role model for tweens and younger girls. I will say that that is a HUGE responsibility for a 16 year old, and probably not fair. It got me thinking though, my sister is 12, she'll be 13 in March...who does she have as a role model? Is she looking up to women on TV and getting the wrong idea of what a Christian (young) lady is supposed to be? The only good thing I can take from this Jamie Lynn situation, is that she is keeping the baby. So at least there is the lesson of avoiding abortion. Still, I think there is a better way of teaching that....

So, who do young girls look up to these day? Most every female you see on TV (no matter her age) is missing half her clothes, all the shows are geared with sexual undertones, and they are now using sex to sell hamburgers and perfume/cologne. Its ridiculous. There have been so many times when we've been watching TV and a commercial comes on or something is said during a show, and we look at each other in disbelief. It truly is everywhere. And just as discouraging, the government released statistics the other day that said teen pregnancy is up for the first time in 15 years. This scares me not only for my sister Danielle, but also for my younger cousins and friends... as much as you talk to them about sex, you just never know (and they think you have no clue!)

We're also finding out that more and more (so called) 'Christian' couples are letting themselves be influenced by our society's obsession with sex. It isn't just the "oops, we made a mistake" thing any more. These Christian couples know what the Bible says, and still they turn their heads and look the other direction. Its been really hard on our small group as we've struggled to do what we think is best according to God's Word. We are so glad that we have God to guide our decision and help us through this.

I also have a personal struggle with all of this. As I see these young girls getting pregnant, I think of all the people I know who want children, and are struggling to do so or can't have children. It really seems unfair that someone who doesn't want a baby gets one, and those who do, don't or can't have one. (I know thats the wrong way to think) Don't worry though, I'm constantly in prayer about it!

Premarital sex and teen pregnancy is increasing, and our children are watching this and thinking its normal; the thing to do. I don't know about you, but it scares me. I don't want Danielle growing up with role models like Jamie Lynn Spears, but unless we lock her in a closet, it might be impossible to stop. So I encourage all of you Christians out there, women and men alike, to take interest in our younger friends and become their role models. Live your life knowing that they are watching and being influenced by every little thing you do. And please don't be afraid to share and be open with them. If we don't talk to them and try to be the best example for them... who will...?

its scary to think about isn't it?

two years later...

today we celebrate our 2nd anniversary. The past two years have flown by and have been the best years of our lives. We are truly blessed to have each other as a spouse, partner, lover, and best friend.

at Monteray Bay on Mount Washington

This morning we got up early to have our quiet times and decided to go ahead and exchange presents. I was very surprised when I opened this:

a Canon Powershot SD750. My old camera died this past fall on a trip to Seneca Rocks with our friends the Huffmans and the Smiths. It was a camera I received as a birthday present a few years ago and was a great camera. Nathan has an older camera that we have been using in the mean time, but he wanted something of better quality. We had talked about getting a new camera sometime, and I had mentioned that we could do it as a joint present, although it would probably be more for me, since I will use it more often. I'm still in shock, I can't believe that my wonderful husband surprised me like he did.

I'm sorry to say that my present to Nathan wasn't nearly as exciting or expensive. I had given Nathan a pockect knife for his birthday this past year and sometime in the past few months it has disappeared. We looked everywhere. When I asked him what he wanted for our anniversary and Christmas the only thing that kept coming up was a replacement knife. So that is what he opened this morning. (I'm sorry I don't have a picture to share, they are copywrited. ) We are both excited to use our new camera and to learn more about it.

Tonight we are going out to dinner, weather permitting. We had planned to celebrate our anniversary yesterday, but things didn't work out when there wasn't a movie in the theaters we wanted to see. Our tradition so far is to go out to a movie and dinner. I love it, its simple and we don't have to try to outdo ourselves every year. Last year we went to Morgantown and spent the night at a hotel after a movie and dinner. Our anniversary was on a Sunday and we wanted to be in WV for the opening of CRC's new building.

So tonight we'll go to dinner, and then on Saturday or Sunday of this coming weekend we'll go see a movie. We're planning on seeing National Treasure: Book of Secrets. We rarely go out to dinner or to see a movie, so even though we aren't doing everything on the same night, it will still be special.

Happy Anniversary (to us)!

games and scotch tape...

Last night we went over to the Voloch's and met up with our small group for a game night. We started at 7:30 and by 11:30 we were exausted from laughing so much. We played three games: Battle of the Sexes, MadGab, and Cranium Pop5. We definitely had the most laughs with MadGab. It was hilarious listening to the guys say the words and figure out the phrase. If you haven't ever heard of the game or played it, there is a commercial on TV where people are looking at a card and saying "Eye Mull of Mush Sheen"... which means "I'm a love Machine." Other examples are: 'Sand Tack Laws' (Santa Clause), 'Canoe Key Pace He Grit' (Can you keep a secret?). Its a game where "its not what you see, but what you hear!"

