Wacky World of the Craigs...

playing in the water

2011-07-09T21:07:00.000-05:00

The month of June was very busy for us. We went to colorado twice in 2 weeks, and saw much of the Benke family... but most importantly we played in the water! I LOVE playing in the water!

We also went to a prade this weekend...

I had my first freezie pop...

not sure how I really feel about it...

zoe on the move

2011-04-16T15:51:00.001-05:00

I just got to groove to the beat!

A little dance, and little walk... wait what's that?? it's my wipes!!

and just incase you've forgotten how much we've grown!

whats new in zoe's world

2011-03-06T19:30:00.001-06:00

so i have been neglecting the blog... so ive been told... its because i stink at taking pics... but heres what i have on my phone...

Adventures of Zoe

2011-01-16T15:20:00.000-06:00

Ummm... mommy drinks this

I think I should try it.

Toys go here...

i think I do too!

Mommy Let me help you on your computer

okay daddy, okay I believe you!

Christmas #3

2011-01-16T15:15:00.000-06:00

Christmas #3 Happened at Grandma Suzie and Papa Herbie's House

I even got to see Cousin ben! It was a good Christmas!

christmas #2

2011-01-16T15:09:00.000-06:00

Christmas #2 was at home in our new house.

Christmas #1

2011-01-16T15:04:00.000-06:00

Over Thanksgiving Zoe had her first thanksgiving in Indiana with Grammy Brenda, Aunti Brooke and Tio. It was fun! Zoe did a good job ripping open her presents!

What's new?

2010-11-22T21:31:00.000-06:00

Well there's not much new going on in the Craig house hold... well, I guess it's the usual madness....
Zoe has 2 teeth, she crawls, she sits up from the crawling position, she laughs and smiles and i swear today she said ABC after playing with a toy that sings the ABC's...
here's some semi recent picts of the babe!

Oh Yeah, Zoe got a hair cut!

And some times a baby just gotta sleep

Happy Halloween!

The new place... well it will be Dec. 3

2010-10-27T14:35:00.000-05:00

We have a new house... well almost. We haven't closed yet, but they have accepted our offer, and things are moving a long swiftly.

Here are some pics of the new place

This is the "extra room" It's in the basement and it has it's own bathroom... sadly the princess castle doesn't stay

The front of the house.

our big beautiful back yard and deck

yes folks, that's oak! Cute right

Dinning room... use to be a bed room... but now we dine

the selling point, the family room built off the kitchen, it's quite lovely

front room

basement family room

Zoe's Room

Master suite... Of course the stuff in the house isn't ours, but I think we will make it just as cozy!

the rest of the trip!

2010-09-21T18:23:00.000-05:00

So last week we went to CO. it was fun, I got to see a lot of my cousins, but i have pictures of more! Here we GO!

Uncle Scott... you so funny

Casey is pretty funny too!

Aunt Jill... we take good pics!

Great Aunt Heldi

Aunt Amy and Garrett

Kaylen and me

Garrett loves to hold me

its the baby holding train

it took some doing, but I got Hunter to hold me

Uncle Grant! What you doing?

Bristol and I are going to be best friends!

Aunt Tami feeding me stuff she shouldn't

kisses!

Unkie Chad

Ragan forgot to hold me, but here she is!

Vacation number ???

2010-09-12T22:59:00.001-05:00

So mommy keeps taking me EVERYWHERE... Our new adventure took us to Colorado. Mommy officiated our cousin's Leland's wedding. It was a ton of fun. I got to meet my Unkie Scott, Auntie Jill and my cousin's Kylie, Kadie and Casey. Here are some pictures from our trip... it's not over yet, so there might be some more pictures coming!

Me and Kadie

Sitting in the high chair

Casey

Grandma, Great Uncle Andy and Great Aunt Frances

Great Uncle Andy and Great Aunt Marj

Great Aunt Frances

Cousin Sherri

Family Pic

Me eating sweet potatoes

Me and mommy's friend Jennie

Me Jennie and John

Me and Cousin Kylie

Zoe's second major youth event of the summer

2010-08-15T20:23:00.000-05:00

Zoe has been on many, many adventures this summer. This past weekend she went on her first Middle school retreat to MUUUCE. It was an amazing experience, and in her true form, Zoe was trooper! It helped that we brought grandma and grandpa along to play with Zoe while blake and I were off riding roller coasters with the middle schoolers. Zoe had her first sleep over with Grandpa and Grandma, they slept at the hotel while we crashed on the floor of the church.
Anyway here are some pics of the experience.

On the road

lunch with daddy and the MS

We made it to St. Paul, and boy is it hot!

Hanging out at the hotel

my cereal gotee

I just playing

before church with the grandrents

kisses

mommy kisses!

A couple firsts

2010-08-08T18:59:00.000-05:00

Zoe's been learing on growing. here are a couple videos of her firsts!

not her first role, but maybe her second or tenth

her real first bites.

Blackmail

2010-08-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

I have an obsession. I LOVE chocolate. Not only do I LOVE chocolate, but I AGAPE (this might be blasphemous) Aldi's chocolate.... sadly I live in a teeny tiny city that doesn't not have an aldi's... so i asked my dear sweet friend Erin to bring me chocolate when she comes here next weekend... so what does she do? She uses my weakness against me and says No blog update, no chocolate... BLACKMAIL I tell you!

All that to say, Zoe keeps growing and discovering new things. Last week she learned to roll from back to belly and last night she learned to roll from belly to back. She's quite a rock star at it! She's also mastered the art of giggling... which usually leads to hick ups!
Enough talking! Lets see the cutie!

hijacked

2010-07-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

so mommy isn't doing a good job at keeping the world informed of how amazing i am doing at growing up, so i hijacked her blog so that the world can know!
so in the past three weeks i've been to Omaha, Chicago twice, and Winamac IN. i flew on a plane to chicago and I was a rock star... (I will post pics of that later) then I went to gammy brenda's so all the aunts could meet me and I could see my great-grandpa earl.... not to mention get lots of snuggles from auntie brooke.
Last week i went to chicago with my mommy's youth group. They went on a mission trip. i was there team mascot cause i'm so cute. Anyway here's a pic of the crew

Notice I wasn't there... mommy said I had to go to the babysitters, which was okay cause i LOVE natalie!!!

