GOULD'S HOUSE

Let it snow, let it snow....

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:57:00 +0000

We are having a great time getting ready for Christmas. Baking cookies, decorating, and playing in the snow!! On Friday night i went to work. On my way there it started snowing. By the time i got off the next morning we had about 1.5 feet of snow! It took me about 2 hours to drive home! And it was still snowing! It finally stopped at about 6pm last night and we currently have a good 2+ feet of snow. We have been out playing in it and currently David is out trying to dig out our car. It kind of nice to be stranded at home. :) Above is our fire we had last night. I like this picture because it looks so cozy. I had to bribe Syd with a treat to lay like that next to the fire :)

My cookie maker helper. She loves to "mix" things and poor them into the mixer. Although many things end up poured on the counter or in her mouth instead :) (Kristi - do you like her little Apron?!)

Playing the the snow. We actually don't have any sleds, but we did find this snowboard with a handlebar type contraption in our shed. We (especially David )had fun with it.

The best part about playing in the snow....getting warm and hot chocolate after!

Snow!!!

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:30:00 +0000

The Christmas Tree is up, the music (yes, it's Elvis) is playing, David has hung lights on the house, the shopping is started, and we have snow!!! I love this time of year!

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:13:00 +0000

So I have gotten a little behind in my blogging. My valiant attempt to keep up has failed, but I will not give up and will prove it by posting TWO posts today! We had a great Thanksgiving. David's parents came up from Florida and our good friend from Ketchikan, who is now in Philadelphia, Becky came down as well. Unfortunately I had to work the night before, but with the help of Sheila (and her wonderful pies!) all of my food responsibilities were fulfilled. We ate at my parents and had a house full of people. The Steigleders also joined us for desert. Here is the whole group....

David and I. He's trying to finish desert...

The following weekend. My mom, Sheila, Becky, and I ventured down to Colonial Williamsburg. We had a great time. All of the Christmas decorations were up. It was beautiful. To see lots more pictures look at Becky E's blog. There is a link to the right.

Becky took more scenic pictures. I put my mother and mother-in-law in the stocks :)

The National Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Yesterday we went with Rhonda and Oscar to the National Zoo. This is a great zoo! Especially for kids. If any of you want to come visit we will take you. I got very few pictures of the kids faces as they were way to engrossed to look at the camera :) These are a few of their favorites. The garoolas (as Abby calls them) were a big hit. They were really close and pretty cool to see.

They also have a kids farm with several farm animals...donkeys, cows, alpacas, goats, pigs, ect. They were watching the cows and the alpacas here.

The other exhibit that I really liked :). Were the giant Panda bears. The are really beautiful animals.

By the time we got home we were both exhausted! It was a fun adventure. I've decided Abby and I need to become more adventurous and go see and do more up in DC. I think I've got the train thing down. Driving is still a little scary at times. Mostly because I usually don't really know where I am going, but it's getting better. :)

Too Many Leaves!!

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:41:00 +0000

I love having trees in our yard, but we are quickly realizing how much work it brings!!! Abby and I spent the morning raking up leaves. Well I gathered them, she scattered them. :)

The temptation is just too great to leave a pile of leaves in a pile and not jump in and throw them everywhere. We raked up 13 big piles! I still have 5 more to bag and send out with the trash tomorrow. It has taken quite a while as several piles had to be gathered more than once :)

Busy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:02:00 +0000

We have had an exciting weekend around here. One of my roommates from North Park was in DC this weekend to run the Marine Corps Marathon. On Friday Abby and I took the train from Fredericksburg to down town DC and met up with Pam and another friend, Britt. We walked the mall and visited the Natural History Smithsonian. I was a little nervous about taking this adventure with her by myself, but she did great and we had a great time.

We got to the train station and Abby was so happy. She was jumping up and down saying hello to all of the groggy commuters. She told everyone "The choo choo train is coming! I soooo excited!" It was very cute.

The train ride is about and 1hr and 20minutes. She sat like this most of the time saying "look mommy trees, look cars, look water, look a dinosaur" she has an active imagination i guess :)

Pam, Abby, and I in front of the elephant in the Natural History Smithsonian.

On Sunday David and I went up to meet my friend Britt (also from school) and few others to cheer Pam on in her 26.2 mile run. We had a lot of fun cheering and were able to see her in a couple of spots. This is near the finish line.

Pam, somwhere around mile 17-18.

The other exciting event of the weekend is purchasing a new car. We finally did away (happily i might add) with the Kia. I didn't realize how stressful car shopping can be, but I am happy with our purchase.

I guess that's all the excitement for now. I'm trying to be a bit better about updating our blog so we shall see how that goes..... :)

Belvadere Farms

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:19:00 +0000

Last weekend we went with all the Maloneys to Belvadere Farms. They have all kinds of stuff for the kids, food, cider, slides, corn mazes, animals, and a hayride out to the pumpkin patch where you can pick your very own pumpkin. We had a great day. I love fall.