Everyone playing Cranium Pop 5

starting at the left: David & Sally Ann Mertens,

Jay Miller & Angie Wells, Ryan & Lisa Voloch, & Us

Sally Ann, Angie, & Me handing out Scotch tape

Then today, a group of people from Orchard Hill Church got together to do a service day. There were about 7 groups of people and we all went to different locations to "show God's love in a practical way." One group went to a gas station and washed windshields and handed out cider, our guys went to Giant Eagle in Cranberry and helped shoppers to their cars with their groceries and their carts. Most of the ladies got the warmer option. We went to the Ross Park Mall and stood at the entrances/exits and handed out Scotch tape. I know that might sound like a strange thing, but it is Christmas time and everyone needs tape to wrap gifts. We were so surprised and pleased to see the excitement that some shoppers showed when they received their tape. Many of the other tape recipients were skeptical asking "its FREE?" But most everyone excpeted the tape willingly and thanked us. One of my favorite shoppers was a younger man who after saying "no thanks" at first came back because he thought his wife would appreciate the free tape. I also thought it t was really cool when a security guard came up to us and said he had seen people hand out many things, but never tape. He thought it was genius.

We weren't at the mall long, we had about 600 rolls of tape, and they were all gone within an hour or so. We all had a great time, and hopefully we blessed a few people in the process. Even if we didn't, we sure were blessed by seeing the excited faces on those receiving FREE tape.

quiet reminder

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Romans 12:12

This morning as we sat down to do our quiet times, we did something a little different. Normally I stay in the bedroom with a paperback concordance and Nathan comes out to the living room so he can use the intenet concordance. Usually this arrangement works pretty well, except for the excited kitties who get to roam freely in and out of the bedroom...otherwise they drive Nathan crazy. But since we've put up the little tree in our room, I decided to stay in the living room too. It actually worked out nicely, and I enjoyed it much more. I'm used to being out there, but since we started getting up extra early (5am... or shortly there after), I've stayed in our room.

Anyway, today Nathan decided to use the paperback, which left me with the computer. I've never had the best of luck with the online concordance, but since I had the internet too, I was able to pull a friend's facebook page up and check out a verse she posted the other day. (yes facebook!)Romans 12:12 was the verse, and man did it hit home. Its one of those verses that you hear over and over and you tuck it away in the back of your mind, but when you really need it, you can't remember it. At least thats how it is for me.

"Be joyful in hope..." I've always had a hard time figuring out how to be joyful in certain situations. I think sometimes I don't remember that its not the situation that I'm supposed to be joyful about, but more that God is with me and getting me through whatever I'm dealing with. As we were sharing what we had learned this moring while getting ready, I told Nathan that I completely understand what being joyful in hope means. At least to me. I always have hope, its what keeps me going. And in that I am truly joyful. My hope is joyful.

"...be patient in affliction..." to be completely correct I looked up the meaning of affliction. It means ' a state of great suffering and distress due to adversity.' I recognize my suffereings are anything but great when I look around this world. But at times, they seem great compared to the other things in my life, and it is a time of suffering for me. Being patient is hard enough, but being patient while suffering? Thats a big task, especially if I expected an answer yesterday. I know thought, that God on my side, and with his unfailing mercy, I can be patient. Even if it comes and goes.

"be faithful in prayer." I've got that one down! When I am facing struggles, it seems my quiet times revolve around that subject. I often feel my thoughts are consumed with my desire, sturggle, or whatever it is on my heart and so I continually pray for that. Its so nice to be able to take my burden and give it up to God... over and over and over again.

During my quiet time Romans 12:12 also reminded me of another one of my favorite verses.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Philippians 4:6

But both of these verses are so encouraging and remind me to keep it up. Keep being hopeful, keep praying and asking God for the desires of your heart, keep on being patient and don't worry, it will happen in God's time, and finally keep thanking Him for everything he has given you. We often forget too easily about the things that God has done in our past when we are faced with other stuggles. But if we constantly are thanking God, then we won't forget... oh how wise God's words are!

I'm so thankful that God used a friend to bring this verse back into the front of my memory... and she has no clue how God used her today. I think I'll thank her, I already thanked God. I hope God can use me and what I was reminded of today to bless someone else. I think for all of us, Romans 12:12 is such a great reminder and comand.

