Happy Birthday, Mom Elick!

Wish James' mom, Nina, a happy birthday today! For some reason, I can't find a picture of Nina on my computer. Maybe it's because she's always the one behind the camera!

Happy Birthday, Mom Sufficool!

Wish my mom, Mary Jane, a happy birthday today! I can't tell you exactly how old she is (b/c she'd disown me), but I will say that she's reached an exciting milestone in her life. It's hard to believe that she's __ already, because she looks and acts ten years younger. Same goes for my grandmother, so I'm hoping it's in the gene pool, and I inherited that gene!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

The above picture was taken in Hawaii this November. The buildings behind Mom are part of the townhouse development we lived in our first year in Hawaii.

Not meant to be a housewife...

Another Thursday, another day off. Today I've devoted my entire day to domestic and altruistic tasks. I dusted, am doing laundry, and will clean the bathrooms in a little bit. I also made lasagna for Scott and Kristin, since they just had a baby (see post from 1-22-06).

My lasagna is very good, if I do say so myself. I spent nearly an hour putting it together, popped it in the oven at 375 degrees, and went off to accomplish some other tasks. I used one of those disposable "bake and take" pans to make it easier for everyone involved. It comes complete with a cover...that's plastic. And apparently not ovensafe (DUH, Patti).

So after half an hour, I return to the kitchen to check on my masterpiece. I turn on the oven light and see that the lasagna is no longer covered. The plastic cover has melted and formed a little ball on top of the lasagna. I quickly remove the ruined lid, cover the pan with aluminum foil, and return it to the oven. Thankfully, the lasagna does not seem affected.

Yes, I know that plastic melts in high heat. You'd think I would have thought about that...and used foil from the beginning. It just never crossed my mind...

Did I mention that I have a master's degree? (smile)

My mom wants grandkids!

My mother has been very patient as James and I have been working on our respective graduate degrees. She understood that school needed to come first, and then she'd get grandchildren. However, now that I'm done with school and James is almost done, I think she's getting antsy. Check out the picture--she's even stooped to cradling kangaroo babies!

Quite seriously, that picture was taken on her Australia trip in November. I just thought it was a cute picture. Although the part about Mom getting antsy about grandchildren is true...she can't wait to smock a little dress or bonnet. She loves Woody, but I think she's holding out for a human grandchild...

John Wesley and Woody

Many people know that John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, put more miles on his trusty horse than some people put on their cars. But did you know that Mr. Wesley was also a dog lover? Yup, here he is, with his faithful black Lab, Woody.

Babies Galore: Ainsley, Breanna, Maggie, and Cooper!

OK, so James and I are part of a couples small group at church. We are currently the only regular attenders (out of six or seven couples) who aren't pregnant or have a newborn baby.
-Jeff and Barb just had Kiersten on Friday (see previous post)
-Brian and Laura had Ainsley on December 14: she's child #3 for them
-Michael and Tamara are foster parents (and hopefully future adoptive parents) of Breanna
-Scott and Kristin had Maggie on January 15, who is child #2 for them
-Matt and Jennifer had Cooper yesterday (January 21) : this is their first child
-Daniel and Stephanie are expecting their third child in August

We're very happy for all the proud parents and devoted siblings. My day off this week is going to be spent cooking meals for new parents. :)

Meanwhile, James and I are waiting for him to receive a job offer and me to get a church before we join the "baby boom." Hopefully I'll be able to throw my birth control in the garbage sometime this summer. :)

Welcome to the world, Kiersten!

Kiersten Isabel Anne Stryker was born today at 1:35 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. The proud parents are our friends Jeff and Barb Stryker. Jeff and Barb lead our small group at Church. Kiersten has six (6) adoring siblings to dote on her: Pieter (14), Annika (12), Stefan (10), Sascha (almost 8), Katrina (5), and Shane (almost 4).

Kiersten is, according to the nurses, a "miracle baby." When she was born, they discovered that her umbilical cord was tied in a knot. Most babies die when this happens, because they don't get the necessary nutrients and therefore starve to death. We're all giving thanks to God that Kiersten was delivered two weeks early!

We can't wait to meet Kiersten. Here's a pic from her "baby webpage" at the hospital. Woody is excited about Kiersten's arrival, too. He loves the Strykers, and is thrilled about another kid to play with.

Oh, dear me...

Yeah...so I heard on K-Love (or maybe Air1) the other day that Pat Robertson (along with other people) is working on a deal to build a Christian theme park in Israel, right near the Sea of Galilee. So I did some Internet research on this, so I would know the whole story. While the plans aren't for an amusement park (a la Six Flags), I'm still not terribly happy with the idea. Click on the links below, and decide for yourself...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1677557,00.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1110/p06s01-wome.html

P.S. from Woody

I found a couple of more pictures on Mommy's computer. One is of my girlfriend, Nikita. Isn't she cute? The other one is of me and the six Stryker kids...and a few other friends. I love the Strykers, because they love dogs and have a big yard. Whenever I go visit them, I get lots of attention and space to run.

(left to right) Anna (Shockley), Annika, Shane, Lily (McSpadden), Stefan, Megan (McSpadden), Sascha, Pieter, me, and Katrina.

