MD4: Post-Trip Update

Apartments

We've chosen The Elms at Montjoy in Ellicott City. It seems to be the perfect combination of ammenities, layout, looks, age, price per sq ft, quality staff, and distance to various areas. This happens to be the complex I found several months ago online and got very excited about, thinking that it had to be it. And sure enough, it is! All that's left now is to get a ballpark figure of what Matt will make after he graduates so we can know for sure if the slight rent increase is doable. Then we can fill out aps and such to hold a spot. They should know availability for September starting in July. Pray with us that a Covington (with or without a sunroom) on the first floor will be available! Here are pictures and personal video of the Covington Sunroom model.







Job

Matt ordered the 5 jobs according to his preference and has been in contact with people about them. Then we get a call at 6:50 this morning (East Coasters apparently forget or don't care about the time difference) from a new lady. She said that she actually has 4 people in her division who wanted to interview Matt! Usually, she only gets 1 or 2 hits when she passes around a resume, so she deems this significant enough for Matt to make another trip BACK to MD. She was going to contact the travel people, so we're not sure when this trip will be. All I'm sayin' is that our anniversary is Monday and Elijah's birthday is only in a month. Make it lickety-split, Government! I imagine it'll only be a three day trip -- travel day, interview day, travel day. We're certainly being kept on our toes!

Landscape

Here are some pics of the landscape to prove how much it looks like Little Rock. And of Judah the trooper kid and Matt the driver. I was the navigator/camera woman. :-)




Denver

We asked many to pray that we'd be able to get at least 15 minutes at the airport to meet Jaclyn's family (minus father and oldest brother). Well, we get there and were informed by Mrs. Z that our flight back to Monterey had been delayed. Jaclyn also told us my mom had called her to tell her about the delayed flight. So we got to have dinner at the airport with them! Not just 15 tiny minutes.

OH but wait. Just before Mrs. Z left to take her kids to their last night of VBS, she got a feeling and wanted to check the flight status one more time. She returned from downstairs saying our flight was cancelled!!! We couldn't believe it! Jaclyn, Judah, and I went to get some dinner while Matt went to ticketing to sort things out. Sure enough, the flight was completely cancelled due to mechanical issues. There were three options:

1) 10:00 pm flight to San Jose - Our car was in Monterey, not San Jose. So it would have cost a lot to taxi it all the way to Monterey. And it would have been WAY too late to call anyone in Hollister to come get us, take us to Monterey to get our car.

2) 10:00 pm flight to Las Vegas, then another flight back to Monterey. Yeah right.

3) Take the next available flight from Denver to Monterey...which wasn't leaving until Sunday at 6:00 pm. Two whole days of delay...with Jaclyn and her family!!! God answered this prayer in a MIGHTY and UNEXPECTED way!

It was so awesome to be there. This was where Jaclyn grew up. This was her family and friends, the ones I feel like I've known for years because of how close Jaclyn and I are! It was surreal and yet so natural. I love them to death, not just because they are Jaclyn's, but because they are just that loveable. They were precious enough to house, feed, and entertain us so unexpectedly. And can I say it was WONDERFUL to have sooo many extra hands to play with and take care of Judah. Timmy and Tori were great with him, and it was fun to watch Judah and Sammie play together (or learn about conflict with each other). Such a treasure of memories we have now! I'll post pics as soon as Jaclyn gets them to me. ;-)

Random Tidbits

On our way to Jamba Juice for a mid-day family outing, Matt asked if butterflies poop.

My mom sent me flowers today that are just too cute! A ball of sunshine yellow in a green/yellow striped bubble vase. There's a smile on my dining room table now. :-D

Judah's a whiner now. And his mental capacity shot through the roof over our travels. A genuine little kid. I think we're almost back to normal schedule now, which is nice. And may I say it is rough being in public when your child needs discipline. People complain under their breath about the behavior of your child and your lack of parenting skills...and yet it is because of THEM that you can't discipline your child in a Biblical way in public. Come on, people. Either let us discipline our children properly or quit complaining about us! Hopefully, within a few days, the whining will be under control again.

