A end and a Begining!

Hello,


Thanks for looking at my blog! I have started a new blog at a different address that I would love you to read! I am honored that you have taken time out of your day to read my musings, and would love to direct you to the new site. If we are friends on Facebook, I have the new address posted there, if we are not friends, please feel free to send me an email at khbuckles@nwc.edu and I will send you the new address. I truly would love to share with you whether we a good close friends or maybe don’t even know each other, so don’t hesitate to send an email my way!

I am very excited to interact with you all on the new blog and explain a little of why I have made this change!

Thanks again, look forward to connecting on the new site soon!

Katie

An in between day

Its eleven thirty on Saturday night and I am typing on my laptop in bed. The blue glow of the computer is lighting up the room and there is the noise of my typing along with my other favorite noises, the dog sleeping next to our bed running in his sleep, and Phil sleeping next to me, I can hear his steady breathing as he sleeps. In the silence there is a peace and love that I feel. I am grateful for this in between day.

Today we went to a family friends beautiful wedding. When the pastor was talking he said something to the bride and groom about this being a huge day for them, which it was, but that it is the other days, the in between the big days that make up a marriage. While there are days that seem more important it is in the everyday little things that matter. Isn’t this true? Everyday is not your wedding day, everyday is not filled with glamour and pictures, most days are just filled with life and where that leads us. Wedding days are very special, but the more special thing is the commitment you are making.

This weekend we both got off work early on Friday and decided this was the time to finish the bathroom remodel, as we walked through Home Depot I found love. As we worked together to tile the floor we laughed, we smiled, we loved. When we crashed into bed after that last tile was laid, I found security and rest. After the wedding both Phil and I were feeling a little bit under the weather so we came home, put on our comfy sweats and snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie. Tonight as I lay snuggled in my bed I am thankful, I am thankful for all that God has blessed me with, I am thankful for a home to live in, I am thankful for a husbands cold feet I can warm up, I am thankful for the tools on our bed room floor that signify great progress, I am thankful for today. These are the in between days.

I love you.

You are my best friend.

Today I give myself to you in marriage.

I promise to encourage and inspire you,

to laugh with you, and to comfort you in

times of sorrow and struggle.

I promise to love you in good times and in

bad, when life seems easy and when it

seems hard, when our love is simple,

and when it is an effort.

I promise to cherish you, and to always

hold you in highest regard.

These things I give to you today,

and all the days of our life

Beautiful

I was so unique

Now I feel skin deep

I count on the make-up to cover it all

Crying myself to sleep cause I cannot keep their attention

I thought I could be strong

But it's killing me

 

Does someone hear my cry?

I'm dying for new life

I want to be beautiful

Make you stand in awe

Look inside my heart,

and be amazed

I want to hear you say

Who I am is quite enough

Just want to be worthy of love

And beautiful

Sometimes I wish I was someone other than me

Fighting to make the mirror happy

Trying to find whatever is missing

Won't you help me back to glory

You make me beautiful

You make me stand in awe

You step inside my heart, and I am amazed

I love to hear You say

Who I am is quite enough

You make me worthy of love and beautiful - Bethany Dillon

“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true” – Ephesians 5:8-9 NLT

Desperate times… desperate measures!

Today is Monday.

You would think that this means I would be completely refreshed and ready to start a long work week, yet the opposite is true today! All morning I have been dreaming of a wonderful blended coffee drink, or curling up in the sun shine and taking a nap. Instead I have settled but sometimes you just gotta to what you gotta do. So after scrounging for change in the bottom of my purse I found enough for a life line… sorry Mom, I know you raised me better! :)

Running Again!

After months of healing I am finally running again! I am so excited to be able to move again and start training for the marathon once again. It will be a long road, but my doctor and physical therapist both believe that I will still be able to run, so here I go!

What’s that you say? No long explanation about why I have not blogged for two weeks? Yup, that’s right, life is just busy! I miss blogging but reality says that I just don’t have the time during the summer that I need, so my priorities are going to shift for the summer, but I’ll be back in the fall. (Hey just think of me like a good TV show… stay tuned for next season and a few posts through the summer!)

A Honest Reflection...

As I am writing this I have started this post about four different times, each time I have hit the backspace key because the words are just not coming out right. The things that I want to write about are so dark, so deep, that I just can’t seem to find a way to cushion the blow of the words that want to bubble out of me. Life has brought hard things these past few months, and part of me longs to scream at the top of my lungs what has happened and beg anyone who will listen to help justice be done, to do something. Part of me wants to run away from the pain and pretend that nothing is happening, the other tells me that going through this fire is worth it in the end. Yet part of me is still asking if I can make it. I am left asking these questions to God. God, do you see what is happening, are you going to make wrong right like you promised? Will justice be done? Will you be my strength in this time? I know you have promised you will not give me more than I can handle, so why does it feel like I am about to fall over the edge?


Maybe these thoughts alone are too raw, but I must be honest with my struggle. I want to say a cheery sentence at the end saying that even through these times I completely trust God and what he is doing. I want to say that even though I have struggled, God has brought me through these hard times and I am on the other side. However I am not there and I think I have finally come to a place that I can admit that and ultimately be ok with this. I know that there will be a day I will be able to see these things as over and be able to see how God’s hand is in everything, but I am not there yet. Some days I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, others I wonder if these things will ever be done in my life, if the pain and the circumstances will ever change.

