Just in Case...

I don't believe anyone is following this any more since we've been on Facebook for awhile now. So, I won't be blogging any more, unless perchance someone says, "hey, I miss your blog, you should do that more"... or maybe if a half a dozen people say it. Unlikely. That's okay. Harder to find time to do this w/the little one in the house anyway. =)
Happy New Year to all.....

Another Baby Shower and More Kitchen....

This weekend we headed up north to Lakeview for a baby shower that my mom did for me, hosted at my Grandmother's house. It was family, friends from my home church family, and a college friend who lives closer to Lakeview than to GR. It was lots of fun and we got some great things for the baby. Some pictures:

Another wonderful Leppink's cake creation. Winnie the Pooh themed, of course, since that's the nursery theme. So adorable, and very tasty, too!

Judy, a good friend from college, and I. Judy is currently expecting baby #3 (due in early December), and her oldest daughter told us to "bump babies". Lol.

Me with the Grandmother's-to-be. My mom on the left (she'll hate this picture b/c she wasn't ready and smiling yet), and Ben's mom on the right.

Me and my Gramma Jane... "Grandma Great to be".

Me with lovely ladies from my home church. Left to right are: Ann (former Sunday school teacher), Sue B (former youth group leader), and Kathy (was in a UMW group with my mom).

Family shot- me with Myrna (a cousin through Grampa who I actually met at church) and my Aunt Julie (who happens to be up here from Mexico for the summer- special blessing that she was able to attend!)

Judy brought her two girls Abby (left) and Anna (right). Abby decided that the palm trees from a Noah's Ark playset I received made fabulous hair accessories for Justin.

Mommy and Daddy-to-be. Ben thinks it's funny that my belly is bigger than his hand.

The haul of baby gifts we received. Some really wonderful stuff!

Jen missed the bridal shower photo shoot, so I made her let me get this picture of the two of us later on that day at mom's house... to prove she was there, lol.

Just thought this was funny. Ben was blowing up balloons to put up on Gramma's mailbox for visitors to use to find the house. Crescendo didn't know what to make of the whole thing and was very intrigued by the sound of the balloon filling with air. Too cute!

Okay- last kitchen shot... this is the "before" with the hole that the plumber had to punch in the soffet in order to replace a leaking pipe (under which, you may remember, the previous owners had simply stuck a metal pan to catch water... said pan eventually filled up and caused the leak that WE saw).

Ta da! No more hole! Ben put some wood, new drywall, and drywall mud up... and everything is better now. Hurray!

Now just one more baby shower (this Friday evening) and we can focus on finishing the preparations at home for the baby's arrival. The nursery gets closer every day to being ready to welcome our sweet little one. We finished our childbirth classes last night (Monday), so we are as ready as we're going to get for THAT part of things. Got a nice tour of the childbirth center at the hospital as part of our final class, which was nice. I start week 37 on Wednesday (tomorrow), so we are really in the final stretch. Baby girl could choose to join us someday soon!

Love to all, Ben & Heather

New is Bustin' Out All Over...

I know the song is "June is bustin' out all over", but work with me here, people! =)

Well, eventfulness in the Herrick household continues. Had another baby shower last Saturday with college and church friends, and this week had some new kitchen appliances installed. So, I figured it was time to post some shower pics, as well as some before and after shots of the kitchen work we've done so far.

This is me with "the other" Heather (that's what she always leaves on my voicemail), Erin, and Christy at my shower. We had it at Erin's house.

Another picture from the shower. This is me with Lisa and Mandy, friends I met at the last church Ben and I attended.

Another friend from our last church, Becky, and I.

The gift stash picture. I should have taken a picture with them all out of the bags so it was more obvious what was there. Got lots of great stuff, anyway! =)

Okay- the work in the kitchen. This is a "before" shot of the light fixture in our kitchen's breakfast nook. Can you guess what year our house was built? Lol.

This is the "after" picture- new breakfast nook light fixture!

This picture wasn't originally taken to show the old gaudy light fixture hanging there, but it's the best I've got. (You can also kind of see the old cabinet hardware, which has since been replaced with brushed chrome hardware.)

The new kitchen light fixture! I'm not 100% lovin' the pull chain, but our options were completely limited by the fact that whatever electrician wired our house did not put a light switch in for the main kitchen light! At least it's not gaudy any more. =)

Okay, our favorite part. This is the "before" shot of the appliances- microhood, gas range, and refridgerator... from the 1970's with a variety of issues (knobs you can't read, LCD displays that are non-functional, the busted refrigerator light that comes on only after the fridge has been open for 3 minutes, etc).

