Christmas Card 2013

 

Merry Christmas! We hope this finds you well, and you enjoy the 2013 synopsis.

 

We started our year in California with J completing Global Hawk training at Beale AFB, and spending weekends at home. In February we finally packed up our house and said goodbye to Travis AFB and our dear friends there. We then spent several weeks at Beale AFB and got to visit with J’s Mom and brother as we crossed paths. Andy was beginning the training J was finishing. We officially said goodbye to California and hit the road in March!

 

It took six days to drive from California to North Dakota stopping along the way in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, S. Dakota and Minot AFB in Western N. Dakota. We were able to see friends from J’s ROTC days at Ohio State in Wyoming and at Minot AFB which was fun. We also stopped and visited Mt. Rushmore along the way.

 

We arrived at our new base, Grand Forks AFB in North Eastern North Dakota in March and it was cold! We’ve since moved twice. In April we moved into an apartment downtown after being told the wait for base housing was 6-12 additional months. Then at the end of July we moved once again into our current home here on the base. We love our house and are finally starting to feel settled here. We’ve also acquired two new roommates; cats named Brutus and Winston. They’re incredibly entertaining and cuddly.

 

In March we made a short trip to Michigan to attend my Dad’s doctoral graduation and got to see my siblings and grandparents. We’ve also had visitors here in N. Dakota. First was J’s brother Andy. He arrived in late May and stayed with us while waiting to move into his apartment. He is stationed here in the same squadron and piloting the same plane as J. It has been nice having him close by. J’s parents also came out and spent a week with us in August. The boys golfed at the country club we joined here, and Cathy and I explored the state’s quilt shops and sewed. Then in October my Mom came out for 10 days and got to experience our first snow of the year!

 

J has been flying his new plane and is already qualified at the experienced level and to both fly and supervise various missions. He is also currently working as an executive officer for the base reconnaissance group commander. Despite long hours and sometimes working nights and weekends he is still home a lot more. We have found a church we like in town and are part of a small group that meets near the base. I’ve also joined a ladies bible study and the base spouses club where I volunteer as the welfare and charitable board chairperson this year.

 

Our last, but biggest, piece of big news for the year is that our family is growing. We are expecting a baby in mid-May 2014! Thus far we’ve been blessed with a healthy pregnancy; Mom-to-be and baby are both well.

 

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year! If you’d like to keep up with us more often please feel free to visit our blog.

 

Love and Blessings

 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.” Psalm 139: 13-14

Baby Journal: Week 19

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #5

 

Week #19 (12-15-13 – 12-21-13) 

 

Weight Gain #0

 

Bump Undeniable! (However this was an end of day photo, and I always look bigger then…!)   

  

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  It’s been a quiet week for symptoms.

 

Cravings  Nothing stands out this week 

 

Emotions  Nothing new 

 

Sleep  Sleep hasn’t been great due to repeated bathroom trips and vivid dreams. This week I dreamed my Mom knew the baby’s gender and accidentally let it slip (a boy) and I was very upset because I wanted it to be a surprise!  

 

The big moment of the week  Our anatomy scan ultrasound! It was fairly long and we saw lots of Bean. Saw the heart beating (140), the kidneys, the stomach, brain, brainstem, face, arms, hands, legs, feet, etc. Bean apparently is a mover! it was hard for the tech to get the pictures. Bean is measuring a bit small (18w6d and I was 19w4d) but all is well. While it was really awesome to see all that, laying on my back that long was a struggle! Unfortunately we didn’t get to see our regular doctor for the follow up appointment right after that, we saw the Mayor who is also an OB doc at the local hospital… Not a huge fan.  

 

Weather  We had a day in the 30’s! Heat wave (and windows open). Otherwise still subzero and windy, more flurries.  

 

Current events  Current in our lives, Grandma P. passed away early Saturday morning. A blessing for her, but for us a sad end to the week.  

 

Worries  I was worried going into the ultrasound, but very relieved that everything looks normal and healthy!