I gained four pounds since my last appointment, but frankly I don't care. I'm too tired to care, and I have a pretty good excuse of having been gone and not 100% in control of meal management for 10 days. Four weeks. That's all that's left. I prefer to see it as one month...seems a little longer that way.

My nose decided to hold off on it's bleeds until AFTER Colorado. I thought for sure it'd happen in that not-one-drop-of-moisture air so high in the sky. The Rockies are beautiful! Got a good look at them from the air. Which is nigh depleted of oxygen -- I got out of breath a few times just turning over in bed at night, not to mention a few stairs made me quite winded!

But we got some SONIC, baby! The closest one to the Elms is 68 miles away. Tis our lot in life to be separated from the goodness that is Sonic. ::sigh:: The closest Jamba will be 17 miles, so that's not so bad I guess. Closest In & Out? Yeah, thousands of miles away, I'm sure.

Oh, and we also saw some awesome rain/storm clouds in Denver on our way to the aiport on Sunday night. Even some cloud-to-ground lightning. Haven't seen that in years.

I'm still low, so we're still pretty sure Elijah dropped. Guess I should get a pic, huh? I've also thought about measuring my waistline. I never did it with Judah. It might be interesting.

Our third anniversary is on Monday! Only three years...and we have two kids and are moving for a third time. I think we're going to go to the Duck Club Grill for breakfast and then go shopping. We've decided to buck tradition a little and not get each other gifts, but rather choose one gift for home/family together. I'll let you know what we get this year as soon as we figure out what we want!

Autumn's birthday is also on Monday. And then my favorite holiday on Wednesday. The beginning of July is truly a special time!

My first professional massage (and dream come true) is Friday morning. Stoked is what I am.

Never go to an ice cream shop when the sun is shining through the mall roof right down onto the ice cream and such. I wanted ice cream last week, so we stopped at a place called Maggie Moos. Had to be the worst, most pitiful ice cream encounter for us ever. We treated ourselves to chocolate dipped waffle cones with caramel ice cream. The chocolate on the cones was soft in it's half-melted state, and the ice cream was very runny in it's 3/4 melted state. We found a bench, and the ice cream just dripped EVERYWHERE as we tried to eat it...including a huge streak down the front and center of my belly (which, the shirt, after being washed, still has a dark streak down the middle...and it's one of my favorites). Such a waste of an ice cream experience. I want me some Coldstone. I'm sorry for straying, oh King of Ice Cream Companies!

And now I want some ice cream.

H.O.M.E.

That's where we are now. Much to update -- including our 2 DAY layover in Denver!!! :-D But alas, today is settle-back-in-day with laundry and groceries; so the update will have to wait! Thank you for all your interest and prayers while we were on our adventure!

MD3: Listed Update and Pics (finally)

Church - I wasn't able to hear the sermon on Sunday because I stayed with Judah in nursery. He hates nursery and is on the weird time-change schedule, so we thought it best. Matt said that the teaching was in keeping with Master's Seminary style and content, which is wonderful. It is a little more formal than our current church, but I remember that when we first visited Grace we said we'd have to get used to the more "casual" atmosphere...which quickly happened. I think we have decided that we won't need to visit around unless we see a need for it after being here a while (which we doubt). Why go through the headache if you already have a solid church? :-) I'm sure we'll get used to the more formal feel soon enough if this is truly where God wants us to be. I met several ladies in the nursery, and there will be no lack of friendship with other women who have young babies/kids. And I already have to "friends" Angie (single) and Stephanie (married with baby girl). Love 'em both already!

Apartment Hunt - Two more GREAT possibilities and one no after today's searching in Odenton, MD. Stephanie and Matt's two interviewers today all recommended we look in that city. It's close to work and is a new/developing community. Leesh, yes, there are entry ways here! AMAZING! Our apt. in Salinas opens straight to the living room, too, so it must be a CA thing.

Interviews - Matt has ruled out two of his 5 job possibilities, so that leaves 3 for him to choose from. Please pray for wisdom for him as he can't really seek "counsel" about these jobs from anyone unless they are in the field...which limits it greatly.

