I hate wasps & spiders!

I really don't know why God invented this frightening creatures, I'm sure He had a plan. Well, yesterday just when I was about to snooze a little while Brayden was snoozing in his swing...I heard a buzz! I looked up...oh my goodness...a wasp! How did that get in my apt?! Then I thought about how my mom was just in town and goes out to the balcony to smoke and it might have got in that way. Well, I called Mark all scared and ofcourse he couldn't do anything because he was at work. So, I grabbed my Anthem Benefits booklet --it's think. I don't really care for Anthem, but they helped on this one! :) Anyway, ...Wack! I got it. It was still twitching. So, I opened up the patio door to try to fling it outside only to see what I thought was a brown reclus spider...later after Mark seen it he said it wasn't. Anyway, I thought that is it! I'm bringing on the Raid! Mark really doesn't want me spraying it in the house eventhough it says for household use. He's just looking out for Brayden. Since I still had the patio door open I sprayed the spider and still twitching wasp. Finally, they were dead! Then I went to close the patio door and in came a fly. I thought oh well, just a fly and shut the door. Then, I go back to the couch to try to nap...and buzz buzz...oh it's just the peske fly... buzz buzz...ok fly you are really starting to annoy me...oh my! Not a fly...another wasp! How in the heck did two get in here?! Well, I call back Mark and he said to leave the apt. Well, it was 4 and Mark gets home at 5:30pm. So, where am I going to go? So, I called a lot of friends on the eastside and finally got a hold someone. I didn't want to drive to the westside or mt. vernon 'cause as soon as I would get there I would just turn around and come home. So, I got a hold of Kent & Katrina Starnes. They said it was cool for me to come over and then they invited Mark to come over after he got off of work for dinner...how awesome was that! Here we are imposing on their family and they opened up their home and food! We are blessed with having them as good friends. And here I was just thinking...I really don't have girlfriends...well, I do, but not a 1 BF here in E'ville. I thought that one of my friends was starting to get that way, but it doesn't seem like that anymore. I'm not sure what happened with us..it's just different. I wish we could hang out more, but she's busy a lot and if she's not busy she's with her Boyfriend, but I miss hanging out with them both and also our girl times. Oh well. I just really wish that I was one BF down here to go to in time of need and know that they will be there no matter what. But since my Indy / Childhood BF's live in 3 diff. states and my BF that was down here went to Bible School in MI--I have felt a little lonely. All girls need that 1 girl to go to no matter what! I am going to pray that God will bring someone to me 'cause I feel like I've been searching ever since Laura B. left and I need God to bring her to me.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Robin! You are such a great friend and I miss you lots! I hope you have a great birthday today! Here's the Happy Birthday song in French (w/o the accents-my comp can't do them)...
Bonne Anniversaire a toi
Bonne Anniversaire a toi
Bonne Anniversaire cher Robin
Bonne Anniversaire a toi
cha cha cha!

Poem from my Markey!

Mark wrote this for me when I was in Hawaii for my Mom & Turk's wedding. I could check my e-mail and stuff while I was there plus we talked on the phone every night for at least 5 min. 'cause he was at grad school in Scranton, PA. Well here it is, it made me cry 'cause he's so sweet! I'm so glad I married my soulmate!

I wrote this last night when I was thinking about you. If it seems cryptic, sorry. I like it though! Love you!!


She Likes The Color Purple


She likes the color purple,
and violet opens her eyes.

Yellow her hair shown as a child,
witness to a golden smile.

Blue found her eyes
when they opened for the first time,
and has never left.

Green is the life she found
when she asked red to be placed
over the door of her heart.

An orange horizon heard her say yes
when one knee wasn't enough for me.

Black made spots on the chronicle of her past,
but forgiveness has washed that color away.

Grey was inflicted on her long ago
when brighter hues should have been sown instead,
but her spirit wouldn't let that color stay.

On the day she wore white for me,
her full spectrum caressed my heart
and still shines today.

