Halloween

Ahh...what a hilariously funny day we had at work today! It was a work day so no kids were there and we piled on the fun and laughter! I dressed up as Sarah Palin and my coworkers were: a clown, a 50's chic, a gangster, and a farmer :) We had such a blast! It was all fun and no work! Just kidding :) The only part that I really like about Halloween is dressing up. So, I've had my share of fun over the past few years. Other notable Halloween costumes:Freshman Year of College: Nuns

(we wore our stoles around our heads)

Last Year's Senior High Costume Party

Princess Leia

Senior Year of College

RA Staff-Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz was probably my favorite along with Sarah Palin today. She might have to be my yearly costume, especially since she's hopefully going to be our next vp!

On an entirely different and extremely sad note, this day is not all fun and games. Today is the one year anniversay of my grandpa being killed in a pedestrian/auto accident. I still cannot believe he has been gone for a year and I miss him dearly. It has been a hard week as I've been processing it all over again. I know he is rejoicing with the angels right now and is in a place so much better than earth, but I still miss him and cannot wait to see him again.

Sadie's Coat

Lately, I've been into sewing. However, I needed a guinea pig...someone who wouldn't care what it looked like if I messed up but would look adorably cute in something that turned out good. Well, since it is only Aaron, me, and our dog, Sadie, in our household, I decided Sadie would be my guinea pig! After a few attempts, I finally made her a coat for winter...I know, I know, pathetic, but I'm justifying it by saying that it's all because I want to improve my sewing skills, not because I love to spoil my dog :)

100th Post = 10 Random Facts

I was tagged by my friend Cassie!! So, here is what I must do:)
1) I need to link her blog: Here is her blog!

2) I need to give 10 random facts about myself and since it's my 100th post, I was going to do it anyway :) Perfect Timing!

3) I need to tag 2 other bloggers...so, I tag...Michelle and Amber? Anyone else who wants to do it, go for it!! :)

Erika's 10 Random Facts in no particular order:

1) I want to work in an orphanage someday

2) I have swallowed a live goldfish.

Just about to swallow the goldfish

3)In fifth grade, I wrote a play for my class and we performed it at the Thanksgiving program. I played the snobby girl. It was.....hilarious and very embarrassing :)

4) I want to have twins someday...one boy and one girl

Our twins could look like this someday? Ummm...yikes!!

5) When I was a camp counselor, I once had 19 campers all to myself. It was horse wilderness camp!

Camp Counselor Days

6) I absolutely love old movies (Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movies, musicals, the Anne movies...)

7) In third grade, I fell onto the merry go round while it was going and chipped my two front teeth. They are sensitive in the cold now because of the filling they had to replace them with.

8) My first job was for a seed company. I labeled and counted beans. It was awesome!

9) I am terrified of balloons and will NEVER decorate my future children's birthdays with balloons! (okay...maybe I'll change my mind or get Aaron to decorate :)

10) I used to count how many hot dogs I ate every year after I heard that eating too many hot dogs in one year caused leukemia.

There you have it...10 completely random facts about me.... :) Happy 100th post :)

October 21, 2005

3 years ago today....Aaron and I got engaged! I thought I would tell our engagement story for anyone who doesn't know it:

Aaron is quite the romantic and blew me away on our first date by taking me to a really nice Italian restaurant and then surprised me by having a limo waiting for us after our meal! We drove around Minneapolis for a good 2 hours, talking and getting to know each other better. It was the absolute perfect first date and he blew me away! :) So, with that background knowledge....

When we arrived at the Loring Pasta Bar on October 21, 2005, I had a hunch "this was the day I would get engaged" but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I even took this picture out front, "just in case" so I would have a good engagement night picture :) ha! We ate an incredible meal while live jazz was playing in the background and everything was perfect! After the meal, we walked outside and I was almost certain I would see a black limo like the one we had on our first date. I looked around...no black limo. Hmmm...I thought. Don't get your hopes up! A minute later, a black stretch limo pulled up and Aaron with a huge smile on his face, escorted me to the limo.

The limo took us to the Stone Arch Bridge, which is my absolute favorite spot in Minneapolis. I "hinted" that I adore bridges and Aaron took that hint and made our proposal so special by walking along the bridge. After walking for what seemed like hours, Aaron looked at me and said, "My neck is really hurting! Can you take my necklace off? (We used to wear each other's rings around our necks) As I helped him take his necklace off, he put it in my hand and I felt a different, bigger ring in my hand. Before I knew what was happening, he was down on one knee and said, "I love you" for the first time, followed by an incredible speech and ending with "Erika, will you marry me?" :) I can still remember the feeling....the overwhelming love and joy I had at that moment. God had revealed my future husband to me and had blessed me beyond what I could have EVER expected :)

It didn't end there though...of course I said "yes" followed by asking him to ask me a few more times because I didn't believe it! We walked back to the limo and had a red carpet out when we came back as well as the first red rose Aaron had given me. Up to this point, he gave me only white roses as a symbol of purity and now, a red one as a symbol of his love for me. :)

We drove back to NWC and I thought the evening was over. Perfect proposal by a perfect future husband....however, it wasn't quite over :) Aaron said, "I have one more surprise for you" He drove into Perkins. What are we doing at Perkins? I want to tell everyone, not spend time at Perkins! I thought. But, he said, "I thought we could go plan our wedding right now!" I almost laughed out loud because I was so confused, but I followed him into Perkins and saw countless number of friends hiding at a table, waiting for us and a loud chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" when we walked in! A surprise engagement party!!! :) *sigh* What an incredibly special proposal. :) The night ended with the rock being painted on campus (a tradition at NWC when a couple gets engaged), a decorated dorm room, and a slumber party with my roommates :) It was so beautiful and so perfect :)

Thank you Lord for blessing me beyond blessing that night! Thank you for helping me wait for the right one who you sent in your perfect timing :)

Hayride!!