So don't forget... "be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer."

as a side note... it frustrates me to no end when I can't get my paragraphs formated the way I like, so please excuse the missing lines between each paragraph... silly I know.

rub a dub dub, kitty in a tub...

okay so he wasn't actually in a tub. But it was his first bath and a fun experience that we thought we'd share with you.

this is Ashley, Ace's sister... and this is what she did while Ace got his bath... slept in her favorite spot, the laundry hamper. She looks excited doesn't she?

our before picture... he wasn't trying to get away, just posing for the camera!

the shampoo was a waterless foam that we massaged into his coat. It made Ace's fur so slick he looked like a wet seal.

he wasn't too sure about this bath thing.



getting dried off

sitting on my lap, he never once tried to run away

getting brushed


all done, say cheese!

O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree...

last year's tree

This time of year, most people are putting up their Christmas trees, decorating it, and enjoying the beautiful glow it gives off at night when the lights are turned on. Last week we put up our tree, and we were both so excited after we had it decorated. Little did I know, that I should have taken a picture the second we finished decorating it. By the next morning, the ornaments and many branches were on the floor. Our darling Acey had climbed the tree and had a wonderful time while we were sleeping. We tried to put things back, but everytime we came home from work or woke up in the mornings the bulbs were rolling around and the pine needles were chewed on. We even tried a tip we got off the internet. We tied strips of cloth to the bottom of the tree, creating a boundry, and sprayed them with this spray that cats don't like. That lasted for all of a few hours... mainly because we couldn't breathe in our own home.

So, this morning, December 7th.... 18 days shy of Christmas, our tree has been taken down. How sad! We do have a tiny tree up in our bedroom... kind of our Charlie Brown tree... its all of 3ft tall.

Next year, hopefully we'll be in a house and we can put our tree up again. We've already decided we'll find a way to keep the cats out. Ashley doesn't really care about the tree anyway. All we can pray is that Ace will grow out of his kitten stage by next Christmas and we can enjoy our tree again. So looks like this year, we'll have to enjoy our friends and family's trees!

food

I am so excited.... I can finally start eating solid foods again. Yesterday I had my 1 weeks post-op check up and Dr. Matty said I was healing very well. He took out the stitches that were in my jaw and will hopefully take out the rest next Tuesday at my next appt.

After a week of being on a liquid diet, I am so thrilled to be eating real food. On Monday night I tried to eat some pizza but my mouth/jaw became tired very quickly. I tried to eat again last night and again it was the same, but I know it will get better. Its just a relief to not have to drink my food. I love soup, and we usually have a lot of it in the winter, but right now all I want is anything that is crunchy or has to be chewed. Its amazing how much you miss things like that when you can't have them. So bring on the food... what a great challenge.

Oh, and for those of you who want to know how much weight I've lost over the past week... (everyone keeps asking me that) that answer is ZERO!!! I was so hungry this past week that I was drinking eveything in site, and that includes lots of sugar filled hot chocolate. So I definitely made up for the lack of real food with the empty calories of sugar.

family traditions

this weekend Nathan and I spent Saturday and Sunday shopping and trying not to get too frustrated while trying to figure out what to get everyone for Christmas. We especially needed to keep ourselves busy today and get our minds off the terrible game from last night. Let me tell you, it is not fun being a Mountaineer in Panther terriotory the day after we humiliated ourselves AGAIN on national television!

Anyway, yesterday we spent a few hours walking around getting ideas and checking out stores for bargins. Then today we planned on going shopping right after church. First though, Nathan stayed behind at church with Ryan Voloch and David Mertens to talk about a few things, so the girls (wives Lisa Voloch & Sally Ann Mertens) drove up to Starbucks for some girl talk time. One of the main things we talked about was how difficult it is around holiday times to choose, or not choose, between families after you're married. We all had different situations and different takes on things. Ryan & Lisa both have family here in the Burgh; David & Sally Ann's families are in Ohio and South Carolina...too spread out to visit everyone; and we of course have three families, + the entended family, all over WV. Dividing up time between everyone can really drive you CRAZY!!!! For the Volochs, it won't be too hard, they can take their time and visit the surrounding family over time, but I must say I am so pround of the Mertens. They have decided, like us, that they want to start their own Christmas traditions, so they are staying here for their first Christmas together and not trying to visit everyone at once. Can you imagine the 25 hours of driving it would take them to do a round trip to see everyone?

While we were talking about who was doing what and who was going where, I asked about family traditions and what kinds of Christmas things they did. It was neat to hear about how others celebrated my favorite holiday.

In our family, we didn't have too many formalized traditions. One of my favorite was that we had two Christmas trees. One tree upstairs was a formal tree. It had all white lights and my gold ornaments on it. Sometimes Mom and I put red, green, & white bows on it too. The tree downstairs was the family tree. It had the colored lights and all kinds of ornaments; a collection that came from both of my parents and ones that were mine. Nathan and I have talked and some day when we have a house, we'd like to do that too! We already have a fake tree (no real ones allowed in our apt.) so we could also do what we both love to do and go out and pick out a real one.

