babymoon day 4

Day 4 was rainy, so we stayed indoors reading and napped for a bit. By the afternoon, however, it was sunny and beautiful outside. We drove to a local church for confession and Mass. I was so impressed with the priests there. The priest I had for confession was young and had really good advice for me. I loved the penance he gave me. The priest who said Mass gave a really good homily as well. It was wonderful to see the church so crowded with people! We had 6 people in our row that was clearly only meant to hold 4 people.

After Mass Ryan found a crab shack, so we went out for dinner. It was really fun. We had gator bites with swamp sauce for an appetizer. It was deep fried meat from alligator tail. It was kind of chewy and tasted like chicken boiled in seawater.

Then I got to teach Ryan how to crack crabs and get the meat out! He was a natural! The Balches would be very proud, I think. It took us 1.5 hours to eat all of the crabs and I think we were hungrier when we left than when we got there! Apparently 6 Chesapeake Blue Crabs are not enough for 2 people for dinner.

Then we explored a little boardwalk shopping center called "Tin City" and headed back to our hotel to eat some more grocery store food.

babymoon day 3

Our 3rd day in Florida, we went to Corkscrew Swamp which had a 2.2 mile long boardwalk about 2 feet above the water. It was really neat to see all of the nature and birds. We ended up getting to the swamp later than we'd expected to (3:30pm), so the ticket taker told us we would have to take the shortcut, which was only about a mile long.

After finishing the shortcut, it was only 4:15, so we figured we'd have plenty of time to see the rest of the swamp before closing time at 5:30. The man had told us to start heading back at 5pm so we would be back before they locked the gates at 5:30.

We walked around, admiring trees, plants, squirrels, and birds and looking for alligators (we didn't see any). Buy 5:10 or so we started walking back to the entrance, thinking we couldn't be that far off. Then by 5:15, a man came by on a bicycle telling us that we'd have to have a brisk walk to make it back in time. That was when we saw the sign saying that we'd walked 1.5 miles. So we had to walk 0.7 miles in the next 15 minutes.

We booked it back to the park entrance, getting more and more scared at each turn when we couldn't find any sign of the entrance. We speculated on if they'd actually lock us in or if they made another round on bicycles to get stragglers out. Finally at 5:29 we made it back to the entrance. The person who'd been on bicycle said "Good, you've made it. Thank you." It was a close call!

After that we found a local church that was having a fish bake, since it was Friday. We entered the parish hall and realized that everyone there was at least 75 except for us and 2 other 20-something guys. It was fun and delicious, but there was a lot of talk about the weather. :)

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel for the night.

babymoon day 2

The second day of our babymoon, we decided to go to the beach. After getting our bag all packed with swimming suits, towels, and sunscreen, we explored Naples until we found a public beach entrance. Unfortunately, it was very cold. The air was probably around 50F, while the water was maybe only 60-70F. We waded a little until we decided to go to a park since we were freezing!

In the park, it was sunny and the temp was in the mid 60s, much nicer. So we laid on the grass for an hour or so until our parking pass expired for the lot. Then we went to the grocery store to buy food for the week. There we met an old man named Frank who told us all about the birth of his "enormous 9lb 14oz son!"

That night we drove to Ft. Myers to go mini golfing at a place that promised a chance to feed the baby alligators! Of course Ryan beat me at mini golf, which gave me the opportunity to demonstrate my poor loser side. It was all better, however, when we fed the baby alligators. They ate dog treats that were bobby pinned to the ends of fishing poles. It was probably one of my favorite memories of the trip!

babymoon day 1

We spent the first day of our babymoon in airports. The day was going well at first, but in Chicago, our flight was delayed 1.5 hours from a snowstorm that just "popped up" while we were on the runway. So we had to taxi back to the gate and get de-iced.

When we arrived in Florida at 1am, we went to pick up our "economy sized" rental car, but they were out. The man told me that they only had mini-vans left and gave us one of those. He also wouldn't take our voucher for the car insurance we'd already paid for, so I didn't know what I was going to do if we got into an accident. Unfortunately, probably due to hormones, I burst into tears once we were inside of the huge minivan. I was just not ready to start that phase in my life yet.

