Thanksgiving

Nov 30, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
Our Thanksgiving started off with a sweat. Joey, my brother Christian and I ran a 5K Turkey Trot at 8 AM and then went straight to the gym where other family members joined us for Body Pump taught by my sister-in-law, who is 8 months pregnant by the way. Body Pump kicked our booties but it was fun to support Nina and earn our Thanksgiving meal!

We had about 17 people at our Thanksgiving feast, and we had our official "Thanksgiving Weigh-in". The weigh-in requires everyone to weigh themselves before we sit down to eat, and then whenever you feel like you can't eat another bite you weigh yourself again to see how much you gained. I gained a measly 3.6 pounds. Joe gained 4.4. The official winner was my younger brother who consumed an entire food baby weighing 7.6 pounds! Gross. Runner up was my older brother with 6.6 pounds.

We spent the rest of the day watching the Cowboys game, the movie "Up" and painting Christmas ornaments. It was a really nice Thanksgiving. We were definitely tired at the end of our big day.

Friday we celebrated my dad's birthday. We saw Disney's Christmas Carol in 3D. The movie wasn't bad but I think most of us forgot that about 85% of the movie is actually depressing. The animation was incredible and A Christmas Carol is always a classic must-see around the holidays. Our evening ended with our car being towed. It was quite the impressive tow because we were in and out of a restaurant in 10 minutes with our to-go order. The tower had to have been sitting right in the parking lot just waiting to pounce. Jerks! $115 later we had our car back safe and sound.
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My Grand 30th Birthday

Nov 29, 2009 - Sun: Heidi
I realized I never wrote an update on my birthday (October 2). My birthday was so great. I really do think it was one of my favorites. It was sort of a birthday weekend. I went to lunch with an amazing lady from our church and when I came home I was greeted by two dozen red roses and a clean house! I was so surprised because I had the car, which meant Joey had walked down to Costco to get the roses while I was gone. So sweet. Good husband.

Friday night Joey took me to dinner at Cheesecake Factory, which is always so good and one of our favorites. Saturday morning Joey surprised me and took me to a farm where we went horseback riding! It was an hour and a half ride with about 10-12 other people. It was a great ride and we even got to go through some water on our horses!

Saturday afternoon we met up with my family at Georgetown Mall. I had no idea what we were doing but slowly everyone started handing me gift cards or certificates with different denominations and told me I was going on a shopping spree! This has always been my dream birthday gift! After shopping we tried a new restaurant called Bangkok Bistro. The food was great and I was really proud of my family for trying something different. After dinner we went back to my parents' place where my mom had decorated the dining room with a Fall theme. I got an adorable cupcake holder that my mom immediately whisked away and filled with specialty cupcakes she had gotten from Whole Foods. The cupcakes were beautiful and each was a different flavor. And that was my grand 30th birthday!
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St. Louis Surprise

Oct 04, 2009 - Sun: Heidi
We can finally write about Joey's surprise trip to St. Louis to surprise his friend Josh for his 30th birthday! Josh's wife Nikki threw a surprise 80's party for him and when Joe got the invitation in the mail we both decided it would be a fun thing for Joe to be able to be there. So on Friday, September 25 with his rockin' 80's outfit in hand (thanks to Salvation Army) Joe flew to St. Louis to spend the weekend with Josh and his family. He even got to go to his first NFL game to see the St. Louis Rams play the Green Bay Packers. He had such a great time and loved getting to spend time with an old friend. We'll have to post a picture of his stellar 80's outfit when we get one.
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DAC on Oct 10, 2009

Woah! I had no idea I could leave a comment on here. Too cool! Well, glad to hear that Joey had a fun time surprising his friend. Please upload a photo for the world to see. :) Did he fly wearing his costume- that would've been sweet! And share about your birthday, and what you did!! I'm going to bake you a cake when I get home. Love you and miss you! PS- Weren't you supposed to come up to PA when Joe was in St. Louis??

