Nazer's Life

Yeah!

2007-06-27T23:00:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Tammy and Ryan on the birth of their little girl earlier this morning! I'll let them share all the details but jump over to tell them congratulations!

Time to Change Things Up

2007-05-06T21:54:00.000-05:00

Right now, I am sitting on the couch with Hubs while he watches Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for the eleventy-hundreth time. Not that I mind - I got to see my favorite scene. I get chills every time I see the elves march up to Helm's Deep - there is something about the solidarity, the hope in that moment that I just love. Now he just flipped to David Blaine doing some street magic. He loves to flip!

I have so many things I want to blog about, a huge list of ideas and hopes and hurts, but when I am not sure who is reading my blog, I don't know how honest I can be. Which honestly just stinks. Because this is my blog. And I started it to talk about my life and my thoughts. And now I'm censoring my thoughts because of who might be reading. Augh!

Some of the things I want to blog about are happy things, some sad, others troublesome, and even other things I'd like advice on. But I feel very censored on here. So I am in the midst of developing a new blog, somewhere where I can share my thoughts and feelings and joys and hurts without certain people getting ahold of them. If you're out there and still reading, and would like to know about the new site (when it's ready), drop me an e-mail or comment here and I'll get you the new info.

Thanks for reading thus far.

My Absolute Favoritest Song in the World

2007-04-20T19:10:00.000-05:00

Everlasting God
Lincoln Brewster
From the album Let The Praises Ring - Best Of Lincoln Brewster

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
Wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
Wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God

You do not faint You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
The everlasting God
The everlasting

Do I Have Time For a Nap?

2007-04-17T21:37:00.000-05:00

According to the calendar in our home office, April was supposed to be a fairly uneventful month. That's only because I didn't have the time to update it in March! We have managed to sail over halfway through the month without stopping to catch our breaths.

Hubs' parents came down for a few days to help us celebrate his birthday - it was so good to have them here. With us here and them in Michigan, we definitely don't get to spend enough time with them. On the Saturdaybefore they came down, we hosted a little cook-out/birthday party. We ended up with 8 adults and 7 kids (4 of them under the age of 2)- wild! Despite the cold, rainy weather, we all had a great time and were able to celebrate the birthdays of 6 of those present.

Easter was nice too. We have a huge potluck breakfast at our church between the early and late services which was fantastic. Hubs and I then head to Des Moines. We had a visitation to attend late that afternoon and decided to make a day out of it. We had a late lunch and saw a movie. I was too enthused about seeing Meet the Robinson's but it was so precious. Hubs and I both cried. We don't buy many DVDs but will definitely be adding this one to our collection.

Hubs spent the past weekend in Michigan doing his fighting in the woods thing. He had fun and I was able to spend some time with friends around here. And now Hubs is sick. The poor guy had a 102 temp this morning. He is still not doing great and is crashed on the couch.

And now almost another month has passed us by. Kind of amazing when I stop to think about it.

Oh yeah, a huge shout out to the Big Guy - LOVE the weather! This week is one of those that I seriously LOVE my job more than I can ever imagine. Tomorrow I am heading up a group of 26 high school students and 11 adults and we're going to do a snapshot on the watershed. (Our event is not listed on the upcoming events since it's not open to the public.) It's supposed to be in the high 60s and sunny and I'm getting paid to spend the day outside! Can life get any better!

Hope you all have a great week!

A Tuesday Funny

2007-04-17T21:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Catherine for sharing this:

go to google.com
click on maps
click on get directions
from new york,new york to (end address)paris,france
read line #23

A Wedding, Philly and Friends

2007-03-26T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hubs and I just returned from a long weekend in the City of Brotherly Love. Our friends Amy and Ross got married on Sunday and we flew in for the big day.

I really want to write about the whole experience but I don't know, I just feel weird writing it all down. It was a really strange trip and I am much more exhausted than I ever dreamt I'd be. Hubs is beat too. So I thought I'd share the highlights with you, along with a few pictures (our camera broke on Friday afternoon so no wedding pics yet, those are coming).

Highlights include:

Having a blast with Todd and Stacie in the Happy Van (Oy vey - we spent HOURS in the Happy Van - and not always happy, but we tried)

Dancing to Siman Tov and Hava Nagila

Hanging out with some of the other awesome bridesmaids

Spending a little alone time with Hubs in the Independence National Historic Park (the big center across the street from where the Liberty Bell is housed)

Eating the most fabulous chocolate bread pudding at Moonstruck - amazing!

Catching up with some old friends during the various activities
Finding a little Irish pub with Todd & Stacie

Lots and lots of laughter with old and new friends

And now the pictures -

Todd with Amy's mom, Roz

Todd & Stacie at our little Irish pub Me, Amy & Stacie at the hotel

Ross and his awesome mom, Susan
Stacie, Amy and me

Orly, Amy and Dana Dana and Dean (aren't they adorable!?)

Amy K and me
And my favorite picture so far, me and Hubs

(not the most flattering of us but he's so darn cute!)

Day 2

2007-03-02T15:28:00.000-06:00

Do you remember the sound that you here when you hold a shell to your ear? The wooshing and howling - that is the constant background noise in our house. And the weatherman says I may continue to hear it through tomorrow.

Hubs and I woke up to that howling early this morning. We both thought that the plows would have come through already and we'd be on our way to work shortly. Right. Hubs walked out and checked out the situation and I jumped online to see what the World Wide Web could tell me. By the time he got back, I figured we weren't going anywhere. I called my boss to let her know I probably wouldn't be in - she understood totally. She's the only one from our office who lives in town - and she couldn't even get to the office. So thank God for good, smart bosses who know when to close the office. Hubs got an e-mail from work telling everyone to work from home as there was no way they could get to the office. And even if they got there, there was no way they could get in the building. His boss included photos of drifts covering the doors.

So here we are. It's been another good day. Watched a little TLC, made a yummy lunch, joined Hubs outside for a bit - it wasn't bad as long as you kept everything covered and turned away from the wind. Hubs is intent on building a snow fort. I took a bunch of photos - will post some in a bit. We were relieved to hear that the blizzard warning for our area expired at noon. But just found out that it's back on again - until 5 in the morning. Plus it started snowing again - they say probably just another couple of inches - hey what's a few more inches when you already have 16?

Gah - my goofy husband is getting his stuff on to go back out. He is so excited about his snow fort; it really is neat but I would so prefer that he stay in. At least he's only about 10 feet from the house so I can watch him. He even found the gardening tools so he can use them to help dig it out and shape it from the inside. I just opened the door and got a couple of really cool now-you-see-it/now-you-don't photos - the wind is unbelievable.

OK, more wintery photos - and then I'm off to bake peanut butter cookies. I've been so good eating healthy snacks and watching my calorie and fat intake but this weather just begs for baking and yummy treats. And I'll have warm cookies for Hubs to eat when he brings his frozen self in. Here's more pictures -

Hubs climbing up one of the drifts in our yard

Crawling out of his snowfort

See the little pine tree beside the big hardwood tree - and the corner of my garage?

Can you see them now?

Random photo of the blowing snow

Hope you're all staying warm and comfy - especially those of you northeast of here!

Snow Day

2007-03-01T15:54:00.000-06:00

Whoops, strike out snow day - it's more like Blizzard Day!

We had been hearing that we were supposed to get a huge blizzard. When Hubs and I woke up this morning, there was nothing - no snow, no wind, nothing - big bummer. So we both got ready for work and I headed out. Between the time I looked out the window, then turned around to put on my coat and grab my bag, it went from nothing to pelting snowy, ice rain. On my way to my car, I called the office to let them know I was coming in and to look for me if I wasn't there in 1/2 hour (my office is in a town about 15 miles southwest of our house and it usually takes 12-15 minutes to get there). I hopped in my vehichle and backed out onto our road when my co-worker called. She recommended not coming in at all and told me to tell Hubs to stay home (he works 10 miles south of the town I work in - and his office is located in the country - seriously it is surrounded by corn fields!). That was at 7:05 - our office officially opens at 7:30. Today it also closed at 7:30. Hubs is able to work remotely from home so he called in. By 10:00 they had closed his office completely (most people didn't even come in or turned around and left shortly after arriving). They decided to shut down when they closed the state highway that everyone uses to access the company. One of Hubs' co-workers lives less than 1/4 mile up the road - he couldn't even make it home so one of the owners drove him there on a tractor! Another couple of co-workers got stuck at the office until tomorrow. Good thing for them that the office is attached to the other owner's house and they have food and other accomodations for them.

So we are at home and snug. It has been a very nice day. I'm getting caught up on laundry and even pulled out some cod to marinate and bake for dinner. Got a few crafting projects completed and read several chapters of a book I just got off of Amazon. Hubs even brought his laptop in the family room so we could snuggle while he fixed computer issues. Since most of his client's businesses are closed, he's had a pretty light day too.

The wind is absolutely roaring right now. We live in a wonderful, old farmhouse that's been built onto many times - lots of places to hear the wind! The wind is so bad that we can't tell if it is done snowing and just blowing now or if it's still snowing and blowing. Originally we heard 8-12 inches - now they've upgraded it to 15-20. I'd say we have at least 14-16 here. I opened the front door and took a few photos so you can experience this with us - I'm sure you're all jealous of our weather! Cori - I especially thought of you when taking these - no chance you'll see this in your current location!

First shot from our front porch - doesn't seem so bad but those drifts by the garage are about 4 feet high. Here you can see the wind a little better.
Looks so peaceful, doesn't it?
More blowing
Check out the drifts near the swing set.

Hope you're all staying warm!

Some Photos From the Holidays

2007-02-27T19:37:00.000-06:00

Thought I'd post a few photos of our time with the family over the holidays. We spent several days in Michigan visiting Hubs' family and had an awesome time.

First, me and Marshall, one of the cutest nephews in the world.

Next - Mike (Hubs' brother), Hubs, and our friend Bill - the boys were hanging out on New Year's Eve.

Hubs and I on Christmas Day at our friend's house. Like the hats? :)

Hubs and Marshall - hanging out on the couch at Grandma's house.

Marshall beaming on his new toy from Grandma and Grandpa - the kid LOVED this thing.

Home

2007-02-26T17:19:00.000-06:00

As I sit here starting to type, I cannot describe to you the feeling of comfort running through me. I am home and I am so very happy to be home.

It is strange to me to have been so homesick. I have always been a bit of a homebody but I am usually able to be away from home for at least a week before feeling like I need to get home ASAP. But this time was very different.

Hubs drove me to the airport early Thursday morning and waited with me in the crazy-long line, walked me to security, kissed me goodbye and left so he'd get to work on time. I was fine on my flights and was super excited to see Amy. The first several hours were great. I think it was sometime later that evening that I realized that I was missing Hubs something horrible. And it only got worse. By Saturday I was almost desperate to get home. I was having fun with Amy, but I am struggling with some aspects of our relationship and was feeling a little out of place. And I just plain missed Hubs.

It does give me comfort to know that I missed him. How horrible would it be to be gone and NOT miss your husband? But I did miss him, so much that when my plane was late and I had pretty much missed my connecting flight, I burst into tears at the gate! Gah! Yep, I actually did that! My flight landed at 7:22 and my connecting flight was to take off at 7:24! I literally ran through the Detroit airport - and I didn't even get to enjoy the tunnel that I love so much. Kept going and made it to my gate around 7:30 - to find 3 people there. After inquiring, I found out that the flight had already boarded and there was no gate agent there. I headed across the hall to the other gate that had an agent and a guy from my original flight started talking to me - and I started sobbing. Poor guy! All I knew was that I did not want to spend the night on the floor of the Detroit airport and my flight was gone. But God was so watching over me. I glanced back at my gate and the agent had reappeard. After telling her that I was supposed to be on the Omaha flight, she asked my name - and said according to the passenger list I was already on board. What? Don't ask me how that happened! But again, God had a plan for me - the flight attendant had miscounted due to the fact that there was a maintenance guy on the plane that she had counted accidentally. They had already pulled back the bridge - but after the supervisor came over, they decided that they'd use the maintenance guy as an excuse and took me down, moved the bridget back and got me on the plane! Thank you, Jesus! Just a couple hours later and I was in my baby's arms!

Amy had mentioned a couple of times during the trip that maybe I should just bring Hubs with me from now on. I kind of think that may be happening. It will definitely be happening on our next trip to Philly since we'll be going for the wedding.

I know it's good to get away from each other now and then, but is it strange that a few days seems too much for me? I don't see Hubs all day when we're working, rarely on certain weeknights due to various committments, etc, so is it bad that I really want to spend time with him when I can? Do any of you feel this way?

Hope you're week is off to a great start!

Pray Without Ceasing!

2007-02-24T11:52:00.000-06:00

Please send up prayers for Baby Gideon and his mom and dad, Deborah and Gavin!

Deborah and Gavin lost a baby in November of 2005, Gwendolyn. Gideon was born yesterday and had breathing issues. Deborah and Gideon were rushed to the city shortly thereafter.

Just got an e-mail that Gideon is doing better but please keep praying.

Out East

2007-02-24T11:17:00.000-06:00

I'm currently in the city of brotherly love - yep, Philadelphia. I flew out here on Thursday to visit my best friend, Amy. Amyla is getting ready for her wedding (just a month from tomorrow) and I am here to help de-stress the bride-to-be. As always, it is fun to be here. But it is also tough. Tough in that our friendship is changing, growing, evolving - in both good ways and bad. Let me see if I can explain this.

I grew up with five sisters. We were never really close. I mean, I call them when I need to and exchange e-mails, but if there is something happening in our lives, all six of us have other friends we call before we call our sisters. I would say I'm probably closest to my older sister Roma (I can't use initials here since ALL of our names start with R). She and I fought horribly growing up pretty much through her going to college. But when she left for college (well, honestly, after she'd been there a while) we started becoming friends. I *GASP* actually missed her. My senior year, the day after Prom (our Prom was always held on a Thursday night and then the seniors had a free day on Friday) my girlfriends and I piled in the car and drove up to see her. We went bowling and went to pig roast and picnic on the banks of the Missouri River. We had FUN together. Then when she got her first teaching job, I went and visited her and hung out. A couple of years ago we met up in the Twin Cities and had a shopping fun weekend. I seriously wished she lived closer - i could see us doing more stuff together. As it is, she lives about 10 hours away with her husband and 14 month old little boy. And as life would have it, it is much more likely that Hubs and I will be moving 10 hours in the opposite direction sometime in the next few years.

I tell you that story to explain my friend situation. As I mentioned, my sisters and I all had friends we would most likely call before we called each other. Through my growing up years there were a few people who were my "best friends" at the time. Christy and I met when we were three and were friends up through junior high. She then became one of the popular kids and I was left behind. We reconnected our senior year of high school when I knew she needed a friend. Stephanie and I became friends in 4th grade and I actually still talk to her a lot - less than when we were both single but I still know she's there. Then there was Christine in high school. I was so hurt by her actions - and lack of actions. Victoria was my saving grace in college. I honestly believe I would not have made it through all of the muck of college without Victoria's friendship. Our friendship is in a tough spot right now. She doesn't seem to need or really want me around anymore. It breaks my heart but understand the need of some people to move on. Katia and I met when I moved to eastern Iowa. Although we are so different in many ways, she is a sister of my heart. She gets me when few else can. She was my first friend to meet Hubs (he picked me up at her house for our first date) and is probably the most supportive of our marriage. Hubs loves her too - she is the sister he never had. And then there's Amy. Amy and I met (officially) in driver's ed. Before that we had seen each other at Temple - I babysat the Temple kids while the parents and older kid went to service. During our sophomore year in high school (we went to different high schools), we were both nominated to serve on the Mayor's Youth Commission. Only 4 students from each school served on the MYC so it was a pretty big deal for us. So when we were in driver's ed that summer we knew that we'd be working with each other on the MYC. Amy was so different from my high school friends. She was more worldly, more fun in many ways - not stifled by the Catholic school upbringing the way we all were. I can't pinpoint exactly when we became friends, or best friends, but I don't rememeber when she hasn't been there. Since we graduated from high school, I have live in South Dakota and in five different places in Iowa. Amy has lived in Kansas, Israel, NYC, Tulsa and now Philadelphia. Yet we have always been there for each other. She was my maid of honor; I will be a bridesmaid in her wedding next month. She, like Katia, is a sister of my heart.

Ok, so I've had friends. And I love to meet new people. But there are few who I let get really close to me. I have been hurt, almost destroyed by friendships gone bad. So I tend to be leery, and sometimes a little standoffish. I may let you see a part of my life but bets are you only know a small part. But Amy and Katia know it all.

And it is tough that things feel like they are changing so much. I love Amy's fiance' but there is fear there too. Fear, because he is so different from us, so East Coast, and although I do not for one second doubt that he loves Amy, I fear the fact that this is his life out here. And my friend is changing. Not in really bad ways or anything, just things that used to not be so important becoming priorities. By not feeling that she and I are speaking the same language, that we are on different wavelengths. Amyla swore when I got married that things between us wouldn't change, but in the 15 months Hubs and I have been married, things feel different. And since Amy got engaged last spring, things have been more different. And with her wedding a month away, I feel a little lost. Sad for what we are losing, but glad for what we are gaining. Hubs says that the right things are happening - that he is my best friend now, and that Amy and her fiance' are each other's best friends. Yes, he's is right, but it is still tough.

Part of me wants to hole away with Hubs and forget about the world. He makes me feel that safe and loved. But I know that it would be wrong to turn my back on friendships and people who have loved me.

I think I am just feeling very uncertain right now. We are trudging into uncharted waters in our friendship and I don't know what to do, other than trust that all will be OK.

OK, if you're still reading - Bless you! Thanks for letting me sort out my feelings here. Hope you all are having a great weekend. Will post photos etc from Philly later.

This Little Thing Called Life

2007-01-08T21:24:00.000-06:00

So this little thing called Life has been getting in the way of my blogging. And despite my hopes of keeping my blog updated weekly or at least monthly, I can't say that I'm sorry that I haven't been blogging. Because, honestly, each of those moments when I could have been blogging and wasn't, I was cherishing the moment that was currently happening. And you know what, there were some incredible moments in there.

