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24 Weeks

Here you go photo fanatics!


Let it be known . . . . I am only doing this for those friends and loved ones far away.

Yep, we are 24 weeks along (25 on Tuesday) and plans are well underway for the baby's room. We've finished the new guest room and bathroom downstairs and have moved all the furniture down there too. The baby's room is empty now, waiting on our furniture - sweet hand-me-downs from Mark's brother and sister in law.

My mom and Jerry are coming next week. We have another ultrasound and I invited mom to join me for this one. She's pretty excited.

No, we still don't know what we are having, and we are still not planning to find out!

Yes, we have names picked out. No, we aren't sharing them.

I need to go register for baby stuff. That's next on my list. Maybe I'll do that while mom is here too!

That's about it for now!

My sister tagged me

Thanks Angie.

Ten years ago...I was working at FBC Ruston, probably getting ready for the summer - VBS, camp, and day camp.

My to do list today...
1. Blog
2. Clean house.
3. Get a mommy to be massage (Thanks Mark for the Valentine's gift!)

What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire...
Give lots away to Cornerstone and other churches.
Get a bigger house for all the kids we'll have.
Adopt.
Not sure what else.

Three bad habits...
1. being overly emotional
2. Dr. Pepper
3. eating food that is not good for me.

Five jobs I've had...
1.Babysitter
2.Photographer
3.Children's Minister
4.Summer intern at Tallulah Welfare Office
5.Daycare worker

Five things people don't know about me...
1. I was a duck dog trainer
2. I rode horses in a rodeo
3. I don't like cherry flavored anything
4. I snore a little bit
5. I was valedictorian of my high school class

I'm tagging . . . Elizabeth and Kristie J

More snow

Really.

It was almost 60 degrees on Sunday. Almost all the snow melted. For the first time in months - literally since December - I saw my front yard.

Then, the awful twist. Sunday night the temps dropped and I woke to MORE SNOW on the ground Monday morning. And the weather guy . . . well, he's telling me we'll have more tonight and Wednesday.

Really.

Winter has to be almost over.
It just has to be.

Baby is doing great. Week 24 photo comes next week! Just you wait!

19 weeks

I consulted with a few hollywood starlets . . . they said to keep the public interested in your "fame" (a.k.a. - keep reading your blog) you have to give them what they want.

So, I'm taking their advice and finally posting a much asked for and long awaited "pregnancy pic."
I am now to the point where people at church who may not have already heard the news about baby Stenberg will give me a second glance or two with that look . . . "Are you expecting????"

And the switch of colors on the site to pink AND blue?Well, much to the distress of some (angie b) we will NOT be finding out whether we are having a boy or a girl. It is a little fun, and a LOT out of character for both Mark and I who are planners by nature.

All is going well so far. I am feeling tired often - there is a reason most ladies choose to do this having a baby gig in their twenties! But God isn't surprised that I'll be 36 when this baby comes. So I shouldn't really complain. It was His plan after all!

Names? We are working on a list. It is a work in progress really. While there are some names that come up more often than others as favorites, we aren't settled at all. That will come too in time.

Mark has been working hard on renovating the basement with the new guest room and bathroom. As soon as it is finished we'll get to work on the baby's room. That will be fun and make it all the more real.

Thanks for reading!

Sacramento Area and Las Vegas

This will be a long post. So keep reading! I'll include pics and posts from our whole trip!


Mark was headed out to the World of Concrete Convention in Las Vegas and asked me to tag along. He then discovered that there would be a 50th birthday celebration for Larry Thiel . . . the director of InterVarsity (a ministry for college students) where Mark was involved when he was in college at UNLV. So we decided to get the most bang for our buck and head out to Sacramento/Stockton, CA the weekend before Vegas to attend the party. It was fun to meet Mark's college friends and especially Larry (and his family) who has such a big place in Mark's growth as a believer. Larry really took time to disciple Mark and help him establish a great foundation for his faith. Here are some pics from the birthday party weekend . . . .


This is the UNLV crowd. Larry and Nina Thiel are on the far right.




Mark, Heather, and Larry
Heather was one of Mark's good friends in InterVarsity. We spent two nights in the home of her and her husband Mike in Sacramento.

Mark and I were both excited to eat at In-N-Out Burger in California! If you've never had one, too bad for you. And thanks Angie S for the "secret menu" tips!

