exciting news and prayer requests

John and Christina have finally been able to set a wedding date! So they are now just weeks away from actually getting married and having to deal with the joy of combining two people worth of crap into one home.... I wish them luck (and have offered any extra crap from our house they might want-- think I have ANY chance convincing them to take some? We'll even haul it down to Florida for them if we have to!)

Sadly, the Tadpole's semi-imminent arrival means that we won't be able to join them for the big day-- but we wish them all the best and expect a ton of pictures and some cake to be sent to us. (definitely send me cake!) If we have to miss it while I am house-bound, I think I definitely deserve pastry of some form-- and I am thinking I will not be up to any spectacular feats of baking in those few weeks anyway.

Anyway, send your best wishes to them and say a prayer for Christina's continuing improvement in health and that her ordered dress gets here in time for their big day! (I don't trust David's bridal... but it is a pretty dress!)

I don't expect we'll get to see them before the wedding and their settling into Florida, but we are planning to get down to Florida at the end of April for a wedding in Craig's family-- so everyone should get to meet the Tadpole then.

If you've got a few extra moments in your prayers tonight, add one for my SIL and her husband who are waiting for the final permission to go get their little girl in Vietnam and bring her home where she belongs. They've been patient so far, but its been months and she is over there without her family!

YAY! I'm getting a new niece!

Craig and I got some exciting news yesterday-- Craig's sister and her family got the referral for their adorable baby girl who is currently waiting for them in Vietnam. We are both hoping for them to get over there quickly and bring her home for good! (And really, she is adorable... fuzzy haired and wide eyed--- I saw the picture!)

So yay to the whole family down there-- we're so very happy for you guys!



In other family news-- Christina is having a rough go of it-- so if you can spare a few minutes to say a prayer for her and my little brother-- they'd both really appreciate it!


Oh! And today marks 15 weeks pregnant for us! So far so good.

Way to go MOM!

My Mom ran her 5th? 6th? Triathalon this morning in somewhere godforsaken wisconsin they are referring to as "Chicagoland" Beyond the fact that at 50 she is going way faster than and far more dedicated than I am at 25-- its really cool because she's doing GREAT. Seriously, how many people do you know who can swim for 1/2 mile, bike 12 miles, and run 3.1 miles-- nonetheless finish it all in one morning! Mom's time this year was 2 hours 19 minutes and 12 seconds--- pretty darn impressive.

So way to go Mom (and Dad, her coach, cheerleader, driver, and equipment manager!) we are both super proud of you. (and envious of your great committment to fitness and yourself!)


FYI-- these triathalons are run by Danskin and the Susan G Komen Foundation--- they are exclusively for women, and have special oppurtunities for survivors of cancer. They are not run super-competetively-- it is the pride in accomplishment that seems to be the driving force. If you are at all interested, check out more information here!

Katie and James are Married!

Katie, my roomate from the first year of grad school got married this Saturday in Maryland. Craig, Kim and I were invited to see the big day and we carpooled down. They had a short outdoor ceremony in the early afternoon (whew... it was HOT out!) and then a lovely (air conditioned) reception. The cake was tasty! (no scary buttercream or tasteless fondant-- it was frosted in whipped cream!) It was a nice day and they happy couple well, looked very happy! Congrats to Katie and James!


Here is one quick picture of Craig and I from the reception-- Craig was enjoying the "Moby's"-- a special rum drink recipe from Katie's family-- so he had a pretty good time!

The remainder of this weekend was spent hiding in our room-- the only air conditioned room in the place-- amazingly, you can now see the floor-- we dug out all the boxes and bins of stuff and sorted out winter clothing that could be stored away in the attic or cellar for the next few months and now you can actually WALK in our room--without tripping! The plan is to allow the Murph and the poo-machine in the room tonight so they can enjoy the AC as well. I think for Tiki's well being... she'll be just as happy to stay out of there and have the run of the house in peace!

In the interest of peace I did rid myself of a few pairs of shoes this weekend as well-- Craig seems to beleive that two laundry baskets full is too many--- he fails to understand how I can NEED 5 different pairs of black sandals (the casual pair, the super high heel strappy ones, the semi-casual dress pair, the flip flops, the comfy but still dressy pair etc...) So I discarded a few pairs that were well past their prime-- including my FAVORITE sandals of all time-- these are the ones my mom called the "spartacus" sandals-- brown leather, criss-crossed straps, flat soles-- I wore these things to death-- across Europe, through college, they went with anything and were so very comfortable-- my dad had given them a second life with a few rivets 3 years ago-- and I had nursed them through last summer with glue and tacks-- but the time has come to say goodbye---and so this afternoon-- I tossed them in the trash--- of course-- this means I have to go get some new ones right?!?!?!

Craig is hiding in the cellar working on his HW for his online class-- its cool there and it means I get sole control over the TV! (so with a choice of 5 channels-- there's not too much to argue over-- but still!)

This week cake class starts up again on Tuesday and I've got my first full week with Undergrad Guy--- so it should be a busy week. I think I have one more fitting to go to with a friend for her wedding dress and I have to put together a wedding emergency kit to take to her wedding on June 16th--- its my turn to play "Kim" for a change and deal with all the nonsense that pops up so she doesn't have to worry-- Hrm... I should make sure the guest room isn't too bad either as we are keeping the groom the night before the wedding.

Big news over at my SIL's blog-- she's got all her paperwork to Vietnam and is #1 on the waiting list for a little girl--- looks like our new niece will be here before too long!

And as for my future SIL-- she's a trooper-- she survived her first entire weekend at my parents this weekend! And my Mom only had wonderful things to say-- about her and about her pup who came to visit too! So apparently the nuttiness that is my family hasn't completely scared her off-- and we are thrilled that she'll be one of us!