Now THIS is fun!!! :)

Tonight we finished our kitchen project!!!!

Before
After!

Before

After!

Before

After!!

I Will Go.....Or Will I?

It all started with an orange julius craving. Last night, I was tired, frustrated, and all I wanted was an orange julius. I began making it to discover I had forgotten to buy a gallon of milk after work yesterday. So, at 9:30 last night, I drove to HyVee to buy a gallon of milk to finish making my orange julius. On the way, I sang at the top of my lungs "I Will Go" by Starfield.

To the desperate eyes and reaching hands
To the suffering and the lean
To the ones the world has cast aside
Where you want me I will be

A few minutes later, I arrived at HyVee. A man sat as he waited for a ride....he looked hopeless and very discouraged. A woman in near rags walked out with just a few necessities in her hands, perhaps to get through the week. How quickly I forgot the words I had just sang as I stuck my nose up and walked right past them, judging them the entire way. With a hurried step, I walked past people who were trying to make some cash stocking shelves. I even half ignored someone trying to make small talk with me...it could have been a perfect opportunity to show the love of Christ. With my gallon of milk in hand, I quickly walked to my car and started it.

I will go
Lord send me
To the world
To the lost
To the poor and hungry
Take everything I am
I will go... Send me

As the music kept going, I looked in my rearview mirror. Instantly, I felt sick to my stomach as I thought of what a hypocrite I had just been. My orange julius didn't taste as good as I kept thinking again and again of how I could sing one thing and live another. I began wrestling with the question of "Will I go, Lord?" Not so much the big things like moving, but will I leave my "comfortable" lifestyle to interact with those that are in need? Will I give up all my "plans" for a day just to sit and listen to a person who needs a listening ear? Will I forget about "what people with say" or my "reputation"? Honestly, I wish I could say that I will go.....but I don't and I walk right past those in need. Then, this morning the realization of what Jesus did on this earth....DYING for the man waiting for a ride, the poor, the rich, and me, the hypocrite. Wow....*sigh* and all this started because of an orange julius craving. Thank you Lord for showing me compassion. I pray I may have it on others....I pray I would go and leave my "comfortable" lifestyle.

Happy Birthday, Luke!

To my one and only brother who....

*Tried to sell me for a dollar when I was a baby

*Promised to play Barbies with me if I just played Batman with him first...I fell for it every time

*While playing MacGyver, tied me up to the furnace and said it was going to blow up and then forgot about me

*Made life fun and interesting and taught me how to be tough

*Played Dukes of Hazzard with Ethan and made me be Flash the dog instead of Daisy Duke

*Caught the dog I threw at him

*Taught me how to play hockey

*Was protective of me

*Went from my worst enemy in elementary to one of my best friends in high school

*Gave me a passion for music because of his passion for it

*Taught me how to play Risk and Monopoly

*Gave me an example of what to look for in a guy

*Convinced people at college that we were twins

*Joined a college play, even though he looked ridiculous, because we needed more guys

*Always listened to me...especially in college when I needed an older brother the most

*Stood up for me in the most important day of my life, my wedding

Thanks for being such a great brother....have an incredible golden birthday! Love you :)

Youth Room

Our newly painted youth room!


P.S. Sorry about the bad lighting!!

Incredible Marriage Book

I have been so sad lately as I have listened to story after story of people that I know ending their marriages in divorce. It truly breaks my heart as I think about it! Some had been married 25+ years, others after only one year. I have found one of the BEST books that I think every couple in their first year of marriage should read. We started reading this book last winter (even though it wasn't our first year of marriage, it still is sooooo good), and it has been life changing!


One half of it is for the guy and the other half is for the girl, then you can meet in the middle. We just read it to each other so we can know what the other person's chapter says and it gives us TONS to talk about :) Soooooo good.....

*Here you go, Lindsay! This is the book I was telling you about :)

End of Summer....Beginning of School

Yesterday a smile crept upon my face as I drove past a playground full of elementary students....ahhh, the sweet smell of back to school always makes me happy! I remember one of my classmates once saying, "You want to be a teacher? That means you have to go to school even after you graduate! Why would you want to do that?" Haha...it's just something about watching children start in one place and seeing their growth throughout the year that makes me WANT to go to work everyday :) This past weekend, I celebrated my last weekend of summer by spending some time with my parents, grandma, and cousins! It was a relaxing and great weekend! Today was my first day of inservice but we won't have students until September....I cannot wait to meet my new students!! So, I guess that today marks the end of summer for me and the beginning of another schoolyear...and I feel like a giddy schoolgirl on her first day :)

Appreciating Old School TV

We are one of the few people in the world that does not have TV. Well, we have a TV, but do not get any stations. At times it's wonderful and at other times it's frustrating. We tried antennas, digital converters, etc. but nothing worked on our brand new LCD HDTV. I was more than a little bummed that I couldn't watch any of the Olympics, but I have been watching as much as I can on Youtube. Today, I had a random idea. "I wonder if our old tube TV would pick up any stations" I thought. Determined, I set to find out. I carried our TV up from our basement, hooked up the antennas, plugged in the converter box and searched for channels. One channel found. It was none other than.....the Olympics :) I have never appreciated old school tvs more than I did at that one moment. Later on I tried searching again and now have three stations...not bad for a person used to nothing. Has anyone else had trouble with the newer TV's not picking up stations? It seems so strange to me, but I am definitely appreciating my tube TV at this moment. And, it's just in time for Shawn Johnson's individual gymnastics tonight :) Yea :)

This Time....No Bike!

Remember a few months ago when I didn't know how to drive a stick and I had to ride my bike to work? Now I look back at my inability and laugh! This weekend, Aaron will be gone to a retreat but THIS TIME, I will not have to rely on a bike :) Good thing too because riding my bike a few blocks was no big deal, but tomorrow I need to drive 7 miles! So, alas, I will be driving this for the next few days~

I hope it doesn't rain because I can't remember how to put the top up :)

Being Resourceful

Lately, I've been trying to be more resourceful. We go through our finances every month, documenting everything to a penny...which is a GREAT idea because it shows us where we need to cut back...but after last month, I decided that I need to be more resourceful in a few areas!! So, here are a few things I've tried....

*Last week, I didn't go grocery shopping until we had eaten almost all of our food. Usually, if we got sick of something, I would just go to the grocery store, but it really stretched us to eat what we had and especially not to snack. I'm sure it saved us a little money!

*Yesterday, I attempted what I thought was perhaps the impossible :) I highlighted my own hair! Maybe all the rest of you are experts at this, but wow, it was hard but so great as I was thinking of all the money I was saving! I had to have a little bit of help from my husband (I bet he would LOVE that I'm telling that part! My husband, the beautician!), but the majority of it I did myself. Plus, I didn't fry my hair as I used to do when I had other people do it at college (I've learned 30 minutes is WAY too long to keep the dye on your hair. 10 minutes is perfect! Ha!)

*I'm in the middle of a redecorating/remodeling project in both my bathroom and kitchen. As easy as it would be to just go and buy everything new (except the whole money part!), I've been trying to truly use what I have already and find new ways to use it creatively. It has been sooo fun!

Well, today's project is to decorate/paint the youth room at church. My husband and I have thought of some great ideas so I'm excited to start on it! Last week I said how bored I was, but this week is anything but boring. I have been AMAZED at how God has blessed me this week! He has brought some great potential friendships into my life all within a week's time and I'm excited to get to know some ladies from our church better. God's timing is perfect and I praise Him that He is in control of my life! Well, off to painting :)