Alaska Bound

It's that time of year again that Christian and I look forward to with such delight. That's right, it's VACATION TIME!! In less then 48 hours we will be on our way to picturesque Alaska. In anticipation of our trip, I'll give you a sneak peak at my, "wouldn't it be great to see?" wish list.

(Please note that these are not in any particular order) I'd love to see some of the impressive and extremely humbling glaciers.
The peaceful wilderness and awe-inspiring views.

I would seriously LOVE to catch a glimpse of a grey whale while we're out to sea. We're traveling at their peak migration season, so perhaps this wish could come true.

The Aura Borealis is a phenomenon that I have only witnessed once in my life, and it was so faint that if you didn't know what you were looking at you might not have noticed it all. If we do have a night where the atoms collide you can bet that I'll be on deck with my camera, no matter how cold it may be.

Ah Alaska! We're looking forward to a nature packed vacation, filled with unaltered beauty and mother nature's magnificent homeland.

The biggest-tinniest news ever!

For the past three months Christian and I have been holding onto a HUGE, yet itty-bitty secret, and now that we've gotten the "A-OKay," we've been leaking the news to those closest to us for the past week, and now that our check list of those who must know first has been fulfilled I get to bask in the glow of telling everyone out there (If you haven't figured it out already) Christian and I are expecting!!! Let's all do some back flips and somersaults. Well, you go ahead and I'll watch. So on to the details. As of today, we are thirteen week into the pregnancy. Our due date is February 13, which I'm tickled pink with as thirteen is a lucky number in my family. At our twelve week check up with our midwife, we got to see our little jelly bean, and were given a clean bill of health. What wonderful news to hear! The last three months have been a somewhat on the tough side, as morning sickness (in the form of evening/night sickness for little Miss Taryn. Ick!) has been difficult to hide from family members. As well as the apparently apparent "glow" that comes along with having a growing baby in one's tummy, which gave away our secret before we did, as many family members totally knew that we were preggers way before we even told them. I hope you all enjoy reading about the many stages of pregnancy that one goes though, because I'm sure for the next six months I'll be posting away. Christian and I are so incredibly happy and feel so blessed to get to experience life's biggest miracle together.

Shayla's First Birthday!

This past Wednesday my niece Shayla celebrated her first birthday! She is such a doll, and Christian and I can hardly believe that it has already been a whole year since she was born. I found myself reflecting on everything I was thinking, and feeling a year ago when we got the news that she was on her way. I completely relived the feeling of excitement and joy throughout the day, and thought it was so perfect that Krysty (Shayla's Mommy) invited us all over at exactly 7:25 p.m. for cake to be there for the exact moment that Shayla took her first peek at the world around her.

Grandma and the birthday girl sharing hugs. Shayla adores her Grandpa and lights up whenever he's in the room.

The Mommy-made birthday cake that was just for little Shayla. So cute!

Hooray! Happy Birthday Shayla!

"Yummy in my tummy!"

The super proud parents, John and Krysty and the birthday girl!

Uncle Keith sharing a messy kiss with the birthday girl.

Aunt Carol and Uncle Albey getting in their photo opp. with the celebrity for the day.

Shayla loves her cousins Jayson and Trent.

Mee-ma and Pee-pa loving on the birthday girl.

Happy Birthday Shayla! You've come so far, and we can't wait to watch you grow and learn, and witness the transformation of you turning into someone even more wonderful than you already are. We love you!

Pow Wow

This past weekend Christian and I drove to the western part of New Jersey in Sussex County for a Native American Pow Wow. Growing up I have fond memories of having the local tribes of Southern Oregon, the Modoc, Klamath, and Yahooskin tribes, visiting my school and teaching us about their culture. This event brought back memories of dancing around my elementary school gymnasium in a friendship circle.At this Pow Wow there were tribes from all over. Navajo, Cherokee, Nanticoke, Shawnee, and Powhatan just to name a few. Each tribe has dances that are steeped in tradition , rich and colorful clothing that help tell a story, and strong voices that ring out the songs of their ancestors.


This was truly something to see, hear, and experience. I tried to capture the feeling with my little camera. (The quality of the video is not the greatest, but it gives you an idea) Standing next to the drum circle was truly amazing. You could feel the pounding of the drum in your chest, and the synchronized voices that sung as one was so amazing it made the hair on the back on my arms stand on end.

The honor and pride held by each dancer and drummer could be seen clear as day. I truly admire how various cultures stay strong within their history, holding on to the stories of their ancestors, and then pass that knowledge on to the next generation, to both the youth in their tribe and to us "outsiders" who have a willing to learn, and an open heart.

Christian's new baby!

No, it's not what you think. Sorry to burst your bubble. (hee hee) Christian does however have a new boy-toy to play with and my goodness does he love it. He recently picked up, it was a phenomenal deal I might add, a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT pickup truck. I've never fully understood why boys love their trucks so much, but to see the look in Christian's eyes when he's gazing on his new hauling-machine, brings a smile to my face. Just to help prove how much happiness this truck has brought him, the following two pictures he took. Like a proud papa he took a total of 19 photos of his new baby the day after he bought it.
On a fun little side note, this past Monday. Christian and I, with many thanks to one Mr. Alton Brown of the Food Network's "Good Eats," tried out a summer treat and grilled our very first pizza in our backyard. Fresh pizza dough basted with olive oil, cooked for two minutes per side, grilled tomatoes that we marinated in olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic, cut up fresh basil, and wet mozzarella and shredded mozzarella. Voila, one of the tastiest pizzas I've ever tasted. Try it out. Super fun, easy, and did I mention tasty?

The Mama's & the Papa's

The Kaufman family has grown over the last few years, and even though we're far from done with our growth spurts, I thought it would be fun to look at where we stand now. Because of Mother's Day in May and Father's Day this past weekend, I was able to capture four generations of Kaufmans all under one roof.

Ladies first, here we see Grandma Kaufman, Kathy Kaufman, Krysty Kaufman and Little Shayla Kaufman.
As for the Kaufman Dads we have Grandpa Kaufman, John Kaufman, Bobby Kaufman, and John Kaufman Jr.
I was thrilled to snap the photo below. It's a rare treat to have 99% of all the Kaufman boys together, because Grandpa Kaufman lives down the shore, and Bobby and his son Justin live in Florida. Just look at all those handsome Kaufman faces!

Kaufman Chiropractic Patients!

I recently made up a little slide-show for the office highlighting just a handful of our patients, and of course my wonderful hubby - the Chiropractor!! I posted it on our office facebook page, but for those of you who don't do facebook, and you know you who you are *wink*, I wanted to share the video with everyone, so without further ado, here is the first Kaufman Chiropractic Video!! Enjoy.