We Have a Nursery! Strange!

Yesterday I picked up several paint color samples from Menards for the nursery! Then I spent about a half an hour mixing and matching colors until I came up with two different combinations that I just loved. One is a six color slide from aqua blue, to purple. The other is a combo of pastels: orange, yellow, green and blue. I showed both of them to Jared and, of course, he liked both of them instantly. After arriving home last night, we taped both of the color combinations up on the wall, and we simultaneously turned to eachother and agreed instantly on one over the other. The hues of aqua/blue/purple just didn't look right. The orange and yellow in the other combo just looked so bright and cheerful, and very gender nuetral! When we realized we had decided for sure on the color scheme for our baby's room, we just looked at each other, smiled and then hugged.

I checked today in the Menards ad, and it is just our luck that they are having a $5 off sale on all of their Dutch Boy paint this week! We are picking up the paint for OUR BABY'S ROOM in about 2 hours! Yay! This is becoming a little more real...

Vagabonds

This week Jared and I have been aimless wanderers. We have floated from home to home using our hosts for food and lodging. And we loved it. Since returning home from our cruise on Monday, we slept at our own house one time (Monday night). From there, we started on our journey of drifting from place to place. We did not return to our house until last night when we realized that Monday was bringing cold, hard reality with it. This week was Jared's vacation, and we really enjoyed it. I still had Emma with me, but it really was a fun week and went by pretty fast.

On Tuesday the weather was gorgeous, with 60 degree weather and the sun shining bright. I believe this was the day that inspired the vagabonds within us. We went to Abby and Ben's, grilled some brats and drank pink lemonade. We ate their food and then slept in their bed that night. I think that by Wednesday morning Abby and Ben guessed our game, and kicked us out. Did this dampen our wandering spirits? No! We had plenty of other places to hit up!

It was off to Gary's. This was an especially good spot to land for awhile. We were able to trick him into taking us out to eat several times, offer us unlimited lodging, and never want us to leave. We really had him in our clutches. We even charmed him into bringing us all (including Emma) to the car show on Saturday. Mwaaa haaa haaa haaa! On Friday night, Jared weasled his way into the Moritz home, and lived like a king. By Saturday, Abby and Ben decided they had not had enough of us and invited us to go dancing for St. Patty's day. We ate at a bar and grill (YUM-O), and of course, tricked them into paying for all the food (Ha ha ha!) And then followed them back to their house, where, of course, we were offered a warm bed and promise of hot breakfast in the morning.

Yeah, it was a good week.

Bermuda, Bahama, Come on Pretty Mama!

Well we are back from our glorious Bahamas cruise! It was WONDERFUL! The sun was shining everyday and the temperatures hung between 80-100 degrees! We ate until our pants were too tight and relaxed until we needed to move again! And the best part? I GAINED ONLY 1.5 POUNDS! Not too bad if you ask me! Plus I have an amazing excuse for those lbs, since a baby is growing inside of me rapidly!



I started out on the first two days with a very nice pinkish tan after laying out in the sun. However, on the third day, I went back to my room to admire myself in the mirror and gaze at the new layer of tan I was positive I has just aquired, but my eyes were met by red blotches of heat rash scattered all over my body! This trend continued for the remainder of the cruise, so by the last few days I just stopped trying to tan altogether and did not worry about tan lines. This was actually very liberating. Now I was COMPLETELY worry-free... what a true vacation should be like!

We stopped in Freeport, Bahamas, and went snorkling and sailing there. The colors of the fish were amazing and soooo beautiful! Then two days later, we stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, and shopped the day away! Every night for dinner we went to the formal dining room and ate 4 course meals that were better than the most expensive restaurants we have been to here! We watched two amazing broadway-type dance shows, one of my favorite parts.

Here are some of my favorite photos!




Soft Serve! Ben's running TOTAL: 52 cones


Dancing the night away to 80's music

Welcome to the Bahamas!

Bahama Babes!


Puttin' on the Ritz!