 

Looking Forward to  Our trip home for Christmas

 

 

Sugar Cookie Cut Outs

There are a lot of recipes for cut out cookies. This is the one I have used and stuck with since getting married. It’s from my Better Homes & Garden’s cookbook which after 6 years is already falling apart. Sometimes I egg wash and decorate with sprinkles before baking. Sometimes I make my own powdered sugar icing with either a vanilla or almond flavor to it. This year I bought a can of frosting from the store and we doused them in sprinkles post baking. I think the thinner they are, the better. And these are so good, they are fabulous plain!

 

Ingredients

2/3 C. butter, softened

3/4 C. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 C. AP flour

Icing/frosting of choice if desired

 

Directions

Beat butter on med-high for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder & salt, beat until combined. Beat in egg, milk & vanilla. Beat in flour.

 

Divide dough in half, shape into discs & wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness on floured surface & cut with cookie cutters.

 

Bake on a parchment lined cookie tray at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes, or until edges are firm & bottoms are lightly browned.

 

Decorate and enjoy!

Christmasy Things

While my Mom was visiting us in October we bought some deco mesh and made a Christmas wreath. J wouldn’t let me take any of our Ohio State paraphernalia down (including our front door wreath and garden flag) until after their loss in the Big10 Championship game. So this wreath just got hung up over the weekend. I added the oversized Christmas ornaments per Moms suggestion. It probably needs a bow to finish it off, but for this year I like it! 


It’s been snowing and snowing up here. These pictures were taken on our way into town for church this past weekend. See the rainbow? I called it a snow rainbow, but have since been informed it’s really part of a scientific phenomenon called a sun dog. Either way it was beautiful.

Along with making puppy chow batch #2 of the season and homemade applesauce this weekend J and I made Christmas cutout cookies. This was the aftermath of our decorating. We did this Sunday afternoon while watching the new Jim Carey Grinch. One of J’s favorite Christmas movies. 
The first picture are the cookies I decorated. The second picture are J’s cookies.   
I’ve also been doing Christmas wrapping. This picture was from last Friday when Winston decided to help… I got everyone’s gifts wrapped and packaged and sent out in the mail that day. I also broke out The Muppet Christmas Carol for the first time. (and watched it on repeate about 5 times) I’ve still got J’s presents to wrap. But we’re not doing our Christmas here in ND until Saturday.

This is a picture of my morning tea Monday. I splurged on some Harney and Sons Christmas tea this year. It’s soooo good. And the Christmas winterberry mugs are out and in full use.

On Saturday night J made a bowl of his famous popcorn and we snuggled up on the couch and watched his all time favorite, A Christmas Story! It’s grown on me. And that was fun.

Slowly but surely Christmas is getting closer. I can hardly believe it. We are sure enjoying the anticipation… And I’m even enjoying all the snow!

Baby Journal: Week 18

And we are up to real time! I have been taking my "bump" photos on the first day of the week (Sundays) but waiting until the end of that given week to write about it. So I'll be posting just one baby journal a week from now on, probably on Sundays.

 

So yes, technically I'm starting week 19 (as of yesterday) but until the week is over I've got nothing to write about. So here we are, week 18 and current!  

 

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #5

 

Week #18  (12/8/13 – 12/14/13)

 

Weight Gain #4 (Yikes?!) 

 

Bump Noticeable. People are starting to ask… 

    

Baby Nicknames  Bean mostly.  

 

Symptoms  So I’ve had another good week. One tiny, itsy bit of nausea on Tuesday. I’m thinking of kicking my nausea meds to the curb… I do find myself short of breath on occasion. Heartburn hasn’t been too bad this week either. (Thank you Zantac.) :) 

 

Cravings  Chocolate!!!!!! I can’t get enough. Unfortunately I made chocolate cupcakes from scratch and we had puppy chow in the house this week. They’re both gone now. Dare I say this is part of the 4# weight gain? Oops. I’ve also got an appetite again. I’d almost forgotten what it feels like to be really hungry and to want to eat. This week I just can’t seem to get enough of anything! Whilst this is all a vast improvement over constant nausea, it is potentially problematic…   

 

Emotions  Nothing special to report.  

