Sweet Little Pumpkin

I am overjoyed to announce the birth of my precious baby boy, Micah!  He was born on October 5, 2009, weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches, at 10:07 pm.  The past two weeks have been a blur of happiness, bliss, exhaustion, diapers, cuddling, and love!  Aaron and I are learning as we go by trial and error, hopefully not making too many mistakes.  We cannot imagine life without Micah now and feel so blessed to be on this journey of parenthood to such a darling little boy.  I hope to keep this blog updated as often as a new baby allows with his growth and unbelivable cuteness!  My cup truly runneth over…

Dearest Micah,

As I am writing this, you are currently kicking and squirming, and doing flips for all I know, the way my belly is moving!  I appreciate that you have only jabbed me a few times that have been painful, so far.  It is such a strange, but wonderful sensation, to know that you are this precious, growing gift that is living, moving, and even learning inside me. 

I am 7 months pregnant with you and eager for you to be here, but anxious because we have so much to do to prepare for your arrival.  We got the crib up thanks to the Burkharts, Wendells, and your daddy.  I put your mobile together and can’t wait to see you gazing at it before you drift off to sleep.  Your dad says he gets excited everytime he walks by the nursery and sees the mobile!  We’re also picking up the chair tomorrow!  I look forward to the many, many hours I and daddy will spend rocking you in our arms in the chair. 

We have also finally decided on your middle name, but it will remain a secret for now!  I’m trying to decide if I want to put your name up in the nursery with wooden letters, just initials, or nothing.  I wonder what your daddy thinks.  He is at work right now, Saul Good, and hopefully making lots of tips!  He’s been working very hard so we can save money for after you are born, that way we can both take a little time off from work to spend getting to know you and learning to live as a family. 

I think my biggest hope right now is that you continue to grow and develop and stay in your warm little home until you’re officially ‘done!”  You should know that your mother is not very good at waiting for things that than she has to, especially gifts, so let’s just take being late off the table!  Do not follow in my footsteps and be two weeks late and take 36 hrs. to come into the world!  Take a cue from your cousin Bennett and make it a nice, relatively short and easy birth!  Hey, I can hope! 

We are just so excited to meet you and cuddle this little person that has kept us so entertained recently with your acrobatics.  Rest well and try not to get your feet stuck in my ribs!  We love you sweet boy.

I am 22 wks today.  Time is flying by so fast, it’s incredible.  In the past five weeks we have had a 4-d u/s, finding out we are having a boy, gone home to OK for a week, Aaron was commissioned as an Elder in the United Methodist Church (I am so proud, and now officially a minister’s wife), had my first shower, bought a dresser for the nursery, decided on a crib, and decided on a name!  Just a few things.  We have chosen Micah as our little boy’s first name, and Aaron is still deciding on the middle name I like.  It’s such an amazing feeling to call our baby by name, but we feel this is what God has been calling him all along.  He is already so loved. 

Micah at 18 wks

I have been reading, ‘The Baby Book’, by Dr. Sears and his wife, and I think it is awesome.  If you haven’t gotten a book yet or want to read more, get this book!  It is through age 2, but I think it is better than What to Expect.  More info and easy to read.  I keep getting choked up reading it, just thinking about Micah. Silly hormones!  It’s got some pretty funny remarks too! 

Our next big project is to decide on which room to make into the nursery and then clean it up, paint, and move furniture.  We already have tons of boxes in the garage for a sale and are going to have to add much more to make room for Micah!  On the positive side, we get a headstart on packing for when we move back to Oklahoma in less than a year. 

So many changes, and it is only going to keep changing quicker and quicker.  Micah will be with us in October, Aaron will graduate in May, we will move back to somewhere in Oklahoma at the end of May and jump right back into full-time church life and ministry. 

I have been wanting to write to Micah for awhile now, and journal more, but everytime I start, nothing comes out.  I was beginning to feel so inadequate, especially since Aaron seems to blog as easily as drinking water!  I respect and enjoy his writing so much, but it is sometimes intimidating considering I am supposed to be the writer in the family!  I am so proud of him though, in how he has found such joy in blogging, and how good he is.  Maybe he’ll give me some tips! 

So, to close this ramble, a few words to Micah….