Week in Review

SUNDAY
3:45 am- Ford serpentine belt shreds to pieces
10:20 am- Mazda throws serpentine belt
2:30pm- Jared gets a ride home from work with co-worker, Ford rots in NWA parking ramp
4:45 pm- Dad fixes Mazda

MONDAY
8:30 am- Jared replaces Ford serpentine belt at work
2:45pm- Ford has severe troubles accelerating and has general loss of power
4:00pm- Ford is misdiagnosed at CarCare

TUESDAY
All day- Jared and Richard replace mass airflow pump (or something like that)
Evening- Ford still rotting

WEDNESDAY
All day- Jared and Richard replace fuel pump, fuel gauge, test exhaust line and catalytic converter
11:15pm- Ford still broken, but Jared drives it home, check engine light appears

THURSDAY
All day- Ford rots in our driveway

FRIDAY
3:45am- Ford dies by 35E
3:50am- Jared calls AAA to tow it to the shop
4:10am- Gary arrives to drive Jared home to pick up Mazda
4:35am- Jared drives back to where he left the Ford, it is gone
4:37am- Jared calls AAA, they don't have it
4:39am- Jared calls police, they impounded it (yes in the 45 minutes he was gone)
6:00am- Jared arrives at work 2 hours late
5:30pm- Arrive at impound lot and pay $160 to get our car back
6:00pm- AAA tows Ford to Ford dealership to get fixed
7:00pm- we go home

SATURDAY
3:30am- Mazda throws a pully, Jared barely makes it back into the driveway
3:35am- Naomi runs downstairs after hearing the garage door open, Jared breaks the news
3:35- 3:42am- TEARS
4:15am- Gary picks us both up, we drive Jared to work
2:30pm- Jared gets a ride home from co-worker (who can't believe his story at this point)
Present- both cars out of commission, Gary offers his RELIABLE minivan for the next few days until we leave to go on our much needed CRUISE VACATION.

"My Sunday Afternoon"

Yesterday I awoke to a beautiful, snow-covered world. White, fluffy snow glistened in the morning sunlight. I attended a beautiful wedding on Saturday night, where the theme was so appropriate... snowflakes! All the bridesmaids lined up in their various-shades-of-blue dresses, holding a single white rose sprayed with blue glitter. The bride donned clear, shiny nails, topped with blue glitter and a little snowflake in the corner of her ring finger. Since the snow came so quickly, I spent the night at a friend's house.

At some point over the weekend I had lost my socks in all the chaos, and thus trudged outside to brush off by car with my barefeet shoved inside my shoes. The snow was THICK and it took quite a while to remove it all from my car. Task completed, I hopped in my car to go spend a few hours with precious Emma. I attempted to plow through the huge drift of snow at the end of the driveway, and on my fourth attempt, I made it to the road. As soon as I started driving, I noticed the bright red battery light staring me in the face. Oh no. This happened last weekend and it meant the serpentine belt broke. I was running on battery power and knew I would not make it very far. After finding out that Jared's serpentine belt had broken that morning as well, and thus was stranded at work, I lost all control and cried until my eyes were red and puffy. I slowly made my way to the church parking lot, about 1 mile away.

Luckily, my handy dandy mechanic father was at church, and was able to determine that the belt had, in fact, not broken, but merely popped off due to a copious amount of snow packed around the pullies. Again, I cried, but this time because I was glad the problem was not as serious as I originally thought. I drove it to my parents house, with the family behind me, ready to rescue me if necessary. Upon arrival, dad turned down the bed for me, mom made me some lunch, and then they sent me off to bed (crying, of course, because I was so tired and stressed out). Meanwhile, dad spent his Sunday afternoon out in the garage fixing my car. After replacing the belt, he realized something was out of alignment, and fixed that problem as well. Yay for daddies! After my much needed two-hour nap, I awoke to a brand new car, and a hug from my dad. As I was leaving, he whispered in my ear,

"There is nothing else I would rather do with my Sunday afternoon than help my little girl."


Yeah, I cried.

