Issues

Well, "tomorrow" has turned into two weeks later. I forgot when I promised the next round of Ireland pictures that Don was taking a block course and thus needing the computer during the day. We have all the Ireland photos on his laptop which was at school with him. Then, when that was finished we finally downloaded the newest version of iLife to our Macs which has changed the way we need to upload pics. We are trying to figure out how to upload pictures from iPhoto to blogger. We know there has to be an easier way than what we've been doing, it just simply takes time to sit down and figure it out. We have figured out how to do it on Facebook, which has turned out to be easier. So, needless to say . . . the Ireland Day 2 and following pics are coming . . . but will be uploaded to facebook before blogger. So, if you are a Facebooker - Good News! We'll have new Ireland pics to come, if not, please continue to be patient with the authors of this blog as we seek to expedite our time and be effective bloggers. =) No need to comment, there is no pictures with this post, unless you are a Mac user with insight into our issue.

Ireland - Day 1

Top of the mornin' to ya!

I'm going to do my best to bring out some of the best pictures to capture our adventure to Ireland. We took well over 500 photos and it is quite overwhelming to decide which ones best illustrate the beauty of this country. I'm sorry that we can't do a slide show, which would cut down the actual length of these posts, but then our #1 fan to our blog - my mommy - wouldn't be able to see the photos. So, please bear with us as we seek to encapsulate our very wonderful trip.

Day 1 - Day of Travel and Adjustment
We met up with our good buddies and travel companions, TJ and Shannon Logsdon (who have done a very great job on their blog as well - so go here to check it out from their vantage point). We drove to DC and ate a scrumptious last American meal made by our friends Ben and Carissa Smith. Carissa then took us to the airport and we started our very long day of travel. We flew out at 7:15 or so Sunday evening, and arrived in Ireland at 7:00 ish AM - Ireland time. So, in what we had read to beat jet lag, we needed to stay up until our normal bed time. So, we spent the day, getting to our accommodations and acquainting ourselves with the little town of Adare. (We did sneak in a little nap, which helped enough to make it through until 9 or 10 o'clock).



Our faithful and fun travel companions - TJ and Shannon (in green to honor Ireland!)



Don and I having fun at the airport!



Adare Manor - The mansion on the property where we stayed. We stayed at the town-homes at a separate section of the property.



Adventures on the grounds - we found a garden, the ritzy golf course, a pet cemetary, one of the oldest Cedars of Lebanon in Ireland, and a hobbit hole (or maybe it was just the firewood shed).



TJ and Shannon walking in the rain, around the gardens and stone walls.



The first Irish food at an authentic Irish Pub! The guys got real used to us girls saying "We're Hungry".



The four of us at the entrance to the Manor.



The boys having fun in the Manor.



In the library of the Manor



Prego Break - with the Peanut M&M's



The Manor at Night



Bailey's Coffee - in the library - many tired, giddy laughs were had around this little table that night! Good Memories!



Don with his Bailey's Coffee next to the fire.

. . . for day two and following . . . check back to The Hines' Herald tomorrow! (or visit Katrina's Facebook for all of day 1's photos)

Finished Projects

Thanks for all the great ideas and participation on our last post. The winner of the "Guess What Don is Making Contest" goes to Tricia who was the first to give the correct answer of what Don was making. Some "Guess What Don is Making Contest" honorable mentions are the Reads, Abby, Tim & Kristen, and Julie who all had the right idea as well. We really liked the thinking outside the box of Erin, Travis & Becky and the Gartland's who all suggested an aquarium - Don has actually seen one like that which got his wheels turning with other ideas. Thanks Logsdons, for being VERY creative and trying to sway votes, even though you've known for a while what's been up Don's sleeve! =)

The Finished Product



The Before Picture Again . . .



Also, I have been working on my painting project - making diamonds on the accent wall of the nursery. First time to be this creative. Normally, I just slop some paint on the walls and call it good, but I didn't know when I would have the freedom to do painting like this again, so I searched for ideas and Jalyn Ickes gave me this one. Thanks Jalyn, it turned out awesome!



The pencil lines before paint . . .



Ever since we have had our windows replaced, I had kept two of them to refinish for decoration throughout the home. So, I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for me. I stripped them and repainted them. I am still struggling with what to do with them. I would be open to suggestions. Here are my thoughts, initially just hang on wall to accent the diamonds, but eventually add some photos of our little Kate when she arrives.

