Mi Casa es su Casa

Holy Cow!

2010-01-15T13:56:00.001-08:00

We are starting our trip to PNG TOMORROW! Where has the time gone?

We have a new blog: www.WeirInPNG.com

Hope you will check it out and follow our adventure!

Ben and John's Birthday Party!!

2010-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

We had a joint birthday party for the boys on Sunday, January 3rd. The theme: THOMAS! It was a hit. The boys absolutely LOVE trains. They have been playing with them the whole time we have lived here....so they loved all the decorations and the "happy cake". Ever since Ben's birthday on the 28th, he will randomly start singing, "Happy Birthday to you". We usually start to sing with him....and then he interrupts to say "Happy Tate?" He thinks that if he can convince you to start singing then cake is sure to follow!

Ben and John....seriously, they are BEST BUDS!
We invited our small group and a few people from church. Very low-key! I love this picture of Kelli and Brandon. Their daughter Maddie was doing something they didn't like:

Here's a picture of Baby Brian with his mom Kristin:

Ben woke up with bed-head....and the hair just wouldn't cooperate. But, we hoped his cool hoodie from Uncle Ron would distract people from the mess of his hair:

The boys definately knew what to do with the cake this year!

This is a blurry picture...but I love it!

They are so silly!

Opening cards and gifts. We have a ton of airplane toys for our adventure:

This picture is really overexposed....and I plan to get a better picture on Monday when we see Maddie again....But here is Ben's friend Madison (the only girl who made it to the party). She could keep up with those boys! Isn't she beautiful?? (Sigh....must.....wait.....for.....another....baby)

I like this picture, too, because it shows Carson chasing John and the "partying" going on in the background. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends!

Here's a picture of my friend, Amy. She is the one that truly believed in me and taught me the ways of Guitar Hero. 'Nuff said!

Happy Birthday, Benjamin. We love you more and more every day.

And The New Year's Party Continued...

2010-01-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

When we returned from our trip North, we had another New Year's party to attend. Our small group from church decided to have a party on January 2nd....a Mexican Theme....we all knew we would be ready for non-holiday food! Our friends Corey and Jill hosted the party. The evening started with yummy appetizers and then Moe's Fajita bar. Yum! Right after dinner, our friends Greg and Jennifer had to be picked up from the airport (They celebrated New Year's in New York City!). When they joined the party, Guitar Hero came out.....along with mustaches and crazy hats! Good Times! Bringing the fiesta mustache back.....along with fluffernutters! (Don't ask!)

Rocking Out with my friends Chris and Kristin:
Our funny host:
Matt, David and Corey and Greg (with the hat)- Fun Times:
Sitting- Jennifer, Amy and Greg (they all joined in soon after):

One by one, the couples packed up their kids or belongings and headed home....all except Greg and Jennifer and us! When we looked at the watch, it was already 2am. Too late to call the friends we are living with! =0) So....we had a sleepover! Corey and Jill gave us pajamas, Greg and Jennifer still had their bags from New York.....memories were made....really good ones. We had such a good time with everyone!!

Adrienne's Random Thought:

2010-01-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, life is wonderfully crazy right now. I have not been able to make cohesive thoughts or speak understandable sentences of late. In fact, there have been many days where I have wanted to post the thoughts and questions racing through my head, but those posts never materialized because on second thought, they didn't make sense.

So....I am going to stop pretending that I am thought-provoking. I am going to stop worrying what people will think if I post something without a reason. I am going to start posting my random thoughts.....maybe I will come back to them at a later date to write more. Maybe I will just let them be what they are: random thoughts!

Adrienne's First Random Thought: When we move, I am going to have to wear clothes that I would never be caught dead in here in the States. I have never considered myself someone with really nice clothes, but I have prided myself on at least matching. (sigh) I am not sure that I am going to have that luxury when I move. Lately, I have found myself thinking (and getting depressed) about what I will be able to wear. When we move, it is more important (in theory) to be culturally appropriate. But currently, my attitude about what I am going to have to wear speaks that it is more important that I am comfortable with what I am going to have to wear....I mean, what will my blog readers think if they see me wearing something that doesn't match, isn't flattering, etc? And......sadly.....what does that say about me? It's not like I can ask, what would Jesus wear? There is something sad about how much weight I place in what other people will think....and what I count on to bring me a sense of comfort. We learned during one training that you can use the word culture and comfort simultaneously. Your culture is what you find comfortable.

Ooops....forgot to post this picture:

2010-01-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

When I was in Baltimore, I went out to dinner with friends from high school. Dawn and I have been friends since we were in 4th grade (what is that, over 18 years??). We decided to get coffee and egg soufles from Panera before we both went our separate ways (Dawn lives in FL). Dawn was my first "Good-Bye". I know that it is only a couple of years, but it is going to be so hard to not see our friends and family while we are away. I really hope that people can come and visit us, but the reality is that plane tickets are ridiculously expensive. Anyway, I stole this picture from Dawn's facebook site......

Let the Good-Byes begin. Here's to learning how to say our Good-Byes well! To date, we have already said good bye to most of our extended family and some very special friends....

Happy New Year! Bring on 2010!

2010-01-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

We celebrated New Year's with our good friends and their family at The Beach House. I think I will just start referring to the house as The House.....I have said it time and time again...this house is amazing....AND I always seem to relax the best when I am there. This year, the company added to a wonderful start to the New Year.

Rebecca, Joel and Jacob: Brandon, Amber and PANAMA:

My college friend Kelli:

Our favorite host, Pam:
Kelli is expecting another baby!! Here is a picture of her trying to wrestle the best champagne ever away from her husband. He would not let her try any:

And, as always, here is a picture of Ben at midnight:

I hope that you all spent New Year's with someone you love or amazing friends or your family. Here's to 2010....and the new adventure that it holds for us...and everyone else taking this journey with us!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

2009-12-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Ben turned TWO!!!!! (Seriously? Where has the time gone?) In the morning, we celebrated with our gift to him- a personalized I See Me book recommended by my friend (who I met while stalking her blog).

That night, we had a party! It is becoming a tradition to spend birthdays in New Jersey with cousin Jackson:

We all sang to Ben. What is funny is that now he wants us to keep singing it to him. When we start to sing, he immediately asks for cake ("tate"). After cake, the boys went downstairs to play with the train ball pit:

Kevin's girlfriend Laura started the game of throwing the balls back into the ball pit and watching Ben throw the balls out. He was entertained for a whole 30 minutes doing this, I think!

Phew! Break Time.

Then, it was on to TRAINS!

We hopped into the car Tuesday morning and started down I-95. The 7 hour projected drive took 12 hours, but it was not unbearable. We had a wonderful trip North. We were able to spend quality time with so many loved ones while making amazing memories that will last for the next 2 1/2 years. Thank you to everyone who put us up and made our time so wonderful. We miss you already!

Christmas in New Jersey

2009-12-30T19:31:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, after Christmas, we traveled to New Jersey to visit with my Grandparents. We had SUCH a great visit. It was so good to see my Grammy (who is now Ben's Baba) and my Granddad. Ben absolutely LOVED Granddad's wheels. He wanted to push him around the whole time. Granddad was a great sport. Ben was EVERYWHERE. He had alreday had a lot of sugar, but what's one more cookie or two, right? I don't have any pictures, but we also saw Beach Grammy and Beach Grandpa this visit.
That night, we celebrated Christmas with my Aunt JuJu and Uncle Frank. Here's a picture with Uncle Ron. I am so happy we had a chance to see Uncle Ron. He is SO much fun to be around:

Here is Ben holding his new Muppets Christmas DVD. He also got a couple Wiggles DVD's.

Here's a picture of Juju hanging out with Ben (who was being silly....trying to eat his snow globe from beach Grammy):

We watched the Jets game while Ben played with his cousin Jackson's toys and TRAINS:

Christmas Day...

2009-12-30T19:19:00.000-08:00

On Christmas morning, we celebrated with Caleb's mom's parents. Before I show you all the pictures, I have to tell you why I was guarding my Green Bean Casserole: The second year we were married, I offered to bring the green bean casserole. It was a hit...and since then, my mother-in-law has asked that I make it. I was really excited that I had a "secret" recipe that everyone liked. But, somehow, the green bean casserole was "ruined" or "tampered with" each year after that. Once year, my mother-in-law bought chedder fried onions. The next year, she gave me french cut green beans to use. I started to think that maybe, just maybe, she was sabotaging my recipe since others had asked specifically for me to make it. Thus....I needed to guard my reputation and my recipe. I would not let anyone near it after I overheard my sister-in-law saying that we should just microwave it.

Ben caught on early to the whole "opening presents" thing. Ben started disappearing for a few minutes at a time, and we almost always found him trying to open a present that wasn't his. Uncle Carson saw how badly Ben wanted a gift....so he let him open one while no one was looking.

TA DA:

The Chaos:

Alex opened trains for Christmas. It hurt to watch the boys try to share:

Christmas afternoon, we visited with friends that we met during our training in Orlando. Dan & Melinda are such a great couple and have such a great encouragment. They even gave us their son's 2T and 3T clothes. What a blessing!

Fun line up shot:

Christmas night, we visited with family friends- the Guyers. Long story short, the Weir's met the Guyer's when they were going through training to move to PNG. The Weir's had 4 boys at the time and the Guyers had 3 boys. They became great friends and have kept in touch since then. We had a "family" reunion of sorts....which meant PICTURE time:

Also got one last shot of Ben with Uncle Casey and Uncle Carson:

One more picture of Uncle Cam, Aunt Jill, Little Emory and Cousin Alex:

Here's a picture of Ben with Sherm and Bernie. Sherm actually passed through Raleigh when we first applied for membership with our mission agency. He was such an encouragment then and they were such an encouragement again. Here's the post from the last time Ben was with them. We actually hope to see Sherm and Bernie in PNG!! How fun would that be??

Christmas Eve with the Weir's!