And since those moments are what my life has been all about, here, just for you, dear readers is a re-cap of the past 2 months in moments:

My in-laws, Mom & Dad N, visited in mid-November - the entire weekend with them was a blast! Especially beating the boys (Hubs and Dad N) at Pictionary, not once, but TWICE, to become the Super Pictionary Champions of the World with Mom N
Attending a work meeting in the state capital and getting to see two very good friends.
Getting our new KING sized bed delivered (Happy Anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas to us!)
Thanksgiving with my family, followed by a hike to the top of a bluff to visit the First Bride's Grave, followed by some serious game playing with friends.
Playing hooky (OK, we actually took leave) and heading to the city the day after Thanksgiving. Much looking and a little buying ensued.
Celebrating our first anniversary in 2 parts! Yeah! (Pictures will be posted eventually) First part was on Friday night (day after Thanksgiving) - dinner at our favorite restaurant in the city. Second part was on Sunday (actual anniversary) with new, tiny cakes that our friend/cake baker made for us (YUM), plus eating the old cake (not so yum), and just spending an incredible evening with my husband.
Painting the church nursery and getting to spend time with good friends - and meet new ones. And even though I could be bragging here, the nursery looks fabulous!
Helping with our Extreme Surrender weekend! Amazing youth event! Have you ever seen 70-80 teens on their knees praying to God? You will never be the same.
Having my friend K and her little one I come visit for a long weekend - we shopped, baked, cooked, talked, laughed, cried, sang, decorated and just enjoyed our time together.
Hosting our 1st Annual Christmas Open House in December. We had a house full of friends and it was awesome. We can't wait to do it again!
Attending our Pastor's daughter's wedding to a great guy fromLatvia - beautiful wedding.
Followed the wedding with late night shopping in the city and a movie with Hubs. It was 2:00 in the morning before we got home - we were literally trying to keep each other awake all the way home. We are so old! :)
Christmas Eve with my family.
Christmas Day just the two of us, followed by games at a friend's house, and just the two of us again.
10 hours on the road with my baby heading to the big MI!
Spending 6 days with Mom & DadN, Mike, Carrie and Little M and Hubs and I. Lots of games of Settlers, Pictionary, Carcassonne, and Wii games.
10 hours on the road with my baby heading back to IA.
So many moments of snuggling, relaxing, talking with Hubs.
Seeing, talking to, catching up with lots of friends and family.
Feeling so, so, so loved.

I hope your holiday season was blessed!

Off to my burrow to work on my thesis. Will try to pop out now and again.

Be well.

A Post of Cheers and Jeers

2006-11-09T14:10:00.000-06:00

Cheers – and a HUGE THANK YOU – to all of those veterans who we are honoring this weekend. Your sacrifice and service are not forgotten.
Jeers on the Harlan Cyclones loss on Tuesday night in football. Bad calls made it a less enjoyable game for many fans. But congratulations on your four season-spanning 49 and 1 record.
Cheers on visitors! My in-laws, Mom and Dad N, will arrive tomorrow evening and will be with us all weekend. Yeah! (Seriously, I really mean Yeah! My in-laws are awesome!
Jeers on sore losers. An election is the people’s chance to choose who they want to represent them. Did all of my choices win? No. But that’s OK. That’s why we have a democratic government. Stop whining if you or your candidate lost. There is nothing you can do except run again in a few years or encourage others to vote.
Cheers on my friend’s Michele and Chad’s new baby, Chloe Madison, born on Monday! Congratulations Chad, Michele and big brother Mason!
Cheers for federal holidays! I LOVE three day weekends!

Have a great weekend!

A Post - Mainly in Pictures

2006-11-02T15:29:00.000-06:00

Besides being incredibly busy, I have just haven't felt a lot like blogging latley. But I give you the following photo essay.

My super-adorable nephew, Ryan. Mommy is an Iowa Hawkeye fan and, as you can see, he is nicely decked out!
My other super-adorable nephew, Marshall, and his buddy, Liam. Aren't they adorable together?!

My nephew, the cow - Ryan's Halloween greeting.

These are a little small, but here is our newest niece, Corrianna. She is a tiny little thing and answers only to Princess!

That's all I've got for now.

Yep, still back

2006-10-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

So I returned to the blogging world, only to be so busy that I haven't had time to post!

Hubs and I headed up to MI last week and spent a loonngg weekend with the family. Chris and Mike spent Fri-Sun at their event while Carrie and I and the little man spent time together. We took lots of walks, scrapbooked, watched Chronicles of Narnia, painted our toenails, watched the Lions lose (again!), picked apples, played with pumpkins and relaxed. Ah! Our mom & dad-in-law joined us on Sunday afternoon and the guys arrived soon after. It was so good to enjoy each other's company and laugh and play and, of course, let Marshall entertain us. I took a ton of photos but most are on my film SLR. Here are a few of Marshall at the apple orchard. You can tell he's all boy - look at the mud he found! And he LOVES apples!

Marshall and his little snack - apples and dirt!

Marshall and Mommy - sitting on his first giant pumpkin!

This week has already flown by! We got home late Monday night (yeah for Federal holidays!) and back to work we went today. I spent this evening baking apple pie using up just a few of the 1/2 bushel of apples we brought back from Michigan. We've got a busy week ahead and are looking forward especially to Saturday. Along with some friends, we are planning a game night at our church for adults complete with snacks and tons of games. If we get a decent turn out, we're hoping to make this a monthly event.

Hope you are all having a great week!

Getting back into the groove...

2006-09-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

OK, I think it's time to start posting again. I'll update on all the other happenings later but wanted to mention a couple of things quickly.

First, if you have any interest in ministry or missionary work, go check out my pastor's daughter's blog here. This is Elizabeth's second year in Latvia. She recently returned there after being home in Iowa for the summer. Elizabeth is an incredibly beautiful, Spirit-filled, young woman. She doesn't have many posts yet, but if you keep checking in on her, you will see what an incredible writing gift she has. She would love to know you're reading too!

Also, go check out Julie's story about her friend Beth's adoption story here and buy a chance to win the amazing quilt Julie is making. Thanks to Catherine for passing on this story!

Will catch up with you soon! Have a great weekend! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers while I took some time out!

Sorry

2006-08-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

To those of you who do stop and read, I am sorry. I just can't do it right now. There is nothing huge and overwhelming going on right now. But there are some smaller things, smaller things that sometimes feel big and overwhelming. But God is good, ALL the time. And so is my husband. Thank God for my amazing husband. That boy can handle my ever-changing moods like there's nothing to it.

I will write again sometime soon. First I have to finish my thesis. And then I have to work through this other stuff. Honestly, I don't even know what all it is yet. I just know I have to deal with it. Chris and I will be making some decisions and they're going to be tough decisions to make and follow through with. But again, God is good, ALL the time.

Take care, my friends.

Unmotivated

2006-08-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

So I haven't felt like blogging at all lately. Could be that there's a lot going on. I'm not sure what it is, but I just haven't wanted to write much of anything lately - my blog, e-mails back to friends, or even my thesis. On that last one, I must get my tukus in gear if I really want to graduate in December. But like I mentioned, it's just very hard to write right now. So I'm going to share some photos with you and a little bit of what's happened over the past few weeks.

We got to see my sister Roma and her husband Rob and their little guy Ryan a few weeks ago. Here's Ryan and Chris having fun. I think Ryan was afraid that Chris was going to take his book home with him!

Below are some of my favorite guys in the world. In the back is the world's greatest husband, Christopher. Beside him is Mike, Dan and Arlin. In front are Kenny and Dave. These guys are all in our small group and are a lot of fun to be around and study with. This photo is from our Father's Day celebration/challenge. They're gathered around the chair they had to build and got judged on. This group was the winner of the challenge.
Katia and Ian came out the weekend before the 4th of July. We spent one of their evenings here out at our friend Cherie's house. Here's Chris with Ian and Griffin playing swords. Here's Chris and I with Katia and Ian.

It's been so busy lately; I feel like time is just flying by. I got sick in the middle of July with a combination of a sinus infection and bronchitis. I ended up missing several days of work trying to shake them. Finally recovered enough to go back to work only to head to Florida for a work conference. Had a great time there although the plane rides there and back didn't help my sinuses. I got to spend some time with my friend Tami and meet the precocious and adorable Cori. Also got to see my friends Mike, Robert, Damarys and others. It was nice to catch up and quite fun to meet new people. Unfortunately, there was no time to go see or visit any of the local attactions in Orlando but I had still had a great time. I was able to go on a conservation tour to The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve which was very cool. We went on a hike through a nature area, canoed in a lake that is part of the headwaters of the Everglades, and took a swamp buggy tour over some rough terrain. Definitely a cool ecosystem!

Got home from Florida on Friday afternoon and had a wonderful weekend with my husband. And then it was back to work. Seems like Chris and I have been running ever since. Spending lots of time with church friends and catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while. We're getting excited too - Chris' brother Mike and sister-in-law Carrie and their little guy Marshall are coming down to spend Labor Day weekend with us. We can't wait! Marshall is now walking on his own and we especially can't wait to see him! My sister Robyn is also due with my niece on September 2nd. We can't wait to hear about Baby J's arrival! I'm thinking it could be anytime now. My friend Sharon and I went garage saling on Saturday and I found a bunch of cute little girl stuff, along with some fun Iowa Hawkeye stuff for Ryan (Mommy is a big Hawkeye fan) so I need to wash all of it and get it ready to send. I love the fact that my sisters aren't garage sale snobs so I can get stuff for them and the babies. :)

We are planning a weekend trip out to Denver in October to see Robyn & Erik and Baby J, and Roma & Rob & Ryan. It's nice that I have 2 sisters in Denver and we can see them all the same weekend. We're actually planning on going out on Amtrak - something neither Chris nor I have ever done so we're cautiously excited about that. I'm just hoping we are both able to sleep on the train.

That's about all I've got for now. Oh yeah, I've been noticing some interesting paths on my stat counter - some local, some not. I don't mind people reading my blog (obviously since I haven't password protected it or hidden it) but I do like to know who's reading. If you're reading, and haven't commented yet, drop me a line. I'd like to know who my audience is. :)

ABCs

2006-08-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

ABC's from Rachel

A is for age:
32

B is for booze of choice:
Kaluha & Milk over ice

C is for career:
Soil Conservationist with USDA NRCS

D is for your dog's name:
No dog – no indoor pets due to allergies

E is for essential items you use/love everyday:
Current favorite CDs, water, hair clip, lip balm, Werther’s original chewy

F is for favorite song(s) at the moment:
“While You Were Sleeping” – Casting Crowns & “Dance, Dance” – Fallout Boy

G is for favorite games:
Settlers of Catan, Crazy 8s, Yatzee (with Chris), Liverpool Rummy

H is for hometown:
Sioux City, Iowa

I is for instruments you play:
None, would love to play piano or guitar

J is for jam or jelly you like:
Grape jelly, strawberry jam

K is for kids:
None yet

L is for last kiss:
Christopher, this morning

M is for most admired trait:
Being able to befriend anyone

N is for name of your crush:
Christopher

O is for overnight hospital stays:
When I was sick as a baby, with Chris when he was sick in January

P is for phobias:
Spiders (esp after my infected bite this summer)

Q is for quotes you like:
“Always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then, you destroy yourself. And so we leave, with high hopes, in good spirit and with deep humility and with very much gratefulness in our hearts.” Richard M. Nixon, upon resigning the Presidency

R is for biggest regret:
wanting others to like me, need the approval and acceptance of others – really working on this.

S is for sweets of your choice:
Chocolate chip cookies – trumps almost anything else.

T is for time you wake up:
6:00 am

U is for underwear:
Hipsters, fun and cute

V is for vegetables you love:
Green beans, corn on the cob

W is for worst habit:
Habitually being late.

X is for x-rays you've had:
Ankles, wrists, elbows, knees, ribs, skull – have I mentioned that I am a major klutz!?

Y is for yummy food you make:
Rosemary chicken, lasagna, Grandma Ford’s peanut butter frosting, spinach rosemary roll-ups, Lust cups (Remember these, Deed? Haven’t made them in ages!)

Z is for zodiac sign:
Cancer

Now you know my ABCs... Won't you play along with me!Do it on your blog and then leave me a comment that you did it.

A few photos

2006-07-22T23:00:00.000-05:00

Had a few photos uploaded that I hadn't had time to post yet.

The first 3 are from the weekend Katia and Ian were here. The boys fell asleep on the couch watching Finding Nemo.

Chris and I had been wondering what to get our nephew Marshall for his 1st birthday. Daddy said Marshall would like a sports car, preferably a convertible so he could, and I quote, ride like the wind. Oh yeah, and red would be good. Do Uncle Chris and Aunt Renae deliver or what?!

Check out Marshall loving his new ride! Photos are courtesy of Grandpa Nicholson.

Marshall and Grandpa

Marshall in his convertible

Marshall and Daddy cruising

Marshall loving his sports car

More smiles from Marshall

A final photo of the 1-year old!

Off to Florida

2006-07-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

Haven't been feeling very inspired to blog lately. Here's a little update.

Had a great weekend visiting my sister and her husband and meeting Ryan. He was even cuter in person! We also got to see my cousin Tommy and his wife Sarah and their little guy Sam. They live in Sioux City and Sarah and I started talking about scrapbooking and how we need to get together and work on our scrapbooks. The guys weren't too excited about that until we figured out that both Chris and Tommy are big sci-fi fans. So now we're hoping to plan a weekend in Sioux City with Tommy and Sarah soon.

On our way home Saturday afternoon, we headed to Council Bluffs and saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Curse followed by dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. The movie was good, not outstanding but it was fun.

I spent half the week home sick with a sinus infection combined with bronchitis. I'm finally starting to feel better. Which is a good thing since I have to jump on a plane at 10:00 tomorrow morning. I'll be in Florida through Friday. I am looking forward to the conference (annual work one that I go to every year) but Florida at the end of July?! Hmm, two things come to mind - hurricane season and HOT! And I though I'm feeling better, I'd kind of rather stay here to finish recuperating, not push my luck by flying across the country. But no matter, I'll be on my way to Florida in the morning and Chris will be baching it for the week.

Hope you all have a great week! A few pictures...

Ryan wasn't so impressed with Tommy!

Ryan with Mommy & Grandpa

2006-07-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

Who wouldn't love to get this in the mail?

That's my nephew Ryan! And I get to see him TOMORROW!!!! Yeah! Can you tell I'm an excited aunt?! And Chris and my brother-in-law Rob get to meet for the first time! Yeah! Although, Roma and I talked and decided this could be a mistake since both the guys are so mischevious and full of trouble. We'll see how the weekend goes.

So it's county fair time here. Which means HOT weather - and thunderstorms. We're in a warning right now and, although hail and lightning might not be good for the crops, it would so kick the humidity we have just hanging over us. It is blasted hot and humid here! And we are going to enjoy a little of it while we watch the fair parade tonight with our friends and their kiddos! But the sky is looking a little scary right now. Hmm.

Not much else happening here. Just excited about seeing the fam tomorrow, working only 1/2 day (YEAH!) and finding lots of AC over the next 72+ hours.

A Quick Rant - And a Praise!

2006-07-07T08:20:00.000-05:00

Just a little update

First off, I have to say I LOVE short weeks at work! I so don't mind working and I really do love my job, but it sure is nice to have a super-short week! 4-day weekend followed by a 3-day workweek - oh happy me!

Chris and I have had a great week. He has been superbusy at work, as have I, so when we get home it's all about relaxing and together time. We have a little nightly game of bocce ball and it's fun to just get out there and play and tease each other and watch the crazy cats try and steal the balls. Hello Kitty - get out of the way! Last night he kicked my tukus! At one point I was down 17-3. I rallied back and only lost 21-10, I think.

Tonight we get to hang out with our friends Josh and Renee. We are bringing dinner with us and will eat and play games at their house. We are so looking forward to it. We've all be swamped the past few months and haven't really had any time to spend with them. So tonight we get to catch up and have fun.

Now to go back to the title of the post.

The Rant
So this morning I'm calmly driving to work - doo duh dooo. Just driving along. Then I reach a corner where another county road intersects the county road I'm on. And a mini-van decides they must pull out in front of me. No problem. I slow down - WAY down. Because they are not driving my speed (about 7-10 over - it's a county road!) but they're only about 2-3 over the limit. Now I can respect that someone, especially with children in the vehicle, wouldn't want to speed. So I slow down. So we get to the edge of town where one of the town's big daycare places is. And the mini-van flips on its turn signal - and flicks a cigarette butt out the window! GRRRRR! I so don't care if I offend anyone with this - if you are a smoker and smoke in the presence of your children - BITE ME! I would like to ring the neck of Little Miss-I-won't-speed-but-I'll-expose-my-little-darlings-to-noxious-gases-and-fumes! Grr. Grr. Grr. I know - there is nothing I can do about it. But I can rant about it on my own blog!

The Praise
I have got some of the best co-workers! Tomorrow is my birthday and when I got in the office today, they had up a big banner (we do this for everyone) over my desk. They have kind of forgotten the past 2 years so it was awesome that they remembered this year! Plus, Marolyn (she made our wedding cake so you know she's a great baker!) brought me a whole container of chocolate waffle cookies with a note that these are for Chris and I! Yeah! And then she baked me a fruit pizza and wrote Happy Birthday Renae on it for all of us to share. And then I got told that they're taking me out for lunch! Yeah! They make me feel so special.

And tomorrow, Chris is going to help one of the guys with a project during the day so I will have some downtime. I'm planning a quick workout followed by a relaxing bath and catching up on a new book I'm reading. I'd also like to get caught up on some of the housework while Chris is gone. In the evening, we're planning on heading over to Omaha and one of the funplex type places with go-karts and mini-golf. We both thought that sounded like fun.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Happy Independence Day!

2006-07-04T18:04:00.000-05:00

Yeah! I love the 4th of July - not only for the fireworks and great food and fun times, but because it's only 4 more days until my birthday!

Katia and Ian came and visited for the weekend. It was so fun to have them here! They got here later on Friday so we just relaxed and ate once they got here. We took our time getting going on Saturday but ended up shopping in Omaha. We found a pirate costume for Ian (his current obsession! Have you ever listened to Veggie Tale's "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything over and over and over - try it sometime!) and some other fun stuff. We even had time to stop by the Just Desserts place - yum! After we got home, the boys, Chris and Ian, had quite the water fight outside while Katia and I threw together a quick dinner. Sunday was church and then the swimming pool - it was the perfect day to go swimming. Just the right temperature and not too crowded. We came home, changed and grabbed a snack and tried to rest before heading to our friend Cherie's house for a barbecue and fireworks. It was a very nice and relaxing evening. Ian crashed on the way home and it wasn't long before we all headed to bed. Poor Chris had to work on Monday but I had taken the day off to see Katia and Ian off. We got them packed up and on the road before noon. I was able to get in some quiet time, a good workout, a library trip and grocery shopping before coming home for a quick nap. We made homemade pizza for supper and crashed pretty early.

Today we've taken it pretty easy. We both slept in and kind of putzed around this morning. This afternoon we headed into Harlan to the laundromat. We have a washer and dryer, but we have these huge quilts and blankets that almost don't fit in our washer - and they don't dry well in our normal size dryer either. So we loaded them up and took them into town. We had the place all to ourselves and squeezed in a game of Trivial Pursuit while we waited for our stuff to dry. We followed all that excitement up with a round of disc golf at the park and then headed over to Westphalia for their annual Parish Picnic and chicken dinner. Now we're home for th evening and relaxing. It's nice that we have such a short work week ahead - Yeah!

