we're still here

This picture was taken at 22 weeks, since a lot of people asked how big Jess was getting. However, it took us till 24 weeks to put it up... so another update soon! The little one is growing fast...

Estimated weight: 1.2 pounds

Favorite food: Mom & Dad's homemade pizza

Favorite new activity: Hiccups!

Favorite time of day: When Dad comes home - I already know his voice!

Favorite bedtime activity: Kicking Mom while Dad reads books to me

Best quality: Ability to fall asleep to the lullaby rendition of the Eagles greatest hits

Meanwhile, Engine is doing just fine and continuing to keep us entertained. He would like everyone to know that between sunset and sunrise, there are plenty of frogs on the porch screens. He'd be glad to show you.

What's going on with us? Well, lots! We're busy with church, Sunday School, and small group; Eric is keeping busy teaching at Cambridge Christian School (he substitutes all subjects, high school and middle school) and still looking for a full time job. Jess is volunteering at the Humane Society once a week (taking pictures of the adoptable animals), and getting her name out in hopes of new photography clients soon.

We're psyched about Megan and George's wedding on October 10th. We will be in Raleigh for a few days to celebrate with them.

Thanks for all the calls, emails, and notes of encouragement. We're excited to see all that God is doing in your lives as well as ours.

- Eric and Jess

Photo Op

I shot some photos today for the good folks at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay . . .

great fun and some really cute animals. If you're thinking of adopting, check them out. Or, just check out my photos and rave about them. That's cool too.

I focused on the pets that have been there the longest and need help finding homes - I hope these photos help!

Cats first, picked up Eric from school where he was subbing English, and then he helped me with the dogs. All of the dogs were quite fond of Eric and wanted to keep him.

 

 

 

 

 

Disney

We returned to Disney on Monday to enjoy a visit with Mom&Dad Schaefer.

This time- no rain! We enjoyed the sunny Magic Kingdom and caught the evening fireworks show at Epcot.

Tarpon Springs

Saturday we visited the Greek port of Tarpon Springs. Despite the dreary weather, we enjoyed browsing the shops and checking out the many varieties of sponges. We enjoyed a great - and very authentic - greek lunch at Mykonos.

Ybor City

Mom and Dad Schaefer are visiting from Ohio, and today we drove a few miles over to Ybor City. Ybor City was founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Spain, Cuba, and Italy. Hense, really good food! There's still a street full of cigar shops (you can see them hand rolling cigars through the windows) but the city has also been fixed up to focus on the history - making it a great place for lunch and a stroll.

We enjoyed a fantastic lunch at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company (everyone gave it a 5 thumbs up!) and walked past lots of shops, old and new (mainly, cigars and tatoos...)

We're heading down to the greek city of Tarpon Springs with Mom and Dad on Saturday, then Disney on Monday, so stop by again for more pictures!

It's human!

20 week sonogram today...

The baby looks like a little human! It's sitting really low and the ultrasound tech was laughing because she couldn't get it to move up or stretch out, baby's quite happy curled in a tiny ball. It was cool to see little fingers and feet, and better yet, Eric felt the baby kick last night. I think it liked Chick-fil-A.

Eat More Chikin

We got the local daily paper, the Tampa Bay Times, just in time to learn that Labor day was free food sandwich day at Chick-fil-A. Wear your favorite sports team's logo, get a free sandwich! It's not often you get free fat, and we're all about free fat. (What, you're telling me this is the wrong kind of fat? Well, now you tell us!) Eric's on the phone with Grandma (Happy Birthday, Gma!).

As you can see, we used our holiday wisely and hung up some pictures. They're not really crooked, that's just the great photography and the off-kilter model.

 

We put a treat in the bag for Engine so he didn't feel left out.

Hope your weekend was a good one!

A Whole New World

So my first visit to Disney was... well, wet mostly thanks to tropical storms off the coast. But while it was sunny we saw some strange and cool things. Alaina treated us to this visit, and it was great to spend some time with her and Elizabeth and see what this Disney hype is all about.

We visited Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom on the first day and went to Epcot for day two. Apparently EPCOT stands for "employee paychecks come on Thursdays." Also, dwarves have really large feet, and yeti IS real.

We watched a parade of characters on "main street." Note the young pirate behind me ready to take my head off...

Help

I (Jess) haven't been feeling great lately. Something to do with extra nerve tissue where you're not supposed to have nerves (thanks, Endometriosis), baby growing and pushing (thanks, Eric), Astronaut-qualifying low blood pressure (thanks, Dad), and some weird blood disease named after a retired x-man character, Factor V Lieden (thanks, Mom)...

All that to say, not much energy, a lot of sleeping, and very little strength to do anything useful. Thankfully, the two men in my life are very helpful. I'd show you a picture of Eric doing the chores, but he glares at the camera. You'll have to be satisfied with two pictures of Engine, checking the dryer for stray socks, and making sure the laundry basket is empty. Don't be fooled, he likes both places and requests access if he can't get there. He's so helpful.