Busy Busy Busy

Wow, these past two weeks have flown by, yet drag on. I'm sure that everyone has felt that way before... Well I had been waiting for some pictures before I posted again, however, the days were getting away from me so I thought I would go ahead and fill in the gaps without pictures. However, Honey and Preacher have some pictures up from last weekend when Leah came to stay and when we got to be personal assistants to GINNY OWENS!! But more about that in a minute lets start with last Monday...

Ok, so for those of you who have seen and/or know about the problems I was having with my toes, I finally went to the doctor!! I was hoping that I would just be given some medicine for the infection but instead I had to have toe surgery! As it turns out, instead of having just an infection in my toes, I had ingrown toenails in both of my big toes. After some freezer burn, 6 shots (3 in each toe) and the doctor cutting everything out, he bandaged me up and I was sent home to recooperate. I know it may sound a bit silly, but you don't really realize how much you need something til' it hurts!! I had my feet elevated and wraped up for about the next 24 hours :(   although it was WAY more painful than I thought it would be, it was all worth it. I went to my follow up appointment this past Thursday and the doctor said everything was looking great! And to finish up the story with some good news... Yesterday was the first day in almost 7 months that I wore tennis shoes!!! It was so great. Ryne had bought me a pair of really cute shoes for my birthday back in April that I haven't been able to wear since. I'm sure no one else here on campus noticed, but it was a great feeling!

Then to last Thursday... I had invited Leah to come and stay with me for the weekend. Ginny Owens was coming to LeTourneau and had a FREE concert. I am not sure if everyone knows who she is but this girl is amazing. Ginny is blind and has been since she was three years old. She is a singer/songwriter who also plays the piano and the guitar. I have been so moved and blessed by her songs and lyrics, and could not wait for her to get here. Little did I know... the Chaplain here on campus (who works with me in Student Affairs) needed someone to be Ginny's "assistant" for the day. I could hardly stay in my seat, so he asked me if I could. Well and as if that wasn't already cool, I was so excited that Leah was coming, so then we got to do it together! I met my mom and Mrs. Beard in Murchison on Thursday night to pick up Leah. -BTW Thank you SO much for dinner Mrs. Beard! I had such a good time visiting with you and mom. (We will see you again soon) So...

Friday: Leah and I started the day by taking Ginny to get some coffee then head to Chapel for soundcheck and to prep for her speaking at chapel. We then got to eat lunch together then took her back to the guest apartment and Leah and I headed home for a much needed nap. Later we all went to dinner at this GREAT italian food place her in Longview: Joe's. After that we went to the chapel building to get ready for her concert. It was SUPER! She was just the nicest person and didn't seem to mind Leah and I acting like camera crazy fans. 

Saturday morning we took her to breakfast... at Chik-fil-A, so she could meet Ryne and get something to hold her over for awhile, then it was off to the airport. - I had so much fun getting to visit with Ginny, however, Leah... It wouldn't have been near as much fun, if I hadn't gotten to share it with you! 

Later that night, Ryne took Leah and I out for a sister/sister-in-law date. We can't tell you how much we loved having you here Leah. We were so glad you wanted to come and stay with us and we hope you will do it again. 

Sadly, leah had to go back home on Sunday. Then we start with this past week. 

Riley had a super week! This week Riley has learned how to clap, make noises with her tongue, and has almost mastered the art of waving (at the correct time :)  She also has two top teeth coming in, slowly but surely. It won't be long before they will be completly visible.  This past week was  a long one for Ryne and I. We both had our first round of tests last week and this week, so we were pretty busy with school. Ryne also started a new work schedule this week so now he is home all day on saturday! All in all, even though these past few weeks have been super busy, we are doing great! As soon as I can, I will try to get some pictures up ( I know that's what everyone really wants to see...)

LeTourneau meets IKE

As it turned out, it worked out pretty good that Ryne and I were out of town this weekend. We arrived home to campus to find some of our beautiful trees lying on their side. The first picture is of a tree just around the corner from our apartment. However, we were very fortunate because none of the trees fell on any of the buildings and to my knowledge, no one was injured here on campus. Of course there were those few college kids that were outside playing football in the winds! Sheesh! If only there mamma's were here... There are, however, many things that will need to be done to get everything cleaned up and back to order. Our campus lost power for a few minutes but the dorms all have back up generators. The powere outage has affected some of the businesses all up and down our street. Worst of all, was that Taco Bell lost power and wasn't open tonight!! Ryne and I just had to settle for McDonalds ;)   - other places weren't as fortunate though. So please do remember to pray for families that lost homes and/or businesses. There are many evacuees here in Longview and even some here on campus with family. 

On another note: I was so excited because we started our women's bible study tonight. We have a pretty good small group and I am already loving our Beth Moore study. *Isn't it great how after a day like yesterday, a group of women can all come together and talk about how great our God is?  

Last note: For all of you who have seen my poor toes, I am going to the Dr. tomorrow! 

Fun at GG and GGP's

As you can see we all had a great time this weekend at Great-Grandma's and Great Grandpa's house. It was so much fun to watch Riley explore a new place. Fritz (GG and GGP's dog) just went crazy when he met Riley. It was so much fun to watch them play together. Fritz would chase Riley and she would run off, then they would switch and Riley would chase Fritz. Any chance he got, he would give Riley a good licking from head to toe. At Grandma's Riley got to play with some toys that mommy remembers having to play with when she would go to Grandma's and Grandpa's. Riley even got to sit at the table with all the grown-ups! She really liked that. Ryne and I had a nice time visiting and getting away from work and school. One thing is for sure, we sure did eat good this weekend. -Thanks for making us pie GG! (I will try to make one soon and let you know how it turns out) Grandma even made one of my favorites: Lasagne! Sunday morning the guys stayed at home while me, GG and Riley went to church. Riley sure does love that music! She loves to bounce her head up and down to the music. 