This weekend we're taking it easy again, hoping to spend some time with friends on Friday night and spending a quiet evening at home on Saturday (seems like we don't have many of those lately). Then next weekend we'll be in Sioux City to see my sister Roma and her husband Rob and little guy Ryan while they're back. We're so excited about that! The following weekend after that, I'll be crazy getting ready to head to the NOPHNRCSE conference in Orlando. I fly out Sunday morning and get home on Friday. I'm very much looking forward to seeing my friends and co-workers, but honestly, Orlando, in July - if a hurricane doesn't sweep me away, there is a good chance I may just melt!

I just realized that it's already the first week of July and my thesis still isn't done. I MUST get to work on it! It's been difficult to really sit down and write. I am definitely not feeling inspired but I'm thinking I may just need to inspire myself - like now! My thesis is a bit different from the typical thesis as it's not a research thesis but a creative thesis. Yep, I basically get to write 60+ pages of my own poems and stories. Not a bad thing normally, but I am not feeling creative in the least, even my crocheting and scrapbooking have suffered. I would so love to have the majority of the work on it done by the time the fall semester starts up so I don't have to worry so much about deadlines. We'll see how much I can manage to apply myself.

Anyway, things are pretty ho-hum here in Renae-land. Hope you are all doing well!

Offer and More

2006-06-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

Offer

We got an offer on our house in Michigan today. It's a pretty decent offer. Now we have to submit everything to the mortgage company to see if they will accept it and allow us to short sell. Send up a few prayers up for us that all goes well and the mortgage company gets their heads out of their tukus'.

Weekend
Chris and I headed up to Sioux City on Friday afternoon to visit my parents. My awesome husband drove the whole way and let me take a nap - despite the fact that he was a little tired too. We met my mom at the mall and had dinner and shopped around a little bit before heading back to the hotel. In the morning, we picked up Mom and then Chris dropped Mom and I off at my cousin Tami's bridal shower. He went off to explore on his own while we had some girl time. It was nice to visit with my aunt and cousins. I think one of the coolest things is just watching my cousin Tina and how much she has grown up. Tina was born the day before me, our moms even shared a hospital room and her parents are my Godparents. Anyway, Tina was always the wild child (at least compared to me). She got married shortly after we graduated from high school and then had her oldest son Ethan. Sadly, that marriage ended when her husband took his own life. A few years later, she met Josh and married him and they had Noah and Sydney. Both are adorable, as is Ethan. But they found out in the last few years that Noah is autistic. It is so incredible to watch how Tina is with him. She was a good mom anyway, but she is absolutely amazing with Noah and all that she has done to help him advance. She is such an advocate for him. I was almost in tears just being so happy for her and so proud of her.

After the shower, Chris came and got Mom and I and we picked up Dad and relaxed for a while. We all headed to Famous Dave's for an early dinner and then we headed back home. Sunday was church and small group.

This week we are trying desperately to clean and sort and organize our house. We have kind of been shoving stuff in since before the wedding. And then we brought back a whole bunch of Chris' stuff from Michigan and now we have a massive mess. So we have been unloading closets, and basically making keep, sell and toss piles. I have a nice pile of stuff for a garage sale. And we have thrown a ton out already. It feels good but I'd like to get rid of even more. Ever since I moved my mom out of the house my family had lived in for over 20 years, I have this overwhelming need to downsize.

We have another motive for getting things cleaned out though. My friend Katia and her little guy Ian are coming down for the weekend. And since the bed in the spare room is currently covered with all kinds of stuff, we're thinking we should get it cleared off and the room cleaned out so they can sleep in there. And maybe we should get the other rooms done so we have some space to relax and play. Which means I will be cleaning and sorting every night this week. Not so much fun. But I'm hoping the end result will encourage me to keep on top of it.

We are really looking forward to seeing Katia and Ian too! We'll miss Seanie but he gets to spend the weekend at the lake with his grandparents. We're hoping to maybe hit the zoo on Saturday and hopefully go swimming at some point too. It'll just be nice to have them here.

Photos and More

2006-06-19T15:25:00.000-05:00

Yeah! Blogger is finally cooperating and I can post some photos! These are from our trip to Michigan over Memorial Day.

We also got some fun news this weekend. My sister Roma and her husband Rob who live in Denver will be visiting in July. They have a 6 1/2 month old little guy, Ryan. Chris and I haven't made it out to visit them yet so we haven't even met Ryan. And Chris and Rob haven't met yet either. So we'll get to see them and spend some time in Sioux City. Should be fun!

My nephew Marshall all smiles

Our friend's little guy, Liam

Liam and his Daddy, Bill

Marshall and Grandma

Marshall and Liam playing

Carrie, Mike and Marshall

Amy, Bill and Liam

TGIF!, Date Night, Weddings, & Photos

2006-06-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

TGIF!
Yeah, it's Friday! Chris headed out early (way, way early) for his company retreat in KC. So tonight, my friend Melanie (whose husband Dan works for the same company and is also at the retreat) and I are going shopping! Mel's kids are visiting Grandma this week and won't be home until late tomorrow so we're both single and carefree tonight! Of course, knowing us, we'll probably spend the whole evening looking for stuff for our husbands and talking about them! We're planning a nice dinner in Omaha and then more shopping, followed by a sleepover at Mel's. I'm looking forward to some girl time!

Date Night
Last night, Chris and I went had our date night - a yummy spaghetti dinner at Joe's followed by a movie. The movie ended up being a serious downer. Chris had voted for Cars but thinking that The Break Up was a romantic comedy, I opted for it. After the movie, I promised Chris, and I am repeating that promise in writing here, that he gets the final say on all future movie choices. He is really good about balancing the number of chick flick, comedies and superhero movies we see so it's all his from here on out. Like I mentioned, I was expecting a romantic comedy, and there were funny parts, but honestly, it was just depressing, very sad. We walked out feeling terrible but it was nice to realize that we don't act anything like the couple in the movie - and Chris is always telling and showing me how much he appreciates what I do. I cannot thank God enough for a loving, Godly husband.

Wedding
Tomorrow afternoon Chris and I have a wedding to go to. He probably won't make it to the ceremony but is planning on meeting me at the reception. We are in charge of running the wedding video so I'm really hoping he gets back in time to do that. I'm running over to the reception site today to set it up and I am hoping it works! Wish me luck! This is the first wedding we've attended since our wedding 6 months ago and we're looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the evening. We're also excited about the gift we're giving them! Our friends, Deedra and Justin, gave the neatest gift and we're using the idea for Stephen and Laura's wedding gift. Deed and Justin gave us a simple little decorative box. Inside was a note that this was a blessing box. You were to write down your blessings, large and small and put them in the box. You could pull one out to read when you were sad or needed encouragement. Then on Thanksgiving, you should read all the blessings together. We love it and use it regularly. And now we get to pass it on! Joann, my friend and Stephen's mom, thought they would love it too so that makes it even better. Laura also mentioned to Joann that they hadn't received any photo frames as shower gifts and she was hoping to get some. So now they will be getting frames too. I think this is the first wedding I've been to where I haven't agonized over the gift and it is so nice. My goal on the shopping trip tonight is to find the perfect boxes for the Blessing Boxes - and to buy several! We have several more weddings this summer and I love this gift idea.

Photos
Finally was able to upload the photos from my camera to the computer from our trip to Michigan. I didn't get many taken but there are some adorable ones of my nephew Marshall and our friend's little guy Liam.

Never mind - dumb blogger won't upload photos right now. Will put them on later today.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Another Catch-Up

2006-06-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

Seems like I am forever catching up on here. It's been a very busy several weeks. Here's what's been going on...

Michigan
We left on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and headed for Michigan. Uneventful trip. We made it to Chris' parent's house around 2:30 in the morning and proceeded to drop into bed. On Saturday, we swung by the house (horrible condition) and then went to catch up with Mike and Carrie down in Ypsilanti. Mike, Chris and Brad headed back to Brighton to meet up with some of the other guys and then they were off to see X-Men 3. In the mean time, Carrie and I, with Marshall in tow, attended a 1st birthday party for the twins of Carrie's fellow resident, Ann. Ann's little guys, Ben and Owen, are adorable. The party was amazing - tons of food and cake, and even more babies! Everywhere you turned there were babies - ranging from just over a year to a 3-week old little girl. There was even another set of twins (children of another of Carrie's co-workers) names Charlotte and Owen. Chris and I love the name Owen and thought we would like to use it but now we're not so sure. Seems to be gaining popularity. Right before the cake was served, Marshall decided he'd had enough. So we packed up, heading back to Brighton and Chris' parent's house. After the guys got home, we all grabbed dinner and then watched the Pistons game (versus The Heat) and then it was bedtime.

In the morning, Chris and I and Mike and Carrie headed to church and then home again for lunch. Then the group of us headed to the Chris' house and the nightmare that was waiting for us. Before we could do much, we had to clean all the garbage out of the house and yard. So off to work we went. We worked all afternoon, heading home in the late afternoon to eat and cool off. We went back later that evening after it had cooled off to get some more done. While we were there, two of the neighbors stopped over and helped for a bit. It was really nice to visit with them as we worked. We headed home again to relax and go to bed.

We were back at it early Monday and now we could at least clear whole rooms and get walls wiped down in preparation for painting. Chris and I stopped and bought flowers and plants and mulch. My job was to get a flower bed planted in the front to improve the aesthetics of the exterior. It was incredible how much of a difference a flat of impatiens, a flat of celosa, a single hosta and a little bush, along with a few bags of mulch will make. In no time, the outside was looking great. We slacked off a little on Tuesday deciding to ride with Mike up to Clare to check out Mike and Carrie's new house and accompany the house inspector. It was a nice break and we had a great time with Mike. We got back in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day working at the house. In the evening, our friends Bill and Amy and little Liam came up and helped for a while. Then we headed out for a nice Chinese dinner with them and back to bed for more sleep. By Wednesday, we had given up on the idea of getting all the garbage out of there ourselves and called to get a large dumpster for the yard. Can you believe we filled it - and then some!? It was crazy how much trash two slovenly bachelor's can make. We spent the rest of Wednesday taping and cleaning and ripping up carpet all prepping to paint. On Thursday, the painting frenzy began. We painted for 12 hours straight. I HATE the smell of paint now. It never used to bother me but now I just want to barf when I smell it. Bill and Amy came up again on Thursday to help and we snuck out for a late dinner at Dairy Queen - YUM! By Friday night there was light at the end of the tunnel. The house was looking (and smelling) a lot better! We went to the house just for a few minutes on Saturday to grab some stuff and finish cleaning out some stuff we needed. Then it was home to spend the little time we had left with family. Bill and Amy and Liam came up, along with Mike and Carrie and Marshall. We all went out and grabbed dinner at Applebee's and then went back to Mom and Dad Nicholson's house. The babies played together while the adults relaxed and chatted. We got up early on Sunday morning, packed up and headed home. Another uneventful drive and we were home by 9:00 on Sunday night.

VBS
Chris and I both headed back to work on Monday morning. Starting Monday evening and running all week was our church's Vacation Bible School. Chris got to lead around a group of 3rd and 4th graders while I cuddled babies in the nursery. We both had fun. By Friday night we were both beat though. But Chris was a trooper. He helped with the final program and was in costume - complet with sailor hat and little grass skirt. I'll post a picture soon! Our friend Cherie and her son Brett followed us home that night so Brett could help Chris unload his massive TV that we brought back from his house. Cherie and I worked to get the door and shelves out of the entertainment center so we could fit said massive TV. It was questionable for a few minutes if it would work or not but we managed to fit it in with only 2 minor scratches to the entertainment center. And then there was the jumble of wires to deal with! And until Brett and my super-savvy husband told me otherwise, I didn't realize that coaxial cable wasn't that great! Who knew?! By shortly after 11:00, Cherie and Brett had headed home and Chris was just about done getting everything hooked up. We even watched a few minutes of Lord of the Rings before heading to bed. I have to say, I was not in favor of using the massive TV. I mean, come on, isn't my little 19" good enough?! But seriously, the clarity of this big TV is amazing! And it's flat screen which I guess is supposed to be good too. And you can actually read the closed captioning!

The Babysitting Adventure
On Saturday, we were scheduled for another adventure. Chris and I headed out at 7:30 in the morning to head to our friend's house. We were going to be watching 4 year old Cameron and 1 year olds, Trevor and Jennika all day. The kids were up and ready to go. Daddy was already gone and Mommy headed out right away. We had planned to do some yard sale-ing, so we headed up the kiddos and were off to meet our friend Sharon for the city-wide garage sales. We finished up fairly early and were invited to Sharon and Brian's house for lunch. So Chris and I and the three kiddos and Brian and Sharon and their little one Noah, crammed into their living room, complete with enough toys to open a toy store. It was hilarious! Their were babies and toys all over the place. We left around 1:00 to get the kiddos home and down for naps - which gave Chris and I a chance to catch our breath and take a quick nap. Tony and Kathi came home to change for an evening wedding and were off again. Just a few hours later and everyone was ready for bed - except Miss Jennika. She fell asleep for a bit but then was up to party until Mom and Dad got home. We had a fun time and let Kathi and Tony know that we'd love to do it again.

And now we're finally settling in to be home again. Life is good. Hope you are all well.

More about Renae

2006-06-15T11:28:00.000-05:00

Stolen from Laura at Nate, Nate Rollerskate.

A little more about me:

I AM: a wife, a sister, a best friend, a believer, a friend, a hoper, a thinker, a feeler.
I SAID: I would help my friend dye her hair on Saturday. I’m not so sure about this now.
I WANT: to hire a housekeeper. That’s how bad my house is.
I WISH: I could stay motivated. I love the way I feel after working out but it seems like such a chore to get there.
I HATE: feeling so vulnerable and, at times, jealous.
I MISS: My dad. My Grandma. My bestest friend Amyla. My Michigan family.
I FEAR: losing Chris. BUT I trust in God that there is a purpose to everything under heaven.
I HEAR: The hum of the air conditioner, the keyboard as I type, the printer starting up, the radio in the distance, music – always – in my heart
I WONDER: If I’ll ever stop missing the man my dad was.
I REGRET: not being closer to my sisters.
I AM NOT: afraid to die. Sometimes I feel like I am so happy that I don’t know how much more I can stand. It’s a good feeling.
I DANCE: to a song that is always in my head.
I SING: not really that great, but always with exuberance.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: very deep. Sometimes I just want to be shallow and self-consumed and then I remember what it’s really all about.
I MADE: a crocheted baby blanket for my nephnew, Marshall.
I WRITE: all the time. I have to finish writing my thesis.
I CONFUSE: a lot of words and sometimes letters. It’s like my brain is too full to properly regurgitate what I need.
I NEED: to clean my house. We still haven’t unpacked from vacation.
I SHOULD: call my mom. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve talked.
I START: lots of crafty stuff, but lose interest sometimes.
I FINISH: My Masters Degree in December! Must finish the thesis this summer!
I BELIEVE: that wishes on stars do sometimes come true and that laughter can cure so many hurts.
I KNOW: no matter what I look like or what I’m wearing, my husband thinks I am incredibly beautiful. And I am finally believing it when he says it.
I CAN: remember the most obscure facts, figures and names. My friend calls is radio trivia.
I CAN'T: Bear to see my husband tear up. And, like Laura, I can’t do a cartwheel either. Never could.
I SEE: dead bugs in the lights on the ceiling. They cast shadows on my desk. Gross.
I BLOG: to keep friends and family amused and apprised of what’s up in our lives, to get things off my chest.
I READ: almost anything. Lately it’s been all comp books but I just started a book by Angela Hunt called The Novelist. I’m also reading Dr. Laura’s The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands - she has great insight.
I AM AROUSED BY: my darling husband using big words in an effort to make me laugh.
IT PISSES ME OFF: that some people treat marriage as such a convenience and find the lamest excuse to walk away.
I FIND: the older I get, the more content and happy I am.
I LIKE: the smell of coffee, fresh garden tomatoes, band concerts around the square, farmer’s markets, the smell of rain, long hugs, the sunset from my house on the hill, the sound of Chris singing to himself, cheese, the softness of a baby’s skin.
I LOVE: my husband.

Just a note...

2006-06-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here's what I know:
*We are back home.
*We are tired.
*Tonight we have VBS (Vacation Bible School). And every night the rest of this week.
*I am helping in the nursery. Cuddling babies is about the extent of what I can do right now.
*It was a very long week in Michigan. I will write more about it later. For now, I am glad to be home and so very, very thankful for my amazing husband who drove 8 of the 10 hours home.
*The house is officially on the market.
*I miss our family and friends - especially Mom & Dad Nicholson, Mike & Carrie and Marshall, and Bill & Amy and Liam.
*My allergies are MUCH worse in Iowa than in Michigan.
*Will post pictures too.
*Gotta head to VBS.

Thanks for all the prayers! Every single one was felt and so appreciated!

Three Cheers for Friday!!!

2006-05-26T08:39:00.000-05:00

Yeah! I'm so happy it's Friday! Not that this week has been bad. It's actually been a very good week. Here are a few highlights -

My best friend, Amy, got engaged on Tuesday night to her beshert (that's the Hebrew word for soulmate), Ross. Ross completely and totally surprised Amy and it was awesome to be in on it.
Had a great week working with my co-workers. We are getting a new boss soon (in 2 weeks) so I think we're all a little nervously optimistic. In the meantime, we are just working away - and having a lot of fun. I love getting to work with such good people.
My husband and the other guys in the small group surpised the women last night with a belated Mother's Day excursion. We visited the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, IA followed by dinner at the Danish Inn. It was a very fun evening.
I FINALLY got my hair colored again - Goodbye Gray! And the best part was I got to spend the afternoon with my friend, Renee. She cut and colored and we talked our heads off. Renee's husband Josh has been going through some medical stuff so it's been tough to find time to catch up. Yesterday afternoon was perfect and we had a great time.
And, of course, the highlight of my week was watching Taylor Hicks win American Idol! Yeah, Taylor! We can't wait to buy your CD!

So it's been a really good week. And now that it's Friday things are better. Wanna know why? Ok, I'll tell you - in three cheers (see title of this post).

Cheer 1 - Today is mine and Chris' 6-month anniversary. I know, I know, not all that long, but it has been 6 of the very best months of my life. I cannot tell you how very blessed I am to have Chris as my husband. I am looking forward to the next 60 years with this man.
Cheer 2 - I am only working a half day. And again, you may ask why? Well that would lead us to cheer 3.
Cheer 3 - We leave for Michigan in just a few hours! Yeah!!! We are heading out a little after noon and don't come home until June 4th. Of course, we'll have lots of work to get done with the house and all, but we also have time planned with our friends and family. We should get to Mom and Dad Nicholson's house by midnight tonight. And then tomorrow, Carrie (my awesome sil) and Marhsall (my cute as can be nephew) and I are going to a birthday party while the guys go see X-Men 3. Then it's a family dinner celebrating my mil's birthday (which was Wednesday - Happy Birthday Mom!). And who knows after that. Chris and I are just happy to be going and to get to see everyone.

