Pictures from the Cousin's Vacation

Awwww....don't they look so cute? The newlyweds.
The crazy game of Around the World! WE may still be counting the injured :)
A view of some of the adorable houses on the beach.
Andy making a swift break with the rest of the crazy guys' clothes.

I have more pictures to post but for some reason this thing only lets me post 4 pictures at a time.

Love,

Rebekah

some new pictures of my kids

Here's Josh with his Aunt "Pami" (rarely does he get the "T" on the front of her name) He's in his little prisoner P.J.s :)
Darci in her little bouncer chair. She get's so excited to play in this! She's growing up so fast!
Josh having fun in Daddy and Mommy's bed.
Matt and Josh in the snow. I think Josh is going to be a snow boy just like his dad!

Just thought it'd be fun to post some new pictures.

Love,

Rebekah

Woo Hoo! Leah's coming! =)

I'm so excited you're coming, Leah! And we would be glad to give you a ride back! Actually, Andy and Marie are going back to Francesville Sun to get their kids...how close is that ? We can work it out once we're up there, but plan on us taking you back for now. So is that ok if you and Sparky take care of the paper products?? That would help a ton!

That makes all 18 of us! (well, minus Sether's) =( How's he doing, by the way? I bet he was glad to see some of his family these last couple weeks!
The only thing I'm wondering is Aaron and Bekah...do you know yet if you'll be able to stay both nights?? I was aslo wondering who plans to make it for supper Fri night. Around 7:00 (IL time) Hope that's not too late.If everyone's there earlier, we may shoot to eat a little early...

Well, we'll see most of you friday!

Kristy

.....

so i don't want to be the only one not coming...:)...yeah, it looks like it'll work out for me to come...i'm going to drive home to btown and come up with klint and sarah...but here's the kicker.....i need a ride back to west lafayette on sunday....it wouldn't be horribly out of the way for you il folks...you would just be taking the sides of the right angle triangle instead of the hypotenuse..west lafayette is a straight shot below michigan city...so if someone would be willing to drop me off on the way home...i'm coming!!

Abbi Grace is 1!

Well, here's the birthday girl! 1st birthday's are so much fun. :) She did really good. Cute apt, Booxy! Thanks for posting those!

Well, your info pkts went out today! I didn't have the price on there, because Leah is still unsure and Aaron and Bekah are not sure they'll be able to stay both nights. (So obviously that will determine the divided cost)But for both nights, we're looking at $120 to $130 total! I will know for sure then, so just have your checkbook with you and everyone can pay me there! Included is the Bible study we'll do for our Sun morn service! It's taken from the devotional: Building your house on the Lord! So please take some time to have that filled out and come with experiences to share/ a story/ or just some good thoughts! I know you all have some! PLEASE call me if you have any questions or if you see that I missed something! I'm sure I did. :)

Is everyone's week starting off ok?? Mine wasn't so grand...had the flu yesterday! :( And come to find out, Mom K and Clark did too!! Bummer...it wasn't a bit fun, but I'm feeling like a new woman today!! It was very short, of which I am sooooooooo thankful! Well, I just had to include a pic of lil Abbi walking! She started taking all kinds of steps at M&D Kaeb's Sat night, and ever since then, she keeps standing up and taking steps all the time! It's so fun to see them grow and "keep trying" after so many falls! We can learn so much from them, can't we?!? Well, I'd better sign off...I don't know if this post will actually publish, since it's so LONG! ;) But have a great week, and I love you all! Kristy

Apartment pictures

Here are a few pictures of our apartment for those of you who haven't seen it. The top left picture is the living room/kitchen we came home to after our honeymoon...yeah Aaron's brother and sister-in-law had some fun. The bedroom furniture is brand new so I wanted to put it on the blog for mom to see. Love you all!

Bekah

What a beautiful day!

Good Saturday Morning, ladies! Wow, today has started soooo nice!! It's 67 out! But i just read that that might change. :( We have a chance for some strong storms. But we need the rain...

Well here's some pic's of where we're going to be staying in a couple weeks!!! I'm so excited! I will be mailing out some info to each of you, so be looking for that! I think everyone is coming...Leah is iffy (come on, Leah!!) and Aaron and Bekah will pry only be able to stay 1 night, but other than that everyone can come! I can't believe it. I am really looking forward to this! Bekah, Chad just got his hair cut from one of your HS classmates...Tracy?!? Not sure of her last name, but she cut's hair in El Paso, and said she was in your class! And we are not going anywhere this spring...just to northern IN with all of you, and then our Hoffmann vacation in June! That's all we've got planned so far! No warm sunny 'cation for us this spring.

Well, take care, ladies! Have a wonderful JOY-FILLED weekend! I'll be posting again soon when I have my pic's downloaded from Abbi's 1st bday! :) ~Kristy

OK ladies, how about some conversation?

So, just curious, but am I the only one not leaving this dreary midwest this spring? (then again I did go to the carribbean in January...ok ok, I won't complain)
Barb, when do you leave for Florida? (or did you already go?)
Leah, have a great time on your break...I know this week is rough but we're praying you through your exams...and trust me, next week will be worth it!
Mom, try to enjoy your trip to Mexico. Remember it will be totally different then your last trip, you won't be in charge of cooking, and we can pray you won't have any medical emergencies as the students did two years ago! Oh, and enjoy Arizona when your done!!!
Kristy or Jamie--what's the plan for the Hoffmann weekend? Aaron and I are trying to get organized...it looks like we may be able to come late Friday night and spend most of Saturday with everyone...but then will head back to Detroit for communion Saturday night...
News from me: Michigan is still cloudy and rainy...thought today for the first time it's supposed to get above 50! It may even reach 60...you should see me, I'm practically giddy. So I ventured out of my little box and visited a neighboring mall (I needed my watch battery changed) and found it to be an awesome mall...Marshall fields, Sax 5th Avenue Outlet, Lord and Taylor, Gymboree (for you moms) JC Penny, Limitted, Gap, all kinds of stores...so if anyone wants to come visit me....I live 3 minutes away from it!!!!
Hopefully I'll let you all know soon about my job situation.....
And last but not least I'm going to try to insert a link to a website. My family appreciated (I think all of us cried) this video from CBS news...so I thought you'd like it too. I love you all, miss you tons...and hope to hear from you soon.....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/23/earlyshow/main1339324.shtml
Bekah

Pictures From My Weekend

Josh (For some reason I can't get him to smile for me when I pull out the camera.) This is the picture before we got the haircut done!! Yay!
Oh did you know I got to meet Orpah Windfreeze this weekend!! She's the talk show host for a movie we did for VISION! she's pictured here with one of her guests. Also featured on the show were Jonothan (aka Jarod R.) and Daniel (aka sweetie pie....urr... Matt K. ) :)
Just another sweet day with Darci :)

Love ya girls,

Rebekah

Good morning ladies,
Hope you are all staying healthy and warm. Last night we were blessed to get to go to Chad and Kristy's for supper. Uncle Dennis had a talk in Roanoke and Kristy invited us to come early and eat supper with them. Kristy, I don't have your e-mail so this is your thank you note. Your meal was delicious. It was so nice to see where you live. Your home is so cute and your kids are precious. Kelsey is so friendly and bubbly. Josiah is an all American boy. He loves Thomas the Train, just like our grandsons. They were so excited to show us their rooms. And Abbi is a beautiful baby. She is so good (she gets played with so enthusiasticly with her siblings and just smiles). Thanks so much Chad and Kristy. We really enjoyed your hospitality.

