Thinking about last year...

I've been thinking a lot about last year...what I was doing last year at this time. Tonight as I write this I think that last year on this night we were spending the night in the hospital. At this exact time, we would have just found out the bleak news regarding our family, and holding out hope for the morning. There is so much emotion as I think about our son's birthday tomorrow.

A missionary friend from CBM wrote me and helped me to imagine Collin celebrating his first birthday in heaven. Most kids don't remember their first birthday, will Collin remember his, or does he get to "grow up" in heaven? I think about him being up there with Jesus and his family who has gone before (and come after him in the past year). Are his cousin Grace and Grandpa Brant celebrating with him? I wonder what they do in heaven on earthly birthdays, or for that matter on anniversaries of joining the heavenly host. In Collin's case, it is the same day.

I miss our son. He would be one.

What I like about fall

Cooler weather
Turning leaves
School starting
Marching band practice
Fall decorating
Cross Country
Candy corn

God's grace

This week has been so productive. I'm so thankful to the Lord for that because I was praying that the Lord would allow me to establish a good schedule now that I am at home all the time. Last week at our ladies Bible study, Molly asked each of us to say something for which we needed God's grace. It was my turn and I asked for God's grace over my new schedule. That was something that was weighing on me. Ever since I have stopped working at McFarland Clinic, I haven't really had any time at home until last week (because of camps and weddings). So, I was struggling to establish regular daily habits while also trying to work around Andy's habits since he's also at home. I need to do my school work. The sooner I can get that done, the sooner we can have regular income to add to our support level. I also need to help Andy with the website. We have been working on that for around 8 months, so it's important for us to get that done. We also need to make a missions video update for a church in Dover, DE. There are also letters that need to be sent, letters that need to be written, items that need to be ordered, etc. So, I was just having a hard time organizing all of that, and I needed God's grace.
Well, this week I could definitely see the Lord helping me--in spite of the draw of the Olympics! On Monday we signed up for life insurance--something that needed to be done since I'm not working at McFarland anymore. On Tuesday the nurse lady came over to the house and did the mini physical required for that, so now I officially have life insurance. That's one thing done. I also applied for a job at MMSC (the hospital here in town) for a part-time medical transcription job. I made sure to tell them on the application that I'm not finished with my schooling yet, but that I have lots of experience in the medical field, so I'm familiar with how some things work. They called me on Tuesday morning and want me to come in for an interview next Wednesday morning (the 20th). It would be great if I could get this job and then work from home or from a different state! That's what is so great about transcription. Plus it would be nice to work for someone from Marshalltown so I can have some sort of connection to the people for whom I am working.
I was also able to complete almost 2 chapters of my school work this week--that is amazing!! Each chapter takes FOREVER! Andy and I finished the missions video! So now we can start showing it for our meetings that we have right now--including our update to our home church on August 31st! That will be cool. We have the "August Rush" soundtrack as our background music--love that movie (P.S. that's also Shawn Johnson's floor routine music--did you notice?)
We also got most of our website published to the web, thanks in LARGE part to Luke Demarest! That was such a blessing to get something published after working on it for so long.
So, I am praising the Lord for allowing such a productive week for Andy and I both. Andy was able to schedule some meetings for our next trip out East. It is hard for me to listen to him make phone calls because he just puts himself out there--so vulnerable to pastors who can sometimes be so warm and receiving, but can also be so insensitive and rude. You never know who you're going to get. I usually have my devotions while he does most of his calling so that I can just pray for him. I can see that sometimes it's very hard for him to make phone calls because not everyone is as considerate as he is.
Thank you God for teaching me about your grace. I've been learning how your grace extends so much farther beyond saving grace. It is also grace that works in us to will and to do good. It is your grace that makes me want to come to you, to please you, to honor you. It is your grace that I need each day to obey and to remember your love for me. Your grace keeps me on track--I don't keep myself on track. Thank you for your grace this week to allow me to honor you in how I spend my time and energy, and for letting me get so much accomplished. Please multiply your grace toward me this month, this is such an important lesson for me to learn right now.

