Blog Name Confirmed!

OK, so we're going with "Under the Bell Tower." I like it. Now we have to take a picture and figure out how to make the header, but someday we'll get it done.


Other than that...this week is not as busy as recent weeks have been for us. I am embarrassed to say that (because of visitors) we finally put away the Christmas mess that had exploded in our living room and never went away. Yes, we had Christmas trees in our home in May. Actually, we still do but they are now evergreens instead of decked out "Christmas" trees. Matt created a park scene by grouping a bunch of evergreens (we have a lot of trees) and some other plants around our church bench. It's creative. It keeps me from having to dismantle Christmas trees...um...evergreens...only to put them back together in a few months. Now I wish we had another bench from the church to put in the entryway. I like having one there. I think I might stalk some former members of the church and see if anyone knows where they went.

That's all I can come up with now. I wish I had a picture of the park scene. I'll see what I can do when I get home and maybe post it later.

New Blog Name

I need help - I want to change my blog name. My husband will design me a header, but I need a name first. Here are my options (keeping in mind that the above is our home minus all the cars in the driveway):

Church in the Lurch
Churchbound
Under the Bell Tower
God in the Living Room
Life by the Cemetery
Learning Patience from...a House

If you have any other cute ones...throw them out for me. I need something fresh.

Six Words

Amie tagged me (again :-), so I will happily take on the task of listing 6 words or phrases that best describe me.

Here are the rules:
1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

So I will give it my best here:
1. obsessive
2. ever-changing
3. hopeful
4. faithful
5. thoughtful
6. God's
I tag T, Judy, Natalie, Hannah...who else...that will have to do for now.

Great Friends

I wish I had time to write a tribute to all of the great friends in my life. Just this week, one godly woman ministered to me in an incredible way. She is like a second mother to me; I have known her for over half my life. I wish I could quantify what she means to me, but it's just not possible. Thank you, Sharon, for reminding me what it means to be a godly wife and woman.

Another friend e-mailed, and it was a God thing. That's all I can say. She has been through a lot, a LOT in her nine years of marriage. What an encouragement and a support she is.

Other friends have been so loving and caring in the past few months, and some are going through their own hard times. To all my girlfriends, far and near: I love you. I can't imagine my life without you. Thank God for friendships that draw us closer to Him and give us a glimpse of His love for us.

Stealing Creativity

I am a woman.

I like romance.

I love to surprise my husband.

However, I can easily get stuck in the same ruts, and we have only been together for three years and married for two years. I found this book a few months ago. I have barely touched the tip of the iceberg in flipping through it, but here's a sample:

94
Give her one Hershey's Kiss.
Give her one thousand Hershey's Kisses.

Remove all the little paper strips (that say "Kisses" on them) from a couple hundred Hershey's Kisses. Fill a little jewelry box with them. Wrap 'em up and present them to her.

Write a clever certificate explaining that the little paper slips are coupons
redeemable for one kiss each.

Not only are there 1001 ideas, but I think it inspires creativity and thinking outside the box when it comes to romance. Some ideas are far beyond my budget, and others are free. It is incredible the ideas you can come up with if you devote some time to it. (Since we don't all have a bunch of time, I'm recommending the book instead!)

If your husband complains about not being romantic naturally, get it for him. Take away his excuses! (Just don't tell your husbands I suggested it; I like them and still want to be their friend.)

It was $11.53 at Amazon. It was a great investment in my marriage. I look forward to using the ideas for a long time.

Transparency

I am preparing a workshop for the women's conference at our church next weekend. I am very excited to share and believe that God has a message He wants to share through me. However, I am thinking today about how hard it can be to be transparent in life as well as in a leadership role. It's even hard to share the blunt force of my true feelings with friends or my husband at times. Can he handle the ugliness of my feelings, my pain? Can they still love me when they see the unpretty parts?

Transparency is a gift we give. Often, when I give it, I receive it back as well. So I will step out, be transparent, and allow what others "intended to harm me" to be used for good (Genesis 50:20).

So be it.

Planning a Wedding...or Building a Marriage?

Wedding season is coming. I have been contemplating what to get for some of these couples. I hated getting a slew of gifts that weren't on my registry, I didn't need, couldn't figure out where to return, etc., so I am sympathetic to that perspective. I also know that they will receive many things to fill their home but not much to help their minds and hearts adjust to being a husband and wife. This is one of the best (if not the very best) books I have read on marriage. It challenged me and changed my thinking in many ways.

What if God created marriage to make you holy more than to make you happy?

I think I will throw this in the gift bag along with a cookie sheet or cake pan. I wonder which will do more good for their future?

I love Amie

I've intended to come back at random points in the past few months. I'm back because Amie tagged me. I needed to come back anyway. Thanks for the excuse, Amie.

The rules for this meme are as follows:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog; some random, some weird

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by linking to their names/blogs

4. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they are tagged

I will do my best here to find 7 things of interest about me.

1. I love Hostess 100-calorie packs; specifically, the chocolate cake and cinnamon streusel ones. I eat one almost every day.


2. I bring my own ice to work. At some point, bags of ice in the freezer were nowhere to be found, and I like to drink my pop with ice. So I started filling Ziploc bags with ice in the morning and bringing it with me a few times a week. I don't think it's that weird, but when Bill made fun of me and my ice, I realized other people may see it as so. I'm not terribly concerned about it; I brought ice again today.


3. I am 30 years old and do not have a washer or dryer hooked up in my home. (That's not weird as much as it is very, very sad.)


4. I love "What Not to Wear." I constantly evaluate my wardrobe on the basis of "The Rules."


5. My sisters and I grew up playing church in our front yard. We sang worship and special music with the legs of our trampoline as microphones. Not the huge trampolines they have now, but the little ones with the super-short legs. I also preached and prayed. I guess it was a pre-cursor of things to come...


6. I always thought that my love of NASCAR and some other spectator sports would be a big "plus" in getting a man. After all, they love sitting on the couch with the remote watching sports all weekend, right? I found the one who does not. And, ironically enough, I am very grateful. He is creative and interesting and, although he boggles me with the things he comes up with, I am glad we don't obsess over football games or baseball stats or even NASCAR points. (Trust me, I have seriously lightened up on the NASCAR thing since being married to Matt. I even gave up the chance to see a race this year.)


7. I love pictures. I get pretty upset if an important occasion passes and I do not have a picture by which to commemorate it. I am usually willing to ask passing strangers to take a picture because the chance of not getting one at all is too much to risk. Thankfully, we have some pretty great pics taken by total strangers, such as this one from our second anniversary:

As for tagging people, I have no idea. I'll go with Haleigh and Mary. I know it's not seven, but it will have to do.

Donuts Rule

I just want to say that Dunkin' Donuts is awesome. The Boston Kreme is my favorite. My husband introduced me on our Chicago trip last year, and we have been best friends ever since. You should try it sometime.

Purple Weekend

This was my purple weekend. I won this book at a conference.

And I won this bathroom by having the best husband in the entire world.

Before:

Three days and very little sleep later:

He picked out all the fixtures without input - we had talked a little bit about it, but in a future, this is what I might want someday, kind of way. He even asked me while I was gone how tall I am. He was trying to decide where to place the wall sconces so I could get the best light for doing my makeup. Does it get any better than that?