A new niece or nephew

Sep 21, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
I just realized I don't think I've announced yet that in December we will have either another niece or nephew. Christian and Nina are expecting their second kid sometime mid-December. Joe has already come up with a plan to stay Naomi's favorite uncle - Not pay any attention to the new baby and only play with Naomi. I have to remind him how much he loved holding Naomi as a baby though. He was (and still is) a huge sucker for that girl!
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Stage ZERO

Sep 08, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
MAJOR PRAISE! Our friend Dallas came out to DC at the end of June to go through an intensive holistic nutrition program with my brother and sister-in-law to fight her throat cancer. Dallas found out this weekend after testing that all three of her TUMORS ARE GONE and she has gone from stage 3/4 to stage 0 in two months! We had never even heard of stage 0. Nonetheless, we are ecstatic and now praying for what the next phase of Dallas' life will be.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the program Dallas is going through or find resources can check out Health and Wholeness or contact Christian and Nina directly (their contact info is listed on the website).
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Wii Fit

Aug 30, 2009 - Sun: Joe
After church we decided to play some Wii Fit together. It's been a while since Heidi has played and I'm not sure she understands the concept of it.


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Pick your own Fruit

Aug 29, 2009 - Sat: Joe
In an effort to do something fun that we haven't done before we decided to find an orchard and pick our own fruit. Hartland Orchard is about 30 minutes west of us and we drove out to pick some peaches. To our surprise we also found they had raspberries as well. We ended up getting about 10 pounds of peaches for $8 and 2 pints of raspberries for $8. We also got a dozen corn on the cob while we were there. It was a beautiful sunny day but pretty humid too. We've made a couple peach and raspberry smoothies and will enjoy the corn next weekend at a cabin in West Virginia.


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You can never have too much of a good thing

Aug 27, 2009 - Thu: Heidi
This is what happens when your grocery store decides to have a buy 2 get 3 free special.


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The Wedding: Full version

Aug 27, 2009 - Thu: Heidi
Everything about the wedding was beautiful and elegant. Heather (my sister) has always had very elegant taste so the Meridian was a perfect location for her wedding - a beautiful, historic mansion with winding staircases, chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling windows.

The event was black tie optional so everyone got to play dress up for the evening. Men in tuxes (Joey was an usher) and girls in long gowns. Our bridesmaid dresses which were a light mocha color with a champagne sash were long and tufted just like Heather's gown. Even the adorable little flower girls had long, tufted gowns.

The ceremony started off with a slight scare as I walked down the aisle, stood in my position as "Lady of Honor" (matron of honor just sounded so...matronly!), and almost had a panic attack as I realized I had managed to walk down the aisle without the groom's ring. I (hopefully) covertly looked to my older brother in the first row and pointed to my ring as I mouthed that I didn't have Chuck's ring. Christian quickly relays the message to his wife Nina and to Joey, who slyly slip out a side door to find the ring, as Heather is making her bridal entrance. They managed to locate the ring and after returning to their seats they passed the ring through the bridesmaids to me. Phew! The not-so-funny thing was that ALL day I kept worrying that we would get to the "Do you have the rings?" portion of the ceremony and I would have to hold up one finger to the audience and say "Excuse me one moment" and run to get the ring. So close!

Everything else from the night went pretty much without a hitch. The reception which was also at the Meridian was an hors douevres reception (catered by G.Elliot's Catering all the way from Florida, and who happens to be our uncle) accompanied by 18th Century English dancing (think Pride and Prejudice). The dancing was the perfect complement to the evening and incredibly fun. In the ballroom there were three musicians who played the grand piano, the fiddle and cello while a dance master dressed in 18th century attire taught guests the dances. It was so much fun and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, including Christian who hates anything even remotely Pride and Prejudice-esque!

I will post more pictures as soon as I get some. I do have to say a HUGE Thank You to Holly, Carissa, Brianna, Hope and Kerry for all your help at the wedding. Yall were truly amazing and you have no idea how much you blessed us.
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The Wedding: Short version

Aug 24, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
My sister Heather got married Friday night to Chuck Paris at the historic Meridian House in Washington DC. The wedding went really well and we had so much fun with family and friends at the reception dancing 18th Century dances!


