lots of changes

So, lots of things have been happening or are about to happen and I think we just may pull it all off!

First, I had a doctor appointment Wednesday and things went really well. Jared was able to go with and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time which was lots of fun! The baby seems to be doing well and is ticking away at 164 beats per minute. Old wives' tales say this is a girl, so we will have to see. I am 15 weeks along tomorrow, so it shouldn't be too much longer until we officially know the gender of our little one. This was also hopefully the last appointment with my current doctor. That sounds bad, he is a GREAT doctor, but we will be transferring to someone else down in St. Louis. I just need to call them and get it set up. Soon!

Second, Jared is furiously active in lots of meetings and planning youth events, which include a senior high lock-in Friday night, junior high hang out night on Saturday, and planning for the youth gathering in July (hopefully with a nap in there somewhere). Its amazing to realize that our time here is almost done and he is working on his last couple of sermons.

Third, speaking of last sermons, we are starting to pack! We already have half of our kitchen with mom and dad in South Dakota and half of my teaching stuff with mom and dad in Michigan, so you think it would be easy. HA! We even donated quite a bit to the rummage sale, but we still have a lot to pack...so the process has started and the books are leaving their shelves and being stacked in corners of the dining room. We have a fun picture of the cat hanging out on a pile of boxes stacked at least 7 high, but it is on Jared's cell phone and he is at a meeting, so it will have to wait. I am looking forward to VBS decorating to be done on Sunday so the giant cardboard ship will be out of the basement and the 3 backdrops from the spring musical will be out of the front hall. :) That should help me feel a little better as well.

Last, I have a job! Or, more accurately, I am a candidate for a job. Today was my second day commuting to St. Louis (130 mile round trip) so that hopefully I will have a position all ready for when we get back from the youth gathering. Or at least, I will get paid in the meantime, and not be too far behind in August. More details on the job after I hopefully get hired.

Thats it for now, keep us in your prayers as we transitions our lives back to the books for Jared, full time work for Sarah, and new adventures in preparing for number 3 to join us!

the stuff has started...

Okay, so I read my calendar wrong and my next doctor's appointment is not until next week. No update on that front. But, I did have an interview on Tuesday in St. Louis that went well and I should know by the end of the week, Monday at the latest, if I have the opportunity to go through training and a trial period. The bad thing about the interview is that it was supposed to last up to 3 hours, but I was there for 5 hours! Now I had this potluck to go to for my women's Bible study, so I figured that I would just show up late and no big deal. However, when I showed up at 8 instead of 6, I found out it was a surprise baby shower for me! I felt pretty bad about showing up 2 hours late to my own shower, but they had a good time with it and it was so much fun. There are pictures posted on the Picasa link to the right (thank you Jami for taking pictures and passing them along!). We received some wonderful items and played a couple of really fun games.

We also picked up a pack 'n' play from the church ladies' aid rummage sale for a great deal. Technically, the sale doesn't start until tomorrow, but the ladies were happy to sell it to me a day early. Yay! It is brand new and easy to put up and down. We are planning on using it in the apartment as the crib because we are moving only 6 months after the baby comes and we don't really need to buy lots of furniture only to move it. I am sure I'll pick up a few more things at the sale tomorrow when it officially opens for shopping.