Think about a few days without your spouse - even though you miss him or her, you try to think of the things you can do with a little alone time: read a book (or a magazine if you're my husband), watch your favorite TV shows, watch a movie he or she wouldn't like, eat what you want, follow your own schedule, work on your hobbies...all the stuff you have very little time for during a normal week. He gave up all those things plus a lot of the basics like food and sleep so he could finish this bathroom for me.

Do you know what he said? He knew that I wanted a finished room in our house, and since he knew the basement bathroom couldn't be completed in 3 days, he decided to do this room so I would have one room that is completely done. How amazing is that? He totally put himself in my shoes and did what he thought would make me happy. Holy cow - I knew I married an awesome man, but this is so over the top and amazing. He works so hard at his job that he's often pretty beat when he gets home. For him to set aside so much time to complete this room for me is beyond what I could have dreamed. He finished it from top to bottom: ceiling tiles, baseboards and all the trim, fixtures, a new half wall to hide the plumbing, new electrical and plumbing, new laminate hardwood-look flooring (I absolutely love it), new wall color...there's probably even more I'm not thinking even thinking of right now. That makes ME tired! And thanks to my wonderful father-in-law, Vern, for pitching in on Saturday to get it all completed before I came home!

Thank you, baby. I feel like I won the lottery for the greatest, most loving and giving husband that can be found. You inspire me to keep thinking up new, fun surprises to show how much I love you.

I suppose I have to finish soon. I could write about this forever. Here is the very awesome wall sconce he picked out:


It is all even cooler in person, so please come over and see it soon!

And here is my wonderful baby at 3:57 a.m. on Saturday morning (it's hard to see the time in the picture):


I couldn't ask for a better husband. You were SO worth waiting for!

My Office, Part 2

I took some pictures. I hope they turned out okay. This is my new office! I am so stressed today that I am not enjoying it very much, but it is a great office. And I like it very much. I just prefer to be putting on my workout clothes and walking out the stress in just a few minutes.

Change Can Be Good

I tend to resist change. But I moved to a new office this week (same workplace, just a new office :-), and I am absolutely loving it. I loved cleaning out the desk and making room for more stuff. I loved rearranging furniture and decor. I loved buying a new picture frame into which will go a collage of pictures from our recent vacation. I am (gasp) excited to be in my office! Not that I don't like my job, but it's been a while since I actually can't wait to get to work.

I am going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts. And hopefully I'll get a picture taken soon so you can see it, too!

Oh, Sweet Bliss

Vacation is long over, but it sure is fun to reminisce! So I'll do my best in summarizing the 12 days that we were gone. We'll see how far I get in this first post.

We flew into San Francisco and had quite an ordeal just getting to the car rental place, but we finally picked up our white Nissan Xterra. We really liked it, but we returned it on Tuesday in exchange for a little cheaper vehicle. It was definitely necessary for the off-roading we did, though! Anyway, we drove across the Bay Bridge and I got to take a bunch of pictures of the Port of Oakland for my husband. Only a few turned out, but there were a LOT of containers being loaded onto and off the ships. We hit the traffic jam of the year...it was crazy for a LLLOOONNNGGG way out of Oakland. We stopped in Tracy for some In-N-Out Burger. Have you been there? It's crazy good. By the time we got back on the road, the traffic had thinned out.

We stayed in Modesto on night one. We loaded up that night with road trip food and a cooler for our drinks. We planned on being in the mountains for a few days and didn't know what kind of food or how often we'd be able to find anything.

On Saturday, we drove to Jamestown to see Railtown 1897. Lots of movies ("Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again," "Back to the Future III," etc.) and TV shows have used the park to tape their train scenes. We rode the train and then took a tour of the roundhouse. (This is us at Railtown.)

We also visited Matt's cabin from when they lived out there in Long Barn, CA. That was the beginning of our journey across Sonora Pass. We got some beautiful pictures (see the last post), but the driving was pretty insane. Nightfall came about halfway through the Pass, so we spent a lot of the drive in the dark, which is pretty crazy when you have no idea what the drop off right next to you is like. I am glad I was driving - I get more scared when riding then driving.

Anyway, after discovering I have acrophobia (unlike him), we made it to Judy's Tahoe cabin. We were SO tired, and we had quite an ordeal just getting a cheeseburger at McDonald's (I think they were closed but forgot to turn off the menu board, so they made the burgers for the starving travelers.) We had the alarm code and punched it in, but then we set it off trying to find our way around (it's quite a big place). We figured out she had switched the "arm" and "disarm" codes around in her note - possibly on purpose. She's quite the practical joker. We decided not to figure out the hot water heater until the morning, so I washed my face in the most freezing water I have ever used in my life. And we fell blissfully asleep.

This is already too long, so I will have to continue with day 3 and on at another time.

Vacation!

I have been a blogging slacker, but I desperately want to write some things down about our vacation. At the very least, I'll post a few pictures and hopefully get some stuff written soon. Above is a location we found while driving across Sonora Pass (a.k.a. Insane, Crazy, Winding Highway to get across California). It was a beautiful drive while it was still light, and this area was gorgeous. We were finally able to watch some of our video last night. That was so much fun!!

This is from our dinner at Lou's Pier 47 Restaurant in San Francisco. It was a fun restaurant, very cute, and one of the pictures that we were able to get of both of us! Anyway, I will try to post more soon. Whatever "soon" means. It probably means "after VBS."

What Do I Do?

This is a funny question. People ask, "You're a children's pastor? So, what do you do during the week?" I try not to be insulted. :-) But seriously, I kind of wonder, too: what do I do? It varies so immensely based on the season, the activities that are going on, etc. And if the senior pastor asks you to do something, then you do it regardless of whether or not it's on your "job description." So...I thought I would take a sample day of yesterday and see what I actually DO.

• We are beginning to switch over to a new church management system. More than just a database, it will help us track volunteers, assign kids to classes/events, securely check them in and out, identify students by school/grade/birthdate, and a host of other items too detailed to list here. I am in charge of the implementation project with the awesome T as my sidekick (seriously - that's what they call it, a sidekick). We're very superhero-ish. Anyway, yesterday we had some problems entering data, so I worked on that. I also reviewed T's bunch of e-mails about a meeting we have scheduled this week to train data entry volunteers and attempted to line up child care for the meeting.


• I entered into this same program a list of as many schools as I could find in the phone book if I knew that we have children who attend there. I also set security rights for all the staff who are the only users we have entered at this point.


• I counted the offering from Sunday's kid's services.


• I cleaned up some curriculum that was returned to me and took it to a closet upstairs.


• I met with the leaders from our Sunday morning kid's church program. They have kicked off a new program in the past few weeks, and we talked about getting schedules put together for those volunteers. I helped them make one up in Excel and I will follow up with them next week to see if they were able to plug volunteers into all the spots as needed for the next 3 months.


• I updated a quarterly schedule of youth volunteers for my pre-school classes. Each quarter, I get new curriculum for these classes. I have to update and copy new schedules, list the quarterly Bible verses, schedule youth volunteers, assimilate and distribute the materials (6 separate sets of teachers during those 3 months), and create a quarterly calendar for the entire children's ministry with a note to parents regarding that quarter's lesson themes and other activities or news. I am going on vacation at the end of May, so I need to finish all this work ahead of my regular schedule.


• I made a few phone calls and sent e-mails to find substitutes for next month.


• I have a meeting on Tuesday, so I printed off some materials to go over with a new teacher so I would be ready to meet with her.


• I looked over the VBS volunteer list and considered who to ask for some of the empty positions still to be filled.