2009-12-30T19:08:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve morning, we drove to PA to visit Caleb's side of the family. It is tradition to spend Christmas Eve with his dad's parents and the entire Weir family. Caleb has 6 aunts and uncles, two of which were not there this year. But, we still had over 40 people to celebrate. Hope you enjoy the pictures:

Lots and lots of food:

This was Dessert Row:

Caleb would not keep a straight face:

My sister-in-law Jill with my nephew Alex:

Grandpa Weir, handing out the mound of presents. Grandma Weir was overseeing the operation from behind:

Ben was so tired, I was able to put him to bed on the couch. I literally placed him on the couch, told it was time to go to sleep....and he didn't get up once.

Train Garden

2009-12-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

Hope you enjoy this photo update of our last day in Baltimore. We visited a train museum....Ben LOVED it!

It was COLD outside:

Real Train Ride:

We were able to get a much better "legal" picture with Santa here:

I love this shot! As soon as Ben got his candy cane, he got up and ran away so fast. I love the look of Santa's face. He was a little pissed....

Baltimore Christmas with Family

2009-12-27T17:14:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday night (Baltimore Christmas Day), we visited my Aunt Jean and cousin Leandra. It was SUCH a great visit. Everyone seemed comfortable and just really happy to be together. It was so good to spend quality time with family before we move.

Ben loved his Little People truck!

He also LOVED his second cousin Leandra.

Taco (the little dog), me, Aunt Jean and Bill

PopPop, MeeMom and Ben

We were excited to get this picture together. Just LOOK at what we had to see as Bill took the picture:

We could not keep a straight face for most of the shots:

I thought I would show my Aunt Jean just how funny she looked with Taco:

Love the smiles:

Sisters!

Baltimore Christmas!

2009-12-26T09:58:00.001-08:00

We were in Baltimore on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning before Christmas. In typical MeeMom fashion, the days were packed and we all had a wonderful time.

We started the trip off by meeting at Arundel Mills for a picture with Santa and some last minute Christmas shopping. This shot is turning into a Christmas tradition:

Here is the "illegal" picture with Santa. PopPop Paul almost got escorted out of the mall for taking pictures:

Ben was even allowed to ride the school bus. Caleb NEVER lets him ride these:

He even give hugs to passengers:

On Tuesday morning, we celebrated Christmas. Ben has really figured out this whole present thing. He tore into everyone's presents.....not just his own.

Christmas morning....and presents waiting under the tree!

Uncle Andrew ("Ahh-Choo") and PopPop

Everyone but Caleb sports the Christmas hats.

Ben finally got his doctor's kit. This is a present that I have been begging to buy for Ben. Thanks, MeeMom and PopPop!

Finally, we managed to get Caleb to wear his bike helmet. Success- everyone was wearing a hat!

AND....the night would not be complete without a little (or a lot) of Guitar Hero!

We Rock! Seriously....

Another highlight of the trip was a much needed girl's night with my high school friends, Dawn, Rindi and Elise:

They all humored me and went to one of my favorite restaurants, Sabatino's in Little Italy, downtown Baltimore:

More to come from our Baltimore trip....

All This For Bacon?!?!

2009-12-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

North Beach Highlights

2009-12-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

It would not be an evening with the Weir's without Guitar Hero!We arrived in North Beach, MD for dinner on Friday night. After a Chinese dinner, the kids went to bed and the grown-ups enjoyed this MATURE evening filled with Rocking Out! Ben LOVES guitars ("g-tarrrrr"). We let him pretend that he is playing. He can usually last through 2 songs before he is too bored and moves on....

Abby and Benjamin took a "sit" on Caleb's old motorcycle. Ahh...memories....

The blizzard started Friday night at 10:00pm and continued all of Saturday. Joe and Caleb continued to go out during all of it to shovel. They had to really bundle up:

Joe with his paint ball mask.

We were underdressed for this weather....as modeled by Caleb. He borrowed over half of what he is wearing. Hey! What can I say? We are moving to the tropics in less than a month!

Shoveling in the snow.

As usual, we spent more time dressing Abby and Ben for the elements than the time we actually spent in it. It was still really snowey and gross on Saturday. But, we managed to get a few shots:

Pretty in pink!

All bundled up:

After we realized that the snow would just continue until Sunday, we settled for laundry basket rides around the house. Fun times!

On Sunday morning, we went to Joe's parents house for breakfast. They live two houses down the street, but it took a looong time to get there since we had to dig our way to them:

On Sunday afternoon, the sun came out. We spent the afternoon watching football, playing on the deck and giving our friends hugs:

Uncle Joe Joe has an awesome train. Ben wanted it to be turned on practically every minute. Uncle Joe Joe and Aunt Tina were VERY patient with his persistence.

Thank you Joe, Christina and Abby for putting us up for the week-end. We really enjoyed getting snowed in with you. We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you again around New Year's.

Date Night!!!!!!

2009-12-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

As you know, we are now living with our friends. They have a son who is one week younger than Ben....so we have been having a blast. The boys are so cute. Ben calls John- "Dot". John calls Ben "Bee". Amy says that they sound like two old women talking back and forth to each other, "Hey Dot. Hey, Bee!"

We miss them already since we are traveling, so I thought I would post pictures from our most recent date night (SUSHI)! It is going to be so sad when we say "Good-Bye". I don't want to think about that, yet....so enjoy the pictures!

FUN TIMES! Joe & Amy

Dedicated to Revenue:

2009-12-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

I visited my old place of employment the other day. I was a little late because I had to park- the parallel way! I was SO proud of myself. Granted, it took 8 minutes and I was up on the curb a bit to get it perfect....but VOI LA:

This post is dedicated to Stephanie who is going to miss me and my silly excitements!

Christmas in Wilmington

2009-12-20T09:24:00.000-08:00

Last week-end, we enjoyed a great visit with Beach Grammy and Beach Grandpa in Wilmington, NC. While we were there, Ben decorated a Gingerbread House with Grammy. I was surprised at how focused he was during the whole decorating process. He carefully followed Grammy's instructions and only became a little distracted once he learned you could actually eat the gum drops.

While in Wilmington, we were able to watch Uncle Philip and Uncle Scott play a basketball game coached by Beach Grandpa. It was a close game...one that we will all remember for a long time since a fight broke out in the middle of it. Luckily, no one was hurt and my brothers were not involved.

During the game, Ben was holding onto a basketball. He dropped it and it rolled onto the court while the game was going on. He screamed bloody murder and all eyes turned to the "Boy Who Lost His Beloved Basketball". A nice man returned it to Ben, but he was so upset, he could not calm down. The crocodile tears were priceless.

Hope you enjoy the pictures...and that you are enjoying this time of the year...

Ben loves "Baby Ghee-Ghus". Whenever he sees a Nativity scene, he goes right on over and pulls Baby Jesus out. He then keeps Baby Jesus in his pocket or by his side for hours.

Family Photo:

Uncle Scott, Beach Grammy, Beach Grandpa, Ben, Caleb, Adrienne & Uncle Philip

Christmas is Coming....

2009-12-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

LOOK! SNOW! We are currently in North Beach, MD where we are expected to get over 18" of snow! It is truly a winter wonderland and I am loving every minute of it.

We are visiting with our friends Joe, Christina and their daughter Abby. These pictures were taken this morning around 9am. It is still snowing and expected to continue until 6am Sunday morning. Good thing we are staying here through Monday morning! This is exactly what we needed....a snow day! There is something comforting about being "snowed in"....it is like God is telling us to take a much needed "Time Out" from the stress of moving.

Today....

2009-12-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

....was caleb's last day of work.

(sigh)

Time to freak out??

It's a Bird, It's a Plane....No! It's a Wii...!

2009-12-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

You can probably tell from this post, that I have become a little "obsessed" with Guitar Hero. Or maybe, that sentence should read like this: I have become a "little" obsessed with Guitar Hero. You can place the emphasis where you would like depending on how well you know me.

Both statements are actually a severe understatement. In fact, the first time I played Guitar Hero was on Halloween week-end with our small group. Over a month later, I was still talking about this game. I tried to rationalize how being a missionary and owning a Wii were not oxymorons. I thought that if we got tons of Christmas money, it would all be OK. I tried to come back down to reality over and over again.

But....then on Thanksgiving week-end, we played Guitar Hero for over 4 hours straight (full band style) and I was back to the destructive, depressing, one-track mode again. I really wanted a Wii, but knew that there would be no Wii for Mii!

THEN.....two Thursdays ago, our small group made an announcement that they had some housekeeping things to discuss. One of those "things" included an early Christmas present for us. Out came two (glorious) friends holding two boxes that looked STRANGELY close to being the box of a Wii and the box of Guitar Hero. I literally thought to myself, "Adrienne, you are OBSESSED. Not only do you really want this game, but you are starting to hallucinate. It is going to be a long Christmas if you keep thinking that every gift you get is going to be Guitar Hero." Our group knew that we loved the game during the beach week-end, but we had been obsessing in private and only with family about this. It couldn't be...

The rest is history. I opened the package that was placed on my lap (the other was on Caleb's) and I felt like that little girl who always wanted a pony and finally got one for Christmas. Our crazy small group bought us a Wii and Guitar Hero. CRAZY! We are going to be the coolest missionaries on the island. People are going to travel far and wide to come to our shows...

Ok, maybe that is a stretch....but I am SO EXCITED!

Christmas Traditions

2009-12-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

Every year, we make a countdown to Christmas out of construction paper, markers and tape. This year, Ben was covered in "colors" by the time we finished.

Ta-Da!

We opted out of the live tree this year since we are moving. I found this pre-lit wonder as a Black Friday deal. Currently, it is already packed in the crate and will be used in PNG!

(By the way, I am married to a man who insists on multi-colored lights!)

My favorite childhood ornament (and now by far the ugliest):

And in case you want a comparison....here is a picture of Ben last year (after his first at-home haircut!)

Here's to old and new family traditions. I love this time of year...