‘Sweet boy, I hope that even in the womb you can feel how incredibly loved you are.  You have been in the hands of God from the very beginning and we feel so blessed that He is placing you in our arms and hearts.  I have been wanting to feel you move more lately, just so I know you are doing well.  At times, Daddy has jokingly told me to stop patting my belly and let you sleep!  You can’t imagine how happy I have been the past couple of days as I have felt your movements grow stronger and more regular.  You even moved more when Daddy read a story to you the other night.  I look forward to seeing you sitting on his lap one night, all snuggled up close, as he reads you your favorite story.  You will have so many wonderful books to choose from after the baby shower we just had.  My favorite was ‘The Pokey Little Puppy’, but you’ll let us know in your own way and time what you love the most.  For now, I am just enjoying falling more in love with you everyday and I can’t wait to see your sweet, probably smiling face in a little over a week as I have another ultrasound.  You’ve smiled everytime so far, so we assume you are a happy baby.  Until then, keep up the gymnastics, sleep soundly, and know you are loved by so many so much more than you can ever imagine.  Goodnight Micah, my sweet boy.  Love, Mommy 

Smiling at 18 wks

Here we are again and it’s time to get down to business.  My taxes are filed and I’m getting money from the gov’t and giving some to the state, so if not that madness, it must be  March Madness.  Now a reminder, I am not an expert on college basketball, although sometimes I’m pretty sure if I screamed my advice like Dukey V, no one would know the difference.   I know the game of basketball and I can hold a decent conversation about who’s who in college basketball (much more than the average woman), but I don’t follow it like I do college football; now that’s a topic I could get passionate about, although I am still licking my wounds from the National Championship letdown, but I’m Sooner born and Sooner bred, and when I die, I’ll be Sooner dead!    The loss caused me to lose some desire to follow the basketball season closely, even as OU has had an incredible season, led by Blake Griffin.  I blame it on being in KY, surrounded by crazed SEC fans who think no other conference is worthy.   However, as I have my own personal sportscaster living with me, whose own blog on the bracket is skyrocketing, I can’t pass through March bracket free.  I went to the living room this morning where  Aaron, the sports Fanatic, had lovingly placed a blank bracket on my computer.  I caught Sportscenter and I’m sure I’ll get an update via AaronCenter later.  His phone is on overdrive beeping and vibrating at least 5-10 times an hour for some sports-related update, from the 49ers to the OSU Cowboys.  I think he got a personal alert when Kurt Warner had a meeting with Mike Singletary last month.   I’m pretty sure Aaron has renewed his subscription to Courts of Gold to supplement his sports updates he’ll receive in heaven; I bet God is one heck of an announcer, and if we think Reiley knows how to write a closing sentence, imagine what God can do with sentences 1-7.

After reading Aaron’s latest NCAA post update, I once again was inspired and challenged to pick my bracket, post it, and do it all in my own style, from the heart.  And, since I am a mother-to-be this year, I am sure hormones and a growing maternal instinct will play a role, at least a little.  Aaron suggests in his bracket tips to balance head and heart when picking, which while wise and safe, just seemed to shout, ‘Challenge!’  I like heart, passion, stubbornness, ridiculous reasoning, and I wanted to have some fun.  My decision: Pick my bracket using heart reasoning and women’s intuition only.  I believe in miracles, and Scripture does say that the greatest is Love, followed by faith and hope.  Seems like a good package to me.  As the Angels in the Outfield mantra goes, “It could happen.” So here we go; won’t it be sweet if my lovely bracket outlasts Aaron’s sensible, researched, scrutinized one?!  Again, I stress, “It Could Happen!”  I’ve included a copy of my bracket with reasoning for each region’s opening round, followed by select highlights all the way to: One Shining Moment.  Enjoy.

Midwest (Indianapolis)

(1) Louisville over (16) Morehead St.- Reason #1 for Louisville: Home and alma mater of Patrick Henry Hughes, so we know they are not short on inspiration!

(8) Ohio St. over (9)  Siena- This is one of the few times I root for this OSU, but they have my pick here.  They are a talented team, but it helps that two of my dearest friends here in KY are buckeye fans.   

2nd Rd. Louisville over Ohio St.: Reason # 2 for Louisville- My softball team was the Cardinals and we were awesome!

