My Mom's Birthday Surprise!

     This last week, my husband and I went to Colorado to surprise my mom for her 50th birthday. My dad was literally the only one who knew about it. My mom was very surprised! So much so, that she cried... see video below. :)

Josh put his niece, Norah to sleep last week. :)

     While in Colorado, my family, husband and I visited with a few close friends, visited a cupcake place that my friend works at, fellowshipped with many wonderful friends, and had a wonderful time celebrating my mom's 50th birthday! :-)
     On our last day there, on a Sunday, during church, I was pretty sure I felt our baby move, but wasn't positive. By the time my husband and I got onto the plane to head back to Ohio, baby James was kicking me non-stop! Now, I can see my belly move every once in a while when he kicks. The joy it brings me to know there's a baby growing inside of me is amazing! I've only ever imagined having kids, and now it's starting to become a reality! Enjoy the photo's from this last week!

Josh and I opened some baby gifts from friends at church this last Sunday. Thank you to all that gave us such sweet gifts for baby James! 

An adorable outfit that my parents got for their 1st grandbaby!

Leading our busy lives

We got back on Friday night from our annual trip to Texas for Thanksgiving. Our family was able to take a     moment and... rest... some what. 

We were within an hour of our house, and BOOM, our tire blew! :( Thankfully we had a spare in the trunk, but we made it safely home.

As I was unpacking last night, and this morning, I took a moment and prayed. I thanked God that we had a wonderful trip, and that we made it home safely. I thanked God that we noticed some good changes with some of our family members, and friends. And I thanked God that we are so blessed! 

On Saturday, we had gotten our Christmas Tree, had our traditional chili, fudge, Christmas lights hanging, and Christmas movie watching. Our friends came over for a couple hours, and it was so fun! 

But again, on Sunday, our rest didn't stop! ;) We had gone to church, had our church potluck, and then took my dad to the airport so that he can be refreshed in the morning for his class in Chicago.

You know, I don't think we will get to rest, until after Christmas. ;)

As I was contemplating this week what I was going to get accomplished, I had to stop and think. I had so many things to get done on my "list". So much to do before "this event" or "that event".

I was wondering, "Did Jesus have a list?" I list of, "heal this person at this time, at this place". No, Jesus knew what was going to happen, he didn't need a list. Sometimes, things happen that aren't on our "list". A child might get sick, you might get in a car wreck, a friend might need you, a loved one might be struggling... etc... all of these made me realize just how important it is to lay our burdens down at the foot of the cross.

Last night, I was doing some shopping, and I had stopped at Starbucks because I had a free coffee to use for that day only. I thought to myself, "I'll just run in, come back out and go to Target to see if they have the shoes I've been wanting for years." I got into the Suburban, and BAM... the car wouldn't start. So, I called my brother, and one thing led to another, we had to call a tow truck. I started to get so upset, but then after a while I realized, "God's plans, are NOT my own plans." Maybe God prevented me from going because I could have been in a car wreck that night and died. Or maybe, God wanted to teach me patience and contentment! ;) Whatever the case may be, we need to STOP what we're doing, and thank God that we're still here, and that he's not finished with us... even in our busy lives. ;) So, make time for HIM!

What else could go wrong?

Our Trip back from Texas was quite an experience. The night before we left, our A/C went out...in the middle of Texas. So, you guessed it; windows rolled down the entire way to Colorado. There was never a break. So, we couldn't listen to any of our audio that we saved. The first gas station we stopped at, we put the car into reverse, and...our transmission went out. Thankfully, we told our family and friends about it, they all prayed for us, and we made it safely to our house without another problem.

My cousins wedding was wonderful!!! The only bad part was that all the brides maids and one bride groom got sick with some virus that night and the next day. The Bride didn't show a sign of sickness though, so no one suspected it.

My time with my family/cousins/Aunt's/Uncle's/Grandparents was wonderful! I have never seen so many people happy.

On Friday morning we found out about the shooting that happened in Aurora Colorado, and found out that our friends the "Lane's" had a friend who was seriously wounded and that the Doctor's were doing a surgery on her brain. Thankfully, Petra is doing wonderful! And to think that I was at Petra's graduation...wow!

so, that is our trip...we arrived on Sunday night all very hot and tired. Our family reaunion was wonderful, and we talked, played, and sang. I have posted some pictures of where the wedding was and a few others...

Amish Trip / Vacation Day 7, 8, 9, and 10

Hi Everyone,
sorry I haven't posted in a while...but I haven't had internet access for a few days...obviously. Oh well. I should be back home tomorrow night, so pray for safe travels!
~Caitlin

5-27-12

This morning we woke up, and after all of us got breakfast from the Hotel, we started packing from the car. I suggested that because it was Sunday, that we do a Bible Study or devotional…so that’s what we did. After that, we were on the road. We continued on the road, and when lunch time hit, we made meat Sandwiches in the car. We continued on the road until about 4:00 in the afternoon, and stopped at a gas station to let everyone use the restroom…it’s a good thing we did too, because we asked the man at the front desk where “Walnut St.” was, (that would be where the Gebhard’s family son and daughter-in-law live) and he told us that we literally just passed it, so with anticipation, we turned around, and were there in 3 minutes. After staying there for about an hour, we all went to get pizza. After we ate, we all went to sleep.