On Sunday night we made a quick trip with Mike and Heather down to San Francisco so I could see the Golden Gate Bridge and to meet up with Eric, a great friend who actually traveled all the way to Iowa for our wedding!

Mark and I with the bridge in the shadows behind us . . .

The Stenbergs at Ghiradelli Square


Dinner at "The Stinkin' Rose" where they flavor their garlic with food!

LAS VEGAS

We flew from Sacramento to Las Vegas on Monday. Mark was really excited to show me the city where he lived and went to school for four years. It was my first Vegas adventure. Some highlights: A nighttime helicopter ride around the strip, dinner with another college friend (Tina and Jay and Avi), incredible dinner at the "top of the world" restaurant at the Stratosphere (800 feet above the city in a revolving restaurant), walking the strip and downtown and seeing all the wild and craziness that is indeed Las Vegas, and seeing "O" (Cirque du Soleil) show at Bellagio.

Getting ready to get on the helicopter


Us on the helicopter with our cool headsets


Vegas at night from the Stratosphere. We had a GREAT meal here! And what a view!


Us at the Stratosphere.

Fountains at Bellagio

We had a great trip!

Coming soon!

Posts from our trip to Sacramento/Las Vegas

AND

a long awaited "belly pic!"
Yes, I'm giving in.

Check back soon!

Final Christmas 2007 post

After a wonderfully lazy Christmas morning at home in Waverly, Angie B, Mark and I made our way to the Madden camp for Christmas night dinner with Dad - SHRIMP GUMBO! Here's Dad cooking away . . .

Dad - after his haircut!

Alidya and Bret (my cousin) and their boys met us in Shreveport for a Mudbugs Hockey game. It was so fun to hang out with them. Mayson McKeiver - JUST LIKE HIS DAD when we were growing up! Carson McKeiver - too sweet! Not at all like his dad! HA HA HA

Mark and I at the hockey game.



Carson learned to do the CHICKEN DANCE with his cousin Mandy! He's a dancer!

This lady (black jersey, #17) led the cheers in our secsion. Her hat has a Mudbug (crawfish for those Midwesterners reading this blog) on top and the hat reads - "PUCK HEAD." Can you say "DIE HARD HOCKEY FAN?"

Mark and I with the Mudbug mascot!

Friends Reunion in ruston

Some dear friends moved back to the states from overseas and of course that was just a great excuse for a holiday gathering. Mark, Angie B and I headed to Ruston to meet up with the Johnsons and other sweet sweet friends just before Christmas. Here are some photos of our afternoon together.

Miss Bailey Johnson and her new best friend Chris Ellender.












One happy family! Jamie and Tammy are getting married in the Spring. Cameron approves!
















Mark meets newest Johnson family member, Jesse Benjamin.




















Billy James and his "boys" - all grown up now!
















Angie B, Whitney and Lauren Massingale
















Tiffany Webb Kinnison and Mandy B Stenberg















The Johnsons!

More Christmas

I guess when you do something twice, it becomes a tradition. So this year, we made our gingerbread houses/men again at mom's house. We had special guests for the event too! My uncle Larry, aunt CJ, and cousin Caitlan-Dallas joined us for the fun. I made a Tech house - all decorated with red and blue. Angie and Caitlan made what they kept calling "juicy couture" house . . . we all just called it a mess. Cynthia's resembled mine - at least in the "neatness" of it all. And mom and Jerry collaborated on another outhouse. Too fun.

Christmas 07 Highlights

OK everyone. I'm going to work to get up posts and pics from our Christmas adventure to the south. Each one will be a different post . . . so keep reading to see just what you are looking for.

First we made a stop in Kansas City to see Amy and Greg Gay and their new baby boy Donovan. Man, he's cute.

After our overnight there, we continued on to Arkansas with a stop in Russellville to see David and Margie McLemore. I didn't take my camera in and was kicking myself for not doing it. But it was great to see them. Bro. David continues to recover after his accident nearly 3 years ago. Our next stop was Fowler's Truelove . . . my mom and Jerry's home away from home in Damascus, AR. It is a beautiful place. They have enjoyed the peace and quiet there and have really done some work to make great walking trails and bridges over the creek. These photos are from our day there. WARNING: Some of you have asked for pregnancy photos . . . you'll see me in the following pics and yes, I'm pregnant. Does that count?