After talking with the girls this morning I asked Nathan if there were any family traditions from his childhood that he wanted to carry on... he couldn't think of any. But that spurred our thinking about things we wanted to do with our kids. One thing that is very important to both of us is centering Christmas around Jesus. It is his birthday after all. So to try to do that more, here are a few things we are starting that we will carry on with our children and make into family traditions:

1. each child (for now each of us) will get only 3 presents. Jesus received 3 presents from the wise men, Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh. This will help us to remember that the reason for the season isn't presents... plus our children will get enough stuff from our families. Of course we'll do stockings too .. but that is candy and little stuff. (thanks for this one Sally Ann, we loved it)
2. its Jesus' birthday, so lets celebrate. Years ago my aunt Mel made a birthday cake for Jesus and we all had a party and sang happy birthday. It stuck with me, and we're doing to do that too... Nathan gets to pick out the type of cake.
3. Christmas day will be ours... for our family to enjoy together without all the hussling around. After that, we'll take the time to visit the rest of our family.
4. Each year we'll get a Christmas ornament to represent the past year... ie. when we buy a house, we'll get a house ornament. We started this tradition 2 years ago.

For now thats it, but as our family grows we'll probably add more, and possibly adjust the ones we have. We're really excited to have these traditions and to celebrate Christmas for what it really is, Jesus' birthday.

If you've got a really cool tradition that you'd like to share, please feel free to do so!

recovery

I'm recovering well, but as you can see Ace is getting more use of my pillow than I am. He and Ashley took turns last night laying on it.

The surgery went very well. Dr. Matty was able to take 2 pieces of bone from my mandible, one from the inside, one from the outside. Thankfully he only took from the right side or both sides of my face would be sore and swollen. As it is, I can barely open my mouth, so I'm on a liquid diet.

I am on plenty of meds... thank goodness for pain meds! They are wonderful. Nathan has been wonderful. All day yesterday he took care of me and got me anything I needed. I can't really talk, but he has been wonderful at picking up what I'm trying to say.



The picture above shows where the bone was taken from (the red square). The pieces were about 2/3" square and about 1/4" thick. They weren't expecting to take two pieces, but since they did, it will be easier for my implants in the spring.

Right now the right side of my jaw is swollen, it looks like I have a tennis ball in my mouth. My upper lip as well as my nose are also swollen. Yesterday I used icepacks all day, today I'm trying to do it as much as I can, letting one freeze while I use another. If you ever need a homemade icepack, they are really easy to make.

1 part alcohol
1 part water

If you put that in a baggy and then put that baggy in another bigger baggy and put it in the freezer it is the perfect slushy icepack. The alcohol doesn't let the water freeze so its super cold and forms nicely to where you put it. Gotta go get some ice right now, we'll let you know later in the week how things are going. Once I can open my mouth I'll let you know what the stitches look like!

a little bit of everything

from Pittsburgh to Chicago to Morgantown to surgery... we're doing a little bit of it all.

Nathan left this morning at 4am to head to Chicago for a trade show. Hopefully his flight will be on time so he can be back in Pittsburgh before we have to leave for Morgantown at 7am. If something happens and his flight gets delayed then my Mom is 'on call' for an emergency trip up. Nathan's flight is scheduled to leave at 8:30 tonight, which puts him home around 1am.

So far so good on the surgery for tomorrow. This one should actually happen, and man will I be in pain. I've taken off the rest of the week from work, with the possibility of doing some from home and going in Friday. It all depends on how I'm feeling.

Thanksgiving was great. We got to spend some much needed time in Bridgeport with my Dad, step-mom and siblings. The kids didn't want us to leave, they begged and begged for us to stay longer. We also made a quick trip down to Flatwoods to pick up our Christmas dishes that had been left in Charleston... its always fun to meet home and look around at the shops. After two seperate thanksgiving dinners (one at Dad's one at Amy's Dad's) and some leftovers we headed North. Our 'children' were waiting... and Ace kept me up all night.

We'll update you later this week about how my surgery goes/went. You can always call Nathan or email if you want... I don't know that I'll be talking much at all.... that might be a relief for some of you.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and a few days of relaxation before the Christmas rush begins!

fear

"...today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

Deuteronomy 20:3-4

Fear is something we all struggle with. Fear comes in many different forms. A fear of having children in this day and age, of losing a job, of failure, of losing the ones you love, of dying... these are only a few of the many many types of fear. Lately we've been battling a lot of our fears, some of them on a daily basis.

Last week during my quiet time I came across the verse above in Deuteronomy. The verse leaped off the page at me and has been stuck in my mind. I liked it so much I wrote it down on an index card and taped it to the front door so we can see it before we head out each day... a little reminder that God is going with us into battle that day and that he is fighting with us and for us. I've also memorized it and hope to revive it from my memory any time I am fearful.