I miss Paige

Well, Paige got married last weekend. A week ago today I was helping Paige and Patrick set up tables and practicing my hair for the wedding--not at the same time. Last week was so much fun, that I find myself extremely bored these days. One night I lie awake thinking about how much I now miss my sister Paige. Right now she is on her honeymoon in Vienna, Austria. She will soon be returning home, but not to Marshalltown, she will go home to Bakersfield, California. I failed to realize this fact until she was leaving the church to go on her honeymoon. I had been so much enjoying our time together that it never occurred to me that it would end. I told Paige once that every time I thought about her wedding, I would get excited not so much about the wedding, but because it meant she was coming home. I also enjoyed my time with Deb and Luke last week, and guess what? They left too. Fortunately we get to see Deb and Luke a little more often that Paige and Patrick, but I still wish that both sisters lived close to me (or I close to them) so that we could see each other more. One of my favorite parts of last week was going to see the movie "Mama Mia." That movie was so great--I loved the music. There were parts that I wish they would have left out--I would have enjoyed it so much more (think Moulin Rouge), but I will definitely have to at least get the soundtrack.

Happy Independence Day!

Yesterday we had some great food and fellowship! It was a smaller crowd at Mom's, but it was still really fun! I wish I had a digital camera sometimes, because I would like to put a picture up that I took of everyone yesterday. If I could post it here it would have Hirsch & Tracy, Amanda & Greg & kids, Mom & Rick, J.J. and Andy & me. I wish that I could have been outside more, but we still had a great day. We made ice cream in the ball thing, and it turned out GREAT! I can't wait to do it again! The weather has been great around here lately! I bought a new swimsuit the other day because when Deb comes home, I might go to the pool with everyone if I don't have to work. I've never been to the Aquatic Center here in Marshalltown, so if it works out, I'm excited to go and I hope Andy comes too. Tomorrow we have a meeting in Walnut, IA. It's about 2 1/2 hours away, and we're planning on driving there Sunday morning--not spending the night there on Saturday like we usually do. We have to be there by 8:45, so we'll probably leave here by 6:15. I'll go to bed early tonight so I can get up at 5:00 probably. I have to work on Monday morning. This will be the last time that I will have to come home late from a meeting, and then go to work on Monday morning. I won't miss that at all. This next week will be my last week working at McFarland Clinic. I've worked with McFarland off and on for almost 10 years. That's insane. They have always been good to me though. I'll probably end up there again sometime--knowing my history!

Time for a change

I saw Deb's blog today and I really liked her addition of more pictures to her blog, so I decided to change my blog appearance too. Well, it's been awhile since I've written. Pastor Hirsch was really nice last week to make sure that we could access the church's wireless signal while we are living at the parsonage. So, we now have internet at home, and I've been taking advantage of that. Maybe some of you have noticed an increase in emailing activity. Maybe you haven't. Either way, it's cool.

We grilled out tonight. I bought Andy a grill for his birthday, just one of the cheaper ones at Wal-Mart. He has really enjoyed learning how to grill. Every time we grill, we make the same appetizer. We spread tortilla chips out on a pizza pan that is covered in tin foil. Then we put salsa and shredded cheese on top of the chips. We put the pan on the grill until the cheese has melted. It is so good! We got this idea one time when we were eating with a pastor in Kansas City, KS. I'm pretty sure they put some other things on the chips like meat or something, but we like ours pretty plain. Whenever I think about shredded cheese, I remember that we never had it growing up. Mom would get a block of cheese and then use a cheese grater to shred the cheese herself. I'm happy to buy the cheese that has already been shredded for me. I haven't priced the two items to see which is cheaper, so I may be spending more than I need to.

Last weekend we went to Cabela's in Owatonna, MN before our meeting in Faribault, MN. We got one of those balls that you can use to make homemade ice cream. Have you seen them? You put the ice, rock salt, and cream into the ball and roll it around--just like a normal ball--and the rolling/throwing (but not kicking) action mixes the ingredients to make the ice cream. I'm anxious to try it. I got ingredients to try it this weekend over the 4th of July. We're going to make vanilla, I hope it turns out to be yummy!