Well the first day of the mission trip I got to go with the big kids to their VBS because mommy's friend Julie was sick. While i was there I made a new friend, his name is Matt... he's a real good snuggler!

While mommy and the big kids were leading their VBS and visiting men's homeless shelters and praying for the city of Chicago, i was working on a few projects myself... no, not that! I was working on rolling over and cutting a few teeth! not to mention i found my toes! They are so fun!!

Well i didn't roll over in chicago, although i had all the big kids cheering me on...

here's a pic of me and my friend Hannah, she made me belly laugh a lot, she's so funny... i miss my Hannah

well at the end of the trip mom brought the big kids and me to navy pier. it was a ton of fun. Here are some pics of me on the Farris wheel!

me and matt... yes there are two!

here Kathy is trying to teach me to be naughty and stick my hands outside of the carriage... mommy didn't like that

Here's me with mommy, we are snuggle bunnying!

Finally I said good bye to that beautiful chicago sky line

Well that concludes my time in Chicago, but there were still a lot of first to be had. We went to WI Dells and I went swimming for the first time with mommy... I may or may not have swam with my babysitter... don't tell mommy. Then we all drove back to sioux falls so i could see my daddy... it had been too long!

the next day I had a happy surprise Aunt Mami and unckie grant and family came to town to see me. we had a picnic at falls park and while they were all off climbing on rocks i rolled over for the first time... it made mommy cry!

that's my adventures! I should go to bed now, i'm getting real tired!

thank for reading!

Zoe :D

it's been awhile!

2010-06-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

It's been way too long since I've posted. Zoe is growing by leaps and bounds. Ben is getting use to having her around and has taken to licking the grill as some form of comfort. Zoe is wiggling a lot in her bouncy seat and is learning to grab things. Month two we had great success with her taking the passy, but now that she is a mature 3 month old she is rejecting it, perfering to suck on her hands. Zoe loves to kick, and has began to favor a rag doll that one of our college students has made for her. Although i know that she is WAY to young to be talking, she has successfully looked at blake twice and said 'daddy' she has also yelled his name in the mist of chewing me out for putting her in her car seat. Zoe has a busy few weeks ahead of her. Wed. we leave for MN for the Annual meeting. she will get some good snuggle time in with Nana while mommy is in her meetings. Next week Zoe will take her first plane ride to Chicago, our landing place before we head to Indiana to see gammy, Auntie Brooke, Tio and Great-grandpa Earl, as well as her great aunts. Then next week we will pack Zoe up again and head back to Chicago for our youth Mission trip. Zoe will do some snuggling with some of mommy's friends, while mommy and the kids head out into the city to serve. After the mission trip, Zoe plans on staying home for awhile.
Well that's the news on the Zoe front. It's about time to feed her anyway...
Enjoy!

Our First Road Trip

2010-04-20T15:32:00.000-05:00

Last friday Zoe and took off for KC on our very first road trip. I was optamistic... Zoe tends to sleep the afternoon away. Zoe did great all the way to Sioux City. I on the other hand was freaking out because i couldn't see her... so we found Walmart and got a back seat mirror.
Zoe ate, and then i ate then we headed back out. About Omaha Zoe was getting tired of her carseat... and she started whinning, then the whine got louder, then she started screaming. So I pulled over, we snuggled, changed a diaper and got back on the road. By Mound City MO she was screaming again... I pulled over and fed her. We got back on the road... 20 minutes later she started screaming again... 15 minutes later she fell asleep... then woke up screaming for 20 minutes... and repeat.
Sat. we went from KC to NE to my mom's house... we were on the road 20 minutes and the screaming started... and it was pretty much a repeat of friday...
Sunday we stayed put, which is what Zoe needed... monday when we got in the car, we got 14 miles down the road and she screamed... then fell asleep until we were 30 minutes from home, that was GLORIOUS!
Anyway, she redeamed herself a bit as my co-pilot!

Mommy slept in, so grandma snuggled me

Bristol Kisses!

Baby cousins and grandma

Bath time!

Bristol holding Zoe... it's cute!

Appearently the weekend was all about being with Grandma and Bristol!

Here's some pic's of our weekend at grandmas!

More Cousins (and an auntie)

2010-04-09T12:48:00.000-05:00

Me with Auntie Tami, Bristol, and Ragan hiding...

Ragan and Me...

Zoe and half her cousins...

2010-04-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

Me and Aunt Amy

Me and Uncle Grant

Me and Hunter

Me and Kaylen

Me and Garrett

Me and Levi

More cousins to come!

snuggles with papa and nanna

2010-04-08T14:47:00.001-05:00

just the 3 of us!!!

nanna kisses!

Snuggling with Papa!

Just cause

2010-04-07T16:53:00.000-05:00

Mommy thought I looked very thoughtful

so she took a close up...

But Really I was just getting ready to fall asleep...

Easter and such...

2010-04-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

Dinner with Gammy

Snuggling with Tio

Cuddles with Auntie Brooke

I am just cute!

Easter Sunday

I promise i'm in there... under the hat

Mommy and Daddy kisses

2010-03-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

First bath and such...

2010-03-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

It's my first bath. At first I wasn't too excited about it, but as I thought about it I decided it wasn't too bad.

yeah, I thinking I can handle this...

See I survived, and lived to tell about it!

Now I'm in my jammies and ready for a bed time snack! (ps, not daddy's best picture!)