This morning as I was getting ready to go into work it dawned on me that in one week from today I will be having surgery. Up until now I have been fine with it, but fear suddenly crept into my heart and I found myself almost panicked. I started hearing the risks as they flowed through my mind and I thought of the pain. I remembered back to a women's conference in Oct. when the speaker, Tammy Smith, spoke about praying for people who were having surgery. She talked about how when someone goes into surgery and they are sedated, the mind becomes fair game to any and all thoughts or dreams that the Devil can put in our heads. For years now, before I go to sleep I have been praying that God will keep watch over my dreams and my thoughts, that nothing harmful will enter as I'm sleeping. I figure most people are like me, they hate scary dreams. Anyway, as I thought about my surgery and the fact that I will be under sedation I knew I should start praying for that aspect of it as well.

Thankfully God relieved my fear for the morning as I rushed off to work, but when I got home this afternoon and started to relax the fears crept in again. I could hear my boss (in WV) telling me about how he had a procedure done once and he was temporarily paralyzed... I have that risk as well as the risk that it could be permanent! That scares me. I don't want to seem vain, but who really wants to have half their face paralyzed? I also thought about the fact that I could actually die during this surgery. Stranger things have happened. When I'm telling someone about what will happen I've been throwing in the fact that IF something were to happen, at least I'll be in the hospital... thats where WVU's dental school is. But I can't help but think of the what ifs. I definitely don't want to die. I'm not afraid of death, but there are so many things left that I want to do.

Fear is a scary thing (bad wording I know). Its like worry, if we left it take root in our lives it can destroy us. Not too long ago, we had to share what we thought our spouse's greatest character trait was. Nathan gave me the biggest compliment when he said I had more faith and hope than any one else he had ever met. I'm banking on my faith to get me through this.

I'll be sure to let you know how we're doing as the time gets closer. And if we don't post again until after Thursday:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Fall in WV

On Wednesday as I drove to WV I was amazed at what I saw. Most of the trees were bare and the few trees that weren't, had brown, dry, dead leaves. It wasn't the same beautiful scenery that I had seen only a week or so before. On the way home that night I realized that it wasn't rain hitting my windshield but snow flurries. Then on Thursday it snowed and we actually had accumulation on our cars Friday morning. I coudn't believe it. I love the snow, but I thought we were still in the Fall season.

Nathan and I both thought Fall seemed longer in WV. Maybe its because we were surrounded my such beautiful colors that seemed to last forever as we watched each leave turn from green to bright yellow, blazing orange, or the most amazing color of red we've ever seen. (Thank you God for the pleasure we have of seeing and living in your creation... each leaf has your fingerprint on it.) Fall is the most beautiful time of year in West Virginia, and definitely our favorite season. But here in Pittsburgh, Fall seems to come and go in a matter of a few weeks. I don't know if we are really affected by the cold air coming off of Lake Erie or what... but my goodness, its cold here now and we're pretty dissapointed!

At least we are used to the cold and snow. Tomorrow I am taking Sally Ann shopping. She needs new jeans and boots... the poor girl was wearing open toed shoes two weeks ago. She could probably use a new coat too. Nathan told her the other day its no longer Fall, its officially Winter.... even if the calendar says differently. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Thanksgiving is on Thursday, it doesn't feel like it.

The weather change and the appearance of snow has got us both looking forward to Christmas. We'll probably put our tree up next weekend, and that always makes the holidays seem even closer. Now that Fall has passed (oh so suddenly) bring on the snow!

Winter in WV

full time...

If you've called or emailed us in the past week, you probably haven't gotten a reply. All of a sudden, life got busy. As of last week, I have two jobs, and of course Nathan's full time job takes up a lot of his time.

I had forgotten how little time is left over at the end of the day when you are working a full day. Previously I had been working one job out of WV and most of the work was sporadic, except for Tuesday when I would drive down and work in the office. Let me tell you, the long distance made for a long day. But now that Nathan and I are both working full time, things have become somewhat crazy.

Up until now, most evenings we would come home and just unwind. Recently though, we've added a homegroup to our week and we're trying to add a 'study' night, in which we go to a coffee shop and read and hang out. This week it didn't work, yesterday wasn't the best day and we didn't feel like going out once we got home. So we'll aim to get that in next week. We also are looking into joining a gym with our friends the Mertens, we really need to do that. Almost all our nights are full... but I guess thats what we want, we have missed being busy the way we were in WV.

David & Sally Ann Mertens

Anyway, as for my two jobs, I'm trying to work it all out. I've only worked 3 days at my job here, but I am enjoying it. Its hard getting used to new people and the way they do things, but I think all in all, I'll learn a lot and be a better designer for it.

