That I haven't blogged since MAY FIRST! 3& 1/2 months later... wow, this summer sure has FLOWN by. And, of course, like many of you, I am totally addicted to Facebook, so that has taken my time from blogging.
Well, here's the rundown of the past 3&1/2 months...
May 2-3, down to Atlanta to "get out of Dodge" for Kentucky Derby weekend. Scratched another baseball stadium off the list, saw my Uncle Dave, whom I haven't seen in YEARS, and caught up with some friends there for church. Rachel, my friend, was actually my roommate at Northland Camp the summer that Chris and I met. It was nice to catch up! :-)
The following weekend, Mother's Day weekend, we flew to Maryland for a long weekend. Ever since our in vitro fertilization/miscarriage, Chris has bought me tickets to go see my best friend in Maryland as a Mother's Day gift. This year, he came along. We had a wonderful time with Kevin and Jos, and got to catch up with a lot of friends from our church there. It made Mother's Day a bit easier for me! I'm so thankful for a wonderful, thoughtful husband!
After 3 trips for me in 3 weekends, we settled down to work, work and more work... with our ministry responsibilities at church added in. We were able to have some fun in there, too!
June was a pretty quiet month for us, though I had a fun opportunity to do a "photo shoot" with my friends, JR & Abbi. They got married in December, and didn't really care for their engagement pictures. I went out with them one weekend while Chris was gone for some work training, and took a bunch of pictures of them. I am by no means a photographer, but I was pretty pleased with the way some of them turned out.
June 12 our church had a "Sister's Supper." It was a ladies' banquet for all females ages 4 and up. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, and God used one of the devotionals in particular to really speak to my heart about something I had been struggling with that week especially. I may have to post about that later.
June 23rd, my dear friend, Shanna had her baby, Mason, at 23 weeks, 5 days along... about 3 months early! It was pretty rough on me, but today he is doing FANTASTIC, and is really a tiny miracle!
On June 30th, my grandparents came down to the Creation Museum in Cincinnati (about an hour & 1/2 from us). I had not seen them in 2 years... to the day! (It was my baby brother's wedding anniversary, and the last time I had seen them was at Nathan's wedding!) I was able to take the day off and spend it with them, which was a huge blessing!
We celebrated July 4th at Indian Creek Baptist Camp (the camp run by our church) on Freedom Friday (which happened to be July 3rd.) Chris had the opportunity to preach in the service... only the second time he's actually had that opportunity since we left Maryland 3 years before. He did an awesome job (I know, I'm a little prejudiced!) I was very proud of him. We took Zack and Dakota with us (Dakota is the little boy I took care of for over 2 years). It was a wonderful night, and we enjoyed it!
July 16th, I was able to head up to Indianapolis for the day to visit with 2 college friends that liver there, Jess and Kelly (and their families.) I so enjoyed seeing them and catching up a little better! I don't live that far away, but it seems like there is never a really good time to go more often. :-(
July 22 was our 9th anniversary. We both had to work that day, but ended up having Friday the 24th off together. We slept in, worked out, then headed out for the day... visited Louisville Mega Cavern, ate at J. Gumbos, went to the Louisville Slugger museum, walked around downtown Louisville (and took pictures), then went to Morton's steakhouse for dinner. It was FABULOUS! We so enjoyed having the day together to celebrate our marriage and our life together.
July 31st, we went to a Louisville Bats game with our friends, April & Scott Mohler. We enjoy the fellowship with them, and wish we could get together with them more often, as well.
The first full week of August brings YOUTH CONFERENCE to Shawnee Baptist Church. This year was the 25th Anniversary of Youth Conference. It was AWESOME!!! We had 1,200+ teens here for 4 days to hear the preaching of God's Word for 3 days, then the last day they spend at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. They usually go to a waterpark on that Tuesday morning, but this year the waterpark came to them... We had a HUGE flood; actually a Flood Emergency was declared for Louisville... basically, if you didn't have to go anywhere, DON'T! It sure made it memorable! :-)
That same week was very busy for me... I worked all week, then was trying to visit with a couple people that were just in town for the week, plus get ready for vacation! I was blessed to be able to see a good friend from MN, Dawn, who was down here meeting her newest grandbaby... and her first granddaughter. I also got to spend some time with a little boy that I took care of in Maryland, Nathen, and his family, who were here visiting as well.
August 8th, after work, we left on VACATION! It was AWESOME, and I didn't want to come home! We visited Chris' sister, Sandy, and her family. We hadn't seen her boys (ages almost 8 and almost 5) for almost 3 years, and her husband in 5 years! It was great to visit with them! They live in West Palm Beach, FL... I was lovin' me some Florida (as my BIL would say!) :-) We went to the beach a couple of times, including going to Miami for the day (and saw South Beach).
On Tuesday, Aug. 11th (Chris' 34th Birthday), we attended a Florida Marlins game. For the first time, in ALL the games we've attended, we FINALLY made it on the Jumbotron at the stadium! We've discovered that it helps to have adorable nephews with you! :-) We ate at Shorty's Barbecue in Miami - one of the top 10 places to eat there. Chris and Tyson played golf two mornings, and played softball one night. Sandy and I got manicures/pedicures (a first for me!), and then I framed some cross-stitches for her, and arranged the pictures for a family photo wall in her house. We attended a home decorating class on Thursday night. Friday we went to Tampa... actually St. Petersburg for a Tampa Bay Rays game. We "tailgated" before the game, which was pretty fun. Finished up the vacation on Saturday by having a GORGEOUS day at the beach, in spite of the rain before we went, and after we went. Also had a joint birthday party (homemade pizza and DQ Thin Mints blizzard cake) for Chris', Tron's and my birthdays. Chris' b-day was the 11th, and Tron and I share a b-day on the 18th. Like I said before, it was a wonderful vacation, and we were so thrilled to be able to go.