• Last year's VBS materials were on a hard drive that crashed, so I have to create any documents used from scratch. I began yesterday with the creating schedule for the week.

I don't know if that sounds like a day's worth of work or not. I may have done a few other things in there, but that is the bulk of what I can remember. Anyway, it seems as though it's never a regular "to do" list but rather a constantly revolving door through which many events and people pass. There is no "typical day" in ministry. Not that I have ever experienced, anyway.

The Great Getaway

We are beginning to plan our summer vacation! We have purchased our tickets and are going to spend 10 days in the San Jose/San Francisco area next month! I can't believe how quickly it is coming. Matt has a list a mile long of train and railroad-associated things to see and do. My list currently consists of malls and coffee shops to visit, but I hope to check out some of the tourism sites and find some other things that appeal to me. What I enjoyed so much about our honeymoon was the opportunity to just chill and relax - no pressure to go anywhere or do anything. Hopefully we can take at least a day to just do that. We are staying with some family friends of the Gidley's, and they have a separate guest home that will I'm sure be awesome! I've seen a few pictures - I'm not sure if they're still on Matt's website or not.

That is my exciting news - our first year of marriage was filled with so many fun trips and outings, and I'm looking forward to starting the second year off with a bang!

The more of this that happens on vacation, the better! Who wouldn't want to be doing this right about now? Bet it's not snowing there!

The First of Many

What a year of firsts! The first year of marriage has been just wonderful, and we celebrated our first anniversary on Sunday. It was so special to spend time over the weekend reminiscing about our wedding and everything surrounding it. We have done so much in this first year - it's really been full of a lot of fun trips and memories. God has blessed us incredibly. He has kept us healthy and provided for all our needs and given us the ability to travel and enjoy our "DINK" status. I have learned so much about my husband and about myself this year. I am determined to be a better wife in the second year than I was in the first. I am so excited to see what God will bring our way as we grow closer to Him and to each other.

Thanks for an amazing first year, baby. You have shown me more love than I ever imagined I would experience in this year, and I believe God has blessed me with the most incredible husband - even more than I could have asked for. I know the best is yet to come for us!

Awesome God

I don't know what else to say today. God is awesome. He did so many miracles this weekend in my life - every moment worked together and brought me to a place I have never been before with Him. I can't calm the excitement inside me. I feel like a different woman! I cannot fathom what He is going to do in my life that could be greater than this feeling, but I am reveling in every moment of it.

I'm also very glad that the super strong burning smell in my home this morning was not the house burning down. I forgot that when the weather gets warm, the Asian beetles get in the halogen lamp in our closet and they smell like the house is burning down. Thanks to my husband for driving all the way home to figure that out.

To my Grandpa

To my Grandpa:

I was lucky to have two wonderful grandfathers in my life. I got you for the longest - 29 great years. I know that it was God's time to bring you home to be with Him, but I want you to know that I will miss you very much. I looked forward to holidays at your house so much. All the people, the laughter, the food, the fun, and your humor that made every occasion a blast. I think of all the times you and Grandma trekked down to southern Missouri and took me (and sometimes a friend) to dinner while I was in college. I remember all the graduations, musicals, drama team ministry, and so many other things in my growing-up years that you were a part of. But what I will remember most is your great hugs and your great smile and how they conveyed your great love for me. And I will be forever grateful to the man who invited you to church and to your willingness to hear and accept the salvation that Jesus offered. You began a Christian heritage that continues in your grandchildren and will continue for generations until Jesus comes. I couldn't be more grateful to follow in those footsteps that you laid out for us.

I love you so much, Grandpa. It was really hard to say good-bye this weekend. I want to hear one more joke, see one more smile, and get one more "I love you." As we were reminded this weekend - in God's time, it will only be a moment and then I will see you again.

Your Loving Granddaughter,

Angela

Wanna go to Cancun?

Sorry. I can't send you there. But you can live vicariously through Matt's and my honeymoon pictures! Visit the picture galleries on Matt's website and our honeymoon pictures are the top link. (Even if you've seen them, his web design is so great that you have to at least check that part out!)

Maggie May

Most of you who read my blog know my friend, Maggie May (her on the right, me in the middle, our friend Mandee on the left). I am thinking about her a lot this week because I just found out that she has breast cancer. She will have surgery on Wednesday followed by chemotherapy and radiation. I cannot fathom how this happens to a 26-year-old woman. I want to hug her and promise that everything will be okay. I really can't make that promise, but my God can. I believe with all my heart that He will heal her. He has great things to do in her life - she is AMAZING! She has so many gifts, and she has so much experience that I know God wants her to share. She is a true minister, one who loves others with all her heart and reaches out to them. I am blessed to be her friend, and now it's my job to be relentless in praying for her healing. I left my journal in the car, but I wrote about her today and was thinking of her in relation to this verse: "And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9-10, New Living Translation) Keep on seeking. KEEP ON ASKING. KEEP ON KNOCKING. Our God is listening - I wonder if He just wants us to show how desperate we are for Him. I'm desperate for Maggie this week and for Him to heal her completely. He may use the course of her surgery and treatment to do so, He may not. I do not know His plan, but I will keep on asking and believe that He will heal her. Will you believe and pray with me?

I love you, Maggie. You are an amazing friend and I miss seeing your beautiful smile. Thanks for sharing your infectious laugh with me on Sunday and proving that God is still good and will be with you through it all.

Hooray for 2007!

I like the thought of beginning a new year by closing out the last one. So I will participate in Heth's meme today.

What did you do in 2006 that you had never done before?
Got married (that should be enough right there)...lived in a church...changed my name...

Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't recall making any. I am making one this year...it's my secret, though. Well, two. The other is to be more consistent with my journaling.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Lots of people I love did (or will soon)...Melanie is the closest person I can recall giving birth last year.

Did anyone close to you die?
No - my grandpa came close at Christmas, but he's doing better now.

What countries did you visit?
Mexico.

What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
More self-control. More trust in God.

What dates will remain etched in your memory and why?
April 1: wedding day. Celebrating our birthdays together for the first time.

What's your biggest achievement of the year?
Adjusting to marriage...still working on that. Getting into journaling and being more consistent and seeing my relationship with God grow.

What was your biggest failure?
Putting myself before others too many times.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Illness - I was pretty sick in February. I ripped a nice chunk out of my arm when moving some stuff into our house...still have a scar from that one. That's about it from my recollection. Other unmentionable stuff.

What was the best thing you bought?
My birthday present to Matt. I'm very proud of that one.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Matt and I have worked hard on setting a good foundation for our marriage. I am proud of us.

Whose behavior made you appalled and disgusted?
All front page celebrities.

Where did most of your money go?
Hard to say...it seems like bills. But we got to have fun, too, so I'm not complaining too much. We do eat out a lot, too.

What did you get really really excited about?
All the firsts of being married! Everything I get to do with my husband makes me excited...our wedding, our honeymoon, our Galena trip in July, our Chicago trip in December, our first Christmas together.

What song will always remind you of 2006?
"All I Ask of You" from "The Phantom of the Opera." Our wedding song.

Compared to this time last year are you?
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) fatter or thinner? Fatter, but it's a temporary situation.
c) richer or poorer? Richer

What do you wish you had done more of?
Letting go of my expectations.

What do you wish you had done less of?
Worrying.

How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
I was at home with my husband.

Did you fall in love in 2006?
Oh, yes.

What was your favorite TV program?
"King of Queens" and "Law & Order"

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.