Lady Lovely Locks

Here is a documentary of my experience in pictures...






Before


In process....


Jared brought us dinner!


Seven hours later...


Lady Lovely Locks!

Husband of the Year

I have nominated Jared to be husband of the year. He is so good at surprising me in the most amazing ways. Here is the latest example. On Friday night I had a slumber party for all my girlfriends. Jared told me to call him after all the girls arrived because he had a special surprise for us. So at 7:15, I called. With a sparkle in his voice he told me to open the junk drawer in our kitchen and reach underneath. My fingers ran across something taped there. I pulled it off and found a 5-dollar bill taped to a clue that read:

"Here is some money to help with yor doo, if you want some more go look where we poo."

Hahaha! This led the group of girls on a hilarious, loooong, treasure hunt. I gathered $5 with each new clue, and at the end of the hunt, my prize was a 100-dollar bill!! Jared saved this money up for me so I could get my hair extensions! Seriously! Who thinks of such a fun game! And what makes it even better is that every clue rhymed, every clue had $5 taped to it, and it took him the better part of 2 hours to complete. What a guy!

Happy wife.

I am going to get my hair done tomorrow at 2pm! I am SO EXCITED! I will post the before and after picture tomorrow night when I get home!

Valentine's Surprise

I was surprised last night to arrive home to a beautiful candlelit dinner being made for me! Jared made ribeye steaks wrapped in bacon, parmesan couscous, and green peas, complete with sparkling red grape juice!! YUM-O!

While he prepared dinner, I made my delicious chocolate mousse to enjoy for dessert, then ran upstairs and to throw on my party dress! We had a great Valentine's, and way more fun than going to Timberlodge any day!

Here are some pictures from our evening...

Happy Valentines

Happy Valentines Day to all! Did any of you wake up to an amazing surprise? Get breakfast in bed, or walk out of your room this morning to a bunch of roses or chocolates? Do you have wonderful plans for a romantic evening? I want to hear your stories. Do tell.

Jared and I are planning to postpone our celebration until tomorrow night. Not because we can't tonight-- we are wide open this evening. Simply because neither one of us has the energy or will to fight the crazy love bird rush tonight. We have attempted to go out for dinner on Valentines in past years, and always hear "Sorry, there is a 4 hour wait," and we always end up at KFC or McD's. But since we are dead set on going to Timber Lodge this year, and know for a fact we wouldn't get served until we should be in bed sleeping, we decided exercise our patience and wait.
We also made a pact not to buy any V-Day gifts, and instead treat eachother to gifts and luxuries on our cruise in a few weeks. I am positive this is the better bargain! Everytime we go on vacation, we have to save up so much just to pay for the travel and lodging that we never have any money left over for spending or special treats. So I am pretty PSYCHED that this vacation is already paid for, and that we will actually have a little spending money!

Well that is all the love I have to give today. I am saving it all up for tomorrow.

Bring on the stories!

Oooooooh Yeah

Papar Returns

Dad is safe and sound at home sleeping in his bed. He is feeling sick. Please pray for a quick recovery of the jetlag and any illness in his body. Thank you. God brought my daddy home to me safely.

Winter Wonderland, oh please!

That cruise and sunny 80 degree weather sounds pretty good right now.

I went to start my car this morning at 9:45, an hour and a half before I needed to be to work. I went out and found my car was white, not black! It was completely covered with burning cold snow. I opened the back door very carefully so as not to let much snow fall into the car. Whatever. A huge drift of snow snuck into the car so fast that by the time the door was cracked enough for me to see inside, the entire back seat was covered.

With my fingers pulled inside my coat sleeves (since my mittens have been missing for coldest week in a decade) I started my car and then got out to brush off the snow. After a short 3 minutes, I could not feel my fingers anymore and had to retreat into the house for warmth. I dug through an old hat/mitten box and finally found some old ratty gloves. I slipped them on as soon as my fingers were warm, and ran back out into the cold. After about 10-15 minutes, the job was finally done. That is how much snow was on my car. And since it was still snowing, a new layer was beginning to form. About halfway through this hideous process, my eyes began to well up with tears because the cold hurt so much. But I held them back with all my might because I was worried the liquid would freeze on my face causing further pain! How often does a worry like that cross your mind! Ugh!