Now, it's back to life, back to reality. I've had a little "hiccup" in my job situation, so am working a few less hours for now, and am really praying about the possibility of another job. I'm praying that if God wants me somewhere else, that He will drop the opportunity in my lap.
Anyway, that's the summation of our summer! I'm sure I've left out some things, but that's basically it! Hopefully I'll get some pics posted of different events on here soon. If I don't, you can look on my Facebook page... they are ALL on there! :-)
Have a wonderful night, and hope you all had a great summer! :-)
Showing posts with label Mitchell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mitchell. Show all posts
8.20.2009
5.01.2009
A few pics from Thunder's fireworks
Our friends, Abbi & J.R., playing with Raegan
Korissa found a new friend in Elaine(Elaine shared her food! :-p)
Aunt Heather, Korissa, and Uncle Chris
Elaine & Larry Harold (Chris' college friend)
Uncle Chris, Korissa, Kim, Aunt Heather, & Raegan
"I can't HEAR you!"
Korissa & Uncle Chris watching the fireworks(I LOVE this pic!)
Waterfall of fireworks off the 2nd St. BridgeOf course, if you know me at all, you know I took WAY more pics than this. Again, you can check them out if you're a friend of mine on Facebook. All 200 of them are posted there! LOL
Pics of Kim, Korissa, & Raegan's visit
Just a couple of pics from the girls' visit
Kisses from Aunt Heather
Sisters, Korissa & Raegan. We bought them these matching shirts for Christmas
Korissa & Raegan
(Raegan had JUST pulled the paci out of her mouth...)
Aunt Heather, Uncle Chris, Korissa, Kim and Raegan
12.12.2007
Pictures of family - Mitchell
Here are pics of Chris' side of the family. I tell you, I think we have the cutest nieces and nephews ever! :-) (on BOTH sides of the family!) I know, I know, I'm a little biased! But they are cute, don't you think?!?!?
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Christmas Letter 2007
Dear Friends and Family,
Merry CHRISTmas! It's that time of year again, and we are so excited when we look back on the year and see what God has done for us this year. The Bible says in Psalm 72:18 "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who ONLY doeth WONDROUS things." Obviously, we, like everyone else, go through tough times in our lives, and we have this year as well. But when we look back, it is so awesome to see how God has been with us through the tough times as well as the great times. The Bible also says "As for God, his way is PERFECT." I'm so thankful that HE is in control of our lives, not me! It has been such an encouragement for us this year to be reminded of the fact that God loves us, cares about us, and ALWAYS does what is BEST for us. HE has a plan for our lives, and though we may not always understand what God is doing at the time, we can trust Him to only do WONDROUS things.
I'm going to share with you the every day things in our lives first, and then tell you about all the extra things that we were able to enjoy this year.
First of all, we moved here to attend our church, Shawnee Baptist. This year our opportunities for ministry at our church have expanded, and we are so thankful for those opportunities to reach others for Christ. Chris drives a bus route every Sunday morning to pick up kids and adults for Sunday school and church. I ride along to help with that as well. We also both sing in the choir, which we have really enjoyed, and I work in the nursery at least once a month. In September, our asst. pastor approached us about joining the teen ministry as youth workers. We were able to meet with the youth pastors in early October, and started our ministry with the teens the first week of November. Chris is co-teaching the 9th&10th grade teen Sunday school class and we are excited about working with teens again. We are enjoying getting to know the teens and the other youth workers as well.
As far as work is concerned, we are pretty much doing the same things we were doing last year at this time. This is the first year since we've been married that we have both worked for the same company the WHOLE YEAR! I continue to do nursing home health care with special needs kids. I have been caring for the same patient full-time for almost a year now, and almost feel like he's my own baby. He just turned 2, and is learning so much and doing new things almost every day. I have also had the privilege of witnessing some to his mom, other nurses that I have oriented to the case, and some of my unsaved co-workers in the staffing agency office.
Chris continues to work at Cross Chrysler/Jeep as a sales associate. God has truly blessed him this year in his job. He earned the award of Salesman of the Month 3 months this year - in January, March, and April. It was awesome to see him earn that award the first full month that he was working as a salesman. At the company Christmas party, it was announced that Chris had won the SALESMAN of the YEAR award as well! We know that all the glory goes to God for these accomplishments, but I must say that I am so thankful for a husband that is willing to work hard and put in long hours to take care of our family. The financial blessings have been nice, but Chris, too, has been able to witness to many of his co-workers over the past year. One day he had over an hour long conversation with one of his managers about Creation vs. Evolution, the Bible being God's Word, and various other spiritual topics. It is encouraging to be able to share God's Word with those that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The other major thing that happened this year for us is that we were able, after 6 months of paying double housing costs, to sell our house in Maryland. We closed on that house on March 30. Then, the Lord led us to look for a house to buy here. We found one after going out with our realtor one time, and our offer was accepted. July 17th we moved into our new home, and we LOVE it! So, for yet another Christmas letter, we have a different address! This is an ongoing joke with Chris and me... hopefully we won't have to give you a new address again for a VERY LONG time!
Now - for the entertainment in our lives:
February – February 11th brought a new niece into our family... Korissa Ann was born to Chris' sister, Kim and her husband, David. Korissa is their first baby.
April - We flew down to Jacksonville, FL, for a Chromy family reunion/Mom's 60th birthday party over Easter weekend. We had a great time seeing all of my immediate family, though the time was short. We hadn't all been together at one time since Steve's wedding in 2005. The day after we got home, Chris surprised me by bringing home a new car for me. It's a 2007 Chrysler Sebring sedan, Inferno Red, and I LOVE IT! What a great surprise! :-)
Also in April, we attended a local celebration day here... Thunder over Louisville. This is the kick-off to the Kentucky Derby Festival which is the two weeks before the KY Derby. It is basically KY's version of Mardi Gras, but they do have some pretty neat events to attend. Thunder over Louisville consists of, among other things, a 6 hour air show, and at the end of the day, one of the largest fireworks displays in the world! It is AWESOME! The fireworks are actually choreographed to music, but we didn't sit in a place where we could actually hear the music. Anyway, it was a great time!