Ben's New Room:

2009-12-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

I meant to post pictures of Ben's new room a long time ago....since all this is now packed and on its way to PNG. We figured that he grew out of the bees a while ago. Now that he is super interested in cars, trucks, boats, airplanes and the like, I changed the theme to "Benjamin On The Move". I thought it to be appropriate since we are actually moving. All the decor is lightweight and easy to pack. The idea is that when we get to our house in Papua New Guinea, we will use all the same decorations he had in his room here. Maybe it will help a little with the transition.

Pictures of the grandparents!

Simple Scrapbook paper on the walls with putty (It'll be portable).
The flying bees were replaced with fun fast cars:

These blocks have all sorts of different tracks (car, train, etc):

We have sheets for a crib AND MeeMom bought a Twin bed comforter/sheet set that is being shipped to PNG which matches:

Wide Views:

Break from Packing/Cleaning...

2009-12-11T07:58:00.001-08:00

Currently, I am packing what's left in our house and starting the "rub down" to get it all fresh and clean before our friends move into it.

I think it is time for a break...

As you can imagine, life has been a whirlwind lately. But, last night, I was reminded that when things are really hard, it helps to remember what really matters most in life. I was told that it helps to make a conscious effort every day (every minute, if necessary) to think of these things...

It has helped today.

Want to know where we are in this whole process?

Currently, Caleb is with Benjamin in Waxhaw, NC. Last night, Caleb and his dad were up LATE building and packing our crate. This crate will be shipped to Papua New Guinea and will arrive Mid-April. We will be in training from January 24-Mid May, so we won't need those things once we move.

We are officially "moved in" with our friends Joe, Amy and John. They have graciously offered their home AND attic to store our neverending supply of crap. We are now sleeping at their house. It really is fun to watch the boys have a "brother for a month". They are a week apart in age, so they are SO similar. It really is adorable. It is going to break my heart when we move away. Ben is really going to miss his buddy John.

Next week, we will continue to get our house ready for our friends (cleaning the carpets, touching up paint, washing the floors, etc). Then, on Friday, we will head NORTH! I am SO excited about this trip.....but sad, too, becuase it is the last time we will see some people for a couple years. We will spend the week-end with Joe, Christina and Abby (Ben's Godparents and Future Wife). Then, on Monday, I get to go out with my best friends from high school- Dawn, Rindi and Elise. We are going to Sabintino's (Little Italy) for dinner. I am beyond excited! Monday through Christmas Eve Morning, we will be with MeeMom and PopPop and Uncle Andrew in Baltimore. Then, we head to York, PA to see Buna, Grammy and all the Great-Grandparents, Great-Aunts and Uncles and more from Caleb's side of the fam. After that, we head to New Jersey to see Ben's BaBa and Great-Grandpa. We will visit with my Aunt Juju, Uncle Frank, Uncle Ron and their family. FUN TIMES. We will be in New Jersey for Ben's birthday and we haven't decided if we will drive home on his actual birthday or the next day. We are planning a North Carolina joint birthday party on Sunday, January 3rd for Bena nd John. That should be fun!

WHEW!

After this trip, we are in the homestretch- waiting for the visa. Once the visa comes, our butts will be on a plane, with 2 suitcases each to our names and a whole new "adventure" ahead of us!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful holiday season. Please remember to take the time to focus on your priorities and not your stress levels. It really does make a difference.

Guitar Hero to Social Justice....

2009-12-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

It's a stretch, I know.

A friend's work was published recently and I would LOVE for you to take the time to read the piece. She has a gift....Please read "My Date with the Velvet Hammer" By Heather Hancock.

Read The Article Here!

Guitar Hero!

2009-11-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

The Casting Shadows/Dave Calvert Pose:

Days left to play Guitar Hero before we leave the country: 46 (sigh)

Good thing we are playing next Monday and all of New Year's Week-End!

SO EXCITED!

2009-11-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

I get to play Guitar Hero (or Rockband....can't remember) tonight with Crystal and my sister-in-law, Alanna! Caleb is going to his brother's poker night, which means I will be rocking out all night with my girls.

In case anyone is trying to reach us, I forgot to pack the cell phone chargers, so are phones are dead! Give me a break, I have been packing all week for our MOVE out of our house....the chargers were the last thing on my mind!

We are also having a wonderful time in Charlotte. Ben is being spoiled every minute. He has had delicious food (with lots of butter), apple cider instead of apple juice, rides daily on the riding lawnmower with Buna, fun chasing the cats ("tats") and a bedtime that is around 9pm instead of 7pm.

Come Monday, this little boy is not going to know what hit him.....as we get back into our "routine".

Hope you are all still enjoying this nice long week-end with family and friends.

Must....Try....To....Fall....Asleep.....

2009-11-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

....Last Black Friday Shopping Spree For Me For A VERY LONG TIME!

Starbucks, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Michael's & More....Here I Come!

I have this sick habit of buying stuff on Black Friday, only to return it later. There is something about the rush of being out there with the crowd that makes it all feel like Christmas is coming soon. At least I can try and get a good deal on things we need for PNG!

(Can you tell I am in denial? I'm addicted to Black Friday!)

Picture Time....

2009-11-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

We thought it was important to get a good family picture while we were all together. Personally, I like this one better, even though my mother-in-law is not looking at the camera. We hope to photoshop/change it.....

Grand-boys:

Family Shot:

And, in case you don't remember what Ben looked like last Thanksgiving (you can visit this post):

And the year before:

My how things have changed...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T18:49:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving, we headed to Charlotte to visit with Caleb's side of the family. Caleb's brother, Carson, joined the Air Force and we have not seen him since June. He was able to fly home for the holiday and surprise his father. We picked Carson up at the airport....which meant that Ben and I could make signs to embarrass....I mean, honor him! Hope you enjoy the pictures. We will not be in the states when he graduates as a combat controller, so we were excited that Ben had this time to spend with him! Ben pronounces "Carson" as "Tartit".

Good times!

All My Bags Are Packed....

2009-11-25T04:06:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl, I remember lots of wonderful Christmas' with my dad's side of the family. We would sit in my grandparents' finished basement and laugh and talk 'til the wee hours of the night. I remember times when my Uncle David and Aunt Diane would pull out their guitar and sing for us. I remember loving these times SO much that I actually thought I would start playing the guitar. I got one for Christmas.....but that talent never took off.

One of my favorite songs to sing was "Leaving on a Jet Plane". I remember I would change the words around to fit the occasion.

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.
I'm standing here outside your door.
I hate to wake you up to say good-bye.

The dawn is breaking it's early morn.
The taxi's waiting, he's blowing his horn.
Already I'm so lonesome, I could cry.

So kiss me and smile for me.
Tell me that your remember me.
Hold me like I'm never going to go.

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane.
Don't know when I'll be back again.
Oh, Friends. I hate to go...."

Obviously, I changed the words around again to fit our departure.

Let's just say that it is all starting to sink in.

We are tasked with packing our house, cleaning our house, determining what needs to go in the crate, deliver the items for the crate in 3 weeks to Charlotte, then live out of 2 suitcases each for the next month or so until our visas arrive.

Our pastor this month is doing a series called "Baggage". How appropriate, right? But, one thing that I have realized lately is this: Even though this process is hard, it is easier to decide what to physically leave behind versus what to emotionally leave behind. The baggage that has stayed for all these years- baggage from the past, baggage from life, is harder to leave. In fact, in the face of this newfound, wonderful-at-times STRESS, it is rearing its ugly head all the more. All my insecurities and worries are hitting me tenfold lately. I'm coughing it up to the hormonal time of the month....I tend to get just plain moody....but I pray that in the coming weeks, I am able to leave this emotional baggage in the states....

Friends from Church!

2009-11-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

Ben was sporting Joe's cool dude shades after we took group pictures this past Sunday. I hope to have a book made for Ben that includes pictures of all the MANY people who love him!

The pictures below are friends from our small group at church. The only people not pictured are David and Amy because they went to the second service. Beware, Matzers, we WILL get a picture with you soon!

Joe, John and Amy:

Matt, Jennifer & Brayden:

Jill and Corey with Ben:

Jennifer and Greg with Ben:

Chris, Brian and Kristin with Ben:

Another Family Photo Opt:

Rethinking Christmas Toys.....

2009-11-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

....since kids have SO much fun playing with packing paper! Baby Brian found the Pampered Chef boxes and tore into the paper!

Ben was right behind him!

Where's Ben?

Time for hugs:

Happy Birthday, Brayden!

2009-11-22T13:39:00.000-08:00

Our friends Matt and Jennifer threw a great big birthday party for their son Brayden. Brayden turned 1 in October, but was sick for his big day. So, the party was postponed, but you would have never known it. So many people were to love on this little man. Happy Birthday, Brayden! Jennifer made all the cakes herself. Needless to say, I was impressed!

Family picture time:

Not the best picture, but since he is a best friend, I thought I would post one of Baby Brian. Sometimes I hate my flash!

Bryaden tore into his cupcake. Maybe the extra month of practice helped....because Ben was afraid of his cake when he was that age!

Not so anymore:

Our friend, Jennifer, made the cupcakes for the kids....and they were a HIT!

Visit with MeeMom and PopPop

2009-11-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

MeeMom and PopPop visited from Baltimore two week-ends ago. We had such a good visit with them. My mom (MeeMom) was in a PT class most days, but we enjoyed spending time with her in the evenings. Then, on Monday morning, I woke up at 3am to drive to DC. Ben rode back to Baltimore with MeeMom and PopPop....and I heard he was spoiled mercilessly! Marbles Kids Museum for the first time!

This boy loves fire trucks and choo choo trains!

We came home with a Mr. Potato head after this trip. Ben sat at this little table for almost 15 minutes! He loves his Mr. Potato head. It was SUCH a good purchase!

We had rain almost all week. But, then on Saturday afternoon.....the sun came out! This meant a trip to the park!

We also took a "hike" through the woods. Ben was leading, so we got a little turned around....i.e. LOST.

