What a great time we had with Grandma and Grandpa Griffin during their visit! Grandma was a huge help to me in the kitchen and playing with the kids...which Daniel and Hannah both loved very much! Coloring is one of Hannah's favorite pastimes so anytime she can find someone who's willing to color with her she's in hog-heaven! And they played so many games together, too! It was really nice, too, to have her help with fixing all the food for the crew...and the clean-up! She's always assigned to gravy duty...I watch her make it everytime, but just haven't gotten the hang of it yet! We've only been doing this for 8 years...I should be figuring it out soon enough, heh?!? Thanks for all your help and loving!

These are some of the greatest gifts ever!!! Grandma and Grandpa Griffin brought Daniel and Hannah's Christmas gifts with them when they came to visit for Thanksgiving. They bought each of them a Razor Scream Machine. It's a metal heavy-duty throwback to the big wheels we all played with as kids. It's adjustable so it should fit up to a 12 year old! Daniel's so excited that he can ride it without having to turn the front wheel around to keep his knees from hitting the handlebars! And it comes with a cool handbrake, just like a bike...it didn't take Daniel very long to figure out to spin out into a 180 everytime he stopped! And I do want to draw attention to Hannah...she's all girl...notice the pearls and ribbons on her gloves? It wasn't warm enough for her to be out without gloves, but it was too warm for her to wear her winter gloves, so her church gloves came out (and ended up being ruined in the process!) I thought it was a perfect testament to our Hannah...trying to keep up with Daniel by being rough and tumble, while wearing her pretty pink pearly gloves! That's my girl!

This last week of Thanksgiving/Rifle Season (don't the two always go together?!?) was absolutely beautiful weather for us! Most of the days were in the 50's! We couldn't bear to keep the kiddos inside when this was probably the last chance to play out in the "warm" weather. So I did the unthinkable...I bought my kids safety orange hats! They loved them, too! I was still a bit uneasy with them being outside, but gave in since they were having so much fun! We have 4 acres of land that is surrounded by hundreds of acres of wooded land that is used for hunting, so I do have to say that my concerns about stray bullets were not completely unfounded! I do have to admit it was a strange experience to look out from my front porch and see a big ol' deer hanging from our nieghbor's tree! Just another reminder that we're not anywhere near Chicago anymore!

Where in the World are We??? Yet Again!!!

Brent and I were watching TV last night and caught just a snippet of the lead story on our local news channel. Well...as local as Green Bay...there's not really a news channel for just our area! But we caught enough of it to hear , "600,000 hunters head to northern Wisconsin..." Brent and I just looked at each other and laughed...600,000!!! That's a lot of hunters...no wonder it's not safe for our children to play outside! We were out of town last year during the week of rifle season so we didn't see what really went on...but let me tell you! We've not seen this much traffic on our little roads ever! We'd love to have any of you come for a visit, but I would highly recommend choosing another week to visit!

Not your normal school for sure!!!

This announcement was sent out to all the students at Northland today...just a statement about the area we live in! Definitely not something you'd see being announced at Bob Jones or Pensacola!!! You know it's bad when they cancel the public schools the week of deer hunting season because attendance would be so low and it's not safe to stand around outside waiting for the bus! We can't let our kids play outside during this week without wearing safety orange! Our neighbor actually had a bullet hit her roof the first year we moved in!!! (no...it wasn't Brent practicing!) Safety orange and camouflage, here we come! But for all the quirky things...I love it around here!!!

TO: ALL STUDENTS
FROM: SECURITY

The gun deer season will be open from Saturday, Nov. 18, through Sunday, Nov. 26. All areas on Northland property outside of the main campus and all surrounding property owned by Northland Board members will be strictly off-limits to students during this time.
The rifle range will be available and supervised to sight in rifles during the week before hunting season. Students must sign up at the Safety/Security office for a time slot. The rifle range is off-limits to students at all times except for those time slots that are scheduled.

Well...

I only have a quick minute, but hope to post a picture of my ultrasound soon...

Everything went really well yesterday at my ultrasound. There's only one baby (thankfully!!!) and it is definitely (no doubt about it!) a girl! While she's a big baby, she's not huge...so everything stays the same. She's the 84th percentile right now and the doc said he doesn't get concerned until the 90th percentile. Because of my history of big babies (a 10#5oz and 8#11oz-er) and my height...he figures this is normal for me. I was hoping to shave a couple of weeks off my due date, but we're still on for Jan 28th--and he doesn't see a reason to induce--so I may get my "I Love Lucy" moment after all--"Honey...I think you should wake up" or "Honey...I think it's time to come home from work" or "HONEY!!! IT'S TIME!!!"