We had our annual hayride tonight!! It was a BLAST!! We had a record 46 people there...wow! There's nothing sweeter than riding on hay, having hay fights (which I'm still itching my back from!), sitting around a campfire, and singing praises to God :)

Scrapbooking, Scrapbooking and More....Scrapbooking

Last week I had a lunch date with two great girls from our church. We decided to bring our wedding albums and look through pictures of our life before we knew each other. It was a blast and it has motivated me to finish my scrapbooks/wedding books/etc... So....guess what I've been doing all this week? You got it...scrapbooking :) I don't know if anyone else is like me but since getting a digital camera, I've maybe printed 100 of my pictures? And, I have over a thousand still on my computer! Ahhh! Slowly but surely, I'm printing and scrapbooking my pics.

The scrapbook I've been working on the most this week has been from my freshman year of college. I have loved looking back at all those pictures...it doesn't feel like that long ago but my friends and I look sooooo young in the pictures. Some of the memories I've been scrapbooking: "The Quilters" musical, Trip to Chicago with friends, First Christmas at NWC concert, Ski trip with the youth group I worked with (I have plenty of pictures of my twisted knee from my "hitting a tree" incident on that trip!), and Monday night hot chocolate and story time with my hall. Oh, college days. I miss them :(

That's what I've been up to....tomorrow Aaron and I are "winterizing" our house....putting our patio furniture and grill inside, organizing so everything is covered just in case it snows soon! Can you believe it's almost that time of year? :) I hope you all enjoy this beautiful fall weather while it lasts!! :) Have a beautiful Friday night!

A Perfect Fall Saturday...

*sigh* What an incredibly refreshing day! We have finally been able to catch up on the much needed sleep, relaxation, and time together that we were in need of! Today we have done next to nothing and it has been glorious :) Reading, scrapbooking, getting my plants ready for winter, and baking apple crisp has consumed my day and I have soaked up every minute of it! My dear husband was such a sport today by letting me have a "photo shoot" in our backyard. I wanted to have some fall pictures to update the walls in my house with and possibly have a Christmas card picture :) I think I found a winner with the picture on the top of my blog! Here are a few from our perfect fall Saturday :)

My Poor Husband :(

Aaron had an ingrown toenail and had to get it removed today....Umm, ouch :( He's been kind of eating up the attention of his wife and dog ever since though so I think he'll be okay :) In two days time, he'll be back to normal! Well, off to the helpless husband (he's pretty cute when he's helpless :)

Erika's Mind Today = Overload!

My brain has been overcharged today! I feel and look like this lady :)

P.S. My fever went away and I've been doing fine.....I just haven't had time to blog....:)

101.2

It was 9:30 last night and I was exhausted and feeling kind of strange. Our house was especially warm so I opened up windows, put the fan on and went to bed. A few hours later, I woke up in a cold sweat and felt terrible. My husband convinced me to take my temp....101.2??? I couldn't believe it. I haven't had a fever in like 2 years! So, today I stayed home and slept the day away. Sadie, my dog, cuddled up beside me as I read, watched a movie, and slept :) Although I don't like being sick, it is kind of fun to have a sick day once in a while! Especially when I have a loyal dog who is by my side the whole time :) So, that was my day! I better take my temp again...hopefully it's not 101.2 still!

Autumn Is Upon Us!

I love autumn. It is definitely my favorite season so I was ecstatic last year when I went to Hobby Lobby the day after Thanksgiving and every fall decoration was 90% off! I jumped all over it and bought so many fall decorations! I finally get to use them as I decorate my house today!

Last night we had a "pastor's night out"! Our senior pastor and his wife took us to a pumpkin patch and then out for pizza. It was such a fun night :)

Quality Time

I've been a bad blogger this week but for very good reasons. I've had some good quality time with numerous people this week:

*The Holy Spirit has really been revealing things to me this week and I've spent some great quality time with my Lord and Savior. It has been very good but it is always hard to see things you're doing wrong. I pray I would become more like Christ in everything. I may write more about this area of quality time when I have the mental energy to :)

*My husband! We have had SUCH a great week together! We've been drywalling our basement walls together...I love working alongside my husband. It's almost done and our basement is one step closer to being a "finished" basement. (and I'm one step closer to my cozy fireplace that we have in our plans)

*Ladies from our church: We had our annual Ladies Night Out. What an encouraging and inspiring night and a great time of fellowship with other Christian women

*My job: I've spent a little too much quality time there lately :) There's always so much to do but I enjoy it which always helps:)