Any Guesses?

This is the before picture of Don and "his project" for the nursery. I thought we would make this a little interesting and give you an opportunity to see if you can guess what the outcome of this will be. What is Don making from an old TV? The first contestant to guess what he is making will be given the esteemed title of "The Hines Herald Guess What Don is Making Winner"! The winner will be showered with the right-to-brag and the sense of pride that comes from knowing they were right! The contest will run through Saturday, when I will reveal Don's finished project as well as some of the nursery updates - which are quite exciting. Now, some contest rules . . . 1. If you know what Don is making because we have told you - you are automatically disqualified from winning (but have the bragging rights that you knew before others); however, you may try to sway voters by giving ridiculous, hilarious, or other types of wrong answers 2. Only one vote per person, but not per household 3. Finally, have fun thinking outside the box as my awesome hubby did!

A Visit to the 700 Club

A few days ago, Don was drawn to a small 1" x 2" add in our local paper that announced the need of a studio audience for the taping of the 700 Club with guests MercyMe. It simply gave a number to call and that was about all the information listed. When I called, they took my name and how many guests would be attending. I was able to get my good teaching buddy and carpool friend, Emily Flatt, to commit to go with me as well as her friend who was visiting for President's Day, Abby. We headed to the studio and found it without much need of help. We were whisked into the studio, through the metal detectors, to our third row seats. We watched the behind-the-scenes work of the camera men, producers, and assistants as they taped Monday's show. It was complete with Pat Robertson and co-anchor Kristi Watts (who was a quite hilarious off camera), Q & A time from the audience to Pat, news reals, and stories from around the world. By half-way through the hour program, the main guests we came to see walked in during a commercial break - the members of MercyMe. We ended up being seated right next to where they were playing and had front row seats to this part of the show. They sang "God with Us" from their latest CD "All That is Within". It was really wonderful to hear their testimony in song as well as during the short interview section. They spoke of their families and the importance of that role to them and how they make it a priority by not traveling more than four days in a row away from wife and kids. I was truly thankful to see these guys who desired to reflect Christ in their songs, in their humility, and in their call to ministry to others through music. Afterwards, we were almost first in line to get autographs and pictures.



The studio - sorry it's a dark photo, if you look cross-eyed and squint, you may be able to see Kristi Watts at the news desk above the bald headed man in front row (she is wearing red).



MercyMe - while at commerical break



Photo Op with Pat Robertson (blue jacket) - they put their guitars around his neck and made for quite the picture!



Mike Scheuchzer (guitar), me with eyes closed and baby bump barely noticable due to outfit (it changes day to day with the outfit selection!), Jim Bryson (keys)



Drummer - Robby Shaffer - captured by lead singer. Funny story - my camera was having issues, it wasn't taking pictures and I stood posed next to them for a some time, while poor Emily tried to fix the camera. Lead singer, Bart Miller, took the camera to fix it and eventually took this picture of Robby to see if it worked - well it did - and he captured the next self portrait of us too! It was quite funny and very "real" of them.



The self-portrait pose with Bart Miller



Nathan Cochran (bass), Me, Emily, Abby, Barry Graul (guitar)

Oh - and did I mention that this was FREE?! It was a lot of fun and quite the experience.



And just so you all know, a week ago, I turned one year older - I am currently, um, let me think about this, I was born in 81, subtract from 08 . . . borrow . . . uh, so I guess that makes me . . . 27. Yeah - I'm having problems remembering how old I am already! Thanks for all the birthday wishes from my Facebook buddies and also to those buddies who sent me cards! I really appreciate it!

Announcing . . . (Drum Roll Please!)

. . . THE BRINK'S HOME SECURITY TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR FOR 2007 IS . . . (drum roll climaxes and cuts off)



DON WILLIAM HINES III

That's right, my husband, Don Hines (A.K.A. Don, Donny, Dono, etc.) earned the esteemed title of Technician of the Year! He has been working for Brink's for the past four years with MANY awards for his contributions to his company by being awarded Tech. of the Month for several months (we have a stack of plaques from this), but this is the first time he was awarded this title. The managers keep track of all the tech's numbers that represent how they are doing on the field. Each month they are given a little bonus if they achieve the tech of the month, and at the end of the year they compare all the techs numbers for the whole year, and your's truly came out on top! I am so proud of his accomplishments!! He works very hard to be a great testimony by the way in which he deals with his customers, his bosses, his co-workers, and his company. He has come home many times with compliments and I am so glad that he has been recogized in this way, since this will most likely be his last opportuntiy to recieve this reward, because it is probably his last full year of being an employee of Brinks.