So life is fabulous! We're at T-minus 3 hours. Just have to run around and get a couple of errands done, including gas and ice, and then we're out of here. Goodbye Iowa! Hello Michigan! Hope you all have a great long weekend!

10 Things I Want to Say to Taylor Hicks

2006-05-24T12:11:00.000-05:00

In a tribute to the new man of soul:

1. Please do not dye your hair. No matter what Simon says, gray is sexy.
2. You are SO much better than Katherine.
3. Please do not conform.
4. We will never buy Katherine's CD - we promise!
5. Don't let anyone take away your uniqueness, not even the guy who signs your checks.
6. Don't do anything your mama would be embarrassed to read on the front page of the local newspaper.
7. Joe Cocker should be very proud to have you singing his songs.
8. Sing that funky music, white boy.
9. You can come sing me to sleep anytime.
10. No matter what happens tonight, you will always be my American Idol.

And 1 thing my husband thinks, "He looks like a chicken when he jumps around like that. Can't he just be cool?!"

Barbecue, Babies and Other Fun

2006-05-23T11:03:00.000-05:00

I picked up Noah on Friday afternoon and he and I headed home to meet Chris. Noah was so excited to see Chris. He is on a big daddy kick right now and he tends to like all men and Chris is his buddy. So the two of them spent some time playing while I got our gear ready to go. We loaded up and headed to our friend Cherie’s house for the evening. We had a great evening, cooking out, eating and relaxing with Cherie and her sister Vickie, and our other friends Kathi and Tony and their 3 young ones. Kathi and Tony have 3 year old Cameron and year old twins Trevor and Jennika. So there were lots of babies – all playing and crawling and walking all over. The little ones finally decided they’d had enough excitement for the evening and we all headed home. We got home and put Noah straight to bed – only 2 hours later than his normal bedtime! He was a tired little guy and slept most of the night through. He had a few little bad dreams but was mainly able to get himself back to sleep. And wonder of wonders, he even slept in! Sharon, Noah’s mom, called at about 7:45 and we completely missed the call. She called again about 45 minutes later and Chris made it to the phone – but Noah was still asleep. Sharon said he never sleeps that late! We finally all were up by 8:45. Chris and I were trying to teach Noah was Saturday mornings should be all about – relaxing and family time. We had hoped to spend the whole day outside but we got a surprise rainstorm in the morning so we spent some time reading and playing and relaxing before the sun finally came out. The three of us took a walk in the park and did some running around in the afternoon. Noah didn’t get a nap in so by 6:30 he was a little bit cranky. After a good dinner and a bath, he went right to sleep. On Sunday we learned that if we want to get to church on time – and with a toddler – then we definitely need to get up earlier! We still made it but were just a little late. Noah was a doll during church. We met Brian and Sharon at Pizza Ranch and lunch with them and our friends June and Mike and their kids Griffin and Jessalyn. Brian and Sharon were so happy to see Noah again. And we were happy that we survived and Noah was still in one piece with not a scratch on him! He is such an easy little guy to take care of! We are fully aware that our own children might not be so easy but it was still fun to take care of him, and fun to think about the future.

Noah and Chris on the slide at the park

Chris and I got home and promptly took a nap! We spent some good quiet time together in the afternoon before Chris headed to small group. I was dealing with some tummy troubles so I stayed home and crashed. When we got home we watched a little TV and talked. I love just getting to relax with Chris. We did the same thing on Monday night after we got all of our stuff done – just sat on the couch and cuddled and talked and then goofed around.

We’re getting excited about our trip to Michigan. We’ll have a lot of work to do while we’re there but we’ll also have some downtime to spend with family and friends. Should be a great trip.

Hope this finds you all well!

PS – Please send up some prayers for my friend, Victoria. Vik’s dad has been fighting cancer for a couple of years and earlier this year, the doctors said there was nothing else they could do. Her dad is now in hospice care (in his home) and Vik’s brother Eddie moved home to care for their dad. Victoria just finished up her first year of PA (physician’s assistant) school and has her first rotation in Seattle, where her dad lives. She in on her way there now (actually sitting in the Detroit airport as I type this). Please pray for strength for her and her brothers, Eddie and Curtis and for her dad to come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior before he passes from this earth. Thanks. Love, Renae

Good Stuff and Not So Good Stuff

2006-05-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

Good Stuff

I haven't been posting lately as it seems there really hasn't been anything exciting happening. But I'm all good with that. I like that my life is fairly measured and predicatable. It's been very soothing to have the same routine over the past few weeks - especially since June could very well be a contender for the busiest month of our lives. So in the mornings, off go Chris and I to our respective places of employment, we put in our time and then I head to get shots (love my allergy shots) or exercise and ususally get home within 10-20 minutes of each other. We fix dinner together, relax, spend some time talking and just spend the evening together. It's been very nice, very calming and restful. Our weekends are spent taking care of housework and chores, running errands and doing any shopping we need to - again restful, relaxing, soothing.

But all that changes, albeit temporarily, tonight. Tonight, and this weekend, we shall attempt yet another round of babysitting/temporary parenthood. Our friends' Brian and Sharon are once again trusting the care of their young one to us. This time Brian and Sharon are headed to Eastern Iowa for a Truth Conference - all about absolute and world truth and what it means to Christians today. And we shall be here at home with 19-month old Noah in all his glory. We stopped by Brian and Sharon's last night for a healthy dinner of salad and got the low down on what all we need to do to keep Noah healthy, safe and happy. We came home with a stroller, huge basket of his food, a bag of videos/CDs/books, pedialyte, Dr's info, and a swing we can hang on our swing set. We have yet to get the little guy himself! I'll pick him up this afternoon at the baby sitter's house along with his carseat, clothes, diapers and sippy cups for the weekend, additional toys and more food that she has. Whew!

We are very excited to have him all weekend - and that Brian and Sharon trust us! I think Chris and I are both a little nervous though too. The last 2 times we've had Noah overnight, he hasn't done well on the sleeping front so we're already resigned to two fairly sleepless nights. Tonight we're hoping to wear him out! We're heading to a friend's house for a cookout and games and we're hoping that Noah will be ready for bed by the time we get home. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice so we're planning on spending most of the day outside - and Noah loves being outside. Mommy and Daddy will be back late Saturday night but we're planning on waiting until Sunday morning at church to give him back. So hopefully it'll be a fun and educational weekend for us!

Not So Good Stuff

Since Chris' renters/friends are moving out at the end of May, we did a bunch of checking and decided that our best course of action right now is to sell the house. We got a hold of a great realtor back in Michigan and she was full of energy and ready to sell the place for us. Because of conflicts with his renters/friend's schedules however, she hasn't been able to get into the house. Until this week. And it wasn't good.

When Chris called me after talking to her, his first comment was that Cindy (our realtor) sounded like she was trying not to cry. Yep, it was that bad. And these are supposed to be his FRIENDS???? According to Cindy, the one roommate had been smoking in his bedroom (it was obvious by the smell) - this guy knows that this is the one major thing that Chris did NOT want him to do. Along with that, the house was a pit - and they had known for a couple of days that she was coming to look at the house. Oh, and another thing - there was food ROTTING into the carpet! Hello! I was sick - I still feel sick. I am so hurt and so angry with Chris' so called friends. How could they treat him this way? Granted, they still have 7 days to get out of the house and get everything cleaned up but these guys are not the most stellar as is. I feel like they totally took advantage of Chris' friendship and trust. And I have to say - I LOVE my sister-in-law Carrie. She told Chris last night that she didn't think he should be friends with them anymore - and I totally agree. But my amazing husband is handling the whole situation with grace. He says that he will see how the house looks when we get there. If it's not OK, then he will call them and give them a chance to make it right - ie, cleaning it more, painting, paying for things. And if that fails, then he will deal with it. I love this man.

Cindy was very discouraged by the condition of the interior. But Chris and I are holding onto hope that we can make some minor changes and repairs and it'll work. God-willing, the house will sell quickly and we can be done. But we'll see what He has planned. For now we just continue to trust that we're doing what He wants.

So just a few hours and I get to go pick up Noah and then we'll head home to meet Chris and go from there to our cookout. I'm looking forward to my friend Cherie's homemade potato salad and a grilled burger! Yum!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Still Tripping After Shooting Up

2006-05-08T21:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, yeah, that title could have some of my friends ready to hold an intervention for me. And if said intervention meant I could sleep for long uninterupted periods of time, I might just sign up!

But seriously, I had another round of allergy shots this afternoon. And they are finally reacting in a big, bad way. I had to have my serums remixed and like a good little patient, I have been getting them twice a week. Last week, due to contracting my hubby's wonder bug, I had to skip a set of shots. So in I traipse today, and lo and behold, I get the nasty reaction today. My head is throbbing and I am having massive hot flashes in my cheeks and upper arms where I get the shot along with a little bit of breathing trouble. Not enough to call the doc or head to the ER, but enough to keep Chris and I from enjoying the great outdoors this evening. Could be from still not feeling 100% or it could just be the increased dosage. Whatever it is, I don't appreciate it. I sincerely pray that my children don't have to deal with allergies like I do.

On a good note, we found out who are new boss is going to be. And we're pretty excited about her. She starts in June but according to the personnel office, our other interim guy had exhausted his official 120 days, so I am now acting DC for the next month. It's really not that hard, but I am amazed at the increased stress I am feeling. I think the stress is definitely adding to my headache. Tomorrow is an out of town meeting that I've already been assured will add to my stress. But Wednesday should be fun. We have our annual Conservation Day for all of the 6th graders in the county out at one of the state parks. I am really looking forward to it right now - a day out of the office, away from phones and farmers and other people.

As I mentioned above, despite my fondness for Lysol I still managed to contract Chris' bug and feel wretchedly ill most of Friday and Saturday. Sunday I felt well enough to head to church, spend some wonderful time relaxing with my husband and then we went to small group. My wonderful husband and I got to spend some time snuggling and relaxing - a great ending to a very good weekend.

Doing the Happy Dance!

2006-05-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, friends and strangers, I am officially doing the happy dance! Here's how it went down:

Chris and I had planned to go to Omaha on Saturday but with the whole "selling the Michigan house" situation, neither one of us really felt like going and spending money, knowing that if the house doesn't sell within 6 months, that we could really need that money. It was also raining like crazy so we decided to wait and see if we'd feel like going later on. Chris tackled the dishes and I started working on laundry. We cleaned like madmen! A little after noon, I decided I needed a break and walked out to the mailbox. And like I've done every day for the past 3 weeks, I frantically searched for a letter with the UNI return address. Unlike every other day over the past 3 weeks, this time said letter was actually in the pile! Yikes! I didn't care if it was raining or not, I opened it. And all I could see was PASS, PASS, PASS!!!!! Yowza! And, of course, being the mentally stable, serene individual that I am, I promptly burst into tears! I ran into the house and totally freaked Chris out since I was crying and dripping wet. It took him a minute to realize what was happening and then he was so excited for me! So, in case you haven't been following my posts, I officially PASSed by English comprehensive exams for my MA degree - both my written and orals! YEAH!!! Which means I just have my thesis to finish and defend and I'll be done! Double YEAH!

After receiving such awesome news, we decided that we definitely had to go celebrate in the city. We decided we would just return the things we needed to return, pick up a few minor things and then do dinner at a nice place. We ended up at Olive Garden which we both like. I don't think I always realize how much a good or bad server can affect your meal. We had a fantastic server named Chris - he was a winner on the name alone! Seriously though, he made us feel like we were his only table, and we know we couldn't have been because it was packed in there. If you ever make it to the Olive Garden on about 74th and Dodge in Omaha, be sure to ask for Chris. He was awesome! Chris (my Chris) and I were both stuffed but we got a dessert to go to share at home later. We stopped by one of the malls to run a quick errand and had to detour through the food court to use the bathroom. When I came out, Chris grabbed me and said he thought we really needed to try this new place. The new place turned out to be a little shop called "Lora's Just Desserts." It is owned by a local woman and she bakes the most amazing treats! We bought a piece of chocolate layer cake and a mini cherry pie to take home. They were both fantastic! So if you're ever in Omaha, out at the Westroads Mall, stop by Lora's Just Desserts or you can go visit her at www.lorasjustdesserts.com.

On the way home we swung by our friends Brian and Sharon's and visited with them and little Noah. We have been so out of touch with studying for my comps and all of our weekends away so it was nice to just sit and visit for a while. Sunday was busy with church and small group and relaxing.

Can't believe we're already to Wednesday! Chris had another bout of stomach flu on Monday night and Tuesday so that was lots of fun. So far I've managed to dodge it and will keep praying that I don't get sick. I need to make another pass with my trusty Lysol spray but we're getting closer to germ free. Chris is feeling much better and is back at work today which he is very happy about. So life is good again in the Nicholson household!

Miles and Miles to Michigan and Back

2006-04-26T15:34:00.000-05:00

Chris and I left around 3:00 on Thursday and headed to Michigan. I drove the first several hours and then he took over. I think I slept from the Iowa border all the way to Chicago. We were making great time but got stopped due to the never ending construction in Chicago. We made it to Ann Arbor around 2:00 a.m. and crashed on Mike & Carrie’s sofa bed. Marshall must have been excited to see us because he was up before the crack of dawn – 6:00 am! We snuck in a little bit more sleep and then got up and ran some errands while Marshall took his morning nap.

The guys left to head to Kalamazoo around 2ish and Carrie was at work so Marshall and I hung out with Mom and Dad Nicholson. We had a great time relaxing and talking and taking a walk. After Carrie got home from work, we ate dinner and played some games. And Marshall decided to show everyone his new game – playing peek-a-boo with his bedroom door! The wee one was supposed to be sleeping but he has learned to stand up in his crib. And on Friday, he figured out he could reach his door and open and close it, laughing hysterically every time he saw one of us. It was quite the fun game – until Mommy moved his crib away from the door and the wall.

On Saturday we scrapbooked and relaxed, spent some quality time with our friends Bill and Amy and their little guy, Liam. Amy and Bill are awesome people! I am excited for when we move to Michigan knowing we have great friends there in them. It also makes me so happy to have such a great brother-in-law and sister-in-law in Mike and Carrie. They love Chris so much and have welcomed me with open arms. I had such a great time spending the weekend with Carrie and Marshall. My in-laws are also wonderful! It was so nice to hang out with them and get to talk a lot. Chris’ dad told me several cute stories about him – how fun is that?!

I left Ann Arbor pretty early on Sunday and headed to a camp northwest of Goble, MI to pick up Chris. I was able to get in some quick visits with several of our friends before we headed for home again. We made fantastic time and got back to our house around 8:30 on Sunday night. It was really nice to get home before midnight – our usual return time.

So now we’re home again for a few weeks. We have a couple of small jaunts planned over the next month – one up to Sioux City to see my parents, another up to northeastern and north central Iowa to see some friends and then we head back to Michigan at the end of the May.

Not much has been happening since we’ve gotten home. We are still making decisions and doing some research in regards to renting or selling the house in Michigan and have been spending time on that every night. Other than enjoying the weather, we’ve been having a fairly low-key week. On Saturday, we’re heading to Omaha and the Build-A-Bear Workshop. We’re going to build a Nikki’s Bear, with a portion of the proceeds going toward autism research (see my post below for more info). And hopefully by then I will know how I did on my written comps. Still no news for now.

Hope you are all having a great week! I leave with you some photos of the weekend...

Our friends - Bill & Amy and Liam

Super Smiley Liam (Check out all that hair!)

My Fantastic Sister-in-Law Carrie with a tired Marshall

My Happy Little Nephew Marshall

Marshall Jumping for Joy

Marshall Playing with a Final Haven Dagger

Weird Facts About Me

2006-04-23T21:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah! My first tag - thanks to Lisa over at The Shizzle! Visit Lisa here.

1. One of my favorite foods growing up was ground up meat. My family would take chunk bologna and dill pickles and grind them together in a meat grinder. Throw in some miracle whip and then eat on crackers or a sandwich - YUM! (Chris thinks this is SO gross!)

2. I go through phases with foods - especially sweets. For a month, all I'll want is peanut m&m's. Then I can't stand them again for a good 6 months. Just got done with a Hershey Kiss with Caramel phase. Right now, I'm loving rice krispy treats.

3. I used to have to have it completely pitch black in my room to sleep. Since my house was broken into a year ago (with me in it) I now have several night lights and light from the yard light that have to be on.

4. I don't really twirl my hair so much as twist it and smell it. I think I am obsessed with having nice smelling hair, especially since my husband can smell it. Weird, I know.

5. My pillowcase is an old Raggedy Ann/Raggedy Andy one from when I was little. It stays cool better than any other pillowcase I've ever had. I also have a little blanket my mom made that stays cool. I keep it up near my face - Chris likes to try and steal it since he likes how cool it is too.

OK, I am so tired I'm not going to tag anyone but play if you're up to it - and let me know if you do.

Update on our weekend and the whole Michigan trip tomorrow. Plus pictures of my oh, so incredibly brilliant and adorable nephew!

Livin' la vida loca

2006-04-19T14:41:00.000-05:00

Hope this finds you all well!

It seems like life is constantly busy lately. Our week flew by in a rush and all of a sudden it was Saturday. I think I mentioned before that Chris was playing the repentant criminal in our church’s Passion play “Watch the Lamb.” As a criminal, he was basically dressed in a loin cloth, with a rope around his wrists. And he had to be rubbed down with baby oil so the blood (made of Karo syrup and food coloring) wouldn’t be so hard to get off. So the wives of the two criminals and Jesus were recruited to rub our men down with baby oil. Anyway, this meant that both Chris and I had to be at the final play practice on Saturday morning at 9:00.

We showed up at practice only to get some bad news: Jesus was in the hospital with kidney stones. OK, actually it was Ron who was playing Jesus who was in the hospital. Our friend Mike, who was supposed to play the violent criminal, stepped up to play Jesus and another Mike stepped in to play the second criminal. So practice was a little intense that day with people trying to learn lines and get used to a semi-new cast.

We finally got done with play practice, stopped up to visit with Ron’s wife in the hospital, picked up groceries and headed home. We had about 2 ½ hours before we had to be back at church for the play so we put away groceries and crashed on the couch to watch a movie. We had to rush to get ready and get back to church but it was so nice just snuggling and relaxing for those 2 hours. Despite the wild weather and tornado warnings, the play went very well. It was incredibly powerful and very emotional. The mother of the director wrote it based on Ray Boltz’s song “Watch the Lamb.” My friend Brian took pictures with a special lens. He’s supposed to be posting them to a website soon and I’ll be sure to post the link here.

