Kevin’s Wedding

My cousin Kevin married his beautiful bride, Bailey, in Kansas City on June 12th. We met my dad and sister there for the weekend and had a great time celebrating with everyone. Congrats, Kev! We’re so happy for you.

Me and my beautiful sister

Sarah and Jonathan

Jonathan’s favorite pose

Dad and Sarah

My Uncle Bruce with his Uncle Harry and Aunt Helen (my great-uncle and aunt). Uncle Harry and Aunt Helen spent their honeymoon at the same resort where Kevin and Bailey got married….over 50 years ago! What an amazing life they’ve had together.

Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt’s first dance

My cousin Amanda with Uncle Bruce

The cousins: Amanda, Kevin, Sarah and me

Samuel

I got to hang out with Sarah, Samuel and Joseph today. It was so much fun to see them! We hung around the house for awhile and then went to lunch. Before we left, Samuel found my purse and had a blast with all my lip gloss. (I have a problem, and I admit it, but I LOVE lip gloss. There are about 8 different kinds in my purse at any given moment.) This picture was after Samuel had tried 4 different ones. If Dave sees this, I’m dead meat…but it’s just too funny…

First comes love, then comes marriage…

Then comes a BABY in the BABY CARRIAGE!  We are overjoyed to announce that we are expecting our first baby around December 21, 2010!  It’s been a very long journey to get to this point, and we couldn’t be happier.  I have so much to tell about our journey, but for now I’m just too happy to go there.  

Last night I found myself bawling in the car listening to a sappy song, but these tears were happy ones.  It felt so good to finally release all my fears, hopes and joys.  It has been a long time since I felt that way.  I guess I just couldn’t believe that we are actually becoming parents.  This has been my life-long dream, ever since I was a little girl.  On my first day of kindergarten, my mom was walking me to the bus stop and I told her, “Mom, I don’t need to go to school because I’m just going to be a mom like you.”  Almost 25 years later, that dream is finally coming true!

We have lots of “pictures” of our little peanut, so be prepared.  I’m not even going to apologize for posting all these; I’m just too happy to care. :)

Peanut at 5 weeks, 6 days – the size of a piece of rice

Peanut at 6 weeks, 6 days – the size of a peanut (and the origin of our nickname for the baby)

Peanut at 7 weeks, 6 days – the size of a gummy bear

Another look at 7 weeks, 6 days

After this, we were released to our regular OBGYN, whom we got to see last week.  We weren’t actually scheduled for another ultrasound, but he did one at the beginning of our appointment.  He’s the best doctor EVER!  (I had to take pictures of these pictures because our scanner is broken, so they’re not the greatest.)

Peanut at 11 weeks, 1 day.  Dr. P said the baby was waving to us in this picture.  Really?!?  Couldn’t tell. 

He said this one was looking down at baby’s head.  Again, I have no idea.  I just hope that my inability to read ultrasounds has no bearing on my ability to be a mom.

There are a couple more pictures, but I don’t even remember what they are supposed to be of - please don’t judge me.  During this ultrasound, the baby was moving around like crazy. Dr. P said its arms and legs were constantly moving, like the baby was swimming.  Peanut wouldn’t sit still long enough to get the heartbeat, but apparently that’s okay because we know for sure its heart was beating the way it was moving around.  I just hope this isn’t a sign of things to come…namely, ADHD!  And Jonathan’s comment was, “I don’t really want our baby to be a swimmer.  Swimmers are weird.”  Really?!?  Cause that’s what I was worried about. 

So we’ve made it to 12 weeks, and everything is looking great, and I feel like I can finally breathe again.  Thanks for sharing in our joy with us!

“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3

Landscaping

Last week we had some landscaping done on the side of our house.  Every time it rained, the side of our house turned into a complete mud pit.  Lola loved running through the mud, but it made it extremely difficult to keep the house clean.  Sometimes we’d have to pick her up and take her straight to the bath.  What a pain!  So far this week it’s rained twice, and Lola has stayed super clean!  Hallelujah!!!

The side of the house before:

 

And after:

Ahh…so much better!  The guys who did the work did an awesome job.  We are so thankful that they were able to get it finished in a day – our lives have become much easier and Lola isn’t getting yelled at so much.  I think she appreciates the change as well.