May - The first weekend of May is the KY Derby. Pretty much every business in this area is shut down that day b/c everyone is at the Derby. Chris had the day off, so we decided to take a day trip over to St. Louis, MO. (I know, I know - you can't BELIEVE that we didn't go to the DERBY! We don't gamble and we don't drink, so we didn't really want to spend the day around a bunch of people who were doing just that!) Instead, we enjoyed a great date together... we attended a St. Louis Cardinals game in early afternoon, then went over to see the St. Louis Gateway Arch, and were home by about 9pm. We are trying to attend a game at every Major League Baseball Park in the States, so we had a great day and checked off another ballpark on the list.
May was also a HUGE month of graduations for the Mitchell family. Chris' older brother, Tim, graduated with his 2nd Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He earned a 4.0 GPA, along with being a husband and dad, working, and serving in his church. That's a full plate! Then, Chris' sister, Julianne, graduated with her Associate's Degree from Pensacola Christian College. She had a brain aneurysm when she was seven, so since then has always had struggles with her academics. We are so proud of her for her determination to graduate from college, and she did it! A couple days later, another of Chris' brothers, **name removed for privacy** graduated from Marine boot camp at Parris Island. We are so proud to have an immediate family member serving our country in the Marines. Then, later in the month, Chris' oldest niece, Kimberly, graduated from Kindergarten! Wow - what a busy month! Chris and I were only able to attend Julianne's graduation together; then Chris returned home to work, while I attended the Marine graduation with Chris' family.
June - We attended our first baseball game at Louisville Slugger Field. We have a minor league team here called the Louisville Bats, and Chris' boss has season tickets to the games. He gives away the tickets for free, so we were able to attend 3 games this season. Hey, what can I say? It's a pretty nice cheap Saturday evening date! :-) The big event in June was my baby brother, Nathan's wedding. He and Caroline got married on June 30th. It was a beautiful wedding. It was really nice to have all of the family together again for the second time in 3 months when we hadn't been together in almost 2 years!
July - On the way home from Nathan's wedding, we made a little detour through Cleveland Ohio to attend a Cleveland Indians game at Jacobs Field (another ballpark off the list!) The big even of July was our 7th Anniversary trip, which was a surprise for me. Chris planned the whole trip, and we had a GREAT time! We went to Chicago (Chris had never been there other than driving through, and I hadn't been there since my college days) for about 3 days. We stayed in a REALLY nice hotel (they had bellhops and everything!) right off Michigan Avenue across from the Hancock Building. While we were in town, we attended two more baseball games... one at Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs, and the other at US Cellular Field to watch the White Sox. I told Chris that he has the best wife in the world b/c she actually ENJOYED going to ballgames on her anniversary trip! :-) We also walked up and down Michigan Ave and the shoreline of Lake Michigan, visited the Shedd Aquarium and Navy Pier, and generally just relaxed and enjoyed the time together. It was a great surprise, and it was over WAY too quickly!
August - August 10th brought another new niece into the family... again on Chris' side! Jacquline Abigail was born to Chris' brother, Burt and his wife, Julie. Jacquline is their first baby as well. We are always excited to have another member join the family!
We didn't actually take any trips in August! We stayed home to work to pay off all of our gallivanting that we did all summer! We both celebrated birthdays... our birthdays are only a week apart. I turned the big 30 this year, but I don't mind at all. We had an open house/Chris' birthday party on his birthday, and also had a fun surprise as some friends of ours were traveling through town and took us out to lunch. We hadn't seen these friends in about a year. Then, the Thursday before my birthday, one of my patients that I took care of in MD and his family were in the area visiting family, and they came over and spent the afternoon visiting us. It was fun to see them again.
September - According to Chris, this was the best month of all! First of all, I was able to attend our Ladies' Retreat at the camp sponsored by our church. It was a great time of fun and fellowship. But - the weekend of the 15th, we made a VERY QUICK weekend trip to Boston. As most of you know, Chris grew up just outside of Boston until he was 12, so this is his "hometown." He is a die hard Boston sports fan. He decided that we couldn't go to Wrigley Field for a game and not go to Fenway Park! We got tickets to the second game of the last NY Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox series of the season. We had a BLAST at the game! It was the best crowd of fans at any game or ballpark I've ever been to! They were cheering the WHOLE TIME! Of course, I might be slightly biased by my husband's brainwashing... but it was really cool! In the morning before the game, we took a quick tour of Boston, seeing most of the historical sites... Freedom Trail, Quincy Market, Paul Revere's House, the Old North Church, the USS Constitution, etc. We packed a lot of things into a short amount of time, but again, it was great to have the time together and making memories!
October - We found out in late October that there will be another niece or nephew joining the family this next year (Lord willing)... My older brother, Steve, and his wife, Kathryn, are expecting their first baby in late June! Again, we are always excited to have more babies added to the family! :-)
Since then, we have basically stayed home and worked! Now we're saving up for our next vacation next summer (Lord willing!) and you guessed it, it includes going to games at several ballparks! :-) We were able to go to visit some friends of ours in Lexington, KY, (about an hour &1/2 from here) for Thanksgiving. It was a great time of fellowship and we enjoyed the day. For Christmas, we are staying home as well. We do have family planning to come down to our house for Christmas this year... we're just not sure yet if it will be Chris' sister and her family or my parents.
Well, I think that about covers everything! If you are really interested in seeing pictures from our excursions this year, they are all posted on our personal website.
