Why can't fun things go slower and lame things fly by? I can not believe our first Octoberfest in Vermont has come and gone. It has almost been a full week since the 5th annual "Hammond Drop-In Day". The crowd was smaller this year than in years past, which is to be expected when you move 1,200 miles from home. But I was still so surprised by the amazing turnout we did have.
Amy and Nathan made their anniversary pilgrimage from Orlando to be with us last weekend. Happy anniversary today BTWs! I think they get the award for greatest distance traveled. Second and third place go to Austin, who flew in from Jacksonville, and Ashleigh, who flew up from D.C. I would also like to recognize that Michelle has been at every Octoberfest, which ties her for perfect attendance with me and Adam. To those of you recognized, your dedication and faithfulness will not go uncompensated. You will each receive an oil painting of Adam and I as merpeople, as well as a lifetime of friendship and love:)
Having Austin and Courtney here meant we had the complete set of Nall siblings at Octoberfest this year - very fitting for the 5th anniversary, since their parents were the ones who inspired our drop in day tradition. Thanks Nalls! We also had representation from our friends in Mass, Maine, and New Hampshire (I know the last one isn't saying much since it is 2 minutes from us) - not to mention all of our in-town friends from Adam's residency, my work, and church drop by.
There were so many newbies to share all our Ofest traditions with, which have accumulated over the years. As usual the weekend was full of good food. There were several fires despite all the wet wood from tropical storm Nicole. Segway, Catan, and telephone-pictionary were enjoyed. Lots of Coffee and Beer were consumed (we actually made $6.25 from a bottle redemption place near our house. woo hoo!). Many great convos were had, several naps taken, and the occasional dance party. I saw 3 a.m. for the first time in a while, not including after hour pee breaks. We also started a new tradition of a Saturday morning hike (which may only be a tradition while we live in VT). It was a little tough to rouse everyone after a late night, but totally worth it once we got going. And we squeezed in several rounds of "no errors starting now" in a giant field we came across mid-hike. The Gator game was viewed (but not on the big screen this year) and sadly the Octoberfest curse continues. Luckily, we stick together through all types of weather. Much of the game was spent telling stories about overcoming adversity to lift everyone's spirits. My favorite was the one shared by Nathan, where he recounted a recent breaking news story about a woman who fought off a bear in her yard with an over-sized zucchini. Very inspiring. Other than the game, and the random drop-in guy who rolled backward down a very steep hill in our yard, and rumor of someone almost being hit by a hatchet....the weekend was a success. We are looking forward to next year, where hopefully all of you who were here in spirit, can be here in person. That will be baby Ham's first Ofest (out of utero).
The weekend before Ofest Adam and I got to experience a new Young Life camp. Since we just recently started helping out with Upper Valley YL we went to leadership weekend in Saranac, NY. It was so beautiful! I really got to see how amazing fall is on our drive from New Hampshire to New York. The leaves were incredible. I learned a new derogatory VT term for voyeurs who come to take in all the beauty of our state and consequently drive like crap - "leaf peepers." Oh you Vermonters- always so harsh with your words.
It is crazy to see a whole new face of YL, but I couldn't help but miss all the peeps I have had the joy of doing ministry with in the South. We have a small group of leaders up here, but it was great getting to bond with them for the weekend. We already knew the area director and his wife pretty well because they have really taken us under their wing since before we even moved up here - they gave us a place to stay while we were looking for one, watched Jamie for us, helped us move in. They have been a huge blessing in our lives and we are so thankful for them.
As for pregnancy, I am still feeling good. I am 31 weeks as of yesterday. The only more serious issue I have had is something they don't have a distinct clinical name for, but a family physician informed me that it is appropriately termed "Vagina Knife" on the street. Basically, a stabbing cervical pain woke me up in the night last Sunday and I felt a ton of pressure. I laid awake for a little while, but was able to fall back asleep. I got a call to sub the next day at an elementary school and I went. I still had this baseline of stabbing pain, but I thought I could make it through the day. But there were points where it would get so intense, I would notice myself stop breathing for a bit. So then I tried to practice breathing through the pain - again, good practice for labor right? I didn't make it very far. I wasn't too worried because Hamlet was still moving a lot and I didn't feel any contractions, but it was just super painful. I dropped the kids off at PE a few hours into the day and that is when I started to feel chills. I got really nauseous and started to feel like I was gonna yuke. I got up to tell the teacher next door I wasn't feeling so hot and as soon as I stood up, I stopped being able to hear and everything started to feel tingly (as a seasoned fainter I knew that was no good). Luckily, the teacher next door just happened to walk in to say hey and immediately asked if I was okay. She went and got the school nurse:) And my friend came to pick me up to take me to my midwife. She said it could be a mix of things. I was pretty dehydrated....which makes a uterus irritable. Plus, when she checked my cervix she said it wasn't dilated or effaced, but it had moved forward, which happens sometime before birth and little Ham had moved way down since my last visit less than a week ago. I guess if that happens fast it can cause V.K. especially when mixed with dehydration. Her other explanation was this could be your new baseline...to which I responded, "b#&%h - you are crazy!" -in my head. Thank goodness after an afternoon of sitting on the couch and drinking about 6 Nalgenes of water, I learned that was not my baseline because I would have been a complete grump for the next 10 weeks. Well it is sunny here, so I am about to go walk my trails and take advantage of this beautiful weather while it is still around!
Oh, and to my honey.....Happy Engagiversary! (Well it was yesterday...I just didn't get around to posting this until today:)
