Our first home

We have really enjoyed living near the beach this year, so we're going to stay in the area. We bought this cute, little, green, beachhouse on the left and close on it May 31st. The house needs some work, but we think we can do most of it ourselves. I'm busy increasing my collection of paint chips and daydreaming about the possibilities. It's fun, but overwhelming. The options are endless. We have a few pictures of the inside, but it's hard to tell what it's like. When we finish working on it we'll have to post some before and after shots.



The main living area is basically one big room with the kitchen, eating area, and family room.


Hall bathroom and master bedroom

Triathlon in St. Augustine

My friend Anissa talked me into doing a triathlon in St. Augustine a few weeks ago. It was one of my "un-committed" New Year's Resolutions, so I thought I'd go for it -- it was now or never (at least in 2007 considering my new condition). Somehow when we signed up for the race, April 21st, seemed like a long time away, but when it came down to it, it was only about three weeks. Our first swim took place just one week before the race, so needless to say, we were a little anxious about how the race would go and wondering what we'd gotten ourselves into. It was supposed to be a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately, in our case), a Noreaster blew in and the ocean was CRAZY! The waves were just churning and the white caps were huge! They cancelled the swimming part the morning of the race and replaced it with a 2 mile run...

The start of the race

The runs were on the beach, which we hadn't anticipated. Although a little bit more work, it also gave us some scenery to look at. After our first 2 miles, we were off to our bikes...

And now the final 5K!

(Notice the choppy waves in the background)

Baby Kuder!!!

We're expecting an addition to our family at the end of October. We are really excited and feel so blessed and also a little scared about this new responsibility. I had my first ultrasound last week and was amazed to see how developed the baby is, especially considering it's only 3-4 inches in size!

Ultrasound at 14 weeks

Since I'm sure people will ask -- no we don't know if it's a girl or a boy yet. It's still too early to tell, but we think we're going to wait and be surprised when s/he is born! It is amazing though to think that even though we don't know the sex or what he or she looks like all of that is already determined...God knows all the details about our child...how amazing!

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:13-17

Some recent pictures...

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this site and my friend Nate (a consistent blogger) requested some new posts! The first link is of Daniel surfing near our house. He got a surfboard for graduation and is learning to fit in with the surf culture of Atlantic Beach! The other link is some pictures from a trip I took for work to Nuremberg, Germany.

See the pictures by following the link below:

Surfin' Stud
Trip to Germany