What was the best book you read?
Such a tough one for me...so many great marriage books. Ask me if you want a list. :-) The biggest life-changer was the Bible. And Joy That Lasts by Gary Smalley was amazing.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
I still listen to a lot of United Live...probably a lot more rock since hanging out with my husband.

What did you want and get?
Someone to share life with.

What did you want and not get?
not sure...

What was your favorite film this year?
I really loved "Rocky Balboa." "World Trade Center" was awesome, too. Oh, hello - "Nacho Libre"!! Has to be top of my list with the new Rocky. "Did you tell them they were the Lord's cheeps?"

What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
Drove to Des Moines...shopped...ate dinner with my parents...enjoyed spending it ALL with my fiancee(at the time)!

What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?
The same thing as every year - worrying less and trusting God more. A constant struggle. And some other things I won't share.

How would you describe your personal fashion in 2006?
Cheap trendy and black?

What kept you sane?
God and Matt and Starbucks and shopping.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
There is no "fancying" - just morbid curiosity.

What political issue stirred you the most?
They all get me worked up...the whole Iraq war gets me up in arms...ha ha ha.

Who did you miss?
My family; Christy; the Rasmussens; Leann; Tricia. But I got to see most of them at my wedding!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
God works best when I am in the least amount of control. Wish I could learn that better.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime"

Christmas Lights

If you have the time or the inclination to do so, you should drive by our home after 4:45 p.m. or so. We have some cool lights in the bell tower and even cooler lights inside (if we're home, we just might let you check it out). And they will likely be up past Christmas...we like to keep the holiday spirit alive as long as possible.

Merry Christmas!

Chicago, Day 2

On to Saturday – we hunted down a Dunkin’ Donuts for some breakfast. Whoa – why don’t we have one of these here? It was awesome. Instead of getting on the train at Schaumburg, we scouted out the stop that was nearest to the train yard we had seen on Friday. We found it and had about half an hour to railfan (this is an insider’s term for chasing trains – I was informed that the in-insider’s term is “foaming” as in “foaming at the mouth.” The things you learn from marriage.) A lot of the yard was blocked by fences, but a break in the fence showed that the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train was still parked there! Its tour was to begin that day, so we pulled in and took some pretty good pictures of the cars and the engine. I could give you more train picture info, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed seeing my husband get excited about checking out the trains and taking pictures.

We took the train to Union Station again. This time, we bought tickets to the trolley tour and half an hour later, we boarded the trolley. We rode for a while checking out the sites and hearing some interesting stories from the driver/tour guide. We got off and took a cab to the Museum of Science and Industry. (The picture of us was taken there.) They have “The Great Train Story” exhibit, which features a very large, $3.5 million exhibit of an HO scale train from Seattle to Chicago. It was pretty sweet – Matt took tons of pictures. After a while, I walked down and ate some Cheetos and Diet Pepsi and called my Dad to kill a little time. They also had a real Burlington Zephyr train, and we happened upon a 20-minute tour. It was cool to hear about the maiden voyage of this high-speed passenger train.

By the time we left, it was dark and cold again, so we waited for the city bus to travel to North Michigan Avenue, a.k.a. The Magnificent Mile. We got off the bus and walked a little, but it was definitely dinner time and Matt had not had a snack, so he was really hungry. I knew he wanted some good deep dish pizza, so I looked online and found the #1 rated deep dish pizza, Gino’s East Pizzeria. I remembered the address, and we used our various maps to navigate a walking path. Good thing we were bundled up – it was definitely chilly. But we got to see a lot of windows and lights along the way. By the time we arrived, the line was definitely out the door. I had read that there is always a wait, so it was just a matter of how long. It was a mere 5-10 minutes before a man came out and announced that 110 people had just left the restaurant, so they needed 20 minutes to clear the tables and we could be seated. Then another woman came out looking for tables of 2, for which we qualified, so we were seated rather quickly. The server informed us that deep dish pizzas would take 45-50 minutes, so we ordered an appetizer and our pizza right away. It was…incredible. I cannot fully describe it with words. It must be personally experienced.

I was pretty tired when we finished at 8:00, and the trains were departing at 8:40 and 10:40, so we grabbed a cab and hoped for the 8:40. We made it in plenty of time, and we were able to drive around and check out Christmas lights before we headed to the hotel.

Vaca-shee-on!!

(In defense of my title, I am a huge "King of Queens" fan, so the pronunciation is an homage to the humor of Kevin James.)

I know I’ve been gone a long time, but our vacation to Chicago was so great that I have to write about it!! We took a long weekend last Thursday-Sunday and spent it in the greater Chicago area. Matt and I have such a great time traveling together – I love making the hotel reservations, looking up the route, finding fun possibilities we can do in the area, etc., and Matt is the spontaneous one who finds things for us to do on the fly. So we drove over to Schaumburg late on Thursday night. We slept in on Friday, and then we headed to Woodfield Mall to get some warm gloves, etc. for my husband. Once we ate some lunch and were properly outfitted for the (freezing) cold weather, we then had to find the METRA station in Schaumburg. Asking for directions is pointless, so I scoured a gas station map until I was sure of how to get there (I didn’t want to buy it – it was $20!). We found the station, and we got on the train at 2:30 p.m. It was an hour-long ride, and we passed a HUGE train yard. Matt was salivating. We even saw the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train! It was very cool – Matt had read about it a little bit, but we had no idea it was going to be there.

Once we arrived at Union Station and headed outside, it was insanely freezing. We went about a block to the Sears Tower and decided to take the trip up to the Skydeck. It was an amazing view – it was around 4:00-5:00 p.m., and it was perfect lighting to get some incredible pictures. Matt has a few that maybe he’ll post someday. (Along with those wedding and honeymoon ones, right baby?) J It was a pretty frightening height, but it was worth the view. When we were done, it was really too cold to walk anywhere, which had originally been our plan. So we took a cab to Navy Pier. We put our names in at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and then walked around while we waited for a table. Navy Pier has a lot of fun shops – I had some cinnamon toasted cashews. Holy cow. I’ve had the almonds, but the cashews bring it to a whole new level.

After dinner, we took another cab back to Union Station and waited for the train. We had heard from the taxi driver that someone had shot a few people in a downtown office building, taken a hostage, and finally was shot by police. At the station, I was waiting for Matt in the restroom and a young man came up saying that he was stranded because of the shooting. (The METRA and other transportation had been shut down for about an hour because of it.) He needed to meet his girlfriend at a different place and had no money for the train. I am completely uncomfortable with being alone and having a strange man come up and speak to me. I kept looking at the bathroom hoping for Matt to come out. Finally he did, and I told him the story and asked him if we could walk over and buy the kid a train ticket. We did that and then got on the train. This train ride was quite an experience – a man was singing rather loudly to his crude hip-hop music for about half the ride. I was definitely looking forward to being done with that ride.

It was another late night, but our first day in Chicago was awesome. Read on for more Chicago fun!! (It’s too good, so it must be spread out in multiple posts.)

He's Got the Power

I just shared this with a special friend, but in light of all that's happening in the evangelical world, it seemed to somewhat be applicable to all of us. Who of us can fix ourselves? It is solely the power of God and our trust in Him that changes our hard hearts. Our best efforts fall miserably short of His glory. That sounds depressing, but it's actually encouraging! I don't have to be good enough - I just have to trust that He is and that His power can change me, too.