One of the kid slides. They have them for big kids too, but i won't show you any of those pictures...:)

Umm Swine Flu?

Abby loved the animals and has absolutely no fear.
David, Sharon, Alli, and I went through the corn maze. They give you flags to wave in case you get lost. It's a good thing we chose the easiest one.

Abby's first pony ride. She liked it a lot and held on tight!

The start of Fall

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:25:00 +0000

I think we are headed into fall. Its getting almost cold at night and cooler during the days. We live in the woods and are surrounded by trees so all of our trees are beginning to turn colors and fall. One of our projects is to clear out some of our back yard (wooded area) so we have a bit more room to play. Its been fun being outside, but its a lot of work (more for David than me :)) We are also settling in to our new house nicely. There are still boxes here and there, but they are diminishing by the week. David took a quick trip over to TN last week to finish up the album his Dad and he have been working on with Phil Keaggy. It's been such a neat opportunity for him to be able to work on this with his dad and Phil. He also was able to surprise Helen, Jasen, and all the kids and was there for Helen's birthday. I have been busy with work and getting together with new and old friends. Here are some of our recent pictures....

Our very cute, now potty-trained, little girl.

Abby and I were able to get together with Rhonda (Lundamo) and Oscar the other day. I know Rhonda from Ketchikan and even worked with her mom at the hospital. They are now stationed in the DC area. Not the best picture of Abby, but the kids had fun playing together.

David and Abby playing with one of the bags we were using for leaves. Although this one seems to have legs. :)

Abby thought it was very funny that daddy fit in the bag too. Although not quite as easily as she did.

Our back yard project. David has done a good job of clearing out all the leaves and stuff this far back our next goal is to get rid of some of the smaller shrubs and trees back there. We'll let you know how it turns out.

We are planning a few fun fall outings and hope to have some visitors in the next few months as well. Hope you are all enjoying some fall weather.

Flashlight Fun

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:33:00 +0000

Sydney and Abby's new game.

Virginia

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:48:00 +0000

It's been awhile since we've posted anything. We've had a busy last few months. David had a job offer in DC so three weeks later we were on our way. Currently we are staying with my family in Fredericksburg but will be moving into our own home next week. We've been here for a total of three weeks. David has started working and is getting the hang of commuting and DC life. I started a part time job last week at a small community hospital in OB and Abby has been having lots of fun with our houseful of people. Matthew Powney has been here for the past few weeks and we've also had a visit from my Aunt Sherry and cousin Jacey. There's also the permanent residents of my parents house: mom, dad, Sharon, Allison, and Buddy. Sydney and Buddy had a rough start, but I think they've finally developed a truce. Here are a few recent pictures...

Our new home. We'll move in next weekend. I am really excited about it! It's a neat house with a lot of character and plenty of room for visitors......

Abby and Jacey. I was doing hospital orientation all last week, but Abby had fun going around with Grandma, Aunt Sherry (who she refered to as "nother grandma"), and Jacey. They went and toured the Capital building, Mary Washington's house, and Mount Vernon.

Abby and I made cookies this morning. She is wearing Auntie Sharon's apron and being a monkey as usual. :)

A few weekends ago we went to a park and down some trails. There are lots of nature trails and creeks around here. Abby ended up soaked head to toe, but had a lot of fun.

We had a long drive from Tennessee to Virginia. David and Syd drove a truck and towed a car. Abby and I drove the Jetta. She did really well (she usually doesn't ).

My pictures are a bit out of order, but you get the point. Hope you are all well. Keep in touch!!!

Florida

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:02:00 +0000

We took a quick trip to Florida last week. We drove down to Sebring on Wed. On Friday night we went down to Naples to stay the weekend. David's birthday was on Saturday and we had a great day on the beach. That night we took him out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was very yummy! Sunday we went to Kevin's church and then spent the rest of our time back in Sebring. It was a very fun and relaxing time. Here are a few of our beach pictures....

The water was very exciting and we had to watch her pretty closely as she has absolutely no fear of it and just goes on out! She got nocked down by the waves and went under a couple of times, but went straight back out for more.

Abby had a blast in the sand and loved the seashells too!

David and Jenn on the beach...Happy Birthday David!

Summer is Here

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:37:00 +0000

Well Tennessee summer has arrived. It is pretty steadily in the 80's and getting more humid by the day. We've been finding some fun warm weather things to do though. We've been spending more time at the Wickerts in the sprinkler and kiddie pool in the backyard and going to the playground. I think we are going to have to invest in waterbabies sunscreen as I have to almost bathe Abby in it every time we go out. :)

We've been swimming a lot more in the pool at our new apartment. We have two to chose from which is really nice. Above is Abby and David. She loves the water and is sometimes a little scary as she has no fear of it.

