Quick Pettit Family Update

In one day I will officially be done with my first trimester! Thank goodness, I am hoping that means the sickness will soon go away. I also have a cold which doesn't help.
Today we had our last first trimester doctor's appointment. The doctor said everything looks great with our alien baby. I don't have to go back for another month so that is nice. I included two pictures from the ultrasound today.

I hope this doesn't mean our baby is going to be a thumb sucker!


The 3-D photo of our alien baby!

Other than baby news, life has been interesting here. On Wednesday Kyle got over $1000 of military gear stolen out of his locker at work. It should be tons of fun replacing it all. I have a feeling he will be getting gear for Christmas!
He also went to the doctor because of his cold, plus he has been having these horrible night sweats. I wake up to go pee and I am usually soaked in his sweat. The bed feels like he had an accident come morning time. The doctor had such positive news regarding this. He said it could be one of three things...
1) Tuberculosis. Kyle has been a carrier of TB since his last deployment to Iraq. But just because you carry it, doesn't mean you have the disease. Well, apparently night sweats is a common sign that the disease is no longer dormant.
2) Malaria. Three of the people Kyle was deployed with and worked closely with in Afghanistan have already come down with this disease. So this is a very possible answer also.
3) Thyroid Problem. Now, this is a more positive outlook. It's not good, but better than the other options.
I am sure you can all guess which option number we are hoping for. Plus they can't do anything for this cold until they figure out what is wrong with him. He had blood work today, which could take up to a week to process. Jokingly I told Kyle that with his luck his results would be "well you have malaria, which weakened your immune system and then allowed tuberculosis to become active, and yes, you also have a thyroid problem." I just say that because he has horrible luck with everything. The doctor also took back x-rays because they think he has fractured vertebrae in his back...oh the goodness is just overwhelming.
We also found out great new that Kyle will be leaving Nov. 12-Dec. 11. I am pretty bummed that he will be missing Thanksgiving, but "thankful" he will be back in time for Christmas. He is going to Warrior Leadership Training for a month.
Even though life is a little rocky at the moment we are trying to stay strong in our faith and continue to pray that God will see us through it all. It is hard sometimes to understand why with have to go through so many unpleasant things at times, but we know that God has a reason for everything. (I just wish He would fill me in one the reasons sometimes)

Weekend In Garmisch.

Kyle and I had a fun weekend down in Garmisch. It really was a last minute trip, that ended up being a very relaxing time. Friday night we went to a late dinner with some friends after arriving in town. We ate at the Edelwiess Lodge and Resort which is for the US military and we had American Hamburgers that were awesome! We got to sleep in then we walked around downtown for a while. After lunch we went out to the lake to see about renting paddle boats which were out of season, so we walked about 20 minutes and found a nice place on the shore to take a nap. We slept for about 2 hours before waking up just in time before the sun went down. I was very surprised at the nice weather...I guess we went just in time before the snow hits. I must say there isn't much better than waking next to the lake surrounded by the mountains!
The picture of Kyle and I was taken right after we woke up from our nap.

What? A Baby!

Today our secret was told...by a six year old.
It's true, Kyle and I are expecting our first child. We are in about the middle of my 11th week. We have been keeping it pretty quiet, just telling family and close friends. Plus I thought I needed to tell my boss because I am always sick. Other than that no one really knows. I am not showing yet, (I feel fatter, but apparently I don't look that way yet) so today when one of my former students came up and hugged me, looked at me, then touched my stomach, and really loud says "Mrs. Pettit, you have a baby in there!" everyone was shocked standing around. His teacher started to correct him and tell him that was an unkind thing to say, I told him that it was okay that he was right, I am actaully pregnant. I figured there was no sense in him getting in trouble for something that he was right about. I suppose I could have played it off, but I figure that it is okay to start telling people now, plus I really just love this kid and didn't want him to get in trouble (he is always in trouble, so I didn't want to add to him problems).
We are very excited, and I am so looking forward to second trimester when everyone says you start feeling better! I included our two pictures of Baby Pettit.

7 Weeks


10 Weeks

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

So Kyle is a huge fan of this season for one reason...Pumpkin Pie. We even have pumpkin pie candles throughout the house. Well, I am always trying to find other pumpkin recipes that he will like, which really isn't a challenge (he likes just about anything), but this weekend, he told me he now has a new favorite. Saturday morning is really the only day I get to make us breakfast as Kyle leaves at around 5-5:30 every morning. By the time he gets home from PT, I am at school, so he is on his own for breakfast. Then Sunday, we usually eat something fast on the way to church as we like to sleep in as long as possible. So, this weekend, I tried a new recipe for Spiced Pumpkin waffles. I am not as huge of a pumpkin fan as Kyle so I was skeptical, but they really were yummy, so yummy that I thought I would share.
This recipe is from Country Living.