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My little Coulter sisters

Aug 06, 2009 - Thu: Heidi
I got to hang out with two of the greatest girls yesterday, Dominique and Rachel. We basically just hung out, acted girlie, ate Chipotle and wandered around an outdoor shopping mall for awhile. I always love chatting with these two sisters and love how they interact with each other. I can't believe this summer is almost over and they will be heading to college in a couple of weeks. Where did the summer go?! Rachel is already hard at work convincing us to visit her at Wheaton next year...she fears everyone is going to forget her and everything will change once she leaves! I assure her that isn't the case and some changes will be welcomed after being away at school for a year. Freshman jitters. Dominique and I got to sit on their front porch swing and talk for a long time which was so refreshing. I will miss you when you leave, Dominique! Love you girls!
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Big & Lil D's Diner

Aug 04, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
On Saturday we got to meet up with our friends James and Katie at Big & Lil D's Diner in Strasburg, VA for a charity event they were having. Katie's mom and her husband are the diner owners. We had good burgers for lunch and of course milk shakes for dessert! It was our first time visiting the diner and it was great getting to spend time with friends!


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Summer Camp

Aug 04, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
We've been back for a little over a week and I realized I haven't written an update on summer camp. I started off the trip in true "my bus always has the problems" fashion. Before we even pulled out of the church parking lot, we were informed that the air conditioning wasn't really working but we were going to try driving for a few miles to see if things would change. As things started heating up to sauna like temperatures, we realized we were in no way going to be able to make the 5 hour drive on that bus. So, our bus took a little detour from the other two to switch buses. I have to give kudos to the teens for making the switch in only 6 minutes! All in all, however, the switch added about an hour and a half to our time. Interesting note: our bus still beat the other two buses! They had tried to stall (i.e. take a break at a rest stop) and allow us to catch up a little more.

Once we got past the whole bus switch-a-roo, the rest of the week went well! The summer camp is at Appalachian Bible College/Alpine Ministries in Bradley, WV. Joe and I both loved being outdoors away from all of life’s busy-ness for the week and we both really enjoyed our small groups. Joe and I got to do white water rafting together which was great despite the fact that we were the only two that actually fell out of our raft. Wait…I take that back, one of our guides (who was tagging along in our raft on his day off) fell out too so we didn't feel so bad! White water rafting is always one of my favorite parts of camp and it was even better getting to raft with Joey!

One thing that was different for me this year was that I was asked to speak to the high school girls (juniors, seniors and graduates going off to college this year). Our theme this year was 'Direction Determines Destination' and how the path we are on now and decisions we make now determine where we are headed or where we will end up. I was asked to speak to the girls about (guy/girl) relationships and how our decisions in those relationships affect us down the road and even into our marriages. After talking through this topic with Joe and a couple other leaders, we were encouraged to do the talk together so that the girls could hear a guy's perspective in addition to anything I would say. So, Joey and I ended up doing the talk together and working through a Q&A session. We received lots of positive feedback and even had the opportunity to talk more personally with some girls individually throughout the week. We just pray that something we said will penetrate their hearts and make a difference.

After speaking to the girls I have felt a tugging in my spirit and have even been encouraged by Joey to pursue some sort of platform to continue speaking on the topic of relationships with teen girls. I'm not sure how or where that will lead but I'm open to what the Lord might do with that.
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Nationals vs. Giants game

Jun 08, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
We went to the Nationals vs. Giants baseball game last week with Dallas and it was quite the little adventure. We weren't even sure the game would happen, because we had gotten so much rain all week and the forecast said 100% chance of showers that evening. But, when it came down to it the game started with only a slight rain delay. Traffic was heavy heading into the District so we exited earlier than planned to hop on the Metro. I think if we'd been a little more patient we might have made it there quicker in traffic, but at least Dallas got to experience the Metro in all its glory, and we entered the ballpark right as the game started. Since it was raining and about 1% of people were in their assigned seats, we got to sit pretty close to the field - just under the overhang of the section above so we stayed dry. It was a really nice evening, despite the fact that our Nats aren't the greatest team these days.


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Dallas is Coming

Jun 01, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
Our friend (and adoptive Heth sister) Dallas is coming tomorrow! She was planning to come keep me company for a bit while Joe was working in Florida for the month of June, but plans changed and Joe isn't going to Florida so now we both get to visit with her. We don't have too many specific plans. Dallas said she doesn't want to do the "tourist" thing but she did request to see a baseball game while she's here, so we have tickets for the Washington Nationals game on Thursday night, which should be fun because we haven't been to their new stadium yet.
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Give a Kid Molasses

May 26, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
I could not resist posting this picture! My sister-in-law gave our niece a spoonful of molasses and this was the end result. I don't know exactly why Nina gave Naomi a spoonful of molasses, but I can guarantee there is some health benefit or nutritional value in doing so. Naomi is the same kid that thinks cod liver fish oil is a treat!