Thank you, MeeMom and PopPop for visiting. We all had so much fun and can't wait to see you over Christmas!

Baby Samuel is Here!

2009-11-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Duane and Beth gave birth to little Samuel! He was born on September 28th at 5:34PM. He weighed in at 5lbs, 8 ounces and was 19 inches long....which is GREAT considering he was born at 34 weeks!

He was released from the hospital on November 1st! My friend Brittany and I could not visit him fast enough!

Samuel, so many people have been waiting for your safe arrival into this world. You are blessed to have amazing parents who love you more then you can even imagine at this point in time. It was a privilege to hold you....and, yes, I am ready for another one! (But, that will have to wait for a time!)

Congrats, Beth and Duane! Seriously, you have so much to be thankful for this holiday!

The Best Bonfire EVER!

2009-11-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

We are a part of our church's "Young" adult group....though we are quickly growing out of that title. The "Original Young Adult" group of our church invited us to their annual bonfire. Let me just say that this was the best Bonfire EVER. We had over 40 people there.....the food was AMAZING....Ben was able to ride on a big red tractor.....good times that we are going to miss! Fried Turkeys- Mmmmmm!
The afternoon began with Yard Games then ended with the bonfire.

Ben's FAVORITE part of the whole day (quite possibly the whole year)!

What a beautiful piece of property....who would have thought it was actually within Raleigh city limits??

Ring Around the Rosey with Kelly and Carson!

Carson and Ben were best buds by the end of the night:

Amazing food!

Here is a picture of Ben "making a muscle". Honestly, it is the funniest thing you have ever seen. The next time you see Ben, ask him to make a muscle for you!

Great time with great friends!

Thank you, to all the Originals! We hope to make an annual event out of this!

Miss Me?

2009-11-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

I hope so. I have missed all of you. Our life, lately, has had its share of ups and downs.

Last week, we officially applied for our Visa to move overseas. PHEW!

The week before that was spent running all over the place gathering physicals, blood tests, background checks.....and then sitting in front of a computer verifying that we had all the right information. In typical Adrienne fashion, I managed to get EVERYTHING we needed....but THEN realized that all the documents had to have original signatures of the doctor, lab, radiologist, etc. So, I spent the second half of the week running all over the place getting those. Then, last Monday, I drove to DC to "Fix" my passport. Long story short, I didn't have to make that trip afterall.

But, it's over.....so I have spent this past week "catching up on life". E-mails, Thank-You's, Phone Calls, Christmas Lists, Thanksgiving Plans, etc= B-U-S-Y.

I am honestly ready for a "ME-ONLY" day, but I don't think that I will be getting that anytime soon!

Yesterday, we sold our car which is a HUGE answer to prayer. Now, we are busy packing and organizing our house for the big move on December 15th. (Of course, after watching football this afternoon- Gotta keep priorities, right?)

So, I hope to catch up with the blog and fill you in on our life. I am so afraid that during this time of transition, I am going to look back and have regrets- "I wish I had spent more time with so-and-so, or I wish I had done this or that before I moved, etc". I am trying to learn to take time for myself and spend time with my family. Ben has been a realy trooper through all this paperwork. He is going to be a great helper packing and organizing. He loves to be involved!

I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving....I know that we will!

Kerry's Baby Shower

2009-11-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

My friend Kerry moved to Portland in September....so sad! BUT, she was in Raleigh last week-end for work or something, so we all had a baby shower for her! YAY!

She is such a beautiful, glowing mom-to-be....oh! and she is having a boy!

Kerry, we all miss you SO SO SO much. Come back soon....can't wait to see you in January on the other coast!

Pictures of Kerry with some of my favorite (and her favorite) people:

Kerry & Hollis

Kerry & Patti

Me & THE DOG (see this post for details on my obsession!)

Beach Retreat Pictures

2009-11-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

I hope that you enjoy the following pictures. We had such a wonderful beach retreat this past week-end. Good friends of ours have a beach house at Holden. We were able to truly relax in a beautiful home and given beautiful weather. We spent most of the time EATING, walking on the beach, playing Guitar Hero, EATING, trick or treating with the kids, visiting the Provision Co (a local and GREAT place to eat), playing board games and more. I had a migraine Saturday night, which was no fun. Also, Caleb's parents were there to help watch the kids so that we could actually talk about retreat topics! =0) There were 16 adults and 4 children. Not bad!

We enjoyed crab cake sandwiches and shrimp burgers while Ben munched on Chicken Fingers!

Our friends Chris, Kristin and Baby Brian!

Everyone else arrived on Friday when the real Guitar Hero fun began:

Greg was on guitar, Caleb on bass and Ben on vocals!

My good friends Kristin, Jennifer & Amy:

Group Shot:

Ben enjoyed every minute he spent with Grammy:

It is not possible to have a beach retreat with out football:

Ben loved playing in the sand with his friend John. Isn't John so sweet....Ben TOOK his shovel and pail out of his hands. We are working on sharing!

Wind-blown Jennifer and Adrienne:

Another Group Shot:

Every time I visit this beach hosue, I get all sad when it is time to leave. Can you see why?

Moomy & Ben time:

As Ben says: "Up Ighs"

Ben with Buna and Grammy:

This is a trip that we will not forget in a long time. Thank you to everyone who made it possible. It was such a great time to catch up with friends. We are going to miss times like these....

Trick or Treat...We're at the Beach!

2009-11-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

Our small group went to the beach this past week-end for a retreat. While we were there, we celebrated Halloween with the kids. Ben was once again a fireman! Since there were 7 rooms in the beautiful beach house, we let the kids go from room to room trick or treating. After they went "door to door", they were able to color from a big Halloween coloring book (thanks to Beach Grammy) and play with little pumpkins. Oh! Ben also got a halloween tatoo. Fun times!

Ben loves being entertained.

John, the bear, with his father Joe!

Trick or Treating!

Matt & Jennifer with their son Superman, I mean, Brayden!

Ben with his friend Tigger, I mean, Brian!

Halloween Party!

2009-11-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, Ben & I went to a Halloween party hosted by his little friends Carson & Caitlyn! I hope you enjoy the pictures. Ben had a blast as a fireman!

Fun times throwing bean bags and coloring!

He also made a ghost out of cloth and a tootsie roll lollipop! Below, Ben is saying "Ghost":

Group Shot craziness:

Decorating a pumpkin (or "pumpim") cookie:

Ben loves candy corn:

Lastly, he painted a pumpkin:

We hope you all had a nice LONG week-end with the extra hour of sleep. This past week-end, we were at the BEACH! I have more pictures to post soon of that trip! That is where Ben went "Trick or Treating".

Watching Soccer is Different with Ben!

2009-10-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

Caleb has been playing indoor soccer again. A couple of Sunday's ago, Ben and I went to watch him play. This was the first time that I had watched a game since Ben has been mobile.

I realized that I get into a trance when I watch a game. You know, the type of trance that men get into when they are watching football or something on tv. I was so lost in my trance, that I lost my son!

One minute, I was watching him run around. The next minute, he was gone. I freaked! After about 5 secconds which felt like an hour, I saw Ben standing in awe at the giant gunball machine in the corner.

Phew! That was a close one!

HONEEEEEY!

2009-10-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

The strangest thing happened this past week. Ben has started calling me "Honey". What is so funny, is that he only calls me that when I am walking away or he is at a distance. If I ask him who I am, he says "Mommy". But when he is in another room, out comes "Honey. Honeeeey. Huhneey" when he wants me.

Yes, Caleb does call me that. But, not all the time! Which makes it even funnier. We aren't sure where or why he picked it up.

I am not so sure how I feel about this. Sometimes it freaks me out. I'm pretty sure this is just one more way that Ben is trying to be as much like his father as possible.

Welcome Michael James!

2009-10-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Jon & Katie, are new parents! Little Michael James was born Saturday October 3rd around 2:45 pm. He weighed in at 8lbs lloz and was 21 inches long.

I got to meet him AND hold him last week. He is so precious and slept in my arms the whole time I visited with Katie. Then, tonight, they were in the area, so Caleb was able to meet him, too!

Can you tell I want another....but have to wait!

Congrats, friends! You are such awesome parents already....and we are so happy we could meet your little man.

I knew this would happen...

2009-10-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's official. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom, I have seriously slacked off with this blog. Not that it is ANY excuse, but I find myself so excited to be so involved in so many different things. My time at the computer is limited and my time behind the camera is even more limited. But, here's a recap:

October has been a BUSY month. It all started with the first week-end, when we took a trip to Baltimore to visit with MeeMom and PopPop. Ben was able to look at their pictures during the car ride North and was able to "talk" to them on the phone as we drove. He warmed up to them nicely and it was a WONDERFUL visit all around. MeeMom and PopPop even took him to the library which has an AMAZING play center for free! Check out the pictures below:

While we were in Baltimore, our Small Group had a big yard sale and sold all of our things (or donated them to Goodwill). They picked on us by saying that we owe them BIG time for all they did that week-end. But, we know they love us!

You've seen pictures from the second week-end in October. That is when we visited with our Memphis friends, went camping over-night and saw Beach Grammy & Beach Grandpa. What a fun way to bring in the October Halloween fun.

Last week-end, we drove to York, PA to visit with Caleb's grandparents. We had such a wonderful time. I LOVE every opportunity that Ben gets to spend quality time with his great grandparents. Here are some pictures from that trip:

Then....after all that craziness, Caleb worked the State Fair all this past week. All week, Caleb worked 6:30am-10pm. Yesterday was a 6:30am to midnight day....and today he works 12pm-12am. Caleb has only seen Ben a total of 2 1/2 hours since Tuesday.

Then, to make things crazier, our small group threw a BBQ plate fundraiser event yesterday. Poor Ben was shuffled everywhere yesterday either assembling plates or delivering orders. But, the craziness is coming to a close....

Visit to Beach Grammy & Beach Grandpa!