Wishing her life away

2010-03-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago I found myself wrapped around one of the smallest little finger ever. As I looked at that little face I fell more and more in love with her by the minute... she has the cutest little fingers and makes the wierdest grunting/growling noises. Then I saw her unbilical cord and thought that is the grosses thing ever. Then I decided I couldn't wait until it came off... Then last night, at 13 days old, her umbilical cord came off. and as excited as i thought i would be, because diapering her just became a 100 times easier, I was a little sad, and I decided that I'm not going to wish Zoe's life away. As exciting as it will be when she rolls over, or begins to crawl, or says her first word, I'm not going to sit around hoping for those moments and forget to enjoy the moment that she is currently at. Because before I know it she will be driving or going to college or something.

She's here!

2010-03-17T12:06:00.000-05:00

One minute I was thinking about bowling with a bunch of stinky middle school kiddos, the next minute i am sitting in a puddle of yuck! luckly I was in Blakes car... in the drivers seat, and thankfully I have a leader that is amazing with the students, so i could drive away.

And that is what I did... yes I continued to drive, all the way home to change my pants, get my stuff and head to the hospital. Our friend Hannah meet us at the house to take care of ben. (note ben was WAY attentive all day on friday, never too far away from me... I think he know Zoe was coming!)

I gave ben some snuggles and blake and I headed to the hospital. by the time I made it up to the treague room I was once again sitting in a puddle... no one ever told me that once your water breaks it continue to leak THE WHOLE TIME.

So Blake and I got admitted and moved into our new room. It's about 11 PM now. they start checking my vitals, put on the baby heart monitor and the contraction tracker and they tell me to go to sleep... my contractions were not horrible, so I listened.

We woke up around 7ish when our new birthing nurse came is. Marilyn was the MOST AMAZING NURSE EVER! She was open and honest with us and very good advocate for me. She was also an amazing woman of God... and her churches secretary, so we had a lot to talk about.

About 11 the Dr. came in and started making demands for our game plan. I was tired and over whelm and started crying, blake was upset with the dr... so the dr's left and blake and I with the help of marilyn decided that we needed some help to get this thing started. First they put me on antibotics and then a couple hours they started Pitocin. About 5 the contractions kicked in. at first they wernt too bad. Then the back labor started. I could no longer say anything. i got in the big tube to help ease the pain... it only worked a little bit.

Our game plan was to do it all natural, but the back labor was so hard, and our AMAZING night nurse told us we had about 6 more hours of this type of labor. And that I was only 3 cm dialated. At that point I knew I needed a epidural. It took the the dr. FOREVER to come and put in the epidural. i was getting whinny and mean. but once the meds kicked in I felt good.... so I went to sleep.

At one point Zoe's heart rate dropped to 50, and gave us a scare, but she got it back up. I woke up later to hear Kathy, the nurse, calling the Dr. to come because she was concerned about Zoe's irregular heart beat. They put a cap monitor on Zoe to get a better heart beat. And then informed me that I was 9cm dialated. A little later we woke blake up because it was time to start pushing. As I pushed the dr. discovered the cause of my back pain... She was face up. So we pushed, Zoe's irregular heart beat continued to be a concern. Finally the Dr. said we have 2 choices, forceps or c-section. We went for the forceps. I pushed, the dr. pulled... nothing. the Dr. looked at me and said one more push if she doen't come we will have to do a c-section. I pushed with everything and finally she came! a little cone headed, but perfect! 7lb 5oz 20 inches long!

Did i mention that she was born on sunday morning.... i started this process Friday night...

I am so thankful for my nurses Marilyn and Kathy two amazing women of God who were just what we needed to help us through this process... and for Dr. Fritz, the resident dr... he was so great! Dr. Sierra wasn't as personalable as the rest of the crew, but he was the perfect person to get Zoe out!

So that's my long drawn out story!

Paper or baby!?!

2010-03-07T21:12:00.000-06:00

So here I sit, 39+ weeks pregnant, hiding in my bed room, listening to my dog lick his paws because my hubby is playing D&D down stairs. Some may think being banished to their room is no fun, but I'm diggin it. You see, I have this paper... it's for my Ministry license. It's due March 19th. I'm due March 11. I need to finish the paper so when miss thing comes I don't have to worry about the paper... but I don't really want to write this paper. I've already done my years in seminary, i'm done thinking thelogically, now i'm ready to play games and go on fun trips with youth.... Anywho, the paper is about 2 questions and a few editing from being done. Zoe on the other hand, who knows when she's going to come. she's quite content where she's at. She's rolling around, and only making my ribs hurt every once in awhile.

So here's my new Goal: Finish paper tomorrow, so baby can come when shes ready too...... there i put it on the world wide web, therefore it shall be!

Childhood dreams coming true!!!

2010-02-22T14:20:00.000-06:00

I'm sure every little girl does it, and i'm fairly positive that little boys do it as well. They sit around and talk with with their friends about their plans for the future, which of course always includes the friend that is sitting next to them. I did it, and you know you did it too!
One of those plans for my future was having babies at the same time as my friend Sunni. You know, be cute and pregnant together, and have kids who grow up together. Well we didn't get to be cute and pregnant together, as Sunni is adopting, but we did get to talk and dream about what we wanted for our kids, what we need to registure for. We compared notes on cribs, and strollers, and baby cloths. We talked about the book baby wise, and I told her she NEEDS to check out the book "happiest baby on the block." no, we weren't pregnant together, but we definantly still planned together.
THEN God in all his random timing allowed our childhood day dreams to come true. My little one will be here really any time, but hopefully in 3 weeks. And sunni's little one was born Feb. 4, and is joining their family today. Sure, our kids will not get to grow up in across the street from each other like we planned, but they will grow up together, and we both get to experience the days and nights of not sleeping, first days of kindergarden, jr. high, and driving together. It amazing how God works, and I am SO excited to see what the future holds for our little ones!
Anyway, here is the baby bump at 37 weeks!

35 days and counting....