And our brand new, stainless steel Kenmore appliances- microhood, gas range, and fridge!! Got them all 28% off at Sears. You can read all the knobs and LCD displays, the fridge holds more, and the light in the fridge turns on EVERY TIME you open the door! Wohoo!!

If you remember that obnoxious hole in the kitchen soffet that I blogged about before (with the metal pan rather than a replacement for a leaky pipe)... we are finally getting closer on the fix for that, too. As of yesterday, there is drywall and the first layer of putty over the hole, so the pipe is no longer visible. Hurray for progress!

More to come- I have two more baby showers to go and will post some nursery pics when it's 100% ready for Baby Girl Herrick to come and reside there. =)

God bless, all!!

Assorted Items

Anniversary - Part 2:

We took our trip to Frankenmuth in mid-June to celebrate our anniversary. They had a maintenance issue w/the king room we'd reserved, so we got upgraded to a fancy king suite in the tower, complete with whirlpool tub and a wall of windows. It was awesome. We wandered the River Place shops, walked downtown Frankenmuth, took a River Boat tour on the Bavarian Belle, did a nice dinner out on our anniversary, and even met up with Scott and Judy (close friends) and their daughters for an early dinner and park visit one night. It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. Lots less putt-putt and DDR than last year, due to the pregnancy, but we really enjoyed ourselves. Some pics:

Ben and I- near the Bavarian Inn where the Cass River runs through their property.

The tower at the Bavarian Inn. Our room is that top row of windows in the tower.

The Bavarian Belle River Boat- built as an exact replica of early Mississippi River Boats. Took a nice hour tour up the Cass River. Just beautiful.

One of the gazillion shots I took of the river. It was just so beautiful.

And Then There Were 3:

Well, not officially 3 of us yet, but we are getting more and more prepared all the time (we hope). At the beginning of June, a friend and coworker of Ben's, who happens to be the art teacher, came to paint the trim around our nursery with what I call the Winnie the Pooh "extras". It's honey pots, butterflies, bees, etc. Then at the end of June, my mom and sister and I painted some canvasses of Pooh characters to hang on the walls. They are all up, and the furniture is put together... so we are getting closer every day. We began childbirth classes this past Monday and have three more of those to go. We are at week 34 of the pregnancy now... 6 weeks to Rebekah's ETA. Feeling the normal jumble of emotions that first-time parents experience: joy, elation, excitement, anxiety and terror. =) We can't wait to welcome our little girl into the world. Here are some pics of the nursery, as well as the growing belly.

Cassie, the art teacher/coworker of Ben's, and mutual friend, starting to paint the pictures in the trim.

A completed section of trim.

Mom and Jen start to draw characters on the canvasses. I printed pictures off the computer, the drew. I did not help with this part!

Painting begins. I DID actually help with this part- and figured I'd better have proof, since things of an artistic nature are not in my normal repertoire.

All 5 completed character canvasses: Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Roo.

One shot of the nursery, with some furniture ready to go!

Another shot of the nursery.

The belly at week 32. It's only grown 2 more cm since then, so this is close enough. =)

Coming Soon:

I have baby showers the next 3 weekends in an row. With college and church friends on the 18th, with family and friends from the hometown on the 25th, and with Ben's family and hometown friends on the 31st. It's an exciting time, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to post from all that, as well. Until then!! =)

Anniversary #2

Well, June 15th will be our second anniversary. Pretty interesting how I can simultaneously feel, "wow- no way it's already been two years" and "wow- no way it's ONLY been two years"! In some ways the time has gone so fast, but in others it seems like Ben has always been a part of my life. I guess that's how it goes when you love someone...

Okay, I know, a sappy post today- but I'm feeling sappy. My husband is such a romantic and did a beautiful thing for me Wednesday night that I have to put on the blog! We are headed this weekend to Frankenmuth for 3 nights as an anniversary get-away, so Ben planned an early surprise that was a little hard to bring along. He took me to Holland for dinner on Wednesday (at any restaurant I wanted- I chose Red Robin), and then drove me to his home church. Inside, waiting, was Joe's band, D Avenue. The band consists of Joe, Ben's twin brother, on bass guitar; Andrew, a friend from their home church, on electric guitar; Jeremy, another friend from their home church, on acoustic guitar (and typically vocals); and Andy, a former youth leader to Ben and Joe, on drums. They are a really outstanding group... VERY talented.

So, Ben had arranged to have them there to back him up as he sang to me. (Singing to me is an anniversary tradition... and actually started when he sang to me during his proposal.) Ben talked about how God has used our relationship to help Ben rediscover and deepen his faith in new ways, and said that the song he was going to sing, though it's sung to God, was also for me. It's a song that he and I both love, by my favorite musical group of all time, the Newsboys. It's called "Beautiful Sound". Here are the lyrics:

Turn the page.
Can't turn the light out.
Every word, every line
Carries to my soul.
Dark letters on a page
Singing so loud.
Where did I go wrong
Not to hear You?

