A Blur of Ohio

I think (hope) weekend travelling is done... at least for a little while. I'm excited to finally go to Detroit church this coming weekend, since its been almost 2 months since I was last there! But I must say, it is fun visiting other people (I hope my husband is not rubbing off on me too much!) and spending time with friends. On Thursday, I thought I might actually remain in Michigan instead of travelling down to Ohio for the weekend because I was not feeling well. But by resting most of Friday, and then Joel discovering that he wouldn't have to work this past weekend (yay!) kind of sealed the deal and Saturday morning we both took off to Ohio to visit family and friends. After a quick stop at my Aunt Janice's, we headed over to the house that is being remodeled so that my cousin Joy can move in. It is an amazingly old home, and I can't wait to see how it looks when they are finished with it. It also has a beautiful view from the front (although its in the back?!) porch!

Then it was off to Jon and Kelly Zollinger's house. It has been practically a year since we saw them last, and Joel has been just itching to get over there and hang with them since he missed the opportunity when we were out there last fall. We also got to meet little Peyton for the first time :) Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long before we headed over to Isaac and Brittany Steiner's for dinner/night. It is actually quite funny how we met Isaac and Brittany. When we were out last fall, Joel met Isaac one Sunday and mentioned how we were from Phoenix and he should come visit sometime... well a month later he got a call from Isaac "Rufener" (in my husband's defense, he had been taking a nap at the time, so he wasn't quite all there) asking if him and his wife could stay at our place for a week in December. Joel figured it was one of my relatives, but for the next few days we were trying to figure out who he was. After much sleuthing with my parents and aunt and other friends out there, we deduced it was really Isaac Steiner... which didn't really change anything, and what a blast we had when they came out!

Sunday was a blessing not only with the baptisms (that Liam did not let me see), but Blake Widmer was there (and Matt too :), so we were able to spend a short time with them. With all these highlights, one must experience some embarassing moments too, right?! Well, I had my first as a mother (and I'm certain not my last), when I replied to the church usher after he asked me if I was looking for somebody, that I had lost my baby, who can't even crawl yet! (This was the result of being in a large church with lots of relatives, one of whom just took the baby into church with him since my husband, who was supposed to have the baby that afternoon, had been deep in conversation (what a surprise, right?!). Never a dull moment... but I'm looking forward to maybe having just a few this week!Jordan and Joy's "new" home

Joel, B and Liam :)

A game of "corn hole" (aka bean bag toss) with Matt

Trisha D with Liam enjoying the fresh air together

A Whirlwind of a Week

So yesterday I bid adieu to my parents who spent the last week with me. What a blessing! My house is much cleaner, and no longer a fire hazard, according to my father (he was not too pleased with the inspector), the psuedo-electrician who fixed all the outlets in our house, cleaned the house, put up blinds, fixed sinks and cupboards (making my kitchen more bearable), moved furniture... and strained his shoulder in the process. I think he now knows this area of Michigan better then I, through his daily trips to different Home Depot's.

Dad fixing one of the many outlets, grounding the wires and turning it from a two prong to a three prong for us :)

I know I stated in an earlier post that I wouldn't make you work if you come visit me... and I still hold to it. My dad can't sit still and "relax", but must be doing something. It's a work ethic maybe I will have someday. Maybe. Joel was actually worried that my dad wouldn't have anything to do since JV had put in the ceiling fan, as well as installing the bathroom one. Not wanting to disappoint him, after greeting his grandson and getting a tour of the house my dad proceeded to go through the house with notebook and pencil in hand, jotting down what needed to be "fixed". The next week consisted of lights, music (the outlet tester) and the internet going off and on (the reason why I haven't really blogged or even been on the internet lately). Even when my mom and I went to the Holocaust Museum, my dad stayed behind and worked.

It was not all work though, as we did enjoy an evening of the Farmington Hills Choristers at the amphitheater in Heritage Park, as well as a night of put-put golf on Thursday, followed by travelling Friday evening to Leo, Indiana where we stayed at my cousin Jenny Bertsch's house (along with her family- it made for 18 people!!) for a couple of nights, hitting up both the annual Gateway Wood's Sale (a first for my parents) and Leo church in the process.

The two parental love birds watching the Thursday evening concert in Heritage Park

Joel giving me lessons on how to hit the golf ball SOFTLY...

The three professionals of the group

Dad with Liam and Mariah

Zach and Jenny's boy Zion

Julie and Joel helping Liam test out the result of the Bertsch's donation to the GW sale

Jordan and Joy

Aunt Janice getting some OMM treatment... Gotta love (abuse ;) the DOs

A stay with Zach wouldn't be complete without a game of Settlers of Catan

So now its back to the same ole' life that I'm starting to covet with all the commotion and hulla-ba-loo that has been taking place here lately. I'm looking forward to when I can actually be here for a weekend and hit up my lovely farmer's market. Or listen to the Friday night concerts downtown, or at least in my own backyard... but for now, I'm gonna do laundry, organize some more and prepare myself mentally (while trying to rest and recoup physically) for my trip (con Liam, sans Joel) down to Ohio this weekend for my cousin Julie Rufener's baptism.

Oh, by the way... for the past few days (ever since Joel made mention of their ordeal to me) Jordan and Katelyn Schroeder have been on my mind/in my heart, and thus constantly in my prayers. I don't know them personally, but do you really need to know them in order to pray for them?! If you are reading my blog, I know that you have the extra few minutes to pray for them too, so please do-- and add them to your prayer list too. I have been wondering what in the world I would do if I found out today Joel had incurable cancer. It's unfathomable. So please pray for their family. If you want more information, their blog is http://www.jkschroeder.blogspot.com

Weekend Roadtrippin'

So a couple weeks ago, I was talking with an old friend from high school who just had a baby boy, Caelan Douglas, a month after I gave birth to Liam. We have not seen each other since I got married and when I found out she was only a 6 hour google maps drive away in Lake Geneva, WI visiting family, I couldn't resist driving to visit her so that Liam and Cael could meet each other for the first time! Now I'm not crazy enough (yet) to think about driving, 6 hrs straight, but when I saw that South Bend was right on the way (sorta) to Lake Geneva, thus splitting my 6 hrs into 3 (+), I truly couldn't resist passing up a chance to not only see Heidi, but also Natalie too! The topper was the fact that Joel was going to be at work Thurs-Friday, followed by covering night duty as house officer Fri-Sat (ie I wasn't going to see him for a few days). Thus began my first road trip by myself with baby Liam :)

And as you can see, I survived to blog about it!

(Although it was scary driving through the heart of Chicago, I don't see why tolls exist except to steal my husband's hard-earned money and sometimes its better if you obey where the GPS leads you... sometimes)

Heidi and Cael

Heidi and I in front of a Civil War era home that her uncle has remodeled so beautifully!

The point in the evening at which Heidi and I decided that twins would not be so fun...

Although I don't have pictures of my time in South Bend, it was truly a blast. Not only did I get to hang out with Natalie (and the rest of the fam), but I also got to see Craig, Rachel (and kids), as well as Joel's parents and Ruthie, who were out for a music conference! This was followed a couple days later by a trip with Natalie to the outlets in Michigan City, where we met up with Adam, Whitney and their kids for an afternoon!

And now I'm back to reality, where I must quick "clean" the house before my parents arrive for a week :)