we're having a...

Yes, it's true!  We're having a baby!  As of today, Kristin is 18 weeks pregnant. :)

Us on the morning we found out.

We're expecting the baby to arrive in February, and no, we're not finding out the gender.  Right now, we're calling it Pebbles...after all, it's a little Stone! :)

On our recent trip home, we enjoyed telling our family members the news.  Here were their reactions!

Kristin's parents, Wayne and Dolly

Kristin's Granny and Pappy

Nathan's mom (Becky) and Mema

Nathan's dad, Gary

We've gotten lots of questions already from friends, so we'll answer a few of the most frequently asked:

• Was it planned?  It was in God's plan, and that's all that matters!
• Have you thought about names?  Yes, we have, but we're letting those be a surprise.  Right now we're telling people that we're considering Cadwallader or Jemima just to get a reaction.
• What symptoms has Kristin experienced?  We had to deal with morning sickness, lots of food aversions, gagging, and constant hunger.  Lately, Nathan's been doing most of the cooking and cleaning since Kristin has been avoiding the kitchen.  Other than that, she's just had the basic aches and pains that come with the package (no mood swings, so lucky Nathan)!
• How are you decorating the nursery?  Well, right now we're more concerned with actually making room for Pebbles (we still have more of an office than a nursery!).  But, we're thinking of a Noah's Ark theme, full of animals and lots of different colors.  Just because we're not finding out the gender doesn't mean that everything has to be green!
• Where are you registered?  We've made wish lists at Target and Babies 'R' Us, and we just discovered the awesomeness that is Pottery Barn Kids.  We'll probably set up a wish list there as well.
• Is Kristin still going to finish her dissertation?  Of course!  She's not disabled!
• Would you like my advice?  No, not really. :)

We'll be sharing more updates and pictures on this site as the weeks progress and especially when Pebbles finally comes.  Stay tuned!

may date - honoring your wife

Okay, we are really behind.  Lots has happened in the past few months, and there's so much to share!  We're going to do our best to get back on track and give regular updates.  First, though, we have to reach back to May.

Kristin talking:
You know we do monthly dates following ideas from the book 40 Unforgettable Dates with Your Mate.  In May, I organized an "intimate" date for Nathan...we won't be sharing details of that one. :)  For me, Nathan planned a date to show his appreciation for me.  It was one of the most wonderful and thoughtful dates we've ever been on!

Nathan's date was a complete surprise to me.  I knew the day and the time.  I knew that I was supposed to wear a really fancy dress.  I knew that he would feed me.  That's it.

On the evening of the date, we got dressed up and headed to downtown Sacramento.  Nathan pulled up to a the Lucca Restaurant and splurged for valet parking (first time ever!).  When we got to the restaurant, who did we see but some of our good friends!  Turns out, Nathan had planned not only a date to honor me...he also encouraged two other men from our Bible study to honor their wives as well.

The two couples joining us were Weston and Emily...

and Ed and Monica.

Us girls were surprised (at least Monica and I...apparently, Weston isn't good at keeping surprises and filled Emily in on the plans).  We enjoyed a delicious meal together with great conversation.  Then, before dessert, the men pulled out the biggest surprise of the evening.  They had prepared statements to share with everyone describing what they appreciated about their wives.

It was such a wonderful moment to see each husband look at his wife and tell her exactly what she meant to him and what he loved about her.

Ed was engaging and funny as usual...

Weston's heartfelt admiration made Emily smile...

And Nathan's compliments made me blush.  I love him!

First, Nathan read a passage from Proverbs.

Proverbs 31: 10-30 (condensed):
10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
…she provides food for her family…
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks…
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy…
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Then, his words...

Kristin is a truly amazing wife, and I delight in her constantly. I have full confidence in her, from her work and time management to her decisions and reliance on the Lord. I can trust her to be completely open with me hiding nothing, and I can be completely open with her. She is a diligent worker who is rarely satisfied despite constantly setting imaginary deadlines and standards of excellence and then surpassing them. She manages to keep the dissertation moving along while teaching, cooking amazing meals, keeping up with chores around the house, earning a bit of extra money from a blog, writing another blog for the church and another blog to minister to our family and friends, actively working to build our marriage and reading with me each night, and still finding time for hobbies like growing a small garden, cross-stitching, sewing, and scrap-booking. She is definitely not an idle person, but she continually manages to make time for us and for daily time of scripture reading, meditation, and prayer.

Kristin challenges me to be a more compassionate person as a witness for our Lord. I, like my father, look for long term justice, but she seeks to offer grace and mercy without diminishing the importance of justice. She has a heart for the poor that I hope I will someday have, and she is a natural teacher and mentor who generally does not see how gifted she is in reaching out to others. She’s encouraged me to get active and stay active in Bible studies and in my own reading and studying of scripture, and she’s encouraged me to change without trying to change me. And in all of this, she strengthens me through her faith and prayer and confidence in God’s plan for us, even though we have no clue what that plan is.