Again, Merry CHRISTmas to you all! Don't forget the REASON for this season we are celebrating... The Lord Jesus Christ! We are celebrating his birth on this earth, but don't forget that the only reason He left Heaven for earth was to take the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. The story doesn't end there, however. He was then buried, and rose again on the 3rd day. He conquered death, so that we could have eternal life in Heaven with Him. How do we receive the gift of eternal life in Heaven? We have to accept the fact that we are sinners, believe by faith that Jesus died in our place for the punishment of those sins, and confess our sin to God and ask Him to forgive us and save us from our sin. Have you done that? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? If not, you are missing the BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT OF ALL! (If you have any questions or want to know more about accepting Christ as your personal Savior, you can give us a call anytime!)
Wishing you the very Merriest of CHRISTmases and a BLESSED NEW YEAR!
Serving Christ,
Chris and Heather Beth
Psalm 91:1, Lam 3:22-23
Merry CHRISTmas! It's that time of year again, and we are so excited when we look back on the year and see what God has done for us this year. The Bible says in Psalm 72:18 "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who ONLY doeth WONDROUS things." Obviously, we, like everyone else, go through tough times in our lives, and we have this year as well. But when we look back, it is so awesome to see how God has been with us through the tough times as well as the great times. The Bible also says "As for God, his way is PERFECT." I'm so thankful that HE is in control of our lives, not me! It has been such an encouragement for us this year to be reminded of the fact that God loves us, cares about us, and ALWAYS does what is BEST for us. HE has a plan for our lives, and though we may not always understand what God is doing at the time, we can trust Him to only do WONDROUS things.
I'm going to share with you the every day things in our lives first, and then tell you about all the extra things that we were able to enjoy this year.
First of all, we moved here to attend our church, Shawnee Baptist. This year our opportunities for ministry at our church have expanded, and we are so thankful for those opportunities to reach others for Christ. Chris drives a bus route every Sunday morning to pick up kids and adults for Sunday school and church. I ride along to help with that as well. We also both sing in the choir, which we have really enjoyed, and I work in the nursery at least once a month. In September, our asst. pastor approached us about joining the teen ministry as youth workers. We were able to meet with the youth pastors in early October, and started our ministry with the teens the first week of November. Chris is co-teaching the 9th&10th grade teen Sunday school class and we are excited about working with teens again. We are enjoying getting to know the teens and the other youth workers as well.
As far as work is concerned, we are pretty much doing the same things we were doing last year at this time. This is the first year since we've been married that we have both worked for the same company the WHOLE YEAR! I continue to do nursing home health care with special needs kids. I have been caring for the same patient full-time for almost a year now, and almost feel like he's my own baby. He just turned 2, and is learning so much and doing new things almost every day. I have also had the privilege of witnessing some to his mom, other nurses that I have oriented to the case, and some of my unsaved co-workers in the staffing agency office.
Chris continues to work at Cross Chrysler/Jeep as a sales associate. God has truly blessed him this year in his job. He earned the award of Salesman of the Month 3 months this year - in January, March, and April. It was awesome to see him earn that award the first full month that he was working as a salesman. At the company Christmas party, it was announced that Chris had won the SALESMAN of the YEAR award as well! We know that all the glory goes to God for these accomplishments, but I must say that I am so thankful for a husband that is willing to work hard and put in long hours to take care of our family. The financial blessings have been nice, but Chris, too, has been able to witness to many of his co-workers over the past year. One day he had over an hour long conversation with one of his managers about Creation vs. Evolution, the Bible being God's Word, and various other spiritual topics. It is encouraging to be able to share God's Word with those that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The other major thing that happened this year for us is that we were able, after 6 months of paying double housing costs, to sell our house in Maryland. We closed on that house on March 30. Then, the Lord led us to look for a house to buy here. We found one after going out with our realtor one time, and our offer was accepted. July 17th we moved into our new home, and we LOVE it! So, for yet another Christmas letter, we have a different address! This is an ongoing joke with Chris and me... hopefully we won't have to give you a new address again for a VERY LONG time!
Now - for the entertainment in our lives:
February – February 11th brought a new niece into our family... Korissa Ann was born to Chris' sister, Kim and her husband, David. Korissa is their first baby.
April - We flew down to Jacksonville, FL, for a Chromy family reunion/Mom's 60th birthday party over Easter weekend. We had a great time seeing all of my immediate family, though the time was short. We hadn't all been together at one time since Steve's wedding in 2005. The day after we got home, Chris surprised me by bringing home a new car for me. It's a 2007 Chrysler Sebring sedan, Inferno Red, and I LOVE IT! What a great surprise! :-)
Also in April, we attended a local celebration day here... Thunder over Louisville. This is the kick-off to the Kentucky Derby Festival which is the two weeks before the KY Derby. It is basically KY's version of Mardi Gras, but they do have some pretty neat events to attend. Thunder over Louisville consists of, among other things, a 6 hour air show, and at the end of the day, one of the largest fireworks displays in the world! It is AWESOME! The fireworks are actually choreographed to music, but we didn't sit in a place where we could actually hear the music. Anyway, it was a great time!
May - The first weekend of May is the KY Derby. Pretty much every business in this area is shut down that day b/c everyone is at the Derby. Chris had the day off, so we decided to take a day trip over to St. Louis, MO. (I know, I know - you can't BELIEVE that we didn't go to the DERBY! We don't gamble and we don't drink, so we didn't really want to spend the day around a bunch of people who were doing just that!) Instead, we enjoyed a great date together... we attended a St. Louis Cardinals game in early afternoon, then went over to see the St. Louis Gateway Arch, and were home by about 9pm. We are trying to attend a game at every Major League Baseball Park in the States, so we had a great day and checked off another ballpark on the list.