So we headed home and finished picking up the house and getting things ready for Sunday. We went to the early service and it was great. Our pastor has really been on fire lately and it was so awesome to hear him speak and lead our congregation. Instead of Sunday School, our church holds an Easter brunch between the services. I could not believe how many egg casseroles there were! We headed back home and started getting Easter dinner ready. Our friends, Brian and Sharon, and their little guy Noah, Dan and Tina, and their kids Martin, Harrison, and Marie, and Cherie and Brett all came up for the afternoon. We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids and the rest of us visited and relaxed. We sat down to a HUGE meal – ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, Snicker salad, deviled eggs, homemade bread, fruit salad, fresh veggies, and coleslaw. Then to top it off, Sharon and Brian and Noah had made a bunny cake that was delicious! After everyone left, Chris and I relaxed and took a little nap. We ended up skipping small group because I started not feeling well. Instead, Chris let me take a long nap while he cleaned up.

This week has already flown by too. It’s already Wednesday and today is my Friday! We head to Michigan sometime tomorrow afternoon. We are both hoping to get out of here around 2ish but it may be a little later. At this point, we are planning on driving straight through to Kalamazoo. We’ll find a place to stay overnight there and then check out the campground in the morning. I think Chris is going to drive to Ypsi with me so he can see his family too. Then he and Mike will head back to Kzoo around 1:00. And I get to stay with my sister-in-law Carrie and my nephew Marshall until Sunday! I’ll get to see my awesome in-laws on Friday too! Then on Sunday I’ll head back to the campground at Kzoo to pick up Chris and head back to Iowa. I am so looking forward to the whole weekend – even the 20 hours of driving. It’ll be nice to have some girl time with Carrie and to get to spoil Marshall a little. I’m also hoping to see my friends Amy and Bill and their little guy Liam.

Tonight is all about packing and loading the vehicle. I’m also hoping to get laundry done, a semi-healthy dinner prepared and still find a little time to snuggle with my husband – and get to bed at a decent time.

Probably won’t blog again until we’re home. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Because doing nothing is not acceptable...

2006-04-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, my 10 year old nephew, Patrick, was diagnosed a few years ago with Asperger's Syndrome, one of many Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Shortly thereafter, Patrick's little sister, Kateri (now 5), was diagnosed as being fully Autistic. In addition, two of my little cousins have been diagnosed, one as fully Autistic and one with Asperger's. Obviously, this is a cause very close to our hearts.

April is Autism Awareness Month. Click here to get more information on autism. Many businesses and organizations are holding fundraisers or offering special deals to contribute funds toward autism research. One of my favorites is Build-A-Bear Workshop's Nikki's Bear. During the month of April a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Nikki’s Bear II or Nikki's Bear III will be donated to Autism Speaks through the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation. Click here for more details. And, please, keep praying for a cure.

Currently...

2006-04-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

Currently...
Current clothing: Jeans, purple NRCS polo, black flip flops, hair clip and RED toe nail polish! (can you tell I love my cute toes?)
Current hair: brown with gray, pulled up into clip
Current mood: Very Good! Still basking in the glow of having passed my orals yesterday, looking forward to spending time with Christopher tonight.
Current refreshment: Coke
Current annoyance: none really
Current avoidance: trying to avoid thinking about what happens if I fail the written comprehensive
Current smell: Peach hand lotion – yummy
Current thing you ought to be doing: working on a plan
Current thing or things on your wall: lots of maps of my watershed and county, pertinent info I don’t want to misplace
Current IM/person you're talking to: Zero
Current jewelry: Small silver hoop earrings and my locket and rings
Current book: Besides comp books, just finished Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers - awesome book about redemption and forgiveness, planning to start Big Girls Don’t Whine by
Jan Silvious
Current worry: Not really a worry, but trying to make a grocery list for Easter Dinner at home and Easter Brunch at church
Current favorite celebrity: Reese Witherspoon
Current obsession: none really
Current love: My nuggle buddy
Current longing: just time with Chris
Current disappointment: Not a one
Current lyric in your head: “Blessed be your name…” Matt Redman
Current music: Ross M. Levy, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Josh Kelley
Current favorite book: Wicked, reading it before we see the show
Current favorite movie: Chronicles of Narnia
Current wish: to have passed my written comprehensives and to know soon!
Current happy thing: I’m DONE with comps – and I passed Orals!
Current undergarments: none of your business
Current desktop picture: picture of my almost 4-month old nephew, Ryan
Current plans for tonight/weekend: dinner with hubby, snuggling, laundry, decorating for Easter

Catching up again...

2006-04-11T10:38:00.000-05:00

So on Friday, my wonderful husband took me on a date to Dave & Buster's. For those who don't know what it is, it's basically a Chuck E. Cheese for adults. Except the food is really good! I had a fantastic pasta dish with tomatoes and mushrooms. I would go back just for that! D&B's also has skee ball - which was totally monopolized by the little kids! Most D&B's have a set time when kids can't be there anymore. Our's is so small that they don't have that rule. But it was still fun. We played a shoot'em up game and then lots of skee ball. Yes, I am a skee ball addict! We stopped at Michael's on the way home so I could pick up scrapbooking stuff. I'm not a huge scrapbooker but we are heading to Michigan in a few weeks and my sister-in-law, Carrie, and I are going to work on scrapbooking our wedding photos while the guys spend the weekend camping and playing in the woods. So we got a bunch of stickers and paper and then headed across the street to Target. At Target we finished off one of our gift cards from the wedding (they are SO handy!) and bought The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. Chris was psyched and had to watch it as soon as we got home. I watched part of it with him but got scared and decided to tackle laundry and prepare for orals.

The plan for Saturday was to head up to Waverly as soon as Chris got home from play practice. He is playing the repentant criminal in our church's passion play this weekend. He got home around 1 and we headed across the state. We got to Katia's around 5:30-6ish and relaxed with her and the boys. Ian was SO excited to see Chris. We went to church on Sunday morning and followed that up with brunch at the Red Fox. It was yummy! After we got home, Katia and I decided to make a quick run to Walmart to pick up some Easter stuff. We left Sean and Ian in Chris' trusty care. Shortly before we were ready to leave Walmart, Chris called my cell phone and asked if there was anyway we'd want to stop at the hardware store. Can we say RED FLAG!? He and the boys were playing basketball in the driveway and the ball got away from them and busted a basement window. We hurried home to find glass all over the basement! Katia cleaned that up while Chris and Sean headed to the hardware store and I kept Ian busy upstairs so he wouldn't get into the mess. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. We grilled brats and hamburgers and had those along with a great salad for dinner. Later on we headed to Dairy Queen for a late treat. The boys (including Chris) finished off the night watching SpiderMan while Katia and I talked and watched a Gray's Anatomy rerun in the other room.

We were up early as my orals were scheduled for 8:00 am on the UNI campus. Ian refused to say goodbye to us and even instructed Katia to tell us to stay. With his 3 1/2 year old logic, he thinks if he doesn't tell us goodbye then we won't go. Sorry Buddy! Chris and I headed to Cedar Falls and made it to campus (and a great parking spot -Thank you, GOD!) in plenty of time. I found a spot to sit and go over my notes and Chris headed to the library to use the internet. Orals were tough - lots of questions and I felt like I was talking non-stop. I didn't realize this, but at the end of the time (1 hour), the professors ask you to leave the room and they decide whether you passed or failed. Then they call you back in and tell you. And I passed! Yeah! One step done. It'll probably be another 2-4 weeks before I hear how I did on the written section but I am SO glad to be done with orals. Yeah Me!

After Orals were all done, we grabbed breakfast at Granny Annie's (AWESOME cinnamon rolls!) and then headed to my Dr. appt. Got everything done and we started for home. We got to Chris' office around 4:30. He needed to do some trouble shooting before heading to play practice so I dropped him off, picked up groceries and went home. Spent quite a bit of time cleaning, unpacking and doing laundry. When Chris got home, we caught an episode of The Apprentice and headed to bed. We were both beat from the long weekend.

It's going to be a busy week too. Tonight Chris has a meeting, tomorrow night is our last BYF of the spring, Thursday and Friday we have stuff scheduled. Saturday morning is the last dress rehearsal and at 7:00 Saturday night is the performance of the passion play (I am so not sure about letting everyone see my husband in nothing but a loincloth!). Then Sunday is Easter! Yeah! We have a church potluck breakfast between first and second service. And then we are having a dinner with our friends Brian and Sharon and Noah. My mom and dad and sisters may come down too. Lots to look forward to.

Hope you are all having a great week!

Done

2006-04-03T22:05:00.000-05:00

For better or worse I am done with my written comps. Whew.

It was an incredibly painful weekend but I am so thankful it is over! Thanks for the good wishes and prayers!

My husband is absolutely amazing! Chris stopped at the grocery store on Friday night on his way home. He walked in the door, took out a bag of Hershey Kisses with caramel, opened them and set them beside me at the computer. He then went and grabbed a glass of ice and a coke and set them down too. Then he left me alone to work on my comps. When we got up Saturday morning, he made me eggs and bacon and sliced oranges, then made me lunch, and supper - and cleaned the house in between! He did laundry, sorted stuff, did dishes - and continually brought me healthy little snacks. How incredible is that?! I am SO spoiled!

And the poor guy - it's his birthday today. We didn't get to celebrate this weekend obviously but tonight we were able to relax and spend some time together. I got a tiny little cake at the store and made his favorite appetizers. We crashed on the couch for a bit and now he's playing a game. He said it was a great birthday. Tomorrow we're going to meet some friends for dinner at a local pizza buffet and this weekend we have plans to go pick him up a new game, so he's pretty content.

I think we are both totally exhausted. We actually took a quick nap when he first got home. I'm not sure we would have woken up at all except for the ringing phone.

So sometime in the next 10 days I will go through my oral comps. The department defines the oral comps as a "conversation among colleagues." Will someone tell me how you can fail a conversation??? Yep, there's still a pass/fail on orals too. Oh well, I'll go chat with them for an hour. I should find out in about a month how I did. I'm sure I'll post the results here.

Hope you have all had a great weekend and that the week ahead is looking great!

Another Rainy Monday...

2006-03-27T18:23:00.000-06:00

Yep, I'm definitely referencing the song title here. It's Monday and it is definitely rainy. And I'm sad. Chris flew out yesterday to Seattle. So he's there and it's sunny and nice and I'm here and it's rainy and cold. Even my fingers and toes are cold.

Still trying to study (read - CRAM) for my written comps which start Friday, but honestly, it's hard to study without Chris here. And work is very busy so there's no time to take a break and read for 5 minutes. I think I am just very glad that one week from this moment the written section of the exam will be all done. And hopefully, we will be out somewhere in a quiet, little restaurant celebrating Chris' birthday. Or, if all else fails, snuggling and crashed on the couch.

Must get back to the books. Hope you're all having a great week!

A couple photos

2006-03-21T14:43:00.000-06:00

We have been receiving some photos, both via e-mail and snail mail, from family and friends who took photos at the wedding. It's been fun seeing what different people captured. My friend Amy K. out in Philly sent me these pictures from the wedding and they are two of my favorite non-Chris and I photos. I really liked them so I had to share. These were scanned in so they don't look as good at the originals but I still like them.

This first one is of Amy K., me, and Amyla. The photo was taken in the church library about 10 minutes before the ceremony began. Amy K. and her mom, Elaine, came all the way from Philly for our wedding. The thing that amazed me the most is that we had only met once - about 4 months prior when I was out visiting Amyla. Amy K. and Elaine are just such awesome people. They have both been through so much in the past year, including losing Amy's Dad/Elaine's husband in early August. Then Amy went through a rough breakup. But she is such an amazing person - and she makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world!

This next pic is of Amyla and I - hold the cookies Amy K. baked and brought to Iowa with her! Amyla wouldn't let me eat one before the wedding but I got to snack on them later - and Chris and I finished them off the next morning. How many people would bake cookies and bring them all the way to Iowa to deliver them??? My friend Amy K. will! Love ya Ame! And you too Amyla! And Rossypoo too! If you look close, you can see Ian in the corner - he is my baby! And he turns 4 this June! I can't believe it. The other night I was on the phone with Katia, Ian's mom. She asked him if he wanted to go see Nae and Chis (what he calls us). His response, "OK, right now." He was ready to go! We are looking forward to seeing Katia and Sean Ian when I take my oral comps. We're hoping to spend a long weekend with them either before or after my comps.

Happy Birthday!

2006-03-20T16:20:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my little sister, Reann! She turns 21 today!

Chris and I had a nice, quiet weekend. We stayed in Friday night, ate leftovers and relaxed. I studied most of the evening while Chris played computer games and cleaned up around the house. I spent most of Saturday studying. We managed to get in a nice long walk down our country road and then after some more studying, we headed into town for a dinner and a movie. We ate at our favorite place in town, Joe's on the Square, and then went to see Failure to Launch. It was a cute movie. We got done with that and headed home. On Sunday we went to church and Sunday School. Chris cooked fantastic steaks for lunch while I made potatoes to go with dinner, and then veggie pizza and barbequed beef for small group and brownies for the office on Monday. Chris squeezed in a nap but I was a little too hyper. I ended up working on laundry and studying. Small group was great last night! We were missing quite a few people but it was just really good to be there.

Tonight we meet with our CPA to start on our taxes. I am not looking forward to it but at the same time I'm looking forward to them being done and knowing if we owe or will get anything back. Then it's back home again for a late supper and more studying.

I finally feel like I'm getting more of a handle on the Donne poems. They have been giving me fits but after some thorough reading and some new essays I found, I am feeling much better about at least the poems. Angels in America is also coming along fairly well. I am almost done with the movie and already feel like I have a good handle on it. I found the film version of Middlemarch and am hoping that will help in my understanding of that text. I am definitely feeling more at peace about taking comps. I was getting myself pretty worked up on Saturday night but did some serious praying Saturday night and Sunday and I am feeling so much better. I also asked the women in our small group to be praying over the next 2 weeks and I can already feel their prayers! It's hard to believe but 2 weeks from right now I will be done with the written comps! YEAH!!!!

A Favorite Picture

2006-03-16T14:47:00.000-06:00

This is one of my favorite honeymoon photos of the two of us!

Prayer Request

2006-03-16T11:20:00.000-06:00

I forgot to mention these in my last post but I have a couple of prayer requests I would so appreciate prayer on.

My friend Tammy's brother and sister-in-law are going through a tough situation right now and I know the whole family would appreciate your prayer.

My friend Mike lost his teenage son on Tuesday. Their family is grieving hard and they still have a visitation and funeral and burial to get through this week. Please pray for comfort and for them to be able to feel the hand of God as they grieve and say goodbye.

Trever, the 11-month old son of our friends, Kathi and Tony, is still fighting RSV in the local hospital. Prayer for good health for him and his twin sister, Jennika (who was in the hospital last Wednesday through Sunday) would be so appreciated - especially by Tony and Kathi. Prayers for strength and rest for Tony and Kathi would also be appreciated - and for patience and understanding for big brother, 3 year old Cameron.

Thanks all!

A little more catch-up

2006-03-16T10:50:00.000-06:00

It's already Thursday and my new resolution to blog more is already toast. So let me catch you up on the last week and then I can start fresh.

Last Friday, Chris and I went with several friends to see a Christian comedian in Des Moines. Holy smokes - the guy was hilarious! Go check out his website www.kendavis.com. If he is coming to your area, get tickets! We didn't stop laughing most of the night. We are hoping to get tickets to take Chris' parents when Ken is in Michigan.

The rest of our weekend was spent with me studying and Chris working on projects. Have I mentioned that my MA comprehensive exams are coming up? To be more specific, at 12:00 noon on March 31st, I will be faxed an exam that I must then take home and write on for 3 days on specific questions about selected poetry of John Donne, George Eliot's Middlemarch, and Tony Kushner's Angels in America. I have until Monday, April 3rd at 5:00 pm to turn it in. Within 2 weeks of the completion of the written exam, I will have to be in Cedar Falls on the UNI campus to complete my oral exam. Am I looking forward to any of this? Well, only in the sense that I cannot wait for it to be done. All I do is read and study, search for critical theory, read, study, read study. Thank God for my amazing husband! Chris has been doing the majority of the housework as I study my little brain out. He also makes me go to bed and makes me take breaks so I don't go insane. Last night he even brought me in strawberries and cool whip! YUM!
This week has been about studying and more studying. Last night we handled nursery for BYF and had fun - and we only had one little one to take care of. In fact, at one point, there were 6 adults with one baby! Talk about a great child:adult ratio! I think I mentioned last week that Chris and I would be babysitting our friend's 11 month old twins, Jennika and Trever, last Tuesday night. Kathi, the mom, had jokingly told someone that she couldn't leave her kids anymore because one always ended up in the hospital afterwards - in January, she and hubby Tony had a night or two away and Jennika ended up in the hospital. Then at the end of January, she and Tony (and 3 yr old Cameron) accompanied the band kids to Disney World. When they got back Trever ended up in the hospital. So last Tuesday night, Chris and I babysat the twins while Tony, Kathi and Cameron went to see the Harlan girls play in their substate game. Jennika wasn't doing so hot and had had a cold for several weeks. They got home that night and we told Kathi how awful Jennika sounded. Well the next day they popped Jennika in the hospital. On Sunday, Trever got admitted and Jennika got out. Trever is doing better but still in the hospital as of this morning. Jennika is out and is a happy little stinker. She had a blast all on her own last night. And of course, she didn't get spoiled or anything. :o)

Speaking of babies, I have yet to post a picture of my super cute new little nephew! Ryan was born in December and he is the funniest little guy. He is already quite the womanizer. He has a Minnie Mouse doll that he won't let go of. And my sister and bro-in-law put up pics of Mickey and Minnie over his changing table and Ryan just coos and talks to Minnie all the time. What a guy! Here he is with his woman!

And another of him with his bright eyes!

And his pouting face - this is hilarious!

And another Minnie one:

The Minnie ones crack me up! It is so funny - Ryan looks SO much like his dad but also SO much like my sister. He is definitely their kid!

A True or False Plethora of Information

2006-03-13T15:58:00.000-06:00

Something for fun...borrowed from Fantastagirl...

