Awards Banquet

January 26th was the awards banquet of the 46th Test Group Adam is part of at Hollowman Air Force Base. He was in charge of coordinating it all. I believe he volunteered. Wow!!!! I realized how large of a task this was when the event finally took place. Now the nights of working until 10pm made perfect sense.

There were about 200 people there and quite a few "big names/ high ranked" military people. Adam delegated everything very well and ended up preforming the tasks he didn't want messed up himself. I think we all know how that feels. Sometimes it's easier doing it yourself rather than explaining what's in your mind.

One of the delegations was to me. I was happy to be in charge of the table decorations. Another gal, Robin McMacken, and I set up the table decorations, shopped for the needed accessories, and were in charge of the take down that had to happen after the event was over last night. Talk about a long day and a late night for a pregnant gal. Robin made the head tables' flower arrangements with red roses and extra filler flowers. I also brought white lights for the artificial trees and supervised the cake making/ cutting. We had many compliments on a job well done. I didn't think much of it, but it must have beaten the same-old same-old in a special way.

I've attached some good pictures of this below. Also, Adam's commander won the commander's trophy. It was a fun night, and now Adam has this under his belt. ;) One other thing is that the guest speaker was FANTASTIC. He sounded like Rodney Dangerfield and has a talent of a stand up comedian. We were laughing soooooo much. He is retired and is 75 years old aprox. He had many words of wisdom of surviving, if you will, the military life with three qualities. These are opportunity, aptitude and attitude.

Briefly, I want to tell you he spoke of opportunities coming and going. You don't wake up in the morning and say this is going to be the day- the day the opportunity of my life is coming around. No, you have to grasp it when you see it or someone else will. He spoke of the high levels of aptitude that the ballroom held. That if the military men and women in that ballroom were to all work together they could take over any business with their skills and talents. Then, he spoke so incredibly about attitude which I loved! As we know the someone can have the opportunity and the aptitude for success and to search out and complete their dreams, but without the good attitude you won't succeed. I understand that's a given, but he spoke in an uplifting way about making the most of your life. One of his examples was when you move with the AF and you have a bad attitude about the location. Give it a chance. Learn from it. One other interesting point he stated about attitude was that he wrote down the word "ATTITUDE" and then counted out the number each letter is in the alphabet. "1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5" - That totals 100. Now isn't that amazing? He added up aptitude's letter count, and it fell short of 100. That secures his point that attitude amounts to more than aptitude even though they are both important.

I went up to him at the end of the night and told him my favorite statement by Charles Swindoll about attitude. He of course knew it well and even spelled out Swindoll's last name to me while he was talking about him. He was quite a character and wonderful influence.


Yes, you can get good use out of a bride's maid dress sometimes. Good choice Anne Steinhausen. Adam was being his fun self in this one. ;)


Say Cheese


Our friends Leanne and Jeremy Shockley


Robin, my partner in decorating crime and me


Most of the spouses that are in our group. Not everyone came to the banquet, but most of these women are whom I meet with for the spouses' coffee we meet for. They are the ones that are nice enough to put on a baby shower for us.


One of the spouses made this cake. It was delicious!


Table decoration. Each table was unique.


Another table.


Yet another.


Last one. There were quite a few other tables, but this gives you an idea.

Also, I did my own hair for the evening. It was fun!

Crib Bedding and Room Decor Direction

Adam and I have finally decided on a style for the bedding. We are going with a more contempory and funky pattern for the bedding. Light pink, dark pink, dark brown and lime green are in the polka dot fitted sheet. Then the funky polka dots meet the patchwork bumper. The bed skirt has embroidery and is kind of funky and a bit more sophisticated as far as a baby's bedding could go.

We have been fortunate to purchase these items since my employer in Denver gave us gift cards. They pulled the entire interior design department together and they surprised us with that gift before I left in October. We have been hanging onto the gift cards until now. NOW, I am beginning to nest like crazy. Things have to start being done for Ms. Baby Fisher.