5-28-12

We woke up, all of us, very tired!!! I slept on the only couch, and sorry to say, had/has a nest of spiders living in it. I was scared the whole night after we killed the first 2 spiders. As the day went on, Joe brought home a turtle, and Christian was playing with it. We went to go see the Amish that day and came back to the container the turtle was staying in…and it was gone!!! We searched all over for it, but it was nowhere to be found. We have a lot of assumptions to where it could have gone, but we don’t know for sure…any way’s, we found a grand total of 6 spiders all of today…and they were mostly on the couch! (Yikes! To think I slept on them) so…because it was Memorial Day, we had a Barbecue to make it feel more like Memorial Day. That night when Joe and Tiffany went to work, we got out the vacuum, and cleaned the couch out…unfortunately, a lot of the spiders are hiding in the back end or somewhere else, where we can’t reach them. We also got out the comet cleanser and scrubbed the bathroom, since Tiffany hasn’t had the time since their wedding 2 months ago, plus working a job.
Any way’s, getting to the Amish; we visited so many Amish in the Bowling Green, Missouri area. It is so interesting to see the different kinds of styles they have per community. For this particular community, they had a typewriter….you know the old ones from the movies…ding, ding, ding, slide over…yeah! They also sell “English” items in their store…pretty interesting!!!

3-29-12

This morning we woke up, and…had a terrible night sleep. None of us slept on the couch, because of the whole spider thing. So, we slept on the floor…let me tell you…we had sore backs that night, but it’s over with. We traveled all day today, until we got to the Mr. and Mrs. Gebhard’s daughter (the Gebhard’s children’s sister) - Danielle and Chad with their 2 cute children, with one on the way!

3-30-12

We woke up in the morning, and went to the Omaha Nebraska zoo!!! The Gebhard’s wanted to show me how big it was. I guess it’s one of the biggest Zoo’s in the country… any way’s, I have to say…that is an AMAZING ZOO!!! I loved it! I even got to hold cute little Shayleigh who’s She’s one! After that, we came home had some good ol’ Little Caesars Pizza.

Amish Trip / Vacation Day 5 and 6

On Friday the 25th we drove around looking at Mennonite homes that sold jams/jellies/soaps and stuff in their booth/shed on their driveway. I did get

pictures with some of the Mennonites, but they asked us not to share it on the Internet, so I thought I'd post some pictures of the farm instead.

This morning (Saturday) we drove all over in Ethridge Tennessee to see the Amish. There was a shop that sold Amish things, and plus their was a home cooked meal restaurant connected to the store. I can tell you one thing...I love the Tennessee accents!!!

Their was an older gentlemen named "Dannie" who had 12 children all grown and married, and yes...100 + grandchildren!!! (I am not joking!!!) He was tel

ling us about the Amish belief, and the way they dress/talk, and do other things. After that we went into their little woodworking house, and boy their was stacks and stacks of saw dust all over the place, but the end result...beautiful furniture!!!
After that, we were on the road...again!

~Caitlin

Amish Trip / Vacation

Hello all!!! So far the vacation is going wonderful!!! On Monday late afternoon we arrived at our friends the "Tjaden's" house. We had a wonderful time visiting with them!!! (for those of you who don't know, the Tjaden's are our old time friends from Colorado that moved to Missouri 4 years ago) We were originally going to stay with them overnight, but Mrs. Gebhard's was having allergy problems with the cats...so, we stayed at a close

Motel/Hotel that night.

The next morning, we all met at a dollar store, and caught an Amish man and buggy. To respect them, unfortunately I couldn't take a picture...so, I guess you'll have to believe me ; ) the Amish people are so very friendly by the way. After that, we went to an Auction that Amish sell their produce at, and then we went to "Anna's" house...she is an Amish, along with her husband and children. We looked at their farm, went inside their house, and even got a long buggy ride. I have posted some pictures of the Amish house inside and out. After that we went to McDonald's to eat lunch before heading to a volleyball game that the Tjaden's were in...they won by the way!!! After the game, to celebrate, we went to McDonald's again...I had a coffee-something...anyway's, that was so fun!!!

The next morning, we went to the "Little House on the Prairie Historical Si

te"...that was so much fun!!! (Especially with the Tjaden's) After touring the Ingalls/Wilder house, we were on the road again. We came to a hotel that night and we all so tired, went straight to bed. This morning, we swam in the pool after eating breakfast. After that. we were on the road again...beautiful views by the way!!! ; )

Here are some pictures below...

Amish Trip Day 1

That Saturday afternoon when I left, there was much crying from the girls of the family! After we said our goodbyes, we went to eat at Country Buffet, and once again, met my family and our friends the, “Colorado’s” there on accident…so we stayed their talking and celebrating until about 7:45 p.m. After that, we went to the Gerhard’s house, and got ready to leave the next morning.

Sunday the 20^th of May:

On the first day of our trip, this is what we saw most of the time…

We went through Kansas, and when I say Kansas, yes I mean the flat part. : ) (sorry Kansas people) that’s when you take a book out and read…

For lunch we had meat sandwiches, with Twizzlers, and Pringles. For the road, we had sweet ice cold lemon tea…yum!!! We read, talked, and listened to music. I drove for 2 hours, before handing the car back over. Along the way, there was at least 20 people over each bridge that we went under, and this is what we saw...

Vacation

Hello fellow bloggers!
I have a huge opportunity! My friend, "Aubrey" will be graduating tomorrow. Instead of a reception, she wanted to go see the Amish/Mennonite country to see what it's like and what they do every day...and she asked me to go with her and her family! So...I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon after her graduation. I will be gone for about 2 weeks, and while I'm gone, I'm going to get very limited Internet access unless we stay at a hotel/motel that has FREE Wifi...so I will try to post as often as possible on my trip, but no promises. ; ) I will post as many pictures as my computer will allow.
Thank you all for being a part of my blog!
Your fellow blogger,
~Caitlin Baughman