-GG and GGP thank you both so much for letting us come and see you this weekend! We had a really good time and loved the special attention. We love you both VERY much!

9 Months!!

Ok, so now that we're mobile, this picture was SO much harder to take :)

Thanks for the new jammies Grandma and Grandpa!

Riley took a pretty hard fall on her poor little nose...

Riley LOVES the water. Bath time is always fun.

Wow, it is hard to believe that our baby girl is 9 months old!

Riley loves to crawl around. She especially enjoys holding on to something and walking along the edge. She is not a picky eater. As a matter of fact, she is starting to eat small pieces of fruit, bread, and crackers. Right now her favorite snack is the Gerber Fruit Puffs. She LOVES the mango-peach "a"s. She is so fun to listen to. She will sing at church, laugh when you laugh, and make growling noises back at Ryne. She loves to play with other kids. She doesn't seem to mind sharing her toys and just watching everyone else play. Lately her favorite toys are her play phones and definatly her "Riley" blocks. She loves to pick them up, knock them over, and chew on them. 

Riley felt a little under the weather the past few days. I think she may have caught a bit of my cold; however, we are both doing much better and looking forward to the weekend at GG and GGP's. 

Back to Blogging...

It has been so long I don't even know where to begin. So much has happened since the last time that I blogged. Ryne had a birthday, we had friends and family come and visit, Sarah got engaged, Riley learned to crawl, pick up small pieces of food, and hold her own bottle. Ryne and I are both working and have started back up at school and list could just go on. I haven't taken as many pictures as I should have so these few snapshots that Maryanne took a few weeks ago will just have to do. She has grown so much and has so much personality. She already knows what we mean when we say "no" and has been pretty good about obeying us. She loves to crawl around the house watching our every move and I have to admit, I kind of like it too. There is nothing better than to watch Riley with her daddy. He can make her laugh and giggle like no one else. Her sweet giggles and grins are so precious. 

We have many things on our agenda for the next few weeks so hopefully, I can keep things more up to date. But for now, Ryne, Riley, and I are doing great and looking forward to this next semester. 

Trip to South Dakota

Wow! What a great trip.

Wednesday morning, we headed up to South Dakota for a 16 hour trip. Ryne has fond memories of spending 4th of July up in South Dakota with family, so it was so special to us that our first 4th of July, we could make some memories of our own with our family. All of these pictures are not in any particular order but it does catch a glimpse of our trip. It doesn't show, however some things, like grandpa playing with Riley in the mornings. As most of you know, Riley loves everyone, but she sure did enjoy her one-on-one time with Grandpa in the morning before everyone else got up. Another favorite part of the trip was cooking with grandma. On Saturday, everyone went into Sioux Falls to do some shopping while Riley and I stayed home with grandma and grandpa to learn to make some Norwegian cookies. I can't wait to get my own iron to make some for us here at home. We all had such a blast over at Uncle Guy and Aunt Fran's too. I love having a full house. There is something about lots of people, lots of food, and lots of noise, that says family to me. I loved being out in the open air enjoying one another. While we were at their house I even got to play a Wii for the first time! It was a blast, especially how all the little kids could beat me with ease. Mark and Liz even came down for a bit. (Last August the whole Bergren family headed up to South Dakota for their wedding) It was so nice to see you guys. Thanks for entertaining us all with Marcus's cool wave board. All in all it was a wonderful trip. At one point in time Ryne and I were standing outside, we looked up at the stars, and took a nice, long, deep breath of air, he looked at me as a slight breeze brushed by and said: "now this is a vacation", and he couldn't have been more right. 

Thanks for letting us come and see you guys up in South Dakota. Hope we can see you all again soon; And major thanks to Dan and Lori for letting us break up the trip home. Instead of making the entire trip in one day on the way home, we stopped in Kansas at Uncle Dan's and Aunt Lori's. I know it was short but we sure did enjoy visiting with you guys. 

Thanks for comming with us Austin and Nathan. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did

Happy Belated 4th of July from the Bergren's

Riley Updates

The first picture is the very first time that Riley has ever been on her hands and knees. (and stayed) Her face is priceless. I am not sure if she thinks it is fun or is a little scared. I was happy our camera was their to catch the action. 

The second picture is of Riley and her piano. She loves her piano. Often times in the morning we will eat breakfast and then have piano time.

The third picture is Riley's 6 month photo. So much has happened with her lately. She has started to eat some veggies. She does NOT like green beans but she LOVES carrots. She loves applesauce, bannana's, apricots, and our new favorite pearberry. As you can see she is a good eater and still a great sleeper. Sometimes she even sleeps til 9:00! She loves to talk and always has something in her mouth. It won't be long before were crawling and have some teeth...

The last picture is of Riley and Me. Someone once said that there are never any pictures of me and Riley so I decided to put one up. 

-Riley, you are the happiest and most precious gift that I have ever recieved. I can't tell  you how much I love you. Thank you for waking up each day with those giggles and grins. I love you.

Wonderful Weekend

Ryne and I were so excited because his parents decided to come down for a visit this weekend. We had a great time visiting and working. Thats right, working. They offered to help us with some things around the apartment and we took them up on it. On Saturday we all worked outside (I must admit, I did more watching and thanking than doing but...) and fixed up the flower beds. For those of you who didn't get the opportunity to see the before, it is hard to imagine what a transformation this really was. I can not tell you both thank you enough. It makes me smile everytime I see the apartment. It just makes it look more like home, not our temporary living space. I was really excited too because we planted some Zanias which are the main flower that we used in our wedding. They bring back good memories and put a smile on  my face. Thanks for spending time with us and with Riley. We always enjoy your company.

Memories by Picture