2010-02-06T11:44:00.000-06:00

One more week and I will offically be 9 months pregnant. This adventure has gone by quickly, with a lot of chaos in the mist of it. But i can't complain, i haven't been very sick, I'm still sleeping through the night... no need to get up and use the bathroom... I haven't had horrible leg craps... it's been good so far. Here's the new belly shot, and a few pics of Zoe's room. It's still a work in progress, but we are getting close to being completely ready for her!

Zoe's new bedding... Thanks Aunties!

35 weeks...

The purple half of Zoe's room

The not purple half of Zoe's room!

31 Weeks... what?!?

2010-01-06T17:28:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow marks my 31st week of pregnancy... Where has the time gone??? where has my waist gone?? I walk by the windows at church and I can't believe that the protruding thing attached to my back is my baby belly!!!

Not too much to report sense my last blog. Blake and I are still adjusting to our new jobs and trying to figure out how everything works. Ben has been a snuggle bunny! I love it! He tends to smell my tummy a lot, so I'm assuming that he's knows there's a little person in there, and he's a bit jealous! I'll take it! I love my puppy snuggles!
Last monday Blake and I went to our first birthing class. At this point it's a waste of money... we learned nothing... which i hope will change in the future, cause I'm pretty sure I need more information before the big day comes.
Zoe is growing and grow... hence the baby belly... she has days when she doesn't stop moving and then there are days when she's sleeping all day. she does tend to kick if she feels pressure. The other day i was balancing my hot tea on my belly and Zoe decided to kick it... it was a full cup, and I almost wore it!
Well, that's my story for now!

Christmas Eve in Sioux Falls.

2009-12-24T14:10:00.000-06:00

Blake and i survived the three weeks apart from when I moved to start my new job at Prairie Hills Cov. Church, and when Blake finished his time at DaVinci. I think Blake and i are no worse for the ware, but poor little Ben. He's a bit needier now a days. He wants lots of pets and hugs and he LOVES spending time outside at our new place!
Our trip from Elgin to Sioux Falls was all too eventful. The morning started off with Blake backing into a car at our apartment complex... the owner was outside... I still don't understand why he didn't move his car when he saw us come in with the big truck, but what ever. he was gracious and we moved on... next blake broke the hall light ficture while caring a mattrice out... then at somepoint he crashed and burned and ripped his pants.
After some tearful goodbyes (hey i'm pregant, it's allowed) we got on our way. We made it Madison WI before we needed a potty break. we did not choose our exit well, and ended up exiting at a very busy part of town with no good place for a 26' truck... so we decided to get back on the highway.... going the wrong direction... then we exited to turn around... on another highway... finally we got turned around and continued on our way.
Around WI Dells traffic started slowing down. Black Ice. Blake in the 26' truck goes to change lanes and he slide. I freak out. I start slowing down, i slide. Then we came upon a few accidents... a 18 wheeler on it's side in the ditch, another car in the ditch, and one flipped in the ditch. Needless to say i freaked out (again I'm blaming pregnancy). unfortunatly there was no place to stop until we were in the clear. so we kept trecking on.
Next I noticed that the rear lights on the Truck went out. it was all good, i just drove behind Blake... until we get to MN and get pulled over. GRRR... The cop reminded Blake that texting in MN was illegal and sent us on our way... how he knew there was texting going on is beyond me... cause at that point i was talking on the phone... speaker... which made the phone line up, but no texting.
We get back on our way. it's about 1:30 in the morning. We are about 5 miles from our destination and i see the flashing lights in my rear view mirror... I'm thinking they were stopping blake again, because of the lights. But no, they go around blake and stop me. I know I wasn't speeding so I didn't know what was up. Appearently, i had left my brights on through town. My bad. I was told to turn off my brights and follow blake because of his lights. We obeyed.
Blake took the lead. I told him how to find the drive way to the Hildrings... only i forgot to tell him they have 2 drive ways and we need to take the second one. He turnes into the first one, misses it and takes his 26' truck through the ditch. He decided to just gun it because it was too big of a truck to pull out...
FINALLY at 2 AM we get there. Tired, stressed, and SO GlAD to be off the road....
Now 4 days later we are almost mostly settled in the house. Blake got a new job and started yesterday, and we had a good check up for Zoe, and all seems to be good!
We have lots to be Thankful for!
Merry Christmas!

Ahh the changes

2009-12-10T09:19:00.000-06:00

The past few weeks has brought a bunch of changes. I've been settling into being a youth pastor in Sioux Falls, adjusting to FREEZING tempetures, living without my husband, and watching my tummy dance all day long as Zoe does karate in my belly.

Minus not having blake here, I would say so far so good! and the best part is I still get to sleep in!! And believe me, i'm going to take advantage of it while I can!!

so i know I'm not real creative in this post, but I'll fill you in on the changes and craziness of next week...

Tuesday i offically get the new place

Thursday my parents come to take me to omaha

Friday we drive to Omaha so i can fly to chicago via Minnesota

Sat we load the truck in chicago and drive to sioux falls

sunday i teach confirmation

YEAH for craziness!

It's all falling into place

2009-11-13T09:48:00.005-06:00

As many know, Blake and I will be moving to sioux falls in about a month (well I will in about 2 weeks) and I am completely amazed at how well the details are coming together. Which is just another confirmation that this is where God wants us and what he has for us. Earlier this week Blake and I found 2 places (a town home and a twin home) that we both really liked. After doing some research and through the kindness of some new friends we found the place we want to live, and the application is sent and the deposit should be there today!

Moving opened a whole new world to blake as to what he wanted to do for his job. So we've been looking for jobs that are a little more in the campish realm and a lot less in the school realm. And it seems we may have found something for him. He has an interview on Sat. 28th for YES (and the CEO of the company wants to meet him... who would have known he was so impressive!)

And that is just the tip of the ice berg! God is good!!

We got a kicker!