May was also a HUGE month of graduations for the Mitchell family. Chris' older brother, Tim, graduated with his 2nd Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He earned a 4.0 GPA, along with being a husband and dad, working, and serving in his church. That's a full plate! Then, Chris' sister, Julianne, graduated with her Associate's Degree from Pensacola Christian College. She had a brain aneurysm when she was seven, so since then has always had struggles with her academics. We are so proud of her for her determination to graduate from college, and she did it! A couple days later, another of Chris' brothers, **name removed for privacy** graduated from Marine boot camp at Parris Island. We are so proud to have an immediate family member serving our country in the Marines. Then, later in the month, Chris' oldest niece, Kimberly, graduated from Kindergarten! Wow - what a busy month! Chris and I were only able to attend Julianne's graduation together; then Chris returned home to work, while I attended the Marine graduation with Chris' family.
June - We attended our first baseball game at Louisville Slugger Field. We have a minor league team here called the Louisville Bats, and Chris' boss has season tickets to the games. He gives away the tickets for free, so we were able to attend 3 games this season. Hey, what can I say? It's a pretty nice cheap Saturday evening date! :-) The big event in June was my baby brother, Nathan's wedding. He and Caroline got married on June 30th. It was a beautiful wedding. It was really nice to have all of the family together again for the second time in 3 months when we hadn't been together in almost 2 years!
July - On the way home from Nathan's wedding, we made a little detour through Cleveland Ohio to attend a Cleveland Indians game at Jacobs Field (another ballpark off the list!) The big even of July was our 7th Anniversary trip, which was a surprise for me. Chris planned the whole trip, and we had a GREAT time! We went to Chicago (Chris had never been there other than driving through, and I hadn't been there since my college days) for about 3 days. We stayed in a REALLY nice hotel (they had bellhops and everything!) right off Michigan Avenue across from the Hancock Building. While we were in town, we attended two more baseball games... one at Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs, and the other at US Cellular Field to watch the White Sox. I told Chris that he has the best wife in the world b/c she actually ENJOYED going to ballgames on her anniversary trip! :-) We also walked up and down Michigan Ave and the shoreline of Lake Michigan, visited the Shedd Aquarium and Navy Pier, and generally just relaxed and enjoyed the time together. It was a great surprise, and it was over WAY too quickly!
August - August 10th brought another new niece into the family... again on Chris' side! Jacquline Abigail was born to Chris' brother, Burt and his wife, Julie. Jacquline is their first baby as well. We are always excited to have another member join the family!
We didn't actually take any trips in August! We stayed home to work to pay off all of our gallivanting that we did all summer! We both celebrated birthdays... our birthdays are only a week apart. I turned the big 30 this year, but I don't mind at all. We had an open house/Chris' birthday party on his birthday, and also had a fun surprise as some friends of ours were traveling through town and took us out to lunch. We hadn't seen these friends in about a year. Then, the Thursday before my birthday, one of my patients that I took care of in MD and his family were in the area visiting family, and they came over and spent the afternoon visiting us. It was fun to see them again.
September - According to Chris, this was the best month of all! First of all, I was able to attend our Ladies' Retreat at the camp sponsored by our church. It was a great time of fun and fellowship. But - the weekend of the 15th, we made a VERY QUICK weekend trip to Boston. As most of you know, Chris grew up just outside of Boston until he was 12, so this is his "hometown." He is a die hard Boston sports fan. He decided that we couldn't go to Wrigley Field for a game and not go to Fenway Park! We got tickets to the second game of the last NY Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox series of the season. We had a BLAST at the game! It was the best crowd of fans at any game or ballpark I've ever been to! They were cheering the WHOLE TIME! Of course, I might be slightly biased by my husband's brainwashing... but it was really cool! In the morning before the game, we took a quick tour of Boston, seeing most of the historical sites... Freedom Trail, Quincy Market, Paul Revere's House, the Old North Church, the USS Constitution, etc. We packed a lot of things into a short amount of time, but again, it was great to have the time together and making memories!
October - We found out in late October that there will be another niece or nephew joining the family this next year (Lord willing)... My older brother, Steve, and his wife, Kathryn, are expecting their first baby in late June! Again, we are always excited to have more babies added to the family! :-)
Since then, we have basically stayed home and worked! Now we're saving up for our next vacation next summer (Lord willing!) and you guessed it, it includes going to games at several ballparks! :-) We were able to go to visit some friends of ours in Lexington, KY, (about an hour &1/2 from here) for Thanksgiving. It was a great time of fellowship and we enjoyed the day. For Christmas, we are staying home as well. We do have family planning to come down to our house for Christmas this year... we're just not sure yet if it will be Chris' sister and her family or my parents.
Well, I think that about covers everything! If you are really interested in seeing pictures from our excursions this year, they are all posted on our personal website.
Again, Merry CHRISTmas to you all! Don't forget the REASON for this season we are celebrating... The Lord Jesus Christ! We are celebrating his birth on this earth, but don't forget that the only reason He left Heaven for earth was to take the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. The story doesn't end there, however. He was then buried, and rose again on the 3rd day. He conquered death, so that we could have eternal life in Heaven with Him. How do we receive the gift of eternal life in Heaven? We have to accept the fact that we are sinners, believe by faith that Jesus died in our place for the punishment of those sins, and confess our sin to God and ask Him to forgive us and save us from our sin. Have you done that? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? If not, you are missing the BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT OF ALL! (If you have any questions or want to know more about accepting Christ as your personal Savior, you can give us a call anytime!)
Wishing you the very Merriest of CHRISTmases and a BLESSED NEW YEAR!
Serving Christ,
Chris and Heather Beth
Psalm 91:1, Lam 3:22-23
5.31.2007
Our niece, Korissa
These are our niece, Korissa's, 3 month pics... taken at Sears. I played some with them (black&white, sepia, vignettes, etc.) Enjoy!
My favorite picture... both in color and b&w!
