Monday, April 30, 2007
I'm an Aunt!
I was ecstatic yesterday when I got the call. My nephew had finally decided to enter the world! Joshua Andrew Bennett was born at 8:58 a.m. He was 6 lbs 14 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He has brown hair and blue eyes and is as cute as a button!
I was glad he was born on a Sunday because I was able to go spend the afternoon with Andy, Elissa and Joshua that way. It would have been more difficult to take time off of work had he been born during the week. It was amazing to be holding him only hours after he had been in the womb. Such a small and precious little guy. 
It's quite sur real to think Andy and Elissa are parents and I'm an Aunt! Tears of joy have come a few times. I'm just overwhelmed with the miricle of life.
Elissa was doing really well when I saw her. We're praising God for a speedy and safe delivery. She was only in labor for 7 hours which is amazing! Even so, giving birth is quite an achievement. Kudos to her! And kudos to Andy for being such a loving husband and great daddy. He even changed Joshua's diaper a couple times while I was there. Of course he offered the job to me but I declined...although one of the diapers was so messy it was a two person job and I ended up helping. 
My heart is filled to the brim with joy...I can't imagine what it's like to be a mother....Elissa must be about ready to burst with happiness. What a gift.Jamie at 7:20 PM
Michelle's Bachlorette Party
Friday night we surprised Michelle with a bachlorette party. She thought she was going to Flat Top Grill for dinner with her sister who had come up from Indy to spend the weekend with her. She was really confused when she ended up at Club Soda and we were all there to welcome her! We enjoyed an evening of delicious food and great company. 
Christen made the tiara veil for Michelle to wear and gave her some fun beaded necklaces to wear. One of them was a hottie whistle. Whenever she saw a cute guy she was supposed to blow the whistle...well she didn't really play along with that game...but it was funny anyway. There was a wedding party there having their rehearsal dinner and the groom kept standing up and giving speaches. He was a bit wasted, I'd say, and at one point he was probably standing on his chair giving his speach for about a half hour. I think Michelle attempted to blow the whistle to get him to sit down and stop making a fool of himself, but nonetheless, it didn't work.
I had a salad, grilled chicken, and aged, cheesy, mashed pototoes. The potatoes were the best by far! I'm really glad the no smoking law is going into effect soon. Club Soda is a bar, so smoking is free for all. My clothes smelled just aweful when we left...not to mention the fact that the smell left me with little appetite which made it difficult to really enjoy my food. It is a fun atmoshere though and we did have a great time together.
Above are pictures of Christin and Kari making some funny faces. When you get these two girls together it's a hoot! If one starts laughing, watch out! Once they get to laughing there's no stopping them for quite some time. After Club Soda we went back to Christin and Michelle's apartment. Below you'll see us wrapping some presents and doing final preperations for the party before Michelle showed up. We told Linda (Michelle's sister) to drive her around for a while so we could get set up).
After she opened her gifts we put on some music and danced the night away. Well, some danced the night away...I tried a bit, but I must admit I'm a terrible dancer. Christin has it down...so maybe she'll teach me some moves since we'll be roommates soon. I landed in bed at 1 a.m. which is totally uncharacteristic for me even on the weekend. But hey, a late night here and there is fun...it keeps me young, right?Jamie at 6:53 PM
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Ahhh, Spring has Sprung
It was 77 degrees today and absolutely gorgious! I spent part of the afternoon outside basking in the sun. Quite a change from last week! Angie, Randy and I went downtown to Headwaters Park this evening and took in a Japanese festival. I had green tea ice cream...let's just say it was a great thing to taste test but I won't be craving it ever again.Well, it looks like our background check and paperwork cleared for the apartment complex...so it's official...we're good to go. I've officially packed two boxes...both are filled with books and I have a feeling I might end up repacking them into smaller boxes. Oh well.
I'm still waiting for my nephew to be born. If he's going to come in April...this week is it! I know Andy and Elissa would like him to come in April, but I'm guessing it will be May 2nd since that's when the next full moon is. We'll see how good my guestimate turns out. I'll keep you posted!
Jamie at 9:58 PM
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Sunday Night Popcorn
Well, it's Sunday night and I'm doing one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday evening...eating popcorn and drinking Dr. Thunder (Sam's Club's version of Dr. Pepper). Last time I was eating popcorn for dinner I talked to Claire on skype...and I was informed I should never just have popcorn for dinner. Sorry, Claire. I just like it...and I only have it once a week if that.It's the middle of April and we had snow actually accumulate yesterday! Unbeleivable! Ofcourse it's gone today since the sun melted it. I'm ready for some warmer spring weather.
Things are beginning to get lined up for my move. Angie decided to NOT sell her house for the time being...so that means I don't have to worry about the possibility of moving out earlier than I had intended... which is a very good thing. Christin and I landed on a place to live and are just waiting to hear back from them on our paperwork. They have to run a background check on us and probably a credit report. But they're currently holding an apartment for us and we plan to move at the end of July.
The apartment is what they call roommate friendly. It has two bedrooms the same exact size, two walk-in closets the same exact size, and two bathrooms the same exact size. It's a complex so it will have perks such as a pool, fitness room, maintenance, etc. I still think I'm going to miss living in a house with a large yard and garage to park my car in. Oh well, you give a little and you take a little, right?
My motivation for sorting through things has slowed down a bit. When I look at the big picture it seems like such a daunting task. I've already set aside a lot of stuff to get rid of. Three more months and I'll be moving...ready or not here it comes.
I've taken this weekend to get a few things done and also to relax. Part of me has a difficult time relaxing knowing all I need to accomplish within the next few months...but alas, rest is good. I continue to learn that delicate balance.
Jamie at 6:16 PM
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
My 25th Birthday!
Well, can you believe it? I'm 25 years old now... a quarter of a century. I feel 25 years old just becuase I've been preparing myself for this birthday for the last few months. I guess I thought it would be depressing to turn 25 or something, but once it got here I had been thinking about turning 25 for so long it didn't seem odd. Maybe turning 26 years old will be hard?I'm thankful for my friends and family who made my birthday special. It started a week early with Michelle, Christin, and Kari (all girls from my small group). We went to the Olive Garden and enjoyed a delicious meal! The servers even sang Happy Birthday to me Olive Garden style!
By the way, Christin...my soon to be roommate, is the one sitting directly across from me. Toward the beginning of my birthday week, a freeze warning went out. I was quite sad about this considering all the spring flowers were already blooming! So, I did what any girl would do...I cut them and brought spring inside! I used my Grandma Verna's tea pot for the vase and it worked pefectly!
It snowed off and on all week...including my birthday! I only remember it snowing one other time on my birthday and that was when I turned 15. I also had mono that year. Here's a picture of our back yard deck I took on my birthday...proof that it did indeed snow.
My parents sent me a birthday package so I decided to open it up at work on Friday. I was pleasantly surprised to find new dishwear inside! I love the cheerfulness they bring! They're pictured below.
After the Good Friday service at church Christin, Michelle and Andy (Michelle's fiance), and I went out for icecream at Cold Stone Creamery. Yummy!
Betsy and Gerson called me first thing in the morning on Friday and sang me happy birthday. Gerson even sang in English while harmonizing...I was quite impressed! I spoke with Peter for a half hour on Saturday. It was quite a treat since I havn't been able to talk with him since he was deployed in January. And then I wrapped up the weekend with Andy and Elissa at their place on Sunday. We hung out, took naps together, played Dominos and ate some very yummy food! Andy and I had a fun wrestling match and luaghed until my stomach was sore. All in all, it was a great celebration!
Jamie at 8:23 PM