And I saved the best for last . . . what has he won?!

A four day vacation to FLORIDA! He gets free airfare, free food, free tickets to several theme parks, give aways, and HE GETS PAID TO GO! I'm so thrilled for him! He will have a great time! There has been talk of me being able to go with him, but as of right now, we are still unsure. If so, while he is playing, I'll spend my time lying by the pool and reading some great parenting books! =)

Merry Christmas To Me!

For part of my Christmas gift this year Don gave me tickets to a professional beach volleyball tournament, called AVP Hot Winter Nights Tour. They transformed the Old Dominion University Basketball Center into a sand volleyball court - which was quite amazing! They had four men and four women from the AVP that competed in a round robin tournament, which basically means that they switched partners to play with each round and were playing for individual reward as opposed to playing with a specific partner (as they normally do). They had a final game, where the player that won the most amount of times in the round robin would choose their partner to try to win the whole tournament. It was quite fun to see these unbelievable players at such a close level and really see the speed and agility!




The arena transformed to hold the sand volleyball court in the middle!



Don - up close and personal with some of the guys practicing. The guy immediately behind him is Stein Metzger. He was a 2004 Athens Olympian and took fifth place with his parter. He was the guy that was highlighted on this tournament, although, I don't think he was playing his best this night!



Katrina - getting up close & personal with some of the girls practicing - Behind me to my right is Tyra Turner (yellow headband) - she is heading to the 2008 Beijing Olympics to represent the USA. The other girl to my left (next to the guy holding the camera) is Rachel Wacholder who also will be representing the USA in the 2008 Olympics.



The Serve



Another shot of the serve taken my my awesome photographer husband, Don!



The Happy Couple



Me and the S.W.A.G. (Stuff We All Get). I was so excited when they started passing these around for the final rounds!! I see them all the time when I watch the games on TV and even told Don that I hoped they would pass them out for this too, but I didn't figure they would. Surprise, surprise! (Godiva had fun popping them when we got home! Merry Christmas to her too!)



A picture with Barbra Fontana - the 1996 Atlanta Olympian who took 4th place for the USA. She is a mother of two boys and a lawyer! She passed the California Bar exam in the 80's! Quite the lady!

Thanks again, Donny, for the great Christmas gift! It was a lot of fun and great to spend some nice time alone with my best friend! I love you!


BONUS MATERIAL:

For all those baby bump addicts out there, I have posted my 27 week photo or entering my third trimester!



Notice the nice Cotton Candy Pink walls!



The full side shot! Sorry, I have been so bad with this!! I wanted to be good with this, since I am always curious what my friends look like pregnant too! And I vowed I would post pictures of myself, no matter how huge I felt or looked, because I know how badly I want to see others like that too. Everytime I think about taking a picture, I always have an excuse as to why I can't at that moment, and then I forget. I'll try to keep you more up to date with the changing of my pregnant body! Thanks for your patience! =)

. . . Since Thanksgiving . . . Part Four

We've been decorating the nursery!!

When we found out we were having a baby girl, I already had in my mind what I wanted to do with the nursery! We are doing pink (of course), white, and black accents. So we began with storing our guest bedroom furniture with our church (thanks Pastor and Jalyn) for my mom to get when she comes down. Then we began painting. Our first project was a crib that was given to us. We wanted black furniture, so we got some spray paint and began. I must admit that it really turned out great!! We were also pleasantly surprised that when putting the crib together without instructions, that we were able to complete it in about 45 minutes with only one or two re-dos. Don was even recovering from a cold!



Step #1 - Slight sanding and priming



Step #2 - Paint Black



Step #3 - Move to inside - touch up.



Step #4 - Assemble!

Don has had an itch, since we found out we were expecting, to put his creativity to work and build something nice for the baby. When he was on Christmas break, he was able to work on "his creation" without the pull of school as well. It is almost finished, but I think we will wait for it to be finished for the big reveal - I know, I know, I'm aweful!