(5) Utah over (12) Arizona- Arizona, hmm… devils and deserts?  Utah has a whole tabernacle singing its praises! 

(4) Wake Forest over (13) Cleveland St. – Okay, confession.  The first time I heard of Wake Forest, I thought it sounded like more of a magical land than the home of the Demon Deacons, and since then I have always thought they have a certain magical quality.  I think Wake Forest belongs in The Princess Bride.  It would make a much better location for a summer home than the fireswamp and the ROUS’s.

(6) West Virginia over (11) Dayton- I have family in West Virginia and a good friend who is a big Mountaineers fan.  He’s getting married, so this is my present to him!  Congrats Shannon!

(3) Kansas over (14) North Dakota- Kansas is part of the Big 12 and home to family and they’re off to see the wizard.           

(7) Boston College over (10) USC- Anyone else sick of those USC commercials that run so heavily during big games?  The ones highlighting all the “big” names that are USC alum.  I mean you would think that helmet is heavy enough without the big heads they all carry around.  Let’s see Boston College, a very talented team, make a commercial.  I’m sure they have some big names to flaunt considering they can pull a bit farther back in history.  A little humility please.

(2) Michigan St. over (15) Robert Morris- I had to go with a head choice here, considering when I asked Aaron where Robert Morris was from he asked who I was talking about, as if I had just asked where a long, lost relative lived.  If Trivial Sportsuit guru doesn’t even register the name of a team…I’m blonde and like to use my heart, but not stupid.

Sweet Sixteen: Louisville (reason #3,  Taco Bueno recently opened in Louisville, so they are Muy Bueno!), Wake Forest, Kansas, Boston College

Elite Eight: Louisville and Kansas (A birdwatcher’s dream!)

Final Four: Louisville

West (Glendale, AZ)

(1) Connecticut over (16) Chattanooga- My first dog was a husky, and one of my favorite people in the world lives in Connecticut.  Hi Nate!

(9) Texas A & M over (8) BYU- Again, Big 12 versus a school named after the most renowned polygamist.  Freedom of Religion, fine, and we know Bobby Knight had Freedom of Speech and anger at A & M for awhile, but I draw the line at males with the need for more than one wife.  I can handle a son of tyrant. 

(5) Purdue over (12) Northern Iowa- Purdue Boilermakers vs. NI Panthers.  Tough.  Purdue has my high school’s colors, are from Indiana, and the Big 10, which is really the Big 11.  The Panthers are…… eating corn? 

(13) Mississippi St. over (4) Washington-  Besides being fun to spell…don’t tell me you aren’t doing it..M I S S I S S I PP I!  Frank and Andrea Haynes are from Miss. St. and they rock!

(6) Marquette over (11) Utah St.- I love Marquette.  Always good and sounds so regal.

(3) Missouri over (14) Cornell- Big 12 and the tigers.  Do I need more reason?  Okay, they need to do well, to make OU look better!

(10) Maryland over (7) California- Terps.  I love it and we still don’t need to give Californians anymore reason to think they are God’s gift.

(2) Memphis over (15) Cal St. Northridge- Elvis, BBQ, blues, and John Grisham novels has it.

Sweet Sixteen: Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, and Memphis

Elite Eight: Connecticut and Memphis

Final Four: Memphis- Long live the King.

East (Boston)

(1) Pittsburgh over (16) East Tenn. St.- Pittsburgh is on a high from the Superbowl and I like saying Pitt.

(8) OSU over (9) Tennessee- Oklahoma St. is OU’s lil’ brother and while we like to beat them up, we still root them on, plus Aaron is a cowboys fan. 

(12) Wisconsin over (5) Florida St.- I love cheese.  Also, I hate anything Floridian still (see earlier SEC rant) and since Florida seems to be mysteriously absent from the tournament, Fl. St. will have to take the heat.

(4) Xavier over (13)  Portland St.- Xavier can be found stamped on every butt cheek of a childhood favorite, the Cabbage Patch Doll.  That love flowed over to the team when I grew up.

       2nd Rd. (8) OSU over (1) Pittsburgh-  The cowboys have been on a hot streak, and plus Aaron has been my hero while I have been on bedrest, so Go Pokes!