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Best Buds

May 22, 2009 - Fri: Heidi
My family celebrated my mom's birthday at The Melting Pot last weekend and almost the entire dinner Naomi sat on Joey's lap giggling, hugging, eating, watching "Elmo's Song" on Joey's iPhone, and just having some good 2-year old conversation with her uncle. At some point Naomi ended up in my lap (I think she was supposed to tell me a secret) and all of a sudden everyone at the table hears precious Naomi say, to no one in particular, "Joey loves me". I think his heart melted. Joey constantly tells her "I love you, Naomi". The sweetest thing was that it was almost as if she was saying it to herself but we all got to hear her thoughts.


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unclejim on Mar 06, 2010

congrats!

Six Years

May 18, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
How can it be SIX years already that we've been married?! Geesh. It has gone so fast. I feel like it's been half that time. Neither of us had any grand plans for celebrating this past weekend but we ended up having such a great Saturday together. I told Joey at the end of the day that he scored a 10 as a husband that day! Granted, on almost every day he scores an 8 or 9 so I have a pretty amazing husband. My "Quality Time" (The 5 Love Languages...read it!) love tank was completely full! Our evening ended with a walk to get ice cream and to rent a movie...and a walk home in the pouring rain with our ice cream and movie in hand!
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El Cinco

May 05, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Our adoptive Heth sister Dallas who is Mexican told us at Christmas that her favorite holiday is Cinco de Mayo, SO today we celebrated Mexico's independence day! Dallas and I spent the entire day preparing a feast, a pretty sad looking pinata and confetti eggs, which we happily cracked over our unsuspecting party guests and kindly rubbed the confetti into their hair. Our dinner included fajitas, cornbread, rice with cilantro and lime (Chipotle, anyone?!), guacamole, refried beans and the works. We also had (virgin) pina coladas which we de-licious! Pictures coming soon. Oh, by the way...we're in Indiana for the week.
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Kitchen Remodel 2

Apr 21, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
The second phase of our kitchen remodel took place this past Friday. Joe and my dad removed all the lower cabinets and the annoying bar/wall surrounding our sink. And my favorite part is that my dad wired cable to the kitchen so we can have a TV in there now. I love it! Our house was a disaster and is still covered in dust. Oh how I hate dusting, so my plan is to hold out long enough so that the next time my mom comes over she'll dust since she hates seeing dust! Anyway, we'll post final pictures of the kitchen at some point because you'll notice there are still unfinished portions. But, for now, enjoy!
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A Cabin in the Woods

Apr 21, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
Over Easter weekend my family decided to head to the woods of West Virginia. A family had offered their cabin so we took the opportunity to get away. It was so nice. There is no TV, no cell phone reception, and no one around for miles. Plus, the cabin had beds for all and an awesome screened in porch where several of us watched a movie the first night with a projector and a bed sheet attached to the porch. It was great all huddled on a futon under blankets watching a movie. It felt like a drive in theater, even though I've never been to one. I can imagine that's what it would feel like at a drive-in.

The weather was very cold and rainy our first full day there so it was a day inside with games (the boys played 4 rounds of Risk), reading, cooking, listening to lots of music, dancing and all around relaxing. We grilled out a couple of times and made homemade ice cream, celebrated Mud's 24th birthday, and went on a family hike in the woods. We're already trying to find a time to go back this summer. Great memory for me.
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Congratulations

Apr 19, 2009 - Sun: Heidi
Yesterday my sister Heather officially became engaged to Chuck Paris! The tentative wedding date is August 28. We celebrated with them over dinner at Red Lobster. These next few months will go so quickly I'm sure.
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Kitchen Remodel 1

Apr 06, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
We (by "we" I mean, Joe and my dad) officially began our kitchen remodel this weekend! Joe is the first to admit he isn't the most handy when it comes to house projects (give him a computer and that's a different story!), but he is definitely one of the best helpers to those doing the project, so one of Joe's Christmas gifts from my dad was help remodeling our kitchen. They were able to get all the upper cabinets installed on Saturday as well as completed a little electrical work.
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Prayers of the Righteous

