My 2008

2008 was something else for Angie and I. Here's the year in review.


Angie and I both changed jobs this year (which I can't say was planned in either case). Angie took a break from her full-time position working with the blind and visually impaired. Now, she teaches part-time in the resource room and English at Meridian High School. I left my teaching job at ISU (and the commute that comes with it) to teach at Richland Community College.

We dialed it down a bit this year when it comes to traveling. Our longest vacation of the year was a five-day trip to Carbondale in June for a church conference. Even though it was brutally hot outside, we enjoyed being in Southern Illinois for a few days. In July, we spent a weekend with Angie's mom and dad, along with her sister Sherry's family, in Wisconsin Dells. In late September, we went to St. Louis to see one of Angie's high school friends get married. Finally, we went back to Carbondale in early November to visit the Staleys (read my earlier blogs for pictures of that trip).

Over the summer, I used the time between full-time jobs to work for my father at the M.E. Barber Company. Angie worked at Scovill Zoo, acting as a liaison between the teachers and the animals for the Zoo Crew kids' program. For an animal lover like Angie, it was a pretty fun experience.

And of course, there's the biggest news of all: In June, we found out that we'd be expecting our first child! We're expecting a baby boy in late February. Honestly, I can't wait for him to come. Seeing him move in Angie's belly is so exciting. He is such a blessing already. Pictures of the nursery will be posted very shortly, so stay tuned.

As 2008 has come to an end, I have a lot to be thankful for. I have spent the last couple of days thinking about this year, and all that happened. Sure, there were a few things that Angie and I wish hadn't happened. However, I feel like there were enough good things to be thankful for this year. And most of all, I thank God for providing for us all year and being there for us all the time, as always. I feel like I grew personally this year through both the good and the bad in 2008, and I praise God for the opportunities He has given me to grow.

I don't know what will happen in 2009, other than the fact that our lives are going to change forever when our little guy comes along. I do plan to write down some goals for the year, and I hope that I can be writing again in this blog on December 31, 2009, detailing the successes of the year.

I plan to keep up with the blog throughout the year. Also, Angie and I now are each on Facebook, so check it out. We wish you all the best in 2009.

Our Christmas

We had such a nice Christmas. We enjoyed time with our families, and got way more than what we expected. We can't thank our families enough for their generosity.

The winners of the "clever gifts for Andy" award are my father, who bought me a flannel shirt just like what Clark Griswold wears when he puts up the outdoor lights, and Aaron, who bought me an Albuquerque Isotopes t-shirt. If you didn't know, the Isotopes were named after a reference to an episode of "The Simpsons."

Once again, our families went overboard on the gift-giving, and we are thankful.

It's Christmas Eve, everybody!

Here's our Christmas tree. We went with a lot of red bows this year. Angie did a great job envisioning what it should look like this year. This is a relatively new tree; we got it around the first week of January in a post-Christmas sale.



We wish you all safe travels tonight, and don't forget to leave out the cookies!

Christmas in Chicago

Right before Christmas, 2005, we took an overnight trip to Chicago. This was our first trip as a couple. We did a whole lot in just a couple of days, including seeing the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza, taking a carriage ride, going to the top of the John Hancock Building, seeing Navy Pier, and just checking out the sights and sounds of Christmas in the Windy City. I'll always remember this trip. Here we are in front of the Christmas tree by the John Hancock Building.




We were watching the Bears game Monday night when they had an overhead view of the Chicago skyline, and it made us want to go there again some Christmas. Merry Christmas.

Christmas in the Caribbean

We spent Christmas 2006 on a Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon. I thought I'd put up these pictures, since most of you who are reading this are in the midst of an incredibly long stretch of lousy weather:

Here's the Christmas tree on our ship, the Explorer of the Seas. Our ship departed on Christmas Eve.

Before departure was the mandatory evacuation drill. Of course, we're not above being ridiculous during times like this.

Here we are just before our departure.

And finally, we took this picture on Christmas morning. It ended up being our Christmas card photo the following year.

We took a lot more pictures than this, of course. It was an incredible experience, and we can't wait to do it again.