5.24.2007
More on my trip to FL
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The Mitchell family at Julianne's Graduation
OK, before going on with the story of our trip, I have to tell you 2 stories that involve my father-in-law. Just a little bit of background with him: He likes to be right... and most of the time is, but I LOVE to argue with him and prove him wrong... just because! I now have the type of relationship that I can do that with him, and it doesn't come across as being disrespectful. In the earlier years of my marriage and dealing with my FIL, we had some tough times, but my relationship with both him and my MIL are wonderful, and I am SO thankful for that. I get along VERY well with my in-laws (at least most of them), so much so that sometimes I wonder if I should have been born into their family instead of my own. ANYWAY... back to the FIL...
Tuesday night, Chris' family all went out to eat together, which we normally do when we are all together like that. We were having our regular dinner conversation, and somehow we got on the subject of engagements (I'm not sure how that happened, but it did.) I made the comment that my mom had actually given me "permission" to kiss Chris when we got engaged (my parents have always maintained the "hands off" policy... no holding hands or ANYTHING.) My brothers always made a big joke about getting "Mom's permission" to do this or that. SO - I made a comment about it at the table. Now, you have to understand... I was sitting on the side of the table with Chris' brother, Jon, on my left, Chris' sister, Tiffany, on my right, then Kim next to her at the head of the table, then Sandy across from Tiffany, Chris next to Sandy (across from me) and my FIL next to Chris. The conversation was really between Chris and I and his 3 sisters that were down on our end, and I THOUGHT that my FIL was involved in a conversation on the other end of the table. I made the comment about kissing, and out of the blue, my FIL turns and says, "So - you were totally disobeying your father's rules when I broke you and Chris up in the living room at our house that Christmas?"
***Chris and I were NOT perfect during our dating days as far as physical contact is concerned, as I'm sure most people aren't. This particular instance, Chris was sitting on the couch, and I was laying across his lap, and we were talking. We weren't even kissing!***
So, I replied, "Yeah, well, there were a lot of my father's rules that I broke growing up, but I've gotten them all taken care of with my dad... and besides, in some things I still believe 'If they don't know, it won't hurt them.' " I looked across the table and saw Chris' look of disbelief that my FIL had actually brought that up! It was pretty funny, I thought. The funniest thing about it was that I had actually totally forgotten about that incident. I mean, Chris and I have been MARRIED for almost 7 years, so the incident that he was referring to happened the Christmas of 1999... over 7 years before. He had NEVER brought it up before, and then all of the sudden, out of the blue, there it was.
Cloudy skies on our road trip... I love how the sky looks fake.
The other thing that happened with my FIL was while Tiffany and I were traveling. We had called him to tell him that we were about 30 minutes from our destination, and he tried to tell us we were 45 min - 1 hour away. I didn't agree, but let it go (this time.) Earlier that day, another SIL called us to ask us about something else, and gave us a little tip on a tricky turn that was not labeled well on our directions. We were just coming up on this turn when my FIL called. By the time I answered the phone, we had already turned on the road. So, he says to me, "There's a tricky turn coming up soon..." and I interrupted, "I know, we got it." To which he replies, "You don't even know what I'm going to say." "Yes, I do." "No, you don't." "Yes, I do." "No, you don't, HEATHER BETH, you can't read my mind!" "You were going to tell us about the turn onto .... We already made that turn. We have directions, and Kim already told us about it. We'll see you in a few minutes!"
So - why was this so funny? I guess my FIL was really irritated because HE USED MY MIDDLE NAME!!! I couldn't believe it... MY DAD doesn't even use my middle name, and my FIL used it! I had a little discussion with him about it later, and I told him that I wasn't trying to be rude or disrespectful, but that I really did know what he was going to tell me, so I was trying to save his breath. (How very thoughtful of me, don't you think?!? :^}) He told me that he had just had a really long day and he was already irritated, so he was just frustrated that I wouldn't listen to him.
By the way, I WAS right... it only took us 30 minutes to get to our final destination from when we called him the 1st time, not 45 min- 1 hour, but I decided NOT to tell him that! :-)
I ended up staying in a hotel with all 4 of Chris' sisters and his 3 month old neice for the 2 days that we were there. It was fun ~ I get along with his sisters very well. So well, in fact, that Chris made the comment before he left on Wednesday to come home, "My sisters love you so much that if I were ever to leave you, they would kill ME!!! Not that I'm planning on leaving you, EVER!" ;-) Again, I am thankful for the family that I was so blessed to be a part of when I married Chris. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my family, too... I just don't fit in quite as well in my family... there's been too many things that I've done in the past to them for them to be as accepting now... but that's another story that I don't want to revisit.
Saturday, Tiffany and I headed for home after spending time with her brother and sister-in-law that we really hadn't had the chance to visit with over the weekend. We ended up taking Sandy, Kim, and Korissa with us for a little while, then dropped them off at the airport so they could head home. We then drove to Jacksonville (which was on the way home) and met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner. I was very thankful that their schedule was clear enough for us to do that with them... they keep VERY busy. As we were entering Jacksonville, we got a call from Tiffany's brother & family, who was also headed home to Pensacola. They had left a couple of hours before we did, and were calling to let us know that 50 miles of I-10 just west of Jax had been shut down due to the wildfires in the area. They had gone 45 miles in 3 hours!!! Since they were so sweet to call us and warn us about the detour, we were able to ask my bro, Steve & Kathryn, if they would mind if we just stayed the night with them that night and headed home in the morning. I figured since it was already 6:30pm, we wouldn't get home until 2 am if we continued on that night. I would much rather be stuck in traffic with just the 2 of us girls in the DAYLIGHT as opposed to the middle of the night. Besides, that would give us the opportunity to get a "good night's sleep" for the drive in the morning.
"Fog smoke" from the wildfires... this was on the trip from Pensacola on Thursday. The sky really was this weird color green.
