this made me laugh!

so i have been reading online what labor feels like to different women...this one was my favorite!

pain, pressure, gloop, poop, crying, screaming, lights, sounds, and blood. that is what you can expect in labor.

24 weeks along now...

this week i am in my 24th week of being pregnant. I am feeling great! I am feeling squirt move alot, I am really looking forward to Ryan being able to feel him/her move soon. Its definitely starting to set in! About once a day Ryan & squirt will have some quality father/kid time: telling him whats been going on with his day, and how excited we are to meet 'em! No cravings yet.

California!

Hopefully later today i'll be able to sit down and blog about our trip to California to visit my sister Carly. So please check back!

Two Weeks!

Exciting news!!! Yesterday I was able to put my two week notice in at hickory park!! In two short weeks I will hopefully be retiring my apron, and in less than three months taking on our biggest challenge yet, (i'm sure) PARENTHOOD! I CANNOT WAIT. I honestly had my doubts when this day would come. I secretly thought once Ryan gave me the okay to quit i wouldn't be able to actually do it. I think i squeeled, gave him a kiss and started writing my two week notice!
I am extremely burnt out from the industry but there are about twenty people I work with who i will really miss. its the people i work with who i'll miss, definletly not the customers. there is something about the food industry business where there is a common bond, something i can't really explain. You go through really, really crazy days, nights with these people...they become your family.
How it all started: I started working for Country Kitchen (where Ames Community Bank currently is located) my senior year of high school in1999 and worked there until it closed. I then traveled down to Ankieny for three years. (still with country kitchen) After we got married in june of 2004, I stopped working in Ankeny and started working at hickory park. My tenative last day is june 3rd!
Whats Next?: Our appraising business for the last year has REALLY taken off. With interest rates being at a historic low & going into the busiest time of the year I am going to be working for ryan to help with his workload. We have been blessed, none of this would even be possible without our Lord and Savior who has made all of this possible for us.
If you happen to see me in the next couple of weeks i'm SURE to have a gigantic smile on my face!!!!

At the airport restaurant:
Ashley: "I would like the cheeseburger, meat & cheese only"
Worker: "So a plain burger?"
Ashley: "Yes"

Result: Burger patty........cheese.........

happy mother's day!

Wanted to wish my sweetiepop a happy mothers day! Here is the first picture of her first mothers day. Little squirt in the last week has really been growing! We are in California right now, enjoying outselves with Ashley's sister Carly. We are headed out to the beach!

Additional Ultrasound pictures

Ultrasound pictures

We had our ultrasound done today. We are still committed to not finding out the sex and as it turns out the technician said Squirt wasn't in a position that she could find out anyways. The lady said all looks well and normal and Ashley got a good report for herself from the mid-wife.

Midwest Appraisals

You are looking at the proud new owners of Midwest Appraisals!! This week we officially break off my dads appraisal company and start our own called Midwest Appraisals. The sole reason for doing this is taxes, we are both excited and nervous for this new venture. Ryan has been busier than ever with appraisals and looking forward to this new chapter in our lives. I will take over doing the books, invoices etc. More like ryan's personal secretary. We have ALOT to learn about this venture and bookkeeping coming up!

garage sale season...has begun!!!

now that we have a little one on the way, i have been trying to hit up as many garage sales as possible. last weekend i think i hit up 20! so far i've found a baby bath, clothes, bassinet, baby carrier to take outside and much more! I found this cool website where it finds the garage sales in your area (per craigslist) and makes your routes more effective. you can also add addresses just in case you see one in the paper that isn't listed. anyways, check it out! http://www.yardsaletreasuremap.com/

flea market!

this past friday i got to go with four amazing women to a What Cheer, Iowa to a HUGE flea market. (My mom, Deb Mortvedt, & Jessica Hibbing) it was alot of fun. We left the nevada area around 7:00 am and made it back home around 8:00 pm. it was a fun filled day, with some special treasures found! i hope to get a picture of the four of us after our happy and tired bodies got home! I already can't wait for next year!!!!!!

5 months down, 4 more to go!

its official, i am beginning to feel (and look) pregnant! I have a small baby bump and noticing simple chores i used to do coming more difficult...so far nothing i can't handle yet. we have our first ultrasound appointment on tuesday so we're praying little squirt is growing and developing like they should...and we are SOOO excited to see our son/daughter for the first time!! Although we are not finding out the sex, it'll be nice to see whats been moving inside me so much! We have our girls name 100% figured out, but the guys name we're having a harder time deciding on one we both love, so time will tell!

updates to come!

its been awhile since i've posted anything...will try and get some "happenings" up soon!

updates/10th week/ryan's birthday

this week I am in the 10th week. So far, so good. I am having morning sickness pretty regularly, but ryan is doing an amazing job taking care of me. Every Monday I read outloud what our baby is doing this week. He is really concerned when little squirt can start hearing. A couple of weeks ago he was sitting in his office chair and I came in and gave him a hug. Since his head was at my belly he started talking to little squirt. As I laughed I said "squirt doesn't have ears yet" "okay" he said. Then the next thing i knew he was tapping my belly. "well then maybe the baby understands SOS!" :-) It was so cute. We were both laughing SO hard. We are starting to get really excited about the little one! We would love your prayers for a safe baby and delivery.

Ryan's birthday: Ryan had a great 28th birthday. Tuesday morning he meets with our pastor Brad and another guy from our small group, Trey. So that morning they had made coffee cake and eggs for the special occasion. After they met, he came home and we hung out for a little bit and went out to lunch at downtown deli (YUMMM!!) that afternoon went to a friends house to watch a movie then that evening went to his parents house where his friends Red, Molly & Tyler were and all had dinner together with a little card playing after. Overall I think he had a GREAT day.

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,

'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California ?

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:?

People ask me, What is the purpose of life??

And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.?

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for..

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease..

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.?

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.

Painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment, THANK GOD.