I do have to say it was so sweet to be able to see our little munchky on the monitor...she was pursing her little lips and moving all around...I'm really hoping the holidays make this time go fast!!! I can't wait to hold her in my arms...and let Brent have a chance to hold her, too!

Excuse the grin...check out that belly!!!

You'll have to excuse the cheesy grin (is there ever anything but a cheesy grin on my face?!?)
and check out how big I'm getting!!! I still chuckle every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a reflection somewhere...and I'm still startled by this big ol' belly...and I still have 2+ months to go!!! Is it any wonder the doctor thinks I'm having a big baby?!?

I'm getting bigger and bigger, but closer and closer!!!

Yahoo!!! I'm already 25% of the way through my 100 day countdown until D-Day!!! And I may be farther than that if the Doc decides to set an induction date earlier than my due date! And I do have to say that these last 25 days have flown by! With the holidays so quickly upon us, I have a feeling I'm going to be letting Brent have a chance to hold this baby before I know it!!!

A quick note of interest...I woke up Sunday morning at 3:30 with contractions!!! I had 5 of them...very painful, too, I might add...back to back with only about 15 seconds in between each one. It's amazing the thoughts that can quickly go through one's head in that short of time! Thoughts of...NICU in Green Bay, remember to grab church clothes for the kids, yahoo...we get the tax break after all... :-) But they stopped when I sat up so just a round of Braxton Hicks...I forgot how painful contractions are!!!

First Snow!!!

Well...it's finally happened...knew it would sooner or later, but unfortunately it's sooner than later! We had about 8 inches of snow this last Friday...It was beautiful for sure, but crazy to drive in. Daniel was in the Fall Play on campus so we had to go out in it to get him there...a normal 20 minute drive took about an hour! And of course, I didn't get any pictures, and now it's starting to melt so it's not half as pretty! I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to get more pics this winter! If you check out Tricia Fipps' blog...there's a link on the right side of my page here, she's got some great pictures of the snow...and some really cute kids! :-)

Wednesday's the big Ultrasound day! Can't wait to try to see again if it's a Sarah or a Joshua...and how big the baby is! And of course, it's always good to see that there's just one baby! :-) I'll be sure to clue you all in...I have a feeling the Doc will start talking about setting a date to be induced...I may not get my "I Love Lucy" moment after all...but if it means not giving birth to an 11 pounder...I'll probably be okay :-)

Yipppeee!!!

I called my doctor today to see how I fared on my glucose tolerance test. I was expecting to have to go in for the 3 hour test since I did with both of my other pregnancies...but I was really happy to find out that everything was just fine! And my blood counts were fine...even my iron. I guess I'm tired because I'm pregant...go figure! The nurse even said I must be eating right and living really healthy...if she only knew!!! I was so excited after I hung up the phone, I celebrated by eating a hostess cupcake! I'll show her healthy! :-) Less than a week til we get to see our little munchky on the ultrasound screen! Yahoo!!!

It's a real live tea party!!!

We're having so much fun with Grandpa and Grandma Kelley visiting us! It was really quiet this morning, so I went wandering through the house trying to figure out what was going on...this is what I found! The kids were having a "real live tea party" with Grandma...Grandpa was the server making sure the kids has enough "tea" (which was really lemonade since neither of them like tea!) They were thrilled to be using Hannah's dishes with real food. They had special little delicasies, too, to go with the tea...cheezits and cheese popcorn! They invited me to join them for a special tea party tomorrow afternoon at 3:00pm! They even made a formal invitation for me! Really too cute! I might break out the china for tomorrow's tea party and make it special...we'll see how I'm feeling after church! I've been so tired lately! I'm guessing my iron is low...could it be since I've not taken my prenatals for quite some time now!?! I know, I know...but I just forget! :-)

My view of eternity refreshed!

I received news today that a friend of mine passed away from cancer. I've been reminded over and over again as of late how fleeting this earth is and how eternal heaven is. I know that's not a profound statement by any means, but it's been driven home again today in my thinking as I grasp the understanding that this dear lady is walking with Christ in a completely different way today. How precious it will be to see our Savior face to face and to fully understand the wonder of His love when we get to go to heaven. Oh that I would live with that thought more and more each day. What a privilege it is to know that we will someday get to go to heaven. That's really what our earthly life is to be about...investing for that one day when we can see our Lord! But how distracted I often become with the cares of this world!