S - Galatians 3:5-6 (MSG) "Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving OR because you trust him to do them in you?"

O - Paul's question answers itself when He describes God "working things in our lives we could never do for ourselves." We can't do them - obviously, it's only God who can.

A - Most days I can point out where I messed up in my thoughts or actions, and I often attribute the lack of self-control or the poor choices to my inability to "learn my lesson." But do I trust the God who began this work in me to complete it? If the weight of sin and the desire to overcome it rests squarely on my shoulders, I will lose the battle. I am human, and my personal choices will never be good enough to transform my own heart and mind. My only hope is for God to change me from the inside out - changing just what I do and say isn't enough. The very heart of who I am needs the touch of God. And if I am truly depending on God to change me, I will be desperate enough to spend time with Him, to read His words of life and allow them to sink deep into my soul, and to cry out with all my heart to my Father.

P - Father, I need You. The problem is that I can act like I don't need You, but the fact remains that I am a pitiful mess without You. Please forgive me for the actions that say I don't really need You in my life each day in order to make it. Despite my human nature, I want to be more like You in my heart of hearts. I trust that in my time spent with You, Your light will penetrate my heart and invoke the change I so desperately want to see.

Hello Fall!

This has apparently become the land of the monthly posts. But Amie's return inspired me to blog today.

Fall is awesome. The chill in the air this weekend was so exciting - my thoughts immediately turn to the holidays. Consequently, I have more than once listened to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the past week. The fact that we just bought tickets for the Chicago show helps, too. We are very excited to see them again. It should be an awesome holiday weekend.

Life is moving on as usual. Work will begin again on our bathroom tomorrow night. I am so ready for that. It seems that as soon as Matt's commitment to the band was ended, we took the liberty of having our weekends back and filled almost every one until the end of October! I did not expect to be so busy this fall.

If anyone's still out there, I hope you are excited about the fall, too!! If not, come over - we'll make coffee (or hot chocolate if you prefer), grab the electric blanket, and cuddle on the couch with a great book. (I have SO many to read!! But more on that next time.)

Welcome Home!

I spent last week at Junior Camp. I really didn't want to go - I did not want to leave my husband for 4 nights. But I did pretty well the first three days. I cried a little before bed each night; mostly because I missed him, and of course, having such a busy week I am sure that some of my emotion was due to simply being tired. He came on Wednesday evening to see me which I was looking forward to with much anticipation. However, I knew once I saw him that I was in trouble. It was going to be very difficult to say good-bye, and I was right. Thursday was a really hard day, but I made it and had some white cheddar popcorn that night that made things a little better. And finally, Friday came!! My thoughtful husband posted a "Welcome Home, Baby!" sign, made me a yummy brownie, and got me these. Awww!! It couldn't have been a better homecoming. Yeah for being home again!

Back from the Dead

I know. It's been forever. Actually, most of you who read this have been on somewhat of a blogging sabbatical yourselves, so I don't feel terrible about it. Life just happens and you have to go with it. The sad thing is, many things have happened in the last month, some of which may be interesting and others not so much. At least not to you.

We did have a super fun July 4 holiday. We celebrated the anniversary of our first real date by re-visiting Galena, House on the Rock (well, Matt did anyway - I went to the mall in Madison), and Vinny Vanucchi's. Our server at dinner was the same guy who served us the night we were engaged! He remembered us; he even said that evening was "unforgettable." Awww!! We stayed at an awesome bed and breakfast. The Honeymoon Cottage was so sweet! We highly recommend it. On the 4th, we walked around town for quite a while and drove in to Dubuque as well. We were able to take a carriage ride, and the driver took the picture of us seen below. It was lots of fun! It's the first overnight trip we've done since the honeymoon. It was so fun to go as a married couple! Yeah!

Other than that, we are continually working on getting the house in order. I suppose it will be a lifelong journey at the rate we are going. The shower is awesome, though. Don't forget to look at the pictures on Matt's blog!!

Thursday Thirteen: Movies

Thirteen Things about ANGELA

I figured this was an easy way to keep up since I have had little time to write. No water in our house...but the in-laws are gone, so at least we have a place to stay while it gets repaired. For now, I will do thirteen of my favorite movies. I have a very difficult time picking favorites, but these are top-ranked on my list.

1. Return to Me - One of my favorites of all-time. Just a nice romantic comedy. I'm a sucker for the romance, as I'm sure you will see. Great soundtrack, too.

2. Raising Helen - Again, a great romantic comedy. Kate Hudson is pretty funny, and the sisters were somewhat reminiscent of me and mine. I don't enjoy thinking about the people I love dying or anything, but it reminds you of how much they mean to you.

3. The Sound of Music - Come on. This is just a classic. I love the music and the gazebo seen with Liesl and...the guy. So great! I always wanted to be her!

4. You've Got Mail - I don't know what it is, but I could watch this movie repeatedly and never tire of it. It's so cute how he goes about befriending her in order to win her heart. I love it!

5. Diary of a Mad Black Woman - An all-around great movie with drama, romance, and absolutely hysterical to boot. Definitely worth checking out.

6. Pride & Prejudice - The new version with Keira Knightley. I just loved it; it's so witty and great all around.

7. Titanic - Haven't seen it in years, but it is the first movie that I remember really crying in the theater.

8. The Passion of the Christ - The most powerful movie I've ever seen. A pretty unbelievable experience in the theater when the church rented it out for a few showings.

9. Runaway Bride - Again, the romantic comedy just does it for me. Very fun movie, great soundtrack which includes Miles Davis, so it must be good.

10. The American President - The politics reeks, but the story is too cute. Another that I could watch over and over.

11. Napoleon Dynamite - How can this not be funny? Chatting online with babes? Numchuck skills? The dance!?!? It's a classic for our generation.

12. Center Stage - It's such a teeny-bopper sort of movie, but I can't help but love it. The dance at the end rules!

13. A Beautiful Mind - Great story, great acting.

I know I didn't include many serious movies or any action movies, which I really do like, but these are the ones that came to mind. Post your own list, too!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about ANGELA

I figured I'd give this a try - I guess you just pick a topic and write 13 things about yourself. So today's topic will be...13 places I have been.

1. Kansas City, MO. As kids, we visited Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun a few times for vacation. My Mom won tickets to the parks on a radio contest a couple of times.

2. Tijuana, Mexico. Pastor Jim took us on a missions trip here. I was 15, and it was the first time I flew on an airplane.

3. Branson, MO. I lived in Springfield for almost 7 years, and Branson is about 20-30 minutes south, so we shopped the outlets and watched IMAX movies during the college years and beyond.

4. Chicago, IL. I was on a traveling ministry team in college for all 4 years, so we visited many different places. My freshman year we went to Chicago for our Spring Break ministry trip. It was very eye-opening in many ways. We also walked down Michigan Ave. and ate great pizza.

5. Denver, CO. I went here with my family at a very early age; I have a few memories but not many. Pastor Jim also took us here for the national youth convention (I'm not sure what year it was, I want to say 1996 or 1997?). I remember feeling a distinct call to ministry at that time. I also visited for a work conference from the Assemblies of God youth department; interesting trip with my former roommate and co-worker (to say the least). Sing it with me, "I see your true colors shining through..."

6. Boca Raton, FL. Another Spring Break ministry trip in college. This was a beautiful area; very ritzy from what I recall. We walked on the beach, on a pier in Miami, and all the girls stayed together in one house (it wasn't too cramped or anything, though).