We're sorry if we've missed your calls and emails, but we will get back to you I promise. I'm getting back into the routine of balancing everything. We are both planners and organizers so this helps keep up on track. I hope in a few weeks if someone asks how we're doing, we'll be able to say 'great!' Being busy right now is good....speaking of being busy, I've gotta run, dinner is ready!

LETS GOOOOOO MOUNTAINEERS!

What a wonderful surprise it was to wake up this morning and find that we had beat Louisville. Last night night we rused home from small group and watched the game as long as we could. Eventually our tiredness got the best of us and we couldn't keep our eyeslids open any longer. At that point it was the 4th quarter and the score was WVU 31 - Louisville 28. Louisville had been coming back pretty strong and we were both worried that as soon as we turned off the light the game in Morgantown would take a terrible turn. We raced to the computer this morning and thankfully were greated with a win over Lousiville. Final Score: WVU 38 - Louisville 31. Lets GOOOOOO Mountaineers!

(had to use the gold font today to get the total effect)

attempted, but failed again

me and my smile

WARNING: this post may contain TMI.

This morning at 6 am we were heading out the door on our way to Morgantown. Today I was having my implants put in (steel rods/screws in my mouth, not other types). As we drove we each prayed that today everything would go smoothly, the procedure would happen, and I wouldn't be in too much pain. You see, this is the second trip that we've made to Morgantown expecting to have this done. This past July we went down and after starting surgery (cutting me open and all) they discovered that the bone had some defects and they couldn't continue. So we were really praying that today would be the day. Not to mention the fact that we both wanted it to all be over and done with.

For those of you who may not know why I have to have implants I'll explain. When I was 6 years old, I was hit by a bike. Actually I was riding my bike with friends, we had stopped and were talking when another friend came flying down the hill on her bike and hit me head on. This threw me off my bike and I hit my handle bars and hers as I somersaulted into the air and onto the ground. I had just gotten in my permanent teeth after having grey baby teeth that resulted from an accident in which I hit a porcelain bathtub with my front teeth. Anyway, the wreck knocked out one of my front teeth, and damaged the other severely... although we didn't know about the second one until a few years ago. So you see, I need this procedure, and its been 19 years in the making.

(back to today's story..) I checked in at the clinic and shortly a tech came and got me to have x-rays. Dr. Reed (my surgeon) was concerned about the bone too and wanted to make sure everything was okay before he opened me up again. Turned out, everything wasn't okay. The bone still hadn't grown enough. I was then shipped off to speak with another surgeon about a block graft. Here enters the TMI. The Dr. that I spoke with explained what would happen. I don't have enough bone, so they are going to go in and take (saw out) a chunk of bone from my lower jaw... OUCH! Then they are going to break the bone that they took and place it in the front of my mouth where I need it. They will have to cut open my upper gum (where my front teeth are) and fold the flap all the way back... so far so that they will be working under my nose. They'll place the broken bone in the correct places, screw it into place with miniature screws, cover it with mesh and other fun things, and then stretch the skin back over and stitch me back up. Sounds fun doesn't it? After I heal for 6 months they will attempt again to put in the implants.

The risks are significant, but like I told Nathan, its like any surgery, there are always risks. If when they are cutting out bone from my lower jaw they happen to hit a nerve, it could cause me temporary or permanent numbness on the right lower side of my face. If the bone graft doesn't take, I could lose the bone and they'd have to do it again later. There is also the possibility that they could hurt my other teeth as they are putting the screws into place. The only good thing I could take away was that if something were to happen while I am under sedation, I am already in a hospital! I'm really glad that I opted for full sedation and not to be awake though. The Dr. described it like when I had my wisdom teeth out, I probably won't remember a thing. I don't want to be like Nathan who remembers the nurses hold his head down while the dentist hammered away at his teeth. I'll definitely be praying that none of the risks occur.

So as you see our attempt at the implants again failed today. Looks like I won't get them until at least next May or June... but hopefully then it will all be done and I'll have a beautiful smile. Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that this crazy surgery is happening in 2 weeks. November 27th at 9:30am. At least I'll get to eat Thanksgiving dinner right?

I hope I didn't share too many yucky details. Just wanted to let you know what was happening and ask for prayer that it all goes well and I'm not out of commission for too long. Talk to you again soon.

family thanksgiving

the family...minus 11+

just having a little fun

the "kids"...minus my siblings

Every year, usually in October, my family gets together for an early Thanksgiving. This past Sunday we all met up in Philippi and sat down to a wonderful dinner together. As you can tell from the picture above we have a big family... the thing is, thats only my (paternal) Grandmother's side. There were 33 family memebers in this picture and we're missing at least 11.