So back inside we went, since we saw Jeeps on the lot as well and traded for a nice orange Jeep Patriot. While it looked a little bit cooler, it was definitely more inconvenient. There was no button to open the door locks, and no automatic door unlock button inside of the car either! So we had to manually open each others' doors every day. There were no automatic windows or side mirrors as well. But at least it wasn't a mini van!

We flew into Ft. Myers and drove to Naples, where our hotel was. After getting checked in at 3am, we decided to go to Waffle House for a little snack. It was (mercifully) right next to the hotel.

I love waffles. A lot. And it was a wonderful ending to a busy and semi-stressful day.

it's a girl!

We had our 20 week ultrasound on Friday and found out that we're going to have a baby girl! She was being pretty funny because she had her arms and legs over her head the entire time, making it difficult to get the right pictures. I had to keep coughing and rolling over to try to encourage her to move...but she stayed put where she was comfortable. Maybe she'll be a gymnast!

We are both super excited! As soon as we were done with the ultrasound, we went to the mall to get a frilly dress. :) Of course I had to go to about 10 stores before I found the right one (since I'd promised to only buy one...).

But that promise apparently didn't mean today too. After destroying my favorite winter hat in the washing machine, we took a trip to Kohl's to get a new one. After finding a cute little hat with a knitted flower on the side, I asked Ryan if we could look at dresses. He said ok, as long as I was just looking. Yeah right....$60 later we walked out of Kohls with my $6 hat and $54 worth of little girlie outfits for our baby. The funny thing is that Ryan picked out all of them! It's a little ridiculous. I will have to stop going to stores for a long time.

We hadn't really thought about names at all, but almost as soon as we found out she's a girl, we picked out the name Eliza. We haven't officially decided on it yet, but we've been calling her that for the past 3 days, so it will probably stick.

So we have a lot of things to think about coming up in the next four months!

Jesus, thank you for our little daughter! Please keep her safe and healthy as she grows and help her come to us safely in May!

snow day

I know, it's true...I am a terrible slacker! Here's the update:

I've been married 4 months and Ryan has turned out to be more wonderful every day. I am truly grateful for all that he is to me, in the ways he challenges me and makes me smile. You can see some wedding pictures at Chris & Sarah's Blog. They did a fantastic job!

Our honeymoon to St. Lucia was fantastic! You can see photos on facebook. We enjoyed scuba diving, snorkling, sailing, mountain biking, learning about the island, dolphin watching, relaxing on the beach, having free drinks, and trying new fruits.

We are also expecting a little baby! Baby is due May 29th and we are super excited! Unfortunately, I have been feeling extremely nauseated the whole time. :( Sadly I no longer have "cake dreams" because the idea of eating cake makes me feel very sick. It has been starting to get better for the past week, off and on, so hopefully the good times are coming soon! You can also follow baby pictures and belly pictures on facebook!

Other than that, not much has changed. We got our Christmas tree up. Actually by we I mean my sister and me, with considerable assist from Ryan. Each time I yelled "Ryan, can you come spot me?" he ran from the other room to make sure his pregnant wife did not become impaled on a 7.5' fir.

We had our first big snow of the year. It's snowed a couple of other times but hadn't really stuck yet. In the past two or three days, it's snowed 17" and last night the 40mph winds created 4-5' snowdrifts! Poor Ryan has been very good about shoveling, a task at which I am fairly useless. I tried to help, but he laughed at me so much that he decided he should just do it all himself. Apparently the 3' that I got in the 5 minutes of trying wasn't very fast.

Hope you all are having happy and safe Christmas preparations!

in sickness

It has been a while since the creepers...and a lot has happened. Ryan and I have gotten married, gone on our honeymoon, and begun our life together as husband and wife! :)

Today is our first "monthiversary" since our wedding and guess how we spent it...

That's right! I cut my finger open while chopping onions...right down to the bone! (I knew I didn't like onions for a reason!)

I will definitely need stitches, but MyNurse said that I can wait until an urgent care clinic opens...which I'm going to do. I am not going to the ER to get 4 stitches in my finger!

Other than some throbbing from a very tight bandaid, I feel ok...and Ryan finished chopping the onion.

What a good husband I have!

creepers

I am excited to live with someone again...more specifically to live with a boy. Living by myself has been ok, but it gets really lonely and I get freaked out easily...especially since I know Kim and Andrew no longer live across the hall. I never felt unsafe living with Kim, Meggan, and Chelle, but I do now because this world is full of creepers, and unfortunately, they all seem to congregate around the places I frequent...