7. Orlando, FL. I had only been at my job in the youth department (Assemblies of God headquarters) for about two months when I was asked to go to the Fine Arts Festival and National Youth Convention in Orlando. I was so excited; my first big work trip, lots of overtime (= lots of moolah), a little bit of free time to shop, and experiencing my first General Council (it's a big deal for them...seriously). Very interesting trip; I loved carrying around a walkie-talkie and being all cool and stuff.

8. Detroit, MI. I drove up (a VERY long trip alone) for a very good friend's wedding. It was definitely fun. I think Shannon and I carpooled back together for yet another long car ride. But I really loved being in her wedding and sharing those moments with her.

9. Seattle, WA. I have visited Phil, Brenda, Kaitlyn, and Kramer three times in their city of residence. (To put a face with a name, Kaitlyn was junior bridesmaid at my wedding if you were there.) I love it there; they live RIGHT by the water in Kirkland, which is a very nice area. They have a boat, so we try to get out on the boat when I'm visiting, which is always so relaxing. Their home is beautiful and relaxing, and I love staying there. I hope I can visit them with Matt someday!

10. Washington, D.C./Dover, DE. This trip last summer with my parents and Tyler was so great. The ONLY thing I remember not liking was the fact that I wished I could enjoy it with Matt. We had just started hanging out, but I really wanted to share all those fun experiences with him. Going to my first race at Dover was so sweet.

11. Galena, IL. I love Galena! It will always be so special as the site of our first real date and as the place where Matt asked me to marry him. It's such an adorable little town.

12. New York, NY. Huge highlight trip for me; it had always been my dream trip. Originally I wanted to honeymoon there, but...yeah, I'm glad we didn't do that. We went in October and, well, here are a bunch of pictures if you didn't get to see them. Awesome trip with my baby (and Chris, can't forget that he came along :-).

13. Cancun, Mexico. Our honeymoon! Awesome resort that was very fun and relaxing. Pictures will be coming one of these days.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Nobody's a Nobody

I wanted to blog today, but I am not sure what to write about. So I will default and post a journal entry.

Nobody's a Nobody

Scripture: Romans 9:25-26 (MSG) "I'll call the nobodies and make them somebodies; I'll call the unloved and make them beloved. In the place where they yelled out, 'You're nobody!' they're calling you 'God's living children.'"

Observation: The world's definition of us is inconsequential. Other people's view of us does not matter. What God calls us, the name He gives to us is the only one with which we should be concerned. The world will try to confuse us and Satan will use anything to distract us from hearing God's voice and what He is saying to us.

Application: I can so easily define who I am by the things another person says or does. I can be persuaded that God's love doesn't matter unless another person can see that same value in me. But God never asked me to look into the eyes of someone else to find my worth. Others may choose to affirm what God says about me, but that's all it is - an affirmation, not a definition. And if someone sees me as a nobody, then I am in the place for God to make His move and call me the somebody that He sees in me. So my lovability is based on His love for me. And He has said that when I feel unloved, He wants to step in and call me beloved. He wants to call me His very own, His child. The love that He created in me pales in comparison to the love that He offers me each day.

Prayer: Oh, Father, forgive me for forgetting that You are the only One who can meet all my needs and be all I could ever ask for. I know there's a time and a place for harsh reality and a time to step up to the plate and take responsibility for my life. But today could You just wrap Your arms around me and be my loving Father? What I desperately need is Your unconditional love that sees me as I am, every ugly part, and still grabs me and holds me tight and has faith in what I can become. It's hard work to live up to all You ask of me. But it's worth the work because I so desperately want to make You proud, want to be the apple of Your eye. Will You step in today and give me Your peace even if I don't deserve it? I can't fully express what it means to me that You love all of me and are not turned away when You see the ugliness of sin in my heart. You still embrace me as Your daughter and see the beauty of Your Son in me. Make me into the beautiful image of You. Make my heart more like You and strip away all that does not reflect You. Let me be a true picture of Your love to others.

Two for Togetherness

I'm so excited to have been tagged for this! Thanks, Beefy!

2 things you compliment your husband on while in his presence.
1. His amazing computer skills (example shown below).
2. His cute legs.

2 compliments you make about your spouse to your friends.
1. His creativity that knows NO bounds.
2. He's a great writer and knows how to say incredibly sweet things in an eloquent manner.

2 traits you married him/her for.
1. His sincere desire to follow God.
2. His incredible gifts and the call of God that I know is on his life.

2 days you cherished the most with your husband being together.
1. The day of our engagement has to top this list. Since I've already written about it, I won't go into detail, but the entire day was full of anticipation for me, and I enjoyed each moment of being together and of the Christmas season.
2. Christmas Eve/Christmas Day 2005. Our first holiday together, being with our families, and being in church together. It was really special. (I would have written the wedding day, but it seems a little obvious; but I did cherish that day and the smart way we planned it so we could spend time together. Yeah for eating at Bourbon Street on our wedding night!)

2 material things you could give your husband if you just inherited a fortune.
1. A fiberglass body for a Batmobile (I could just pay someone to build it, but I know part of the joy for him will be building it himself).
2. This. And it would be a sacrifice for sure.

2 things you would miss the most if she/he left for two weeks.
1. Cuddling and talking and praying before bed.
2. His touch.

2 thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw (or noticed in our case) your spouse.
1. I am sure we would have a great time together; he is so funny!
2. What could I do to get him to notice me?

2 favorite dates
1. So many of the first dates were so much fun, but if I have to pick two...definitely July 4 of last year. He had invited me about a week or two earlier to visit the House on the Rock for the holiday. He surprised me that morning with a single red rose on my car seat (the first romantic gesture he had made, and I was floored; I remember shaking as I tried to put in my earrings while we were driving away in the car). We visited, I got sick, I bought some medicine and napped in the car, he drove us to Galena, we walked around looking at houses and walking down Main Street, we ate at Vinny Vanucchi's, and we watched fireworks together from the top of the hill. And he hugged me for the first time that day. It was the most amazing day. My journal entry about it is pretty good. He wrote a little about it, too, in his proposal narrative.
2. It's so hard to pick! Since I already said New York is a favorite vacation, I'm going to pick a different date (even though the Queen concert day was awesome). How about my birthday? No, I'm going with our trip to Minneapolis. We went to "The Christmas Carol" at the Guthrie Theater. Then we hung out at the Mall of America in our dress up clothes. It was very fun. I just love road-tripping with my husband; most of them are pretty memorable in my mind. And I love doing different things, and the play and the Mall and dressing were so fun and different from the norm.

2 funny odd things you love.
1. His constant preoccupation with Batmobiles (and this website). Since it's my blog, I'll take a second to show you what he has done since he doesn't have a Batmobile to work on yet - desktops for all the guys who are in the process of building theirs! (Thank goodness we don't have a computer set up at home. The bathroom would have a projected finish date of April 2012. )
2. The way he snaps his fingers near his ears to see if they are cleared up (he has lots of problems with his ears being clogged up and can never hear just right, poor thing).

2 places you have lived with your spouse.
1. Our current church/home
2. My old apartment (for exactly one week).

2 favorite vacations
1. New York City, baby!
2. Our honeymoon near Cancun (we will get pictures up for you to see, I promise!).

2 people I tag
1. Could I possibly get Rev60 to do this? (I'm sure I'm not allowed to tag my own husband, so I'll see if someone else's will do it.)
2. How about T - I'd love to hear her comments!