Thanks for the color you paint into my life! I miss you!
Markus

Wrote 7/13/07

New Addition

Ok...so I haven't wrote on here in a long long time...but I have no time. New news...I had my son early..here's the story with not as much detail as you would get if I actually talked to you about it: Well, Brayden Israel Brendel was born on Aug. 13, 2007 ( 2 weeks, 2 days early) at 6:11pm. weighing in at 5 lbs. 11 oz. and measuring 18 1/2" long. He's very cute! Being a mommy is a handful though. I had him by c-section. I actually went in for a routine exam and ultrasound on Mon - 8/13 and the doc said the baby is measuring small so we like to induce. We said ok. She told us it would have to be at 1pm. that day - with our jaws to the floor we said ok I guess I need to call my boss and quit & call family. So, Brayden's heart rate dipped every time I had a contraction which posed a concern, so they stopped the contractions and said we have to do a C-section. We said ok, whatever it takes! With our family history, we were just happy to get a baby.

Being a mommy is difficult, but I'm learning. Any tips? I do get bored easily staying at home now, but I'm glad I can stay at home with him and not drop him off at a daycare - no offense to anyone, I just would prefer to be at home and since the Lord has blessed us with the finances to do that for atleast a year - I'm doing it. I do nap when he naps which helps, 'cause his crazy night schedule that always seems to change is driving me up the wall. First at the hospital..feed/wake-up every 4 hours, came home and it became every 3 hours, then it became every 2/12-3 hours, and is now every 2 hours. The boy eats soooo much! He came home weighing 5 lbs. 6oz., and he is now everybit of 6lbs. 2 oz. He now has a double chin and chubby cheeks...so cute! my little chunk! By the way...how come noone warned me about the explotion poopy diapers? Thankfully, I was blessed with a baby that rarely cries! Only cries when he's naked, getting a diaper changed, and cold. He gets a little fussy sometimes, but we just burp him and he's fine. Praise the Lord for that..I didn't know what I was going to do if I got a colic baby...I don't know if I would have been able to deal with it. I guess the Lord really does not give you more than you can handle. Well, it's almost feeding time so I should go. I will apologize for the length of time that will take me from now on to post pics, and blogs because since I'm a stay-at-home mommy and I have dial up internet...I'll be getting on less. The best way to reach me is my cell phone or house phone. Sorry, Erica I have yet to call you back, please try to call again I don't know your schedule so I don't know when the best time to call is. If you want to see the hospital pic of him go to www.thewomenshospital.org click on webnursery log in - nbrendel password - mnbrendel. Also, Brayden has a blog too! - thanks to his daddy! go to http://braydenisrael.blogspot.com