(11) VCU over (6) UCLA- VCU has a “home field” advantage, can claim OU coach Jeff Capel, and do I really need to bring up California again?

(3) Villanova over (14) American- Champagne SuperNOVA!  Villanova is awesome, not that I don’t love Americans. 

(10) Minnesota over (7) Texas- My love of the Big 12 ian’t big enough to overcome my disdain for Texas.  Plus Minnesota is now home to Adrian Peterson or AD and he is the best!

(2) Duke over (15) Binghamton-  Duke  does have some winning history.  Plus, what is up with Binghamton’s name?  Are they a cherry, a ham, or a vacation hotspot? 

Sweet Sixteen: OSU, Xavier, Villanova, and Duke

Elite Eight: Xavier and Villanova

Final Four: Xavier- I love my cabbage patch dolls!

South (Memphis)

(1) North Carolina over (16) Radford- And, from North Carolina….#23….Need I say more?

(8) LSU (9) Butler- LSU tigers.  They’rrre GRRReeAATT!

(5) Illinois over (12) Western KY- Illinois has had a good year, and the President may be rooting for them!

(4) Gonzaga over (13) Akron- Zags.  Gotta love em, well, I do.

(11) Temple over (6) Arizona St.- Holy Ground?  Probably not, but no one from Arizona has won much lately!

(3) Syracuse over (14) Stephen F. Austin- While they may need to recover after the exhertion of 6 OT”S, Syracuse has this in the bag (of oranges!)

(7) Clemson over (10) Michigan- The stripes have it again.  Plus, I think my Ohio St. friends would disown me if I chose Michigan.

(2) Oklahoma over (15) Morgan St.- Boomer Sooner!  And what is this?  A girl’s school?  Really?

Sweet Sixteen: N. Carolina, Illinois, Syracuse, OU

Elite Eight: Illinois and OU

Final Four: OU

Louisville vs. OU in the finals: While my blood bleeds crimson and cream, my heart has not healed from the loss in January and I only have so much blood to give.  Reason #4 for Louisville: How sweet would it be for Louisville to win, so close to Kentucky and the SEC, without the tradition, but what sweet revenge.  Well, sort-of, either way, I win!!!!

There was this moment, before I looked down at the pink stick to see one or two lines, that just paused, just a few seconds.  A moment before knowing that my whole life would change.  Then I bravely watched as the two, bright pink lines appeared so rapidly that my heart stopped and I had to remind myself to breathe.  There they were.  I am pregnant.  I am going to be a mother.  There is a life that relies on me for all it needs.  I am a mixture of emotion.

I lingered in the bathroom, trying to think of some cute or clever remark to tell Aaron.  He was waiting for me, so it wasn’t a surprise.  However, nothing would come to me.  I was speechless as I walked towards him with what I’m sure was a huge, goofy grin as a few tears ran down my cheeks.  His remark was that he expected tears either way, but he was so happy they were the joyful kind.  So was I, and I was so overcome with joy, and a little mixture of uncertainty. 

I don’t think the smile faded for at least a few hours, and we relished this amazing secret together.  The questions came into our minds I’m sure right away and I think we were both hesitant to ask them, wanting to feel confident and capable.  Are we ready?  Will we know what to do?  Will there be enough love, money, patience, etc.?  Will they grow up knowing how much they are loved by not only us and family, but the amazing love of God?  You know, the basics! 

So here we are nine weeks later and the smile is still there and we oscillate between feeling confident and questioning our preparedness.  Our families are happy and excited and our friends are already offering free babysitting.  My due date is October 12, and as Aaron has been so excited to tell anyone who will listen, if we have a girl, she will be the fourth generation in my line born in October.  My Mima, mom, and I are all October babies, as well as my cousin Tommy.  So if we have a boy, Tommy will have another male to celebrate with!  We just want a happy, healthy pumpkin, with two pudgy arms and legs. 

We pray every night for LT (Little Tiger), as we are calling him or her for now, and Aaron kisses my belly, says goodnight and I love you.  It’s pretty sweet.  It’s an amazing thing to pray that toes and fingers, eyes and ears, and even the heart and brain are being formed perfectly, trusting that God is forming your child in the womb, just as His Word says.  We pray that the baby can feel our love and will grow in God’s love these nine months and the rest of their life.  We look forward to seeing the great things the Lord will call our child to. 

