Rob's Easter Trip to Isreal

Yes, you read that right. Rob's trip. Not Rob & Bri's Trip. (Do I sound a little pouty?- probably, but I wish I could have gone, too.) Rob had a mission to Isreal with work over the last few weeks. (Though he admits they probably only worked maybe 3 days while he was there.) Most of the time they were able to sight-see and chill on the beach (while it was snowing here in Mannheim for Easter).

Rob forgot to take the camera so once we get the pictures promised by his work buddies I will post some on here. Until then you can see the goodies that he brought home:

Lots of Bath Salts and Other Bubbly goodies from the Dead Sea.
Matching Jerusalem Crosses.

And Olive Wood Bibles. (Check out 1 King 6 for the Biblical use of olive wood.)

*Sigh*, ok so I didn't get to go- but I am glad that Rob had the chance to go, have fun and spend Easter in the Holy Land itself.

Tagged!

What's that, you ask? It's a blog game. Jill tagged me...here are the rules:You have to tag 5 people and you can't tag the person that tagged you. You leave them a comment on their blog letting them know you are tagging them and why. Also, direct them to your blog for instructions. It is also asked that you notify the tagger when you post your list so that they can enjoy reading the responses.

Here are 10 things about me:
1. I think Chocolate & Peanut Butter is the best marriage there is in the food world.
2. Most of you know I do the sign language thing for work- but did you know I actually majored in Spanish? (¿ Qué fuerte, no?)
3. I have a daisy on my toe (and a whole silly song that goes with it.)
4. I had to relearn how to ride a bike. (So the saying isn't really true.) I had a really bad accident when I was 6 and refused to ride for 4 years- then I had to learn again at age 10.
5. I love Winnie-the-Pooh stuff. (Classic Pooh is best of course.)
6. I went 10 months without driving even once while in college.
7. Numbers have personalities and gender to me. 8 is a bully. 7 & 5 are sweethearts. (I actually saw this talked about on Oprah so I'm not the only one!)
8. Yes, I do NOT like the number 8 very much. My favorite number is 23- same as my B-day.
9. All through elementary school I practiced to be a professional jump rope instructor. (They do have these- they entertain and compete all over like gymnastics.)
10. I know what that tiny gap of air between the bottom of the cap and the top of the liquid of a bottle of water is called- the ullage. (Someday this will help me win in final Jeopardy!)

Ok, I tag:
Destiny, because she seems to love these kind of things, and I love her.
Tawney, because I enjoy her blog.
Sarah, because she's such a sweetie.
Kaila, because her 10 things will be fun to read.
Becca, because she needs a new blog post.

Oh Boy!

Talked to my best friend Kristen who is expecting in July and she is having a boy- so I guess my therory about it being the year of girls has a glitch.
But God has given her peace about this. She thought she wanted a girl but she said when she heard it would be another boy she was surprised that she wasn't even a little bit blue about it. And God even had the timing down. (Well, silly me- of course He does!) This second son will be born almost exactly 2 years after his big brother, Matthew. Not only will all the baby clothes match for summer/ winter and size but since they don't have any cousins yet- the brothers will hopefully find a friend in eachother growing up together.
Oh, I can't wait to go back to Washington this summer for a visit and to see Kristen and cuddle her 2 year old and this brand new baby-to-be!

It May Not be an Alligator Purse...

but they are Croc Shoes!

Ok, probably not my most wonderful post but hey I love them! I got new Winnie the Pooh Jibbitz to go on my crocs. I already had the frog, grasshopper and turtle (and, yes, his head is missing so I may replace him- or I could just say he's hiding in his shell.) In the mail yesterday I got Pooh, Eeyore & Piglet. For some reason they would not send Tigger to an APO address so he will have to wait for now. I'm sure these will not be the last to adorn my feet so I'll share when I get some more (because I'm sure you all must be on the edge of your seat, dying to know what shoe button I will get next, right?) ...Oh, well, thanks for humoring me.

A Lake Monster?

On Saturday I talked to my mom who was talking about finally having a view of a lake again (they are building a house on Angle Lake near SeaTac Airport). She had mentioned that the other day it was all smooth and still like a mirror but that that day there were a few ripples.

Then she went on to say that my dad had gotten up to go to work at 4am. When she woke up a couple hours later she noticed the telescope had been set up aimed at the lake. We both wondered if Dad could have noticed something in the lake that needed closer inspection. And could those ripples actually be something moving under the surface of the water and not merely the wind?

