Going crazy

Aargh! I still have to work for three more hours! ...And I'll I want to do is pack my bags and get on the plane!

WAHOO!

I'm so excited. I need some good hugs from you all. I miss you so much!! I can't wait to see you in less than a day!! WAHOO!!

jumping out of my skin excited!!

I can't stop thinking about this weekend! It's consuming my mind!

Can't wait...

Is anyone else excited about this weekend!
Can't wait to see you all!

The Itinerary!

Ok Ladies...here's our potential itinerary...Just to give you an idea of what you need to bring as far as money, clothes, shoes, etc. Let me know your thoughts...

Friday evening: Dinner in, hot tub/pool, movie in or out...

Saturday: Breakfast in (bagels, etc) Taste of Chicago (no admission - food cost only...), shopping, etc. for the afternoon - or to a beach...

Saturday evening: a) Free dance lesson and dancing in Grant Park at 6pm - it's something Afro Puerto Rican
b) Grant Park Orchestra (free) at 9pm - outside as well...
c) Navy Pier Fireworks (15 minutes long) at 10:15pm
d) Chicago at Sunset Cruise (2 hours) at 7:45pm (Cost $22)
e) Clubs around the area...
(I figure this leaves us a lot of options depending on the weather and what we "feel" like doing...dinner would be somewhere in there too. This also leaves us options as far as costs if we don't want to spend as much)

Sunday: Breakfast out (or in...depending on what we feel like doing)
Shedd Aquarium - anytime - closes at 6pm... cost $23
Dinner out (maybe with Joachim?) then back to the hotel or whatever our fancy...

The only other costs added in there are transportation...the train into the city will be about $5-8 total, but then we have cab fare if we need it, buses or the "L". Each bus and "L" ride will be $2...cab fares vary of course.

Again, going to and from airports will be taken care of by me or Jen.

Let me know any thoughts or ideas on this, but I wanted to give you an idea of what we were thinking of doing. By no means do we have to do any or all of this. Just ideas.

Love you girls! Can't wait to hear from you!

I know, I know...it's about time...

Hello friends! Can you believe in just about two weeks we will be able to see each other face to face? AHH! I am so thrilled! Jamie - i am really looking forward to hearing about the great things that happened in China! I've been thinking of you a lot.
Obviously, you guys all know that my world has been a little crazy lately. I am really very happy here, and very happy that I am engaged to the love of my life. I am truly looking forward to my life with Shawn and all the adventure that it will bring. Anyway...I hope everyone is planning on bringing pictures of the last year of their lives so we can all really catch up.
Work is good too! I just started at a different place last friday and it's working out wonderfully. I feel like I just jumped into the middle of a lake, and it's sink or swim, but it seems to be a great thing so far. I do a lot of organizing - of people and of things - and keeping everything moving right along. It's an architectural firm, so keeping things moving smoothly is very important.

Just FYI - if any of you are in town (hehehe), we are having an engagement party on June 24th...I am looking forward to it, but it also makes me a little sad. None of my family can come at all, so it's just mutual friends and Shawn's friends and family. I talked to my mom today, and she was a little blunt, but it's true - it was my choice to move farther away from my family, so it makes it more difficult for times like this.

Jules - I will try to call you soon - I was thinking about getting together early next week to hang out. Then I'll give you the info on the party, if you can come.

I love you girls and I CANNOT wait to see all of you!!!
Hugs and kisses!

Nothing New

Hello Friends -
I don't have anything new to blog... just the same old stuff going on. Although i am excited to see you all in 17 days!
Kimmie - i loved the pics from San Fran - sounds like you guys had fun.
Juls - I'm so excited you are having a girl... can't wait to meet the future Sapphire :)
Steph - Congratulations on the engagement... can't wait to see the ring and hear about all the wedding plans!
Jen - Sounds like your house is really comming together nicely... hopefully we can make a trip out sometime, i would love to see it!
Jamie - You are somewhere in China as i am writing this... know that we are praying for you and can't wait to hear all about the trip.
Liz - Miss you and hope to hear from you soon.
Ummm... not sure what else to write... i'm kinda computered out, it's the end of the day and i'm ready to go home.
In spite of the fact that i don't write often or have anything interesting to write, i do check often and love to hear about what is going on in your world. I miss you very much and think of you everyday!
Love and prayers:)