 

Sleep  Sleeping fine sans trips to the restroom. We’ve been working out fairly regularly again these past 2 weeks so I think it’s helped me sleep.  

 

The big moment of the week  We have a car seat thanks to J’s parents! It did make it out of the box, but it’s currently in the nursery. Silver and navy blue. We also got a surprise gift from a former Travis AFB friend Kathryn. Wipes case AF style :) 

 

Weather  Frigid sums it up pretty well. Lots of snow flurries, maybe 1-2 more inches total over the past week.   

 

Current events  I haven’t seen or heard much news lately. Too busy watching Christmas movies and sewing. Ohio State is headed to the Orange Bowl on Jan 3rd.  

 

Worries  Now that I am feeling the baby move on and off I get worried after not feeling anything for awhile. But I’m sure all is well.   

 

Looking Forward to  Our big ultrasound appointment next Thursday! Keeping the gender a secret though, even from ourselves! :)

  

Baby Journal: Week 17

Pregnancy #1

Month #5

Week #17 (12/1/13 – 12/7/13) 

Weight Gain #0  (in 5 months I’ve gained 7# total)

Bump See photo     

Baby Nicknames  Bean and baby 

Symptoms  Dare I say I’ve made it through the week without nausea?! (Yes, still taking my meds.) But hello heartburn! I’ve got to eat something before bed, take tums and have popped several zantac this week as well. Ouch! 

Cravings  Pickles, salt, cheese 

Emotions  Normal

Sleep Dreams this week have been bothersome. Vivid enough to wake me up and some scary ones too.  

The big moment of the week  Made it to month #5! It’s going fast and slow at the same time. I’m also definitely feeling baby move. It usually feels like someone is flicking me from inside. I’m also starting to freak out a little that we’re going to have another human being living with us that we’re responsible for shortly…  

Weather  FREEZING! We had our first real blizzard/big snow. High’s are preceded by a negative sign with lows and wind chills in the –20 to -35 range.  

Current events  Nelson Mandella died this week. The Big 10 Championship. 
 

Worries  This emerging heartburn… and an angry return of the nausea (since that’s what happened last time I felt good). 

Looking Forward to  Our Dec. 19th ultrasound! Going home for Christmas!!
 

  Aside from the baby OSU jersey, and crib this is the only other thing we’d got for baby. A Vera Diaper bag. :) This week, we got 2 gifts in the mail. Babyators (baby aviator sunglasses, white) from our friends in Texas who are due with their first in February. And a pregnancy ornament from J’s cousin and his wife (it’s a cute gingerbread couple with a “bun in the oven”). How very fun and thoughtful!

Baby Journal: Week 16

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #4

 

Week #16 (11/24/13 – 11/30/13) 

 

Weight Gain #0  

 

Bump It’s slowly but surely getting bigger each week. But I’d say it’s still small.    

  

Baby Nicknames  Baby, bean 

 

Symptoms  Still a bit of nausea, but it’s been better this week. 

 

Cravings  Pickles! Salt. Fried food (especially cheese sticks).

 

Emotions  Nothing unusual 

 

Sleep It’d be better if I wasn’t going to the bathroom 4 times. And I’ve been battling night time heartburn! 

 

The big moment of the week  We had Dr. appt. #2 and heard bean’s heartbeat for the first time. A strong 150. Everything looks good. And we scheduled our big mid-pregnancy ultrasound for December 19th!  

 

Weather  Cold. Flurries. It’s white outside still from our last snow. Some negative temps, but mostly it’s been in the 20’s.  

 

Current events  Ohio State beat that team from up North!! Close game too. We had Thanksgiving dinner this week. I made all the food and wasn’t sick and even got to enjoy eating it! We also set up all the Christmas decorations around the house.  

 

Worries  Nothing much right now 

 

Looking Forward to  Our ultrasound in December!

