Memory Lane

Yesterday we went through some boxes that have been in our basement since the move (and probably haven't been opened before the last three moves). Jonathan stumbled upon a box of "Amy stuff", including letters, pictures, and things I had sent him through our dating years.
We started going through the box and then I went and found my own "Jonathan collection". We probably spent two hours going through piles of things. We didn't even come close to reading everything (there were piles and piles), but we still found some treasures. Here are a few of the highlights that we got a kick out of...

The Beginning: The fall of 1999: Amy attends Jonathan's youth group and they exchange email addresses on small pieces of paper. The best part...you read correctly....my family had "integrity online" - please tell me someone remembers those days of old:)! It was even a family account. It was our first form of communication. HA! I can't believe we both held on to these treasures.
This picture is one that Jonathan had in his box - a picture given to him of my little brother, Ethan. I think Eth must have been in 4th grade. He truly did grow up with Jonathan in the picture from the very beginning. Ethan's now a junior in high school and is 6 ft & still growing.
A personal favorite item, this is a valentine that Leah, my sister, must have given Jonathan during one of the first few years of us dating. Leah was in 8th grade when Jonathan came into my life, so maybe she wrote this as a 9th grader? Check it out (I hope you can read it).Here is the first (horrible) birthday card Jonathan gave me. It's only horrible because it was during the month of my junior year when he decided we shouldn't be dating. The card was covered in smiley faces and said something like "you make me happy". He has gotten a lot of grief for that ridiculous card through the years. We found it in the box.During our two years of long-distance dating, Jonathan attended a church that sent out free encouragement postcards each week. I am pretty sure he sent me one every week during his time at CWU. I kept them all. I think the one on top has some coded message puzzle. They were great.Here are copies of emails I sent to Jonathan. As you can see, there were tons!
This summer we'll hit the 10th anniversary of the day we met at Dan & Shelley's wedding in June 1999 (technically, we didn't "meet" because we never talked - but it was the first time we noticed each other) Here is the big moment...love at first sight:). He's the one on the right, singing.Okay, last picture, our first official date. February 11, 2000. Lewis & Clark Valentine's Dance. Wow:)!

My Favorite Thing

I really don't know if there is anything I like more than xc skiing. Seriously. I don't know what it is about it. The stillness and quite. The scenery. The exercise (which is undercover, by the way). Maybe it's the feeling of absolute escape...like you're miles and miles away, even when you're not that far from home. Whatever the reason (or all of them, I'm sure), I LOVE xc skiing.

If you haven't tried it, you should.
If you have tried it and don't like it, I'm not sure we can be friends.
If you ever want to go with me, just give me a call and I will undoubtedly agree to join you.
If you can't decide, just look at these pictures and maybe you'll make up your mind...

The Bump

I have had over two weeks off from teaching. Why is it that it is Sunday, January 4th, the day before I am to return to my job, that I am finally posting pictures from the last month!? It's probably the same reason I am sitting down to lesson plan/grade today. Yikes! It has been a terrific break:). I'll start by posting the latest baby bump pic.
I am now 22 weeks along and have been feeling the baby kick quite a lot lately - which is pretty incredible. There is something about actually feeling the baby move that makes all of this even more real than seeing pictures of the baby. Still, I'll include a few of the ultrasound pictures as well. We went the the doctor earlier in December when I was 18 weeks along. From what they could see, everything looks good. I'm glad they are the professionals. I could distinguish some of the bones/body parts, but at one point I thought we were looking at the face when it was actually the baby's heart. I'll trust their expertise:).I feel truly blessed to have had a relatively uneventful pregnancy thus far. I definitely have more energy than I did during the first trimester, and I'm not too huge yet so I'm not uncomfortable. I know that it's just a matter of time until that changes!

Many of you know this already, but we're not finding out whether we're having a boy or a girl. I have gone back and forth on this (most recently the day before our ultrasound I tried to convince Jonathan that we did, in fact, need to know), but I feel good about being surprised at this point. It is strange mentally preparing for it and going back and forth, convincing myself that it must be a girl, then a boy, then a girl, then a boy, etc. Jonathan keeps reminding me that it is still a 50% chance either way, so in the end, how can I really convince myself that it's truly one or the other? The truth is I have NO idea. Stay tuned...I'm sure we'll try every old wives' tale in the book (dangling the wedding ring, heartbeat info, etc.) and maybe we'll post about it and take bets. Hmmm. Which will it be? :)

The New Toy

My husband was blessed with a nice little holiday bonus. That sounds weird. He has only been employed in the "real world" for a little bit over five months and I keep forgetting that we are real grown-ups now (not that every real adult receives a bonus -teachers most certainly do not!). Anyways. Of course we put most of the $ in the bank, but I did agree to one special purchase.