Thanksgiving is always an event and a half. Our family, like any family, is full of crazy people, some a little more so than others. As long as I can remember we have forwarned any guests that may come (boyfriends, etc.) about a particular aunt that you want to avoid at all costs. We also make known that unless you are in the family, you WILL NOT be allowed in the family picture. That rule comes from my cousin Stacey. Apparently she and my cousin Allen dated for many many years and she was never allowed in the picture until they married. This year, they did pretty good, and no one tried to sneak in.... last year was a different story.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time and I thought I'd share a few pictures. This past weekend we also went to a movie (Michael Clayton) on Friday night when David and Sally Ann. We really enjoyed ourselves and are loving the time we get to hang out with our new friends. Then on Saturday we drove down to Morgantown to go to a dip party thrown by friends. The weekend really was full of great food, family, & friends.

We hope you had a great weekend too!

spilled water, not milk....

This is how Ace likes to be held... he is a true baby

So I have to let out a little frustration with our kitten Ace. Ace is about 8 month old and rotten to boot. As Nathan calls him "Satan's spawn with black fur".... its okay to laugh, I about died the first time I heard him say that. Needless to say, Ace is WILD, and honestly I quesiton at times if I can't handle him, how will I ever handle a child?

We have an automatic water feeder, and Ace likes to splash the water out because it makes a noise he apparently likes. Its the noise that the water cooler at work makes when the bubbles go to the top (glug glug). Ace is notorious for spilling the water all over the kitchen floor and into his food dish. Yesterday I spent a good hour trying to get him to stop playing with it. I would hear him spashing in the water and I'd go over, squirt him with a water bottle, and come back to finish my work. By the time I sat down he was at it again. Eventually Ace looked like a wet seal, but I don't think he cared, he was having fun with his 'toy.'

After Ace had finished playing

I had no clue what to do with him. I put him in the guest bathroom for a few minutes but felt so bad when he started crying. I let him out, and immediately he went straight to the water again.
Eventually I picked him up and just held him tightly so he couldn't get away. We played in the living room for a while and he finally clamed down after a while.

Never did I imagine that yesterday would have been the end of the water bowl splashing... and sure enough when we got up this morning he had done it again. I think I feel worse for our other cat Ashley because she has to put up with him more than we do... if he splashes all the water out, then she has nothing else to drink.

We're still hoping that eventually Ace will grow out of his kitten stage and become a lazy lap cat like Ashley. I guess we have a few more years before that will happen.

Have a great weekend!

what a day...

its days like today that really get to me. Since leaving West Virginia almost two years ago, I haven't had a steady job. When we were in Virginia/DC I had two jobs, one was a one week temp. job and the other I didn't get until two months before we left. When we got to Pittsburgh I was so excited about getting a job, surely there would be lots of opportunity in the 'big' city. But little did I know the troubles I would run into here.

Its been over one year since we've been here and I still don't have a job. Okay, I have a job working for a friend of mine in WV, but its not steady and my pay doesn't do much but pay for my gas to drive down there once a week. I don't mean to complain, I do enjoy keeping my skills in autocad fresh, and it makes me feel good to know that I am helping my boss out. But days like today, really reach down inside of me and pull the desire for a real job to the surface. Now, you might be reading this and saying, this lady is crazy...why does she want a job so badly? Its not the job I want, as much as the desire to help us out financially. Sure, I don't have to work, but by not working I feel like I shouldn't buy extra things, want to go out on dates, eat out once in a blue moon, etc. If we had a second income, we could do more and I wouldn't feel so bad if I wanted to go shopping, or needed a new winter coat like I just did last week. (I love cooler weather)

In the past year, I've received a few calls about local jobs, nothing ever fitting. I've gone on interviews, nothing ever panning out. Yesterday morning before I headed to Morgantown I received a call from a headhunter who was looking for a project manager of sorts. I listened to her description of the job and realized I needed to let it sink in so I asked for an email with the info in it, so I could consider it. I got the email and looked over it, it looked all right, but I'm not perfect for the job. I'm qualified in most every way when it comes to education but the job seems quite daunting. I made the decision after talking with Nathan, that I could interview for the position but that I wouldn't be totally sure until I learned more. So I've put that one the backburner until I hear more. I also have a contact that is supposed to call me in a week or so about a part time position with a restaurant designer. Sounds pretty cool to me, but its on hold too. These are the last jobs I've even heard of around there in the past 5 months! Crazy.

I feel like I've tried, but have I really? That question always come up on days like today.... you probably would like to know what happened today that caused all of this huh? Well, this morning I spent 3-1/2 hours at the auto shop getting my car inspected and having emissions tests run, only to find out I needed (at least thats what they said) 4 new tires. Most of your know that my car is only a year old, and I guess its possible, but I didn't think tires wore out that quickly. Oh, and they didn't give me a full year of inspection/emissions... they said it was their policy to match my stickers to my license plates... well they didn't do that last year!