Jasen and Adam. The Wickerts all came down and spent the day last week. All the kids went swimming and had a blast.

Three tired cousins having a snack after swimming and a nap.

Another fun spot we've found is at a big shopping area near our house. In the center they have a big fountain and all the kids can play in it. Abby loves it. There's also a Starbucks right next to it so we can sit and drink coffee while she plays. I love it too!

Album Latest

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Here is a little video of Phil Keaggy on the Brian Mason radio show here in Nashville talking about the new album. A cut from the album has just finished playing when they begin to talk. I have the sound file of the whole thing but I'm not sure how to put sound files on blogger. Check my facebook, I'll try and put it up there.

Happy Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Abby turned TWO on Friday. All the Maloney's and Sheila were here for a big party on Saturday up at the Wickerts house. We had a great time. It was an animal themed party. We had games (that everyone including big people had to play), food, elephant cookies (thank you Becky they were adorable), cupcakes, and lots of presents. Here are just a few pictures...

Abby in a pile of presents. Thank you everyone!

Abby and her grandmas on the trampoline. :)

Animal cupcakes. Mmmm.

Another Abby Post

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:31:00 +0000

So I know that pretty much all of my posts revolve around Abby and pictures of Abby, but to be honest i don't really take pictures of much else. All is well here. We had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Gould last week. Sheila is still here and will be for the next month or so. She is going to stay with Abby while David and I head up to Minnesota next weekend.

Evan, Leah, and Abby on the trampoline. We now live on the north side of Nashville. One of the benefits of being up here is that we are much closer to the Wickerts and are able to see them a bit more. Abby loves the trampoline. I have no idea what they are all doing, but they are having fun. Another good thing about being up here is that we have started going to a new church. We already know some people who go here and it has been nice being able to get involved and get to know some new people better.

David and Abby at the park near the lake. We stopped to feed the ducks some animal crackers. Fortunately we didn't bring Sydney this time or she would have been going crazy trying to chase them, not that she would actually know what to do with a duck once she caught up to it. :)

Our last new obstacle has been the beginnings of potty training. We've been doing it a little bit mostly in the mornings. She likes to sit on the toilet, but just won't go. She holds it until she gets off and can go in her pull-up. Anybody have any suggestions? I guess she'll figure it out eventually.

The Latest

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:19:00 +0000

Well I don't have too much to say. We're all doing well. Abby is sick but on the mend. The weather is getting warmer again and she is enjoying being outside a lot more. We have moved again. From Antioch (which is on the south end of Nashville) to Rivergate (which is on the north end of Nasvhille). We are in an apartment and getting settled in nicely. We're much closer to David's sister, Helen, and family, and about the same distance to work for me. The house we were living in went back up for sale. It was sad to leave, but this is a nice area too. David and I are headed to Minnesota in May for a wedding. All the Grandma's and Grandpa's and an Aunt or two will be here for Abby's birthday at the end of May. We'll keep you updated and Happy Spring everyone!

A Quick Trip to Florida

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:35:00 +0000

We decided to make a somewhat spontaneous trip to Florida last weekend. David grandparents are visiting from England so we went down and spent the weekend at Kevin and Sheila's house visiting with them. It was the first time that Abby has met her Nana and Nandad and they had a blast. David and I also drove down to Kevin's church in Naples on Sunday. David and Kevin did some songs for the church. It was a nice and very relaxing weekend. The drive to and from, however, not so much. I think we may fly next time :)

David on the beach in Naples. We had perfect weather while we were there. 70's and sunny. I miss the ocean.

Abby and Grandpa cruising the neighborhood in the golf cart. She loved it and was constantly taking his hand to lead him to that cart "again again". And of course Grandpa can NOT say no. :)

Weekend Away

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:33:00 +0000

This past weekend I met up with four of my old college roommates. We went to Gatlinburg Tennessee where we rented a cabin. It was a great time just to relax and catch up with friends. We had a wedding and baby shower. Laura is having their first baby in March and Darlene is getting married in May. We had a hot tub, played some games, watched some movies, toured Gatlinburg, and went on the ski lift to the top of the mountain. Here a few pictures...

Darlene, Pam, Christina, Laura, and Jenn.

Our Cabin in the woods.

Oh, and here is what David and Abby did while I was gone...

Arise and Be Comforted

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:17:00 +0000

This last year has been one we definitely were not expecting. It's been hard and really good at the same time. It's been filled with uncertainties and questions but also filled with so many unexpected blessings. The last few days I have just felt tired, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I heard this song this morning. The words are here but if you have the opportunity to listen to the song it's really pretty. It's one that Kristina and David sang awhile back, but it just really encouraged me today. I hope it does the same for you...