Message from Woody

Hi, this is Woody, James and Patti's son. OK, some people would dispute that, since I'm covered in fur, walk on all fours, and can't communicate with words. But let's not get techinical, OK? I just thought that you all deserved to hear a little bit more about me and see some more pictures of me.

I have a girlfriend, Nikita. She lives two doors down with her parents, Chris and Mandy. I also like to swim. I attached a picture of me swimming at the annual Pool Party for Pooches. Also, I LOVE kids, and they love me, as you can see from the picture of me and Anna Kofahl (she's the one wearing pink).

Being cute and adorable is awfully tiring, so I sleep a lot. Here's a picture of me sleeping...or attempting to sleep.

Want more info? Or do you just want to say "hi"? Send me an e-mail at: woody.money@gmail.com

Love,
Woody Elijah Money

Hawaii picture

My family lived in Hawaii for two years while I was growing up. Yes, it was wonderful and beautiful. Yes, I miss it. No, I have no gone back.

However, my mom went to Australia in November, and on her way home she "conveniently" scheduled a two-day layover in Honolulu, HI. So she got to go around and see Hawaii again...and all I got was a box of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. Sniff, sniff.

She did send me a few pics via e-mail, though. Here's a picture of Sunset Beach Elementary, the school I attended as a third-grader.

Finally! A day of rest...sort of

Today is Thursday, so it's my day off from work. What's exciting is that I got to sleep in (until 9:00 am!) for the first time in several weeks. Very exciting. It's after 11am and I'm still in my bathrobe. That's going to change very soon, because I need to get dressed and head to the Talbot's Outlet in Hamburg. My mom's birthday is next Friday, and I'm going to be a good daughter and buy her present...and maybe something for myself, too.

I also get to take all the ornaments off the tree so James can take it down tonight (yes, we still have our tree up...I've been busy and James was out of town). Woody also needs more doggie food and I have to do laundry and find a yummy lamb recipe.

So I don't get to sit around all day and read, which I'd prefer. But at least I'm not having to smile and say, "Hi, welcome to Chick-Fil-A. How may I help you?"

My husband, king of math geekdom...

James spent Wednesday through Sunday in San Antonio, Texas at the Joint Mathematics Meeting. A major reason for his going to this conference was to network for professor jobs. He was wildly successful in that endeavor. He had a bunch of quick (15-minute) interviews and it seems like he'll probably get at least three "real" interviews (a.k.a they'll have him come to campus), possibly more.

One school (which shall remain nameless, but is outside of Virginia) is currently drooling over James. While we've had our hearts set on coming back to Virginia, this school is very enticing. High salary, fantastic benefit package, low cost of living, etc. At the very least, a job offer from them would provide James with good leverage elsewhere.

We'll keep you posted!

Isabel Mae DuVal

Isabel is the daughter of Chris and Amy, two of my good friends from college. She was born on November 8, 2005. We all let out a sigh of relief when she was born healthy, because her big brother Isaac (born on October 1, 2004) had some major health problems and died only a few hours after birth. :(

This pic was taken right after she was born. Isn't she beautiful? Amy and Chris live in TN, so Isabel hasn't met her "Aunt" Patti yet. But hopefully that will happen soon!

You win some....you lose some...

OK, so the Redskins lost to the Seahawks, 20-10. But we're still proud of them for making it to the second round of the playoffs! Imagine what another year under Joe Gibbs will do for them. Superbowl 2007, here we come!

On the bright side, New England's bid to win three straight Superbowls ended. Yeah!

Hail to the Redskins!

The Washington Redskins made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Even better, they won their game against Tampa last week to advance to the second round.

So today they're playing the Seattle Seahawks. Go Redskins!

Ministry Update

Psychological Assessment: $210
Travel costs for above interview: $250
Six VHS tapes: $15
Pay/Gift certs for helpers (music, media, proofreading): $85
FedEx shipping: $54
Misc. postage: $20

Confirming that your file for probationary membership is complete and you have earned the privilege to be raked over hot coals (a.k.a. "interviewed") by a bunch of strangers in March: PRICELESS (??)

The best things in life are free. For everything else, there's MasterCard (or, in this case, American Express).

This post has been provided by the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

"End of the Spear"---Five stars!

My church had a screening of "End of the Spear" tonight. It's a new movie (releasing on Jan. 20) based on a true story about a violent Amazon tribe that was totally changed by their exposure to the Gospel. It's a very powerful story that's portrayed very well in the movie. Go and see it at your local movie theater! Check out the trailer and more info on the movie at: http://www.endofthespear.com

Meet Woody!!

Here's a picture of our dog, Woody. He's 6 years old, a Lab mix and has been with us since July 2004. Truth be told, we treat him more like a child than a dog. We do draw the line somewhere...we DID NOT purchase the 16x20 wall portrait of Woody.

Welcome to our blog!

I've been meaning to start our own blog for a while, but haven't had time recently. What's been taking up my time? Oh, just loads of papers on exciting stuff like theology, my call to ministry and the like. It's all for my probationary membership in the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. I sent it all off today (to the tune of $54!) so I feel like a free woman now. Now I can blog, return e-mails, call people...and clean the house, buy groceries, and organize my desk.

Have a great day!