2009-11-10T08:14:00.004-06:00

Last night Zoe was moving like crazy. i wondered if I'd be able to see her kicking from the out side. So while laying in bed last night I saw my tummy jumping in places that it shouldn't be jumping! So i called Blake in and although he didn't see her kick, he got to feel her kick last night! Exciting stuff! Only it makes me think about that it's cute and a miracle to see her kick now, but in in 2 years if she kicks me in the stomach she will be in trouble!

PS: Not my belly!

New addition

2009-11-06T11:35:00.006-06:00

Last Sat. (halloween) we got our first pictures of Zoe... well not the first, but the first ones where she doesn't look like a blob. I thought I'd share!

Here's her foot

Here she is laying on her side. she's looking at you with her big skelton eyes... I think you can see either her hands or knees...

This is a close up of her face. You can see her eye sockets and her nose...

Finally we have her arm!

One of these days I will get some belly pics up. she's 21 weeks in these photo's...

Oh changes....

2009-10-27T12:46:00.002-05:00

Once again life is crazy with a long periods of waiting.... Last Sunday I received a phone call from Prairie Hills Covenant Church in Sioux Falls South Dakota. The church voted to ask me to come and be their associate pastor of Youth Ministry. Gladly we accepted their offer. So now that we know what we will be doing and where we will be living next year we can hurry up and wait until it's time to move again.... On the other hand as we wait for the next step in life my belly continues to grow as the little one becomes more human like and cute and snuggely. Saturday... Oct. 31 we will find out who's been taking residence in me these past 20 weeks... as long as the baby corporates!
Since I haven't been working and my sister decided to have a baby, I took advantage of the time I had and drove to NE to kiss sweet little bristol, and spend some time with my family. Then I decided that I should go check out this new boy in my Erin's life... So far he hasn't given me any reason not to like him, but I still have a few questions left to ask! So tomorrow I will make the long trip back to Chicago from KS. It will be nice to be home, but not so nice to begin the process of packing again... Plus I will get to see my puppy again! Oh, and my husband!
Be Blessed my friends and thanks for listening to my story!

summer

2009-09-08T15:19:00.003-05:00

This summer has not been everything that I have expected. Not all bad, but defiantly different. I started this summer doing a chaplaincy at Lutheran General Hospital. The experience was priceless, but very difficult. I started the program well, and ended tired, and drained.

We had many changes this summer. For the first time in 4 years I worked a 40+ hour week, with out being in classes. We got a new car, moved to Elgin, got a dog, found out I am pregnant, interviewed for a youth pastor position in South Dakota, lost my grandpa, and I'm still trying to figure out how to process all of it... the good and the hard.

The Car, the house and the dog are all good. we are excited about becoming new parents, and we are still trying to discern if moving to South Dakota is what God has in store for us. So if you have a second, pray for the Craig family as we do our best to listen and trust God in this process.

Life is crazy...

2009-07-19T22:03:00.002-05:00

It has been awhile sense I posted, I have no excuses except that I have just had a hard time keeping up with life. A few highlights of the past couple weeks in the Craig home is... Daa, daa, DAA... We have a new apartment. We will be moving to Elgin in less then a month. We found a 2 bedroom apartment with amenities like a work out room and pool and dishwasher. The only thing that made the deal sweeter is that because of the sucky economy the company that owns the apartments lowered the price on the apartments, so we got a bigger bang for our buck!

The second big thing is that Blake and I replaced my car. after adding over 100,000 miles to it in the time that the Hanson's owned it, we decided that it was time to let it go. So we a Suzuki Forenza... so here's a pic of it. Two major pieces in our lives figured out, one more to go. I have a phone interview with a church from South Dakota this coming Tuesday. I am also waiting to hear from a church in Batavia if they would like to continue conversation with me about a youth position there. So please keep praying that God will direct us to the church that He has for us.

Prayer Please!

2009-06-29T21:40:00.002-05:00

Hey all!

I have a prayer request to send your way. Tonight I had a phone interview with a church in Batavia IL. I am super stoked about the possibilities and the chance to be a youth pastor at a great church. So my request, in my childish way, is that I get the position. My adult request is that God be in the process and that he brings the person that he has in mind to the position.

So the interview went well, and I will keep you all posted as to what happens!

Firsts

2009-06-19T20:52:00.003-05:00

This summer I am participating in a program called CPE-- Clinical Pastoral Experience. We just spent two weeks being orientated to the hospital and each other. Last night 5PM-12:30AM Me and a partner shadowed a Staff Chaplin. It was quite a ride. We experienced a trauma, 2 elderly patient deaths, I saw for the first time a dead infant, being held as his family said good bye... clinging to any memory of their little one that they could. I saw many teeny tiny babies in NCIU fighting for their lives. I grieved inwardly as we told a sweet little old lady that her husband was in the ER, then isn't doing well, then died. My heart broke to learn that they had no one else in the world, only each other. I caught a glimpse of what long-lasting love is as I watched her through herself and his body and cry.

I was quite amazed as I visited her this morning and how well she was doing-- thanks to a nursing staff that shows great love and compassion. I ended my night shift waiting as parents shorted through their theology as to when would be an appropriate time to let their little one, who is brain dead, go.

Now, and I sit here at nine o'clock at night I begin to anticipate what the wee morning hours will bring as I anticipating stepping back into the world of critical care in 3 short hours and finding my identity as a pastor there.

Peanut Butter and Apples

2009-06-15T21:19:00.002-05:00

There are times in one's life when things are smooth and easy sailing, then there are times when life is so full of up and downs that your stress level doesn't know what to do. This past weeks has been one of those weeks. Last week I started my final chapter of my Seminary Career... CPE. Clinical Pastoral Experience... a time of stretching, learning, and growing.... A time of stress, anxiety and doubt of ones pastoral ability. It is a season of learning to love and listen to strangers who you will only see once. It is a season of comforting those who have lost a love one. It is a season of offering hope to someone who is physically in pain and sees no end to it. It is also a season of rejection from patients who do not want to visited by a Chaplin.