2009-10-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, we were able to visit with Beach Grammy & Beach Grandpa in Wilmington. Beach Grammy had all the fixings for a fun Halloween afternoon. Ben was able to color pumpkins in a GIANT coloring book, eat cupcakes (pronounced "up-tates") and even help carve his first pumpkin! We had so much fun....not to mention I was able to quiz my brothers about my Fantasy Football team. AND...to top it all off, the Panthers pulled out a win this week-end. I absolutely LOVE the fall...especially when you get to spend it with family. Beach Grammy & Beach Grandpa, we hope to see you again really soon! Enjoy all the pictures:

Hope you are all having a Happy Fall!

First Camping Trip!

2009-10-12T10:12:00.001-07:00

We took our first camping trip together as a family this past week-end. I am not sure if you can really call it a camping "trip". We drove about 30 minutes away to Jordan Lake, set up camp by 6pm, played in the sand by the lake, sat around the camp fire, slept in a tent under the stars, ate breakfast around a campfire, then left the park by 8am Saturday morning to get home!

Ben and I had been looking at pictures of tents, smores, bears, raccoons, fires, etc in preparation for the big event. So, no matter what you call it, let's just say it was a learning experience.

The weather was great....in the high 70's. Here's a picture of Ben in the tent with all his "friends":We set up our chairs around the fire pit:
Setting up the tent:
It did not rain while we were camping....thank goodness! We forgot the rain tarp thingey, so we improvised:

Beautiful views:

Just relaxing (once I put on the "good" bug spray):

Ben's silly outfit to sleep in. I brought hand-me-down shoes that light up when you walk in them. I thought I was a genius, because when the sun went down, we could always tell where Ben was running:

Not SO genius. Now, he does not want to wear any shoes except the ones with lights.

All in all, we had a wonderful time. Caleb and I did not kill each other while we were there. Ben slept the whole night (but was up at the crack of dawn). Ben went to bed around 8:30ish, so Caleb and I enjoyed our time around the fire. Looks like we may try this again....only this time, we want to go with friends!

Pancake Pajama Party!

2009-10-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

Ben hosted his first Pancake Pajama Party. Our friends Maddie & Kelli were in town. It is always a party when they are in town from Memphis....but we thought this would be a fun way to catch up. We had purple, pink & yellow pancakes, fruit salad, juice for the kiddos & coffee for the moms! Fun times! Maddie was SUCH a good eater! Kelli says she is going through a growing spurt!

Ben loves having friends over to play!
Maddie with her mom Kelli

Come back and see us soon! Everytime we see you, we get more and more excited about you moving back to RALEIGH!

Baltimore PNG Social

2009-10-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful week-end for our PNG Social in Baltimore. My mom was a little disappointed that more people did not show up, but I was excited to catch up with old high school friends, family and friends, middle school teachers (crazy!) and even new friends that we met during our June training.

We were very happy with our "tables" and can't wait to use all the material again!

Let me know if you want to know about Ben's Parrots!

Bible Translation Information:
PNG pictures and such:
Our All About Us table: complete with my scrapbooks...

My "Aunts"

(My mom, Aunt Marie, Aunt Cindy & Aunt Debbie)

These ladies are my mom's friends since high school. They have known me before I was born!

My "real" Aunt Jean & Mom

High School Friends- Rindi, Ryan, Ry-Ry & Nico

(Caleb and Ryan are into all the same "toys"- guns, motorcycles, cars, etc. Good Times!)

My high school friend Elise and her beautiful children! We played soccer and volleyball together. Brought back SO many memories. I also found out that Elise's older sister is moving to El Salvador with a different mission organization. It was so good to catch up!

All the kids!

And....the blog post would not be complete without a picture of Ben!

Laslty, we were touched by our friends who drove almost 2 hours to visit with us.

Again, we had a wonderful time. Thank you to everyone who was able to be there.

Missionary Mentality...borrowed from a new friend.

2009-10-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

One of our new friends is now living in Tanzania. Please check out Crystals blog. She recently wrote about the Missionary Mentality. Her post really makes sense of some things I have been thinking about lately....reading it will help you see where I am currently...

"Recently, one of my parents (of my kids at school) was explaining to a Tanzanian woman what people often think when they hear she’s a “missionary” in Tanzania. She said they ask, “Do you rescue orphans from under the stampeding hooves of zebras in the Serengeti?!” We laughed, but the overall perspective is not that far from the truth. Somehow, the fact that someone is a “missionary” automatically means that they can perform amazing feats, that mundane normality is non-existent, and that they rise at the crack of dawn to face the 10 impending adventures that the day ahead holds.

I hate to burst your lovely fantasy world, but it’s just not true. The parent I mentioned above stated: “for me, being a missionary means being a mom, being involved in their school stuff, and having to do a lot of administrative paperwork.” Now, this amazing woman works with her husband as the head of YoungLife for all of Africa. If anyone should have an adventurous, exciting life, it’s her! Right? Don’t get me wrong, she gets to see amazing things happen as God works through and in her life, and in the lives of her kids, and all those she meets. But the fact is, normal life is every day and boring, no matter what city or what planet you reside on. It might take a bit longer, or look a bit different. But the habits you form in one place tend to carry over into another, and the things (like grading homework, or trying to figure out what to fix for dinner) that we don’t necessarily treasure in the States are definitely still alive and kicking here in Tanzania as well.

So what, exactly, am I doing here? It turns out that sometimes, the everyday, boring, mundane things can end up changing people’s lives. For example, another set of parents at our school works to translate the Bible into a group of languages in Tanzania. This means sitting down at lots of meetings with people who are familiar with English but fluent in their own language, driving hours to the location of these people (the family lives in Dar so their kids can attend HOPAC), trying to figure out the best way to translate “grace” into 5 different related languages, and cooking dinner for their 4 kids at the end of the day. It means solving issues in the family and encouraging their youngest to wear his shoes at school. And it means, in the end, that 5 different tribal groups will get to read the life-saving message of Jesus on the cross, who was later resurrected, and now sits at the right hand of God... in the language they understand best.

This is the kind of mundane work that I want to be involved in! It may not seem all that exciting in the meantime – and struggles are just the same as anywhere else in the world. But it seems we have a choice in what our mundane work profits. And I’m thankful that I get to spend my every day, boring life helping to sow into an eternal perspective of others each day. "

Thanks, Crystal, I could not have said it better myself!

JUMPING!

2009-10-05T15:53:00.001-07:00

We started practicing on the ground: Then, Ben graduated to the stairs!

Fun times!

Moving Overseas Yard sale!

2009-10-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

THIS Saturday

October 3rd from 8am-12pm

4340 Warfield Pl.

Raleigh, NC 27604

Hope you can make it!

Busy Week-End- Papua New Guinea Social

2009-09-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

If you are even remotely close to Baltimore, MD this Saturday, we would love for you to join us. This is just going to be a small, informal event where we hope to build awareness of the work of language development and Bible translation that is going on all over the world. If you can't make it, hold tight. We hope to have other socials like this in York (PA), Charlotte and Raleigh. Also, we would love for your prayers during the event...

In other news, our good friends are hosting a yard sale while we are away. Our small group all pitched in and donated items for the sale. All the proceeds are going towards our support "quota". We are just so blessed that we have friends that are willing to help us in such a BIG way. (Shout out to the Westfall's, Toomey's, Ertel's, Matzer's, Enzor's and Simpson's).

Busy, busy week-end...

Where we are...

2009-09-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would take a minute to fill you in on what is going on with us!

As you know, we were in training in Charlotte for the month of August. As you can probably glean, Ben began "school" when we returned. He is in a Parent's Morning Out class which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-12:30. On Wednesdays, I am in a women's Bible study, and Ben gets to play with all his friends from 9:30-11:30. Basically, we wake up, eat breakfast, go to PMO or church, come home, eat lunch, Ben goes down for a nap, Ben wakes up from his nap about 3, and then Caleb is home about 3:20. It really is a good set-up. While Ben is in PMO, I work on "going overseas" stuff and/or scrapbook with my new bestest of best friends, Amy! Mondays and Fridays are reserved for cleaning the house or doing laundry. I am NOT complaining. I actually feel like a fake stay at home mom. The whole "Caleb getting home by 3:30" thing makes me feel like an imposter.

So, that's our schedule. On top of that, Caleb has started playing indoor soccer again. The timing could not be better. The season will end before we leave in January. I have also started the training to become a Stephen Minister. That meets every Tuesday night. My heart hurts for people, and this is a ministry that provides presence for people going through a myriad of things. I am so looking forward to this training. It will give me invaluable skills for the field, but also will give me something to transition back into when we return to the states.

Guess that is the best recap for now...

Peanut Butter and.....

2009-09-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

JELLY!

Casey, Sarah and Kieren....on the road to South Africa!

2009-09-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Our friends, the Prince's, are moving to South Africa THIS week-end. At church on Sunday, we all commissioned them. It was basically one big send off, acknowleging that Grace Community was going to support them- financially, prayerfully, emotionally, etc-erally! =0)

Our pastor delivered a beautiful message on Isaiah 6:1-8. To sum it up, ministry begins when you are broken. It is not necessarily when you at the top of your game, that you are effective. Most of the time, it happens when you realize that you are unable to do a thing on your own strength. Please check out their website when you get the chance.

As you can see, they are going with their baby daughter Kieren. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers....We love you guys, and will miss you!

Haydn's 1st Birthday!

2009-09-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

Over the week-end, Ben and I attended Haydn's Birthday party. Stephanie, Haydn's mom, graduated from Campbell with me AND we both worked at Revenue. Let me just say, she knows how to throw a party! Not only was this a birthday party, but it was a chance for me to see her brand new house....which is gorgeous.

Enjoy the pictures: The big cake was made by a family friend, but Stephanie made all the little airplanes herself.
YUM!

Ben was able to play with bubbles with the birthday boy:

Haydn:

The infamous cake time!

What can I say, Ben is comfortable eating a purple airplane:

Happy FIRST Birthday, Haydn. Thanks for the invite!

One of my Addictions....