True or False....
I am a cuddler: True
I am a great dancer: False
I am a morning person: False mostly
I am a perfectionist: Um
I am an only child: False
I am Catholic: True and False (Raised Catholic, attend a Baptist church)
I am currently in my pajamas: False
I am currently pregnant: False
I am currently single: False
I am currently suffering from a broken heart: False
I am okay at styling other people's hair: True
I am left handed: False
I am married: True
I am addicted to myspace.com: False (hear worse and worse things about it every day)
I am very shy around the opposite gender at first: False (at least not anymore)
I bite my nails: False
I can be paranoid at times: True - only about being alone in my house
I currently have a crush on someone: True (and he loves me back... Yeah!)
I currently regret something that I have done: Not lately
I curse frequently when I get mad: False
I don't like anyone: what?
I enjoy country music: True
I enjoy jazz music: True (I like all music)
I enjoy smoothies: True
I enjoy talking on the phone: True
I have a car: True
I have a cell phone: True
I have/had a hard time paying attention in school: False
I have a hidden talent: True (I just don't know what it is yet!)
I have a lot to learn: TrueI have a pet: False
I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal: False
I have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" person: False – he’s perfect for me!
I have all my grandparents: False (they are in my heart but no longer on earth)
I have at least one brother and/or sister: True – well no brothers but 5 sisters
I have been to another country: True
I have been told that I am smart: True
I have been told that I have an unusual sense of humor: True
I have/had broken a bone: True – do noses count?
I have caller ID on my phone: True
I have bathed someone: True
I have changed a diaper: True
I have changed a lot over the past year: True
I have done something illegal: True (just a little speeding...)
I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color: True
I have had major/minor surgery: True - minor
I have had my hair cut within the last week: True – just got it trimmed and layered on Saturday
I have had the cops call on me: True (But it really wasn’t about me)
I have kissed someone and knew I shouldn't: True
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life: True, except be with Chris
I have rejected someone before: True
I have seen The Lord of the Rings trilogy: True – multiple times
I have seen the television show The O.C.: False
I have watched Sex and the City: False
I like Shakespeare: True
I like the taste of blood: False
I love to cook: True – especially if someone else cleans up after me!
I like to sing: True (but not in public)
I like Michael Jackson: False
I love sleeping: True
I love to play video games: False
I love to shop: Depends
I miss someone right now: True
I own 100 or more CDs: True
I own and use a library card: True
I practice a religion that is not considered mainstream: False
I read for pleasure in my spare time: True
I sleep a lot during the day: False (they tend to discourage that where I work)
I strongly dislike math: False
I think Britney Spears is pretty: False
I was born in a country other than the US: False
I watch soap operas on a regular basis: False
I will try almost anything once: True but within boundaries
I work at a job that I enjoy: True
I would classify myself as ghetto: False (where did this question come from?!)
I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost and scar-free: False
I can name all 7 dwarfs from Snow White: True
I am currently wearing socks: True
I am tired: True
I love to paint/draw/sketch/sculpt: True, but just for me

Some Fun Things to Share

2006-03-08T10:34:00.000-06:00

Four, Four and More Four

Four jobs you've had in your life:
~Grocery Store cashier/stock person
~Lab assistant in a soils lab
~Newspaper Carrier
~Soil Conservationist

Four movies you could watch over and over:
~All 3 Lord of the Rings movies
~Finding Nemo
~Sixteen Candles
~Sense and Sensibility

Four places you've lived:
~A house in suburban Sioux City, IA
~Dorms and apartments in Brookings, SD
~A condo in Waterloo, IA
~A farmhouse 3 miles outside of Irwin, IA

Four TV shows you love to watch:
~Gray’s Anatomy
~American Idol
~That 70s Show
~Kim Possible

Four places you've been on vacation:
~Philadelphia, PA
~Playa del Carmen, Mexico
~NYC, NY
~Black Hills, SD and Devils Tower, WY

Four websites you visit daily:
~My email
~My bank sites
~My nephew’s site to watch him grow!
~News site

Four of your favorite foods:
~Beef stroganoff
~Rosemary chicken
~Chocolate cake
~Taco dip

Four places you'd rather be right now:
~With Chris
~At home, snuggled on the couch watching the rain and reading
~Chocolate tasting in Europe!
~In Michigan

Oops

2006-03-03T15:49:00.000-06:00

So I forgot to mention something Chris and I did 2 weekends ago. We got an e-mail in early February mentioning a group called Teen Mania that was coming to do a program in our area and how our church would need to house 9 of the kids. Chris and I decided that we had the room and volunteered to house 2 or 3 girls. We had no idea what this experience might bring.

So on February 19th, we got done with small group and headed to Abundant Life (another local church right near our's) to pick up the girls. The bus was already there and in short order we had been introduced to Teresa and Rachael, successfully fit their luggage into the car, stopped at the grocery store for snackage for the girls and were on our way home. It was dark so they had no idea that we were driving them 15 miles into the middle of nowhere. But they both noticed the stars when we got home. They both commented that it'd been a long time since they'd seen so very many stars.

We got the car unloaded and headed in to relax and visit. The four of us grabbed some snacks and settled into the family room. We found out that Rachael was 20 and from California and Teresa was 23 and from Michigan of all places! We all got to share our stories and we heard all about Teen Mania and Acquire the Fire. They were delighted to find out that Chris and I were newlyweds and asked us tons of questions. After finally realizing that it very close to midnight, we got the girls settled in the guest room and headed to bed.

Chris had to work on Monday but since it was a Federal holiday (thank you Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Washington!) I had the day off. The girls and I slept in and then headed down to see Chris' office and visit him. Then it was off to Council Bluffs and Omaha for some serious shopping. We all had success finding some great deals and finally headed home in the late afternoon. We stopped on the way home and grabbed pizza and wings and a keyboard (piano kind) from a friend and met Chris at the house. The next few hours were spent visiting and watching Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. After Rachael realized that Teresa had never seen it, she (and Chris) insisted that Teresa really needed to see it. And mind you, this was the extended version, so it was a late night again.

On Tuesday, both Chris and I had to head to work but the girls' program for that day had been cancelled so they were content to stick around the house and relax. Rachael had brought her guitar and Teresa is the pianist so they enjoyed playing and relaxing. After Chris and I got home, the girls and I fixed a healthy dinner (Rosemary chicken, brown rice and green beans - Yum!) and we all ate. Then it was time to start on Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. We had to take a little break to make chocolate malts and then it was back to the movie.

The Teen Mania event was scheduled for Wednesday evening so the girls had to be back in Harlan on Wednesday afternoon. I took off an hour from work and ran to get them and bring them into town. It was sad saying goodbye to them. Chris and I both really enjoyed having them with us and getting to share with them and have them share with us. It's so unique these days to hear about positive things with high school and college youth so this was very special for us to host these girls. We feel so blessed by the experience.

Just wanted to share! Have a great weekend!

Catching Up

2006-03-03T10:15:00.000-06:00

After realizing that it's been almost 2 months since I've posted, I figured I should catch you up on the past couple of months.

After Chris' brief hospital stay, we got in a little downtime at home which was so needed. The following week Chris had an upper endoscopy done at the local hospital and received a clean bill of health. Unless his cough comes back we are in the clear. We followed that up with a weekend visiting Katia and the boys up in Waverly. Another quick trip but it was so good to see her and Sean and Ian - the first time we've seen them since the wedding.

The next weekend Chris' friends from Michigan, Brian and Tonia, flew in. We had invited them down to attend a marriage conference with us. Our small group leader, Arlin, had rented a bus in the hopes of getting 20+ couples from our area up to the conference. So we met the rest of the group in our church parking lot and loaded the bus. We arrived in Sioux City just in time to get checked in and send everyone else off to the conference. To help some of our other friends be able to attend the conference, Chris and I had volunteered to watch our friend's little guy, Noah for the duration. (We attended the conference back in October and wanted our friends to be able to experience it.) So we played and swam with Noah - talk about a little water baby! He loved being in the pool and even puts his head underwater and he's only 17 months (15 at the time of the conference). Things went great until Daddy tried to visit Noah later in the evening - and then left. Noah was not a happy camper after that and the three of us had a loooooooonngg night. We got to sleep in on Saturday, though, and took it easy as we all got ready for the day and ready to check out. After the conference, we all loaded the bus again and headed back to Harlan. Chris and I and Brian and Tonia made homemade pizza and played Settlers of Catan all the while chatting and talking about the conference. On Sunday morning, the four of us headed to church and Sunday school followed by a great brunch at our friend's Ken and Edie's place. After brunch, the four of us headed home to relax and get Brian and Tonia packed up. Chris and I took them to the airport and headed back to Harlan for small group.

The rest of the month was fairly uneventful, just lots of work and studying. We did start February off with some excitement though! Chris and I, along with our friends Dan and Melanie, got to see Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Louis Giglio in concert on February 2nd. Matt Redman wrote and originally sang one of Chris and my favorite songs "Blessed Be Your Name." It was a very intense worship experience and we all had an amazing time. It was made even more fun since we got to sit with our other friends, Mike and Deb, and saw a bunch of friends from church in the crowd.

The following week Chris and I flew out to Philadelphia to visit my best friend Amy. We also got to meet Amy's boyfriend Ross for the first time! Ross is the best and a perfect match for Amy! Ross just put out his first CD and it is amazing! Go here www.rossmlevy.com to hear song samples or to order the CD. On Friday night, we went to services with Amy and both Amy and Ross helped to lead services with their music - it was so awesome to get to hear them sing together. Saturday was a crazy, fun day! We slept in way late which was great! The four of us headed to Germantown to meet my friend Victoria for a late brunch/lunch. We headed down to South Street after that so Chris could have a real Philly cheesesteak. Amy found some fun jewelry at one of the shops and I found a cute hat. But Ross found the steal of the day - a guitar at one of the pawn shops. He was a happy camper! It had been pretty nice all day but as we were walking, it started snowing really hard. So we headed home to get ready for Amy's birthday party that night. Despite the crazy weather, many of Ame's friends were still able to make it - Amy K, Dana and Dean, Rachel and her husband, and Janet. Dana made a fantastic lasagna and the rest of us all brought something to share. After dinner, Ross gave us a little impromtu concert which was wonderful.

Janet and Amy watching as Ross brings in the birthday cake.

Dana, Amy and I

In the morning, we woke to over a foot of snow! We all headed out to get the car cleaned off and dug out so we could get Ross to the train station. After a nerve wracking drive to the train station and back, we got home and all crashed - lots of naps, talking, eating and movie watching. Chris and I got packed up and after digging the car out again (thank you Mr. snowplow driver!) Amy took us to the airport so we could head back to Iowa. Our flight attendant from Atlanta to Philadelphia was fantastic and we had a great time. We got in late, late Sunday night after nearly perfect flights. We drove part way home, crashed in a motel room and headed right to work the next morning. It was such a great trip and so much fun to spend time with Amy and Ross. It's the first time that Amy and I have ever both had a significant other at the same time so it was really awesome to spend time both as friends and as couples. Ross is definitely the guy for her and Chris and I both really like him. I am so thankful that my friend is so happy!

Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple was great! We both had to work, obviously, but spent a relaxing evening talking and just being together. We turned off the phones and just vegged together. It was so nice!

We've spent the past few weekends around here, hanging out with friends, babysitting, working on projects and generally keeping busy. Chris is busy working on a couple of projects with church and I've been diligently studying for my written comprehensive exams which are scheduled for March 31st - April 3rd. Only 4 weeks to go!

Hope you have all been well!

So out of touch...

2006-03-02T13:08:00.000-06:00

Can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've posted. Life has been busy here but I have lots of fun stuff to post about. Will return shortly with a fun-filled post!

Some Photos to Share

2006-01-06T16:18:00.000-06:00

Thought I'd share a few photos...

This is Chris' brother, Mike, and his wife, Carrie, and their adorable 6-month old, Marshall.

This is Chris and, our friends', Brian and Sharon's, little guy Noah. We watched Noah overnight for them - Noah's first overnight away from Mommy and Daddy. Noah and Chris and I had a great time! We even watched It's a Wonderful Life. Mommy and Daddy were sad without Noah. Chris is a natural!

Christmas, New Year's and the ER

2006-01-06T15:18:00.000-06:00

Christmas
Our first Christmas together was wonderful! Christmas Eve we spent visiting friends, relaxing and just hanging out together. We attended the candlelight service at our church and then Chris drove us around to look at lights in Harlan and Shelby. We ended up at our friend, Cherie's, house where we ate and visited and sang carols around the piano and drank eggnog (OK, I just held my glass - I think eggnog is foul!). It was such a nice evening. We headed home and went to bed. On Christmas morning, we got up and opened gifts from each other and ate cinnamon rolls and watched one of Chris' new movies. It was awesome just to be able to relax and spend time with just the two of us.

Later in the day we packed up and drove to Sioux City for dinner and time with my family. My two youngest sisters, Reann and Rheta, plus Reann's fiance' Jon, and Mom and Dad were all there. We had an a great dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, green beans, and corn. Cherie had given Chris and I the game Scene-It and we had brought it with us to Mom and Dad's. So the bunch of us played Scene-It and then Sequence. It was so much fun. We spent the night and headed out in the morning. On the way home, we stopped in Council Bluffs to do a little shopping and to grab a quick bite. We celebrated our one-month anniversary (Yeah!) with lunch at HuHot Mongolian Grill - YUM!!!! I think we've found another favorite place to eat in the city! We headed home after lunch and spent the rest of the day relaxing and cleaning and just enjoying each other's company.

New Year's
After a few days of work, we took off again, this time heading for Michigan and to spend New Year's with Chris' family and some of our friends up there. We left on Thursday after work and made it all the way to Gary, Indiana before we decided enough was enough and checked into a motel. We forgot all about the time change so we got a little later start than we intended in the morning but still made it to Brighton by mid-afternoon. It was so good to see Chris' parents! We had a late lunch with them and played Scene-It (one of our new favorite games!) a few times with them (girls vs. boys - girls won :)) before heading to Ypsilanti to see Mike and Carrie and Marshall. Chris fixed their computer while Carrie and I hung out with Marshall and he entertained us. He officially turned 6 months old on January 1st and it was fun to see how much more animated he is. He loved the light up bongo drum toy that Chris and I got him - although, honestly, he liked the wrapping paper on everything most of all! :)

On Saturday, Chris and Mike and I ran errands while Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Dave watched Marshall. Carrie was stuck at hospital on call the whole day and night. We got done with errands and started making dinner for that night. Then we started on the games! Mom, Dad, Mike, Chris and I played Carcassonne, a game Mike and Carrie got Mom and Dad. Even though I had no idea what I was doing I ended up winning! Yeah! Then we took on Mike's new game that Chris and I got him - Betrayal at House on the Hill. Another fun game - you have to explore a creepy old house that you lay out room by room. Eventually someone becomes the traitor and then it's everyone against that person. By that time, our friends were starting to arrive so we shelved the games and finished making dinner. Mom and Dad, Mike and Marshall, and Chris and I were joined by our friends Chris Mueller, Brad Bachelor, Murph and Eddy (Edna) Mueller, and Bill and Amy Pemberton and Baby Liam. We had a great dinner - homemade lasagna, cheesy potatoes, green beans, bacon wrapped little smokies, homemade bread - we were all stuffed! Then it was time for some more serious game playing. This time we started with a round of Scene-It - with just Mike, Bill and I versus everyone else. They figure we were big enough movie buffs but alas, we fell to the numbers. Then it was time for Cranium Turbo Edition - we had a great time - except we really dislike the yellow cards! Watch out for them! The guys played another game of Betrayal at House on the Hill while the rest of us visited and played with Baby Liam. We all gathered together to watch the ball drop at midnight and cherish our time together. Our guests headed for home sometime after 2 am and we all headed to bed. On Sunday, we spent more time playing games - we had to get in at least one game of Settlers plus a few rounds of Beer Money (a funny card game Chris' parents got him) and another round of Scene-It. Chris and I got to spend some time playing with Marshall on our own as his parents took a nap and Mike went to meet Carrie to celebrate their anniversary. Mike and Carrie came back in the evening and we all played some more games and entertained Marshall. Mike, Carrie and Marshall stayed over at Mom and Dad's so we all got up and were able to eat breakfast together and spend time relaxing and - you guessed it - playing another game before Chris and I had to leave. We got home around 10:30 on Monday night - and then the real fun began!

...and the ER
So we got home around 10:30 and got stuff ready to go for work the next day. Around 11:00, Chris started getting sick - and proceeded to get sick every 10-15 minutes all night long. At 6:30 the next morning, we headed to the ER in hopes of anti-nausea shot for Chris and eventually sleep for both of us. Chris got his shot but they were alarmed at his white count and thought maybe he had appendicitis. So my poor, incredibly nauseous husband had to drink down a berry smoothie cocktail plus two glasses of foul, lemon flavored barium drinks in order to have a CT scan of his tummy. The CT came back negative for appendicitis but the docs were concerned enough to admit him to the hospital for observation. Who knew the "in sickness" part of our vows would come up so soon? Thankfully, we had great nurses who found a cot for me so I could stay with Chris. We spent the night and, after still finding no cause for his elevated white count, were released to head home the next morning. We've been trying to take it easy since then and are planning a relaxing weekend mostly at home.

I have to say, it was really cool and special to know so many people were praying for us with Chris being sick - we so appreciated all the phone calls and the visits. It's a huge reminder how wonderful our friends and family are. Thanks to all of you who have been there for us over this past year. We are so grateful you are in our lives!

The Married Life

2005-12-23T13:27:00.000-06:00

Whoops! I just realized it's been over a month since I've posted on here. Needless to say, it's been a busy month!

Chris and I were married on November 26th, surrounded by our friends and family. It was a wonderful day! In hindsight, I don't know know if we've ever felt so much love from our friends and family. God blessed us with a gorgeous day and everyone got safely to and from the wedding.

Fun memories of the day include:

*All the kids (3 - 4 year old flowergirls, 1 - 3 1/2 year old ringbearer, and 1 - 9 yr old usher) did fantastic during pictures and all day. However, about 2 minutes before we were to head down the aisle, Ian, our little ringbearer, decided he had had enough. He didn't want either the pillow or his little tractor and he definitely didn't want to walk down the aisle alone. So he walked down with Mommy (Katia - my bridesmaid) and stood with her on the altar. Not even a few minutes into the ceremony, the wedding guests watched as Ian slowly slid down Katia's leg and fell asleep. It was so precious!

*Having my friend Amy (Kline) from Philly come in, as I was waiting for the ceremony to begin, just to give me homemade chocolate chip cookies!

*Dancing with my nephew, Marshall, who is only 5 months old. The kid knows how to cut a rug!

*My brother-in-law, Mike's, toast/speech. Mikey was trying to think of similarities between Iowa and Michigan. What he came up with -
- both are suburbs of Chicago
- Michigan has the Great Lakes, Iowa the Great Plains
- and Iowa has corn and Michigan has the Detroit Lions. The only difference between the two that Mike could see was that corn was even more unpredictable and more interesting to watch!

*Watching my mother-in-law dance with glo-necklaces, headbands, and earrings.

