Orchids Wilting... is this Normal?

Help! A few of the buds on my orchid are beginning to wilt. Maybe this is just the natural progression of things.... or maybe I just really do not have a green thumb. Most of the buds are doing fine:





Here are the ones not doing so well...





Chrissy - Is this normal, or am I a bad orchid parent???

Softball was really fun to watch this week. BJ's team came back and won it in overtime! Also, during the game I helped take a player's adorable daughter to the bathroom. She asked me "what kind of car do you drive?" and I was wondering... what kind of answer is she looking for? She's four. She probably doesn't know what a CRV or a Prism is. I said, "We have a Honda". She returned with "Oh... We have a green car". Aahh yes. Ok. So I told her, "We have a red one." :) The kind of car we drive is a red one. :)

Also, on our way back we passed a stay 2-year old child. She looked at him, and then looked at me and said, "Is that your baby?". Um, no.

(PS - I finally downloaded some of the photos from last week off of my camere, here's a funny one of Cory.)

Nothing to Say...

Okay, again nothing new to report... just thought I'd write so you all know we're still alive. :) BJ got a bad migraine so he's home from work sick today... poor guy. Hopefully he'll start feeling better so he can still play softball tonight.

Anyway, really, that's all. Work and more work.

- Jessie

Photos from BJ's Birthday

This is a little delayed, but thought I'd post some photos from BJ's birthday. He got his new suglasses in, which he's proudly displaying here like buddy jesus. :)

Besides a few t-shirts and Bronson Arroyo's CD, he also got a new slot car track (which he's been hinting at for months...) :) This one has four lanes and runs 25 feet long (50 feet with 2 lanes).

Happy Birthday BJ!

Today is BJ's 25th birthday! For the next month, we will both be the same age!!! BJ - I love you very much! Happy Birthday!

To commemorate, here's a drawing of BJ's from when he was little. It's a very *boy* illustration. My favorite part is the guy throwing the airplane from the balcony and the guy on the bike doing a wheelie. :) It's too bad about the people in that car though...

BJ's 25th Birthday

BJ's 25th birthday is this week (the 19th), and we'll be celebrating at our house this Saturday night at 7:00pm! If the weather is nice we'll be grilling out, having a fire, and playing games outside. If its raining we'll hang out inside, play games and ping-pong, etc.

This is an open invitation so (if you know us) feel free to stop by! If you need any more info, let us know!

- Jessie

Lazy Day at Home...

Well, so far on my day off (yea for Easter), I've painted my nails (yes, this is Jessie writing), cleaned some of the house, got the Internet finally working (thank you Suscom), and had fun watching the cats watch the rest of the world. With the back door open they can hear, feel, and most importantly smell the outside world, and it has them hooked. Their noses twitch like crazy, and every little thing has them in a trance.



Thankfully, they are too scared to actually GO outside, so we're saved from having them run out when we open the doors, etc. Our goal is to keep them indoor cats, because indoor cats have fewer health risks.

I was glad to snap this photo because it documents a ritual that occurs daily. Sidney, after awaking from a nap (notice the large yawn), will walk over to Annie, lay right in front of her, and Annie dutifully starts cleaning as commanded. This adorable display of affection occurs until one or both of them gets bored and decides to pick a fight. We can almost count the seconds between the first lick and the first bite. (Man, Annie's tongue looks freaky in this photo.) :)

Bright Site Completed.... Almost

I've finished Bright's site (with just a few minor changes and content completions to go)!

Here's the previous version:


And the new:


Check it out online at http://www.brightchristian.org.

- Jessie

Congratulations Kate & Matt!

I'm so happy for Matt and Kate! Their little one, Lilly Blessing, has finally arrived (she was born yesterday)! I can't wait to meet her! I can't believe that Kate has a baby!!



Love you Kate!

- Jessie

Opening Day

Despite a depressing loss (Dunn, we still love you) and bitterly cold weather, BJ and I had a great time at Opening Day. It was neat to be able to see George W (from about a mile away at our vantage point... but that's what binoculars are for). BJ and I enjoyed playing "try and spot secret service". There's one of them in this photo... can YOU spot him?