Well, yesterday Rob and I went to see "The Water Horse". It is a cute almost "Free Willy" like movie about how the Loch Ness Monster came to be known. And now I am convinced that there just must be an Angle Lake Monster (shall we call her Angie?) living in there. What other explanation could there be, right?

(The movie just confirmed my suspicions and served as reasearch back-up.) And if there were a lot of ripples I wonder if she doesn't have her own litter of baby monsters. I will have to get some more updates from my folks and will keep you posted. And then I will be brave and go for a swim there myself when I go visiting there this July in an attempt to befriend Angie. Until then we'll have to see if local Enquirer has any news! Oh, how exciting!

Another Point for Team Girl!

I was sent a pic of my friend's baby girl born in January- so that makes 2 girls for '08.
And for those that are wondering about last year- it was about equal boys and girls as far as the babies of my friends.

Year of the Girl?

Wow. I competely forgot to post the results of the bloodwork I had mentioned in an earlier post. The reason I forgot is probably because there really isn't much to share. Everything came out normal and hormonally (that is a word, right?) there is no reason I can't get pregnant. Of course, there are many other possible reasons that would require more tests that they won't do until we have been trying for a year so we are simply waiting.

On a more interesting note- I wonder if 2008 will be the year of the girls. Back in 2006 I knew of 12 people having a baby. Every s-i-n-g-l-e one of those babies was a boy! My niece was born in December of 2005 so she just made it. (A couple weeks longer and she would have had to be a boy, right?) Well, so far I know the sex of one of my pregnant friends- and it is a girl. I'll have to wait and see what the others are- and I'll keep you posted so we can see if this is the year of the girl just like it was the year of the boy two years ago.

Retreat! Retreat!

No, I'm not calling out orders to turn back. I just have been on retreats these past two weekends.
The first, over presidents' weekend was with a dozen middle schoolers to Escape. It was a fun filled, pirate themed retreat to have fun and learn more about God. (Walk the plank to save your life!) It was great to see so many middle schoolers -- even while dressed as pirates in team colors--all on so involved in worship and hearing what Rob, the speaker had to share with them from the Word. Arrrgh! Go Team Blue!
This last weekend was a marriage retreat with Rob's unit. While it was great to focus on our relationship, get away and visit with others from the unit-- we also got to learn about "in sickness and in health."
I became really sick with a cough, stuffy nose, chills, and a fever over 103. Luckily that is mostly gone now- but Rob was quite the hero in figuring out how to get hot water for a bath from a hotel room that still had a rotary phone and plumbing probably just as old.
All in all though, as fun as retreats are, there is just no place like home.

Army Briefing

The Army has briefings all the time and I have overlooked telling you all the latest Army news for us since it happened at the end of Jan. and this blog was started at the beginning of February. Let me catch you up...
Rob has been in for 8 1/2 years. We just reenlisted for 6 more years of Army fun.-- That will put us until January 2014. (We also recieved a nice bonus for doing so.) As much as we wanted to get home, Ft. Lewis was not an option for us so we decided to extend to stay here in Germany an extra year (until May 2010). -- So, we would love for our friends and family to feel free to come and visit us!

We decided to stay here since Rob is not getting deployed (why move to another unit that might be?), we are able to travel through more of Europe, we love our chapel community, work, and being able to finish school. Rob wants to go to flight school to be a helicopter pilot. So depending on when we turn in our Warrent Officer packet (and if they accept us of course) we might leave a little early to head off to Ft. Rucker Alabama for a 1 & 1/2 of flight school. After that we simply have to wait and see where we might go.

It is exciting to know that we really have committed ourselves to be career military. After much discussion, thought and prayer we feel that this was where God was directing our path. *Whoo* We made it around that bend in the road-- only to realize there are many more ahead that we have to wait and trust to get around.

Baby (Baby) Blues

Many of our friends (& the family) knows we are trying for a little one. I have an appointment next week to find out the results of some blood tests related to just why the stork seems to be getting lost.

In the meantime I am getting the Baby Blues (just a baby-colored blue mind you, not a royal blue yet- so I'm only a little bummed about the no baby our way bit.) It just seems everyone I know- at least 7 friends and celebrities- are having a baby this year. (J-Lo is even having twins it turns out!)

Looking at the big picture though there are many clear reasons why it is a blessing to not quite have our little blessing yet on the way. So, really I am ok because God is making His reasons for this wait very clear-- and while He doesn't have to do that --I am very thankful He is helping me see the big picture.

Still I hope that whatever seems to be in the water doesn't get filtered out before I get a taste!