Christmas in October

Yep, we did it.  Did WHAT you ask?  We listened to CHRISTMAS music...on October 28th.  Let's see, October 28th is exactly 58 days from Christmas. 58 DAYS!!!  Well why would we do this to ourselves?  Here is the story:

   This morning we woke up and it was gray, rainy/snowy, and cold as crap.  This continued throughout the day.  Then at dinner we were discussing the cold and that led to us talking about our Virtual Fireplace.  What is a virtual fireplace?  It is a DVD that has a fire burning on it.  Since we were super depressed about the crappy Canton weather we decided to comfort ourselves with our virtual fire and some coffee and board games.  It was Leah's job to "start the fire."  This would seem a simple enough task but then we remembered that this virtual fireplace also happens to be a "yuletide fireplace."  We were faced with a decision of epic proportions.  Do we play the Christmas music, the crackle, or BOTH!!!!!!!???  What a pickle!  So after long deliberation (2 seconds) we decided on the crackle and music!!! So there it is...we played Christmas music a full 58 days early!

It's been a while...

We're such blog slackers.  Our apologies.

Last weekend we spent a few days in Chicago with the Hoekstra family.  I had my interview at Midwestern University, and I think it went very well.  The campus is beautiful!  We also picked up our new car on Friday...I'll say more about that later.

On Sunday I ran the Chicago marathon.  Why did it have to be 85 degrees??  TODAY, one week later, it's in the 40s!  It was a HOT race for the second year in a row.  I'm amazed that some can run well despite the heat, but I definitely do not run well in the heat.  So, it was very, very hard.  My favorite part was running with my dear sister, Jessica.  We finished together in 4:56:12...far from our goal, but we finished.  Thanks to all of you who supported us and cheered us on along the way!

Ok...the new car is fantastic, but it did not start out fantastic.  We got into the car on Sunday to begin our drive from Chicago to Canton, and the thing started burning and spraying oil.  There was a major oil leak and we ended up putting about 8 quarts of oil into the car by the time we got home.  Most of you probably recognize that this is a VERY BAD situation.  We made it home safely, but we were not happy campers.  We have since had the leak fixed and John has had a not-so-pleasant conversation with the man from whom we bought the car.  The good thing is that the repairs were not too costly.  That aside, the car is our new favorite thing, and our favorite thing about our new favorite thing is that it has heated seats, so we now have warm butts.

Today we just returned home from Pittsburgh.  If you are ever looking for us at home on the weekends, good luck.  We drove our warm butts out to visit Mom and Dad Baldauff.  Dad was in the hospital all weekend, so we hung out there with him quite a bit.  On Saturday we "kidnapped" mom, as she says, and went to Soergel's Apple Farm for their Fall Festival.  We had jumbo hot dogs, cider, kettle corn, roasted pecans...mmm, good.  And we bought a billion apples.  After dinner at the hospital we made caramel apples and played Settler's with Mom.  It ended up being a very fun and relaxing weekend.

Okay that's all for now!  I'm off to watch the Steelers kick some Bengal Butt (and to wake John up from his snooze on the couch, that bum)! 

A Rainy day in Canton

It's a dreary day here and I couldn't wait to come home and get into my sweatpants.  I also can't wait until we pick up our NEW CAR this weekend because the mornings are getting increasingly chilly, and the heat in our current vehicle does not get warm until I am almost all the way to work.  We are the proud owners of a midnight blue Volvo Cross Country!  We bought it about two weeks ago, but have never seen it, as it is in Chicago.  We are trusting that my dad knows what he's doing when buying a car because he said we should go for it.  Dad, if this one's a bust, can we have yours?

This weekend is also the Chicago Marathon!  Having been sick for a week, I am feeling a bit weak and unprepared.  Hopefully my training has left me with enough of a base to make it through all 26.2 miles!  I will make one last plea for any of you willing to contribute to Team World Vision.  I am running to change lives in Zambia, and your contributions can make that happen.  Visit the website on the right-hand side of this page to donate.

I also have another PA school interview on Friday.  This one is at Midwestern University in the Chicago area.  It will be a busy weekend!

Please continue to be praying for our Dad (Baldauff) as he continues to battle cancer.  He is sick, weary, and in pain.  We believe in a God who can and does heal in miraculous ways....we would appreciate your prayers to that end.  For a more detailed update, see the link to "Mom and Dad's Blog" on the side of this page.

Thanks to all of you reading...have a great week!

leah