During this season of my life (a short season--ending Aug 22) I would covet your prayer for courage, words, strength, and peace as I learn to depend on God in difficult circumstances...

Round 2

2009-06-07T18:39:00.003-05:00

Today was round two of good byes for me... in two ways actually. After 3 years, potty training, crazy statements, days at the park, museum, play McDonald's and yes, even Starbucks... I said goodbye to my little Rory. My last day watching her was last Friday, but today Blake and I had lunch with her and her family. It was fun to go out with them, and I only cried a little when we parted ways.

It's hard to say good bye to someone who has been a constant in one's life for three years... to a little one who makes you laugh and is the topic of most of my conversations and stories... I mean, she was pretty much my best friend in Chicago...

I know that 'good-bye' isn't forever, and I know that I will see her again soon (For her birthday in July), But it's a change, and change is hard... and it's another ending to this chapter of my life....

My first time...

2009-05-24T19:58:00.002-05:00

we all have our first... some firsts are more significant then others... Today is one of my firsts. it's my first Sunday with out homework. It's my first Sunday without class to look forward to tomorrow... or not look forward to? It's the first weekend that I don't know what to do. I'm hanging out watching a movie and loving it.. although I'm still a little unsure about what I should be doing...

Ahh The joy have having graduated...

Thoughts to ponder

2009-05-22T22:16:00.002-05:00

Remember the times in life when something HUGE is about to happen? You know, things like moving, or graduation, or getting married, or seeing an old friend, or finishing the semester... you know big things like that. But you have so many things that you have to get done before the event... or other mini steps leading up to it... so many things that when you have a second to sit down and think about you can't believe that its already here... and for once, you have a second to sort through your feelings about the event...

that is where I am at. in 12 hours i will be walking across the stage and receiving an empty thingy to hold my degree when the real one comes in Aug... All the papers are done, my parents are here, I played with the twins at the zoo all day, the food is made, and I'm exhausted... Yep it's time for the big event....

Happy brithday Blake

2009-05-16T21:11:00.005-05:00

Who would have thought that a star wars birthday party could be so fun??

Next week Blake is turning 33 and because my graduation is next week, we celebrated his birthday early. We had Star Wars trivia, Star war clone wars light saber duel on Wii, Star War plates, napkins, Darth Vader Pinata and good verses evil food choices. Heck, Yoda even showed up for the party...

Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

1 Week and Counting...

2009-05-16T14:47:00.003-05:00

Exactly 7 days from today i will be officially done with the academic world of North Park... Not completely done with Seminary, I still have CPE to do, but academia will be a thing of the past. I can not wait to read books that I have been wanting to read (some of them may be from our assigned reading.) I can't wait to come home and not feel guilty about watching TV, or playing the guitar, or just chillin with my hubby--because I should be doing homework. Oh academia~how I will not miss you....

One Step Closer

2009-05-13T21:08:00.002-05:00

Today I finished one of the three "things" I have left for seminary. I wrote my 15 page paper for Covenant History. It was felt good, handing in that paper. Now I have one paper, and possibly a final... if my professor lets those graduating out of the final...

Now to set a goal... I want to have my paper written by Tuesday... I have time, I can do it... I think I can, I think I can...

5K's and such

2009-05-11T21:10:00.005-05:00

In a effort to prolong the writing of my final (and only) Covenant History Paper, I thought I would blog about this past weekends experience. It was quite a lovely experience. Blake and I met my dear friend Nicole at the Wisconsin Dells. We drove up Friday night in preparation for a 5k run Sat. morning. The 5k was a great experience.

Nicole and I planned to run it as a way of saying good bye seminary, we survived and we came out stronger. And stronger we where. Nicole and I completed our 5k in 30 minutes. That may not seem like a great time to some of you, but to use, it was simply amazing, in fact we still don't believe that the timer was right, or the course really was 3.1 miles. But anyway, we'll take it! Not only did we run the race, but Blake joined us, running the race in 31:32, which is great for a man who hasn't run that far in about 5 years.

After our 5k, we had a nice brunch and headed to kohl's, my favorite place to shop. I found two cute shirts for my summer CPE internship, I was quite satisfied.

Sunday began much to early, but it was a day spent with people I love. We began by helping Vanessa move some stuff to her temporary summer home, then loaded up the car again to hold Holly's stuff for awhile. We came home to our friend Allison (now called Allie). Allie attended church with us, then we dropped her off at the train. A few hours later I was off to Midway to pick up Nicole. She flew into town for the Senior Dessert. Nicole and Holly shared a meal with us, before heading off to spend time with the love of her life. Henry.

Who is not this little any more :(

After Nicole left, I had a few hours to work on the paper that I should currently be working on. Holly came back to pick up some food that we where storing for her for the afternoon, then to finish the night off my new friend Michelle walked through the door. She spent the night with us so she could be close to work for her 6:30 shift.

It was a wonderful day of chaos, and I can't wait to have another day similar to it, for I love my friends dearly and I relish every minute that I can spend with them.

Ahh Hmmm...

2009-05-10T13:33:00.003-05:00

Dear me,

Do you realize that in less then two weeks you will leave your seminary academic world behind? In less then two weeks, you will close the book on being a students. Self, do you realize that in less then two weeks the world is open and you can go anywhere and be a pastor (church or no church). Yes self, then end of seminary is quickly approaching, so if you don't want to forfeit this wondrous privilege of graduation, I suggest that you put away this computer and start researching your paper so you can graduated in good standing.

Sincerely

Your Practical Side.

And so it begins...

2009-05-04T23:09:00.003-05:00

Graduation is still three weeks aways. Moving to... who knows where... is three months away, and yet it has already begun. Good-byes. Tonight was the last time my small group will meet at 5301 N Christiana Ave. Oh, they will meet again, they are just that good of friends, something I have been thankful for, but as of now, it was time for me to say good-bye. As I reflect on our three years together I have often wondered what it was that kept them coming. I know I was never as prepared as I could have been, nor was I as wise as I wanted to be... but every week they would faithfully show up. (I think it was because I fed them well) And for that I am extremely thankful.
So tonight I said good-bye, for now, to my small group... soon it will be to my Rory... then this basement apartment... BUT God has plans for us, so although it's okay to miss what was, there is still excitement for what will be.