 

   

Busy sewing

I'm here, just busy with Christmas preparations. I've got a project that requires hand sewing to be finished and that (along with reading Harry Potter if I'm going to be completely honest) has taken up every free moment. I've also been doing last minute shopping. I'd really like to get gifts wrapped and sent out by tomorrow afternoon... we shall see! One of the many disadvantages to living far from home is that you've got to be super organized and ahead of schedule to get things in the mail early for holidays and birthdays. That's not usually an issue for me, but I am now a firm believer in "pregnancy brain". I can't seem to remember anything or keep myself organized at all lately! It's quite frustrating.

We are actually experiencing a "warm" day here. It was 4 degrees when I woke up this morning and supposed to stay positive, with a high of 8, all day. I'm sure the clouds producing the snow that is softly falling are partly responsible for the small increase in temperature. It seems to snow almost constantly here, but just flurries, not real substantial snow. Last night before bed I was watching it snow under the street light and it looked exactly like it was raining glitter! All sparkles and gold, no white. It was really pretty awesome.

Well, the timer for my chai tea has beeped. I'm off to add the sugar and milk and keep on with my sewing. (Imagine Christmas music playing and a just cleaned house from this morning please.)

More baby journals to come this week. I'm hoping that when I post on Sunday or Monday with week 18 I'll be caught up to real time and I can quite overloading everyone with baby news, complaints about nausea and my irritating night time bathroom habits. It really doesn't make for great reading I know. But this blog gets printed and I need a record! :)

Stay warm. 13 sleeps until Christmas :)

Baby Journal: Week 15

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #4

 

Week #15 (11/17/13 – 11/23/13)

 

Weight Gain #1 

 

Bump Still small, but it’s there.     

 

Baby Nicknames  Bean

 

Symptoms  Some nausea on and off, though not as bad overall this week. I can’t lay on my back without getting dizzy.

 

Cravings  Cliché I know, but pickles! And anything fried.

 

Emotions  Nothing strange

 

Sleep  Sleeping fine other than getting up several times a night to use the bathroom.    

 

The big moment of the week  I *may* have started to feel the baby move. Every so often it feels like bubbles, or a muscle spasm where it makes no sense to have one.

 

Weather  Freezing! It’s been –10 at night, yesterday’s high was 5 whole degrees. We got snow Wednesday/Thursday and it’s still white out there! (Our Thanksgiving turkey is chilling in a snowdrift out back)

 

Current events  “Obamacare” is the main topic of conversation as the implementation of it online basically failed. Iran’s nuclear talks.

 

Worries  That everything continues to progress smoothly, that baby is healthy.

 

Looking Forward to  Our doctor’s appointment this coming Tuesday (26th).

 

  

Baby Journal: Week 14

Pregnancy #1

 

Month #4

 

Week #14 (11/10/13 – 11/16/13)

 

Weight Gain #2 

 

Bump See picture below for the growing evidence   

  

Baby Nicknames Bean. My Mom is referring to baby as a ‘she’

 

Symptoms Still have that underlying all day nausea and am still taking the Unisom + B6 (plus a few Zofran). Heartburn has also started.

 

Cravings Fried foods: french fries, mozzarella sticks, etc. Basically junk and nothing else really sounds good. I’ve got zero appetite.

 

Emotions Nothing new or wildly crazy

 

Sleep I am uncomfortable on my back, so I’ve been doing a lot more tossing and turning. 

   

The big moment of the week Got a call about the second thyroid level, it was normal so everything is going well. And, we’ve got a crib! My Mom & Step-Dad bought us (surprise, out of the blue) our crib and mattress. It’s already put together!

 

Weather Cold. Mostly. It’s been down to 1 degree overnight and in the teens/twenties during the day. But then we had a random day of 55 degrees last week… Hello sinus headache!

 

Current events Major typhoon in the Philippines; thousands killed and millions displaced and without power, water, food, etc.

 

Worries I’m going to be nauseous until May. 

 

Looking Forward to Maybe eventually feeling better…? Doctor’s appointment the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.