What was that special purchase? First, I'd like you to consider what most guys would buy? A plasma TV. An Xbox. A Nintendo Wii...something of the electronic variety. NOT my husband (I'm sure he wouldn't mind any of that stuff though). My husband decided to splurge on something he has wanted for a long time. He found himself a great deal on Craigslist. He bought a....

CELLO

Yes, a cello. AND he has been playing it almost non-stop since he purchased it just about 24 hours ago. Watch out Yo Yo Ma (or whatever his name is)...here comes Jonathan Hook:)!

State Champs

I have hardly written a thing about coaching volleyball this fall. It's just one of the many reasons I haven't been a very good blogger as of late. Here's a brief update...

I coached at LC high school, which was a bit of a change since I grew up as a panther. The first time I wore the orange and black it was a bit strange, and it was even weirder the first time we played Mead. It wasn't too difficult to make the switch, though, once I got to know the coaching staff and the girls. They are an awesome group of ladies and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to coach there! During the regular season I worked mostly with the JV team and with the varsity setter. Then as we rolled through the play-offs I worked with the varsity team. Not only did we win the GSL, but we won Districts, Regionals, and we swept State. Wahoo! Of course I can't really claim any of the success for myself:), I was just glad to be a part of it. I know that many people coach their entire lives and never earn a state championship, so it was especially sweet to experience it during my first year at LC.

It's Official...

I am pregnant! I know. You are surprised, but you're not really that surprised:). It is incredibly overwhelming, exciting, scary, terrific, terrifying news! I'm just thankful that we'll have until May to let it all sink in:). I'm sure as the belly starts to grow and I actually feel something moving inside of me (besides just that bloated, nasty feeling), it will start to sink in.

I'm officially 13 weeks and 4 days pregnant. For those of you who have experienced pregnancy before, this means something to you. If you are like me just over a month ago, you have no idea how to think in "weeks". My due date is May 9th (one day before Mother's Day - I might actually be a mother on Mother's Day this year - wow!). That means I won't be able to finish my first year teaching here in Spokane. Although I'm bummed about that, a few coworkers have told me that I planned it just right since I'll be getting out of the last month teaching 6th graders. Maybe it'll turn out to be for the better:).

I have been very blessed so far on this journey. I've only thrown up and experienced nausea a handful of times. My biggest complains are just that I have to wake up ALL the time in the middle of the night to pee. That plus general exhaustion at all times & the sensitive sense of smell (while teaching 6th grade - not the best combination) have been the worst parts. Compared to others I really don't have much to complain about.

I'm hoping this will be the last set of big news for a while. Moving from Australia & Colorado back to Spokane, living with the in-laws, starting two new jobs, buying our first home and finding out we're pregnant has been a little much all at once. Here's to a really long, uneventful, relaxing fall & holiday season!

Jonny's Hairdo

We are adjusting to the fact that Jonathan is now a professional and this new "doctor" title & actual job comes with a few new responsibilities. Case in point: the hair. For the last five years we have followed the "twice a year" pattern of hair-cuts. At two (usually strategically-planned) times during the year I would bust out the ol' hair-cutting razor and go to work.

I actually started cutting Jonathan's hair while we were dating and have been his faithful barber ever since (that's about seven years!). Before marriage, my clean-cut husband would require a haircut every two months or so. I'm not sure if over time the barber just got lazy (he could have gone somewhere else, right? but we all know that somewhere else wasn't free) or if the shaggy hairdo was just a welcome change from the clean-cut past. It was probably a little bit of both.

Now, though, we are realizing that this two-a-year plan will probably not suffice as we enter this new realm of adulthood. After a few weeks of "comments" at his workplace, I finally busted out the electric razor on Wednesday night and gave him a much-needed haircut.

I guess one advantage to cutting his hair more frequently will be the fact that he won't look like a total stranger for the week or two after his haircut...