The San Francisco treat...ding ding

It's getting late and I should be getting to bed, but I stayed home sick from work today, so I've got a little cabin fever. And, since I slept in till noon, I'm not too tired yet. But I am feeling better, so that's a good thing.
Adam and I went to San Francisco last weekend -- for Memorial Day and to celebrate our anniversary. I can't believe it's been three years! Sometimes it seems like just yesterday...and other times, it feels like thirty years. :p He also gave me a pair of sapphire earrings! I love them and wish I could wear them every day. But they're pretty dressy and don't go with everything. I was very surprised -- he even picked them out all by himself.
We had a great time in San Fran, though. I found the Full House houses! :p We spent a day in the Sonoma Valley, tasting wine and walking and driving through all the vineyards. Basically all we did really was eat and drink. We also spent a lot of time at the beach where I didn't get sunburned...or even suntanned. And, we managed to climb all the way from Fisherman's Wharf up to Lombard Street - because the line for the streetcar was two hours long. Yeah, I thought we had hills in Seattle -- geesh. My calves still hurt from that. But we were very proud of our chubby little selves after we managed that feat.
So now we're busy getting things done we weren't here to do over the weekend. Adam's little sister is coming to stay with us this weekend. She's going to visit a few of the colleges out here, so we're trying to entice her with all the wonderful Seattle perks. Unfortunately, my apartment is a mess -- I haven't even unpacked -- so we have all that to do tomorrow night to get ready for her arrival.
We're also deciding on where and when to move. Our lease is up, and we're trying to decide if now's the time to buy or if we should just rent for a bit longer. We do have some more debt to pay off -- so we'll definitely wait for that to be gone before we do buy...but I'm ready to find something a little bigger for sure.
Hope all is well with you girls! Love ya!

Busy Memorial Day Weekend

Hi girls, did everyone enjoy the long weekend?
It was so nice for us to have an extra day. But we didn't relax, we worked hard! We have decided to tear down the present shed in our back yard, and rebuild the side storage room on the garage - therefore making it our new shed. We started Saturday morning tearing the side room apart. Sunday we bought supplies (and partook in the Sunday - day of rest). And today we built the frame to the new shed. As I just got in the shower I thought to myself, I have never been so dirty! I smelled, oh boy did I smell! Anyway, it's rewarding to look out and see some really good progress. Another week and the walls will be up. and yet another... the old shed will be torn down. Chris also bought another little gift for us, so that when our back yard is complete, we can sit and enjoy it... Patio furniture! I was thrilled! It's like our anniversary gift to ourselves :)
So I couldn't help but wonder what the Sapphire girls did on this extra day! Steph, I know I said I'd call you this weekend. Sorry, I failed... now I am reporting to the basement to SIT ON MY ARSE all night long. I barely had energy to wash my hair!
Anyway, all this to say, I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. Very excited for the end of next month when we get to see each other!!
Bye girls, love you!

Late night and bread

Hey all!

Just thought I would drop you a note as I sit at 1am waiting for banana bread to bake. Things here are busy and time seems to be running out on me. Which is why I am baking when I should be sleeping. School is almost done. One more week and I'm finished. Some cool things have gone on in the last few weeks. At school my team won a grant from HP for $35,000 of technology. So at the moment I'm actually writing to you from my new laptop! It has some amazing features. I'll have to bring it with me to Chicago. Speaking of... My plane ticket is bought and yet I'm not sure where I fly into. I'll email you girls when I figure it out.
Another amazing God thing is that our one trip to China is just about paid. Thank you so much for your prayers and gifts. You are such a blessing to us! We leave for China June 4 at 2:30am from our church. I think I've figured that it is a 20 hour flight. we are going to be working with kindergarten during their "Reading" month. Please pray for us. We Won't be told exactly where we are going until we reach Hong Kong.
So that is a quick update. Nick and I are doing well. I hope I don't make it sound like we are always struggling. We are definitely learning a lot, and loving every minute. I can't for you all to really hangout with him. Maybe in November?
Well-I better get ready for bed. The bread is almost done. I love you all and can't wait to see you very, very soon!

