A Season of Changes

Lisa's mom is so ready to be a grandmother she can't stand it! She recently mailed us these soft, adorable newborn outfits (with feet!) that say "I Love Mommy" and "I Love Daddy". So cute!

Yesterday was Lisa's last day as a teacher for the indefinite future. I had thought I might work one more semester before the baby comes, but my principal said it would be easier to replace me now than at mid-year, so I have officially resigned my position. I'm in training for a new career now! Motherhood will be even more of a challenge than teaching, I expect. :-)

Dave is feeling some better but still experiencing symptoms of sickness. We appreciate all the prayers for his health! We're trying not to whine every two seconds about how beautiful the weather is now when we're stuck inside on the couch not feeling well. After all, we were healthy all winter at -40 below! But that's how things go sometimes. The trees have budded and are absolutely gorgeous outside.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Today is Dave's 32nd birthday! However, he's still sick, so it probably won't be his best ever. He did receive a good present this morning when he woke up and the fever was finally down (after a whole week). We canceled his birthday bash last night, and neither of us felt well enough to go to church this morning. So we can't celebrate, but nonetheless, it's his birthday!

Happy birthday to Lisa's dad in Texas today, too, who is 61 years young. :-)

Supposedly This is Normal...

It's been tough around our house lately. I had a virus the week before last that was nasty and kept me out of work for a few days, then I shared with Dave, and he has been even sicker than I was. Add to the fever, coughing, nose-blowing, chills, and exhaustion the fact that I am now queasy almost 100% of the time, and we're really not doing so good. I keep hearing from everyone that this is all normal, and I'll feel better before long, and really it could be worse. That's good to know, I guess. I haven't lost any meals yet, but I have actually hoped to throw up in case it would help, that's just how nauseous I'm feeling. I gave finals last week and just have a few more days to go to wrap up this school year. All I want to do is sleep, so productivity has been a huge challenge. Today I made soup, went grocery shopping, and did the dishes; those things seemed like huge accomplishments. The second trimester is better, right? Only five more weeks to go....

We're Pregnant!

God willing, on December 26, 2008 (or somewhere around there), a new little Noble will enter the world!

Lisa's first prenatal doctor's appointment is next Friday. We'll keep you posted! :-)

Indoor Garden

Our plants are really taking off! Thank you, Mom and Dad Noble, for the AeroGarden! Between that set-up and Dave's hydroponics, we should have plenty of leafy greens on the table soon. Did you know that sweet peas not only smell wonderful, but after the bloom fades a real pea develops? We're learning new things all the time. It's nice to see some flowers arriving! We already have plenty of herbs to harvest. Maybe soon we'll have vegetables, too. The tallest plant on the right side on our table (top middle photo) is a tomato plant. This indoor gardening stuff is fun!

Our Parking Lot is a Wildlife Viewing Area

Not long ago on this blog, we reported Lisa's close encounter with a moose in our parking lot. Today there was a goat literally right outside our door!

Technically the goat is not wild, since she's owned by our Russian neighbors across the way, who sent two of their children to gladly come with a leash and pick her up when I called our landlord and said, "Um, there's a funny situation here at the apartment. We have a bleating goat in the parking lot, and she's in urgent need of milking." Apparently, that was not a strange thing to say after all, because our landlord was not in the least distressed.

Two hilarious situations ensued from this decidedly uncommon event. First, Dave had previously been grilling on the deck. The presence of the goat put an exciting spin on his trip to the garage to get more charcoal for the grill. Since we don't yet own a gun, Dave's exact words were, "I've got to find something to protect myself with!" as he ran to the closet and grabbed... his trombone. I wish you all could have seen it with your own eyes as Dave yelled "Back off! Stay back!" and threatened the poor goat with his musical instrument. (In all fairness, Dave asked me to report the argument we had about him going outside with the goat in the first place. After all, I fearfully told him, that animal has horns!)

The other funny incident occurred when I saw a neighbor in the midst of the goat hoopla, and I excitedly told her, "It's a goat!" Since we were out on the deck grilling, she thought I meant we were having a goat for dinner. I had to explain that no, there's a goat on the front porch, we are having chicken and moose to eat tonight. She then caught my drift and took her little girl down to see the zoo outside our front door. :-)

Above you see Dave before the goat visit, grilling in a sudden downpour.

Yes, Dave is the king of the grill! What an interesting evening we've had!

Grill Master

FINALLY, a sure sign of spring!

Dave made his own rub for the pork ribs - "Memphis style".

Not just any ol' grilling - it's hickory-smoked! Welcome, spring!

Wishful Thinking

On Saturday we posted our "Spring Thaw" header in hopes that it would come true! However, this morning we woke (yet again) to a snow-covered scene outside.

It's beautiful, yes, and it's much nicer to be outside at 30 degrees than -30. But still, we can't help wondering...

O Spring, wherefore art thou?