Apr 05, 2009 - Sun: Heidi
This past Thursday night we had the privilege of being invited by the elders at our church to have them pray over us that the desire of our heart for children would be met. It was such a sweet time for us with the Godly men in leadership at our church. We so admire them. They asked us to show up during their elder meeting at a certain time and immediately welcomed us in. We knew who all the men were but were also aware that they did not all know us, so they sat with us in a circle and asked questions to better get to know Joey and me. The youth pastor that we work with (who is an elder) led the time by sharing with the men a little about our relationship with him in ministry to the youth and our struggle and deep desire for a child. The seven men gathered around us and prayed such affirming and sincere prayers on our behalf before the One who is able to do exceedingly more than we imagine. Joey and I felt so blessed and honored by their prayers. Plus, they gave us some chocolate cake to eat on the ride home! Most people know I'm a sucker for dessert so I was a happy camper!
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Welcome Spring

Mar 30, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
I finally found my Spring wreath! I've been looking for one for awhile but hadn't found anything great...until this weekend! I think it's perfect.
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TEXAS

Mar 27, 2009 - Fri: Heidi
Ok, I am finally sitting down to write about my surprise trip to Texas last weekend. I wasn't able to announce the trip beforehand because I knew that the person I was going to see regularly checks our website and it would have ruined the element of surprise. So, here's the story...

Dominique (one of my former youth group girls) is a freshman at Baylor University in Texas. Her mother (Patty) invited me to tag along with her and Dominique's sister (Rachel) to surprise Dominique for her 19th birthday. So, last Friday, we flew into Dallas and drove the rest of the way to Waco. We got in late Friday night, so the plan was for Patty to pick Dominique up for breakfast the next morning and we would be at the restaurant when they arrived. The plan worked great except that Dominique pieced things together and figured out Rachel was there despite our elaborate efforts to persuade her otherwise. All in all, Dominique was surprised when she got to the table at the restaurant and we were sitting there to greet her!

We spent the majority of our time in Austin, and when we weren't eating, which wasn't very often, we spent time shopping at the outlet mall, watching cowboys bullride at the Austin Rodeo, watching a wedding at the resort we stayed at, taking pictures and laughing a lot. We also got to attend Dominique's sociology class but opted out of chemistry. Dominique introduced me to an adorable little arts and crafts store near Baylor that totally inspired me, and we had coffee at a neat coffee shop right next door. It was so fun for me being back in Texas, seeing familiar places and scenery. Having lived in Texas for so long growing up I had forgotten how prominent the Texas flag is everywhere you turn. I love it.
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We're Remodeling

Mar 27, 2009 - Fri: Heidi
I don't think we've mentioned yet that we're in the beginning stages of remodeling our kitchen. We ordered all new cabinets, which arrived this Wednesday, and have taken over our little condo. Our living room is about half the size with all the cabinets sitting in it.
Our new countertops should arrive in the next week or so, and my dad will be coming out next weekend to officially start the remodel. I think Joe is more excited about the demolition part than the actual new kitchen. I'm excited for more storage space!
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Skype Anyone?

Mar 15, 2009 - Sun: Joe
Our new favorite thing to do is Skype with people! We've heard about it for a while but finally signed up and downloaded the software. We talked with my dad and mom at separate times on Friday, talked with my brothers James and his lady friend (Steff) and my brother Justin and his boy Cooper today (Sunday). It's so much fun being able to see people who are far away and it's like you're in the same room as them. I work with computers for a living but technology still amazes me, including the quality of it all. Our Skype name is jhheth if you want to look us up.

We had another relaxing and fun weekend together. Eating and reading at Panera has become our Saturday morning date over the past couple months. We then decided to get started on our taxes, so we spent a couple hours Saturday afternoon doing that. Just a few more business items to enter and we'll be done.

