Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Visiting Family and More Softball

This weekend Jeromy and I traveled to Dayton for a visit with his family. We had a great time of playing games, swimming, and just plain visiting.

On the way home we stopped off in Lima so Jeromy could go to an orientation at St Rita's Hospital. He is picking up moonlighting shifts at Putnam County Hospital and this was the last step to do just that. While he did that, I sat in the lobby reading. I like to read, but the lobby was freezing and after a while it does get a little boring.

Once we finally made it home, we decided to rest up for our final softball game of the regular season. We played Northwood Church of God, which was nice because we always have fun playing them. We won our game and ended the regular season in second place. We moved up from 3rd place because the last two games we played were forfeited by the other team. It was discovered that they had played a couple players who were not on their roster (after being told a month ago that they could play if they signed the team roster). I think this is sad because what was supposed to be a fun time with other Christian was turned into something ugly and competitive. The league is not supposed to be like that. If they stay in the league next year, I hope there are no issues.

I almost forgot (I don't know how)...I was injured last night. As I went to get a ball flying through the outfield I overshot it and it hit my arm instead of my mitt. I have a nice ball shaped bruise on my left forearm. It is also a little swollen. Then, a couple of innings later I tried to stop a grounder with my leg. I had a huge bruise on my left shin. Even though by this time I was in considerable pain, I had no choice but to continue playing. We need to have three girls on the field at all times and we had no subs. Last night when I finally got home, Jeromy babied me a little bit with getting me some Motrin and a ice pack. This morning both injuries feel much better.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Another BIG Decision

I have held off writing about another BIG decision that Jeromy and I recently made until we had talked to a couple of people. We have decided to change churches and attended Bethel United Brethren in Elmore. This was a tough decision. We like our current church a lot and will definitely miss seeing some people on a daily basis.

A lot of you who know us are probably asking why, so I will tell you. For the last six to nine months I have not felt as if I was serving the way God was asking me to serve. However, I also did not feel like what He was asking could take place where I was at. Then, before Easter, Jeromy and I ran into Pastor Norm (my youth pastor when I was in middle school and early high school)and found out he was a pastor at a church in Elmore. Later that same day, my mom and I ran into Pastor Norm and his wife Cindy again. During our conversation, I mentioned that I felt called to work within children's ministry. Pastor Norm became excited because they needed someone at his church to revamp their children's ministry. Nothing happened with this until late June when Cindy called to see if we could all get together. We were unable to get together until early July. Everything has moved so quickly since then. I have been praying constantly and talking to Jeromy and finally I gave in to God and decided this is what he would have me to do.

We do not plan on leaving ONC totally. We will definitely be attending our small group still and we will probably attend on random Sundays when we don't get up early enough for the drive to Bethel (20 minutes).

I'm excited about the work God will have me do, but I am also scared. I'm also sad about the people that I will no longer see on a weekly basis. However, I trust this is what the Lord would have us to do and I trust Him.

Softball Loss

Yes, we lost again to Heritage. No excuses, they just outplayed us. At least we had fun! (Well, at least I did)

Monday, July 16, 2007

Another Loss in Softball

Tonight at softball we played a team we have yet to play, Heritage Christian. They are new to the league and so we did not know what to expect. Unfortunately, we lost by one run. It was a good game. We made a few errors and the umpire made some bad calls and in the end we lost. But, we had fun and that is all that matters!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Preparing for the Baby

Even though we have not began to fill out paperwork for the adoption (we found out we probably won't be able to do anything with that until after the meeting on September 11), Jeromy and I feel it is prudent to begin preparing for the baby. This is mainly because we have no way of knowing when we will be matched. So, this week I took the first step in preparing.

On Wednesday, my mom and I began by cleaning out the spare bedroom that is upstairs that will soon be a nursery. I also began working on the curtains for the room (these may be changed when we finish the nursery). Then, today, we began painting the room with Kilz. This is a type of primer which covers dark paint on the wall to make it easier to paint later. The problem is the current paint color is horrible (we did not paint it this way, it was like this to begin with). Here are pictures to show you what the room looked like this morning (the white stripes on the wall was where wallpaper was that mom took down on Wednesday).
























Here are some pictures of us painting the room. Believe me, it was an experience.




Alex and Elena (my niece and nephew) "helped" for a little while.




This is my sister Kelly helping out with the painting. My mom and sister Laura helped as well but my camera died before I could get a picture of them helping. Last but not least, here is a picture of me painting (yes, I helped as well).





Here is a picture to show you the final product.




The next step will be to decide what colors we want to paint the nursery. I will keep you updated on what we decide.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Softball Update and Other Stuff

Today, has been a very busy (and painful) day for me. As I mentioned yesterday, we all headed off to Soak City this morning. It was a lot of fun (mainly because I was able to spend time with Jeromy). However, shortly after arriving I managed to tear off part of one of my toenails. My toe is very sensitive and did not do well in softball cleats.

Jeromy and I left Soak City at about 3:00 so he could get a little nap and we had to be back for the softball game. We played St. Peter's and won a very close game. They were actually winning for most of the game. We came back the last two innings and won (I hit the game winning run (Jeromy) in with my best hit of the year). Unfortunately, we had an injury. Danielle, who plays first base, got hurt at the bottom of the third. We were missing a lot of players and this caused a lot of confusion while we figured out what to do. Obviously, it all worked out in the end. But, keep Danielle in your prayers. She really hurt her back.

After the game we had to rush home because Jeromy had to be at work by nine. After he left for work, I decided to injure myself again. Not really. I decided to grill a hamburger for dinner. While doing this, I got distracted and burnt my left hand. My pointer finger has a nice 2nd degree burn and the rest are suffering from a 1st degree. So, it has not been easy typing this.

Eventful day, a lot of pain, but a lot more fun!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Hot! Hot! Hot!

It is over 90 degrees today! It is very hot! We have spent the afternoon in our pool relaxing. It has helped considerably! Tomorrow we are going to Soak City (a water park in Sandusky, a part of Cedar Point). Jeromy and I are going with my mom, sisters (Kelly and Laura) and our niece and nephew, Alex and Elena. It should be a good time. Jeromy and I have to drive separate because we have a softball game tomorrow night at 6:30. I'm glad we are playing, but it will be hot and unpleasant. Oh well, afterwards I'll come home and get in the pool.

By the way, please keep my friends Tracy and Rhonda and their girls (Bethany, Kailey, Meke and Neti) in your prayers. Tracy, Rhonda, Bethany, and Kailey are currently in Ethiopia picking up Meke and Neti. If you are interested, you can check out their blog here.
I am soooo excited for them!!!!

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Rockin' at Freedom Fest

I love the summer!

Yesterday, Jeromy was working a 24 hour shift on life flight (the helicopter that services his hospital and many others in the area. They are the ones who respond to accidents. I'm so proud of him!) and I was faced with a long day by myself. Michelle saved me from that by calling to see if I wanted to do lunch (technically we had kind of planned this the night before) and we went out for some chicken wings at B-dubs.

Then, she had the great idea of going to Freedom Fest which was being held on the other side of town at the Cathedral of Praise. The Christian rock band Pillar was playing that night and it sounded like a good time. We first went shopping (of course) at Levi's Commons and then headed to the festival. We ran into friends from church and hung out with them while listening to the opening bands and simply enjoying the beautiful weather.

After the concert, we were able to enjoy a great fireworks display! All in all it was a great evening spent with friends having a good time. That is why I love the summer!