This picture below is something else that we grabbed with the same gift cards. I struggled with buying a necessity or something functional, but I think she'll need some fun and "cutsie" things in her room. These are what I'm basing the funkiness and colors on for the room. They are about 8" in diameter and can be hung from the ceiling. They are made of fabric mostly, but have bead and sequin accents also. Now we're really getting the ball rolling. Yeah!

Bundles for Babies

Today I went to a baby awareness class on the base. Nikki, the gal that is due the same time as me, was also there. They touched on budgeting, stress, and services they offer on the base to help families out. Then at the end they give you a bunch of gifts. The picture above includes all that they gave. Some of the items are a hooded towel, washcloths, a receiving blanket, a fleece blanket, short sleeve onsies and the long sleeve zip up kind of onsie too, burp cloths, cloth diapers and bibs. It is so nice of the Air Force to does that. I wanted to share it with all of you.

Yeah! A Picture of the Growing Belly

Since so many people who look at this blog are far, far away from us, we put this photo up to show you the growth of the belly/baby. I am trying to pull back the shirt, so that it's tighter and shows more definition.

We took the picture today before heading to church. We haven't had much luck finding one that we feel comfortable in. I think even if we are here until the baby is 3 yrs old I want a good influence on her. I think of vacation bible school and activities and other little ones for her to play with when we adults want to get some spiritual time in too. We went to the Air Force base's chapel today. It was alright. They had a good message in the sermon, but we're going to keep looking for the weeks to come.

While we were at church, the woman sitting next to me asked me when I was due and if I would like her baby girl hand-me-downs. They have three girls and there are no boys in her entire extended family. I was pleasantly surprised, and accepted her offer. She wrote down her contact information, so I'll be calling her for sure. That's what is uniquely great about the Air Force community. Many people are willing to help others out. I think it trickles down from person to person. I'm sure she's had others help her out when her family was new in the millitary. Her husband is now a Lt Col, and that's an accomplished rank. I asked her if she was sure they won't be having any more children and could use the baby things. She said she was old and finished having kids. So, there you go. Kind people are all around us.

Week 34

Here's the latest and greatest. Adam has received an award for his time spent at Schriever AFB which has enthusiastic wording and is very complimentary. Another thing going on with his work is that we have an award's banquet coming up next Friday. He's on the committee to organize it, and I'm helping with the decorations.

We went over to our friend's house last night to play Halo- an XBox game. I watched the other eight people play for the five hours we were over there and tried the game out once. It takes a lot of practice I now realize. It was nice to spend time with others, but the video game world is just not for me (Kim).

I've been spending more time with some different people here. I've met twice with a group of Mothers with newborns. The group is called Playgroup Pals. It's meant for the Mothers to share advice, get together for breakfast and eventually the kids can interact too. I and one other gal, Nikki, are new to the group and roughly have the same due dates. Her hubby works with Adam, so we see each other at other functions too.

The other group I've been meeting with is the spouse's group(spouses of the active military personnel). They have been very kind and are giving three of the "members'" babies a shower Feb 8th. We are all going to Las Cruces to one of the lady's house. It's very nice of them considering hardly anyone knows me. I felt uncomfortable about it, but it goes along the same lines as when someone gives you a compliment say thank you instead of denying it. That's a lesson I learned in high school.

O.K. This is for everyone dieing for a "Famous Kim Story". ;) A gal named Holly Timperley was two years ahead of me in school. After an intense basketball game that the Battle Creek Bravettes lost, Holly came up to me in the locker room and told me I had a good game. I remember saying something similar to, "Yeah right- Whatever". (I forgot to add that Holly was the tallest on the team and won the shot put competition years in a row at State Track. One could say she was intimidating.) To that, Holly, who was upset and frustrated like the rest of us on the team shouted to me inches from my face, "I JUST PAID YOU A COMPLIMENT. WHEN SOMEONE PAYS YOU A COMPLIMENT YOU SAY THANK YOU." So, that is how I learned that life lesson. I hope you can use it in your daily life too. ;) Too often we think someone is just being nice or doesn't really mean what they are complimenting. I urge you to say thank you and smile.

