No More Babies!

Drew turned 7 on September 13th. He was born 2 days after 9/11. It was a bittersweet day...being in the hospital with the joy of a new baby but watching our nation's horror on the hospital TV.

I got to be home this year for his birthday which started with a soccer game. Woohoo! Way to play, Drew! You're an all-star! I also got to see Casie's hockey game and Tyler's soccer game the day before...in the pouring rain! So no photos of those games. Yes, the Stiefs are diehard sports fanatics!

So our youngest is now a big 'ol seven. Just in time for me to start counting the next generation...the "great" nieces and nephews. Sigh. Time ticks on.

Wow! This is a great one...

Joe mentioned this verse in his message tonight.

Psalm 63:1
O God, You are my God
Earnestly I seek You
My soul thirsts for You
My body longs for You
In a dry and weary land
Where there is no water.

Can I really say that?

BEACH!!!!!!!

Yes, it was off season...and we had the weather to prove it. It was very, very windy and we sat on the beach fully clothed wrapped in our beach towels. Brrrr! But the wind made for some amazing waves!

It was a very relaxing time and we did a whole lot of nothing. Just the kind of vacation I LOVE. Rode bike, prayed, journaled, read, swam in the indoor pool, did a puzzle, cooked, slept, walked, shopped. That's about it! Wanted to get a tattoo but Kathleen talked me out of it. I forgave her after she took this great picture of me!

Heal the Wound

I used to wish that I could rewrite history
I used to dream that each mistake could be erased
Then I could just pretend I never knew the me back then
I used to pray that You would take this shame away
Hide all the evidence of who've I've been
But it's a memory of the place You've brought me from
That keeps me on my knees
And even though I'm free

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
Heal the wound but leave the scar

I have not built a life that boast of anything
I don't take pride in what I bring
But I'll build an altar with the rubble that You found me in
And every stone will sing of what You can redeem

Don't let me forget
Everything You've done for me
Don't let me forget
The beauty in the suffering

Embarrassed

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I just purchased this...

However, to attempt a bit of justification:

• It came with a $100 gift card to Target
• I donated my old vacuum cleaner (which is in good condition...yes, more shame!) to the church.

Oh and yes...it really is PINK! In fact, PEPTO PINK. Wasn't my color preference but it was the only one that came with the gift card.

Come on...'fess up! Who else has one???

Always looking for new music

If you have the lastest version of iTunes, try out the new "Genius" feature. It led me to these two guys and I'm loving them! I needed new music for my beach trip next week. Oh, by the way...I'm going to the beach next week!

So, Jodie...what do you do outside of work?

First of all, IS there life outside of work?

Well, when I can find some breathing room, you may just find me on the NCR Trail, walking or bicycling. The NCR is an awesome trail (completely flat and goes for miles!) not far from my house. It is totally in the shade and parallels a stream. It is gorgeous in any season so I grab my iPod and thoroughly enjoy the solitude.














On an evening ride with friends a few weeks ago, a pair of fawns came right onto the trail in front of us. I also just about rode over a snake! And, yes, this is an actual sign on the trail...















On another trip I unexpectedly ran into old friends from Lancaster. The trail goes all the way to York, PA which is where their family had started and had ridden south. It was so crazy seeing Lancaster faces on a trail in MY backyard in MD! Anyone recognize this guy?
















For the past year, I've been using a borrowed bike. But since trading in my Pathfinder, I haven't been able to transport it. So I've been dependent on others to get me anywhere to ride. But look what friends are letting me borrow indefinitely!

And if that wasn't enough, very dear friends heard I was using a borrowed bike and told me they had one in their attic I could HAVE. Jason pulled it from the crawl space in pieces. And the wonderful "Mr. Charles the Bikeman" overhauled it to get it into riding condition. So bye-bye borrowed bike and hello "new" one!

So if you can't locate me, I'm just might be running over snakes.

A New Role...

Because I have a hard time saying "no"...especially to a good friend like JF...I caved and hesitantly decided to be an ALG leader. Can you believe it? ME leading JrHighers? This is way out of my comfort zone but I couldn't find a valid reason NOT to take on this new adventure. And honestly, what sealed the deal was hearing the names of the girls waiting for a leader. I knew at that moment I was going to do this! I knew they would be an awesome group.

And I was right...on our first night I had the pleasure of getting to know four wonderful 7th graders!

But honestly...I think I'm going to learn more than they will.

We're Having a Baby!

My niece is expecting a boy in December. His name will be Maxsym V_____(?) Kowalick.

Yes, this means I will be a Great Aunt!!! I know, I know...I've always been a great aunt!

Here's a pict!

This is My Life...

A peek behind the doors of Ventureland.

Confession...I love these!

A Delayed Update...

August is a crazy, crazy month for me. So I should have never promised a "report" on my NY vacation. I knew it would take awhile to get this post done.

We had an amazing week. Wonderful weather, fun tubing, beautiful siteseeing, and a lot of fun with everyone there. Jason and Rachel behaved themselves very well and passed the family inspection! Mom and I got Rachel hooked on jigsaw puzzles. Casie and Drew were sweethearts and I had a load of fun with them. Jayne and Tyler joined us on the weekend. The fishing wasn't great but that didn't stop Jason from trying constantly! We hiked quite a bit and I was completely amazed at the incredible colorful mushrooms! Yes, I went a little overboard and took way too many photos of fungus...below are just a few. We took a ferry across Lake Champlain to Vermont and hiked to the top of a mountain (whew!). The view of the Champlain valley was incredible.

Here are the first photos from my new camera!