Ahhh.. Wed.

2009-04-29T19:45:00.002-05:00

So today was a fun day... slightly. I spent my morning in the archives, getting nauseous while looking at the micro film machine. Then off to pick up my 4 and a half year old best friend. We did our typical daily routine when we got to her house, she watched a movie and I did homework. Then, like usual, we went to the 4 year old heaven called that attic. After playing kitty and "throwing herself off the vine" Rory looks at me and says, "I want to go somewhere". I jumped on that one because It's going to be a late night and I needed some time away from the house. So dressed in her pink stripped leggings and flower print pink skirt Rory and head to Target. Rory picks out a couple items from the $1 bins, then we proceed to the toy aisle. She tells me everything that she wants for her birthday, which was practically everything in the toy department. Then we go to grab a few things that I needed. Rory proceeds to tell me that she doesn't have any more energy for this and that she wants to go home. So I tell her she better find some energy because we are going to play McDonald's after Target. She coughed and told me that she has some energy stored in her hip. Finally we checked out and headed to MacDonald's. We played for awhile, then Rory was ready to eat. So I got her food, and I waited for Blake to show up.

Now here is where the story gets good, cause normally Rory screams and cries for about 30 minutes when Blake shows up. BUT today she waved at him from the play ground, then came up and gave him a big hug... Yes it made Blake's day. They the two of them giggled and had fun being silly...

Ahh it was a good day!

Good News!

2009-04-27T11:48:00.004-05:00

After 2 nights and one full day listening to the sound of multiple fans, a dehumidifier and a intense blower our carpets are almost dry, and are getting cleaned tomorrow. The cleaning is long over due... so that is the positive about being flooded. So one more night of smelling mildew/moldish/dirty water smell in the apartment.
Praise God!

Happy Sat.

2009-04-25T20:29:00.009-05:00

So far this weekend has been amazing! My most favorite Erin came to town. We spent Friday morning running, then we went to the mall and had a chair massage. Next we picked my little Rory up from school then the three of us when to and had a pedicure, so fun! Rory was a trooper, she did a great job sitting for them! After playing at the part we took Rory home and Erin and I did a little shopping. Sat. morning we slept in, ate a good breakfast, went down town shopping... including American Girl... oh yeah. We came home to a lovely smelling house thanks to the Roast and potato's in the crock pot. We were going to go to Uncommon Grounds on Devon for dessert, but our plans changed when Blake walked out of the bathroom and stepped in a pool of water. Having flooded a few times, my first instinct was to run into the laundry room. I figured the Garden people had put the barrels up again to catch rain water. I opened the door to the laundry room. First mistake. Water was at least 4 or 5 inches high. So the water from the laundry room came flowing into the kitchen.

Then I made my next mistake. After struggling with the back door, I succeeded in getting it open. Then about another 6-8 inches of water came flowing in. I tried my best to shut the door real quick, but the water kept flowing.

So now at 8:45 at night Phys Plant is trying to Vacuum up the water, I have a head ache from the smell. My bed room floor is wet, the front hallway is wet, the bathroom is wet, the kitchen is wet, but the back bed

room is only wet right at the door... weird.

So after all that, happen Saturday to us!

How was your Sunday??

2009-04-19T19:47:00.002-05:00

How was your Sunday? This is the question that most people hear on the first day of the work week. I anticipate asking Rory about her Sunday, what she did, did she have a good time. Then (as our routine goes) I tell her a little about my weekend... Usually stories about Blake and times when he was being silly. Then she giggles and asks for candy.
As I sit here, watching my 5th episode of Law and Order, I wonder what I will tell her tomorrow. I can tell her about the amazing crime solving abilities that these detectives have... but that may be inappropriate for a 4 year old. I could tell her how I have made a dent in the couch from sitting and watching Law and Order for 5 hours... she'll laugh at that, she's funny like that.

Running

2009-04-15T09:06:00.002-05:00

May 9 I will see just how out of shape I am. May 9 my old roomie and I are running in a 5k. 3.1 miles, doesn't sound so bad... It's a walk/run, doable. The only problem I haven't gone running in 2 weeks... ahh Motivation.... One of these days I will get out there again. hopefully a few times before May 9th...

Wow, this post is less then interesting... but I posted just for you, Sarah!

If I could bottle up the smell and send it to you, I would...

2009-04-11T16:49:00.002-05:00

Easter, a time for family, food, and praising the risen Savior. One of my memories of family dinners was that my Granny would always bring her oatmeal dinner rolls. They were so good! Last Christmas I tried to share the wonder of granny's oatmeal dinner rolls with my in-laws, and i pretty much failed measurably, but they were gracious and ate them anyway... Then today, I succeeded. My house smells like granny's house, my rolls look like granny's rolls... well almost, her were always perfect... and I can not wait to try them tomorrow!!!

So take and look and drool all you want at these tastie family favorites!.

Staples

2009-04-09T22:06:00.003-05:00

Ahh Staples, how I hate thee.

Today I spent 7 hours taking staples out of paper, scanning documents and then stapleing them back together again. It was awesome. My favorite part was when I was using all the strength in my fingers to take the staple out, and all of a sudden it shot out of the staple remover thing and hit me square in my Eye... That goodness for contacts.

Ahh the joys of data entry, Tuesday can not come fast enough...

Seriously

2009-04-08T14:26:00.003-05:00

I started the afternoon with great intentions. I meant to study Hebrew while Rory played and/or watched a movie. Well I get to her house, she wants to play in her toy room, so upstairs we go. She's very much not interested in playing with me, as usual, she would rather stuff a stuffed snake in her pants and pretend that she is a kitty... So I have the ample time to work on my Hebrew vocab. What do I do instead??? I play on the computer for 2 hours.. AHHH!!!...