Now for the answers to your questions, Rebekah.
1. There are 3 years of my life I would like to relive just to enjoy again. The year I was 15 was carefree(too young to get a job but old enough to enjoy some freedoms). Life seemed so fun and free. I also think it would be fun to relive our first year of marriage. We were so in love, did so much fun stuff on week-ends and in our free evenings. The year the kids were 5,9 and 10 was great too. They could pretty much take care of themselves. They were so happy enthusiastic and respectful. We took some great vacations that year and the couple years that followed. Nothing was boring we'd drive to say FL and they would be watching out the window every view was interesting to them. Oh what fun inoscence!
2. As far as weather goes I too would like to be rid of the destructive storms like hurricanes and tornados, because they affect so many people. But when I think of driving in weather I hate driving in fog. I can just feel panicy thinking about it.
3. I can't think right now of an obnoxious tourist, but I can think of an unusual one. A little old lady sat be side us on our flight home from Europe. She kept asking for beer and she knew her beers. She'd ask for a German and then a Swiss beer etc. I think she got at least 7 cans of beer in the 7 hour flight. She would then have to step over us to go to the bath room every so often. I think you get the picture.
4. I'm with Rebekah on this one. I mean honestly those somo wrestling uniforms are discusting.
5. Ah I was in love with Scotty Lancer on the western Lancer. He was a tall slim and blonde cowboy. Thats probably why I named Andy-Andrew Scott.
Thanks Rebekah for the questions and again thanks Kristy for the wonderful meal. Love, A. Bonnie

Shivering in Dearborn

I hear it's could in Illinois/Indiana too...but let me tell you, the sun can be deceiving in Dearborn. I look outside, think it looks like a gorgeous day, step outside and feel my lips start to go numb with cold! Nothing like bundling up!
Things are going well in Detroit, I've had a few interviews and continue to look for a job...and hoping that it doesn't take too long to get my Michigan Nursing License. Anywho, here's the responses to Rebekah's questions.
1. Definately the summer before my freshman year in high school. I had a blast that summer. Lisa and I would do nothing but lay on rafts on their pond, make up songs, and laugh alot. We even made the comment that "this is the best time of our lives." Which I look back on and agree, we were carefree, had fun and goofed off!
2. I would say tornadoes because you never know where or when they're going to strike and thus have no reaction time to save yourself.
3.Most obnoxious tourist? My husband?..hee hee j/k. I'd say the people on our tour of Miami trip. They sat and complained the whole time that they couldn't understand the guide or know what he was talking about (if they would have quit talking they could have understood). Then they refused to give up their seat (too single people in their own row) so a couple who had to split up, but still talked over the seats...so the passengers complained...my thought was, give them your seat so they can sit by each other and you would hear them talking! Seriously, people or so weird!
4. No doubt in my mind, the US Olympic snowboarding team. It's like their jail birds or something. This silly white with blue stripe outfits, or maybe they're a baseball team, only the clothes are baggy....Not a good choice for the olympic team.
5. We were good little kids who never watched wordly TV!!! J/K honestly I have no idea, I only remember watching Sesame street and Mr Rogers. But I would say as a little girl I fell in love with Jim from the movie "Man from Snowy River." He had such a cool accent.
Well, hope to hear from the rest of you soon!
Luv ya-booxy

here we go again!

well, it looks like i'm becoming the regular poster on this blog! oh well...here are some more questions since they seem to be popular. thanks for the answers girls!!

1. if you could returnfor one age in your life, knowing what you know now, to relive that year as you wish, which year would you go back to?

2. if you had to eliminate forever one form of weather, what would it be?

3.if you had to name the most obnoxious tourists you've encountered, who would they be?

4. If you could redesign the uniforms of any sports team, which team would it be, and what changes would you make?

5. if you had to pick the TV personality you were most in love with as a kid, who would it be?

Here's my answers:
1. I think I'd go back to my freshman year in college. I hope I'd be a more diligent student. I think it would have also been less stressful knowing who I was going to marry in the future...maybe not...I don't know if it helps to know. I probably would have just been obnoxious around matt and he would have ended up not wanting to marry me!

2. I think I'd get rid of hurricanes/tsunamis - (can I lump them together?). They seem to cause some of the worst damage.

3. Hands down, the jr. high idiots on the jelly belly factory tour!!!! Oh my word! these kids were as obnoxious as they come. They were sitting in the cart right behind my sisters and I during this tour that I remember absolutely nothing from besides these kids. They were making retarded jokes about Viagra, throwing things at people in the cars ahead of us. They would yell things at the speaker. They would shake and shake our cart. We could hear absolutely nothing from the tour. We had to wear these dorky pointy hats on our head. I was 8 months pregnant (lovely picture...a fat lady with a pointy hat on). You'd think they'd have some compassion, but NO! towards the end of the tour one of the kids reached up and threw my hat off of my head. I was so ticked byt his point I just wanted to attack them. But I just turned and gave them a look that Tami later told me could have killed if looks could cause mortal wounds. I should have stopped there because they actually looked scared. But then I said, "what is your problem?' then they said in a winy voice "what's your's?" I couldn't think of anything clever so I just said, "YOU'RE my problem". Thankfully the tour was over and we could leave. I still wish I could have given a good comeback!

4. I don't know about a specific team but i think i'd change the outfits of wrestlers and weight lifters. Put some baggy shorts on or something...nobody wants to see everything we see!

5. I can't remember his name not but he was the brother on the show OUR HOUSE. did you guys ever watch that. I thought that kid was fun. I also liked Kirk Cameron on Growing Pains...but probably not quite like Tami did.okay,

well, hopefully these questions get your blogging juices going again!

love ya,
rebekah

Here's some more questions...

HI Girls,
Thanks to you who responded to the last post! That was so fun to read your replies! Here's some more questions for you girls to ponder:

1.If you could have a servant come to your house every day for one hour, what would you have them do? (Deffinitely the laundry!!...it seems I NEVER catch up with mine)

2. If you could, in retrospect, thank one teacher you had in school for what they taught you, who would it be, and what would you thank them for? (I think I would want to thank my 5th grade social studies teacher - Mr. McClintock. He made history come to life and made me love it. He helped me see that history isn't just a bunch of facts but stories about real people who lived. I think your first history teacher can often make or brake the subject for you.)

3. If you could make a film from any book never produced as a film, what book would you pick? (boy! this is hard! it seems like every book I love has been made into a movie. Hmmm....well, maybe it would be VERY scarry but it might be kind of fun to see "Three" as a movie...but maybe too scary! I don't know.)

4. If you could ensure one single personality trait in your children, what would you want it to be? (This is hard because there are so many I wish I could ensure my children would have. I think I'm going to say humility. I think if my kids were humble people, a LOT of things would be better and it would affect a lot of other characteristics in their life)

well, that's all I have time for right now. I love you guys.