*Getting stopped by a Sheriff's Deputy on the way from the hall to the B&B (no ticket - he came up to us almost apologizing!).

*Just getting to see so many friends and family - and the chance to talk and dance with most of them.

A few photos-
This is my absolute favorite photo of Chris and I. It's his favorite too!

This photos is of all the very handsome guys - Chris, groomsmen, ushers and ringbearer.

In the back are the ushers - Tyler, Brett, Sean (very short), and Ethan.

In the front row is Chris Antieau (groomsman), Chris with Ian (ringbearer), Mike Nicholson (Chris' brother and best man), & Trevor Owen (groomsman).

Amy, Katia and I goofing around!

Another of our favorites!

We followed up the wedding with an awesome trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was wonderful! We returned to -4 degrees and 8 inches of snow on the ground - quite a shock!

Now we're so ready for our first Christmas together! We'll be at home on Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day. We'll see my family the evening of Christmas Day and then we head to Michigan to see Chris' family over New Year's. It's going to be busy but great!

We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed CHRISTmas!

A Fun Post

2005-11-17T15:25:00.000-06:00

10 Favorites
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Food: Beef Stroganoff
Favorite Band/Singer: Neil Diamond
Favorite Hobby: Dancing
Favorite Movie: the Lord of the Rings trilogy
Favorite Flower: Roses
Favorite Season: Autumn – love the colors of the leaves
Favorite Day of the Week: Thursday
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Vanilla with chocolate syrup
Favorite Time of Day: sunrise

9 Currents
Current Mood: little tired, want to talk to Chris
Current Clothes: jeans, white turtleneck, navy windshirt, tennies
Current Underwear Color: pink and white
Current Desktop Picture: picture of my nephew Marshall
Current Nail Color: no color
Current Time: 3:08 pm
Current Surroundings: my office cubicle
Current Annoyances: people who keep telling me their wedding horror stories
Current Thoughts: what should I make for dinner? I’m thinking beef stroganoff!

8 Firsts
First Best Friend: Christy Hartz – we were 3
First Screen Name: nazers74
First Pet: Bennett, my Himalayan kitty
First Tattoo: none – don’t plan on it
First Crush: Ben something or other from kindergarten
First Music Owned: Michael Jackson Thriller Record
First Car: Chevy Malibu, 1979, Pea green
First Career Choice: Engineer

7 Lasts
Last Cigarette: never, yuck
Last Drink: Coke about 2 minutes ago
Last Time on Drugs: only prescription for me
Last Kiss: my fiance’ this morning
Last Movie Watched: Mona Lisa Smile – OK movie
Last CD Played: Chris’ Blackthorn Live CD – Irish music
Last thing to eat: a Red Delicious apple

6 Have You Evers
Have you ever dated one of your best friends? Gonna marry him in 9 days!
Have you ever broken the law? Definitely the speed limit!
Have you ever been arrested? no
Have you ever skinny dipped? no
Have you ever been on television? Yes, when I went to see Puppin’s Place at the Park
Have you ever kissed someone you didn't know? Oh, do I have a story about this one!

5 Places You've Been
Devil’s Tower on a sunny, warm day in August
Vermillion Bay near the Gulf of Mississippi on a swamp boat
Bismarck, North Dakota in June watching it snow
Shell Rock, IA on the 4th of July
Coney Island on a 75 degree day in April

4 People You Can Tell Anything To
Jesus
Chris
Amy
Katia

3 Things you can hear right now:
Joann and Jeff talking
Luke talking to a client
The printer

3 things you can't live without:
My relationship with Jesus
My family and friends
Good food

3 things you do when you're bored:
Read
Dream
Listen to music

2 Choices
Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi - Diet Coke
PC or Mac - PC

1 Thing You Want To Do Before You Die
Fulfill God’s plans for me

10 days!

2005-11-16T14:20:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was great! Had a great time at my shower and spending time with my family! My dad loved his cake (a recipe that was a specialty of my Grandma Ford's)!

On Saturday night, we had our friend's Josh and Renee Hansen out. We cooked up some homemade pizza and played games. It was such a relaxing evening with friends!

This week has been pretty relaxed so far. Sunday was spent at church and small group. Monday we had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING scheduled in the evening. It was so nice to just sit home with Chris and relax. We had a good chance to talk and just enjoy the evening.

We woke up to snow on Tuesday morning. It continued to snow all day and then started blowing. By the time I headed home from work, the roads were awful. We decided it'd be smart to skip dance class and just head home. It took me twice as long to get home and I was so glad to get there. We spent the evening rearranging the office and setting up Chris' computer. We're also trying to organize all his stuff that we've moved to my house so far. After going through some of the stuff, we finally just put it back in the totes, put their lids on and shoved them in the closet. Most of it is stuff that can wait until after the wedding to be dealt with. Chris is so easy going about all that so we got it done quickly and snuggled up on the couch and finished BYF stuff and relaxed.

I got a phone call around 12:30 from my friend Katia. Katia's cousin Rachel was killed in an accident after hitting ice late Tuesday evening up in Minnesota. Please pray for Katia and her whole family. They are having a really rough time right now as they prepare to bury Rachel.

This morning was chilly and beautiful - lots of white snow and bright sunshine! The drive to work took quite a while. It was pretty treacherous at times. I felt like I was driving on a sheet of ice. Tonight we have the last BYF before Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to cuddling some babies and relaxing.

Just 10 days to go until our wedding! Yeah! Chris and I are both getting excited. At this time next week, we'll be picking up Amy and Laini from the airport and running lots of last minute errands in Omaha. Yeah!

Hope you are all having a great week!

Yippee! It's Friday for me!

2005-11-10T11:30:00.000-06:00

Wow! Another week is almost gone! Chris got home from Final Haven late Sunday night and we had a little snuggle time before we both passed out.

Monday night we met with our DJ to talk over details and give him some info - got home in time to do a load of laundry and pass out again.

On Tuesday we headed down to dance class and stopped to see our friend Dan on they way. Sometime on Sunday, Dan got bit on the index finger by a barn cat. By Tuesday afternoon, he'd suffered through a few rounds of rabies shots and tetanus shots, and then was admitted to the hospital so they could do surgery on his hand later Tuesday night. We had a great visit with Dan and his wife Tina. Dan was in great spirits going into the surgery. He's home now and in a lot of pain. Would you say a prayer for him if you have some time? Thanks!

After negotiating some crazy traffic, we finally made it to dance class and had a great time. I think Chris and I are both feeling a lot more comfy with the foxtrot and definitely with the waltz. We again headed home in time to pass out.

Last night we were supposed to do nursery at BYF but ended up with no kids! The high schooler's didn't have BYF because most of them were at the girl's state volleyball tournament. The Harlan girls made it to the playoffs again but ended up in a heartbreaking loss to ADM last night. So we headed home early, worked on budget stuff, cleaned up the house, organized gifts we've already received, and passed out. Are you sensing a pattern here?!

Today I am leaving early (YEAH!) to get my hair colored - must cover the gray! and trimmed before the wedding and I'll get to spend some time with my friend Renee. Then tonight, after Chris gets off work, we meet with Pastor for some final details and a quick run through up in the sanctuary.

Tomorrow, long after Chris heads to work, I may drag my self out of bed! Seriously, I just get to sleep in a little. I LOVE FEDERAL HOLIDAY!!! I have a hair-do run-through at the salon at 9:00, followed by an allergy shot, a visit with some friends, and then lunch with Chris. I'm also babysitting my friend's little guy Noah so we'll be wandering around together. After lunch, Noah and I are going to head back to my house so he can take a nap and I can pack and clean. Then after Chris gets home, (and Noah's mommy and daddy pick him up) we'll head up to Sioux City for a bridal shower there. We've got some shopping to do with my mom on Saturday and we're planning on celebrating my dad's 70th birthday. Then it's home again for us.

And yeah! Just 2 weeks to go until Thanksgiving and then the wedding! We are both getting excited. No nerves yet - just happiness!

Hope you all have a great Veteran's Day!

2005-11-10T10:10:00.002-06:00

Chris and I at the pumpkin patch

2005-11-10T10:10:00.001-06:00

Chris with my Mom and Dad at the Pumpkin patch

2005-11-10T10:10:00.000-06:00

Chris and Delilah on Sylvan Theater

2005-11-10T10:09:00.001-06:00

Chris and Delilah in front of the SDSU Campanile.

2005-11-10T10:09:00.000-06:00

Sean cleaning out his pumpkin.

2005-11-10T10:08:00.001-06:00

A Happy Pumpkin and a Happy Ian!

2005-11-10T10:08:00.000-06:00

Yum! Pumpkin Guts!

2005-11-10T10:07:00.001-06:00

Ian pulling out the guts

2005-11-10T10:07:00.000-06:00

Ian and his finished pumpkin

Whoo-Hoo - 3 weeks and counting!

2005-11-04T10:17:00.000-06:00

Yeah! Only 3 weeks to go until I get to marry the most awesome man in the world!

We had a great time at Katia's last weekend! We got in late Friday and spent some quality time playing with Ian and catching up with Katia while Sean went to the Waverly-Shellrock football game. On Saturday, we headed into Waterloo/Cedar Falls for some errands and shopping. We were able to meet my friend Tami and her husband Ryan for lunch. It's been over a year since I've seen Tami and it was awesome to see her, meet Ryan again and introduce them to Chris, not to mention Katia and the boys. We spent some time shopping and running our errands before heading back to Waverly. After a nice nap, we took a walk and soaked in all the fall colors. It was beautiful! Then it was a great steak dinner. Chris and Sean manned the grill and discussed serious guy stuff like meat tenderizer, flame height and cuts of meat, while Katia and I and Ian prepared the rest of the fixings. It was fun to have a "family" meal and relax.

After dinner is when all the excitement really began! It was time for pumpkin carving! Ian's ended up with a happy face, Chris' was funny/scary, and Sean - the die hard White Sox fan - put on his "Go Sox!" By the time we got done, we were all about ready for bed. The boys headed to bed while Katia, Chris and I tried to stay awake for a bit. We gave up pretty early and headed to bed.

On Sunday, we went to church with Katia and the boys. We got to hear Sean sing in the choir - and do sign language to several songs! Very impressive! We were all proud of him. After the service, we jetted down to Cedar Falls to meet our friends, Tim, Michelle, Mark & Josh Masters, for lunch at Carlos O'Kelly's. It was so fun to see the boys so grown up and great to catch up with Tim and Michelle and let Chris get to know them better, and vice versa. After lunch, it was time to head back home to western Iowa.

Since we've been back, it's been another crazy week. Monday we were super busy with getting Chris' stuff ready for him to leave yesterday. Tuesday was dance lessons and visiting our friend Milton in the hospital. Wednesday was heading down with our friend Cherie to see another friend Melanie after her surgery. We had dinner at a little Mexican/American restaurant called Senor Matia's. Great food! Yesterday, Chris headed out for Michigan after work and I went down with my friend's Sharon and Brian and their little guy Noah to visit Melanie again. We topped off the trip with dinner at Olive Garden. Yum! Even little Noah loved it! He is such a good eater and will try anything! We let him try a lemon and he LOVED it! I went out and spent the night with my friend Cherie. She is going to be handling all the kitchen stuff at our wedding so we're getting ready to practice on some stuff this weekend.

This weekend is already panning out to be busy. Chris is up in Michigan and will be home late Sunday night. Tonight, my friend Tara is coming up to visit and we're going to have a girl's evening. On Saturday morning, my friend Nancy Sorensen is throwing a Pampered Chef Bridal Shower for me and that should be a lot of fun. In the afternoon, a few of us girls are going to spend some time with a recuperating Melanie and then Cherie and I will be practicing on the salads and punch for the reception. Sunday is church, hopefully a movie (can't wait to see Chicken Little!) and then small group. Chris should be home shortly after I get home from small group. Yeah!

Hope you are all doing great. Will post more pictures soon.

Just a bit

2005-10-31T08:38:00.000-06:00

Had a great weekend - will post more about that later.

But here's a fun item I found on another blog. Can you pass 8th grade math?

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Off again

2005-10-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

This weekend we are off for a relaxing (hopefully) trip to Waverly to see Katia, Sean and Ian. We are getting out of here a little late due to Chris' work schedule but will still get up there tonight. Then tomorrow, it's lots of little errands to run and some shopping to take care of. And then PUMPKIN CARVING with the boys! YEAH! Have a great weekend!

Another busy weekend

2005-10-21T13:25:00.000-05:00

Last weekend started out with date night on Friday night. Chris and I grabbed dinner at my house and relaxed for a bit before heading into town for some galaxy bowling (black lights, lots of fluorescent features, funky music, etc). Due to the out-of-town football game (Harlan at Denison) we pretty much had the bowling alley to ourselves. We had a great time, played a few games, went for a starlight walk in the park and went home and watched more LOTR (I think Chris thinks I need to see the whole thing again before the wedding!).

We got up early in the morning and headed to Sioux City to visit with my parents. We had so much fun! We all ate a great lunch at Applebee's, and then hit the Palmer Candy store to get some treats for Mom and Dad and some Twin Bings for my co-worker, Luke. We then headed out to the pumpkin patch. We found some adorable decorated gourds, lots of little pumpkins and a wagonload of big pumpkins. After visiting for a little while at Mom's house, Chris and I took Dad back to the nursing home and decorated his room with little pumpkins and replenished his chocolate stash. It was really a nice day with them.

We then took off for Brookings, SD. We got there and met my friend Mindy and her daughter Delilah at their house (husband Tony and older daughter Mariah were out elk hunting in the Black Hills) and headed straight for George's - my favorite Brookings restaurant! YUM!!! We spent the evening and most of the next day with Mindy and Delilah just hanging out, checking out the changes on the SDSU campus, and checking out new stuff in town. In the afternoon, we headed to the memorial service for Rosie Malo, the wife of my professor Doug. Doug and Rosie were so good to me all the while I was in Brookings and I really felt the need to be there. I am so sad for Doug and their kids, Denise and Rob. Despite the sad circumstance, I got to visit with quite a few of my former professors which was a lot of fun.

We left Brookings and made our way back to Sioux City where Mom had a fresh pan of pumpkin bars waiting for us! Yum! My mom is great! Not to mention, she also had hemmed a couple of pairs of jeans for me - AND finished our ring bearer pillow which we brought home. We then left and headed back to my house arriving just in time to head to bed.

This week has been a pretty full week with dance classes, BYF and finishing up wedding stuff. We really feel like we're ready to go. I think we have most everything taken care of that we can have taken care of at this point. Tonight and tomorrow we will be attending a marriage conference in Des Moines with some friends from our small group. We are pretty excited about it and are feeling it'll be a good tool for us as we are just a month away from the wedding.

Hope you've all had a great week!

More 80s

2005-10-14T15:26:00.000-05:00

So, I have a confession to make. I loved the 80s! I did, they were awesome. I mean, I know that I was young and carefree and innocent and all that jazz, but there was something so cool about the 80s. I can't tell you how many 80s CDs I have! We even asked our DJ for our wedding to play a lot of 80s dance music. It's so nice that my honey loves the 80s too!

So, here are some of my favorite things about the 80s:

*Love Boat - what a great show! I could watch it for hours!

*Rick Springfield - I SO wanted to be Jesse's Girl!

*Family Ties - Alex P. Keaton was a stud. And I really wanted Mallory to give Skippy just a chance.

*Sit N Spin's - OK, so this may have come out earlier but the 80s is when I became acquainted with this projectile vomit-inducing toy.

*He-Man - I never really got into She-ra

*Pac Man - I still stink at this but I love to play it!

*Duran Duran - "Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand, Just like that river twisting through a dusty land!" Of course, think of this being sung at the top of your lungs!

*Pajama parties - sleeping all over the living room after passing out talking

*Saturday morning cartoons - today's cartoons are OK but they ROCKED when we were growing up!

*Conjunction Junction - what's your function?

Ah the memories! Makes me a little misty-eyed...

Have a great weekend!

My 80s Heartthrob!

2005-10-14T15:20:00.000-05:00

Your 80s Heartthrob Is

Jason Bateman

Who's" Your 80's Heartthrob?

Ok, so this is not a surprise. I thought Jason Bateman was adorable on The Hogan Family. And he's awesome now on Arrested Development. I think he was also the poor friend to Ricky Schroeder's Silver Spoons character. I was a total sucker for all the family-ish sitcoms. I had a great family life but all the sitcoms had brothers and all I had was five sisters. I so wanted a brother! Now a days, I'm pretty OK with the fact that I had no brother. My sisters were fun - and we didn't have cooties in our house!

45 Days and Counting

2005-10-12T17:19:00.000-05:00

So the lovely little countdown thing just told me that it is 45 days until our wedding. 45 days - where did the time go? I can't say I'm really panicking or anything. I just keep thinking "45 days!" Yeah! I'll be married to the most incredible man in the universe in 45 days! I like to focus on the positive!

So speaking of the most incredible man in the universe, Chris and I had dance class last night. We are really having a blast at these classes and all of the other women love him and really enjoy dancing with him (we have to rotate partners throughout the whole class). My observations after dancing with all the other men show conclusively that Chris is the best dance partner because #1 - he smells the best (no BO on my guy!), #2 - he compliments his partners and is a good leader, #3 - he doesn't step on toes, and #4 - he's the cutest guy there! When we were learning the waltz and the foxtrot I was really enjoying dancing with him and watching him dance with the other women - it was all about learning. Now that we're working on the tango though, I kind of want him all for myself. The tango (even the ballroom tango) is a very sensual dance - and I DO NOT like watching Chris dance a sensual dance with other women. The funny thing is though, we're all usually concentrating so hard on our moves that we don't notice anyone but the partner we're with. Thank Goodness!

We got a bit of sad news on Monday. Doug Malo was one of my professors at SDSU and was so much more than just a professor to me. He was my mentor, coach (soil judging), boss (soils lab), advisor, instructor and friend. He and his wife Rosie treated me so well and took good care of me during my time at SDSU. Doug's wife Rosie passed away late Sunday night after a long battle with lung cancer (never smoked a day in her life!). I just don't know what Doug will do without Rosie. I am so very sad for him and their kids, Denise and Rob. Doug and Rosie are/were strong Christians who believe(d) in the saving power of Jesus Christ. Doug and his family know that Rosie is celebrating with Jesus, but this is still going to be so hard on him. If you have a moment, could you please say a prayer for Doug and their family that they would be comforted in their sorrow? Chris and I are heading up to Brookings for the service this weekend.