Motivation where art thou?

Then I started thinking, it's nice out side, maybe we should go on a walk and get a treat. I have offered at least 10 times to take Rory to get a big sugary cookie covered in Frosting or ice cream if she so desires... She's NOT interested... I don't understand... who is this kid?

Seriously. Passing up a suger high?? Who wouldn't jump on that??

The problem with the time after time off...

2009-03-30T13:28:00.003-05:00

Well my self declared spring break is officially over, as I sit across from Rory, watching her watch Shreck, I wonder where it went...

Now that I have had a little time to rest and re-coop, I am officially not feeling well, once again overwhelmed by homework and up-coming midterm, and looking forward to heading home to NE in 3 days.

In my selfishness I would ask, if you have a moment, to please pray me through the next 53 days as my seminary career comes to an end. I'm eagerly anticipating graduating, but unfortunately I'm not there yet, and there are midterms to take, papers to write and finals to dread.... and I need prayer! Thanks for taking the time to drop by!

The problem with time off...

2009-03-26T10:36:00.004-05:00

So today is the second day of my self-declared spring break. I've gone to class (I know, defeats the purpose of spring break) gone for a jog, and taken a shower. Now I have about 20 hours worth of homework to do...

The problem with time off is that even though there is ample time to get the 'extra' things done that I want to do... and never have time to do... for some reason I keep finding ways to not to do what I have planned to do, and just veg out...

Extra time means more procrastination... ahhh... I must fight against the madness...

Happy Spring Break to me!

2009-03-25T09:22:00.002-05:00

Not many 29 year olds get to enjoy the wonders of Spring Break, but because I've devoted my twenties to being a student I have had a taste of it for the past ten years. But this semester spring break was less then disirable for me. I enjoyed my time with the little one I nanny for, but packed on the hours at CRC, causing me to work more, play less and not enjoy my own spring break... Ahhh... but good things happen to those who wait. This week the campus that we where working on at CRC is mostly complete, so I don't have to go in there the rest of the week (I think) and my lovely little one's mom has spring break, so I don't have her... So what is a girl to do??? HAPPY SPRING BREAK JILLY!!!

Sure it's a shortened one, starting on wed and all, and yes I do have class, but that's only for like 2.5 hours... I think I will sleep in, read, run, and enjoy outside and rest. For the weather out side is much better then it was 2 weeks ago!!

day dreamin and pimples

2009-03-23T19:36:00.002-05:00

So for the past couple days I've been contiplating writing a blog about day dreaming and pimples. I don't know about you, but i love the feel of popping a pimple when real big and ready to be popped... and then I got a big one on my forehead... and I realized that pimples are not all they are cracked up to be, no are they worth day dreaming about... Deep I know.

view with care

2009-03-21T21:49:00.003-05:00

There comes a time in a married couples life when you start doing things that the other spouse enjoys just because you love them... Then you realize that this piece of them isn't half bad. So you record it for all the world to see... So here is Blake singing Karaoke, enjoy!

The Problem with Blogs

2009-03-19T21:08:00.003-05:00

The problem with blogs is that there is no instant gratification in it. One can post a blog and then it just sits there... people may read it, they may not, but one will never know. Not like facebook where you can post something, then read on about other conversation, or catch someone making a one line comment... Good think I have Erin, she likes to post things... she's my hero

GOOD MORNING CHICAGO!!!

2009-03-18T09:32:00.002-05:00

There is nothing like living in the city. This morning after my alarm had gone off for the second time, I heard this awful screeching sound... you know the sound that happens prior to the loud boom of cars hitting themselves. Except the booming sound didn't happen, well at least close enough to my house for me to hear it. Well I payed it no mind because well, it's Chicago, things like that happen. So after my alarm went off for the forth time I decided to get up and get ready to go the gym for my most favorite run... or the 2 mile torure that I just endured...
As I walk out the door, right in front of my house, there was this black car with the tires facing an awkward direction. There was also a police officer talking with a lady about what happened. I asked a by stander what happened... He said a kid hit a van up the road, and the steering must of went out... the kid grabbed his stuff--- possible including a fire shooting hunk of metal...
And my friend the police are still sitting there watching the car, an hour later...
GOOD MORNING CHICAGO!!!

I'll prove them wrong...

2009-03-16T09:27:00.002-05:00

It has been said, in the nine hours sense I began this blog, that I will not continue to update my blog. Well, I'm out to prove those who have no faith in me wrong. I will update my blog, what i have to say may not be interesting, but at least there is a up date.
The most interesting that have has happened in the hour and 15 minutes that I have been awake on this beautiful Monday morning (and yes is it beautiful... the sun is shinning, the stinking week of working early all day called spring break is over, I slept in 2 days in a a row, my beautiful friend Crisanda is here, i will get to see more beautiful friends this week, and I will get play out side today, yes my friends this Monday is beautiful) is that I went running.
In my I am going to enter a 5k run at the Dells with my old roomie Nicole. In order for me to survive that run I must start running now! So i woke up, took about 20 minutes to convince myself to go run, googled the path so I knew the distance, and I sat out... I ran... I am out of shape and my body is sore, but I will continue running...
hows that for not interesting??

The first blog

2009-03-15T22:02:00.000-05:00

Well, this is the first blog created by the Craigs, but it's the first one created by the Mrs.
As of right now there really isn't too much to report. We are surviving our first year of marriage quite well I think.
May 23 I finally graduate from Seminary. After about 11 years of undergrad, internship and Seminary i more then ready to leave the books behind!
Blake and I are extremely excited about the next step in our lives. We are trying to be very patient as we wait for God to direct us to our next stop on this crazy journey called life. As of right now we are completely clueless as to where we will be come Aug, but we do know that God is good and he will show us exactly where he wants us to go in his time.
Stay tuned for more exciting stories from the Wacky World of the Craigs!