When the car was finally ready, I marched angrily into the garage to thaw out a little and immediatly called Jared. I grumpily demanded, "The next house we get HAS to have a double garage that is NOT FILLED WITH CRAP!" Poor Jared. He took it very well and was very understanding. He is such a wonderful husband and promised a clean garage coming soon.

The Jewelry is Coming!

Ladies! The jewelry you all ordered from my Lia Sophia party last weekend should arrive today! Cara has been tracking the order and according to its location, it is scheduled to be delivered today! Yay! That was fast service.
So next time I see each of you I will come bearing gifts!

Quick update on Papar:
The team learned that that airport they flew in to (and are scheduled to fly out of) is still canceling flights due to smog. They are all eager to get home without further delays, so they are going to leave one day earlier than scheduled and take a bus to a different airport. They are still planning to arrive home on Friday, but this adjustment means they will be traveling homeward over the course of three days. Please just pray for safe, undelayed travel, and energy for the team as traveling for 3 days is exhausting. Thank you!

And thank you Erin for your reassurance about my dad and leprosy. I needed to hear a word of comfort, so again, thank you.

Misionary Papar II

Just a brief update on my dad. I do not know much, but I do know that he successfully connected with the rest of the group in Hyderabad on Sunday (He flew seperately from everyone else). After connecting with the group, they all attempted to fly to their final destination of Vishakapatnam, but were delayed one day as there was too much smog and visibility was so limited. As we came to find out, the smog had been so thick that they stopped all flights for the previous ten days! But it lifted just as our team needed to get through and they were only delayed one day! He was able to call my mother on Monday evening and relate all this to her. He said that they were going to set up a medical clinic that day and begin their work. So far everyone has remained safe and healthy. Thank you for any prayers you have offered on their behalf.
I am nervous right now as the itinerary calls for the team to spend this weekend at a leprosy colony (Friday through Sunday). I am continuing the trust the Lord, however, and He is blessing me with peace. That's all for now. I will give further updates as they come.

Missionary Papar

I am sitting at home today and I am just so happy. Let me explain...
I wasn't feeling too good this morning, so Jared went to church and left me home to sleep. After sleeping until 8:45 ( I am rapidly loosing my ability to sleep in late), I arose fully awake and lazily made my way down to eat a sweet red grapefruit. After I was finished, I built myself a little nest on our papazan chair consisting of 2 pillows under my back, one under my head, and a cozy soft blanket tucking me in. Added to this nest of comfort is the joy of the oscillating heater sitting on the coffee table in front of me, and the sunshine pouring in the bay window on three sides of me. To further this already heavenly situation, I just finished listening to the greatest pastor of all times, Gregg Heinsch. I downloaded a sermon off the Celebration Communty Church website where he now preaches. And here I sit, typing away to all my fans. Life is good.

On a more serious note, my father is one of the people from Faith that went to India this week. Please pray for him, and the rest of the team. I hear of people going to India every day and just get excited for them and never think twice about it. But when it is my own father, my mind reels with all the possiblities of danger he could be put in. I know that God is watching over him constantly, and will keep him safe, but Satan has a way of making the mind wander. So, if you have a moment today, please say a little prayer for me too. I want to capture my mind and trust God fully to bring my Daddy safely home to me.

Boredom = Creativity

So I had the entire day to myself, completely alone. Which, at the beginning of the day sounded pretty nice. However, after scrubbing the house from top to bottom, vaccuuming every piece of carpet, changing the kitty litter, fixing myself a delicious lunch, running 3 miles, going to Festival, and flipping through the channels endlessly and finding nothing but Seabiscuit, I ran completely out of things to do. And the sun was still up. I had a lot of hours to burn. Jared was away for the evening, so I could not turn to him for entertainment. I had to get creative.

