Friday, January 20, 2012

Snow Pictures

Since we moved away from Portland, Matthew has been hoping, with each new winter, for a snowmageddon.  One of those crazy storms that comes through and dumps two feet of snow and shuts down the city.  Matthew would actually be happy with just one, but so far no such luck.  Wenatchee was good for four or five inches at a time, but Pennsylvania, so far, has had disappointing one and two inch accumulations.  I really haven't bothered taking pictures of our snow since it's been so piddly, but last night the heavens dropped a couple of inches, this morning is glorious (as you can tell from the pictures), and I have nothing to do with my day, so clad in toasty warm snow pants, a big red fluffy coat and gortex gloves, I ventured across the street to the state game lands to take a couple of pictures of the snow among the trees.


I like the second picture the best, mostly because "they" grow crops back here, so they have a sprinkler system, but for some unknown reason they also water the surrounding bushes,  Maybe they're afraid of forest fires?  Also, for some unknown reason, they continue to water the bushes into the fall and winter, well after harvest time.  It's odd, but the result are these beautiful ice creations.  At least I think they're cool.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

20 Week . . . Drum Roll Please

This is me at 20 weeks on the beach near my in-laws house in Laie, Hawaii, which is on the North Shore of Oahu. Isn't that background lovely (minus the few bits of trash)?

A couple of days, a total of 10 hours on a plane, super swollen ankles, and utter exhaustion later,  Matthew and I were back in State College eager to restart our life and to find out just what sort of baby we were having. I prayed, Matthew prayed, and I asked everyone we knew to pray that Wee Babe would show him/herself to us at our ultrasound appointment.  While Matthew and I were excited and eager to have a little girl, we wanted to know one way or another even more.  When the appointment started, the baby was in the WORST position to show off, but thankfully by the end HE had switched it up enough that the ultrasound tech was able to take a couple of pictures identifying that Wee Babe is now a Zachary Daniel! A few hours of shock and ironic laughter later, Matthew and I are so excited to welcome this new addition into our family.  He will have good company with his at least two other boy cousins (one more to determine) that will join the Booren family in 2012.  While he is the first Marler grandchild, he will also be the twenty-second Booren grandchild, the 18th boy, and the 13th boy born in a row.  We now not only have a full soccer team, but we are filling out a football team of boys as well!! Holy Hannah.