So we wait, planning, dreaming, preparing, and praying.  We wish we were closer to family to share all of this, but we trust in God’s timing, and technology makes distance shrink.  We will be finding out the sex of the baby and letting everyone know when we do.  And while we will be open to name suggestions, that secret will be ours to share until the baby arrives.  Pray for LT and us as we share in this time of preparation and joyful expectancy.

There’s this song inside me

waiting to break free

Let it flow

burst forth

O’ God let me sing

this song

as you lead

Heather, Aaron, and Beau

We bring you Christmas tidings from Central Kentucky and wish you a Happy New Year!  We are just past the halfway mark of our adventure here in the Bluegrass State and thank you, our family and friends, for your prayer and support for us over the years.  We miss everyone back home, but we have been blessed by many new friends who have helped make our life here, a home.

 Those friends have been the greatest blessing of the past year.  We are a part of a small group with two other seminary couples, the Wendell’s and the Burkhart’s.  We meet on Friday nights (and whenever else we get a chance) and have experienced true community and fellowship.  We all knew that we were meant to be together when our first Friday night lasted for six hours that passed like two!  We look forward to our continued friendship with them and our other friends that we have met here.  We would love to mention even more of these new friends by name, but that would be a long letter!  Give us a call sometime and we’ll tell you all about these incredible people that have enriched and blessed our lives!

                Aaron has now completed 47 of 96 hours towards his Master of Divinity degree at Asbury.  He is on track to graduate in May 2010.  His classes have been exceptional, well most, and he appreciates Asbury’s emphasis on spiritual formation that infiltrates all aspects of the seminary experience.  Some of his favorite classes have been New Testament Introduction, Old Testament Introduction, and Basic Christian Doctrine.  He is planning on taking Greek in January, and after “surviving” Hebrew (with a B) is hoping that this language won’t be all Greek to him! Needless to say your prayers would be appreciated.  He is doing his mentored ministry at Trinity Hill UMC and that has been a positive experience.  Additionally, he is up for candidacy in the United Methodist Church and will be going before the Board of Ordained Ministry in March.  He will then be commissioned as an Elder in May, be expected to finish school and should be appointed to a church (in OK) in 2010.  For the past 16 months he has been a real jerk!  Well, one of the best soda-jerks at Tastebuds, an old-fashioned malt-shop inside Sims Drug Store in Wilmore.  It’s a great place to experience the community of a small town and Aaron’s ready smile and easy conversation is always a treat for the customers. 

                The transition to Kentucky has been a little more difficult for Heather, but she has started to find her own rhythm here.  She has especially enjoyed hosting people at our house and has thrown wonderfully fun Halloween and Christmas Parties.   Her decorative prowess can be seen throughout the inside and outside of the house and during all seasons.  Heather is working for Central Bank in Nicholasville, which is just a couple of minutes away from our house, which in this economy is a big plus for our gas budget!  She started in June as a part-time teller, and was recently promoted to back-up cash vault teller and has even helped train a new teller!  She has received excellent reviews and really enjoys her co-workers and customers.  This Christmas season, she and her friend, Debbie from work, started a gift wrapping business, Whimsical Wrappings, which she did all the marketing for.   Aaron appreciates Heather’s sacrifice and bread-winning while he focuses on his studies and is looking forward to seeing her pursue her dream of starting an event planning business back in OK.  Heather has also been working out frequently and has lost over 45 lbs in the past year!  We played softball at the seminary last spring, and her ability to pull and crush a softball is still intact and she is looking forward to the new season and hopefully talking her small group into signing up.

                Over the past year, we have had a number of visitors stay with us in our guest suite.  Heather loves getting the home ready for guests and entertaining them while they are here.  Heather’s Mima and her husband Wayne stayed two nights on their way to and from West Virginia.  Aaron’s sister Amy, her husband Brian, and their dog Nikki stayed for almost a week in June to attend the Christian music festival Ichthus with us.  Aaron’s parents stayed for a week in July, while Heather’s parents stayed for a week over Thanksgiving.  It was also great to see Heather’s Aunt Debbie and John who took us out for dinner here recently in December on their way back to Michigan.  Our friend Chris Symes stayed for a few weeks while he moved houses.  He even stayed long enough that Beau stopped barking at him and in return Chris wrote a song about Beau.  It is quite catchy!  We love visitors and would love to see more of our family and friends come and stay with us here in Nicholasville.