The Lost Has Been Found!

I found the missing box! It was with kitchen stuff. A bathroom box in the basement hiding under my knife set and napkin holder. Isn't that how it always works? Anyway, these are the eyeshadows that were in said box and missing me dreadfully over the past month and a half. (This does not include the 3 or 4 sets in my makeup bag.) Yes, it's a lot. Yes, it's every color of the rainbow. But in my defense, I had a plethora of $3 coupons, so I waited for the makeup to go 50% off at either K-Mart or Osco and bought most of them for less than $1. So I was able to use my long-lost colors this morning and enjoyed it immensely. I also got a straw from Kwik-Star that did not have slits in both ends (they seem to have the worst quality straws that are split at both ends, pinching your tongue if you're not careful while drinking). Hopefully these are signs that this will be a good day. I'm counting on it.

Finding Things

My stuff is still in boxes. The clothes are mostly put away and organized and a majority of the shoes are findable, but other than that, a lot of what I own still sits in boxes in the living room. I'm still not sure where to put it all, and we've been busy enough that I haven't had time to really deal with it. But it frustrates me when I think of one thing I want and cannot locate. Like, for instance, eyeshadow. I cannot find the majority of my large collection of eyeshadow. Specifically my Birthday Cake and Glamourazzi ones. Every day I look somewhere. Most days I look in the same two boxes, hoping that miraculously something in those boxes will have changed in molecular structure and will now be the coveted eyeshadow of which I dream. Alas, it has yet to have happened. But I did find my box with most of my jewelry. Anklet season is upon us, my friends, and I could not be left behind.

So while the mystery of the missing ankle bracelet has been happily solved, the missing eyeshadows still suffer in limbo-land, waiting despondently to be used by their loving owner.

The City in the Middle

Okay, I typed this entire post with links and pictures, and it's gone. It was all nice and fun and happy, and now I'm ticked because I lost it all. I will, however, attempt to recreate it.

For seven years, I lived in Springfield, MO. My parents and brother (and for a while, both of my sisters) lived in Des Moines, IA. We found ourselves meeting occasionally in Kansas City to shop, to get fitted for our bridesmaid's dresses for Stephanie's wedding, to go to Worlds of Fun, and just to be able to see each other. Kansas City is awesome, from the Plaza...

...to the Hallmark Visitor's Center to Crown Center to Union Station...

to Kansas Speedway to Evening Extraordinaire, the place where I first discovered what would become my wedding dress...

All in all, Kansas City is one of my favorite places. And we are leaving to go there today! Tomorrow, my parents, Tyler, and Steph are coming to hang out, check out the Hallmark employee store with my Hallmark-employed sister, and whatever else we can fit in (we can spend hours in a Hallmark). And on Saturday, I get to see my awesome friend, Jodi!

I am very excited for this weekend! This city girl is going to try very hard to get her fill of the big city. Have a great holiday weekend! (This time, I'm copying the html code before I try to publish this; hopefully I won't lose it again!!!)

A City Girl in the Country

I wonder if I will ever get used to living on a gravel road...miles from a store...or from civilization...out in the middle of nowhere. I am a city girl, people. I was mortified when I moved to Waverly, a.k.a. Town Without a Shopping Mall or Super Target. What is that about? And now I find myself living in an old church where I have to beg my phone to get a signal so I can call someone. I don't know if this way of life will just become normal. Or will it always seem different, like it just doesn't quite fit? I love to dress up, and I have a decent collection of dressy clothes, but it seems there are few opportunities to wear them anymore. Maybe Matt can take me to Bourbon Street tomorrow and I'll go all out. Maybe dressing up every night to go to dinner on the honeymoon gave me a taste of that life. Can I still be a city girl even if I don't live there? I feel like I'm being asked to be something I'm not, that I have no choice but to morph into an overalls-loving, ponytail-wearing, tractor-driving, makeup-less woman, and sooner rather than later, please. Well, I prefer to stay a city girl, to dress up when it's not required, to love rhinestones on my toes and a collection of lip gloss that rivals even Estee Lauder herself. I think I just will prove everyone wrong by loving my life even if it's not what I had pictured for myself. God's plan is different and ALWAYS best. These are some of my thoughts these days as the changes of my life continue to move along at a lightning-fast pace and I struggle to keep up with them.

Here's one more of my dress-up pictures from the honeymoon - from our romantic dinner on the beach night (where the wind was blowing 60 mph).

So anyway, about the honeymoon...

We haven't had a chance to sit down with anyone other than our parents to tell about the honeymoon! I'll try to write a condensed version. We spent a week at the El Dorado Seaside Suites about an hour south of Cancun, Mexico. Here is a picture of our room - it was amazing. That's the king size four-poster bed, and they made a towel swan on the bed when we arrived (and a rabbit later in the week). You can see a couple towels on the bottom right of the shot - that's the edge of the jacuzzi tub. We had a TV with a DVD player which came in handy at night and on the day we were severely sunburned.

For the first couple of days, we slept in, put on our swimsuits, ate breakfast, then went to the beach to lay around. We swam twice, but it was hard to actually "swim" as the water was about a foot deep in most places. We took out a paddleboat one day and got a few far away shots of the resort. We also snorkeled at the resort, but with the shallow water, there weren't too many fish to be seen.

We took one day trip to Xel-Ha (they pronounced it "Shell-ha"), an ecological water park. The snorkeling there was awesome - very beautiful fish. It was so fun to just hold hands and swim around, squeezing each other's hands and pointing when we saw something cool. (Awww!! Sorry so sappy - I can't help it.) Then we went to Tulum and saw the Mayan ruins there. Matt loved it (I let him pick our day trip since none of them really appealed to me, but this one was only 20 minutes from our resort and the one he really wanted was a couple of hours, so I was definitely more interested in this one). The picture above is a wide shot from Tulum. It was neat; I wish I had room to post more of Matt's great pictures. One day he will make a webpage with all our pictures, so those of you who like pics can check it out. One story - when we got the Xel-Ha, they "ask" you to turn in your regular sunscreen and give you 2 small packets of "biodegradable" sunscreen to use (supposedly safer for the animals). Maybe it is, but it was worth nothing in the way of protection from the sun! We even paid $17 for an extra 6 ounce bottle so we could be well-covered and reapplied once. Still burnt to a crisp. What a joke - I was so frustrated that we tried very hard to keep covered and not get burned, and their crock of a sunscreen product sabotaged us. I would put up the picture of my back, but it's not completely decent. Anyway, my back still has the lines on it; I may be permanently scarred.

We have lots more great memories; just not room to share it all! I printed a bunch of pictures as well, so you'll have to come to our house, look at the pictures, and hear all the stories then.

Random Points

I'm doing a little advertising. My husband finally posted after, I don't know, a month and a half. It's not wedding or honeymoon pictures or anything (yet), but if you want to read his six weird things, well, you just should. That's all.

We got Dish Network at our house this weekend. I stalled as long as I could; since I've gotten out of the habit of watching TV, I have enjoyed it and really contemplated whether or not it was necessary. But my love of NASCAR got the best of me, and since my husband was gone for the Saturday night race last night, it would have been too depressing to watch it at the OP by myself. So I gave in. Hopefully I will not succumb to the "sit in front of the TV flipping channels and doing nothing" temptation. There's plenty to do, so I don't think it will be a problem. But we have DVR now, too, and let me tell you, that's pretty amazing stuff. I was hoping for a spectacular crash last night so I could rewind and watch it over and over as many times as I wanted. But it was a short track, so crazy crashes don't happen as much. Lots of them, but not big, spectacular ones.