We had our usual Sunday routine of church, high school youth group, lunch, and a little Skyping (which is new). We made mini quiches for dinner and now we're watching some TV together.
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Mud Productions and Birthdays

Mar 02, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
This weekend was one big party for us. On Saturday night my little brother (when do younger siblings stop being "little"?!) hosted a party to celebrate 5 years that Mud Productions (his photography and videography business) has been in business. We went skating at the outdoor rink at the Sculpture Gardens in DC. It was a chilly night but so fun being outside skating with the lights. It felt like a scene from a movie. Dinner was served at Chipotle and afterward we were able to view some of Mud Productions best work. It was exciting to hear the vision for what lies ahead with Stephen's company.
On Sunday we celebrated my older brother's 33rd birthday and little Naomi's 2nd birthday. Nina made tons of homemade pizza and there were lots of wonderful desserts. Of course, the boys played the wii while the rest of us chatted and enjoyed watching Naomi play with her friend "Owie" (Owen). Naomi got all kinds of princess dress up stuff. When she unwrapped her princess wand she actually licked it like a lollipop!

This morning was great because we woke up to SNOW! It's about time...except now that I say that I realize it's MARCH! I'll still take it! It's beautiful and makes me so thankful I (and Joe) work from home.
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"Wrella"

Feb 23, 2009 - Mon: Heidi
Well, I am sick...again. Wednesday through Sunday of this past week, we had the privilege of watching little Miss Naomi, who will be two in a week, by the way. Poor girl was sick the whole time, hence the reason I am once again sick. Joey and I can't think of anything better than hanging out with Naomi, though, so I guess it's worth it.

She is talking so much these days but you can really only understand about 1 or 2 words in a long string of "conversation". She is ALL girl...dances almost anytime she hears music, carries her "poirse" (purse) equipped with her pink cell phone, pink glasses, keys and a random Guitar Hero toy that plays music she can dance to, and she LOVES "pinsences" (princesses). Joey and I took her to Target and made the mistake of showing her a princess nightgown. We weren't allowed to take it away from her so she drug it around by the hanger all through Target. Needless to say she'll be getting that nightgown for her birthday.

Neither Joey or I have seen "Wrella" (Cinderella) multiple times in a span of five days so that was a treat. The movie slowly went from being "Wrella" to "Mouse, again" because she liked all the cute mice in the movie. Little Mermaid only made about three appearances but Naomi loved the singing.


On a separate note, I start my sewing class tonight. I wish I felt better but I'm excited to start the classes. Work is good for both of us. Really busy, but good. I'm ready for the weekend already.
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Winter Retreat 2009

Feb 21, 2009 - Sat: Heidi
It was brought to my attention (thank you, "D-dawg") that I haven't done an update in awhile, and so here I am.

It's been a whirlwind the last week and a half for us. We spent four days in Pennsylvania with about 150 teenagers on the winter retreat. This was our fourth winter retreat, and I think it was our favorite. There wasn't snow like the last few years so we didn't get to go tubing (a favorite of mine) or slip on the icy hills walking from our cabins to the bathrooms (not such a favorite) for that matter, but it was a great low key weekend hanging with the teens and other leaders. A large group of the kids go skiing or snowboarding one day while the rest of the group goes bowling. I am always one of the bowling crowd but this was Joe's first year to skip the slopes and go bowling.

I had an awesome group of senior girls in my small group that I got to know better throughout the weekend. Our topic this year was about our relationships with our parents and family and how we can work to strengthen those relationships and what it looks like to really honor our parents. I think it was a good topic that hopefully helped our kids see those relationships from a different perspective.
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Where Did January Go?

Feb 05, 2009 - Thu: Heidi
I made it through January, or rather, I feel like I slept, ached and moaned through January. After I finally got my neck and back to where I could function without pain, I was doing well. I'd get tired or stiff every now and then, but at least I could function and get some work done. But, after about three or four days of feeling well, my body decided it was time for a round of sickness. I say "sickness" because it wasn't a cold exactly and it wasn't the flu really either. I just had lots of different symptoms and ached all over. My body was just completely fatigued. So, I found myself again passed out on the couch for about three days straight. Poor Joey and his sickly wife! We spent this past Saturday watching 12 straight episodes of Gilmore Girls!

Apparently, according to my brother (a personal trainer and health coach) and my chiropractor, after your body has experienced a trauma or accident it makes sense that you'd get sick. How great, right?! Your body has been working so hard to defend, protect and repair itself that your immune system gets taxed and sickness can easily slip through. Something your immune system might have been putting a lot of effort into defending prior to the trauma now gets through because resources are directed elsewhere (i.e. autoimmune diseases are common ones). So fascinating, although annoying and scary to think about. We are just praying now that my body will completely restore itself.