I trust Kristin to look for God’s guidance, and through that trust, I know that our marriage and her love are based on her reliance on God and not merely on feelings. She is truly a wonderful blessing to me, and I love her dearly.

I love you, too, Nathan!

After a fabulous dessert, the men took us ladies to the B Street Theatre in Sacramento for a play about marriage!  It was a story about Adam and Eve first meeting in the Garden of Eden and then later going back to visit the Garden on vacation after being married for several years.  Overall, it was a great experience.

Nathan talking:
I think Kristin pretty well summed it all up.  But, for a short bit at the beginning of the play, I really thought I'd blown it.  You can never be too sure of theaters out here and what odd stuff they'll do, and with the play being of Adam and Eve, I started wondering if the actors would have clothes.  The last ten minutes waiting for the play to start were pretty nerve-racking, and then once it started, I saw Adam doing some "awakening" dance thing on the floor, but I could only see from the waist up, and that was bare.  The lady in front of me blocked out everything else, so I started looking at the other guys in our group to see if we needed to make a quick get-away.  They seemed pretty relaxed, so I started to relax, and sure enough, Adam had shorts on.  What a relief that was!

scottish games

Two weeks ago, we attended the annual Scottish games in Woodland.  It's one of our favorite events of the year!  We first checked it out last year and spent the entire day there.  This year was no different! 

The first thing that caught Nathan's eye were some old cars...no surprise there!

This Triumph has a snazzy rear seat in place of the trunk, and those passengers even get their own windshield.

This car was beautifully restored, and I liked the little mirrors on the front fenders, even though I doubt they'd be of much use that far from the driver.

The MG was nice, but not as nice as classy as the Triumph.

Kristin, however, was more intrigued by the interesting animals, like the highland cattle. 

At noon, a parade of clans passed by.  They were led by some great pipe bands...

...then came the peasants...

...then the royalty! 

Mary Queen of Scots even made an appearance!

This is what we ate for lunch...tri-tip sandwich smothered in relish and barbecue sauce.

Here we are smiling...

And here's Kristin eating...

The fairgrounds were divided up into distinct sections.  There were craft and merchandise booths, a large field where the pipe bands performed, another field for the highland games, a large area set aside for clan booths, and then the royal camp. 

The royals have some great furniture, some of which folded up...

What they ate, though, left something to be desired.

The royal camp had some great displays, including swords.

They also had a WWI camp set up.  They did a weapon demonstration where they fired off some blanks and shot a tennis ball out of a grenade launcher.

Kristin enjoyed listening to a band called the Wicked Tinkers.  They play tribal celtic music - it's the kind you want to dance to!

We settled down for a while to watch the games.  We saw the championship caber toss and one of the weight throwing competitions. They're all so similar we can't remember which is which.  We also saw a little bit of the stone throwing and hammer throwing.

Funny booth...(no, they aren't a real clan).

We bought shortbread from McLaren's.  It was soooooooo good!  They also had teas, jams, curd, and scones.

Walking around the clan booths was fun.  This is Kristin's favorite family crest.

Kristin also found out that her mom's family would have belonged to the MacTavish or Campbell clan.  These are their crests.  You'll notice that either way, the emblem is a pig.  But what isn't as obvious is that both crests roughly translate to "Never forget."

handlebars and ladybugs

This was the look Nathan was sporting a few weeks ago.

He looked a little crazy...

Thank goodness he shaved it off!

And I finally figured out the solution to my aphid problem...

They did the trick!

coloma picnic

For a spontaneous April date, Nathan decided to take Kristin for a picnic in Coloma.  It was somewhat short notice, so we threw together a lunch.  Kristin came up with a really good turkey wrap using hummus and a red pepper chutney.  During our picnic, we discussed spirituality and how we could improve our spiritual unity and intimacy.  Then we set out on a walk to see the old gold rush town.

The American River, where gold was first discovered.  This discovery kicked off the gold rush of 1849.

This is a slightly odd-looking monument marking the location of the original mill.  Slightly up the river from this is the spot where they found gold.  That spot was marked, but it didn't make for very good pictures.  It's turned into a large, overgrown mud hole that is ripe for mosquitoes, so we'll just say this picture is sufficient.

Nathan's standing on the spot where the mill originally stood.

There was a quail playing in the mill.

The mill was a pretty simple design.  They would use a winch to pull logs up this ramp onto a sled, and the water wheel drove a cam shaft driving the saw blade up and down.  Then the boards would be slid off another ramp.

When we finished walking around, we read a chapter from Sacred Marriage and then drove to Placerville to look around.  We enjoy going to the Thomas Kinkade gallery there to see the new pictures, as well as the old, every now and again.  They had just released some really good paintings.  One was the Lion King from the Disney collection, one was a sailing ship out at sea, one was of Jesus walking through a garden with someone, and the last new painting was one that Kristin liked of a cross up on a mountain overlooking a wide river valley.  Nathan spent most of his time there looking for hidden things in the paintings (namely hidden "N"s and hidden hearts).