One Year Ago Today... on this very morning

One year ago today Ruby made her debut into the world... and this morning we shared a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal together. Ruby's first year truly has flown by and I can't imagine how we ever lived without her in our life.

When I woke up this morning I couldn't help but think about what I was doing one year ago today, on this morning. After 4 hours of random contractions waking me up I decided to move out to the couch (Ryan had been on call so I didn't want to wake him if I didn't have to).

At 8am when he woke up, he came down the hall and I said, "We're having this baby today!" and he immediately started running around cleaning the house in high-speed, unloading the dishwasher, putting the laundry away, and vacuuming. Watching him, I thought to myself, "Self, if I would have known this would be his reaction, perhaps, I should have pulled a few 'false alarms' earlier in the week."

My doc wanted to see if I was really in labor. I told her we'd be at her office by 10:15. My packed bag was in the car. I was sitting by the front door ready to go when Ryan says to me, "Just a sec, I'm going to the bathroom really quick." A few minutes later, as I'm having another contraction I hear Ryan from the bathroom...

Ryan (from the bathroom): "Oh no!"

Amber (having a contraction by the front door): "please, please don't tell me...

Ryan: "I clogged the toilet again."

Amber: "You're joking."

Ryan (laughing): "ha, not joking... but it is pretty funny!"

Amber: "is it funny? hmm.

Ryan (after a thoughtful pause): "... should I leave it?"

Amber (resting forehead on her palm): "Are you kidding me? We could be gone for 3 days! Don't leave it!"

Ryan (as he is plunging): "This is so classic! CLASSIC! HA HA HA!"

And that, my friends, is what was happening one year ago today on this very morning.

Love Your Neighbor

I am so blessed to have some close girlfriends right here in my neighborhood. Mellisa, Emily and I became friend this year because we decided (the first time we ever hung out) that the three of us should do a Beth Moore bible study together. That was that!

We finished our first study (Daniel) about a month ago and are starting another one (Esther) next month. I am so thankful for their friendships, so thankful for their experience and advice as moms who also have small kids, and so thankful that they live right here in my neighborhood!

He answered: "Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ;

and, love your neighbor as yourself." - Luke 10:26-28

Week before her 1st Birthday

34 Years of Marriage

Happy Anniversary mom and dad!

Yours is a marriage worth emulating.

Hope the next 34 years will be even more spectacular than the first!

Marriage is like twirling a baton, turning

handsprings or eating with chopsticks.

It looks easy until you try it.

- Helen Rowland

Nationwide Children's Hospital

I was looking through some pictures from earlier this year and found this one of Ryan and Ruby outside of Nationwide Children's Hospital after his interview in Columbus. So fun to have this picture since that we'll be living there in a year!

and the winner is...

COLUMBUS, OHIO!! Ryan matched at his first choice! We will be moving next June and Ryan will spend 3 years as a Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow at Nationwide Children's Hospital/Ohio State University!

For those of you who would be interested in a "play-by-play" of the match, here's how it all went down:

1. Ruby and I met Ryan at the hospital and he took us into one of the call rooms with a computer. This is what a call room looks like. A bed and a door. Very exciting.
2. Ryan logged into the National Match website
3. He clicked on the button that is supposed to tell us where we matched, but it didn't say anything... so we were confused for a minute.
4. He logged in to the website for a 2nd time and... BOOM!
5. We saw the results! YAHOO! We are so excited!
6. Ryan's buddies Rich and Ajay were there to celebrate in the call room.

I can't wait to start learning more about where we are going to live, finding a church and finding us a house to rent. If you know anyone who knows anyone who has a beautiful mansion near Columbus they would like us to take care of for 3 years, please let me know. :o)

passing the time

TODAY IS MATCH DAY!

In just 2 hours Ryan is going to find out where he matched for fellowship! I've had the craziest morning... trying to stay calm but living with the anticipation of finding out where we will live for 3 years. There is also the very real possibility of not matching anywhere... which would be similar to the world crumbling down around us. Of course we know that God has an incredible plan for our lives and that wherever we end up is exactly where He wants us to be - but I might still be getting an ulcer right now.

Ruby and I are going to meet Ryan at the hospital at noon for the big reveal. Until then, I'll be laying here on the living room floor listening to Ruby's Veggie Tales CD and thinking about the big issues in life like "where is my hairbrush", "why don't I have a water buffalo?", "loving my lips", and "cheeseburgers"

Mongo

Ryan is ridiculously handsome.

We've been going to Mongo for as long as I can remember. My parents would take us to the Pigeon River Forest Preserve to catch tadpoles, canoe, hike, fish in Rainbow Pond, and to the fish hatchery to see all the trout. We went there over the weekend, covered ourselves in mosquito repellent and hiked around looking for carp. Aaron, John, Nic and Andy have been friends since they were little 6th grade buddies. They've gone to Mongo with us many times through the years.

As always, we stopped by the Mongo General Store for lunch... where you can buy a turkey sandwich, an oatmeal cream pie and live bait all at the same time. It's awesome. This was Tracy's first time to Mongo. She is the perfect wife for Aaron.

See that camera my dad is holding? That's one of the reasons why I have so many great pictures. He is quite the photographer. You can see a lot more of his hobby on his blog.

She's on the Move!

Look at John and Angela's precious Lydia! She's doing such a great job of growing. She's almost 8 pounds!

And here's Ruby and Uncle Aaron. They have similar hairstyles.

Our entire world changed on Saturday... Ruby is officially on the move. Mobile, unstationary, a roamer, migratory, perhaps even a bit nomadic. (Her crawl is more like a crab walking with one leg dragging behind, but nobody's perfect.) I have loved watching her scootch her little self around the house these last couple of days. Her new found mobility is putting a bit of a damper on nap time because she used to just lay there and eventually fall asleep, but now I'll walk by her room and she'll be quietly sitting up in her crib, looking through the bars at me.

This has also affected my shower/get ready for the day time. She used to sit in the hall by the bathroom reading her books while I get ready, but now she's out of my line of sight and down the hall in no time. Perhaps that "Problem Solvers" after school club I joined in 4th grade will finally pay off and I'll figure out a solution soon! My temporary solution included not showering and a couple, two, three days of dry shampoo (which is the most wonderful invention I've discovered since becoming a mother.)

Beeson Bonfire

Had an absolutely incredible couple of days with my family over the weekend. On Friday night we roasted marshmallows over a ginormous fire in the meadow at my parent's house. It was huge because John and a bunch of his guys from Granger's Student Ministry tore down an entire wooden fence a few weeks ago, so we had a lot of fuel for the fire. Dad lit tiki torches all around to keep the mosquitoes away and he got some really fun pictures while we were out there.

...also, tomorrow is Match Day! I don't think I'll be able to sleep a wink tonight! Ruby and I are meeting Ryan at the hospital at noon tomorrow. After that, I'll let you know where we're moving!