This is random, but last summer I bought this lily and planted it in a pot on our deck.  I was super disappointed when it only bloomed once, and I told my mom how I thought it was a total waste of money.  She suggested that I plant it in the flowerbeds we put in last summer, so I did.  Last summer it was two small stalks with two or three blooms.  This is what it looks like this summer…amazing!  I’m so glad my mom told me to keep it and plant it.  I already miss her gardening expertise, among other things of course.  But now when I look at the lily I can think of her!

Memorial Day Weekend and Lots of Birthdays

For Memorial Day weekend we went to Branson and Table Rock Lake with a bunch of friends.  While we were there we celebrated lots of birthdays.  Here’s a run-down of all the summer birthdays in our group…Tyler’s birthday was on the 15th, Jill’s birthday was on the 25th, Drew turned 30 on the 29th (we’re birthday buddies - we even had a joint 16th birthday party – how cute), I turned 30 on the 30th, and Sara turns 30 on June 24th.  So many fun birthdays to celebrate and a fun long weekend to do it.  Like I said, I turned 30…yes, the big 3-0…on May 30th.  Jonathan says that  makes it my “golden birthday.”  I would say it was definitely a golden day!

Jonathan and I headed down Friday afternoon and got there in time to check in at the condo.  Then we explored the resort grounds and checked out the dock.  Pretty soon Megan, Drew, Jill and Nick all got there.  That night we went to get pizza at a local restaurant and waited for the rest of the group to get there.  On Saturday the boys played golf at Payne Stewart’s golf course (apparently it’s a good one) and the girls had a relaxing day.  We went to breakfast and then laid out by the pool.  It was so nice to finally get some sun on my pasty white skin!  When the boys got back we rented a pontoon boat for a couple of hours and went out on the lake.  Ahh…I love lakes!  The boys did some fishing and the girls did what we do best – chatted and just hung out.  That night Drew and some of the boys grilled and we had a yummy “family” dinner all together.

On Sunday (my 30th birthday) the boys went to play golf again (I think it was called Murder Rock, or something like that) while the girls hit some outlet shops.  We all managed to find something at the Coach outlet..shocking, I know…and had a great time looking around.  Then we ate lunch and went to see Sex and the City 2.  After that we met the boys at Branson landing and had a delicious dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  On Monday morning we got up and had a yummy breakfast made by Drew before packing up and heading our separate ways.  What a fabulous weekend with great friends!  I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Megan, Jill, Sara, me and Hollye getting ready for our boat ride

  Me and Megan on the boat

Jill, Sara and Hollye lookin’ good on the lake

The girls on the boat

This was the biggest fish the boys caught on Saturday!

With our birthday cups

Jill gave me these cups for my birthday – they are so fun!

Megan and Hollye

Jill, me and Sara at lunch

Me, Hollye and Megan after dinner on the Landing

   With my hubby…isn’t he cute?

Last year at this time, I was completely freaked out about turning 30.  Now I’ve decided this is a great time in my life, and I don’t want to miss a moment of it.  I’m really excited for this  next year – bring it on!  And being 30 feels very settled and confident of myself.  I’ll take that any year.

Sex and the City 2

I went to see Sex and the City 2 with some friends from work on opening night.  It’s a good thing school was out so we could stay out late on a Thursday night!  I don’t know when the last time I did that was.  We went to dinner at Central West End and then saw the 10:00 show at the Chase Park Plaza.  It was a fabulous girl’s night out!  We took a picture before we went out…

Katie, Bridget, me and Abbie

I’m sure you’re thinking that we look pretty “sexy in the city” ourselves…at least that’s what we thought.  Go easy on us – we’re teachers.  We have to find ways to feel good about ourselves after being covered in germs and snot all day for nine months!

Emily Giffin

My sister-in-law introduced me to Emily Giffin's books a few years ago. She gave me Something Borrowed and Something Blue for Christmas in 2006. I read both of them in a matter of a few days - I couldn't put them down! After that I've read every book Emily Giffin has written. I will admit that the first two were my favorites, but the others have been good as well.

A few months ago a friend at work and I started swapping books. She lent me a bunch of Nicholas Sparks books, and I lent her my copies of Emily Giffin's books. Julie was so into Something Borrowed that we talked about it every day at lunch. I realize this makes me a dork, but it was so fun! Anyway, Julie started following Emily on twitter and would check her website daily. She found out that Emily was coming to St. Louis to promote her latest book, Heart of the Matter.