One a completley different note, I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I was talking with the doctor about how big I am getting. He was very reassuring (much unlike the "stupid polish doctor man" I had in Chicago--who was a very good doctor, but had the bedisde manner of a bedpan!!!) and simply said that most women feel that way around this time in their pregnancy. But as he measured me, he agreed that I am getting bigger than most and ordered an ultrasound to see how big the baby is! It's exactly that same as it was with Hannah. We were not completely sure with her first ultrasound that she was a girl and ended up with a second ultrasound due to my size that confirmed that she was indeed a girl! So we're hoping that on Nov 15 we'll be able to confirm whether or not we are having a girl! If you remember, at 20 weeks we were only about 85-90% sure that she was a girl!

What an amazing blessing!!!

We found out on Thursday that we needed to make a trip to Chicago back to where we moved from to take care of some paperwork. We were unsure what to do and how to handle the situation, so we decided to embrace it and have a mini-vacation with the fam! I cannot tell you how glad I am that we decided to stay a couple of days and visit with friends! The biggest treat was being able to spend Sunday at our former church, New Hope Baptist in Naperville. We love our church in Norway and know that it is the Lord's will for us to be there, but there is something so special about our church in Chicago. The Lord used each of the messages in a special way in my life. A simple discussion about worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth from our hearts (as opposed to just an outward, fleshly reaction) was such a challenge to me. Why do I do the things I do? The Lord is most concerned about the state of my heart, not the actions I take. And the special time with old friends was priceless! We were able to spend some time with our pastors, the McGeochs and the Alberts, too! And our kids had such a good time playing with the Albert kiddos, too! So sorry that their oldest, Kristina, was sick and couldn't get out much! Our lives have changed drastically since the Lord moved us to Northland, but being back in Chicago made us feel as though we were back home! I praise the Lord for the chance to visit, and of course the realization that we don't have to deal with that crazy traffic every day anymore! I'm pretty sure that we've seen more cars in the past 2 days than we've seen total in the past 2 years up North!!! :-) It was great seeing you, too, Leslie!!! How we miss everyone!!! Thanks for receiving us back so warmly!

Our First Artist Series

I know, I know, I know...I had every intention of getting a picture of Brent and me in with the kids before artist series tonight, but it did not happen!!! I spent too much time on Hannah's hair (she really wanted curls!) and Brent was working on getting Daniel's manly tie tied to look right (it's still too big for him!) We were 5 minutes late leaving as it was, and my makeup was still undone! So you get pics of the kids only! But we're told after all that most people only care about the kids anyway!!! So with all that said...we all went to artist series tonight at Northland. The SMS Men's Chorus came and sang for us! It was a wonderful time! They mixed in a number of traditional sacred stylings with some spirituals, and there were even a few classic barbershop numbers. The kids had a great time and even sat still through the entire program! Brent was so kind to surprise us with tickets! It's actually the first time Brent and I have gone to an Artist Series together as well...so it's special all around!

How Ironic is that?!?

Just the other day I sent an email to my friend, Marsel who lives in Atlanta, talking about our lives here and how the Lord has allowed me to adjust rather easily...even for a city girl living in the middle of the Northwoods. I told her that we see several deer just about every day in our yard, but thankfully no bobcats, bears, or wolves yet this year...that we know of. But, last night as we were pulling into our driveway (we have a rather long drive) after church, a bobcat shot right in front of our van! It was booking it, but we got a clear look at it, and there's no denying it...a bobcat! As we drove up to our house, a mouse ran in front of our van and we saw 3 deer take off, as well! I told Brent about the email to Marsel and that I was definitely going to be on the look out for those bears and wolves, now, too! And one other thing that I saw the other evening at dusk was a bat...they are so common around here that people actually gather on top of some hill just over in Michigan and watch them swarm out of caves come spring time. Bears? Wolves? Bring 'em on...but no matter how common they are, I'm not sure I'll ever be okay with bats! or mice for that fact! 94 days and counting!!!

Am I really still that far away for "D-Day?"

