Snow. Snow. Snow!
Feb 08, 2010 - Mon :: update by Heidi
We got about 24-28" of snow over the weekend as I'm sure most of you have heard already. It is pretty amazing and so pretty. Even today our parking lot is just packed with snow. Plows came through again today to try condensing some of the snow piles people have made shoveling out their cars and walkways. Some of the snow piles are about 7-8 feet tall! Crazy thing is that they are predicting 10-12" more of snow starting tomorrow through Wednesday. We are praying this doesn't affect the Disney on Ice performance we're supposed to take our niece to Wednesday night.

Forensic Psyc: Day 2
Jan 27, 2010 - Wed :: update by Heidi
I had my second day of class on Friday in which we learned all about crisis negotiations and actually performed a mock negotiation with our professor who was out of the room somewhere. Not feeling confident in any speaking role I volunteered to do the "situation boards" which involved me writing on a whiteboard all the factual details of the negotiation for the team. It was quite interesting.

I was pretty proud of myself because most of the time when the professor asked a question today in class, I had the right answer...in my head that is. Vocalizing answers will come later I'm hoping.

We did learn more about my professor, which just makes me feel all the more for her:
Her son committed suicide only 13 months ago.
She was engaged but her fiance died in 2005 (not sure how).
Her mom died in her house on (this past) Thanksgiving day.

I can't even begin to imagine her pain. I am thankful to be in this class and anxious to see how God uses me.

Forensic Psyc: Day 1
Jan 18, 2010 - Mon :: update by Heidi
I decided to take a course at the community college down the road to see if I should pursue a certificate in Criminal Justice. On Friday I had my first class in Forensic Psychology. I came out of the classroom with a litany of emotions:

1. Inadequacy at that fact that I don't seem to share the same "run-in" experiences with the law that many of my classmates seem to have. Thus, I don't process matters on the same criminal or law enforcement level that they seem to have a vast working knowledge of. This home girl hasn't even been pulled over before. I plan to work on this...not the run-in with the law part, just the thinking outside the box part and from both sides of the law.

2. Gratefulness for the Christian education I had during college that helped form who I am today. This was my first experience at a public higher ed institution. I am pretty sure my professor won the prize for the most swear words used during the class period.

3. Burdened for my professor. Despite the fact that she presents a tough cop exterior, my heart broke for her when she mentioned while going over the syllabus that her high-school aged son committed suicide and she is still dealing with his death. I cannot fathom the heartache she must live with on a daily basis and I can only pray for peace in the midst of her pain.

I am really excited about this class and all I hope to learn throughout the semester. The professor did mention practicing crisis/hostage negotiations next class period so I'm a little nervous...

Elliot & Heth Christmases
Jan 11, 2010 - Mon :: update by Heidi
We spent December 23-26 with my family here in Virginia. Our nephew was born the 23rd. The 24th was spent cooking, playing games, eating lots and doing last minute Christmas stuff. The guys all went to see Avatar in 3D, which was officially added to most of their "Top Favorite Movies" lists. Christmas is always a day long event with my family. We get up and everyone gets dressed for the day. We have breakfast together, take family photos and then open stockings. We do gifts one at a time so everyone can see what others get, so it generally takes a good portion of the day to open presents. We usually do an early dinner after which the boys begin the video games and everyone else plays games or watches a movie.

We drove to Indiana on the 27th, arriving in a snow storm which made our trip a little slower than usual. We had our Heth Christmas on the 30th and spent a ton of time playing games, including Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride and our very own game Hethdy Land (a combination of Candyland and Chutes and Ladders). Our New Years Eve included games and sparkling grape juice while we watched the ball drop. Joey and I drove up to Ft. Wayne to visit with my cousins on Jan 2, and headed home to Virginia the next afternoon. It was a great Christmas and we are always amazed at the generosity of our families.

This One's for You Mud
Jan 09, 2010 - Sat :: update by Heidi
I'm assuming most people don't know about Joey's love for food, primarily sandwiches. It is not uncommon to hear Joey say during random situations, "You know what we need to make?"
Me: "No, what?"
Joe: "Philly cheesesteaks!"
And generally after such an exclamation the next 10-15 minutes are spent with Joe fretting over how this is going to be accomplished. What bread should he use? How will he make the meat shredded like restaurants do? What cheese will go best with the particular sandwich? Should he butter the bread before toasting it? You would think he was trying to stamp out world hunger.

Today was one of those days. While meandering through Target, Joe exclaims "I need a panini." Immediately I know that I am in for a conversation about sandwiches. The first worrisome dilemma was, "Should I do breakfast sandwiches or a panini?" The next thing I know we are at Panera looking at bread from their bakery.

After inquiring of the boy working at Panera about what kind of bread they use on their paninis, Joey decides on a loaf of ciabatta bread. He estimates that he can get four sandwiches out of the loaf so he is ecstatic. And, this is how the conversation went as we left Panera and walked back to the car:
Me: "You are so funny with all your sandwich ingredients!"
Joe: "Heidi, when you're making masterpieces you don't use poop. Unless you're a poop sculptor...You only use the best ingredients."

Breakfast sandwiches won the debate and bacon is cooking on the stove as I type. Boys!

The New Nephew
Jan 06, 2010 - Wed :: update by Heidi
As many of you know we had a niece or nephew due in December. What was supposed to be a Dec. 17 arrival turned into a December 23 debut of our nephew! Caleb David Elliot was born at home at 9:48pm after (a stunning) 1 hour and 43 minute labor. My sister-in-law is a beast, in the good sense of the word. Caleb weighed in at 8lbs 14oz and was 21 1/2" long - much bigger than his big sister Naomi who was only 6lbs 12oz.

The whole family was at Christian and Nina's. We had just finished dinner and were sitting in the living room debating what to do next (watch a movie, play a game, etc.), when Nina chimes in with "I think my water just broke" and a mad dash up the stairs to do a little investigating. Everyone immediately jumps into action because we expected this baby would come quickly (Naomi was born in under two hours). The midwife and birth assistant were called. The master bedroom was prepped for delivery and everyone started making bets on baby's arrival time. It's too bad our betting doesn't include money because I guessed 9:48 on the dot.

Anyway, the midwife arrived with 20 minutes to spare...I was beginning to think I might be delivering this baby. Phew. The poor birth assistant arrived about 20 minutes AFTER the birth. Sidenote: We had all started getting a little concerned about baby's upcoming arrival because of the big snow storm we got the week he was due. 18-20" of snow could have made everything a little more interesting but thankfully the snow ended up not being an issue.

The labor went super smoothly (easy for me to say since I wasn't the one with the contracting uterus) and Caleb is healthy and beautiful. I know, I know. "Boys aren't beautiful" as Joey always reminds me. We had to wait until Christmas evening to find out what name Christian and Nina chose. Nina told Christian it was his decision so we waited. It was either Lincoln Michael or Caleb David and as you know Caleb David won.

Everyone was there for the birth. The midwife later informed us that we were one of the biggest groups she'd delivered with. Not sure if that's a good thing or a creepy thing?? The midwife also said that out of 1550-some births she's done Nina's was "one of the fastest." Pretty crazy!