Car Trouble

So, My car started making a shrill shreking noise about a week to week 1/2 ago when I was backing up into a parking space at work. So, what did I do? Called Poppy! Anytime there is something wrong with the car, I call Mark's dad. He's awesome! He always fixes as much as he can. What a huge blessing Mark's parents have been. Well, I took it over to Mom & Pops for the memorial day weekend and picked it up that Monday evening. Well, it was like 10pm. or maybe later - I can't remember so I didn't wake them and just used Mark's key and took the car like a theif in the night. :) Of course I called the next day to let them know that we took it, and it wasn't stolen. So, when i took off i noticed the check engine light was on, and that it wasn't like that before I dropped the car off at mom & Pop's. So, I called Markey and he said that we will just ask Poppy about it the next day. I said ok and drove just fine. Well, the next day it was still making those squeaky noises. Poppy replaced the serpintene (sp?) belt to fix that problem, but it was still doing it especially when I turned on my AC. So, of course that's what we think it is. Well, I call Poppy and he said that there was nothing else mechanically wrong with it that he saw, so maybe I should take it to Reiter's on Allen's Lane 'cause that's where he takes all his foreign vehicles. I said ok. Well, Ed Batteiger was at the church working on the building project and we got to talking and I mentioned my frustration with my car. He said he seems to him that the belt just didn't get tight enough and he could bring over his special tool and see if he can tighten the belt. Wow! That's awesome! Thanks! - I said. So, yesterday he checked it out and said that the belt was plenty tight and he wanted to check something. I said ok, and gave him my key. I then went out with him 'cause I was leaving for the day anyway to go to my 2nd job at the PAC. Everytime he turned on the AC, there was that shrill squeaking sound again! This sound seriously hurts your ears! Then, I said ok..I'll take it in to the shop. Ed felt so bad that he couldn't fix the car - he apologized twice. I reassured him that it was ok and I was thankful that he tried to help the best he can. Well, so I called the shop yesterday and said that they could squeeze me in today. So, called off work this morning at the church and took my car in. I waited while they assessed my car situation. Then the guy came and said...you might want to call someone to come pick you up 'cause this car is undrivable. I said what's wrong? thinking it's an AC seriously! Nope...he said, it's the crank shaft pully. I said oh no! and covered my face--seriously I did this. It just sounded overwhelming, like something major. I said ok, I'll call my mother-in-law. Well, I got no answer. So, I called Mark whose work is only down the road and he left work to come and get me. 5 min. after Mark got there, he told us how much it was going to cost an when the part would come in...any guesses? Well, he caould have it done on Monday and including labor and the part the cost would be somewhere inbetween $225-250. Mark said, that works! I said, well, that's a lot cheaper than I expected. So, sometime Monday I will get my car back. Just in the nick of time too! We are heading to Wilmore, Ky (3 hrs. away) on Wed. morning through Sunday afternoon for ICHTHUS Festival - basically where you camp for a few days, no shower, see lots of awesome christian bands, and it's awesome! It really is roughing it...but when everyone else is as gross as you are it doesn't matter. Levi & Amanda will be coming down Wednesday Night. I can't wait! We didn't know what we were going to do vehicle wise for the trip, because Mark's car won't make it and my car was in the shop so we were really relieved that it could be done on Monday. So, now I just have to work out rides with people for work for the next couple of days. Pray that it will all work out!
Oh...baby news... I'm 28 weeks today! Which means I start my third trimester today! yay! I'm very excited! If ya'll know the fam situation and babies, I had to make goals for myself. Not that I wasn't trusting God, because I totally am, but just emotionally, I had to make goals ...make it to 8 weeks, make it to 3 mo, make it to 6 mo., make it all the way. So, I'm now on my last goal and with God's help I will reach it! Please continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy and baby. I'm starting to get a little scared of the pain that I will endure in the very near future. But, I know it will be ok. I get to go to my prego classes this weekend June9&10 with our friends the Smock's who are due 1 week after us. Well, I think that's it for now. Love ya, Nikki