I put the counter on my blog to encourage me...but let me tell you...everytime I look at it, I still can't believe how much longer I have to wait to meet our baby! My pregnancy is going relatively smoothly right now, but I can't believe I still have 103 days!!! I'm hoping it works like our engagement time went...once we hit 100 days left, the time flew by! But I do have to say that there's a lot that will happen to me physically before the 100 days are left until "D-Day!" My kids keep asking me how much bigger I'm going to get (as if they can't imagine me getting any bigger than I already am!) Daniel thinks it's really funny that he can't get his arms around my waist anymore...I'm not so humored, to say the least!

But on a happier note, we're getting our new furnace and water heater today! That's a huge blessing to see the Lord replace our 28 year old furnace with a brand new, much more efficient, propane furnace. Our old furnace is fuel oil which is dirty and needs much servicing...God is so good to meet our needs and provide us with a new propane water heater, too. The men say that it should cut our electric bill each month by $40-$50!!!

As an ode to my "City-Girlishness" the biggest dilema for me was where to place the big white propane tank so it would be seen the least amount...everyone here has a huge white propane tank in their yard...it's as common to see those as it is deer! But the men who set up the tank told me I could put a cute little white fence with flowers around it to hide it if I wanted. They even said we could paint a scene on it if we wanted (they clearly don't know that I will probably end up doing just that!) The kids and I decided we'd do it half princess and half hot wheels to make everyone happy! Now...just to convince Brent that pink and purple with hot wheel flames is better than plain white! Like that will ever happen!!!

Some helpful info to help you out!

There are definite perks to being part of a techno geek family! One of them is being able to ask your husband just about anything you want to know about the internet, and he has the answers! Here's my latest question and the answer that I thought you might find helpful and interesting. It didn't take a rocket science to figure it out, but I wasn't sure what to google to find the right websites...enter my knight in shining armor!

There are some very helpful websites to aid in wading through the email warnings you get. There are some really sick people in the world who are willing to do whatever to scam you...who's not aware of all the phishing expeditions people go on!?! But there are also some very well-intentioned people who send on fake warnings or promises of riches from huge companies that are absolutely not true! I've included some websites Brent suggested that will tell you whether or not the email is valid. They all seem to want you to subscribe to their site for a fee, but you can search for free. They'll give you the info you want without a subscription. Two user-friendly, don't need a degree in computer science, websites to use include:
http://www.truthorfiction.com
http://scambusters.org

Hope this info helps! I plan on using these sites often, mostly out of curiosity than trying to make millions from Microsoft!

Saturdays are the best!

Yes...I realize it's Thursday, and I'm a bit behind on the posting! Humor me...I'm pregnant! Anyways...We had such a great day on Saturday! We slept in, watched cartoons, put legos together, played croquet, and then ended up at Dairy Queen for blizzards (as if we won't get our fair share of those soon enough, heh?!?) The highlight I think was just spending the day together doing activity after activity as a family! The weather was beautiful, too. Grandma and Grandpa Kelley bought Daniel a croquet set for his birthday and we were able to play several games! Must admit I didn't do too badly for my first try. Of course, Brent won...he always does...it's no fair! but I came in second...not bad unless you consider I beat a 7 year old and a 4 year old! Our coordination levels are pretty much the same (the kids and I...not Brent and I!) It was such great family time--and it was all free to us! We had coupons for Dairy Queen BOGO Free and gift certificates! You can't beat that!

I'm all for being unique, but perhaps I should not encourage this!

Hannah decided that her capris and t-shirt were not unique enough the other day, so she decided she would add her own touches to her wardrobe. Yes...those are striped capris, a polka-dot skirt, her slip, a hot pink long sleeved t-shirt and a sweater! She was quite proud of herself when she came into my room to show me her latest design! Daniel and I got a kick out of it...You know you're into blogging when your kids suggest putting something like this on our blog!

Everything's On Fire!!!

I LOVE THE FALL AROUND HERE!!! That's a huge change from what I usually have to say, ("Where in the world are we?!?") I forgot how beautiful the colors get right about now! On our way to church in Norway seems to be the best! Coming over the hill and then crossing the Menominee River into Michigan is breathtaking. (Yes...not only do we have to go to another state to do our grocery shopping, but to get to church, too!) The kids and I agree that the colors are so bright and varied that it looks like the trees are on fire.

This is probably the last week or 2 before the leaves fall and raking begins, so I thought I'd drag the kiddos through the dew laden grass and get their feet good and soaked before we left for church this morning. It was hard to get them to stand still...they kept getting giddy about the fun they'll soon be having jumping in the leaves! (Sounds like another blog entry in the making!)

These pics were taken in our back yard this morning...no matter how super-imposed they look!