Weather - Woah. Can we say stinkin' hot and swim-through-the-air humidity? We went and did a load of laundry at a laundry mat today. Wish we could have also washed the clothes we were wearing because we were sweating like all day! We made sure to drink lots of water since our bodies aren't used to this. Judah drank so much he already peed through both his jean shorts since we washed them today. ::sigh:: So, not only did our bathroom sink serve as a dishwasher tonight but also a washer. It was supposed to thunderstorm tonight and tomorrow...it has yet to begin, and we suspect we'll just be getting rain.

I'm exhausted. We're looking forward to a relaxing morning tomorrow. Since we've been here, I/we/Matt have had to be someplace every morning. Enjoy the pics from the airport, laundry mat, and around the hotel room! I'll try to get some tomorrow of what it looks like around here for those who've never been to MD. And I so wish you could see Judah dancing to the Ice Age credit music...hilariously adorable!


Airport Happiness (thank goodness!)



Laundry Mat Smiles (most of the time...)




TV and hotel living - A novelty for him...and I guess us, too. :-P

MD2: Observations and Updates

Paul, we're shipping the car. No way we're taking that long of a drive with a 1.5 year old and newborn. It'd take a week! And we don't want to put the country on our car in the form of miles.

People live the single sink life here. So strange.

"European" style cabinets are in vogue here, the wood grain borders with white painted faces. Eww.

Some complexes apparently don't feel the need to update appliances as soon as they can. We saw one yesterday, built 16 years ago. Remember how stoves used to be a tan color and had that weird dial clock on the back? ::shiver:: Ancient.

How quickly I forgot it can be so humid you can SEE it not only in the distance, but in your direct vicinity. Oh my gosh. Praise You, Lord, for allowing me to spend my two pregnancies NOT here or in the South!

Don't judge an apartment by its exterior. We found a complex today that was kinda dingy on the outside until you found the leasing office which had all new paint and siding. We came to learn that they are refurbishing a building a month...and WOAH! The inside of the redone apartment is INCREDIBLE and the outside is very nice looking. And it even had a double sink, stainless/black kitchen appliances, granite-like counter, the nice WOOD blinds, track lighting, framed mirrors in the bathrooms, and I could go on. The other one I have been waiting months to see since I found it online did NOT disappoint! Gorgeous hardwoods in the entry and kitchen, granite-like counters, LOTS of counter/drawer/cabinet space, huge closets, modern-classic light fixtures, open layout, professional staff (as opposed to some very UNprofessional run-ins). Two very good options!

Sometimes it's worth having one story and being attached to multiple people rather than having two stories and one attached neighbor (duplex). We thought we wanted a duplex, but after seeing some of the newer apartments vs. the older duplexes... We already have 3 definite no's (including the duplex we were looking at), 1 back-up, and 2 great possibilities.

Even the farthest city we've looked in will only be 20 minutes away from work/church. ::Sigh of Relief::

Matt's first morning-of-interviews went really well! He had three, and apparently all is as promised. He gets to basically pick which job he wants -- very cool! They all want Matt on board with their teams, and they all sound very interesting. Especially one in particular that I have a feeling Matt will take unless an even better opportunity presents itself in the two interviews tomorrow morning. And, yes, we have now arrived at an even more official point of my husband not being able to tell me all that he will do. And these were just interviews. :-P

We're at a half-way schedule with Judah. Not quite MD time, but a little beyond CA time. Today has worked much better! And we found out the breakfast area of our hotel has a high chair! That'll make meals here much easier than trying to dine on our beds.