Too much things to do...and no time

So, this will be a very short post because I have no time seriously! Ok...so on Mother's Day Mark officially decided that we will name our son, Brayden Israel Brendel. I've really been wanting him to do this for sometime now. So, what a great mom's day gift! Right now I'm completely stressed from work. Everyday something else gets dropped in my lap and I just don't think i can do that task..or that it's not my responsibility..but ofcourse everything gets dropped in my lap because noone else wants to do it. I really don't have time to take on any more stuff. 1 week deadlines are ridiculous...totally not enought time to go through the past 3-5 years on finacial reports and then get into nitty gritty specifics..this will take like a month. I'm only here 25 hrs. a week! They offered to actually pay for my OT, but I said when can I work that? I work at my other job since you weren't able to give me full time here. That kinda shut them up. I think they just said it as a gesture and didn't mean it. They never remember birthdays, admin. prof. days, wk. anniversaries...then when they find out about them a few days later, they say oh..we will take you to lunch sometime...I think they owe me quite a few now. Yeah, I'll never see them. I really feel like I'm over worked, underappreciated, and not respected here, is that bad? I just keep saying...aug. 15th...just make it to Aug. 15th...then you don't have to worry about it anymore! Then, at my other job, my boss for the past 6 years is retiring and I'm doing a lot of work for her on the comp. 'cause she doesn't know how. Not that big of a deal really, but instead of keeping up with the towels, I have to be back there which is fine..but not ok when I want to go home at 5:30pm. 'cause I've been working since 8am straight with no break, not even lunch. I basically have to eat and work at the same time--not so much enjoyable. So, on top of all the stress from work I found out that my friend Stephen Diekmann died this past Sat., 5/12/07 of an apparent Heart Attack. He was 26! No heart condition, he was in rotc and I just saw him 2 1/2 weeks ago...crazy! So, I found out on Facebook of all places. My friend joined the group "We will miss Stephen Diekmann" I thought, where did he go? he doesn't go to Iraq for a couple of months. So, I clicked on the group to find that he died! at 26 yrs old! of a heart attack! What?! This is crazy to me! He had no heart cond. and wasn't taking drugs that we knew of. So, I'm at a lost for words and in a complete state of confusion. Sad thing is I missed everything...missed the showing and funeral because I didn't find out about it until 4pm. yesterday on Facebook. The funeral was yesterday at 11am and the showing was 2-8pm. on tue. Man, not even some of his closest friends knew what happened. I'm soo saddened by his death and so confused. No, I 'm not asking God why, 'cause we all die sometime and it's in His hands...but it just doesn't make sense to me. I also have been very frustrated with one of my french profs. I got a C for her class when I though I deserved a B. I didn't receive back grades for papers, poem critiques, or anything. It seemed as if she pulled my grades out of the air when i would ask what I received. I received back 3 out of 4 papers receiving A, B+, B...So, I was so confused on my C. Well, when i asked her to explain how she arrived at my final grade as a C because it didn't make sense to me, she got kinda mad at me and wrote me an e-mail saying that she was more than surprised that I was complaining of my grade. I wasn't complaining...I'm a C student - always have been with an occaisional A or B. But, when you work really hard and you are looking at the grades she gave you...it just didn't add up to a C, so I asked for an explanation. Well, She wrote a ticked off e-mail back and I wrote a humbling one back saying that I'm sorry that she felt as if I was complaining about my grade. I was just trying to figure out my grad on my own and it wasn't making sense to me. So, we will see how she responds to that e-mail. I still have to take her for a class eventually and I don't want to walk into her classroom and have her instantly be much harder on me, ya know? I know teaches don't play fav's in college---wrong! She likes men more. My friend Sean attended less than 25% of her class and he received an A, he didn't even do 1/2 the work. So, how am I receiving a C from her in a diff. class when I did all the work andreceived good marks for it. unbeknowngst to me! Anyway....I'm done venting. I gotta get back to work seriously! I have a Dr. Appt. on Monday! I might have to switch docs and I'm 25 weeks! More than 1/2 way...stupid medicaid! Well, I don't know what I'm doing about a doc situation...we will see. Lvoe ya, Nikki

More baby news...

So, I'm sure everyone wants to see what Nikki looks like pregnant. Well, here you go! In this pic I'm 4 mo. pregnant, but I'm now 5 mo. and it's a little bigger and rounder. I'm sure you will all see it at Beth's Wedding and Lesley's get together. Well, out of 1062 baby boy names from babycenter.com that I copied into Excel then made a columns that says Mark, Nikki, and Both and then printed it all off front & back taking up like 26 sheets of paper. --Thanks mom for the ink! Anyway, so I picked out 16 names I totally liked and 7 maybe. Then, I placed each name on a scale of likeness from 1 to 10, ofcourse 10 being high. So, Out of all the 1062 boy names & also looking at my scaled down list, Mark only like 2 names - Brayden Israel. So, maybe that will be the little guy's name but it isn't official. Mark said we will put that on the contender list. But think about it... Brayden Israel Brendel...Brayden Brendel...BIB....hmmm...is this a good idea? I do really like that name though and he likes it tons. So, I don't know where else we are going to come up with Baby Names for our son if we went through a list of 1062. I would love to know ya'll opinion, not that it will influence Mark's decision on the name but I would just like to get a feel for the name, ya know? Anyway, I liked Micah, Riley, Edward-as a middle name only, Carson, Corey, Brayden, Ryan, Andre, Evan, oh...I don't have the list on me, but there's an idea of my shortened list that I liked. Mark said only the names Brayden and Israel stuck out to him. I think the names just have to pop for him. I would read off names and he would make a yucky face or a I don't know about it face...I'm really trying hard to let him pick the name although we did agree that I could veto as much as I want to the names that are definitely a no for me. Oh, by the way Brayden rated a 6 on my scale and Israel was on my maybe list at a rating of 5 because I did like that name but not as a first name. Well, I can't wait to hear from you!