A happy digression

Hey girls! I just have to tell you that Seth digressed this week developmentally, but that it has been the most blissful digression I could have imagined. Seth would never have anything to do with a pacifier from the day he was born. He would always just spit it out. I didn't mind too much because I didn't really want him getting attached to a pacifier anyways. However, he has always been a bit dificult when it comes time to sleep or relax. most babies would suck on a pacifier and calm down. Seth always took more creative calming methods. Fortunately, he was a really good baby so it wasn't too bad. His naptimes have become a rather serious problem the past few months because he simply refuses to sleep during the day. He fights it and will often times sit in his crib laughing and talking to himself for hours before I finally give up and get him out of bed. Consequently, he gets cranky the rest of the day because he's always exhausted. So, 2 days ago, Seth was playing in his toybox and he came across an infant pacifier that had gotten stuck in with the rest of his toys. He promptly stuck it in his mouth and wouldn't spit it out the rest of the day! I take it away during his awake times and at night, but I've been letting him have it for his naps during the day... and he's been sleeping for hours! So far, everyday that I let him nap with his pacifier, he goes to sleep immediately without even a wimper and he sleeps for 2-3 hours. It's been the most wonderful thing ever! I know... he can't get attached to a pacifier now. He's just a few months away from giving it up completely. But I don't care! I won't let him have it unless it's nap time, and I won't let him use it to fall asleep at night... but if he will sleep during the day and be a much more pleasant child and let me get stuff done every once in a while... then he can suck on that thing to his little heart's content (at naptime). Seth is doing well these days. He's walking all over the place on his own now. It's pretty cute because he hasn't quite caught onto needing to bend his knees yet, so he kind of looks like E.T. when he's waddling around. He's into everything, but he's a pretty happy kid all the time. He says "hi" and will diligently say "thank you" whenever he is handed something... or takes something from you. He has also learned to "moo" like a cow. He will shake and nod his head in response to questions and in conversations consistently like he really is involved and understands everything you're saying. His favorite thing is hair. It's wierd, I know, but he loves to bury his little hands in your hair whenever he can reach you. He'll sit on my lap for an hour at a time just resting his little head on my chest, with his arms wrapped around my neck so he can hold my hair with both of his hands. It's kind of quirky, but I love the cuddle time, even if he just wants my hair. He is starting to find my bulging abdomen irritating though. He gets annoyed that my belly is getting in the way of hugs and wrestling. He tries to crawl in my lap and doesn't have as much room so he tries to push my tummy out of the way. It's only gonna get worse! =) I'm starting to feel a bit better these days. The nausea is not gone, but much better. I'm still waiting for my real pregnancy appetite to kick in. I haven't been able to really put down a good quantity of food yet. I actually get full quicker than I did before I was pregnant. I find that irritating. Now that my nausea is more under control, my most common craving is buffalo chicken wings and Coke. I could eat them almost all the time. That really has been my only major, intense craving with this pregnancy. I also eat a lot of fruit and some other things usually sound good. But buffalo chicken wings and Coke is my "have to have it" craving. Healthy, I know. That's about it for us lately. We've been staying busy doing landscaping and other house projects this week. I'm working on getting Seth's big boy room put together. He's going to have a Hawaiin, surfer style room. I found a cheap comforter and some accessories and I just have a little more to get so that I can get his new room set up. We're keeping a double bed in his room though so we'll always have a place for guests to stay in case anyone happens to be passing through. hint, hint... =) Well, I'd better go. Seth needs a bath and we need to go outside and enjoy our beautiful weather today. Love you girls!

I'd been wanting to post for a few days too but i feel like i'm begging for attention when I have 2 posts in a row. So thanks Julie, for breaking down and posting! Oh my gosh, 45 days until we all see each other again! Which reminds me... I've got pictures from the following events and if you have any other events you'd l ike included in the sapphire scrapbook, send them my way soon!
Jamie wedding, Liz wedding, Angie wedding & New Years Eve festivities, Pictures of Seth, Steph and Jen visits in Chicago, Kim and Julie's cruise
Also, if you've got your plane ticket for the reunion weekend, please email me the info so Steph or I can arrange to pick you up from the airport. Be sure to let me know if you're flying into O'Hare or Midway!
So an update on the Akers... we're good! We sold our mini-van about 2 weeks ago to the dealership just under my office. We've planted all our herbs and most of the garden now... it keeps raining so it's been a little rough. Oh, and I learned the other day that I have rhubarb growing in the back. It looks like our raspberry and blackberry twigs (not yet bushes) survived the winter and could possibly produce fruit this summer. that's probably boring to all of you, but it's quite exciting to me :) I can't believe we're coming up on our one yesr anniversary soon. Sometimes it feels like 10 years and sometimes it feels like just yesterday (when I remember that I still haven't started my wedding scrapbook!)
I must be going now... work has gotten busy. Miss you all!

Ok, ok, ok...