I'm back working now as often as my neck/shoulders will allow without feeling pain or giving me headaches. I am looking forward to February because I have lots of work projects and new clients, not to mention we have a full month. We'll spend Valentine's weekend with about 125 teenage kids in snowy Pennsylvania for the youth group winter retreat, so we're planning to celebrate Valentine's this weekend with a show at George Mason (Cirque Eloize: Nebbia) and dinner. The weekend after President's Day, we are so excited because we'll be taking care of our little niece while my brother and sister-in-law attend a conference. And at the end of this month, I am going to start sewing classes!! I'll finally get to learn to sew! Lots to do.
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Oh the Pain

Jan 20, 2009 - Tue: Heidi
I thought I would give an update on me, myself and my body since my acidente (a little Spanish for you). I had mentioned being sore on the right side of my neck and back, but about a week after the accident things took a nice little detour downward, and for the past week my upper body has been in so much pain. Friday was probably the worst day when it hurt to sit, stand, lay, recline or just about anything. Things are a little better now meaning I can get up and down on my own but there are still moments when I am talking or doing something and I get a nice little muscle spasm that just takes my breath away. I am spending a lot of time at our chiropractor lately and am looking forward to some relief.

On another note, our car is out of the shop and looks like new, which we are thankful for. Joey has been taking good care of me. I'll provide some sweet stories from his "care" in a later post.
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Accident

Jan 08, 2009 - Thu: Heidi
I guess the Lord felt like I needed a little excitement in my life yesterday. We arrived home from Indiana late Monday night, and I had spent all day Tuesday unpacking, cleaning, taking down Christmas decorations, etc. I had planned to do grocery shopping and other errands yesterday. What I had thought was going to be an uneventful trip of errands, turned out a little more interesting.

My first stop was the bank, which is less than two miles away and about 4 minutes into my day of errands. As I'm sitting in the left-hand lane waiting to turn into the bank driveway, I get rear-ended. Actually, right-side-rear-ended. The girl that hit me was probably about my age and completely admitted (with a few thin excuses thrown in for good measure) fault and within about 45 minutes her insurance called to take care of things. The car is still driveable. Praise the Lord. I'm actually waiting for the adjuster to arrive to assess the damage so we can get the car in the shop. I am thankful there was not any major damage to our (only) car or me. My body was jolted by the impact and I felt pops up my spine and neck (sort of like a chiropractor adjustment, if you've ever had one). This morning I woke up with a bad headache and my neck and back are a little sore so I'm hoping to get to the chiropractor tomorrow, but all in all I am thankful things were not worse.


I continued my errands after the accident and eventually made it to Whole Foods. As I'm nearing the end of my grocery shopping, I start noticing lots of people walking around with headsets and walkies. At this point, some of you might think this sounds familiar...it is! I start looking around and notice Emeril Lagasse standing about 12 feet from me. He is there shooting what I'm assuming is another segment for his show. This is my second time running into Emeril filming at our Whole Foods. It's funny because you'll see women doing their grocery shopping stop all of a sudden and pull out there cell phone to take a picture.

The rest of my day was great. I spent the afternoon in the kitchen cooking, which is something I don't get to do often enough.
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Welcome 2009

Jan 01, 2009 - Thu: Heidi
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Can you believe another year is gone and we are now looking forward to 2009? Wow. The years seem to get shorter and shorter.

It has sort of become a tradition for Joey and me that we spend New Years Eve at home with Joey's parents. The rest of the kids usually ditch us because, let's face it, they are cooler and have things to do. But we love our time with Bill and Susie. Our New Years Eve generally consists of us eating dinner, playing games and then sitting around their little kitchen TV with our wine glasses filled with sparkling grape juice ringing in the new year!

This year after dinner, while the cats (aka. the siblings) were away, the mice played...Rock Band! We decided our best performance was "Eye of the Tiger" with Joey playing expert on the drums, Bill on guitar and me on vocals! We only failed out of one song, which was pretty good. Susie even took a turn on drums! After our world tour, we watched Iron Man until the countdown in Times Square, and with our sparkling grape juice in hand we said hello to 2009!
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