After my morning there I went to pay our township income taxes. The lovely state of PA not only taxes your income once a year like all other states, but they also tax your income just for living here. Every quarter I go and pay a % of our income to Hampton Township, and even though I don't work in the state, I still have to pay.

I definitely could have spent even more money today, but I decided to forgo the oil change that the Mazda also needs, the trip to Walmart and the grocery store.

I often get down on myself for not having a job and helping out more around here. After the house fiasco, I felt that way...."why couldn't I have a job so we had more money?" etc. Let me ask you, do any of you ever feel that way? Many of my friends are stay at home moms, which is wonderful... but I often wonder if this ever crosses their minds. I know from all of this that even after we have children I will want to stay connected and work part-time. I love working from home, so hopefully I can work something like that out.

If you have ever felt the way I do, I'd love to hear your story and if you ever overcame the struggle. I know I can't do it alone, but God can help me through it, (he may use you to help me) he has already saved me from great bouts of despession. I will keep praying for a job, and I have total faith that God will bring something my way. A lot of my studying and learning from church/groups has been about faith lately. It has been mostly about having true constant faith and not asking God to show us continually so we'll believe. I've been able to apply that to my life in a different way, and I feel lucky for the amazing faith in God that I do have.

Well, its getting late and I need to get stuff in order so I can pass out candy and then head to bible study. Have a great evening and I'll see you back here tomorrow.

buying a house part II...

so..... a lot has happened in 24 hours. As of yesterday afternoon everything was going forward, we were going to be home owners. But late last night, after phone calls to parents for advice, many tears and discussions, we have decided to back out. Shocking? Tell me about it. But, after sleeping on it, its probably for the best. We can continue to save our money and hopefully put enough away for a good down payment, and when we are ready we can try again.
Buying a house is stressful, and honestly, I probably wasn't mentally ready for it. I wasn't ready for another disappointment, I wasn't ready for the fall out, and I wasn't ready for the day I had yesterday. Not only did we lose the house that we were both looking forward to, but I was swamped with work. My boss has been on vacation for the past two weeks and so my work load was extremely light. Yesterday I was completely bombarded with work... I was even pulled out of the shower to complete something... oh, I work at home for those of you who are wondering why I was in the shower at work... and I had asked if it was okay if I stepped away for a few minutes and take a shower. But after my hectic work day I rushed off to a girls night out with my new friend Sally Ann. Sally Ann is a 'southern girl' and soooo sweet. She is a Mary Kay rep., and although I had done the Mary Kay thing before, I desperately wanted some time out of the house, so I agreed to a makeover and some free chocolate.
That part of my day/night was wonderful. It truly was my first time out of the house in a very long time. It was much needed. I think God knew I needed that little bit of time before the he opened the flood gates and washed it all away. So I am thankful for my time with my new friend Sally Ann, for the wonderful chocolate I got to eat last night (I am a chocoholic), for the free time outside of the house, and for the calm before the storm. I am also thankful for the lesson that we learned from this proccess. God is good, even if the outcome doesn't seem so good.
Thank you for your prayers... next time I'll wait until we actually buy the house before I say anything ;o)

buying a home...

isn't all its cracked up to be! Since moving to Pittsburgh a year ago, Nathan and I have looked into buying a house a few times. Sounds exciting doesn't it? Buying a house? Yeah, we thought so, but every time we started looking into it we were reminded of the amazingly high tax rates here in the burgh. Currently we live north of the city, which we love... Nathan works up here, its easy to get to I79 so we can go home (WV), our new church is up here, the schools are some of the best, and we are surrounded by great communities/neighborhoods. With everything as wonderful as it seems, you sure do pay for it.
We've recently been looking into a few different options. One option was to buy a house that is in real need of fixing. We'd literally have to keep our apartment while we replaced all the flooring, put in a new kitchen with all new appliances, painted everything, etc. We really liked the idea of a house, all to our own, as well as the idea of fixing it up the way we wanted. Once we looked over the costs and time it would take, we decided it wasn't something we should do right now. So, this past weekend we put in a bid on a townhouse. Its just beautiful inside, and perfect for us. But...(there is always a but) we're dealing with a seller who wants every penny and isn't willing to budge, even a little. We made an offer, he made a counter offer, we made a counter offer, he said he wanted more money... we're waiting. 10 phone calls in a matter of a couple of hours and we decide to put a hold on everything. We're hoping that he will give in and take our last offer and give up on sqeezing us dry. It honestly wouldn't be so bad except with the taxes, (as I mentioned before) you add at least $300 onto your mortgage... and I guess that wouldn't be so bad if we had lower priced houses. Just another thing we miss about WV.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out, but if you would, say a little prayer for us?

on another note: Welcome to our adventure!