Let me preface this last update by admitting I realize it is dumb. :-P But a gas station attendant I purchased much needed water from made my day today. She was an African American, about my age. She asked when I was due, and I said July 31st. Know what she immediately said? Now, mind you, up to this point, EVERYONE who hears my due date remarks at how I don't look that far along, I'm small, I look more like 6 months, etc., when here I sit feeling like my belly is huge and I'm about to pop. Just yesterday, I wondered aloud to Matt if ANYONE looked at me and thought I was nearing my due date. So this girl says to me (think ebonic accent), "July 31st? You look like you're ready, for sure!" I profusely and sillyishly thanked her and explained why she made my day. She said, "I mean, I don't wanna say you're big or anything, but you definitely look ready!" She then told me I looked like maybe I'd even dropped a little -- which I TOTALLY wondered to myself this morning!!! A wonderful encounter, to be sure. I like her. :-)

Ok, I need to wake up my sleeping handsomes. It's dinner and find-a-laundry-mat time...at 7:15. It's weird to think we're 3 hours ahead of home, but even weirder is that we're an hour AHEAD of everyone we know and love rather than two hours behind them! (Except you, Denise...) Love to all and thank you for your prayers!

MD 1: Observations over 24 Hours

It is possible for a 1 yr old to nap on an airplane.

Don't put your seat all the way back for the entire flight if there is a very pregnant woman behind you with a 1 yr old.

United Airlines does not put baby changing stations in their lavs!

Living as the minority in a Hispanic population for two years REALLY puts you out of touch with the rest of the world. The FIRST thing I noticed when we were at BWI airport was that everyone was white. Second, all the announcements over the intercom are in American-accented English...with no follow-up Spanish translation. Third, there are actually African Americans here!!! So fun!

From now on, when renting a car in a new place, you MUST get the Garmin GPS thing for an extra $50...so awesome. You don't have to stop and ask anyone for directions. Just punch it in and go! It even verbally tells you when/where to turn!

Jeep Wranglers are nice cars, but you have to slam the door kind a hard so it will shut.

Maryland really does look a LOT like the Little Rock area, which I find to be soothing.

Lightning bugs do exist. We'd forgotten.

Matt noticed that, "Hey, there is cloud cover...and it really COULD rain!"

The merge lanes here are virtually non-existent. Get off/on, or die. And most choose to "die" by just stopping in the merge lane.

There are LOTS of apts, townhomes, and duplexes here. Everything is colonial. Nothing, I repeat, nothing, is stucco with Spanish tile roofs. (See above observation about population.)

The malls. Oh. My. Gosh. HUGE! NICE! The one we were in this afternoon had polished hardwood flooring of various colors of wood! Gorgeous!

Humidity.

People actually look you in the eye here when you pass them instead of hanging their head down or averting their entire face.

I love the women I met this morning from Hope Bible Church. Can't wait to meet the rest of the church tomorrow morning! I believe God is preparing the way for us spiritually. :-)

Gotta get to bed now! More to come...someday!

Still Alive...but Busy

We leave on Friday! Tomorrow is packing day...a busy day! Like today. We ran several errands in Monterey, spent some time at Carmel beach, then Judah and I both had doc appts.

His was a 15 mo check-up, and he's in good health...perfect ears and all! Praise the Lord! 22.2 lbs and 30.7 inches, 50cm head circ. One shot -- that he DIDN'T cry over! He did get a really sad face, but he was fine (maybe lack of afternoon nap is a good thing prior to a shot? delerium dulls the pain?). Dr. C said that he is on the 'thin' side but absolutely nothing to worry about. He said with today's kids, it's MUCH better to be on that side than the other. It's easier to help a kid gain weight if need be (which it's not in Judah's case) than to lose it. Dr. C said we don't need to worry one bit about feeding Judah more -- to which I said that was good because if I fed him more at his meals, he'd be eating about the amount I do! I said Judah has his daddy's metabolism...and Dr. C said quietly, 'Can I borrow it?' As for his head, it's flat out big. 98th percentile big. Maybe that's part of why he's so cute -- lots of face to look at! I love our doctor! He's going to Ireland with 12 other family members for vacation the week Elijah will be born. So that'll be a bummer -- but a good time for he and his family!

I'll be 32 weeks tomorrow. All's well. Nothing new...except that I LOST a pound! Woo hoo! I thought for sure I'd gained about 5 pounds in two weeks...we had a sweet-aholic weekend due to some events we attended (and a DELISH-OUS peanut butter brownie dessert I made). Glad it didn't pack on the pounds! I'm trying to not go above 180, so I've got 9 pounds leeway over the next month and a half. :-) And I've concluded that Elijah doesn't care he's running out of room to move. He still moves just as far and forcefully as he wants. Never knew a baby could push against your skin so hard it hurts! Organs and ribs I can understand hurting, but just the belly wall??

