Just an update on myself: I am currently 19 weeks pregnant, but haven't felt anything yet. I haven't had any major, distracting symptoms. I have a "new" wardrobe, mostly borrowed, so I am enjoying a new variety of clothes to wear. Last week I went over to Alicia's house to help her out a little. I am hoping to go over again this week. Church has been going pretty good with our new building and schedule. We are changing our church meeting time to 10:45 next week, because no one was really getting there on time. Hopefully it will be better next week. I've been playing the piano for church now, as Sister Gibson is still playing for the Methodist church. I've enjoyed that. We are going to see a lawyer this Thursday to see about Win's paperwork. Hopefully that works out and it's not going to be too expensive. We also need to call the midwife to see if she is taking new clients. We called the Dr.'s office, and without having insurance, they require a $1,000 downpayment for one visit. Thankfully, I'm not having any problems. Well, that's enough for now.

Hotdog Stand on the Circle

Yesterday Mom and Dad came down and took me out for lunch. Dad had been wanting to have a hotdog from a stand on the circle for awhile, so we decided to try to get one there. I didn't even know that guy sold hotdogs. They were pretty good. Anyways, we ate them on the steps of the monument, and then went to the library so I could show them around. We were going to go look at baby stuff, but it got too late. Anyways, it was a nice change of pace for me and nice to see my parents again.

Fresh- Grown Salsa!

Saturday I made homemade salsa. I think it came out pretty good. I used the tomatoes and hot peppers from our garden. I just kind of guessed at how much to make and what to add, seasoning wise. Mom gave me a recipe, but it was hard to know how much to add, because I didn't really know how much I was making. I got 11 jars; 6 hot and 5 medium, hopefully. It was kind of hard for me to know how much hot peppers to put in so I just put a few spoonfuls and hope that we'll be able to taste the spice. I added onions and green bell peppers (had to buy those, but maybe not next year). I used the canner and just gave the jars a hot water bath. The lids all sealed so I'm really happy about that. I hope that I'll get enough tomatoes again that I'll be able to make some spaghetti sauce. Here's some pictures from the experience.

Pumpkin Cookies

Here's a recipe that I'm trying out today.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup margarine

1 egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the first 3 ingredients together until well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Using a small or medium cookie scoop (spoon), drop the dough onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

My First Garden

Yesterday I started harvesting some of the herbs I planted. I got basil, peppermint, and thyme. Some of the others I'm still not sure what to do with. I tied them up and hung them in the laundry room to dry. I am hoping to get some medicinal benefits from them. I tried to make some peppermint tea, but while it was boiling I started playing the piano, so it got burnt, and was very nasty.

I am going to try to make some salsa and maybe spaghetti sauce this weekend or next week. We've got lots of tomatoes and hot peppers. I wish I had planted a little more variety, but this was just my first time, so I am glad that they came out as well as they did. I let some of the plants go to waste, unfortunately. The lettuce bolted and then died; the kale was ready, but I didn't really know what to do with it, so it died too. My organic carrots never came up, except for 2 teeny ones. The cucumbers were similar to styrofoam, so most of them were wasted. I did get a couple though. I guess I am going to be having lots of tomatoes and hot peppers!! I have some purple peppers that are getting ready to be picked, so I am anxious to try them.

Hello Fall... :)

Today is the first day of fall, and our A/C is still running. It was cool, and now it's warm again. I was really hot last night so after taking the A/C out of the window, Win brought it back in. I love him so much. He is so good to me. This past weekend we went to West Virginia for the independence celebration and to say good-bye to Kerai and Pelda. It was fun. I didn't do much, but it was nice to see everyone.

My poison ivy is finally gone; except for some dry skin. Yay! That was really terrible. Now I'm scared to go into the woods and pick up any type of plant. Don't want to get that again!!!

I went to a clinic last week and got an official pregnancy confirmation. I'm almost 16 weeks now. At the clinic they said that I was due in February, which is a month earlier than I expected. We'll see what the baby does. :) I haven't been sick, by God's grace, for awhile. I stopped taking the pills I was taking and am taking the prescription prenatal vitamins instead. They seem easier to take for some reason.