Yeah, I guess I'll give in, too...Honestly, I've been thinking about posting something for about a week now, but I just haven't made myself sit down and do it yet.
So, I just finished up my third week working at Onlineshoes, copywriting. At first, I was a little lost, then I was just kind of bored, but now I'm getting to know my coworkers and it's going great. The job itself isn't the most stimulating -- I mean, how much can you really say about shoes...really? But I am learning a lot -- I mean, a lot -- about the shoe industry, as well as fashion...oh yeah, we have handbags on the site, also. I may not really need any more purses, exactly, but they are fun to look at and try out.
So since we're all sharing websites right now, here's mine: www.onlineshoes.com. (By the way, tell Nathan good job on that website, Liz -- it's stellar.) I just wrote some copy for Uggs that might be up, and I've been doing a lot of outdoors and athletic shoes -- Columbia, Timberland, Reebok, etc. My job is mainly to write the product descriptions, as well as the features, for each shoe.
My mom was out visiting last weekend -- sort of as an early mother's day present. I had to work a couple of the days she was here, so she kept herself busy cleaning my apartment and taking Duray for walks. We did get down to the waterfront and got to do some other touristy things -- I think she just really needed a break from Ohio. She and my dad are officially divorced now and she received the settlement. So now it's up to her to start the long process of getting past all of that. It's still very weird for all of us. She did go buy a new car, though. :p
I'm going to be purchasing my ticket to Chicago this weekend -- yay :) Had to wait until I got a little money in the bank first...
Well, Adam's in ground school today, so I'm off to go meet him for lunch...

Love you all!

I Give In

Ok, I give in...I'll post. I actually had to post something on a blog for the church we're planting, so I checked this one as well, and thought I'd post. Juls, I think you're asking the wrong people for parenting advice, as oh, none of us have kids. If I were you, I'd trying light spanking and/or time out in his crib when you say no. That might help him associate "no" with negative consequences. "redirecting" works sometimes, but being in the education field I think it can be full of crap sometimes. So there is my expertise with my wealth of knowledge. I just get to enjoy the benefits of godparenting my little godson right now, which means I get all the perks with none of the hard work. And my goodness, is my little godson adorable. He's now saying a couple words at not even 9 months, and standing. I love it! It's an amazing feeling to put a little person down, and see them cry until they make their way crawling and walking back to you.
Anway, on another note...we're quite busy here. Things are stepping it up a bit with the church launch, which is in Sept. We have a lot of outreaches and work to do this summer. Between that, classes, visiting fam, and fam visiting us, our summer will be completely insane. Check out the splash page Nathan created for the website... lifesongonline.org
Other than that things are normal. Work, classes, time with my hubby, family. 26 more days of school and counting. Ok, gotta get going. There's a food drive this weekend, so my parent's food pantry will be inundated with food that needs to be sorted. Good luck with your new challenges Julie, and I hope everyone else is doing well!

somebody write something!

Hey girls!!! The blog is getting a little dry these days... We need to hear from you all. I miss your updates. There's nothing new here. Josh is working crazy hours and I'm going a little crazy staying home with Seth all day. He's going through kind of a trying phase. He's been whiney lately because he constantly has a cold and is teething. He has also recently discovered negative attention which he thinks is hysterical. Rather than being ashamed by mommy and daddy's disappointed looks and firm "No"s... he thinks it's funny and will continue his negative behavior while mocking us by furrowing his brow, shaking his head, and saying "no, no..." over and over again. It's difficult to know what to do when he's throwing his food on the floor, drinking out of the dog bowl, and pounding on electronics within his reach when any negative response from me and Josh only prompts his immediate laughter and mockery. Girls, I'm needing some parenting advice. I don't know whether to start baby timeout, light spankings, or to simply ignore his bad behavior and "redirect" as many popular parenting magazines suggest. Because we've tried it all and nothing seems to be working. Anyways, post something to break up my boredom. Love you girls! =)

thank heaven for little girls!

Julie, I'm thrilled for you! And I agree with Kimmie, I've been needing an excuse to look at and purchase little girl things :) I go shopping for little boy stuff for my expected nephew and feel like I've been neglecting the little girl departments!
Not much new here. I'm fully enjoying this spring with all the flowers in bloom and my lilac bush filling the back yard with glorious smells! the garden has been tilled and we are getting ready to plant the vegetables in a few weeks. Chris and I just got back from a long weekend in Washington DC. We had a wedding and spent a few days sight seeing. The place is just beautiful I tell ya. We saw lots of sights and... one really funny one. We visited the George Washington Island to see the Teddy Roosevelt memorial and as we were leaving (walking) we saw a woman jump out of her previously parked car as the car drove straight in to the Potomac River! It was so strange! No one was injured. I wonder if she didn't mean to do it because heck, if i just drove my car into the river and nearly went in with it, I would be a LITTLE freaked out. she was giggling. giggling! chris just had to take a picture of the car in the river, so I'll make sure it gets online sometime soon.
Bed time!

