A Belated Birthday Song...

A very Happy Birthday to you Mr. Guthrie! I hope you enjoy it too Jake!

( I am posting the lyrics below for your convenience.)

We Saw the Lights

• We wandered so aimless down Guthrie Lane,
• We couldn't see through all of the rain.
• Then we were blinded by something so bright,
• Praise the Lord! We saw the birthday lights!

We saw the lights! We saw the lights!
No more darkness the cakes much to bright
Now were so happy we celebrate tonight
Praise the Lord! We saw the birthday lights!

• We saw the porches, your sons, they did make
• 54 candles on top of your cake.
• You won't need your flashlight to illuminate the night
• Praise the Lord! We saw the birthday lights!

We saw the lights! We saw the lights!
No more darkness the cakes much to bright
Now were so happy we celebrate tonight
Praise the Lord! We saw the birthday lights!

• We hope you've enjoyed this version of the song,
• And tell your 9 children they must sing along.
• So Happy, Happy Birthday, and enjoy your cake!
• Thank your newest son-in-law, This ones from Jake!

We saw the lights! We saw the lights!
No more darkness the cakes much to bright
Now were so happy we celebrate tonight
Praise the Lord! We saw the birthday lights!

All right....

I will now release all of you who are wondering and those of you who know/figured it out and make it public.

I am pregnant!!!!!

Come May Curtiss and I are expecting a bouncing baby_________
(insert boy/girl your guess is as good as mine :)


The picture of the stork was one that I took while in Romania this last spring. Storks are a common sight over there and most villages have at least one nest up on top of one of the cement electric poles. The one in that picture wasn't from the village we lived in but in the next village over. We have been saving it for just such an announcement as this :)

For those of you who will be wondering....

I am feeling good considering the circumstances :)
Most days I don't have much if any energy but I have for the most part gotten over the morning sickness and it's not an infrequent thing to hear me say that I am hungry :)
If any of you ever have a hankering to do dishes or clean the bathroom by all means come on over since there will most likely be at least one of those things that needs doing :)
I have decided that I don't like being a lazy person, life is much too boring when you don't do anything but I keep reminding myself that the cobwebs in the corner aren't the most important thing in life and even though I don't have the energy to cook gourmet meals (or anything at all for that matter), or keep my house spotlessly clean, my body is very busy bringing another life into the world and that is one of the most awesome things that any woman can do.

One Year ago today...

It hardly seems possible that a year could've gone by already since Curtiss and I said our wedding vows.

And yet so much has happened in that time that I sometimes wonder how we fit it all in :)



I just want to say how thankful I am to the Lord for where he has placed me and the lot he has given me. I am blessed beyond anything I could've ever dreamed.

"Hanging by a Thread..."

As I was waking up to one of my favorite Cd's this morning, this song really stuck out... It kind of describes the way I feel sometimes.

• Hanging by a Thread
• Wayne Kirkpatrick and Gordon Kennedy

There's a kind of emptiness that can fill you.

There's a kind of hunger that can eat you up.

There's a cold and darker side of the moonlight.

An' there's a lonely side of love.

• With you here, Jesus, I am strong; no sign of weakness.
• With you gone, Jesus, I am hanging by a thread.

There's a certain kind of pain that can numb you.

There's a type of freedom that can tie you down.

Sometimes the unexplained can define you,

And sometimes silence is the only sound.

• With you here, Jesus, I am strong; outside of weakness.
• With you gone I am hanging by a thread.

A Progression...

Our house project started over a year ago, and at that time we didn't know that it was going to be "our" house project. At that time we were planning on using it as a guest house for friends and family. So with that plan in mind we started by putting new shingles on the roof. It was a fun job, Joanna, Anja, Olivia and I did a lot of the work with the guys helping out when they could.

Several months went by and the plan was changed, my family would be the ones moving next door. So with that change of plans came another change of plans, instead of just patching and painting up the walls and fixing the floors we were going to gut the whole place. We will be forever grateful that we picked the gutting instead of the patching route, as we found major problems with the structural soundness of the house.

(a picture of our soon to be kitchen)

After putting in beams and supports to insure that the house would not collapse on top of us, we were finally ready to start studding in new walls. Next came electric, plumbing, inspections, insulation, and dry wall.

Our 2" tongue and groove flooring was now ready to be put in, which involved measuring, marking, sawing, nailing, sanding, and three coats of the same stuff that they use on gym floors. The floor turned out beautifully!

We are finally to the finishing stages such as painting, putting the kitchen in, and putting trim boards up. We still have quite a bit of work to do, but we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are trying not to put a time on when we will be able to move in, but hopefully I will soon be able to post that we are moved in, and give you some before and after pictures. But until then I will try to keep you updated. ;)

(the beginnings of our kitchen.)