I've also had a crafty idea that I've been meaning to do for a while that I am also working on for the nursery. I've started, but the Virginia yucky winter (if you'd call it that) has put a damper on my creativity. So, I will also reveal that with the before and after pictures. . . Later. =)


Lastly, we had the daunting task of picking out fabric for the bedding, which Grandma Katie is going to be making for her namesake, Kate. Then following that, we picked out the paint. I've got one coat of the "cotton candy" pink done and it will need another coat to be completely finished with that. Then, I spoke with my Pastor's wife, Jalyn, about some possibilities of what to do different with the walls, since she is a paint/decorating queen. She gave me the idea of doing some diamonds on an accent wall. So, we have a shade darker pink that we will alternate with the wall color pink in the diamonds. I am really excited to see what it will look like. Again, I will post pictures later.

So, I guess the theme of this post, is that we are working on our nursery, and as things finish up (within the next three months - since I am entering my last trimester this week!!!!) we'll be posting our before and after pictures of our projects. Stay tuned!

. . . Since Thanksgiving . . . Part Three

We found out we were having a baby GIRL!!!

Don and I had plans of being surprised by the gender of our baby at the birth, but many of those reasons were trumped by the reasons for finding out the gender early. We had heard from a some good friends that if you don't find out, you are more likely to get the things you NEED at showers rather than cute, frilly outfits. Right now, I have a church shower planned, but the bigger showers with our families will be after the birth anyway - so that reason was completely knocked out.

Another reason we had for waiting and being surprised was that we were planning on moving quite soon after the baby was born, since Don will be graduating in May. If that was the case, then I wouldn't really spend much time in putting decorations up for just a month or two. However, the earliest we would be moving would be August/September with also the possibility of staying for another whole year (depending on which way the Lord directs our family). So, another reason to not find out hit the fan.

Many other factors brought us to the point of choosing to find out. So, we had our ultrasound December 20th and had the nurse put the results in a little red box (the one we are holding in front of the Christmas tree on the last post). We decided that we would open up the results on Christmas morning as a reminder of our precious gift from God. We celebrate God's provision of His Son as a gift that we can receive, and we were able to celebrate the wonderful gift of our child that He has given to us as well. It was very special for us as well as our extended family who were all involved in receiving the news as quickly as we could dial the numbers.

The photos are from our ultrasound. The first one is just the profile picture of our daughter, Katelyn Jane. The second one is the picture that the nurse put into the box for us to open. She said it would be obvious what it was, but I didn't think it would be that clear! She did a great job for us and we were thrilled!

. . . Since Thanksgiving . . . Part Two

We had a lovely holiday season celebrating with friends!!

Since we had a longer vacation around Thanksgiving and were able to go home and visit family and friends. And we were able to get away for another week on the cruise, Don was limited in the time-off department, and so we stayed home and enjoyed some fellowship with some great friends. Don had the Sunday before Christmas through Christmas day off. Christmas Eve we had the Logsdons over for Don's two favorite things - Food and Games!! Christmas Day, the Logsdons had us over for a yummy dinner complete with ham, potatoes, salad, bread, veggie cassarole, jello, and an assortment of desserts.



The pregnant ladies trying to be patient for the meal!



One view of us on Christmas day - Baby Bump somewhat noticeable.



Alternate view of Baby Bump - Check it out ladies, it's there, but still just a minor bump.

For New Years, Don had to work on New Year's Eve, but got the next day off. We had some plans fall through, but at the last moment decided we would see what a few of our friends were up to. They accepted our invitation to come over for pizzas and some more games. We had a great time enjoying time away from school and just hanging out. We ended the night with watching the ball drop in New York City.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are enjoying being back in the routine again. We desire for our God to be magnified through us this year as we seek His wisdom with the coming life-changing events. We have entitled this year "New Beginnings" since we will be adding new and great responsibilities in becoming parents. We also are beginning the next stage of life, out of school, come this May. Don will be finished with his M.Div. and will be seeking opportunities to use his degree to fulfill God's call on our lives. Please pray with us as we desire His direction. On our way home from Wiliamsburg two Sunday's ago, Don recalled a list of things that he was thankful for, beginning from when He was very young up until now. It was such a blessing and reassurance to us as we once again saw the grace of God's leading in our lives even since before we had trusted Him. He is so faithful and will continue to be faithful throughout these transforming events to come in our lives. We serve a true and living God who will be glorified!!



The Gang - Including Godiva (who loved our choices of invites - Her very favorite people, her dog sitters!!)



The Logsdons - showing off her baby bump!



The Branines



Me & My Love!