SO....

I gave myself a virtual makeover... or 15.
And to further my excitement, I am making a game of it! I numbered each Naomi and want you to vote on your favorite...











Sometimes the creativity that originates from a bored woman is fascinating.

Someone Will Always Be Prettier

"Someone will always be prettier. They will always be smarter. Their house will be bigger. They will drive a better car. Their children will do better in school. And their husband will fix more things.

So let it go. Love you and your circumstances.

Think about it. The prettiest woman in the world can have sorrow in her heart. The most highly favored woman at your job may be unable to have children. The richest woman you know- with the perfect car, house, clothes- might be lonely. The Word says 'If I have not love, I am nothing.' So again, love you. Love who you are right now and let God be your barometer. Mirror Him. Look in the mirror in the morning and see how much of God you see. He's the only standard and even when you come up short, He will not leave or forsake you."

God-Sent Strength

Yesterday I got a call from my brother, Andy, which is always a very exciting thing. As time goes on, I see less and less of him. The news he had to share, however, created a mixture of joy and immediate sadness within me. First, let me explain his situation...
He just graduated in May from Rhode Island School of Design-- a pretty well-known art grad school. Since then, he has been applying for jobs across the country, hoping to find a good job in a related field. As you know, the upper mid-west, is not bursting forth with art culture. Sure, there are a few art museums and galleries, but NOTHING in comparison to the East Coast. So obviously, he had a much better chance of getting a "good" job in some art capital like New York. (Score one for the East Coast.) But secretly, I have been hoping for some amazing opportunity to open up here in the farmfields of the upper midwest. Anyways, since graduation, Andy has also taken on a fiance! Her family all lives in New Jersey. (Score two for the East Coast.) The situation was looking pretty grim from my standpoint, and I began to prepare myself for the worst. Yesterday, the worst came. Andy had an interview at his alma mater in Rhode Island, and got the job(!) The instant reaction that flooded my body was a deep, sad, sinking feeling. But I put aside my selfish desires and feelings, and let Andy shine for that moment. I knew this was a job he wanted very much, and that it would provide a wonderful life for him and his new bride. So I rejoiced with him through my hurt and disapointment. The strength it took to put aside my feelings is not something I could have ever conjured on my own. My God was with me yesterday for those minutes on the phone. So I thank God for the strength He provided me that I may let another shine, and I thank Him for providing Andy with this dream job, which I know he will excel at and enjoy.

Decisions, Decisions

I am incredibly bad at making quick decisions... as many of you found out at the Lia Sophia party this week. Decisions have always been a weak point for me. My mind reels with the benefits and joys of each option I have, and thus, I have a very difficult time narrowing down my options. Eventually though, I do somehow narrow them down. But I am afraid I am stuck in a rut at this point in the process. For some reason, my lucky number is 3 (or rather, my unlucky number). I always narrow down my options to 3, get stuck and cannot narrow any further, and then just get frustrated trying to choose from there. Then, my mind starts playing tricks on me. I finally think that I have made up my mind and just as I am gearing up to take action, the other two options pop back into my head and torment me until my resolve is broken into pieces. Now these decisions of which I speak, are usually the frivolous, trivial things of life, such as: Should I wear my dark gray sweater, my light gray sweater, or my white button-up shirt with this purple tank top? Or, should I buy these earrings, this braclet, or that anklet? Get the gist? Rarely is the war within me over important issues, because I just hand those directly over to Jared who has an amazingly logical and analytical brain. He helps me see the wisest choice so crystal clear that it makes me question why there were even other options in my head. Silly though it may be, I fear I shall never rid myself of this weakness.

Classic Cream

We made this creamy alcohol beverage for New Year's and it is SO YUMMY! I loved it so much I want to share it with all of you! *We only put 1/3 cup of whiskey in, and it was delicious! Enjoy!

Classic Cream (Irish Cream)

4 eggs
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. intant coffee granules
1 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
1 cup half 'n half
1 cup whiskey*

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well blended. Serve over ice.