                We continued to be big sports fan and our bedlam rivalry has not dimmed down with our distance from Oklahoma.  Following this letter, the winner of the bedlam game (Heather /OU, Aaron/OSU) will get to write the Christmas letter.  Everyone at the bank is fully aware that OU is playing in the National Championship game and that Heather is a huge Sooners fan, and there is even a regular business customer from OK and a fellow Sooner fan!  We have had a few OU football watch parties and have enjoyed spending time with our fellow Okies.  We spend what little free time we have hanging out with friends, watching sports or our favorite TV shows, especially Lost and The Office.   We also occasionally find time to blog, feel free to check us out at www.aarontiger.wordpress.com or www.heathertiger.wordpress.com.  Thanks for sharing with us and may the light of Christmas and love of Christ shine in your heart both now and forever more!

Aaron & Heather Tiger

P.S. We chose to do send the Christmas letter this way to be green and to save green!

I know it has been awhile since I have written anything; a whole season has passed!  Life has been crazy, busy, overwhelming, entertaining, hopeful, and outstanding.  As I write these words through a haze of exhaustion, I find my mind settling not on those times that have been painful or a struggle, but rather, on the moments of comfort, joy, and peace; quiet in the midst of the storm.

Aaron and I hosted our first KY Christmas party tonight.  (Our last guest, Chris Symes, is actually still sitting on the couch as I type, deep in theological conversation with Aaron.  Seminary students!)  We had 12 of our good friends over, ate good food, laughed, played Two Truths and a Lie and Mafia, took pictures, listened to Aaron’s jokes, sang Christmas songs as Chris played his guitar, and shared wonderful memories.

These are the moments that remind me that we are supposed to be in KY, far from home.  It hasn’t always felt like that, even though I have known God brought us here.  I can’t wait to move back to Oklahoma, but I know that I will dread the day we pull away from this new family of friends that we have grown to know and love.  Sometimes you just fit with people as if it has always been.  We have been blessed to find these rare treasures, particularly in the Burkharts and Wendells. 

Brittany & Bill Wendell, Emily & Chris Burkhart, Me & Aaron

Us and these two couples, Chris and Emily Burkhart and Bill and Brittany Wendell, make up our Friday night small group, though I don’t think that title describes us.  For someone like me who craves family time, traditions, and memories, these four people have been a Godsend, but He didn’t stop there.  God has steadily enriched our lives with new friends that each add more color and fullness to our lives, and each person is a unique dimension of friendship and connection.  From the 49ers to the Sooners, decorating to dessert, The Office to Lost, preaching to pastoring, each person is the perfect piece to what was a very scattered and jumbled picture less than a year ago. 

So I will take this exhaustion as a blessing rather than a curse because it has been energy well spent.  My body may be tired, but my soul is well rested in the comfort of God’s love that surrounds us every day in the form of friends.  Thank you and we love you.

Haven’t had much to write about lately.  I’m actually working on a novel so any creative juices are being channeled there, or into ideas for a future event planning business.  One of my co-workers brings new decorating and cooking magazines in during the week, and there are so many ideas I want to try and experiment with.  If only there was more time in the day and week.  Maybe if Obama is elected he will add more hours to the day, since he is going to radically change our American way of life anyways, why not our time as well.  (This is sarcasm, just in case you didn’t catch it.)

Work, taking care of the house (or intending to clean more), spending quality time with Aaron and friends, reading, fall tv, and deepening my devotional life is what’s going on with me.  Time is flying by and we we are now a little over half way through our time here in KY.  Seems like we were just moving in and by the time I blink again it will be time to rent a U-Haul (courtesy of the OK UM conference) and head back to OK and another new start.

I think Fall has me thinking of the changes.  Just like the trees, our lives seem to grow, change, burst forth in brilliant color, and then float away from us like falling leaves until we seem bare.  But spring will forth renewal from the cold, depth of winter, and we will find new blooms budding from places we never knew were within ourselves.