Last Tuesday, Julie and I went to Saks at Frontenac to meet Emily. The book signing was sponsored by a non-profit organization and was quite an event! When we arrived, we signed in and were given gift bags full off coupons and samples from fun stores. Then we headed downstairs and found a bunch of chairs set up in a lobby area. We decided to grab a couple of chairs up front since we weren't really sure what all was happening. We ended up sitting there for over an hour, but it ended up being a good choice because the place was packed! They had an open bar with a "Giffintini," beer and wine. Waiters walked around with trays of yummy snacks as well.

Finally Emily arrived and was interviewed by a lady from the Post Dispatch. She talked about inspiration for her stories and how she goes through the writing process. As a teacher, it was so fun to hear how a real author writes a story -from start to finish. She talked a lot about her characters and explained that they are her focal point. She talked about how even people in her life who have hurt her always end up surprising her in good ways, and she uses that idea to create characters who are "flawed" but still endearing. It made me want to go back and read all the books I didn't like as much now that I know how she thinks about writing. After the talk we waited for almost an hour to get our books signed, but all the waiting was totally worth it!  If you’ve read Something Borrowed, you’ll probably be excited to know that the movie is coming out next summer.  Kate Hudson is playing Darcy and Ginnifer Goodwin is playing Rachel.  I can’t wait!

During the interview

Emily Giffin 

Julie and I finally meet Emily  (Please notice my horribly   unflattering shirt…nice!)

Kickball Champions…again!

I’m so excited to announce that my team – The Henry Bulldogs – are the official 2010 Parkway Staff Kickball Champions!  That’s two years in a row!  Our team was awesome and completely earned the trophy.  I gave myself the job of team photographer because I ended up missing lots of practices due to other commitments.  But I was so proud to be part of this group and to watch them win!  Go Dawgz!

Decorating, Kickball, and Mochas

These three words describe my life at school lately.  My student teacher has taken over my class for the past three weeks, and I am literally going bonkers!  Luckily we have two student teachers in the building, and the other one is in my friend Bridget’s room.  In order to keep ourselves busy, we decided to re-decorate our teacher’s lounge.  It was so yucky and boring before, but now we have the new, improved “Henry Cafe.”  We’ve covered two bulletin boards with fabric and ribbon, took down all the ugly decorations, bought tons of new stuff (with some money from our principal), and even bought some flowers and scented soaps.  It’s so pretty!  I’ll have to take some pictures and post them soon.

Kickball practice is back on.  Last year we put together a Henry team for the Parkway staff kickball tournament.  Our team was very intense about practicing.  Once (or twice…maybe three times…) I missed practice and was subsequently “benched.”  I am still a bit bitter about the situation.  So this year I am determined to show them just how athletic I can be.  The tournament this year is on April 30th.  I just hope we’re ready!

The last thing that has been keeping me busy is getting Mochas at McDonald’s – not that we ever go there during school hours, of course. :)  Have you tried them?  They are rather delicious and cheaper than Starbucks.  I highly recommend them.

In all honesty, I really miss my class.  I’ve been working with two of my reading groups the whole time, so I do get to be in the classroom for over an hour every day.  I also check in frequently (probably too frequently if you ask my student teacher) to see how things are going.  The other day one of my little girls was really upset about some things.  I pulled her aside to find out what was going on, and apparently her house had been vandalized the night before.  When I asked her what they had done about it, she said, “Well, the police came, but we are trying to help them.  We have some likely suspects.”  I asked her if she was planning on helping the police, and she said, “Well I would, but my sister’s spy kit isn’t the greatest now that we lost a bunch of stuff.”  Seriously!?!  And she was dead serious the whole time.

Here’s a recent picture of my class.  They are so fun! 

Easter

Easter weekend was really busy!  I was in charge of an Easter egg hunt for the little kids at church, so I spent most of the week getting ready for it.  On Sunday I begged Jonathan to help me out, and we ended up being the only two workers in nursery with 14 kids ranging in age from 8 months to 4-years-old.  It was pure madness!  But we had lots of fun and managed to survive.  However, Jonathan has changed his mind about opening a preschool with me someday.

That afternoon we came home to get ready for Easter dinner with the Glassers.  We had a delicious meal – with way too much food, as usual – and lots of fun playing outside with Samuel.  He really enjoyed his first Easter egg hunt…and I think I was almost as excited as he was.

Yummy cupcakes for our Easter party at church.  I’m not gonna lie, I had a blast making them.  I’m such a kid!

  I spent a LOT of time that week stuffing eggs for the hunt.