More "fog smoke" from the wildfires... this was what the sky looked like from behind us.
Well, we didn't get a "good night's sleep." We barely ended up taking a long "nap." Kathryn, Tiffany, and I stayed up until 3:15am! Kathryn was doing "makeovers" for us, and throughly enjoying it. Poor Steve was left on his own, and ended up going to bed around 1am. Kathryn plucked our eyebrows (I've never had mine done before) and did our makeup. She was still going strong at 3am, but I reminded her that she had to get up for church in the morning, and we had to get on the road and drive at least 5 hours! We had a great time, though, and it was fun for me to get to know Kathryn more. It was very funny to me to see my SIL's from the opposite sides of my family together ~ never thought that would happen ~ and getting along so well. Kathryn and Tiffany are actually the same age. Chris got a laugh out of Tiffany the next morning when he was talking to her. She made these statements one right after the other, "Kathryn is GORGEOUS! She and I are alot alike!" In true big brother fashion, Chris replies, "Oh, so now you think you're gorgeous, huh?" :-)
Not the best picture... but one eyebrow done, one not done. Can you tell the difference?
Tiffany beautiful with make-up
Heather & Tiffany after make-overs.JPG)
At 3 am...
I flew home that afternoon, and had uneventful flights. I was thrilled to see my husband, and to be home! It was a good trip, and I am so thankful that I was able to go!
5.18.2007
My (our) Trip to FL
Last week I was blessed to be able to take almost a whole week off of work to make, as my BIL called it, the "Graduation Journey." As I've posted before, I had a BIL graduate on the 5th with a second degree in Mechanical Engineering... with a 4.0 GPA, in addition to being a husband and father, working full-time, and church responsibilities. Congrats to him!
Then, on the 9th, my SIL graduated with an Associates Degree in Business, Secretarial (I'm not sure what the technical term is for her degree. Out of all the graduations in the family, this one meant the most. This SIL suffered a brain aneurysm when she was 7 years old. She went into the hospital on my hubby's 16th b-day. The MD's didn't think she would live, much less lead a normal life. Well, God knows so much better than the doctors! She had intensive therapy and missed a year of school, but has almost completely recovered. She still struggles with things, such as not having peripheral vision on the right side of both of her eyes, and memory issues. All that to say that some of the family didn't even think she would GO to college, much less GRADUATE! It took 3&1/2 years (she changed her major, too), but she stuck to it and graduated. She was actually able to wear a hood with her regalia because she completed over 100 credit hours. Congrats to her!
Chris and I flew down to FL on Tues. for my SIL's graduation, but Chris couldn't miss any more work, so he flew home on Wed. evening. It was a short visit for him, but we were able to get in some family time, and also spent the night at the home of some dear friends and spent some time with them. I remained in FL for yet another graduation. I also got to BRIEFLY say hello to my baby brother while there... but we'll see him the end of June for his wedding.
Another family member graduated and is now officially in the military. WE ARE SO PROUD OF THAT FAMILY MEMBER! Another SIL and I drove up to the graduation. This was her 1st ROAD TRIP, and boy, did we make some memories!
It all started the night before when I spent the night in her apt., and we stayed up way late talking. During the evening, we ran out to Walmart to get snacks for the trip. This SIL doesn't drink pop, so we found some flavored water to take. I had the great idea of freezing the H2O so that we wouldn't have to take a cooler with us (not much room in the trunk of a VW Bug). The next morning she had to work, so I read a book - a whole book - that morning! (I LOVE to read, but don't take the time very often b/c once I start a book, it is almost impossible for me to put it down!) I took the water out of the freezer, and noticed that the sides of the bottles were bulging a little, and thought that was a little weird, but not worth a closer look.
After she got off work, we loaded the car and started on our trip, but not before stopping at BK to grab some lunch for her. Well, we had to wait for the chicken to cook, so pulled around for them to bring it out to us. While we were waiting, I checked to make sure we had additional napkins in the car, "just in case." We didn't, so she ran in to grab some napkins.
Later down the road, we got thirsty. We decided to open one of the bottles of water. My SIL had the bottle and the steering wheel in her left hand, and went to open the bottle with her right hand, and... you know what's coming... it EXPLODED EVERYWHERE!!! What we DIDN'T see when we bought the water was the little word ***SPARKLING*** on the label! So - we're lucky that the water bottles didn't EXPLODE in the freezer. After another hour of opening the bottle, letting out some carbonation, and closing it back up before it fizzed over again, we were FINALLY able to drink it. It was delicious! :-)
We also have the memory of stopping at yet another BK, and it taking FOREVER to get my SIL's sandwich b/c she ordered chicken, and the sandwich making guy only was making BURGERS (regardless of the fact that she ORDERED FIRST!) Then we drove through some FOG SMOKE with sightings of some ash falling from the sky due to the wildfires along the freeway (we never actually SAW the fire.) The sky was really dark at first and then was a greenish color. As we were leaving the area and the sky was clearing, we looked back and the sky had an awesome orange glow. (I'll post some pics later.)