A little bit of fresh air

2005-10-06T13:55:00.000-05:00

So terracing was fun! Seriously. I really enjoy getting out when the weather's not awful. And Luke is fun to go to the field with. He makes me laugh. And he is really good at praising! I love that about him. You don't realize how much a "good job" or "nice spacing" means until you hear it. I like that about Luke. He frequently tells me that I'm doing a good job, walking a great level line, putting in a nice hub - all simple stuff. But Luke knows that I don't do all of this regularly, and he knows something that everyone should know - treat others the way you would want to be treated. Luke knows that I'd hate going out in the field with him if he yelled at me or crabbed at me. But when he praises me, it makes me feel good and then I feel good about doing a good job, and want to do a good job for him. Simple really - but so many folks never figure it out.

I LOVE this weather! The sky is bright with some puffy white clouds here and there. The sun is shining and it's nice and cool - definitely good sweatshirt weather. I love the weather not only for it's beauty and the fact that it's no longer 90 degrees (PTL!!!!) but that allergy season could almost be over. I think one more hard freeze and we're done! YEAH!!! Plus with the cooling down, it reminds me that our wedding will be here in 7 short weeks. Yeah!

Last night was our first BYF Staff meal of the year. We also served the senior high students and staff so we had a good crowd. And we made it simple by ordering party subs from Subway. So I got everything set up to serve and Chris came after work and helped me get the rest of the stuff ready. One of the senior high staffer couples has twins who are almost 6 months (tomorrow!) and we watch them every BYF night in the nursery. So since my nursery cohort was gone, we had them bring the babies down to the fellowship hall where we were serving. Pretty soon, Trevor and Jennika decided they'd had enough of sitting in their seats. So there were Chris and I, each balancing a baby on our hips and trying to serve food and eat at the same time. It was pretty funny. But it was so awesome to watch Chris with the babies. I am so looking forward to starting our own family. Can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

Another Busy Week...

2005-10-06T08:12:00.000-05:00

So we're almost done with another busy week. Chris returned late Sunday night from Michigan which was great! I really hadn't been dealing all that well with us being apart - until this weekend that is. I missed him like crazy but wasn't neurotic crazy like I'm sure I could have been. I think part of it was that I stayed at my friend Melanie's house and hung out with her and the kids all weekend. Plus we had all the mint making going on Saturday! So much fun, so very messy but so very yummy! It'll be a miracle if we have any mints left to actually put out at the wedding!

Dance class on Tuesday night kicked our tukus! We started working on the tango and it was not pretty at all. By the time the hour was almost up, our instructor was just shaking his head and said we would work on it next week. I think we'd all been feeling pretty confident up until this point. We were masters at the fox trot and waltz, but the lovely, exotic tango took us down. :(

So my highlight for this week was paying off our honeymoon and ordering our wedding rings. We're down to less than 2 months and are getting so excited. Chris is such a trooper. I am so lucky that he is enjoying the planning process too! Next week we have a few more milestones. While I am going to thoroughly enjoy the lovely federal holiday on Monday, I may not actually sleep in. I have my final dress fitting at 11:00 that morning! Yeah! I'm so excited to see the finished product.

So honestly, there's not a lot interesting going on in my life right now. Just lots of wedding stuff and keeping my head above water. I would kill for a nap today but instead will be heading out to the (chilly) field with Luke, my co-worker, to lay out terraces. Hmm, bet I could sleep on the way out and back!

Praying you are all well!

2005-09-30T10:59:00.000-05:00

Chris and I at Deedra and Justin's wedding

2005-09-30T10:43:00.000-05:00

Our friends, Rod and Emily, and their daughter Morgan at Deedra and Justin's wedding.

2005-09-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

OK, so I've been worse than bad at getting my blog updated. Guess I've had a few other things going on this summer!

This summer has been, in a word, wonderful! I LOVE having Chris here.

Things we've done, or things that have happened, this summer:
- I spent a week in Louisiana (pre-Hurricane!) back at the end of June for the National Organization of Professional Hispanic NRCS Employees (NOPHNRCSE) annual training conference. Had a great time getting to meet new members and catching up with old friends.
- Flew from Lafayette, LA to Detroit, MI and met my baby there. We spent the 4th of July weekend in Michigan with Chris' family and getting to meet our new nephew, Marshall Ethan Nicholson. He is the cutest little guy!
- Spent a weekend in July with my family - all my sisters were home, along with my sister Suzi's husband and her two children. We all had a great time and got to catch up - plus they all got to meet Chris!
- When we were in Michigan over July 4th, I got to meet Chris' friend Bill Pemberton but didn't get to meet his wife, Amy, as she was up with friends for the weekend. Well, Bill and Amy were in Iowa visiting one of Amy's best friends and they gave us a call. So Chris and I drove in to West Des Moines and met them at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was so great to meet another of Chris' friends. Amy is wonderful and I'm looking forward to spending more time with both Pembertons!
- While Chris headed back to Michigan towards the end of July for his Final Haven event, I drove up to Waverly to spend a long weekend with my friend, Katia and her boys. Chris and I both had a great time at our respective destinations. And it was wonderful to return home to his loving arms.
- Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Chris threw a surprise birthday party for me on the night of my birthday. Most of our small group and friends were there - it was great - and I was definitely surprised!
- In August, Chris' parents drove down for a weekend. We had a great time with them! On Saturday, we headed to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and then on to Lo Sole' Mio's for a fabulous dinner. On Sunday, we kept busy with disc golf, walking, exploring the countryside and playing Settlers of Catan. Peggy and Dave are wonderful - I think I definitely have the best future in-laws!
- Chris and I got to help plan a surprise 50th birthday party for our friend (and his landlord!) Cherie. Boy was she surprised!
- I got to fly out to Philadelphia at the end of August to visit my best friend Amy for a long weekend! Amy threw a little bridal shower/luncheon for me out in Philly. We had a great time enjoying a luxurious lunch and some fun shopping. Our friend Amy joined Amy and I and all of us had a wonderful time.
- Chris and I decided to head back to Michigan for the Labor Day weekend. It was SO good to see his family! We spent Saturday with the whole family - and got to see Marshall, now two months old, again. Mike and I were de-throned as the Crazy 8's champions since Chris decided to skunk the whole family and take the title for himself! We spent Sunday going to church, shopping for birthday gifts, and attending the birthday party of our friend Bill. Bill's wife, Amy, threw a party for him at the water park followed by a cook-out at their home. Chris got to see a lot of old friends and I got to meet a lot of his friends. We really enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to visiting again at Christmas time. By then, Bill and Amy's little Peanut will have arrived and we'll get to meet him! When we got home Sunday night, Chris' parents surprised us with a shower gift - our own Settlers of Catan game! We were super excited and are looking forward to playing with some of our Iowa friends!
- The past couple of weekends we've spent a lot of time shopping for wedding stuff. Two weeks ago, we took our friend Sharon and her little guy, Noah, with us. We all had a great time! Chris spent most of his time pushing Noah around in the cart so Sharon and I had a great time shopping! This weekend we were in Des Moines and got quite a bit of stuff there. We came back on Saturday afternoon and went to the wedding reception of some friends.

This weekend we're heading up to Waverly to stay with Katia and the boys. Our friends, Deedra and Justin, are getting married on Saturday at Orchard Hill Church in Cedar Falls. We are so excited to witness the beginning of their life together! Deedra and Justin got engaged the same weekend Chris and I did so this is so exciting for us! Now our wedding is just 2 months away! I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends this weekend too.

Chris and I started dance classes last week, too! I have to say, if you have the chance, take dance lessons! We are having such a great time and have a really good teacher. We are even planning on continuing with lessons after the wedding.

Not much else going on here. Just lots of wedding planning.

Hope this finds you all well!

2005-09-07T12:49:00.001-05:00

Marshall and his friend Elmo!

2005-09-07T12:49:00.000-05:00

Noah (our friends Brian and Sharon's little guy) and his first bubble experience!

2005-09-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

Chris with his parents at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. We had a great time when they came to visit!

2005-09-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

Amy, me and Amy at Rouge for my Bridal Brunch

Our New Nephew

2005-07-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

Yeah! Chris is an uncle and I'm an aunt again!

Well, almost.

Chris' brother and sister-in law, Mike and Carrie,

welcomed Marshall Ethan Nicholson on July 1st.

Marshall weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and is 23 inches long

and has a full head of dark hair.

Congratulations Mike and Carrie!

2005-07-08T12:06:00.001-05:00

Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Dave with Marshall on his first 4th of July

2005-07-08T12:06:00.000-05:00

Marshall "talking" to Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Dave

2005-07-08T12:05:00.000-05:00

Grandpa Dave and Uncle Chris with Marshall

2005-06-22T09:29:00.000-05:00

Chris and I at Prospect Hill Cemetary in Omaha. Brian loves old cemetaries so he had to take a few engagement photos as we wandered the grounds.

2005-06-22T09:28:00.000-05:00

Our friends Brian and Sharon McCutchen at the Botannical Gardens. Brian and Sharon are Baby Noah's parents and Brian took all of our engagement photos!

2005-06-22T09:17:00.000-05:00

Baby Noah at his first Memorial Day Ceremony. He's my little Pumpkin!

2005-06-22T09:16:00.001-05:00

Me and the roses.

2005-06-22T09:16:00.000-05:00

Chris in the Botannical Gardens - that's my baby!

2005-06-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

One of our engagement photos.

2005-06-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

Chris climbing the rock wall and trying to beat a 7 year old!

There goes June...

2005-06-21T15:45:00.000-05:00

I've been terrible about keeping up with posting lately. It just seems like things are so busy and they won't slow down!

It has been amazing and wonderful to have Chris here on a full time basis! Our relationship is growing and improving with each day we're together. I love being able to see him every evening after work and eat supper with him. We started going on a walk every evening after dinner and it has turned into very special time for us - probably our best talk time, just the 2 of us and our little stretch of country road. Usually we're lucky enough to catch a brilliant sunset and enjoy an evening breeze. I am so thankful for this time together.

Another thing I absolutely love is getting to be in church with him every Sunday. We like to go to the early, contemporary service, go to Sunday school and then head home and have dinner and relax. It's also so great going to our small group Bible study with him. It is just awesome to listen to him speak and hear how God is leading him. This past week, we helped with VBS and taught the preschool group. How fun to see Chris playing and working with the kids! The little boys really loved him! On Friday night, there was a little concert for all of the parents and I loved watching Chris help the kids as they sang! We had quite the couple of performers! Two of our little guys, Isaak and Jackson, LOVED singing (screaming) the words to "The Lord's Army" - YES, SIIIIIIRRRRRR!!!! So cute!

This week, Chris is up in Minneapolis at training. He is having a great time and learning a ton. He gets back late on Thursday. Then early Sunday morning, I fly out for my NOPHNRCSE conference in Lafayette, Louisiana. I get done on Friday but instead of flying back into Omaha, I'll be flying into Detroit. Chris is planning on picking me up there and then we'll head to Brighton to spend the weekend of the 4th with his family. Hopefully our new nephew will be born by then and we'll get to meet him too! By the time Chris and I are both back in Iowa, June will be gone and we'll be into the hot summer days of July! Time has sure been flying!

In the meantime, we're working on wedding plans and finalizing the guest list. Chris is so involved in the planning - it's so fun to work on all of that with him and know that he's interested in what we're doing. I am finally feeling like we have a lot planned! And we still have 5 months to go!

We've been busy doing a lot of fun stuff over the past few weeks. On Memorial Day, we spent the day with our friends Brian and Sharon and their little guy Noah at a service, eating lunch, and then taking engagement photos at the Botannical Gardens. I'll have to post a few of those soon. Chris spent the first weekend in June at Promise Keepers and really enjoyed that. Last weekend we hit the Renaissance Faire in Council Bluffs and had a great time watching the jousting and cheering on our guy. This past weekend we did a lot of relaxing and also caught "Batman Begins" at the theater in Council Bluffs. We've also started our pre-marital counseling with Pastor and continue to just spend time together. I feel so blessed! We're looking forward to seeing our friends in Michigan in the next couple of weeks and spending time with our friends around here. Life is so good!

We got some more big news too! My older sister Roma and her husband Rob are expecting and are due on December 25th! YEAH! Congratulations Roma and Rob! In the meantime, could you all send up prayers for all of our friends and family who are expecting and/or just had their babies:

~Kathi & Tony Beach had twins Trevor and Jennika on 4/7. The twins are home and doing
well but still pretty tiny.
~Jamie & Erik Anderson are due soon with #5.
~June & Mike Schleimer are expecting Jessalyn Micheale Schleimer in the next few weeks.
~Carrie & Mike Nicholson (Chris' brother and sister-in-law) are due on June 22nd -
tomorrow! and are expecting their little guy to make an entrance soon.
~Roma & Rob Haling (Renae's sister and brother-in-law) are due on Christmas Day with
their first little one.
~Tami & Ryan Buitenwerf are expecting their first little guy shortly.

We're praying for all of you!

No AC means me not happy!

2005-05-23T14:11:00.000-05:00

Despite what the heading of this post says, I am happy in general - just physically very uncomfortable right now. Last winter, our office was added on to and we were moved into the new part. Our landlord decided to see if he could get away with not putting in another blower or AC unit for the addition. Well, that didn't fly very well. We FINALLY got a new blower and AC unit last week and it was blessedly cool here in here last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! Wonderful! But today, our new unit has taken a nose dive. It is HOT in here!!! And our landlord is trying to tell us it's not broken and it's cool enough!

Have I mentioned how incredibly awesome it is to have Chris here all the time??? I LOVE it! It's just so great being able to see him every day. He is loving his new job too which makes everything even better. We've had a lot of fun lately just spending time together. We are trying to get in the habit of walking at least a mile each day and so far, so good. On Saturday we headed down to Council Bluffs for a late lunch and to return some things to the mall. We ended up finding the router and computer stuff that Chris was needing. We found a little store that had everything marked off 50% due to a moving sale and we found an adorable, super soft little lamb for our soon-to-be-born new nephew, Marshall. We also found little Beanie Baby bride and groom bears that we plan on using for the wedding. I read an idea that instead of having the children participate in the bouquet and garter toss you toss a little bride and groom stuffed animal and these Beanie Babies will work great! We also wandered over to Target and registered for some things. It's been really hard for us to decide what to register for as we basically have everything we need for our home. So we registered for a lot of fun stuff and a few functional things. I definitely wanted to register for towels - can never have enough of them! We actually had a lot of fun winding through the store. And I didn't say "no" too often to Chris' requests. I think we're still trying to decide if we want to register at Home Depot or just hope for gift cards from there. We really just want our friends and family to come enjoy themselves at the wedding but we're already being asked what we want and we're not allowed to say nothing. We have such awesome friends and family!

We spent Saturday evening having dinner and watching movies with my friend Cherie. I finally saw Pirates of the Carribbean and loved it! On Sunday we headed to church and Sunday school and then back to Cherie's to work on my computer. (Chris is actually renting out Cherie's basement until he can move in with me when we get married.) Chris worked on it while Cherie and Dan worked on planting trees and I made Sunday dinner. We all sat down to and ate together and relaxed. Chris and I went for our walk and came back to relax. He watched a movie while I took a little nap and then we headed to small group at Arlin and Nancy's. We're discussing 1 Timothy right now and we're all struggling with the way our leadership board is set up at church - definitely not Biblically based - and we're trying to figure out what to do. We've also spent a lot of time talking about women's roles in leadership in the church and how we all feel about them. I've always advocated women's rights and equality but when it comes to church issues and my future marriage, I have to say I am incredibly conservative. I am so thankful for a strong Christian future husband in Christopher. He continues to amaze me with his depth and insight and love for God. I am so blessed!

I pray you are all having a great week!

Happiness is...

2005-05-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

YEAH!!! There are just so many good things happening in my life!

On May 2nd I headed up to Michigan for Chris and Mike's graduations. I rode up with a guy from my church who drives truck. Dean and I had a great time talking and I really enjoyed the bunk in the back. I think I slept all the way from the Mississippi River to the place we met Chris in Michigan. We arrived around 5:00 in the morning and then Chris and I headed back to Mt. Pleasant so he could finish up his finals. After he got done, we had a great lunch with his roommate Songhil (who is getting married on May 24th in Korea) and then spent the rest of the day packing up Chris' room and packing the majority of it in his car. After realizing we weren't going to get it all in, we shoved in what we could and headed to his parent's house in Brighton. We got to relax with his parents and watch the Pistons beat the 76er's to advance in the playoffs. Guess I now have to root for the Michigan based teams! On Wednesday and Thursday we were able to get a ton of last minute errands done, spend time with friends, eat lots of chocolate, enjoy the fantastic weather, and hang out with Chris' family. We had a fantastic time with his family - lots of eating, walking and game playing! On Friday, we headed back up to Mt. Pleasant to finish up some last minute tasks. We got Chris' apartment cleaned out and all packed in the car, had a great lunch with his friend Heather, visited with his work friends and picked up his cap and gown. The we headed back down to Lansing for dinner with his family followed by Mike's graduation from Michigan State University in Lansing with his PhD in School Psychology. We followed that up with dessert and fun with Mike and Carrie and other friends at Applebee's. Chris and I took off for our hotel and crashed. The next morning we headed back to Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant for Chris' graduation. There were so many graduates and the lighting was so bad that it took me forever to find him! Chris was highly amused that I couldn't spot him. :) After graduation, we met his family for lunch and celebrated. Chris and I spent the rest of the afternoon at our friend's Chris and Jean's. We got to see their new little guy, 3-month old Ethan, and his big sister, 6 year old Elise. We had a great time catching up with them and making plans. We left Chris and Jean's and to top off the day, we met some other friends at a pub in Brighton to celebrate. Sunday, Mother's Day, was spent with Chris' family. We worked on packing up the car (I cannot believe how much we fit into his little car! We are AWESOME packers!) and then played games with his family. On Monday we threw a few more things in the car, hugged his parent's goodbye and headed to Ann Arbor to see Mike and Carrie quick and then on to Iowa. We got in late Monday night and have been settling in since.

It has been so awesome to have Chris here. I think I'm still not fully aware that he's here to stay! We've had a great week - we've been able to relax and just be with each other and not worry about one of us having to go home 10 hours away. It's so nice that he's just 15-20 minutes away now. I love it!

Last night Chris was offered a job and he accepted. So he started earlier today and is already enjoying himself. He is very relieved to have a job and I am so proud of him.

So at this moment, from things that happened this week, happiness is (regarding the title of this post):
*Driving 10 hours with the love of my life at my side.
*Dancing to Frank Sinatra in Cherie's basement.
*Hearing Chris talk back to the TV when I'm in the other room.
*Dinner at Joe's and a movie at the Harlan 4 Theater on Friday night.
*Shopping at Walmart together.
*Hearing him speak up at small group and knowing he is working so hard to be the spiritual leader God wants him to be.
*Chris sneaking my chocolate chip cookie while I was talking to my sister and the look of glee and surprise on his face when he got caught.
*Hearing him answer my phone and talk to my friends and family.
*Praying with him.
*Just him.

Praying you all have a fantastic week!