We went swimming as a family yesterday -- can't remember the last time Matt and I were BOTH in the pool at the same time. It took Judah a little bit to get used to the water, but he eventually seemed to have some fun. Thanks to Jaclyn for the swimming shirt and hat (meant for Elijah, but fits Judah fine)! Here are some pics from that and one from the beach today. Matt asks that he be excused for getting his shirt wet.



We'll have internet access in our hotel, so hopefully I can post at least once while we're gone! Pray for travel safety, flexibility with the 3-hour difference, wisdom as we search for our next home, good interviews for Matt, and a good time as a family!

Another Day in the Life Of

So yesterday I started a big project of scanning in all our physical photos, cards, letters, etc. We're going ALL digital, baby! I have been exploring software for digital scrapbooking/picture organizing, and we have found what we want. This is going to majorly declutter and cut costs on photo archiving! I'm so excited! Anyway, as I was going through cards and letters from my senior year at TMC, I came across some bridal shower cards. SHOCK! One had a $15 certificate to Victoria's Secret and another had a $30 gift card to Bed Bath & Beyond! Neither had expired, even after three years! So we had a little family shopping spree last night.

We got a couple vinyl chair covers for when the kiddos go through the messy eating stage, a new bath mat, and a couple washcloths. We may be switching our bathroom colors to red and gold with green accents. I'm still not 100% sold on the gold washcloths -- I think we need a set of hand towels that brings in all three colors for the gold to truly work. We went to Kohl's to spend our $10 "Kohl's Cash" coupon. Our downstairs neighbors are moving this month (no more Indian food smells...but we'll miss them). So we wanted to get their kids something and give them 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (they're Catholic). We came out having spent more than the coupon. :-P We found a dump truck with big legos. We've been wanting big legos for Judah. He's our son. We can spoil him sometimes, right? ::puppy dog eyes:: We're going to the mall tomorrow so I can spend the VicSec certificate...and so we can celebrate the end of Matt's SEVENTH quarter with Cold Stone. Only one more quarter. So strange -- I remember when we had all eight left!

Judah is moving into the stage of wanting to eat whatever everyone else is eating. Last night, I made tuna melts for dinner. Judah kept turning away the vegetable noodle soup and cherries I had for him. So we got him out of his chair and figured he'd come back when he was hungry. He wanted to sit on my lap, so I let him. Then Judah kept reaching for MY plate. I wasn't going to finish my sandwich because it was too fishy for my taste preference at that moment. I've never given him tuna because I figured he wouldn't like it -- it took me years to acquire the taste. Why would a 1 year old like it?? Oh. My. Word. He gobbled up the tuna and one piece of the toast it was on! I nixed the tuna after a while because I didn't want to give him too much, but I'm sure he would have kept going if I'd let him! More proof that he's Matt's son -- a tuna lover. And then this morning, he wanted my Fruit Loops...he wouldn't even know what they are if a sweet boy at church hadn't shared with him on Sunday. ;-)

To clear any confusion, my due date is August 9th. But the c-section is July 31st at 9:00am...unless Elijah wants to come earlier than that, of course.

I havn't gotten my massage yet -- June 29th is the glorious day! I do get to go have my haircut today. So that will be nice. I wanted it done before MD, but there were no open spots. I love people who cancel!

Make sure you check Matt's blog every so often. He's embarking on a series of essays he will post before he shuts down his blog. They are excellent, pertinent topics. I've read what's written of the first one so far -- God truly has gifted Matt with writing!

Today's been kind of a hard day. Judah wants to be into everything I'm doing, and I'm extra tired today. He doesn't want to be just beside me...he tries to SQUEEZE himself in between me and whatever my task is to get his hands on it. I know it's curiosity, but sheesh! I put our bouncer and swing back together today because someone at church needs to borrow them for some visitors. Not an easy task with Judah's desire to "help." Actually, it's not an easy task, period. Those of you who have dealt with children's toys will agree, I'm sure. I gouged out some skin from the inside of one of my fingers when it got pinched between plastic and metal. Youch! And I still haven't gotten one side to slide in all the way. Thank the Lord for husbands!