2009-09-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Besides Barney....call me crazy, but I LOVE Barney. I never thought I would post that, but there it is for all to see. The concept just makes sense to me....normal kids dancing and singing and encouraging Ben to dance and sing with them....sometimes I do not even see the big purple dinosaur....sometimes!

My other addiction is couponing! Look at my loot:

I paid $9.00 thanks to a little bit of super easy organizing and Harris Teeter triple coupon day! My receipt says I saved over $70.00.

Get Your Ben Fix!

2009-09-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ben is growing up so fast, he grew out of his bath tub. Just kidding....every now and then he gets to take baths in the "big boy" tub (AKA- our tub)!

Good-Bye, Della Dog & Abby Dog (....and Kerry & David, too!)

2009-09-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Kerry & David, recently moved to Portland. We know them through church, have watched thier dogs in the past and have become good friends! Kerry just received her PH-freakin'-D. She is a super smart speech pathologist. She accepted a position teaching at PSU, thus the move. Just wanted to post this to tell them how much we all already miss them! Ben, also, obviously misses furry friends who actually let him pet them!

Visit Soon!

Why Don't I Care About Flowers?

2009-09-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

One thing I could never quite figure out: I do not care one bit about gardening or flowers. With fall rapidly approaching, I find myself looking forward to all the fall colors....leaves, flowers, the works. But, I have no interest what-so-ever picking out my own flowers and planting them.

For some reason, our flowers never last....I used to joke that the only reason I am good with dogs and kids is because they remind you they are there.

Sigh....is something wrong with me??

Travels and Musings Blog

2009-09-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

Caleb just posted a really good recap of our time in Charlotte. Please check it out! I hope to post more from this past week soon. I am finally starting to feel better.and Ben just cut two more teeth. We have been a little under the weather because of all of that. Looking forward to getting back to the blog...

So Sick....

2009-09-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

I officially have a cold. I thought maybe it was allergies, but it is definately a stuffy nosed, scratchy throat, I can't sleep at night type of cold. YUCK!

Yes....I'm THAT Mom!

2009-09-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Who can't get her son's music video out of her head! ENJOY!!

Good-Bye, Kirk!

2009-09-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

Things have just not been the same around this house for Kirk once Ben was born. Our little "King Kirk" became stressed, agitated and growl-ey. He never snapped at Ben, but did not allow any Ben hugs either. Needless to say, he has officially moved in with MeeMom and PopPop Paul in Baltimore. They offered to watch him while we were in Charlotte and offered to watch him while we are in PNG. They don't think that it makes any sense to give him back for a couple of months since he is doing so well at their house.

As sad as this is for me (Caleb has not stopped jumping for joy since we got the news), I think it is best. MeeMom and PopPop buy him dog toys he can destroy and feed him well and my brother Andrew lets him sleep in his bed. Kirk now has a sister named Sandy who is a beautiful, big golden retriever.

Hopefully my mom will send pictures so I can post them soon.

Thank you SO much, MeeMom and PopPop and Uncle Andrew. This frees us up to travel more as we try to build our partnership team in the coming months. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Happy Birthday, Abigail!

2009-09-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

Our little god-daughter turned 1 while we were going through our training in Charlotte. We were SO disappointed that we missed the big "shin-dig". Our friends Joe and Christina have always been able to through the best parties EVER (thanks to their remarkable creativity). Abby's birthday was no exception. As a way to give back, donations were made to our account to support our overseas ministry. I am humbled by our friends' generosity....and again, creativity! There are SO many ways to be involved in the work of language development and Bible translation. Thanks, friends!

Can't wait to see you soon...

Take Note:

2009-09-10T16:13:00.001-07:00

I am officially CAUGHT UP on my blog posts!

First Day of School...

2009-09-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

With the start of September comes the start of Ben's new school!! He has been enrolled in a Parent's Morning Out Program through our church. HOW COOL IS THAT? This means that 1) he will be able to interact with kids and really enjoy being the social being that he is and 2) I have 3 hours two mornings a week to work on other things. Glorious...

Doesn't he look so grown up??

He had SUCH a great day!

Here's to field trips, circle time, songs and new friends. His teachers are WONDERFUL. We can't wait to see what the fall holds...

In other news, Ben had his follow-up appointment regarding his surgery. Without going into too much detail, I was afraid he was going to have to have another surgery. Turns out that his belly button is just fine and still healing. I did not realize that the stitches take 6-8 months to dissolve. This was a huge answer to prayer...

Reception...

2009-09-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Since I was in the wedding, I have pictures of the ride to the church.... Loria and her mom Carolyn
I like Limos!

Then....I have pictures of the reception. I will have to bug Loria when she settles back into life for pictures of the ceremony (which was beautiful).

Brad and Loria had orchids everywhere and their cake does a beautiful job of capturing the color scheme of the night:

My best friend Dawn (who flew in from FL) and her boyfriend Chris:

Friends since elementary school:

High School Friends:

Notice: they cut the cake with an engraved sword. Long story, but really cool idea:

Ninni and I met in middle school and graduated high school together. She recently got married and became a dentist. It was so good to see her again:

Alex is Loria's cousin. He's like a little brother to all of us. (I think he was a little drunk in this picture....but I think that I look fabulous which is why I posted it!)

The party continued outside....

Brad and Loria....thanks for a heck of a party! I am so happy that Loria has found someone who "balances" her....we could use someone like that in our lives! Looking forward to many more years of friendship....even if we are all separated by oceans. Ok...now I sound like a greeting card. BUT IT'S MY BLOG!

Let there be more pampering...

2009-09-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

The wedding began at 6:30 which meant that we had all day to get our hair and make-up done. Loria had a hotel suite where we all met.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived was that there was a MOUSE in the room!!! The hair stylist and make-up artist made us all swear that we would not tell the bride about it. I think she found out later, but it was right before we all got in the limo to go to the wedding. Fun times! There were many silent screams as the mouse darted from one room to the next, one sofa to the next, etc. Rindi, Me, Tessa and Jennifer

LOVED the make-up and hairstyle.

Loria made such a beautiful bride. Here is a picture of Rindi learning how to put on and take off her veil. I can't believe Loria is married....sniff sniff!

By the way, these two men were fabulous. Not only did they do a great job on our hair and make-up, but they were handing out all sorts of free tips and up and coming styles to watch for. I learned that I need to go long.....so I am growing my hair out again. I'm thinking collarbone length.

My Best Friend's Wedding! (Part 1- Thursday)

2009-09-08T17:37:00.001-07:00

My best friend Loria got married while we were in Charlotte. Since I was in the wedding, I was able to fly to San Francisco and spend Thursday through Sunday. It was glorious! First thing we did was get manicures and pedicures. I got the "chocolate and mint" combo. Again....glorious.

(Sarah- bride's sister, Dawn- high school friend, me, Loria- bride-to-be)

My favorite part:
My feet practically froze on the flight to CA, so this was a welcoming surprise.

On Thursday night, we all ventured to Tommy's Mexican Restaurant to start the Bachelorette Party off right! Loria and her "festive" balloons:
Catching up with high school friends was one of the high-lights of the trip! Pictured below:

(Me, Rindi and Dawn)

Then, we headed to a Dueling Piano Bar for the "real embarrassing fun":

Inside the Bachelorette Party Box, Loria had a die. When she rolled it, some of the things she had to do were as follows:

Bust a Move

BYOB- Bring Your Own Buddy-
which meant she had to get a picture with someone she didn't know and the blow up doll we brought had to be in it, too.

True Confession
(Think Truth or Dare)

Pick a Card-
This is where the real fun began. Each card had something silly for her to do. One said she had to convince a guy to call her fiance and leave a voicemail message saying how lucky he was that he was marrying Loria.

Good Times, as you can see from the pictures below...

After the party, we walked the streets (later we found our that it was the bad part of town) with the blow up doll. Classic:

More to come...

Flea Market Experience

2009-09-06T18:13:00.001-07:00

During ICC, we were given an assignment: Visit the Flea Market. While there, we were supposed to order something NON-American and eat it there. We were also supposed to Suspend Judgment, Think Gray, Tolerate Ambiguity and Assume Goodwill (more on those words later).

Here's a picture of Caleb eating a mango sprinkled with chili powder:
Ben drank Kool-Aid! hehe....He also thoroughly enjoyed a delicious quesadilla....this was so good and so cheap....not like quesadillas you get a Tex-Mex restaurants.
Close up of "the boy":

Home-Made Tortillas

2009-09-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law lived in Papua New Guinea....where she started making home-made tortillas. Let me just say that if you have never had a home-made tortilla, you are missing out on life! I invited my friend Carol over (since she and her husband will be in PNG with us) for a "tutorial".

My mother-in-law Ann Ann's tortilla:

My tortilla????
Carol caught on quickly! Her tortillas were "rounder" than mine:

YUM!

Off-Roading (It was a part of the training!!)

2009-09-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

I am going to post more about the training. We are actually still processing it all....and will probably post a lengthly entry on the Travels and Musings blog. (So keep an eye on that one for more info.) Since this is our family blog, I am going to tell you about parts of the training worth photographing!

We had an off-road elective. The idea is that so many times, highly educated, city-living missionaries go overseas, only to flip their vehicles when in off-roading situations. We were actually given the opportunity to "practice" driving off-road....up crazy "obstacles" and down steep hills and over huge boulders and through deep mud. Now....I know what you might be thinking....Adrienne doesn't know how to drive a manual transmission car.

THAT is why I signed up for the elective WITHOUT Caleb. He is a wonderful husband, but not the most patient when teaching someone to drive.

Meet my carpool: (Me, Carol and Barbara)

AKA Peppers Angels!

(John Peppers was our instructor...he was in the car, too.)

Notice the steep drop off below:

This is the first and only hill that I got stuck in. Peppers actually (I don't know how) managed to tell me exactly what to do to get "un-stuck". After stalling a few times and screaming a few times, I made it up the hill. In case you were wondering, I got stuck in the rut on the top left hand side....just to the left of the big shiny rock that I was "aiming for" and missed!