Arise and be comforted
For the Lord, He is good to the weary
And even the young heart can tire and fall
But He knows them all
For the Lord, He will renew their strength
And they will soar on wings as eagles
And they will run and never grow weary
They will walk and not grow faint
For the Lord, He is good
Lift your eyes to the heavens
For the creator is living in you
Come surrender as you are

And know that you'll never stray too far
Let His power within you heal your heart
Lift your eyes to spacious skies
Let Him chart your way to flight
Spread your wings and fly
For the Lord, He is good

My Dad and I at Phil Keaggy's house

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:28:00 +0000

It funny how life throws curve balls at you now and again, this is one that I definitely didn't see coming.

Update: To answer all the questions...Miles Mckee (He came up for Joshua School a few years ago) introduced Kevin and David to Phil. The went to his house to check out his studio and such the other day. Very cool :)

Snow!!!

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:07:00 +0000

Last night it started to snow. A rare thing in Tennessee. We woke up to find lots still on the ground this morning. So after breakfast, Abby and I went outside and played in the snow. I like snow. Especially around Christmas time. Hope you all have a white Christmas!!!

We went out to see the snow last night.

Abby and our snowman. She was a bit wet and cold by this point and not too excited about a picture.

Thanksgiving, Phil, and the beginings of Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:13:00 +0000

Well its now December. We don't have a Christmas tree yet, but next weekend we will. The Elvis Christmas CD is playing and its even gotten quite cool here. Thanksgiving was filled with lots of friends and food. I'll put a few pictures on, but you can see even more on the links to the Wickerts' blog and Becky's blog.

Another fun thing we got to do right before Thanksgiving was to go see Phil Keaggy in concert. Phil has been one of David's all time favorites for many years. I was introduced to his music mostly while we were dating and really like it. We even had one of his songs in our wedding. Anyway, it was a great concert and a lot of fun to go out.

Last night we took Abby to the Opryland Hotel to look at Christmas lights. It was beautiful. We had a lot of fun looking at all of the Christmas trees and light displays. Afterwards we came home and all had hot chocolate. Abby especially enjoyed having for the first time her very own cup of hot chocolate, with marshmallows too.

Virginia Trip

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:28:00 +0000

This past weekend Abby and I got to fly to Virginia for the weekend to visit all of my family. My sisters, Sharon and Allison, both had birthdays last week so we got to be there for a big birthday party for them. Neither of them knew we were coming so it was a fun surprise. I actually didn't get too many pictures, but here are a few...

My mom is a great grandma. She saved a lot of our old toys as kids. So when we are there out come the old "Little People" city, cars, and house (complete w/ seventy's decor). She also has all of our old barbies for in a few years. This is Alli and Abby having fun with the little people. :)

She had a blast and soaked up all of the attention from Grandma, Grandpa, and both her Aunties.

This was actually right before we left. She likes going in our big bath tub with LOTS of bubbles.

Lastly here is a little video of my Micky Mouse obsessed daughter. There is a Mickey Mouse music video that she loves. It's kind of hard to hear, but she is singing "hot dog, hot dog, hot diggidy dog. Mickey Mouse Club House." She is starting to talk more and more and its lots of fun, but i'm also starting to get a lot more opinions about what she does and does not want to do. I guess that's the latest for now. We are expecting a house full of people next week for Thanksgiving. Hope you are all doing well!

Friends

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:16:00 +0000

The last few weeks have been a lot of fun. First we had my friend Laura (we went to school together) and her baby to be (in March) come for a weekend. Then the following week we had Kristi and Hannah (from Ketchikan) come for a visit. Kristi and Hannah (see the above picture) were here for about a week then traveled down to visit Kristi's in-laws in Florida. They then came back for a few days before heading home to K-town. Hannah and Abby had a lot of fun together, even though it was a learning experience for Abby to share toys. They actually played really well together. We also had some fun at the Zoo with Helen and the boys and even got a girls night out while David bravely watched both the little girls:) It's so much fun to see and spend time with good friends.

Hannah and Abby playing in the kitchen.

Pajama tea party.

Hannah, Jaden, Helen, and the camel. The zoo was great. There was almost no one else there. We were told that many of the animals might not be out, but we saw quite a few and played on the jungle gym. The kids all had a great time.

Helen and Abby petting the goats.

Abby and Jaden walking at the zoo. I just thought this was a really cute picture. Abby loves her cousins.

Fall

noreply@blogger.com (David, Jenn, and Abby) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:10:00 +0000

Time continues to slip by quickly. We are doing well and enjoying some much cooler weather. There are tons of fall festivals and farms around here. We have visited a couple and have seen animals, pumpkins, corn, tractors, and lots more. Here are a few of our pictures.

Abby in the pumpkin patch.

Hannah and Abby riding tractors (Dad - this one is for you).

Jenn and Abby .David and Abby petting the piglets.