Christmas in Nashville

You know how last week, I said I'd have pictures throughout the week? Well, I got a little sidetracked with final exams. So, last week I showed a few pictures of our trip to Knoxville last December. Later on, we drove over to Nashville. We saw a lot of things and took a lot of pictures, but I'll focus this on the Christmas pictures.

We have the pictures of a nativity scene and the Christmas tree from the Opryland Hotel. It is a beautiful hotel, although very pricey. Plus, there was a bowl game that week, so just about every hotel room in the area was sold out. Hopefully, we can stay there someday. Just like Knoxville, we had an awesome time in Nashville, and it was a little hard to go home. Thanks for reading.

Christmas in Knoxville

I plan on spending this week posting pictures of our past Christmases. Today, here are some photos from our trip to Knoxville, Tennessee last year. We went there the weekend after Christmas for a family wedding. Here were some pictures from our walk through downtown Knoxville.

Here is the nice downtown tree. The weather was really nice this weekend; sunny, highs in the 50s. It was a pleasant walk around town.

Here, Angie is standing next to the giant Christmas present. I love her so much that I gave her a gift that is almost as big as she is. No, I'm just kidding. We all know that I can't afford to give her such a gift.

And finally, here is Angie talking to Santa. Also, some idiot is taking pictures of her in the background. Santa was using his down time the weekend after the holiday to take tickets at the historic Tennessee Theatre. Angie is asking Santa some intriguing questions. Fun fact: Santa spends all year there, except for Christmas Eve.

We had a great time down there, and we later went on to Nashville. More pictures will follow. Bye for now.

P.S.: This isn't the first post involving Knoxville. Click here for an earlier post from Knoxville with an interesting picture.

The First Christmas Photo of 2008

Merry Christmas, everybody. Here's the first photo of the blog for this year. It was taken in front of the tree at our old church last Christmas.

Our Salukitown Trip, Part 3

We ended our weekend trip to Carbondale on Sunday, November 2 by attending morning services at Vine Community Church, where Noble is now on staff. The service was great, and it's amazing what they are accomplishing through the Lord. Then, we got lunch at Moe's Southwest Grill, and headed over to Giant City State Park. The fall foliage was beautiful, and it's a nice park to visit no matter what the time of year.

Here are some final pictures from the weekend:



Here we are, with the Devil's Stand Table formation in the background.


Here are the girls standing on a rock.



And the Staley family. Angie took this picture, and boy, is it professional quality! She could have charged $100 for this picture.

It was a wonderful weekend, as you can tell by the last three posts. But there was more. In fact, the weekend ended with a bang!

On the way home, I was headed north on U.S. 51, just west of Ashley, when a deer ran out in front of the car. Going 60 MPH, I had no time to react, and ended up hitting it square in the front of the car. The collision caused nearly $6,000 in damage. We had to have the car towed to nearby Nashville, and we had to stay overnight at the Best Western in Nashville. We rented a car and returned on Monday. Quite a way to end the weekend.

In all seriousness, we thank God that we were not injured, and our little guy did just fine. It didn't take away from the fun we had over the weekend. We'd like to thank the Staley family for hosting us, and we look forward to coming back someday.

Our Salukitown Trip, Part 2

After spending Halloween evening at the church with the Staleys, we had a great night in their house. Their house is really neat, especially during such a nice fall weekend. It's hard to put into words how nice the weather was this weekend. It was a level of beauty that simply breaks your heart.

Angie and I went on a nice walk around the neighborhood on Saturday morning, and then we all decided to head down to Paducah, Kentucky for the afternoon. Paducah has a nice riverfront, known as the lowertown, and it was a nice day to enjoy it.

Here, we are about to dig in to a tremendous sundae called the '37 Flood. This was at the Ice Cream Factory on Broadway. We were pretty lucky, as this was the last day they were open before closing for the winter.

Here we are next to the city's flood wall, decorated with images of the old days of Paducah as a port city.

A lot of people were out on the river that day, enjoying a nice fall Saturday.

Finally, here are a couple of pictures of the trees near the Staleys' house. They live in a nice little neighborhood off of Pleasant Hill Road. The first picture is the tree in front of their house, and the last one is the view from their balcony.

The final report from the weekend trip comes tomorrow. Plus, stay tuned for the surprise ending!