LOve,
Rebekah

Hi Ladies

Here's a picture of my little Bed bugs

I really have nothing exciting to say...I just thought it would be fun to see some more life on this blog.

Booxy, your time at the pre-super bowl stuff sounded fun and crazy!! So are they going to keep downtown Detroit fixed up?

Here are a couple questions for y'all...I like to post questions just to add some fun to the blog.

1. If you could eliminate one hereditary characteristic from youf family, what would it be? (I think the big boobs many of my female family members are "blessed" with)

2. If you could receive a letter today from anyone you have known during your lifetime, who would it be from and what would it say? (Deffinitely my mom. I would want it to be full of her advice and just talking about her memories)

3. If you could master one type of cuisine, which one would you choose? (Italian)

4. If you had to describe your idea of the perfect mate, how would you do it? (I can honestly say I think I have the perfect mate AND in-laws...Seriously, I don't think anything could be better! I am so spoiled)

Okay, hopefully people take the time to answer these. It's fun when people do. You can just respond to this post if you don't feel like actually posting a new one.

Love,
Rebekah

Hello from Dearborn

So, I found out something about being married, guys don't put up with our silly complaints. Such as, I make the comment a few times that "no one's writing on the blog" and so Aaron starts responding with, "well, then blog something!" OK OK good point. We had an adventure filled weekend. As you may (or may not) know the super bowl was in Detroit this weekend....good and bad. So all week last week they had this thing call the Winter Blast. It's like a winter festival put on by GM, Chrysler Jeep, and Ford in downtown Detroit with games, beer, and gambling all revolving around the super bowl and the NFL. Lot's a free concerts (and some not so free) lots of crazy parties that you have to pay buko bucks to get into and then fun things for commoners like us such as a giant snow slide, snow sled dogs (Siberian Huskies, my favorite dog), ice sculptures, food, and general milling around as at any street fair...only it's 30 degrees outside. Well, Detroit's been a little run down, but since the super bowl was coming the city finally decided to fix it up a little. So Aaron and Brett wanted to go downtown one night to see what at was going on. We parked at a mall near us that offered free parking and a 2 dollar shuttle downtown...we waited in line to get on the shuttle for 1 1/2 hours! It was amazing to see a deserted downtown turned into a packed full festival! We ran into (it's a small world) some people from church and hung out, buying gyrros (greek food) and watching a segment of a free Clint Black concert (yeah I'm sure that's the only country music concert I will ever get my husband to go to). Then when we decided to head home around 1130 we had to wait in line another 45 minutes to get back...and honestly their were more people arriving than leaving. It really was crazy. They say that every hotel in the greater Detroit area is booked all the way to Toledo Ohio!!!! I guess that's good for our economy!
So Saturday was the adventure of attempting to take things back to bed bath and beyond...and didn't have much luck at the store near me so Laura and I are going to try another store out by her. They only took back what was on our registry for cash and not other stuff! I was a little frustrated, but such is life I suppose. We'll try again.
Well, now that I've rambled on forever I'll let you all go. Love you all tons!
Bekah

Well its been a while since I posted something. Guess there has been something else keeping me busy. I sure do enjoy reading them though. The pictures are so fun to see. I haven't tried to figure out how to put them on yet. Hey I'm lucky to remember how to post this.

Well first of all a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!! to Aunt Barb. She is the big 50 on Feb. 3rd. Congratulations Barb! You made it over the hill. Its all down hill from here on. That can be good and bad. Do you have plans to celebrate?

Last week-end we were in Detroit to help Aaron and Bekah get settled and watch them open gifts. We went to Detroit Church on Sunday. We enjoyed that very much. It is a rather small church but is very warm and friendly. They have really good singers so the singing goes very well. We feel good having Bekah there.

Tomorrow Joseph and Josh are coming over. I'm going to watch Josh while Darci has an appointment. Joe and I plan to do stuff we can't do when the littler ones are here. We might go to McDonalds and read books and study letters. Its going to be fun.

Well bye for now. Keep on blogging. And Happy Birthday Barb! love, Bonnie

Here's my wedding pic's!

Here's my pic's! I love this one of Kels and Josiah with Aaron and Bekah! It's just a perfect smile from everyone! :) Looks like your cruise was Great!! Fun Fun!! We are beginning to save our pennies in hopes to go on one in 2-3 years!! My Hoffman Family is in the works of planning it! Everyone's taking their kids! :0 We, however are opting NOT too. WAY too much money, and if you ask me, a cruise is supposed to be RELAXING! So, hopefully Mom K will keep the kids! Well...time to think about supper! Have a great rest of the week, all!
Kristy

a couple pictures from the wedding!

sorry I don't have any of the bride and groom...how pathetic huh?!???

Honeymoon!

Thought you all might enjoy seeing a few pictures from our honeymoon....we had so much fun! Quick synopsis...when we're all dressed up...that's the dining room's formal night. One is us infront of our ship. The other picture is our dining room friends (those we ate with everynight) and the last one is on the beach in Miami...burr it was cold! Sorry the picture is sideways, I'm not sure how to fix it!
And if anyone has pics from the wedding I'd love to see them!

Your little Michigan girl

A Few More Pictures!

Well, It's me again...I guess I have a question to answer. ;) I don't think I need change 1 thing about myself......HA!.....I need to change about 50!!! But I'd say the biggest thing I would change is my bad habit of letting things 'clutter up'. I'm a horrible 'piler', and I am trying so hard to change that, but it's HARD!! (Aggrivating!) Then, I get so overwhelmed and stressed. But I am slowly working on things and organizing my house - I think there's hope!!

About that little head in the background of the picture, I think it is a little Plattner or Kauffmann. Not exactly sure which one. Bekah might know-it is one of her little cousins on the other side.

I talked to Jami and Rebekah the other night, and we thought an annual "Hoffmann Cousins Couples Weekend" would be fun! A weekend of all the married couple's going to a hotel! (childless) :) We would love to have Leah, Clark and Seth, but I know Seth wouldn't be able to come home for it and Leah and Clark sharing a room might be strange!?! SO...I was looking at some dates and thought maybe we could set one! How does March 24-26 or March 31-April 2nd look? Let me know, and hopefully there's a weekend where everyone can make it! I'm looking into hotels,and Jami's looking into an option too...we'll let you know!

Well, there's my blog babble! :) Glad we're up and running again! What about sharing that tortelini recipe!! ;) Maybe we could all share a good, easy recipe for everyone!!?? I'll think of one for my next post! Have a wonderful week, all!!
Love you one and all!!
Kristy

Your are all back!! Yes!

Dear Hoffmanngals,

I was so fearful that the blogging had come to a stop and would not get moving again. I try to check ever so often...and boom 4 of you had written since I last checked. We are all back in the ballgame again. Right?

The wedding was wonderful. The cruise sounds great and so pampering. However, I have been shopping for swimming suits. Ordered 2 1/2 -- tried on 2 while shopping (big mistake). So right now a trip to Alaska with many layers and a snowsuit really suits me better. I'd pay any amount of money to find a suit that makes me look 20 years younger and 20 pounds thinner!!!
Alaska here I come!