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles
Serves 8
Ingredients
2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
4 large eggs
2 Cups buttermilk
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 Cup dark brown sugar
1/4 Cup unsalted butter (melted)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
1) Preheat a waffle iron. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside.
2) Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.
3) Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and book the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with the remaining batter.
4) Serve with hot maple syrup and fresh sliced pears.

Our visit to Prague, Czech Republic

Kyle and I went to Prague, Czech Republic this weekend. We ended up having an interesting experience. Due to traffic jams, and road construction we ended up on dirt roads for about 22 km (20 on the way there and 2 on the way home)of our trip. I was surprised our GPS even knew that these roads existed. The roads in the Czech Republic were bad enough on the highway; huge pot holes, bumpy, and just awful, so you can only imagine what these dirt roads were like. I was not sure that our car was going to survive the trip. However, while I always tell Kyle what a horrible driver he is, I can tell his time in Iraq and Afghanistan helped in bad road conditions. He was very good at dodging those pot holes, however, I am pretty sure he was on the lookout for IEDs too! I can't say to much, as I was positive some big Czech guys with guns were going to come out of the the trees and rob us.
Upon arriving in Prague Friday night, we had the exciting test of finding our hotel. We knew it would nothing to fancy, but it was pretty close to awful. We had to put our beds back together before we could even lay on them and breakfast was served in a dirty little bar in the basement of the hotel. The neighborhood was very scary (at least for me), everything is so close together and so run down, I guess that is what happens from a war torn country that is recovering from years of communism. On the positive note, there were no hookers around the hotel that we saw. They were hitchhiking all throughout the city and highways. We had been warned about all the hookers and theft in the Czech, we couldn't even rent a car to take, because of the auto theft rates in Prague.
Also, upon arriving in the country we started seeing villages of homes that are about the size of our bedroom. We thought the might be abandoned, but there was lots of laundry hanging outside, so I assume people are still living in them. I found this very sad and interesting, I wish I had been able to take a picture of them. However, I doubt they really would appreciate a tourist taking pictures of their home.
While Prague is a beautiful town with a lot of interesting sites, and history, I can't say it is a place I would ever go back to. I am thankful for the experience, and am reminded of how thankful I am to be an American.
Here are a few pictures of our trip for your enjoyment

-Part of the dirt road our GPS took us down.

-Beth with castle in background

-The world's largest inhabited castle

-Totally Europe. People kissing everywhere.

-Kyle standing with the church of St. Peter and Paul in background

-View of Prague Castle and Charles Bridge

-Kyle standing with a foggy Prague behind him.

-Beth standing in front of the Prague Castle

-Old Town Hall and astronomical clock

-Jewish Cemetery. Over 200,000 Jews were buried here, the oldest stone dating 1439. Hitler was going to put a museum in Prague about the extinct race of the Jews.

A Fall Wedding in Germany

Beccy and Barrett

From the Church overlooking Zeil am. Main

Beth standing in front of the church.

Kyle, Barrett, Austin, and Will

Kyle and Beth overlooking the city after the ceremony.

Kyle and I went to a wedding yesterday. Our friends Barrett and Beccy had their German wedding. It was in the most beautiful setting at a church on top of a hill overlooking the city Zeil am. Main. Because it is fall the colors were just beautiful. After the ceremony, which we attended, but understood none of, we went to the reception. There we really had a great time. Kyle had a good time driving there in the convoy honking his horn at everyone. At the reception we were surrounded by wonderful people, all of who spoke some English. Most of them spoke very good English, we were very impressed. So we enjoyed great company, good food, and German's have great wedding games. Our favorite was one we both participated in, it is like musical chairs, but when the music stops an object is shouted out and you must find it before you sit down. Examples are: belts, id cards, tie, purse, 2 euro coin, and the most interesting was toilet paper. There is only a small bathroom in the restaurant and about 11 people are running for it. The catch was after you got out, you had a penalty card, and on the cards were different jobs that you do for the bride and groom. Kyle has to wash their car and I get to take their dog for a walk. The winner is being taken out of dinner for the bride and groom. The wedding was at 3pm and we got home at midnight and the party was still going, we were told the party would go on for most of the night. Thank you Barrett and Beccy for letting us share in this special day with you both!