Pretty much the worst experience to date

Okay, I'm hoping that no one sees this who shouldn't, but I just have to write about last weekend. It was so crazy! I'll use nebulous language when referring to specific people/places/things so as not to offend anyone. (I love that word--you know which one). Last Friday and Saturday we were with our favorite Marylanders, the Clarks, and it was a great time--this is not at all included in the bad weekend. On Friday night they took us out to eat and we watched a movie at their house. On Saturday we went to Annapolis and saw the Navy academy and made plans to meet up there again in October to go on the "ghost tour." I don't know if that would excite anyone else, but I am pretty stoked about the idea of having someone lead me around and showing me all the so-called "haunted" places in Annapolis. Pastor Brian said that he and his son did one of those in Gettysburg, and their tour guide was convinced that he was a reincarnated civil war veteran. He and his son laughed through the whole thing, and that story made me laugh really hard. I always laugh so hard with them!
Anyway, so after a great two days with them we headed to our meeting in let's just say the Trenton area. The pastor led us to the place we would be staying and it was with an aging lady (let's call her Liva) who lived in a very cramped apartment. Thankfully Liva did have two bedrooms, but unfortunately, our bedroom door did not close, and our two bedrooms were right across the hall from each other. Uhhh. We had little room to spare once we got our luggage in--which by the way, we have too much luggage this time around for some reason. I think it's because we had absolutely no idea what the weather would be like. It was snowing in Iowa when we left, and today it was 87 degrees in New Jersey. Anyway, we got settled in at this apartment and listened as Liva told us in depth about her life, which was interesting to a degree. We went out to dinner that evening with the pastor and his wife, and the pastor mentioned casually to not eat anything that Liva offered us because past missionaries who have stayed there have gotten sick off of her food. Uhhh. The next morning we took Liva to church with us and she and Andy had words about which way to get to church. Andy likes to stick with Mandy (our GPS), and I don't think our host even realized we had Mandy leading us on the straight and narrow (a similarity to the other Mandy in our lives). :) After Sunday's activities we came back to Liva's house and settled in for another night. We watched an episode of the Office on our computer, and wondered if she could hear it since we couldn't shut our bedroom door, I'm pretty sure she couldn't hear it. The next morning we were ready to leave, and we headed off for New York for a couple of meetings with pastors. We were looking forward to that evening when we were staying in a motel. Now, here comes the worst part. Andy was feeling really sick Monday night, and couldn't figure out why. He hardly ate dinner, but just figured that he was stressed out. The next morning he found a tick on himself! Ahhhh!!!!! Where did he pick that up???? We had been either in the van, or in Liva's house for the last three days! I can only believe that he got it at Liva's house--she had sooo many plants in her house that she had just brought in because they had freezing temperatures. I had to get the tick out of him, but I was virtually at the point of tears because I was so grossed out. I was not able to get all of it out. I wanted Andy to go to the Dr. right away to get it out and to get antibiotics for Lyme disease, but he wouldn't go until after our meetings. So as we were sitting in the New Jersey pastor's fellowship seminar that morning, all I could think about was this tick in Andy---sorry if you are getting grossed out like I was. You can stop reading if you want. After we got to our resting place for the night, I called a local family practice office and got Andy an appointment with a doctor for 6:30 that night. We went and I'm glad to say the tick is gone now. As Andy came out of the doctor's office he said to the receptionist, 'Well, we got the bug out!' and everyone in the waiting room heard, and I was a little ashamed. shhh! That's so gross. I will not show you a picture of a tick, it is too gross, instead I have attached a picture of something very pleasant to me--a picture of the Clarks. :)