This Saturday I'm going to a garage sale and hope to make some money. Lynette, Becca, and maybe Jenn are going to be selling stuff. There's also a women's conference here in Indy with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, so I may be going to that, if I can get a free ticket. I've never been to a conference like that, for myself, so I think it will be neat. It's at the convention center downtown. That's one advantage to living in Indy; right where all the action is.

Our church bought a building and will be moving in next week, I think. Exciting. I'm going to be teaching a new age group, which I am very excited about. The 6 and unders, which translates to first grade and under. Yay!!! Crafts and stories will be fun again... Lynette and Aleks are going to teach the older class (9-11), and Becca will teach the middle age (7-8). I think it will work out much better. I am really excited about it. :) :) I need to start getting ready for my first class. I want it to be really good. Maybe bring in some treats or something.

Well, that's about the update of my life right now. The picture is from a few years ago in the fall. Me and Win need to go out and get some new pictures taken, desperately!!! :)

September is here???? already?

It seems like the summer went by fast, yet it also seems to have been long. Today I am writing with severe poison ivy. My fingers are really swollen and bubbly. I just took a shower with dish soap and apple cider vinegar. Then I rubbed everything down with alcohol. I don't feel itchy, but I just hope everything starts drying up. I am approximately 12 weeks pregnant. I haven't had much trouble over all. Last week I had a few days that I had really bad migraines, but then I was fine. One thing that has become a pattern is getting sick after eating supper. It's kind of weird, because I'll be fine, and then I gotta get in the bathroom quick. At least I can tell when it's coming a little in advance. Roger has bee living with us a little over a month now. I feel bad for him that he has to be here when I'm sick and tired. Oh well, I guess he could go somewhere else if he wanted to. This next week our church is making the major schedule change. We are going to have a worship service at 10 AM for those who have parents and a ride. Then at 6 we will have Sunday School and an "outreach" type service. I think it will be good, especially in the morning. We won't be there this first week, as we will be going down to Corydon to celebrate Labor Day with John Brown's in-laws, the Wisemans. We're going to have a mumu and camp out. Hopefully I won't be sick, and this poison ivy will be better. John and Carla had their baby. Her name is Liberty Dawn. She looks like Carla, a lot. Anyways, that's what has happened in this last month. My garden is still not producing. I don't know if it will get done before the cold comes. I guess we'll see. Becky Smith is now Becky Bailey. She had a beautiful wedding in WV. We went with my parents and Nate. It was nice. We stayed in a cabin and went to look at the New River Gorge. We told my parents about our baby while we were there. They were happy and worried that they weren't old enough to be grandparents... :) Nate wanted to get counseling... :) Grandma was really excited and let out a little shout when we told her. Well, that's probably enough for today.

This week

Last Saturday I went to my parents' house and helped Mom freeze corn. I shucked almost 266 ears myself. There were a few that my mom did, but I did most of them. By the time we were done my hand had a cramp. :) Today I came back to my parents because Win went to KY to work. He sometimes goes there to work for several days at a time. I have a garden and it is coming up really good right now. The tomatoes, especially, are getting big. I have cucumbers and kale coming up from seed. My carrots, parsley, and lavender don't seem to be doing anything though. I'd like to get pictures up, but right now I don't have the technology to do it. Win and I are teaching Sunday school at Victory Chapel with the 8-11 year-olds. It is quite interesting at times. We just recently had a VBS and had quite a turnout- 85-95 kids almost every night. Now our pastor is thinking about having a completely different schedule for church and trying more to reach out to the teens and children, rather than adults. It will be interesting to see it actually play out. I don't know how it will go over with everyone that already comes to the church. I think it will be a major- upheaval. Roger Kuk is somewhere on his way to our house. He left PNG on Thursday and should be here soon. We actually aren't sure when he is coming, but he should be contacting Win pretty soon. I'm not sure how long he will stay; probably a month or two. Freda is going home this month, so we are having a going-away party for her this week on Saturday. Anyways, that's what's going on at our house lately.

Extremely Overdue News... :)

Just to update anyone actually reading my postings- I have been married now for 11 months! I am going to try to put pictures and updates on my blog more frequently now... who knows if I will actually do it though. Right now we don't have the internet, so it's a bit challenging sometimes. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!