More to come soon including photos of the "reunion" in Ruston, gumbo with my dad, and the mudbugs hockey game with Bret, Alidya, and the boys!

Merry Christmas!

Hello friends and family!
Merry Christmas!
Mark and I are enjoying our holiday in the good ole' south! I'm drinking so much sweet tea . . . and boy is it good!
Baby Stenberg is doing just fine too - we saw the doctor on Wednesday before we left and got a great report.
We'll post photos and more updates when we return home to Iowa.
Until then . . . have a WONDERFULLY special Christmas.

Correction

Too many comments about my forgetfulness . . .

Yes, there were 10 shows of "Christmas Came One Night" - not eight as misspoken in the previous post.

Busy week

It is a busy week. Cornerstone Church is putting on EIGHT shows for the Christmas production this week. It is an amazing production - don't miss it if you are in or around the area.

But it makes for a very busy week. And no major blog news.

Check back soon.

Weird things . . .

So there are some weird things going on these days. I'll explain:

1) I think I'm about to save about $30 per month in my budgeted blow fund. I just can't seem to get excited about coffee. Usually, I stop by a local shop at least once a week for a Praline Delight Latte and drive through starbucks at least once a week for some sweet delight there . . . but the last week or so, those just don't seem appealing.

2) Strange food aversions - (see coffee listed above) as well as the smell of cheerios (who knew they smelled so strong?)

3) An odd metallic taste in my mouth - all the time. Makes stuff taste weird - except sweet stuff. I don't have any problem with sweet stuff.

4) I'm SUPER tired.

If you haven't guessed by now . . . . . Mark and I are going to be parents! I hear that all these things going on are quite normal for pregnancy. Normal is good. I'm thankful for normal!
Baby Stenberg will make his or her appearance sometime around July 1.

Some of the suggested names so far: Deranne, Nathan (Lubinus), Mikaela - all kinds of friends suggesting that the baby should carry their names! Too funny. We are not even close to thinking seriously about names! But we enjoy the suggestions.

You can keep us in your prayers as we are still early on in the pregnancy. We did have an early ultrasound about a week ago and heard a nice strong heartbeat and heard that everything looks "fantastic." So we are happy with that.

God is good and faithful!
Read Psalm 145!
He is faithful! He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of all things!

Owen's Dinner Party

We had a fun gathering last night for some old Turkey friends to meet Owen Hammett! Tara and Owen are in Iowa this week visiting, so we made some plans to meet them for dinner. Mark, Marie, Ben and I hopped in the car and headed East to Coralville to meet Amy Jo, Holly, Tara, Gail (Tara's mom) and Owen for dinner. It was really fun to see old friend and to meet sweet Owen.

Here's the Turkey crew with Owen:

Here's Amy Jo and Owen:

Ryan, we didn't miss you one bit.

OK, so we did a little.

But we enjoyed catching up with each other and what a fun reason to do it -

that Owen is a cutie pie!

Update: soreness from TRX

Well, finally on day three after TRX training, I could walk normally down steps. But oh no! Tuesday is coming again soon. And I'll be sore all over again!

TRX fitness training

So yeah, I am taking a new class at Ames Parks and Rec. It uses the TRX fitness training system. And yeah, we do that move shown above. CRAZY. It is only one month. Will I be able to make it? We started today. I was wobbly on my legs for about an hour after class was finished! Oh my word.

Married One Year!

On September 15, Mark and I celebrated ONE YEAR of wedded bliss! OK, so as you all know, the first year is rarely bliss. BUT, we can truly say that God has been faithful to us, giving us more grace and more patience and more love for one another than we ever knew imaginable. We're still learning how to serve one another. We're still learning how to communicate our frustrations and hurts. But most importantly, we are learning to love each other more and more and more. We have always believed that God did this - brought us together for His glory and purpose. As we sat together over a wonderful dinner and "debriefed" this past year, we came to the same conclusion - our story is God's story. He has given us to one another to love, to encourage, to grow, and above all to honor Him. It has been a wild ride! And we can't wait to see what this next year holds!

Mike and Angie Mowery

It has been a really busy wedding season here in Iowa. Here are a few sneak peeks for Mike and Angie Mowery . . . married Saturday, August, 11.