I don't like being home alone. If you lived here, you might not, either. It's huge!! And the heat is officially off (we have a wood-burning furnace), so it's fuh-reezing right now. (Hopefully if it's freezing when it's 70 outside, it will be just right when it's 90 outside. I hope.) Anyway, it's just so big, and I realized when I was contemplating cooking last night that having the kitchen in the basement is pretty depressing. It's just so dark and I have no motivation to go down there and make something when it's just me. Maybe I'll get used to it. Who knows.

I no longer like sleeping by myself. It's only been one month, but it's weird to sleep alone. And it's lonely. I waited 28 years to have someone to sleep with (and I don't mean like that, you freaks), so I figure that's enough time to sleep alone without adding more days to it while we're married. I'm sure I'll get over it one of these days, but I may be one of those people who never really likes it when her husband is gone. You're all going to tell me that it's still the "honeymoon" phase, but I know myself, and it's possible that I just won't ever really like it. Unless I'm ticked. Even then, I still have a strange desire to be near him. I would think that logically if I was mad, I would want him to go away, but I don't feel like that. Weird. I'm not adding that to my weird list. It's already grown from 6 to at least 10 things in my head, and I'm less and less convinced of my own normality.

Wow. I rambled a lot. It's to make up for all the times I've been a blogging slacker. Maybe it will inspire YOU to write something, too!

Where I Am From

It's been a while since I started a draft of this post, but there's been all kinds of fun stuff these days over at Heth's blog. This one seemed very fun, so I'm going to try it. I hope you will, too!

I am from kerosene heaters, from Fords and homemade pizzas.
I am from three girls, one mother, and one father with one bathroom.
I am from blooming lilac bushes in the backyard every May, from the large climbing tree in the backyard.
I am from baking and decorating Christmas cookies and laughing loudly at everything, from Charles and Nora and Irene.
I am from the land of Sunday afternoon naps and "The Cosby Show" every Thursday evening, from coordinating dresses made by Mom every Christmas and Easter.
From "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" and "don't roll your eyes at me!".
I am from a line of lovers of Jesus. From some who committed their lives to Him at an early age and ones who have lived for Him for decades. From proof of His faithfulness through generations.
I'm from Des Moines and England, from roast beef heaven and breakfast dinner and the best mashed potatoes in the world.
From the buffalo nickel swallowed by Beth in middle-of-the-night sister games, the 32-mile holiday bike ride, and the broken arm resulting from Mom and Dad's late-night living room dance moves.
I am from the "Be Nice to Me, It's My Birthday" pin, from the box of pictures chronicling all major events in our lives, and from much laughter in reminiscing through them.

Weirdness Abounds

It seems like it's been a while since I've posted a meme, so I'm accepting Heth's tag and posting 6 weird things about me.

1. I stock up on everything - EVERYTHING. Cereal, shower gel, Wallflowers, Crystal Light...the list goes on. It would not be out of the question to have 10 of any of these items in my home at one time. I don't think it's all that weird, but to the non-stocker-uppers (ahem, my husband), it is bizarre behavior.

2. If I find a super bargain, I love to keep the tag from the item in memory of my great deal. (Sometimes I secretly think that if someone doesn't believe it was "only three dollars!!", then I will have the joy of producing my physical evidence.)

3. If I see a series of numbers (address, phone number, dates, etc.), I add them up in my head to see if they all add up to 9. For instance, if all the digits add up to 27, you add the 2 and the 7 together and get 9! I don't know why I'm obsessed with them adding to 9. I do believe it's some form of OCD. But it used to be a lot worse, so I must be getting better, right?

4. I am a multi-tasker to a fault. I can only one thing for so long, and then I am compelled to move to another task, even if it is only for a few minutes. I can't JUST be doing one thing at a time.

5. I don't like animals. Again, I don't think it's weird, but apparently lots of people like animals and they all think I'm strange.

6. I edit and spell-check everything in my head - commercials, newspapers, ads, anything I see is subject to my scrutinizing glare. And I am generally only satisfied when I have found a mistake of some sort to correct.

All right, stop thinking I'm a freak and tell us 6 weird things about you. I tag the following bloggers (using that term loosely since we haven't heard from some of them in ages, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they resurface):

Adonai Jedi

Rev60

Natalie Joy

Beefy

meLanie

Is It Possible?

How can one single person have so much stuff? And why didn't I take pictures of it all in boxes before I began unpacking? You would have been impressed with the large amounts of stuff one person can accumulate in 28 years - no husband, no kids, just me and my stuff. I have done a pretty good job of getting rid of things I don't need and trying to pare down my definition of "need."

For example, I have approximately 30 to-go coffee mugs. That's not even a joke. Plus 3 at work. Now, I have not had a working coffee pot for months, so now that we got 2 for the wedding (woo-hoo! - now I have to pick which one to keep), I will be able to make coffee at home and take it with me. But still...30 mugs? I just keep buying them when they're on clearance or just look super cute, and I never realized just how many I had. Now, the pack rat mentality goes hand-in-hand with my thoroughly sentimental nature - "I can't get rid of THAT mug; I bought it when I was with Christy!" "I can't throw that one away - it's from the Speed the Light Banquet!" And this is simply one small example of my inability to discard anything.

Well, I am quickly deciding that I can't keep all these things, so I have a rapidly-growing box of perfectly fine mugs, cups, etc. but things that will not fit in my kitchen or are simply not needed. Matt wants to do a garage sale, but when I decide to get rid of something, I want it OUT OF MY HOUSE!! I don't want to keep a box for months until we can arrange a garage sale. I want it GONE - given away or taken to Trinkets and Togs. So we'll see if he can convince me to keep it around or not.

Other than that, I'm doing my best to set up the kitchen and have started working on my closet as well. I will be SO excited to put all the bathroom stuff away one of these days; that's one of my favorite tasks when moving. I LOVE having the bathroom with all the clean towels put away, 10 bottles of shower gel neatly lined up in a row, multiple bottles of lotion from which to choose, easy to find and within arm's reach...it will be a wonderful day. Matt and Vern are doing a great job - they laid 2/3 of the sub-floor last night. On to the shower!! I'm very proud of him, by the way. We both thought remodeling the bathroom wouldn't be nearly as daunting as it has turned out to be, but he's read and learned lots on everything from plumbing to sub-floors to lighting...he is doing a very thorough job, and I'm impressed with all he has learned even if I understand very little of it. I can't wait to see the progression over the next few weeks!! There will definitely be pictures of our finished bathroom. We may even turn on the heated floors and sleep there to celebrate.

No More Wedding Countdowns!

It just doesn't seem appropriate to say "it's over" when it really feels like everything has just begun. But the wedding is done! I do not have the time or space to recap it all, but suffice it to say that it was the perfect day for me. I loved everything about it. We will probably put together a website for the pictures as there is no way I can post them all on the blog. But this being one of my very favorites (a shot of the recessional), I elected to post it anyway. It was so awesome to see so many of you there; it was very special that you were able to share the day with us. We'll have to blog about the honeymoon, too, since we got to do so many fun things in Mexico and, of course, we have a bunch (I think about 300) of pictures from the resort and our day trip as well. But for now, I just wanted to say hi, we're back, and now we're in full swing to get moved into the house. It was so hard to leave paradise, but it is good to be home.