Jami, thanks for having us over before the wedding. I read the book you gave me. It was so interesting and enlightening! I also made your Tortillini Soup and invited Klint's over to share it with us. It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe.

Kristy, who is the little head in the back of your picture? Also I remember those ear ache days. They are hard on everyone. Seth and Leah both struggled with ear aches and both ended up with tubes in their ears. Do they still recommend tubes?

Rebekah, those pictures are precious. We probably won't even recognize Darcy the next time we see you guys. So keep updating those pictures. They are grow up so fast.

Rebekah, I was trying to remember what your question was, but I hate to try to go to the blog and then try to get back here without messing everything all up!! I am such a computer whiz!
However, I think it was something about what would I change about myself(other than my swimming suit saga!). If that wasn't it then disregard what I'm about to regurgitate! I think if I could change something about myself I would try to always look for the good and the positive in each situation. It would cause less worry, less stress, and I would be an upbeat and encouraging
person. I am sure I could train myself to be positive by "dwelling on whatsoever things are pure, lovely, and of good report." Does that mean don't read the newspaper or listen to the news?!

Sorry, I'm babbling. Have a good day and keep writing!

Aunt Barb

Home from the Caribbean!

Hello all! Yes Aaron and I made it safely on the cruise and home. We had a fabulous time and would recommend a cruise to any and all who are interested. It was the perfect honeymoon trip. After an exhausting decision making lifestyle the last couple months we enjoyed relaxing with no worries. The cruise spoils you rotten. You pick from a list of "excursions" on shore and all you have to do is show up on the dock at the right time and they take care of the rest. They provide you with supplies (snorkel equipment, kayaks, etc) drive you there, give you intructions and the such like. Then you don't have to decide where to eat...just show up at the dining room and they have absolutely delicious food to choose from on the menu...and the best is it's all included! It's nice I had steak, shrimp, and other expensive food...as well as the appetizer, salad, and dessert! I tell you, we were living it up. We also met some interesting people on the cruise....I'll have to tell you all about them. Very very unique people, who we enjoyed immensely. Miami was great, we had a wonderful hotel downtown (booked by the cruise line) and enjoyed touring Miami, shopping, and walking on the beach. Weather was off and on, it was cloudy most days but the sun did peak out every so often. The temperature was warm though, so the rest didn't matter. We hit a storm and sea, which made life entertaining...but what's a vacation without a few unique experiences right? Anyway, I'll sign off for now. We love you all, thanks for making our wedding day so fabulous!
Bekah
PS the song sounded great!

Aren't they precious!?!

Hello, ladies! Hope you all are having a good week. Our's could be better, Abbi's been sick. :( She's on an antibiotic now, so things should turn around. She's got an ear infection, fever, cough, lots of congestion, and we think teething! So some prayers on her behalf would be MUCH appreciated. ;) Otherwise, we're all doing pretty well. I just had to post this adorable pic from Aaron and Bekah's reception! they were all playing by the 'Girraffe's', and i had them get together, and this is how it turned out! (Josh WAS with them, but ran away when i attempted the pic) Everything was beautiful!! This past Sun when i woke up and looked outside I thought...wow! Why couldn't it have looked like this last sun! I know bekah was hoping for snow. The icy trees were BEAUTIFUL!!! Well, I hope you all have a great rest of the week!

Love you all!
Kristy

Just some Pictures of my kids!

My Dad came over to our house for dinner the other night and we took some pictures with his camera. I thought I'd put them on the blog.

Love,
Rebekah

not a whole lot to say...

Thanks for the post Jami. It inspired me to actually post something.

I thought that the wedding was a success too! Everything seemed to go really smoothly. I wish I could have enjoyed the reception a little more...it seemed I spent a majority of my time running around looking for Josh. Most of the time we found him wondering around the kitchen...yeah, I think the kitchen staff was getting just a little annoyed! (yikes!). It's probably a good thing they didn't know we were related to the bride or mom and dad may have gotten charged a little extra!

it will be fun to hear all about Booxy's lovely cruise...(well, probably not ALL about it - he he).

It was so fun to be with Seth for a little again. WE had such a fun time painting toe nails together on Friday night before the wedding...okay, Seth may be a little different since being in Mexico but he's not THAT different! Actually, he just watched us paing each other's toe nails.

It was so funny becuase Seth and Matt were having this long conversation about parenting...Seth and his boys and Matt and his little munchkins!

Well, as you can see, I don't have a whole lot to say here.

Here's a question for y'all:

"If you could eliminate one habit that you have, what would you stop doing?"

- Matt would probably say forgetting to write things down and thus forgetting to do them! - I should probably agree! :)


Maybe a question posed to you guys once in awhile will get some action going on the blog!

love,
rebekah

starting up the blog again

Hey girls -

How's everyone recovering after the big wedding? Everything was beautiful and seemed to run smoothly. The food was really good too! We had a great time with Klint and Sarah! Thanks again for staying with us Sarah and for the pups. Tonight Paige is going to have a tea party, then go out for ice cream, then a sleepover at her Aunt Leslie's house for her birthday. I don't know who is more excited Leslie and her roommates or Paige. Amanda took off work for the tea party and Holly is going to be there too. Paige is going to wear her new dress up clothes for the event!! We are excited to have some one on one time with Raegan too. Paige turns 3 on Tuesday! I can't believe it.

Clint has been more busy with work lately, often having to work at night when he gets home too. Hopefully things will start slowing down once he is finished with quotes for customers. Every few months he has to update pricing and it always takes time - though he just created a new database to make doing quotes much easier and more time efficient. He is Amazing, isn't he??!! :)

Hope you all are having a good week. Let's spend time with the Lord and serve Him Faithfully!!

Love you all -
Jami

Fun in Dearborn!

Hi all,

Boy did I have a fun time this week. Aaron, Bekah, Denny and Bonnie went to Indy and packed up all of Bekah's belongings. Denny went home and the rest came to our house in 3 different vehicles. Aaron was driving a Uhaul, Bonnie was driving her car and Bekah was driving Aaron's car.

They ate supper and spent the night at the Gerber Motor Inn!

I joined the commotion the next morning my riding along with Bonnie. Once we were in Dearborn, we unloaded the cars and pretty much dumped everything in Aaron and Bekah's new apartment. Aaron's brother Brett and wife Lora (I think that was her name) helped Aaron unload the Uhaul. Aaron's mom was there also.

Aaron and Bekah have a really spacious 2 bedroom apartment with great closet space and 2 full baths. The living area is very open with plenty of room for the table and chairs and also the piano. The only thing not built for an Apostolic family is the kitchen! It is pretty small and I think they are hoping more storage space will grow while they are on their honeymoon!

We all had a great time unloading, unwrapping, washing, drying and putting every little thing away. By the time we all left it looked very liveable and homey. It will make a wonderful first home for the newly weds.

I forgot to take my camera so I have zero pictures to show you. I am sure Bekah will put some on the blog whenever she has a free moment. Which I am sure won't be real soon.

