Just some updates.

Hi everyone!

I now have only 14 days till my due date, and though it seems like such a short amount of time, I pray every night that the Lord will be merciful and cut my time short! I have sporadic contractions that are as painful as some of the back labor pains I had with Joshua, and I'm ready to move on to the real thing and get it over with!

I went yesterday to the hospital to preregister and after being interviewed for a short while the nurse asked me what religious affiliation I was. When I answered Seventh-Day Adventist she said, "Really? Me too!". It turns out I was paired up with the only SDA nurse on staff right now, and I really felt like God had set that up for me as a special blessing! She was so nice, and she knew some of my family because she and her husband had gone with Dad M. to Mexico last Christmas on the mission trip! Not only that, but her husband's cousin lives out west and we used to go to church with him several years ago.

It has been somewhat of a nerve-racking transition for me to move from having a home birth with Joshua to a hospital birth this time, and it was comforting for me to find an Adventist nurse. She made me feel at ease and less apprehensive. Some of you reading this won't understand that at all, but that's okay.

On another note, Joshua will be 2 in just over a week! He went pee-pee on his potty chair for the first time this week and has a few times now, and it's been very exciting! I'm sure someday he won't be very excited to know that I shared this information with the world, so I won't mention it again, but I just couldn't help make note of this milestone!

Well, hopefully soon I'll be posting some pictures of a cute little baby on here, please keep us in your prayers!

Lisa

Anyone out there?

Hey,
I miss the comments! I really enjoy getting some feedback on my pictures and stories, so don't forget to leave a comment now and then!

I've been meaning to post this address for quite a while. If you'd like to read a really interesting story about cancer survival, here's a blog for you to read:

www.toughblogtoget.blogspot.com/

After his naughtiness, though, he played in the leaves with Momma and brightened back up! October 22, 2005 

This is my attempt at getting some cute pictures of Josh in the fall leaves. I had him sit on the "bench" and told him to look at Momma and smile, and this is what I got! Naughty, naughty Toad! October 22, 2005 

I saw a nice photo opportunity and had to take it! This is Josh, Colby's double cousin, and his truck out by Grandma and Grandpa J's house. October 22, 2005 

We were singing Happy Birthday and Joshua was trying to figure out how to make his fingers say "two". We were all trying to help him hold the other fingers down with his thumb, but they just kept *springing* back open!! October 22, 2005 

The John Deere cake I made for Dad and Joshua's birthday get-together last night at Grandma and Grandpa J's. We ended up having a REALLY John Deere-themed party, with us giving Dad a John Deere shirt, and Joshua getting several John Deere gifts, including a movie all about John Deere tractors, which he watched with Daddy this morning! I think Daddy enjoyed it every bit as much as Joshua... October 22, 2005 

The color around Grandma and Grandpa J's house is very pretty right now! We haven't had the best weather to enjoy the peaking colors this year; there has been a lot of cloud cover and rain. Even with the overcast yesterday the color was intense, though. October 22, 2005 

Let me introduce you to "Frank", otherwise known as Joshua's Grandpa J! Here he was entertaining us all by reliving the day his truck was stolen in Chicago. Which is a story I still need to write up and post on here for you! He really gets into his alter-ego and can go for a good 45 minutes telling stories from "Frank's" perspective. It's hilarious! October 22, 2005. 

Kind of a crazy, wild-haired picture of me, but I thought some of you might enjoy it anyway! Just to remind you all, I have 24 days left till my due date! Thanks again to Mom M for finding me these overalls at a yard sale! Who knew they'd be just about the only thing to fit me in this last month?! October 18, 2005 

The barn and pretty trees behind it. To all of my family members who have not been here in the pretty months, please come visit sometime around the 2nd-3rd week of October, when the color peaks here in northern lower Michigan. It's an experience you will enjoy Immensely! October 18, 2005 

Looking at our farm and the north hill from the direction of the river. October 18, 2005 

A pretty farm. This is always a really picturesque spot, no matter what time of year. October 18, 2005 

This is R. pond, a really beautiful spot this time of year. I love the way the water reflects the colors! October 18, 2005 

Some beautiful trees. And yes, they really are that bright! Like they have been light by God from within! Kinda reminds you of the burning bush, doesn't it? October 18, 2005 

The view of the south hill from our front window. October 18, 2005 

Our weekend visitors! So glad they came, I just wish I had been not so big and pregnant and tired! But I hope they had fun anyway and enjoyed being back in Michigan for a few days. October 16, 2005. 