We also had some guys toying with us. We were just talking, and out of "nowhere" a red Honda Civic passed us, then pulled into the lane in front of us and hit the brakes pretty hard. I was thinking, "Why in the world are they cutting us off and hitting the brakes when there is no one else around, and no reason to hit the brakes?" I told my SIL to go around them, and as she changed lanes, so did they. I was able to see the driver's face in the side mirror, and he was laughing as he looked at us. It was then that I realized they were just playing. SIL pulled back over into the lane, and they did as well. The windows were darkly tinted, so we never did actually see their faces. We did, however, see their silhouettes as the passengers turned around to watch us. We turned off on the same major exit to another freeway, but as we went north, they went south. I had JUST asked my SIL if I should roll down my window and wave, when the driver rolled down HIS window and waved at us! I was teasing SIL that 3 HOT guys were chasing her down! :-) Of course, I HAD to call my hubby and tell him that guys were hitting on us, to which he sweetly replied, "It must have been the hot babe in the passenger seat!" I'm not so sure about that, but I'm glad HUBBY thinks that I'm still a hot babe! :-)
Well... I'll have to finish this story later. I'll also include the pics that I can. Thanks for reading my stories! :-)
Then, on the 9th, my SIL graduated with an Associates Degree in Business, Secretarial (I'm not sure what the technical term is for her degree. Out of all the graduations in the family, this one meant the most. This SIL suffered a brain aneurysm when she was 7 years old. She went into the hospital on my hubby's 16th b-day. The MD's didn't think she would live, much less lead a normal life. Well, God knows so much better than the doctors! She had intensive therapy and missed a year of school, but has almost completely recovered. She still struggles with things, such as not having peripheral vision on the right side of both of her eyes, and memory issues. All that to say that some of the family didn't even think she would GO to college, much less GRADUATE! It took 3&1/2 years (she changed her major, too), but she stuck to it and graduated. She was actually able to wear a hood with her regalia because she completed over 100 credit hours. Congrats to her!
Chris and I flew down to FL on Tues. for my SIL's graduation, but Chris couldn't miss any more work, so he flew home on Wed. evening. It was a short visit for him, but we were able to get in some family time, and also spent the night at the home of some dear friends and spent some time with them. I remained in FL for yet another graduation. I also got to BRIEFLY say hello to my baby brother while there... but we'll see him the end of June for his wedding.
Another family member graduated and is now officially in the military. WE ARE SO PROUD OF THAT FAMILY MEMBER! Another SIL and I drove up to the graduation. This was her 1st ROAD TRIP, and boy, did we make some memories!
It all started the night before when I spent the night in her apt., and we stayed up way late talking. During the evening, we ran out to Walmart to get snacks for the trip. This SIL doesn't drink pop, so we found some flavored water to take. I had the great idea of freezing the H2O so that we wouldn't have to take a cooler with us (not much room in the trunk of a VW Bug). The next morning she had to work, so I read a book - a whole book - that morning! (I LOVE to read, but don't take the time very often b/c once I start a book, it is almost impossible for me to put it down!) I took the water out of the freezer, and noticed that the sides of the bottles were bulging a little, and thought that was a little weird, but not worth a closer look.
After she got off work, we loaded the car and started on our trip, but not before stopping at BK to grab some lunch for her. Well, we had to wait for the chicken to cook, so pulled around for them to bring it out to us. While we were waiting, I checked to make sure we had additional napkins in the car, "just in case." We didn't, so she ran in to grab some napkins.
Later down the road, we got thirsty. We decided to open one of the bottles of water. My SIL had the bottle and the steering wheel in her left hand, and went to open the bottle with her right hand, and... you know what's coming... it EXPLODED EVERYWHERE!!! What we DIDN'T see when we bought the water was the little word ***SPARKLING*** on the label! So - we're lucky that the water bottles didn't EXPLODE in the freezer. After another hour of opening the bottle, letting out some carbonation, and closing it back up before it fizzed over again, we were FINALLY able to drink it. It was delicious! :-)
We also have the memory of stopping at yet another BK, and it taking FOREVER to get my SIL's sandwich b/c she ordered chicken, and the sandwich making guy only was making BURGERS (regardless of the fact that she ORDERED FIRST!) Then we drove through some FOG SMOKE with sightings of some ash falling from the sky due to the wildfires along the freeway (we never actually SAW the fire.) The sky was really dark at first and then was a greenish color. As we were leaving the area and the sky was clearing, we looked back and the sky had an awesome orange glow. (I'll post some pics later.)
We also had some guys toying with us. We were just talking, and out of "nowhere" a red Honda Civic passed us, then pulled into the lane in front of us and hit the brakes pretty hard. I was thinking, "Why in the world are they cutting us off and hitting the brakes when there is no one else around, and no reason to hit the brakes?" I told my SIL to go around them, and as she changed lanes, so did they. I was able to see the driver's face in the side mirror, and he was laughing as he looked at us. It was then that I realized they were just playing. SIL pulled back over into the lane, and they did as well. The windows were darkly tinted, so we never did actually see their faces. We did, however, see their silhouettes as the passengers turned around to watch us. We turned off on the same major exit to another freeway, but as we went north, they went south. I had JUST asked my SIL if I should roll down my window and wave, when the driver rolled down HIS window and waved at us! I was teasing SIL that 3 HOT guys were chasing her down! :-) Of course, I HAD to call my hubby and tell him that guys were hitting on us, to which he sweetly replied, "It must have been the hot babe in the passenger seat!" I'm not so sure about that, but I'm glad HUBBY thinks that I'm still a hot babe! :-)
Well... I'll have to finish this story later. I'll also include the pics that I can. Thanks for reading my stories! :-)
3.01.2007
Pictures of our nieces
These are Aksana's (my brother Greg's little girl) 1 year old pictures! I apologize for the quality, but I took pictures of the pictures in order to put them on my computer! I love the bead necklace... I think she just looks so sweet in these pictures!
Here they are!!!! I FINALLY received some pictures of our newest niece, Korissa. These pictures were taken at the hospital just after she was born. She was 9 lbs, 6 ounces, and 21 inches long. Her mom says that she was a "chunky monkey!"
Here is Korissa with her mommy on Sunday, 02/25/07. I don't know what you think, but this position does not look very comfortable. However, I think she is absolutely adorable!!
Here is the proud grandpa, and another awkward position of being held. If Korissa keeps getting held like this, she may have to see a chiropractor! :*) Just kidding!
It is kind of amazing to me how big she is! The little boy that I take care of is 15 months old, and he's not quite double her size (he is almost 17 pounds)!
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