We are looking forward to Seth's arrival home tomorrow night. We are picking him up in Indy around 8:30 pm. Please pray for a save trip.

We will see you all on the 15th and some of you the night before. I love weddings(especially if I'm not planning them)!!

Love,
Aunt Barb

Happy 2006!!

Well it's here...a new year. It's so hard to believe it's 2006, but here it is. I know I have alot of improvements to work on this year! We went to Belvidere for the weekend...it was so good to see everyone again! They are such a small church now, it makes me sad for them. Initially they were gonna have Chad go into sunday school to help with the lesson, but then they thought he'd better go into church and help sing. It's that little.

So, Sarah and Leah...how's the 'diet plan' coming? No one's had to pay up yet, have you? That's about the best accountability plan i've heard of. =)

Well, my Bubble Bath is calling me! I'd better answer! Hope you all have a wonderful week in Christ, and let's pick-up this blog again, huh?? :)

Love, Kristy

Back on Line!

Well, I am back on line. I tried to get on the blog all last week and my computer wouldn't let be get on line. But here I am.

Kristy, you better keep a close watch on Josiah. He is a little young for the "girl thing"! I am almost done with my Christmas shopping and I still have some wrapping to do. Our trip to Mexico was our kids Christmas gifts so Christmas shopping was very light this year.

Rebekah, since I was home today, I listened to a Matt Kaufmann sermon. Grandma has sent be 2 so far. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. He is doing a great job. I was totally blessed.

Also Rebekah, I am not sure about Seth. He seems to enjoy it and he is talking about taking some more Spanish classes. So who knows, if there are replacements or if he doesn't "fall in love" with someone, he probably could easily stay another year. Who knows? I do know that those kids have a way of crawling into your heart and it would be hard to leave them.

We are so looking forward to Christmas. I really missed be with the family over Thanksgiving. Leah has a final on the 17th and it is over at 4:30. So she will be very late for Christmas and is majorly bummed!

Since, i didn't go to church today, i missed our program. So I am looking forward to the Bloomington church program Sunday. Speaking of programs. Mark and I went to the Purdue Music Christmas Program. Marie, i thought of you. It was wonderful and we really enjoyed it. I was amazed at how professional it seemed. Also Marie, I was shopping in W. Lafayette last week and ran into your Mom and Dad. They were at the food court eating Chinese!! It was good to see them again. They are such friendly people.

Well, we will see you Saturday.

Love,
Aunt Barb

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

Good morning girls! Are we still alive and kicking out there? I suppose we're just getting a little busy this time of year. Is anyone finished with their Christmas shopping?? I'm SO close! Chad and I hopefully will finish this weekend. We got a beautiful snow! About 4 inches. Not too much to make it miserable. How about the North Eastern Indiananites?? Did you get more? (Seems like you usually do) ;)
The kids are doing pretty well, other than Josiah - I'm gonna take him to the Dr this afternoon. He woke up with his eyes matted and puffy and 1 of them is pinkish. :( I'm pretty sure I know what he has. He also has been holding his ears today and crying owie. So he may have ear infections, too?? Not sure. Over all, he's pretty happy, thankfully! Kelsey has her Christmas program at church this Sun afternoon, then Tues night at School! Looking forward to those! She's getting so big!
Abbi's crawling everywhere and getting into everything she shouldn't. Now she's pulling herself up and 'crusing' the furniture!! Bekah...Josiah STILL wants to come to your house!! (He keeps asking, "Bekah's House")
Well, I'm looking SO forward to the Hoffmann Christmas NEXT weekend!! WOW! Hard to believe. Well, I'd better keep going-hope you all are doing well! Love ya! Kristy

missing gloves

matt has been missing his brown leather gloves ever since Thanksgiving with the Hoffmanns. We're wondering if anybody has them with their stuff by chance? Matt's poor fingers are getting really cold!!

It was good to hear from you, Aunt Barb! I'm glad you had such a good trip. Do you think Seth will want to do this long term (as in longer than a year or two?) We missed you guys so much at Thanksgiving. It will be good to see you at Christmas.

Well, I better run for now! Love you guys,
Rebekah

Bekah's lil admirer

Here's Bekah and her little Buddy! He got SO attatched to her last weekend...it was precious! It was Bekah this and Bekah that. When he woke up Saturday morning, He asked for Bekah! We saw her in church Sun for Wendy Hodel's wedding, and he tried to follow her outside after services. Chad grabbed him, and he cried and cried....I see Bekah! I though this pic was pretty cute - they were (obviously) playing catch. Aaron...you've got some competition! ;) I think he will be pretty excited to see you get married!! We Missed you Gerber's SO much, but we were praying for you! Hope Seth is doing well! It sounds like he is from his 'updates.' And yes, we'd love an update! (pic's included) ;)
Well, gotta keep going! Love you all! Kristy

Hello,

We missed you all over Thanksgiving; however, we had a wonderful time at Casa Vida Y Esperanza (House of Life and Hope). It was great being with Seth and seeing him at his work.
Seth seems really content and in his element. I am so impressed at how well he communicates in Spanish. Of course, he thinks he has a long way to go. He asked for a book called 501 Spanish Verbs, for Christmas. Now that sounds like work to me!

The kids have a way of crawling right into your hearts. However, they are boys and there are times when you don't know if you should hug'em or hit'em! Seth is pretty strict with them.
Jeff Beer was gone for two weeks, so Seth was on his own. In March, when we go on a work team, Jeff should be there and I think Seth will be more at ease.

It was really hard coming back to the cold Indiana weather. Down in Magdalena it was very cool in the mornings and evenings (sweatshirt weather) and warm and sunny during the days(70s). I don't expect Seth to come home after a year...but we will just wait and see.

We are looking forward to Christmas, though shopping hasn't been in my vocabulary yet!

Have a great week and I hope someone else blogs soon.

Love ya lots,

Aunt Barb

Hello Girls

Hope all is well with everyone. Gerbers--we'd love to hear all about your trip to Mexico, I'm sure there's a story or two from the children down there. We missed you at Thanksgiving, shopping just wasn't quite the same. How's Josiah doing Kristy, still talking about me? That was so funny! I'm not sure who has my name...or what you're planning on getting me, but on my note I put movies, just a clarification, I'd rather have a DVD than a video....but whatever, I'm flexible. So I'm sure you've all heard but I got my wedding dress! I'm so excited about it, it's more beautiful then I even imagined it!
Can't wait to see you all at Christmas!
Love,
Booxy

Good morning fellow Hoffman Gal's!