Eighteen years,I guess it was all right.
I let You do the thinking, I'd just bide my time.
Father to son, Sunday hand-me-down.
Where did I go wrong
Not to hear Your song?

It's a beautiful sound
Moving through the crowd.
Voices lifted up
On high for You.
It's a beautiful song.
We've only just begun to understand.
Rediscovering You.

To have found You, and still be looking for You,
It's "the soul's paradox of love."
You fill my cup, I lift it up for more.
I won't stop now that I'm free.
I'll be chasing You
Like You chase me.

It's a beautiful sound
Moving through the crowd.
Voices lifted up
On high for You.
It's a beautiful song.
We've only just begun to understand.
Rediscovering You.

Oh, something so beautiful.
It's a beautiful sound
Moving through the crowd.
Voices lifted up
On high for You.
It's a beautiful song.
We've only just begun to understand.
Rediscovering You.

Something tells me it's all right. You know it's gonna be all right

It's a wonderful song- and Ben has such a wonderful, rich voice. I always enjoy hearing him sing, and it's such an honor when he uses his talent on my behalf.

It's been an amazing two years (in 3 days). God has blessed us so much, and I'm sure he will continue to do so as we enter this next phase of our life- as a growing family. I find myself so grateful, and praying fervently that Jen and Justin (who were married 2 weeks ago today) will experience all the same joy and blessing from their wedded life as Ben and I have.

God bless, all!
~Heather Jane

Wedding Pictures- at last!!

Okay, as promised (though later than I hoped), here are some pictures from Jen and Justin's wedding. The Plowmans have returned from their honeymoon, having had a great time, despite some unexpected turns of events here and there!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the wedding. (In absolutely no particular order!)

Jen with her gift from Justin. It was a beautiful diamond cross neclace, which she immediately put on- it went perfectly with her dress and everything! Justin couldn't have planned it that well if he'd tried!

Ben and I before the ceremony. He stood up as one of Justin's groomsmen, and I was Jen's Matron of Honor.

Justin and Macey (our cousin, the Junior Bride) before the ceremony.

Jen and Justin with their very tasty wedding cake. It also had a water fountain underneath that doesn't show in the picture. Really gorgeous.

Jen, Justin, and Pastor Chris during the ceremony. They wrote their own vows. Justin is reading his in this picture- from the screen of his iPod!

A college tradition- the "Stack Picture". It's turning into more of a pyramid at this point, but we continue on nonetheless. Pictured, top to bottom and left to right, are: Jennifer, Judy, me, Erin, Abby (Judy's daughter), Heather Sawdy, Christy, and Anna (Judy's other daughter).

The groomsmen starring as the Village People for the YMCA. As you can see, they were not very coordinated in their choreography! Lol. Pictured from left to right are: Ben, Jeremy (a high school friend of Justin's), Jason (Justin's brother), and Kent (another high school friend of Justin's).

Jen and me- this one is pretty self explanatory. This was during the reception, I think.

Jen and Justin's first dance. Awww.... to their song, called "Chasing Cars" by the group Snow Patrol. Not a romantic sounding song title, but a very sweet song.

My most favorite picture- Jen and Justin exiting the church after the ceremony. They drove "around the block" and came back with frozen latte's in true Jen and Justin fashion! Too fun!!

So, there are some of the highlights. Pastor Chris said we were the most punctual wedding party he'd ever dealt with, and the most on top of things. He was very impressed. Crack me up! It was a lovely ceremony and a very fun reception. And now it's official- they are Mr. and Mrs. Justin and Jennifer PLOWMAN!

Pictures coming soon...

For those of you not on facebook and wondering when you will get to see pictures of Jen and Justin's rehearsal, wedding, and reception... fear not, they are coming soon! I hope to post a few pictures during the day tomorrow (Friday) so you can see.

Things are much calmer now that May has concluded. The last weekend was a whirlwind:
Thursday night- Jen and Justin's rehearsal
Friday all day- Jen and Justin's wedding and reception
Saturday- dropping off wedding gifts and feeding cats at Jen and Justin's (after a huge mess w/a key that didn't work and two trips to the office to sign my life away in order to obtain a key that DID work), then brunch with family, then a birthday party in Holland for our sister-in-law, and then another (30th) birthday party in downtown Grand Rapids for my good friend Erin
Sunday- church, and then a 3 hour meeting at church before finally coming home and calling it the end of May

Now- Ben is done with school, I temporarily have 3 days per week off work (until June 22), and we can breathe again!!!! HURRAY!!!