1. Yesterday I was leaving Staples and heard someone whistle in the parking lot. When I looked up, a middle-aged man was taking my picture with his camera phone. When I looked at him, he rushed over to his car and drove off. Creepy.

Then there's my creeper neighbors...

2. The first time I met my neighbor to the right, I was leaving for work and he pops out of his apartment, asks my name and then asks, "So are you single or what?" To which I replied that I was practically engaged. And he left.

Then a couple weeks ago, I hear someone knocking on my door at 1am and am totally freaked out. So I peer through the peephole and it's my neighbor to the right. He talks to me for a while, asking if I like to party, to which I reply that I don't. Then he sees my ring, asks if I'm engaged, and when I say yes, he left quickly.

3. Now for creepy neighbor #2. He lives to the left of me. The first time I met him, I was walking to the gym and he introduced himself and asked me to come to the bar he owns sometime. Seemed normal enough. I've seen him a couple times and he's always been very friendly to me.

Then last night I saw him at the gas station at midnight as I was buying milk after work. He was very drunk and very insistent that if I heard loud music from his place that I should come over and party with him. He kept trying to get me to walk home with him. Luckily I was driving. So I drove home as quickly as possible, but he was there practically at the same time as me. He remembered my name wrong and I could hear him yelling "Hi Kristen!" as he approached the apartment. I rushed inside and ran to my apartment, locking myself in.

Then I immediately started packing boxes. I'm getting out of here ASAP! At 4am, I had to mail a letter and figured it would be safe to venture out of my apartment. I find a note on my door with his name and phone number and a request that I text him if he's too loud. Don't think so!

4. And I don't know which is more disconcerting: that people follow me around being creepers, or that my fiance always laughs, tells me to take all of this as a compliment, and cannot fathom why it would freak me out.

return to me

Last night I went to a youth Mass. Granted, I had no idea that's what it would be until I was there, but I'm glad that I accidentally stumbled upon it. It's always nice seeing "young people" participating and taking leading roles in music, reading, etc. (Saying that made me feel a little bit old.) I'm just glad we didn't have to do hand motions...never liked that, even when I was "young."

During communion, we sang "Sweet Redeemer" by Steve Angrisano and Sarah Hart. The refrain...

Sweet Redeemer, I surrender
All I am to You.

As I struggled to pay attention during Mass, that song jumped out at me and made me reflect on the past. It reminded me of the good old days when I was totally head over heels in love with Jesus. ...And of course I got a little sad.

Back in the day, Jesus was all I could think about. I was freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully in love with Him. I have many memories of high school marching band and calculus where I'd pray the rosary rather than pay attention to what I was supposed to be learning. I would go to daily Mass and daily Adoration, weekly confession, and Jesus was all that my mind cared to ponder.

I loved Him. I wanted to marry Him. I thought I would...

But it was so easy back then. It felt good and I had so much consolation in prayer. My life was so free and I had no responsibilities beyond caring for my soul and nurturing my relationship with God.

After NET, things got harder. I began school, working, dating. Life was more complicated and there was so much more to think about besides Jesus. I had no consolation in prayer and struggled with complacency of heart. But I still try to be faithful, and honestly I kind of suck at it.

But I try...hopefully that's worth something. I was told once that faithfulness in dryness is worth more than when it's easy. And I pray it's true! I just want to love Jesus and be faithful to Him!

I often think of this song (I think it's by Jim Cowan but I'm not sure) when I get in these moods.
Return to me that first love That I had when I gave my life to You

diving

I have some irrational fears. One of them is that I'll drop my keys into the dumpster when I'm throwing my trash bags into it. Now this has never happened to me. And it actually hasn't even come close to happening. Still, I'm petrified of it.

Today I was daydreaming, trying to fall back to sleep after waking up early, and I imagined that it happened. I couldn't get back into my locked entrance apartment and my phone was inside, otherwise I would have called my dad.

So I had to buzz the only other person I've met in the apartment, my neighbor who tries a little too hard to talk to me. (One of the first things he ever asked me was if I was single.) But together we climbed into that dumpster and retrieved my keys. Then I baked him cookies and made a thank you card.

Crazy irrational fears! At least now I have a backup plan!