Raini and Jackson! He's a little firecracker! He's a West Highland Terrier that is about 3 1/2 months old. He harassed the cat all weekend, and Trinket enjoyed the attention! In the end she felt chewed on, but loved, and attempted to stow away and go home with him! October 16, 2005 

This end of the house is closed in now, and the driveway has been cleared. The septic passed inspection and the heating and cooling guys will be in on Tuesday. Looks good! October 16, 2005 

This was taken 2 days after he was hit by the plywood, on Wednesday, October 12. The bruising under his eye got even darker than that, and he really did look like he'd been punched by someone! His dad kept saying, "I just had to put him back in line, he was getting a little mouthy!" whenever they were in Home Depot and people were looking. (You have to know his dad - he's not afraid of making a scene!) 

This is Colby's gash from a piece of 1/2" plywood they were putting up. It was cut to fit into an odd angle, and it slipped through 3 sets of hands, pivoted around, and the point hit Colby there where you see the gash, then scraped down the side of his face which his fingers are covering up here. He has a black eye now too. He could have used probably 3 stitches, but he's kept it taped shut and it is closing up pretty well. October 10, 2005. 

NASA - Dryden News Photos and Audio Comments

This is so cool! There are pictures and audio of Michael and his Autonomous Soaring project on this site:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/newsphotos/index.html

Michael describes his project:

"The Autonomous Soaring Project has one simple goal,

to program a small UAV to soar in thermals

similar to the way a glider pilot or birds do.

The aircraft has an off-the-shelf autopilot.

It has been reprogrammed

for this project to automatically

dectect that it is in an updraft and

then use that updraft by circling.

During the 17 flights of this project

we used a total of 23 updrafts and

we had an average climb of about 500 feet.

In a single updraft we climbed 2700 feet, a little bit more.

There's a wide variety of applications

for this technology, to help UAVs do things

like forest fire detection, police surveillance,

border patrol and weather monitoring.

The technology may even extend to

planetary fliers, such as, the Mars Aircraft."


I have such a cool brother!

Yesterday we met up with Colby's cousins and went put-put golfing! It was a lot of fun, and although it was a little chilly, it wasn't bad, and the being out in the sunshine and fresh air felt good! We did a lot of laughing and a lot of putting (and more putting...) and some kicking when the "hockey" approach didn't work...(*cough*.. Josie). It was a lot of fun, I hope we can do it again soon! L-R: Colby, me (35+ weeks pg), Josie, Greg, Joya, Josh, Amanda, and Matt in front! October 9, 2005 

This is Grandpa J telling Joshua the story of "Stubby Tractor". You can't see it very well, but Josh has a John Deere tractor that he's playing with on the arm of the chair. He soaked up the story about a tractor that refused to plow the field until all the animals could have a chance to get out of the way, "Bunny Rabbits go all gone!", and after the animals ran away then Stubby tractor would plow the field, "Stubby tractor workin' ina field." It was really cute to watch Josh listen so intently to "Great-grandpa J" and then summarize the story in his own little way! October 9, 2005. 

Joshua and the "Monster Tater". This year Grandpa J found this potato on the farm which weighs 5.75 lbs! Out of curiosity I looked up in the Guinness Book of World Records what the heaviest potato weighed. The record stands at 7lbs 11 oz. from a farm in the United Kingdom, recorded in 1994. But, this has definitely been the largest potato ever grown on the family farm! October 9, 2005 

We woke up this morning to our first frost! Just 5 days after I was swimming in the lake! It was a light frost that the sun chased away quickly. October 9, 2005. 

Sabbath afternoon with Bobbi Jo. Sticking her nose in everywhere to find food in any forgotten couch cushion or beneath an unmoved piece of furniture! Here she is looking accusingly at Colby; I'm sitting on his lap where she is convinced SHE belongs. October 8, 2005. 

Sabbath afternoon with Joshua. He was running around the house, "falling" on the floor so he could say, "Joshua fall down boom!" This was one of the gentler falls, usually they were embelleshed with legs and arms going all directions and rolling a couple of times! October 8, 2005.