You've never seen a kid drool until you've seen Judah while molar-teething. We're talkin' soaked shirt, soaked shorts, drool running from mouth to hand to arm to elbow and even down to the leg. When I let him watch a DVD in his activity seat, sometimes there are pools of drool left in the little ledge IN ADDITION to Judah being all wet. Can a kid get dehydrated from drooling so much? :-P

Had a good, long conversation with Aut last night. She just started nursing school, and it is so fun to see her excitement. I think I live semi-vicariously through her being able to work the educational side of her brain. It feels good to get those old gears turning! I can't wait to see her as a nurse either...and most likely call her up for advice. ;-)

Hmm. Wonder where Matt is. He had one last presentation today with a French woman classmate who apparently acts like a 60 year old woman. Still not sure what he means by that. He just better be home in time for me to get to Hollister!

I'm gonna scan some more pics. Ta ta for now!

Oh, Matt's home!

June already??

Who else is in disbelief that it is already June? That's the halfway month of the year! We leave for our house-hunting trip next week...Elijah arrives next month (56 days!). Only four months left here in California. Strangeness all around.

I've had some encouragement the past couple days that have helped me not feel so tired of being pregnant...

1) A message we listened to by John Piper reminded me that God created us with physical bodies so that we can use our bodies to bring Him glory. How does my body do that? By displaying the awesome wonder of the process of building and carrying new life! Pregnancy is MUCH more enjoyable to look at from that perspective rather than focusing on the discomforts.

2) I've realized that Matt hasn't really felt my belly as much as he did with Judah. We talked about it, and the reason is legit -- this is the second pregnancy and it is VERY routine and predictable in that we even know the day Elijah will arrive (from a human standpoint). That's not to say it's not just as special as the Judah pregnancy, just not "new." Make sense? He did say he will make an effort to take time to "be pregnant with me," as I requested. I think that will really help my attitude and emotional strength to finish well -- to not feel like I'm just a pregnant woman, but a wife carrying a second son. :-)

3) I had a good conversation with our pastor last night after his continued series on prayer, asking if it's ok to ask God for His help in NOT getting pregnant for a few years (in reference to selfish praying). Such a good conversation that would take too long to blog out! Matt and I spent the whole drive home from church (a lovely 40 minutes) talking deeply about waiting to have more kids, the motives behind that, etc. in response to all Jim had said to me. I think one thing Matt brought up helped release alot of my struggle/guilt in not wanting to be pregnant for a while (to many reasons to delve into). God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply -- one point that brings me guilt in wanting to take a good break from child bearing. BUT...God didn't specify and say "Be fruitful and multiply by having as many kids as you physically can." We have had two kids, and therefore we have already obeyed God's command! What an epiphone! Matt also pointed out that God continued His command with "and fill the earth." Adam and Eve could not have filled the earth from only their own loins -- but their kids had kids who had kids... Another point Matt made was that they had hundreds of years to have all the many kids they did. It probably wasn't one kid right after the other for years on end. He also brought up Abraham and Sarah, who only had one child together. One. And yet Abraham is one of the greatest men of God in all of history. All this NOT to say that we aren't going to have more biological kids! We want to and hopefully will in the future...just hopefully not when Elijah is 1 and Judah is 2. And coming to terms with it being okay that I want to take a break (for multiple reasons, both physical and spiritual) has really helped me have a fresh, lovely perspective on my current pregnancy. I count down the days now out of anticipation of Elijah's arrival and not getting to be un-pregnant. A much better attitude, hopefully now pleasing to God with thanksgiving for even being able to have children...with great pregnancies to boot!

Whew. That was a lot! But at least it lets you know where I'm at...and you didn't even have to go to a different blog. So to give your brain a break, enjoy the pics from Judah's "Backstreet Boy" outfit (as Matt calls it...and I love it) and today's playdate/babysitting of Rachel. They had so much fun together!