Carol- the Pro!
Barbara and I- she was super fast! The course took me 45 minutes to complete. It took her about 20. Maybe it was because I was in first gear the whole time! (Shhhhh! Don't tell Caleb!)

Since we had more time on our hands (I told you Barbara was super fast), I was asked to give Carol directions. Notice- her car has a sun shield. She was essentially "blind-folded". I had to direct her so that two of her tires were on two tiny golf balls. Yes...it was as hard as it sounds!

Pepper's Angels pose again:

SO much fun!

Caleb actually went first, but since this is my blog, I decided to post his pictures after mine!

Fun times.

Sometimes, when the car went into a rut, your window was literally touching the ground. Did I mention how fun this was??

This picture doesn't exactly show you, but this obstacle was the equivalent of going up then down a triangle:

MUD!

This was a "dry day". Caleb went back a couple days later after it had rained for about 24 hours.

Ben was a little jealous, so we took him "off-roading", too!

Here's a picture of Buna and Ben:

If you ever have the chance to do this....I highly encourage it!

We're HOME!

2009-09-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

The training in Charlotte was intense. We think that is the best word to describe it. Now, we are trying to unpack and get "settled" again in Raleigh.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped to make our stay in Charlotte more comfortable and definitely memorable. We miss you already, but are looking forward to the coming months.

More pictures to come...

Are you ready for some....BASEBALL?

2009-08-24T18:48:00.001-07:00

The second Friday that we were in Charlotte, we met up with Crystal for a Charlotte Knights game. It was only $10 a ticket and it included a concert with Needtobreathe. This is probably one of our favorite bands.....so it was SO great to see them.....for so little money. We had a great time! Ben was up REALLY late, but he was a trooper!

CRYSTAL TIME!

We were sitting right behind home plate....so whenever a foul ball came our way, I freaked out like there wasn't a net to protect us! Ben loved watching the airplanes flying by more then the game!

Great concert post-game:

CORN PARTY!

2009-08-24T18:37:00.001-07:00

I'll tell you....the Weir's sure know how to throw a heck of a corn party! Caleb's parents brought home tons of corn from their trip to PA. Yuuuuum!My sister-in-law Jill, Cam and Alex (above)

Emory LOVED the husks!

Ben was going to town!

Most nights, this is how Ben looks:

Intermission....

2009-08-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have tons of pictures that I hope to be able to upload at some point! But, for now, words will have to do!

As you know, we are still in the middle of our month long training on how to live in a cross-cultural environment. Currently, I am in San Francisco until Sunday. I am in my best friend's wedding on Saturday night. I think I really needed this break....but I'll get to that later!

The training is very good. I did not realize how the training is two-fold. We are being 1) thrown into many situations, simulations and exercises that give us an idea of what stresses we will face when we move over-seas and 2) we are being encouraged to share very personal struggles and life stories. The idea behind this second part is that supposedly when you are under stress, all those things you didn't face before you left the states come out ten-fold. So, as you can imagine, we are being stretched passed our comfort zone in many ways.

I really enjoyed a simulation that we did a couple of days ago. All the instructors pretended to be from the country of IT. We had to get our passport, exchange our money, get our visa and buy our airplane ticket. It was a race, but we soon learned we would be lucky if we finished by next week. I learned how impatient and competitive I really am. But, it was GREAT training that I used immediately.

I was scheduled to fly out of Charlotte at 2:30pm yesterday....so naturally, I arrived two hours early only to find out that my flight had been delayed for two hours. This meant I would miss my connecting flight in Minneapolis (honestly, I didn't even know where that was at the time). Due to tornadoes that actually hit, the airport shut down for some time. Then, every flight I took became delayed. I was patient for 20 hours....and I am really proud of how I handled the whole situation....but let's just say that it is GOOD TO FINALLY BE IN CA.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. Thank you, also, for understanding that this is a temporary absence from the internet. Luckily when we are in PNG, we will be able to e-mail and blog frequently.

Be on the look-out for pictures! Maybe Caleb will surprise me and post them!

We have...

- A Corn Party
- Pictures with Grammy and Buna
- Pictures of Ben on a Riding Lawn Mower
- Pictures from a baseball game with Crystal
- Pictures from the Needtobreathe Concert
- And More!!!

I miss my blog....and all of you, of course!

In Charlotte....

2009-08-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

We made it safe and soundly to Charlotte. Training officially began Friday afternoon.

Ben managed to blow out his diaper on the way to Charlotte, all of his clothes were with Caleb in the other vehicle, so he rode diaper-only. When we arrived, he went running towards Caleb and fell on the pavement.....wearing only that diaper. He is a little marked up, but nothing serious. He is rather proud of his "boo-boo's", though....and is happy to show them to any and everyone. I'm afraid this child might have a scar from every training we have attended....just kidding!

Please pray for us when you get the chance....we are already learning so much and feel like we are experiencing many firsts. We have to attend a new church tomorrow where we will be the minority....and Ben will have to sit through the entire service....i.e, no childcare.

We still feel very blessed and very excited.....but feel very alone. We do not have access to the internet at our apartment....we hope we will have it soon, but we are trying not to "expect" it.

Thanks, friends...

Visit with MeeMom and PopPop

2009-08-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

MeeMom and PopPop visited from Maryland this past week-end. It was so nice having them here to help. Since we are leaving for Charlotte soon, they were able to hang out with Ben while I got other things in order for our trip.

Ben LOVES to be the "helper". He loves to help you clean, throw out trash, do laundry and cook. MeeMom and PopPop let him help make a cake!
They also took him to the Museum of Natural History. It is his favorite thing to do with them. He loves to name all the animals that he sees!

And, of course, he loves to read!

Thank you, MeeMom and PopPop for visiting us. We all had such a good time. Thank you, also, for taking Kirk home with you while we are in Charlotte....Kirk, we miss you already! (Well, everyone but Caleb misses the dog!)

Ahhhh....It's Saturday!

2009-08-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share with you all one of Ben's new words. He has a new word for "coffee". He calls it "happy". I LOVE it!

Summer Ice Cream Social

2009-07-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Our small group had a summer ice cream social last Sunday. Thought you would enjoy the pictures of Ben below. His friend John hosted the event. These two are about a week apart. They play so well together...it great! Ben could not get enough!

John liked the ice cream, too!

Ahh....summer days!

Ben's Surgery

2009-07-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Ben's home now....sleeping off the anesthesia. He woke up really groggy this time....not like after the tongue surgery. But, we are so happy that he did well and should be back to himself in a day or two. He will be a little uncomfortable. But, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Here are some pictures in pre-op.
He had to wear the gown. So sad!

Prayers Please...

2009-07-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know that Ben's surgery for his belly button is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:30 am. We have to be at the hospital by 5:30....yuck! It is an outpatient procedure! Thanks, friends!

Highlights...

2009-07-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ben got a new "ride": We visited North Beach, MD to see our friends (The Garner's). I just can't get enough of little Abby. It is hard to believe that she will be 1 at the end of August!

We went to the North Beach water park.

Then, our friend Kristin had a birthday dinner! I tried to entertain their son Brian....but he didn't want me!

Brayden was at the party. Guess who's crawling (like a worm):

Ben got another new ride. I was able to hit up the Kids Exchange and scored big on cheap toys. A lot of toys are for PNG, but this one is a keeper now:

Check out Ben's new shades....courtesy of dad!

Then, we entertained Abby and Della. Ben loves these dogs. They are so much better then Kirk around kids:

Hugs!

These dogs belong to our friends Kerry and David who managed to sell their house and find one to rent in Portland before the week-end even began. Congrats, friends!

Summer BBQ!

2009-07-27T06:22:00.001-07:00

When we returned home from Orlando, we had a summer BBQ! It was a chance to let others know what we had learned and what steps are next. If you can't tell already, we may be planning to leave the country in January, but this whole "going over" is going to take so many people....it will truly be a joint effort. we are always looking for people who want to be a part of this!

Caleb's parents ventured from Charlotte....which was a nice treat! At the last minute, my dad had to go to Alaska....so we missed seeing Beach Grammy and Beach Grandpa. Below, is a picture of Caleb "talking to the group".....and behind his a TV with other friends! They "visited" via TokBox. It was so cool. I was so distracted. We were able to include friends from the west coast, mid west and eastern shore. Too fun!

The food was fabulous....everyone actually pitched in to help! We figured that since everyone would be helping us while we are "on the field", why not practice working together now by all pitching in to cook! hehe!

Buna was in charge of the grill!

The men husked the corn, cut the watermelon and "manned" the grill.

The women worked on the squash, corn, bread and dessert. We also watched the babies and looked pretty!

Jennifer, Amy and Jennifer

Ta-Da!

Sauteed squash, bacon-wrapped shrimp, chicken, corn, bread and watermelon!

And the prettiest cupcakes you've ever seen. They were each filled with something different! Some had cream cheese filling and others had cookie dough filling! YUM!

Ben loved being the center of attention:

Below is a good picture of the bruise Ben got on his forehead at Chick-Fil-A the night before. It was a shiner and he was proud of his "boo-boooooo"!

MeeMom and PopPop Visit

2009-07-26T06:06:00.000-07:00

When we returned from Orlando, we were busy spending time with friends, working on our newsletter, getting back into a "routine" and I was finishing up my work at the Department of Revenue. I felt like we had something going every night. Then, my mom and stepfather visited the following week-end. It was a great visit!

Funny Story- The Friday that they drove from Baltimore to Raleigh was Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day. (Google it!) If you dress up like a cow, you get a free meal. My mom and stepfather dressed liked cows and drove down I-95 stopping at every Chick-Fil-A they could find. (OK....it was only 2 Chick-Fil-A's, but I like the picture in my mind of them stopping at each one....dressed like cows driving...totally abusing the free food! hehe!)

When they arrived, Ben and I made costumes and went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Caleb was the only one who did not particpate in the fun!

MeeMom and I in our "pre-cow" get-up!