We got to the game around 10:30 and watched batting practice, which was really cool (it also meant that we got to avoid what turned out to be 2 hour lines to get in, due to increased security). It was strange being so close to the players that we could talk to them. Here's BJ while we watched batting practice:



Here's my favorite photo from our day (BJ took it):



The helicopters flew overhead during the national anthem. Being sky-high was pretty cool in this case. :) We had a great view of their underbellies.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hope you have a wonderful birthday Mom! I love you!!! - Jessie

Another Reds Game Photo

Here's another Red's game photo -- this one is of BJ and I when we first started dating (this would have probably been like our second or third date) (awwwww). :)



My hair was so short!

Baseball Season

Hi everyone,

Not much to report with all of the same old stuff going on (work, etc.). BJ and I are still on the hunt for that perfect house / lot of land. :)

Also, we're looking forward to baseball season starting up again on Opening Day -- one week from today! George W. Bush will be throwing out the first pitch. Here's a few photos from seasons past. :)

BJ at a Red's game in 2002:



Jeremy at a game last year (and I
think that's Blake behind BJ's fingers):


Happy early birthday Mom!

- Jessie

PS - The orchid -- it's still alive (5 days and counting)! :)

Sidney the Masseuse

This is an old video of Sindey helping Maria relax... I thought I'd share this as a test as I'm learning how to post videos. :) (Click the Play button.)

The audio is dumb, but the kitty's real cute.

Our New Challenge

BJ was so sweet to bring me home an orchid last night from Jungle Jims. Now we just have to work to not kill it. I've been inspired by Chrissy and Chris that it just might be possible to keep it alive. :) We just have to keep Annie's greedy paws off it (she was already eyeing it like "What's thaaaaat?" with an evil grin) and not be overzealous with the watering.

And here he is!

Here are some photos we've received of little Aidan! He's adorable!

We're proud to announce....

BJ and I are now an Aunt and Uncle!! My sister Kristen had her baby, Aidan John, yesterday (Saint Patrick's Day - how neat)!!! :) We're so happy and proud!!! Pictures of our new nephew will be posted soon!

Kate and Katie are next!

- Jessie

Drawings of Us

We got another letter in the mail from our sponsored child yesterday -- I wasn't able to scan it in, so I'm just posting the drawing from her first letter because its just so cute. On the left are BJ and I (notice BJ's awesome hairdo), and on the right is Juevyllee's family (actually, there are four kids in all). :) Juevyllee can't write yet (except she does write her name and a few other words), so she draws us pictures and her mom writes us letters (in very good English, I might add).

Awww... :)



- Jessie

More Mock Before/Afters

Here's some more. Photoshop is so great.

Video Back Online

By popular demand...

I've fixed the video link, so you can all see my family busta move. Keep the volume up. :)

(I also posted a few more photos from our cruise in our "Snorkeling Photos" flickr page).

Enjoy!

Baby Shower and More :)

Hi everyone!

BJ and I had a great weekend (doing our separate things). BJ spent some time in Dayton with his Dad -- they went to Wright-Pat and also visited with Jon Lawrence. :)

I took off for South Bend for Kate's baby shower (one month to go!). I stopped first in Indy and had a great visit with Kristi and Chrissy. I've missed them so much! Seeing my family (happy early birthday Eric!) and Kate was also so nice! Kate's shower was adorable. Her mom and Ann decorated with Ann and Kate's baby dresses, including the dress that Kate came home from the hospital in. :) Kate will hopefully find out for sure the sex of her baby this week (so far they're 90% sure its a girl -- but with all the baby girl clothes Kate and Matt have, they're especially hoping that it is in fact a girl). :)

Kate and Matt's Baby (Lilly) (from a while ago):














My sister Kristen is due anytime! I'm rooting for tomorrow, so that Aiden (our family's new addition) and Eric will have the same birth date. :) Whenever he's born, we just hope he gets here soon! We can't wait to meet him.

I also got the chance to see Chris and Chrissy's new home in Noblesville, which is adorable! Chrissy is so talented at decorating, and Chris did an amazing job with the floors and everything else. You can see how all of their hard work is paying off.

- Jessie