oddities out East

We've spent a little over 40 hours in the van in the last week and a half, and I've heard many artists on the radio that I haven't heard in years. I've heard "Don't go Chasing Waterfalls" by TLC twice, Ace of Base songs twice and Real McCoy twice. There must be more demand for songs from the early 90's around here. That is something I can support, I've enjoyed singing along. I will always proclaim the "jughandle" one of the weirdest things about the East coast, specifically New Jersey. Today we had someone honk at us because we were making a left-hand turn instead of using the "jughandle." Also in New Jersey they don't let you pump your own gas and that frustrates Andy. This isn't so much an oddity as it is a really fun time, but yesterday I went to the biggest thrift store that I have ever been to. I went with a friend in New Jersey, and it was awesome. I always like to get stuff for Andy when I shop at thrift stores. I can usually find some brand name dress shirts and some jeans that he can work in. That was a lot of fun. While I was there, Andy went to the biggest tool market that he's ever been to. He picked up another antique tool to add to our display table. We've learned some things out here too. We've learned about Jewish building techniques, Andy has decided to add the word "ambiance" to his vocabulary. Also, thanks to a pastor in Newfield, NJ, Andy and I have stopped to consider the redundancy of Panera Bread...don't ask. sheesh.

Hershey, PA

Well, we're out East again. We haven't even had our first meeting yet, but it feels like we've been here forever. I think it's all those miles in the van. The first day we traveled eight hours, the second day was twelve hours, and today was only around four hours. We had a fun day today. Last night we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast in Pennsylvania. The people who own it let missionaries and pastors stay there for free, so that was a special blessing for us. The only problem was that they don't have televisions in their rooms, and I really wanted to watch Thursday night TV. We brought along "The Bee Movie" from our Netflix subscription, so we watched that. It was a cute movie. So, this morning the lady made us a really good breakfast, and Andy was happy about that. We decided to spend our day in Hershey, PA since we didn't have to be at our overnight place until 5:00. I wanted to tour the Chocolate factory, but we couldn't see the actual factory where they make the chocolate. We went to Chocolate World in Hershey and learned all about Milton Hershey. He and his wife did a lot of great things for their community and for kids all over the U.S. We bought Paige and Patrick's wedding present today (!!!) and some other gifts. I got a sweatshirt that reminds me of Deb because I think she has one like it. After we were done there we went to the local Panera Bread and I told Andy that I love that restaurant! After that we decided to head for Glen Burnie, MD. We have a supporting church there and the pastor there is awesome! He's the one that took us to Ocean's 13 in the theater when we first met them last year. He and his wife and their kids are so much fun, and we always try to see them when we are out this way. Them and Pastor Jim Johnson, whom you will remember from a former post on this blog.

I have some pictures to share from Christmas and New Years. It was a nice Christmas this year. I was glad that I had Paige's homecoming to look forward to this year, and then I got to do some wedding things with her to, which was so fun. I usually enjoy New Years Eve quite a bit because it's more low key and full of games! A lot of us went over to Amanda and Greg's to play games. Of course in order to do that, we had to break into Amanda's hope chest to get the games. We were successful--due in large part to Amy's awesome hammer and screw driver skills. I thought it was quite funny that Greg stayed totally out of the whole process, presumably so that in case we failed to get it reconstructed, he wouldn't have to get stuck putting it all back together! :) We had a good laugh about that. But, we succeded, and the games were a sight to see as Amanda saw ones that she had forgotten about even! I included a picture of Steve holding the lock that he took off even though he had previously told Amy that we shouldn't take it off--just another sign that Amy was in charge of this project, and she was the reason we were succesful! :) HAHA. We played the DVD version of Trivial Pursuit on teams (Paige&Liz vs. Amanda&Greg vs. Steve&Amy). And...Paige and I won! I've become very proud of this fact seeing as how Paige and I had never played a complete game of Trivial Pursuit in our lives, having sworn it off as kids since it was "too hard and boring." So Amy would play with us and we would make videos or make snow cats! We should have done that!! Next year... I also included a picture of Andy and I on our 4th Anniversary at the Schwartzenburgs. And a picture of Erica and Alaina and Amy and James at church. James just started rubbing Alaina's back randomly and it was cute!