How are all of you on this fine, crisp morning? :) I am listening to Christmas music, trying to convince myself it's ALMOST HERE!!! My hubby was shaking his head at me last night when he came home and I had the music playing! He has this 'rule'...NO Christmas music until Thanksgiving is over! But I just can't understand that, since it is all celebrating Christ's birth! Why are we so limited to celebrate it for only a month?? :) So, I just go on listening to it throughout the day, and when he gets home...off it goes!
Well, I know some of you were praying for little Micah Gerber - Byron and Lisa's baby. He passed away last week, and as you can imagine, it has been very difficult for them! They really need to be uplifted in prayer...I talked to her yesterday she said she just doesn't have any desire to go on anymore. She aches to be with him so badly, but yet she knows this is God's plan, and that he is safe in the arms of Jesus. She also said she feels she has no purpose here anymore. So please pray that God can carry them through this, and that they can grow stronger in HIM! He was just a few days shy of 6 mo. Well, I thought I would include the web site they had for him throughout his life, as well as the web site for the slide show of his life here on earth. It is SO touching. They had it playing at his visitation. The Journal of his life is very long, but I would encourage you to skim through some of it, if you are at all interested. I would deffinatly suggest looking at the slide show! Well, I'd better keep going! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and we will miss you, Gerber's at Thanksgiving!!!! :( But tell Sether's a BIG HELLO!! We miss him. But are praying for him. Love you all!
Kristy

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=2455614&alb=0
that's the slide show

www.caringbridge.org/visit/gerberbaby
and that's the journal/guestbook

home from Florida

Hey girls - Clint and I just got home from a week in Florida!! We had such a blast. Were with Chad and Kristy the first night and then with our friends, Rock and Sharon O'shea and Ben and Kristy Luginbuhl! We partied hardy!! Every day was in the 80's (do you hate me now!) :) Sorry, I'll stop. We were very excited to see our girls again. It was so fun to come in. We hugged and hugged and kissed and laughed! Coming home is always great! We talked to Paige a few times on the phone while in Florida. She is growing up so fast. On one conversation I told her, "I love you, Paige!" She said, "thanks, bye!" :) I just laughed and said, "wait wait wait, do you love me." To which she replied, "I do." What a girl I have! :) Mom Kaeb was taking the girls on errands and told Paige that they were stop at Grandma Hoffmann's at the end. Paige was very excited but while driving, she fell asleep. When they got to Grandma's, Mom tried waking her up but to no avail. Paige slept the whole time and woke up while in the car on the way home from Grandma's. She was so upset that she didn't get to see Grandma Hoffmann. She is a fan!!

Hope you all are doing well. Rebekah and Matt, we are definately praying for you and the whole Kaufmann clan during this transition! God is in Control! Love you all!

Jami

Life's so busy!

Wow, summer vacation plans already! Way to go Aunt Barb! The blog has been quiet lately, no funny stories of your children lately girls? Or are we all so busy we don't take the time to blog? I keep thinking I have nothing interesting to say, and thus don't blog...but then again my life is rather exciting these days. But what do I say, wedding plans....lots of them, Mom is doing a wonderful job keeping me in line. I'd rather forget about the details and just enjoy engaged life but Mom reminds me that I do have a wedding in two months that must be planned. Aaron's been busy with his surgery rotation, he's learning a ton, but doesn't think this is what he'll do when he's done with school (hurray!). Showers and thank-you notes are keeping me busy...that and trying to get addresses for all my friends, I feel is this never ending project. I'm sure you can all relate. Thanks again for our wonderful shower, I really enjoyed it!
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Love you girls a ton!
Booxy

THINK SUMMER VACATION!

Hey everyone,

We just made reservations for June 9 - 12, 2006 for the Highlands in Gatlinburg, TN.
There was a deal we just couldn't pass up. Buy two nights and get two nights free!
I realize that all you Bloomington people will have to miss the last night of Bible School and I am sorry for that...but when grandma is footing the bill--we want to be good stewards.

Hope all will plan to come. If it doesn't work out for one family or another, please let us know.

I am pumped up! Think vacation! Think Mountains! Yes!

Love,
Aunt Barb

The blogs been pretty quiet lately!

Hey everyone,

Not a lot of activity on the blog lately. Are we still checking in here?

I know after the excitement of the weekend things might be a little quiet today. We rejoice with Bloomington church in getting a wonderful new addition to their pulpit. We are so jealous (with a godly jealousy!!). We are praying for the entire Kaufmann family as they all melt into this new way of life.

Rebekah, your gentle spirit and kind disposition will be such an asset to Matt and will become a great source of encouragement. May God continue to walk with you as you serve in just a little different capacity than usual.

I love you all and I am praying,
Aunt Barb

Group Picture

Here is the whole costume party!
L-R: Mark and Angie Reinhard: American Gothic Painting
Nathan and Rachel Mueller: Joseph & Mary (Rachel is pregnant)
Michael & Jane Reinhard: a classy couple from the 50's
Kole & Amy Meyer: Graduates (nerdy ones)
Klint & Sarah: Lucy & Desi

CUTE picture of the Kauffman clan! I want to squeeze the little chicken!

Love-Sarah

Trick or Treaters!

Sarah, you and Klint look great. That was such a neat idea. You have every detail of Lucy and Desi down pat. Send us the picture of your whole party.

Thought I'd share a picture of the little Trick or Treaters who came to our door. I may be prejudice, but aren't they the cutest little bride and Bob the Builder with their little chicken you've ever seen? Bonnie

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!

Hello all---
Last night Klint & I went to a Halloween Costume party. Can you guess who we dressed up as??? We had alot of fun. We even had time to go Trick-or-Treating after the party. We felt like we were kids again!!! Lots of fun. Love to hear from some more people. The blog has been kind of dead lately.
Loveyaall
Sarah

Friday pizza party...

Hey all-
It's been a while since I posted something. Friday night, Bekah & Aaron had pizza at my dad & mom's. They invited us (isn't that weird--get invited by Bekah to my parent's home), Mark & Angie Reinhard & Tim & Christa. Of course Mom & Dad were there and Liz too. It was alot of fun. We had a chance to get to know Aaron and Tim a little more!
Looking forward to seeing you all at Bekah's shower this weekend! Rebekah, adorable picture of Darci!
Love ya all, Sarah

Darci

Hi there. I thought I'd post this picture of Darci that my sister Heidi took of her. I like the picture so I thought I'd share it with you...and I thought it was time to have something new on this blog!! We've got to get some life back into it!!

Tonight we had a pumpkin carving party and potluck at our house. WE co-hosted it with Andy and Marie. It was so much fun! Grandma's rolls and tea rings were the prizes for the winners!

WEll, I better hit the hay. love ya!

love,
Rebekah

Here's The Clan!!

Hello, ladies! Just thought I would post this cute pic from the weiner roast Sun! WOW, what a clan! What an awesome weekend we had and the weather was beautiful! I felt so bloated when i got home sun night...I was so exhausted, but I went out and walked-I ate WAY too much desserts! But they were worth it! ; ) mmmmmm. Well, have a good night, all, and we'll talk to you soon!

Love ya! Kristy

Sunday Weiner Roast

Good morning ladies,

Boy a lot has been going on. So sorry to hear about Jami's dad's scare. Thankful he got help right away and that he took an aspirin. Wow, we just never know.

Hope Josiah is back in his routine again. It is amazing how a drug that is suppose to help can affect some one so differently.

About Sunday-- There will be a baptism meal with a hot sandwich which we are all expected to eat . Because of that I am not going to fix barbeque. We will still have weiners etc and of course our desserts. Because everyone will be around you can come to the weiner roast any time after 3:00.