Yay!

Finally! Now I have a reason to buy those adorable pink froofy baby things.
Congrats, Juls! Keep us posted.
I didn't realize Tulsa was getting pounded with storms so badly. Hope you're all okay!
Love ya...

baby update

Hey girls! I hope you're all doing well. Kim, I'm so happy about your new job and I hope that you're getting all settled in and enjoying your work. (sorry I missed your call the other day, I don't even know how I didn't hear my phone ring) All is fine here. Josh is working nights this week. It's not too bad except that tonight is his first 12 hour night and we happen to be under tornado attack all night. I have already spent part of my evening at Panera Bread in the freezer with Seth because it was a safe place to hide from the first round of tornados that swept Tulsa while I was eating dinner with a friend. I just crawled out of the hallway where I sat in the dark for an hour with Seth asleep in my arms while we hid from the second round of storms and tornados. We have a brief reprieve, but I will probably be heading back to the hallway or bathroom with a sleeping baby to take cover from the third round of tornados in about an hour. It's a crappy night for Josh to be gone all night. You girls know how I'm afraid of thunder and lightening, let alone tornados! Before I got married, I spent most thunderstorms in bed with Kim because they freak me out so much! Anyways, there's nothing new happening here. I just wanted to post to tell you all that I had my ultrasound today to see if we could identify the baby's sex. I'm only 18 weeks, so I'm a little early to get a completely clear view as the genital area has just recently developed completely. However, you can get a pretty solid picture at this point that is rarely misleading. Based on the view we got with the ultrasound (and it was a pretty wide-open angle if you know what I mean), it looks like we can pretty confidently expect the first member of the Sapphires Club, the next generation. It's a girl! =) The doctor looked at her from every angle to make sure there was nothing "poking out" and he and Josh both decided that it is most definately looked like a girl. Hopefully, we'll get another good picture at another ultrasound when I'm further along to just verify her sex. But we feel pretty comfortable with it right now. I'm pretty excited. I had psyched myself up so much for a boy so that I wouldn't be disappointed that I can't quite believe that it's a girl. It will be fun. Well, I'd better get going and watch the weather again. Love you all!

New job

So I'm officially a full-time working girl now. I just started yesterday as a copywriter at Onlineshoes.com. I'm mainly writing product copy and things like that for the website. It's going to be challenging, but definitely interesting (I mean, I had to read fashion magazines yesterday to do 'research' on brand images...). The pay is exactly what I needed and the office is about a mile and a half from home (I know this because I missed my bus yesterday and walked most of the way!).
Other than that, things are pretty much the same. Adam and I were in Colorado for Easter -- our nephew Dylan really got into the Easter egg stuff this year, so that was pretty fun. I'll post some pictures whenever I finally get them off the camera -- Adam and I went kind of overboard on our egg-coloring this year. It's always quite an event at his family's house -- everyone all sort of has a contest to see who can be the most original, funny, or whatever.
Adam's birthday was on Tuesday -- I got him flying lessons that will start this Saturday. He's very excited about it -- hopefully the weather is good so we can go up.
We're getting more involved in church -- we found one that seems to be perfect for us. Very young and trendy, but also traditional in some aspects. We've been making some friends there and are really starting to feel connected.
I guess that's about it from me -- love you all!!

saying good-bye

Hi girls,
I just got off the phone with Stephanie and felt the need to post. Tonight I said goodbye to Jaren. She leaves on saturday morning to move back to Arkansas. these last 2 weeks have been really rough on both of us, saying goodbye again. But I'm really thankful that God gave us this time together.
Friday morning we leave for Washington DC. We're going to a formal military wedding, and also will see some sites while we're there. We get to share a hotel room with my mother-in-law :) won't that be fun!!!
I don't think I told you that my brother and his wife heard they will be having a boy. They've chosen the name Bailey Christopher. I'm super-excited and can't wait to start buying little boy clothes.
My tulips are in full bloom and they are gorgeous. On Easter morning I walked around the corner of the house to see the first red tulips blooming. I was so excited, Chris thought I wet myself.
Our company has moved in to the new office building and it's fabulous. It's professional looking, which is quite a change for our company.
And I think that's all I have to catch you up on. Love you ladies!