Now for Baby Fisher news...
We had a doc appt last Thursday. That day was the start of the 34th week. We met a new mid wife. Her name is Karen. She answered the many questions I had come up with about labor and what the hospital's standard procedures are in a way that comforted Adam and me. We would feel comfortable having her deliver Baby Fisher...no problem. Now we only need to meet one other person in our 36th week appointment to become aquainted with all of the mid wives. After the 36th week, we have an appointment every week until birth day.

The baby is growing at the rate she should. I have a little bit of swelling on my ankles, but such a small amount that I can't tell. I haven't had any leg cramps since the monster one in Omaha. Adam and I feel the baby's movements all of the time. Other than that, things are pretty uneventful. We are staying home a lot to save money, so I've taken up knitting again.

There was some snow that fell yesterday. Maybe 2-3" accumulated. Here are some pictures from our back and front doors. Snow is rare enough around here that Adam had a late start at work...10am. We can hardly believe it.

The Latest Doctor's Appointment

Yesterday Adam and I went to the nearly 32nd week appointment. The baby's heart rate and growth are good and on schedule. My glucose results were good. I did have a MASSIVE cramp in my leg the night of Anne's wedding. It was the most intense one yet, and lasted quite a while. It woke me up, and all I could say was "Owy owy owy" while squinting my eyes. Adam was alarmed to say the least, and he wanted to help me. But, there was nothing he could do. We were told in our appointment at the hospital yesterday that if it happens again to get up out of bed and stretch it out. Thinking back though, I felt paralyzed in a way. I couldn't move or even open my eyes. Also, I was recommended to take calcium supplements. Lack in calcium, magnesium and water can cause it. I think being on my feet most of the day could have also had a part in it. When you are traveling it's not always easy to get milk or some other form of calcium. Have you ever noticed someone ordering milk with their meal while eating out? Me neither.

Other than that the appointment consisted of "See you in two weeks". We have an appointment every two weeks for the next four weeks. The last four weeks they want to see me once a week. The days are counting down.

Now, I want to say this in the most sincere way. We won't be having any baby showers, but we wanted to register at Babies R Us for those that would like to buy Baby Fisher some gifts. We are thinking of registering at Walmart or Target also. If that would be easier for you, please let me know. Both Adam and I certainly don't expect anything. We think that many friends and family members have been more than generous already, and we thank you. That's all and thanks.

Christmas in Nebraska

Adam and I had the chance to drive to NE for Christmas and our great friend Anne's wedding. Here are some pictures at Mom's and Bummie's on Christmas Eve to share with all of the family we couldn't be with. The captions are not centered, but that's just a technicality I'm not sure how to manipulate.


Jesse while opening gifts on Christmas Eve at Mom's.


Rory and Sue Ann on Christmas Eve.


Adam opening a gift.


Mom with her gift from all of us. Too bad I didn't take a picture once the jewelry armoire was assembled. She was pleased with it non the less.


Katelyn and Michael await what gift will be opened next.


The tradition of making Jesus's birthday cake was upheld. It was fun to share the tradition with my neices, nephews and Adam. BrookLynn, Jesse, Adam and I decorated it. Mom baked the cakes. Even though it resembled the leaning tower of Pisa, it tasted better than ever and fresh. We thought it had character as it was.


The guys of the family played some football in the back 40.




Rory with all four of his children in one picture isn't easy to capture. Here they are all at Bummie's on Christmas Eve evening.


Jamie, Bummie and Connie are pictured as Jamie is preparing to leave and put Jackson's hat on.


Adam, Aaron and Jamie at Bummie's on Christmas Eve.