Praying for a blessed week-end. Bonnie

ah....he is perfect for you bekah!

Hey all -

Hope everyone is doing well - Oh, Kristy. . . I feel for you! I hate nights when kids are up and out of sorts! The boys (simon and jonah) are finally starting to do better. Megan told us at bible study that Simon slept until 6am and Jonah until 4am which is GREAT for them! Interestingly enough, Raegan woke up at 3:30am that same night!!! Isn't she too old for this?!? Actually she has been waking up around 2:00 or 3ish everynight for that past week. She is teething. . . but it is HARD to get up - especially when you expect a full night of sleep. I have learned that in parenting - you need to expect the UNexpected! As soon as the kid is in a routine . . . it changes again! That is life!!

And Bekah!! I am so thrilled for you. Aaron does sound like such a great guy!! It's awesome seeing you so excited and in love! God is good!!

Have you all heard about my dad?? Earlier in the week, he was exercising and about 5 minutes into it had to stop because of pain in his left arm. He immediately thought "heart" and took an aspirin. It stopped. The next day. . . same thing. Then the day after he decided not to exercise - went out to get the mail and on his way back he felt pain go up through his arm and to his chest. It stopped with aspirin but he decided to call in. The doc. told him to go immediately to the E.R. They did testing and found nothing until they did the angiogram (i think that's the name) in which they found that one of the main arteries to his heart was clogged 85-90%. They did the balloon method and cleaned him out. This process took 2 1/2 hours (on another patient - same process took 45 min.) because it was in a tricky spot. Actually while cleaning him out - they actually clogged up another side artery and he had a mild heart attack!! Fortunately - he is doing well. Came home on Sunday and should be completely normal soon! Doc. said that if dad had ignored those symptoms he probably would have had a heart attack! Strange thing is - Dad had only one of the common risk factors - High Cholestoral. You never know. . . God is GOOD! We were on our way up to Michigan for an adoption conference while all this was going on. I just can't believe it happened to my dad. It makes you realize even more how quick things can change! May each of you live today with peace, joy, and grace!

LOVE YOU!!

Jami

Welcome Darcy Jean!!! =)

Congrats! Matt and Rebekah! We're thankful everything went well! Can't wait to meet the little one! Hey, Bekah! That's such a sweet story-Ahhhh, the days of new love! It's amazing what 8 years and 3 kids can do to you! So enjoy it!! =) So do we get to meet this guy next weekend??
Well, my son has been a little messed up lately! The other day he got a misquito bite on his eye and it swelled up so much when he woke up in the morning he couldn't even open his eye. So, we had gotten some Children's Benadryl Allergy, and gave him another dose before bed! Well...let's just say we'll never do that again!!! He was awake half the night! He came down to our room, (which is a first-he normally has a gate locked at the top of the stairs-but it wasn't latched) and laid in bed with us for a little, but that sure didn't last long. I took him back upstairs and tried to lay down with him, but he was just wired! So desperate for sleep I laid him down in front of a movie. Yet ANOTHER mistake. I had gone back to bed, due to extreme exhaustion, and awoke shortly to him yelling!! at the movie. (Not mad yelling...he was excited) We got him quieted down and a drink, and locked the gate to his room. When chad left for work he said he was sleeping on the floor. But when I went up in the morning to get Kels up, he was back in his bed?!? Then the following day with much perseverance, I tried to get him to sleep, but the little stinker wouldn't even take a nap?!? I think that stuff must have about a 48 hour after-effect! Then he was up again this morning before 6!!! So...I am requesting your prayers that he can get back into a normal sleep routine, and this 6:00 thing isn't becoming a new habit for him!! Well, I've rambled on WAY too much, so I'll get going and we'll see you all next weekend!!

Love, Kristy

From the love bird....

Thought you'd like a picture of Aaron and I. Engagement life has been exhausting but fabulous!
So I'm trying to think of a fun story to write....maybe.....well, Aaron was planning how we would meet on Saturday to head to Alto. We were going to meet in Lansing and drive over together. Once we got to Lowell we were going to meet his best friend from high school for lunch. Well, Aaron asked if I would mind stopping at the welcome center in Michigan to pick up a map. I guess it's this map that Frank (his friend) needed before he was heading up to some cabin. So sure, I didn't mind stopping. So I stopped at the welcome center and realized it's like this huge room full of maps! I was a little concerned about trying to find this infamous map. Well, as I was looking around I heard "Bekah I think they want this one" and turned around and Aaron was there! Hee hee, it was all a plan to get me to stop at the welcome center to suprise me! What a great guy. So he drove and hour and half out of his way to pick me up....more quality time in the car, it was great!
So there's my sweet romantic story for you all. Now everyone can smile at me and sigh, Aaron really is perfect for me....
Booxy

Hey all...

How is everyone? Like Jami, I love reading the updates. However, I don't have anything exciting to say. Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Kristy, great pictures. I especially liked the one with Aunt Brenda and Josiah! It looks proffesional. Rebekah, congratulations! I am so excited for you guys (and love the name!) I hope Josh can adjust well.
The most exciting thing here is our Bluffton Street Fair. Its pretty big-time. Klint and I have been there every night so far and plan on going tonite too. I pretty much go for food and fellowship. It seems that you can hardly take 2 steps with out running into someone you know. Its fun!
Well, just thought I would post something. Glad to hear everything is going well. Cant wait to see you all in a few weeks!!

Loveya Sarah<><

Long time no post!

Hey all - I realized it's been a long time since I've written in. I have been reading and enjoying though!

A BIG congrats to Matt, Rebekah, and Josh for their sweet new baby, Darcy!!! I love the name, Rebekah!! Isn't Darcy a girl in Pride and Prejudice or one of those movies?? How'd you pick it?? Bekah showed us a picture of the sweet girl last night in church. Can't wait to see more. I'm so excited for you, Rebek to FINALLY have delivered your girl after all those annoying contractions!

Kristy - I looked at the picture of Abbie and thought she looked so cute and big... didn't put the 2 and 2 together that she is now sitting up until I read further. That's great!!

Have a great day all!
Jami

The Northerner's are back!

Hey, all! Not sure if you even knew or not, but we went to Northern Wisconsin last weekend with M&D Kaeb and Clark! The weather was BEAUTIFUL!! Fishing was very slow, much to the guys' dismay, but Dad had a 35 incher! So that was exciting. Anyway, I just thought I would post a couple of pic's from the weekend. Hope everyone's doing well, and glad to hear the foreign traveler's are back safely! =) Well, I should be going to pick Kels up from school! See you all in a couple weeks!!! YEAH! PS-Abbi's sitting up now!! Just thought I'd show you!

Love ya loads!
Kristy

if you're up at 7:00 AM you can pray for me...

Hi girls,
it's me again. I was just wanting to write and let you know that I went to the doctor today and I am 4 cm dialated and 70% effaced. So they are going to induce me in the morning! YAY! I am so ready to finally get to see and hold this little baby. so if you think about it you can pray for us. I just want the baby to be healthy and that I will be healthy and nice to Matt during labor :)

well, josh is sleeping in his big bed again tonight...completely oblivious to the change that is about to take place in his life tomorrow. I hope that he adjusts smoothly to the new sibling. I guess that is another prayer request.

well, i better go now.