The fun centerpiece for Easter dinner.  My student teacher gave it to me the Friday before.  She’s so sweet!

Joseph is so cute…I could just eat him up!

We hid eggs around our front yard for Samuel.  He had a whole routine down when he found one.  Pick it up – break it open with his teeth – take out all the candy – put candy in basket – throw egg on ground (it’s useless now, of course.)

Finding the good stuff – candy!

Pure joy

We love this family!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!  I spent lots of time reflecting on what Easter really means to me.  I couldn’t help but think about my mom, of course, but I was also filled with such peace and joy knowing that because of what God did for us on Easter, I will be able to spend eternity with her.  What an amazing gift!  I feel overwhelmed by His incredible kindness towards us all.  What a great day…

Meeting Joseph

Jonathan and I got to meet Joseph Teal Glasser about a week after his birth.  We were thrilled to finally meet him and cuddle with him!  Here are a few pictures from the day:

Jonathan and Samuel

Sweet Baby Joseph

Uncle Jonathan with his nephews

And a kiss from Samuel – Jonathan was a little surprised, I think!

Nephews

We are so blessed to be the aunt and uncle of two ADORABLE nephews!  This little guy was born on February 7, 2010.  Isn’t he the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?!?

Joseph Teal Glasser

And our sweet nephew, Samuel, turned 2 on March 5th!  I can’t believe how big he’s getting.  On Sunday Sarah called and we could hear Samuel saying, “Lola!  Lola!” in the background.  Apparently he saw a picture of a yellow lab in a magazine and was saying Lola’s name.  Then he pointed to the people in the picture with the dog and said, “No! No!”  Sarah said he didn’t like that the people in the picture with “Lola” weren’t Jonathan and me, and he was mad!  How cute is that.  And brilliantly smart, if you ask me. :)

Still here

It's been 43 days since my mom passed away. And yes, I'm still here. Just haven't been blogging. No particular reason, just other things on my mind. Life is still going on, and I know mom would want it that way. It's just that life has changed - and it's so weird. I miss her all the time. It hits at strange times in strange ways. I'll be walking through a room in our house or through the mall or driving down the street and it will just hit me - my mom died. It's driving home from bible study on Monday nights when I would ALWAYS call her - she's gone. It's thinking about events in my life that are still to come and realizing - I'm going to miss her so much. It's all of those things and so many more that I can't even put into words. And yet, despite the sadness, it's also realizing the legacy she left for me and all the ways she shaped me into the person I am and will become. I am so blessed to have spent my life with her and that we had such a close, wonderful, perfect relationship. (Well, as perfect as a relationship can be!) She shaped my views of life, faith, family, and even my career. She will always be with me and will be a part of every decision and event in my life. I will always wish she was here, but I'm so thankful to know that she is in Heaven with our Lord and that I will see her again soon. The only problem with "soon" is that it seems so long right now...

A lot of people ask how my dad and sister are doing, and they are doing amazingly well, if you ask me. My dad is incredible - we have had many heart-to-heart conversations and I am always amazed that through the grief he is experiencing, he is still the most encouraging person I know. He reminds me that everything we went through is for a purpose and that mom's life and death have touched so many people's lives. My sister is also amazing. Right before spring conferences, I just wanted to talk to my mom. Sarah asked what I would have told her, and I said (without thinking), "Oh, just school stuff. You probably wouldn't understand." Not even missing a beat, she said, "Well, I can try to understand. Just tell me what you would have told her." Wow. We all have our moments, but I'm so grateful that my mom helped build a family that communicates and takes care of each other. I just hope I can be there for them in the same way they are there for me...

So I just needed to get a few things off my chest - you know, say something about the big thing that has happened - before moving on. I'm sure there will be other things I want to say about it, but I hope that they can be encouraging things that will somehow, in some small way, help someone else out there. If that is the case, then everything I've gone through and the pain I've felt hasn't been in vain.

One of my Theta pledge sisters lost her brother about a week before I lost my mom. We've communicated a little over the past month, and she sent me this poem that she read at her brother's funeral:

I'M FREE

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God has chosen for me.
I took His hand when I heard him call;
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way;
I've now found peace at the end of day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joys.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss;
Oh yes, these things, I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow
Look for the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full, I savored much;
Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.
Perhaps my time seems all to brief;
Don't lengthen your pain with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and peace to thee,
God wanted me now-He set me free.

-- Shannon Lee Moseley

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