Family Photo- We're pretending the toy cow is Caleb!

Love the little tail!

We even had "live" entertainment- tap dancers! Ben was mesmorized...

It was brought to my attention...

2009-07-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

That I have seriously dropped the ball with my blog posts! (Thanks, Amy, for the accountability!) To be honest, I have been avoiding the blog because I KNEW that I was seriously behind!

So, here goes....let the pictures begin!

Updates!

2009-07-14T13:10:00.001-07:00

Hey Friends,

So sorry that I have been MIA. We have had quite the busy week. When we returned from Orlando, I gave my official notice at work. My last day will be THURSDAY, JULY 23RD!!!!!!! I'm a tad bit excited, can you tell?

Looking forward to sitting down and posting pictures from this past week-end. My mom and stepfather were in town and so were Caleb's parents. We had some friends over on Sunday and really enjoyed the company and conversation.

But, Monday hit....and it was back to work for me! Today, we had Ben's ultrasound. The good news is that the little tube behind his belly button has a little hole, but on the interior end. This means 1) there is not a high risk of an infection entering his body because there would be no way to get in. That end of the tube is closed! and 2) He may or MAY NOT need surgery. We will have to wait until next week to hear what the doctor thinks. He's on vacation. But, praise GOD that this is not an emergency and it can wait!

Ben did have his 18-month check up last week. My little man is now in the 75th percentile for height! He is so stinking tall now. He weighs 25 pounds which puts him in the 50th percentile for weight.

So anything else new? (You might ask)

Well, yes......TEMPER TANTRUMS have invaded our little Ben something fierce. He has a will like nothing we've ever seen before. I have to admit that I have been thoroughly embarrassed on three different occasions. I am hyper-sensitive about "what others are thinking".

So, that's the long and short of it for now. Pictures promised!!

Has it really been that long?

2009-07-11T20:27:00.001-07:00

I promise I can explain.

Here's my excuse for why I have not posted since we returned from FL:

Monday- Dinner with the Westfall's
Tuesday- Ben's 18 month check up which literally took 2 hours then Sushi with the Matzer's (first time with a "real" babysitter)
Wednesday- So you think you can dance! =0) It was a 2-hour show!
Thursday- Consultation with UNC Pediatic Surgeons....Ben may need another surgery....this time for his belly button....more on that later
Friday- My parents came into town from Baltimore
Saturday- Caleb's parents came into town from Charlotte
Sunday- I hope to post!!! with pictures and all! It'll be a good one or five. Keep checking back! =0)

Aquatica and Animal Kingdom Lodge

2009-07-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Last week-end, we spent the day at Aquatica with Dawn and Chris. Honestly, I did not get many pictures because we had SO MUCH FUN! Aquatica is Sea World's version of a water park. It was the perfect setting. Dawn reserved seats under a giant umbrella on the "beach" by the wave pool. We were close to the rapids- where we strapped on life jackets and waded down the "river". There were water slides and tubes that we could ride. The rain held off and the crowd level was LOW. Good times! Thanks, Dawn and Chris, for venturing down our way to spend the day together.

(Our new friends Andy, Melody and their daughter Hannah went, too....I hope that I get some of their pictures to post later!)

After Aquatica, we had a babysitter....so it was off to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner. We had reservations for the restaurant called Boma. It is an African-Inspired buffet. The room is set up with thatch huts/stations where you "graze" the buffet for food. Now, you may be thinking....YUCK! I hate buffets. This is not your typical buffet. Think of it as an adventure with food. Every time you go, there is something different. MARVELOUS!

Not to mention that once you are "in" for the restaurant reservation, you are able to walk the hotel which is practically a zoo!

I love this place!

We celebrated our anniversary one month late with this dinner. I had to get a couple shots for our anniversary scrapbook!

It was a day and evening to remember. I can't believe we will be driving home to Raleigh THIS week-end.

Tuesdays are Playdates!

2009-06-30T16:50:00.001-07:00

If we were in Raleigh (and we're not because we're still in Orlando), we would have gone to PLAYGROUP! Since Ben misses all his little buddies, I thought I would post these pictures that we took the week before we left!

Ben LOVED Bridget's slide....so much that he did not want to share, if possible!

Little Baby Brian is getting so BIG!

Little Miss Kaitlyn perched on her favorite chair!

Carson liked to show Ben how to master the "playground".

Recap!

2009-06-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy from our trip so far. The nice thing about this training is that we are all sharing pictures and the "instructors" are taking lots of pictures so we can use them for our newsletters and such!

Enjoy:

First Day Mugshot!

Ben with one of his many hats!

Our New Friends Hannah, Andy and Melody! They are going to PNG, too!

New friends Lisa, little Gabriel and Jim!

Ice Cream Social!

Ben is adjusting much better. Thank you for your prayers!

Day 2- Florida is HOT!

2009-06-21T18:10:00.001-07:00

Please check out my husband's site: Travel and Musings. You can link to it from my blog- top right! It was another busy day. If you are praying for us, please pray that we will stay hydrated and not feel sick anymore. Also, please pray that Ben will adjust to a new schedule for meals and naptime. Thanks!!

Here are a couple pictures for your viewing pleasure. I think that this site will have the family pics and Caleb's blog will have the "play by play" of our training, etc. Feel free to comment on his blog. I promise he won't bite!

Ben's daycare room ROCKS! Check out the Kawasaki. Just like dad......actually, just like Uncle Joe Joe!

Except I think that Joe's training wheels are off by now!! hehe

Ben is being his wonderful, loving and social self. He let our "tour guide" carry him and walk with him the whole time! Everyone was "oooo-ing" and "aaahh-ing". Which I loved! =0)

Caught this Father/Son moment:

Naptime usually: 11:30am. Time now: 1:30...

No words can express my love for this child. He cracks me up daily:

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

Caleb is one amazing dad!

JAX

2009-06-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

Friday Afternoon- No nap for Ben. We thought we were "safe". Surely our sweet little boy will sleep for at least a couple of hours during the 6 1/2 hour drive to Jacksonville, FL. Don't let this picture fool you. He was up after 45 minutes and awake and MAD the whole trip.

Any pointers on traveling with an 18 month old?? And don't tell me cheap NEW toys that he can throw or DVD's....our DVD doesn't attach to a seat, so if Ben can't hold it, he ain't happy!

My high school friend let us crash at her place. I can't imagine what the trip would have been like if we were not able to stop.

On Saturday morning, we went to the Beach Diner! It was one of those Mom and Pop places that fills up and has lines out the door by 10 AM. It was WONDERFUL.

I know this isn't a great picture of Ben, but I liked it:

Here's a better picture for you:

After breakfast, we went out by the water with Dawn and her boyfriend Chris.

It was still early, so it wasn't 100 degrees, yet. Ben was not wearing a bathing suit but ended up covered in sand and water from head to toe. It was great!

Random Family "That's Life" Shot

Ben and "Auntie" Dawn:

"If you thought the beach was fun in JAX, think again! The showers are EVEN better" ~ Ben

After waking up at 7, going out to eat by 9, playing in the sand until 10:30, surely this little guy is in for a good nap, right?

Don't let this picture fool you. He was up after 1 hour! At least the naps are getting longer, right?

Grrrr.....

Anyway, we checked into our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. We'll be living here for the next two weeks. We met a lot of the other people that will be attending the training with us. I am probably now known as the "Mother who forgot her child's bib to the first dinner and let her child completely coat himself in spaghetti." Yeah....I'm THAT mom.

But, everyone is really nice and laid back.....which is VERY different then what I am used to.

I'm BEAT! Ben's asleep! Caleb's WIDE awake because he had like 5 cups of coffee!

More to come....

We Have Internet! (and we made it safely to Orlando....thanks for checking!)

2009-06-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

We made it to Orlando after a LOOOOOOOOONG drive. It is HARD to drive long distances with a toddler. Ben is currently taking a nap and I am currently ECSTATIC that we have internet connection in our apartment.

We have to meet with the childcare teachers now, but I wanted to post a teaser picture so that you will come back for more!

On a side note, we were fortunate enough to stay at my friend Dawn's place in Jacksonville. This helped to cut down on the total drive time in one sitting! More pictures to come of our trip with her!

Ahhhh! What a perfect start to a Father's Day week-end!

Bu-booools!

2009-06-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Orlando.....

2009-06-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

I think I've reached my signature "Sick in Anticipation" phase. My head is throbbing as I try to type this post. Maybe it's because I'm excited, but more likely it is the peanut butter I ate this week.

We leave for Orlando tomorrow!!! (If you are thinking about robbing our house- I hate putting details like this up on my blog- think again! We have people staying in it while we're gone!)

Ben has his first Water Play Day of the summer at his daycare in the morning, then we are off!

I'm SO excited because we will be staying Friday night in Jacksonville, FL. Ben gets to visit his favorite Auntie Dawn again. (Dawn and I have been friends since middle school!)

Then, we "check in" on Saturday around 3pm for "Training". This is one of three mandatory training experiences prior to leaving for PNG. We'll be staying in either a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment while we're there. Meals will be provided which means NO COOKING!

During the middle week-end, Caleb and I are going to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Better late then never, right? We are going to visit SeaWorld's Aquatica, which is one giant water park, with Dawn and her boyfriend Chris. Then, one Sunday night, Caleb, Ben and I have reservations for Boma- an African-inspired buffet style dinner at Disney's Animal Kingdom's Lodge. This was by-far our favorite dinner when we went to Disney last September! After our early dinner, we plan to walk around the lodge which is practically a really cool zoo!

Not sure how Internet usage will work when we are there. I'm sure we will be very busy training and working and clarifying and articulating our reasons for going overseas. I promise to take lots of pictures and will try to post while we are there!

I'M SO EXCITED!! Two weeks!! Ben's excited, too....he just doesn't know it yet! Caleb says he's not excited...he thinks this is going to be all work and no play. Except, I don't believe him! His fishing gear is all packed and ready to be put in the Trooper!