Australian Open Women's Final

The question: "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" has been asked by many since the, now, 19 year-old Russian diva began her ascent to the top seeded position in tennis. The answer: match her up against a Serena Williams with something to prove. Welcome back Serena!

Serena entered the open seeded 82nd in the world. Coming back from a knee injury and months out of real competition, not even her mother gave her a vote of confidence stating that she was "rusty". Serena battled a cold, blisters, and constant near losses during her road to the finals. She was on a mission to prove that she is still a contender, and a dangerous one at that.

After watching the semis matches between Sharapova and Clijsters, and Williams and Vaidisova I was confident that Serena would win the open. In the semis Maria's service game was so atrocious she should have lost. Unfortunately, Clijsters seemed to have taken pity on her a allowed her to win by playing even more atrociously.

The morning after the semis matches I prophetically told Trevan that if Sharapova played against Serena the way she played Kim, Serena would destroy her. I was right! After six double faults on Maria's part and only 3 games won during the entire match, the score was a definitive 6-1, 6-2. Serena won in straights without even seeing a fight from Maria.

I thoroughly enjoyed the match! Maria's constant groaning, grunting and screaming drive me crazy, so it was nice to have Serena shut her up. Sometimes I feel this undeniable urge to hit the "mute" button and just watch her (Maria) matches in silence. Although I would not pay to see her play, I would kill for her legs!

I am greatly anticipating the men's final!

Funny Story

It took three weeks to get the den ready for a fresh coat of paint. Hard work went into taking the wallpaper off the trim, washing down the walls, spackling all the nail holes and sand papering the lumps all over the wall.

Last night we got all our gear ready and started painting. We used a lamp in addition to the ceiling light to make sure we had good visibility. It took a little over an hour to get the room painted. By end of the night we were giddy with anticipation.

This morning Trevan left early for board meeting and I went to clean up the den to get it ready for furniture. The color looked lighter than it had last night and...what is that? Are those streaks? Oh no, the whole wall is not painted properly! To my horror I discovered that although we thought we had enough lighting, it was not enough. We had missed some areas.

Laughter started bubbling out of me. It was so funny to think how excited we had been to have the room completed and now this! When Trevan got back from board meeting we went around the room and assessed the damage, or lack there off. We fixed the "problem areas", and are now hoping that tomorrow we will claim the victory over the den and finally have one room completed.

I promise I will show you pictures once it is all done. I want the transformation to be really dramatic...

The First Couple Weeks

Wow! It has been a rough couple weeks. I am starting to get into the flow of Richmond, the new house, the re-decorating and painting, but the pastor's wife thing is coming along a bit slowly.

Last week Trevan was gone every single night, except for Friday. That was hard! I am so use to having him around. This week has been a bit better, but most of our time together is spent working on the house. We have been working on unpacking, removing wallpaper, sanding walls, priming and lots of other odd jobs. When we aren't working on the house I am talking about the house. What color should we paint the den? I think we should ask the people at Home Depot how much it would cost to change the floor in the bathroom. Should we paint our cabinets in the kitchen or get new ones? I am just full of ideas and questions that take over every single conversation we have.

Finally tonight we were able to have a nice date night and just hang out with each other for a couple hours. We went out to eat and then just drove down a couple streets just to explore the area. I begin to see how important having a regular date night is going to be.

I'm TIRED!

Things have been extremely crazy the past couple days.
Friday - find out that grandpa died...slept most of the day to block out the pain.
Sabbath - went to two different churches and hung out with family and friends.
Sunday - after meeting with two groups of friends we were too tired to celebrate the new year.
Monday - went to see grandpa Osborn then drove to Richmond for a walk-through of our house.
Tuesday - closed on the house and started moving things in.
Wednesday - moved into our house and started unpacking.
Thursday - the house has a few more problems than we originally thought so there is a lot more work.
Friday - desperately try to unpack more of the overwhelming boxes. Drove out two hours to meet my brother who was on his way to Tennessee and was bringing my car down.
Sabbath - visit our church for the first time and have practically forgotten most of the people I met today...have to do better than that.

Bottom Line - I AM TIRED! Our house still needs months of work. Anyways. I will keep you updated on all the fun projects we work on.

NOTE: I spoke to my parents who are in Costa Rica for my grandpa's funeral. They said all went well and that the funeral was very well attended (standing room only!) My dad said that my grandma is doing a lot better than they thought and that she is dealing with it really well. I am very happy to hear that! Thanks for your prayers and support.

My Grandfather

People say that daughters usually marry someone that reminds them of their father. In my case, I think I choose someone that reminds me of my grandfather. Grandpa Pottinger has been skinny his whole life, much like Trevan. He loves eating! In fact, his favorite thing is candy. Needless to say, Christmas gifts for grandpa were always a dead giveaway. I would get him a big bag of candy that he would take to his room and eat little by little till the following Christmas.

One of my favorite things about grandpa Pottinger is his passion for life. Whether he was telling a story about ghosts, or one about his neighbors, emotions would run so high in him that he would start crying! His enthusiasm rubbed off sometimes and we would all be crying after a sad story.

Although we never talked much, it was always pleasant to just sit his front deck and see him say hello to the people that passed by.

This year I want to take Trevan to meet grandpa Pottinger...It was approximately 9 in the morning on Friday when my phone rang. It was my father..."Grandpa died at 4:45 this morning" WHAT? Oh No! My heart sank and my head started to pound.

Yes, grandpa was 96 and he had some health problems, but death always takes you by surprise. I find myself asking selfish questions: Why couldn't grandpa wait till next year so Trevan would have a chance to meet him? Why did he leave me? What am I suppose to do now that I don't have a grandpa anymore (my other grandpa died before my parents were married)?

Finally I am coming to grips with the reality that I am not going to have my family with me forever. I am thankful to God for the opportunity to visit my granny this year, and I pray that He will keep my grandma Pottinger alive long enough for me to see her again.