Love,
Rebekah

We're Back!

Good Morning Hoffmann Gals,

Yes, we are back and in the swing of life again. We had a wonderful time and saw amazing sights. And met amazing people. Our Hoffmann cousins were very very friendly, loving people. They would love to meet you all when you travel to France. They treated us like we were celebrities. They even had the newspaper come and interview us and take our picture. It was very overwelming. Maybe Uncle Denny can figure out how I can post some pictures.

Wasn't it nice for our little granddaughter to wait for us to return before arriving. But now that we are home we hope she comes soon. We all are getting really anxious.

Did you all get your message about the Hoffmann-Walder weiner roast after Clark's baptism. Actually it is at 4:00 at the church house.

Love you all and I pray for each one of you, Aunt Bonnie

nothing exciting....

HI girls,
I just thought the blog needed a new post so I thought I'd just quick put something on. I'm still around...pregnant! I feel like everytime I set foot in public everyone's asking, "You still around?". I went to my doctor appointment today and I'm still at 3 cm and 60% effaced. So, at least I'm progressing in the right direction.

Tonight Matt is at his night class. He'll be back around 9:20. So, it's just Josh and me. He's wanting me to read "The Cat in the Hat" so I'm going to have to quit here pretty soon. Last night he slept in his big bed! Yay!!! So, maybe this will become a habit! I think he felt pretty grown up when he got up this morning and could just climb out of bed and come to our room. That's the only draw back...he gets up earlier now.

Well, Mom and Dad sound like their having a great time. They e-mail about every other day. It'll be good to have them home again.

I better go now and pay Josh some attention.

Love you guys,
rebekah

Wedding Plans

Wow....so much to do, so much to do! No actually things have been going well. As I'm sure you've all heard we've set the date: January 15th 2006. I've found my dress already, well ordered atleast. Now the bridesmaid's dresses are another story. Yeah...let's just say I know what I want and definately what I don't want...but can't seem to find the right dress. Everything these days is so immodest! Everything is strapless or worse! Ahh....patience, I'll just keep looking, and if all else fails we'll find someone to make them.
The European travelers are having fun. Minor times of stress as they travel Europe without knowing the language, but they say it's worth it. They're currently in Switzerland and that it's gorgeous. Ahhh...don't we all wish we were there!
Anywho, love you all tons!
Booxy

word from the crazy cats

hey hey...i just got this email from my dad, thought i'd pass it on!...some of the stuff might not make sense to you, since it was sent to a big group of people...but hope you enjoy...

Hello all,

We have spent a day and a half in Paris, and it has been more than we ever dreamed. It"s just like the movies, kind of a magical place. Perfect weather has contributed to our wonderful experience.Today we hoofed it to Notre Dame, the Louve, the Opera, the Concorde, the Arc de Triumph and finished with the Eifell Tower.

Steve, tell Karen we've got three days of walking in one day today.All four meals we've eaten have been in sidewalk cafe's. No sense of anti Americanism, but then again, we're spending our Euros here.

Sarah and Liz, you would love to see the way the women dress. Out of thousands of women, we have only seen four pair of shorts and they were probably Americans. Many wear skirts. Many are peasnt type skirts with skanky blouses.Food is great, language is an experience. We were told things would be dirty, but we have not found it so. However our foreign travels to date have been Mexico.

Seth, we trust things are well for you; K and S, we hope the Smokies are enjoyable and Liz, we hope you are studying HARD.


Deb, you will probably receive a copy of this email from Steve. You have our deepest sympathy, yet we truly rejoice with you as your mom has received her reward. We'll be prayerful as your family moves forward without her.

Tomorrow we leave this wonderful city and travel westward toward Barb's third cousin, Daniel, and then on to the Fatherland, Swithzerland. Can't wait.Not sure when we'll next have internet access.

Love to all.
Mark and Barb
Liz, if you care to forward this to any of the Hoffmann's and/or the Hoffmnn Blah, have at it.

Lonely in Bluffton...

Hey all!
How is everyone? Bekah, what a great picture of you and Aaron. Very cute couple. And I hear the wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses are already picked out...you make me sick (o:
Kristy, adorable pic of your little brave kindergartner!! I can't believe she is that age already. So glad to hear she is adjusting well.
Rebekah, I will be praying for you as you are in this final count down. We are excited to hear the news.
Well, Mom and Dad (as you know from Bonnie's post) are on there way to Paris right now. I hope I don't go completely out of my mind these next 2 1/2 weeks. Klint & I just stopped over here tonight and discovered that mom finally got up the nerve to put our cat, Feliz down. I didn't get to say goodbye to him so I am kind of distressed. Blah. Seth is doing really well in Mexico. Last night, he had to have the Wed. night service/Bible Study in front of everyone in spanish!!! He said it went well, but it was really short and he doesn't know if it made sense (o: Can you imagine????
Tomorrow Klint and I are leaving for the Smokies with three other couples for the weekend. We are staying in a 4 bedroom cabin. So I will be roughing it out on Chimney Tops sometime this weekend(o: I am sure it will be a great trip, I am a little apprehensive--I just need to settle down and not get so bent out of shape. Is it selfish to ask for prayers? I am kinda going through a crazy time right now. A MAJOR season of changes. And you ALL know that Sarah and Changes don't go hand-in-hand.(o:
Sorry to go on and on. I am really enjoying this blog. Its so encouraging and fun to keep up with you all. Hope you all have a great labor day wkend!!

Love you all--Sarah

Here she is!

Well, Here's my little school girl!
We changed internet provider's, because we were having so many problems, and this downloaded in seconds! I tried posting pictures before, and left, and came back a half an hour later, and it was still downloading!! I'd say we had a major problem! We had dial up, and would get disconnected constantly...so now we have dsl, and already loving it! Bonnie, hope you have a safe trip!! We will be praying for you both! Have a wonderful day, all! Kristy

We're Off!

Hello everyone!

Well what a crazy life. Uncle Dennis and I leave in 2 1/2 hours for 16 days in Europe. Rebekah could have her baby at any time [we thought the baby wouldn't come until we were back for 2 weeks]. It looks like we will not be here when that precious baby is born. I hope that sweet little baby will forgive us for not being first to the hospital to see her. We will be praying and praying that all goes well for all 4 of them.

Also, I have had 4 days to make phone calls and start lineing things up for Bekah and Aarons wedding. The date has been set for Jan. 15, so mark your calendars.

Uncle Denny's back has been really bothering him lately, so pray that the flight and trip go well for him. So with all these things on my mind, pray that I can relax and enjoy this trip. God is good and inspite of my stress there is a wonderful inner peace. How wonderful to leave an Almighty God incharge of all these concerns.

So happy Kelsey is doing so well at school. I'm glad Leah's time at Purdue has gotten off to a good start. Thankful that Seth is doing well in Mexico. I'm anxious to hear how Wed night went for him.

I pray for all of you and hope to read the blog in Europe.

Love you bunches and bunches, Aunt Bonnie