I don’t want to seem completely depressed or down, I truly am getting through this times knowing the hope that God gives me. Even as I write this I want to take back what I have said, but I want to be honest, because I am not the only one with life changing events happening in their lives and I know I am not the first or the last to feel like this.

In the pain and frustration, I have found the sweetest hope. Without it, I do not know how I would survive. The first is the truth of who God is. I have come to understand how God does not want these horrific things to happen to His children, however like a good parent God does allow the pain to happen, not to torture us but to help us to become more like him. I believe that I could let this time in my life make me bitter, to be mad at God at why He would allow this to happen or I can choose to let God teach me, to grow me more into His child that looks more like her Father everyday. What a completely overwhelming thought. I pray that I am the daughter who is seeking her heavenly fathers face while facing the hardest hurdles of her life. I pray that I can let these times in my life not pull me away, but push me closer to the life support I so desperately need. The second thing that I have found truly overwhelming is seeing God’s people come around and support in amazing ways. I feel like I have truly seen the body of Christ in action. I have never felt this as much as I did when ten of my co-workers and friends gathered around me and lifted me and my family up to the one who holds the keys.

There is a song by Scott Krippayne that whenever I hear on the radio, I am reminded of a truth I need to cling to. The chorus is this…

Sometimes He calms the storm

With a whispered peace be still

He can settle any sea

But it doesn't mean He will

Sometimes He holds us close

And lets the wind and waves go wild

Sometimes He calms the storm

And other times He calms His child

The part that gets me is understanding that God can calm the storm, sometimes he does. But other times he chooses to let the storm rage but then he will calm his child. In this time, I pray that I will be the child in her heavenly fathers arm that might be really scared, I might not understand, I might even feel like I am about to fall out of him arms, but the truth is HE is holding me in His arms and won’t let go. These are the truths I need to cling to.

Fires, Flowers, Sun, & Food!

After a weekend like we had, Mondays just don’t seem so bad. After at least four weekends in a row where we were gone, we spent this last weekend at home ALL weekend. It was a very welcomed change.


Friday when we both got off work we snuggled on the couch and watched some TV. Then we decided that we wanted to go out on a date, so we went to Acapulco, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. It is not super authentic Mexican food, but super good. They have this white cheese sauce that we have them put on EVERYTHING that is so amazing. After dinner we plopped down on the couch to nurse our completely over filled tummy’s! Then we had a great surprise by some friends stopping by and hanging out with us. It was great to see them and catch up.

Saturday my husband did the most amazing thing ever! He woke me up with a beautiful breakfast that he had made for me in bed. He actually got up, went to the store, and then made everything. He also brought me a huge bundle of tulips. WHAT AN AMAZING GUY! I was so happy and felt so loved. We then had been looking forward to doing some lawn work so headed outside and got dirty! We had a huge load of manure from Phil’s parents that we put in the front gardens to enrich that soil. The lawn was super long after all the rain, so Phil and I took turns mowing! Phil did a bunch of rototilling so that we can plant grass in all the areas we pulled up bushes and other things. After we got all the hard work done we went to Linders and got a bunch of flowers to plant in the gardens. My heart was so happy! We got home and planted all the flowers as well as planted a bunch of hasta’s that my mother-in-law gave us! I am so excited to get the gardens going and continue to beautify our yard. I also realized that I really do love flower gardening, and that getting my hands dirty planting in awesome.

After church Saturday night we did something really crazy! We had some good friends over for a bon fire and ended up sleeping out in sleeping bags by the fire! I am sure that our neighbors think we are crazy but we had so much fun I don’t care!

Sunday after working, we had some books we needed to return to the library and I just felt like being out. So after we dropped the books off Phil took me down to the Tea Garden where we got bubble tea. Phil then drove me downtown to show me where he is working now. His access card was still working on the weekend so we were able to go and see his office as well as go up on the roof of the building. It was so cool up there. His building is downtown right by the Metrodome, you can see so much of the city from up there. After we left the building, we drove down to the river and were able to take that road that follows along the river. It was the most beautiful drive I have been on. The river was so peaceful and the sun was setting leaving a pink glow on everything. There was a bridge by one of the lock and dams that you could see the reflection perfectly, it was almost so perfect it was hard to figure out where the bridge ended and the water started. Even though it was so simple, the beauty and serenity of the night brought so much peace to my heart. I felt so relaxed and refreshed after the weekend, it was truly amazing!

This week marks the start of summer at Northwestern that means I am once again so busy I never stop moving for a moment the whole time I am at work. Today I did a nine hour day and feel like I should not have left when I did. I have pages and pages of things that I need to accomplish in the next few weeks. I am really hoping I will be able to keep the blogging up over the summer, however it may get a little harder!

The joy in little things

Last night we moved a few steps closer to having a completed bathroom! I really can’t explain my excitement over this! While there is still some major things to be done, Phil put up the shelves in the linen closet, and this was a huge step forward. I no longer have tools mixed with hair products or towels in the guest bedroom. Instead they are all in their place in my beautiful new shelves.

We have two college girls moving in for the summer while Emily is gone; however they overlap by about two weeks so we needed a place for the girls to stay for a while. We decided that the upstairs was the best place for them; however this is the ONLY place in the house we have literally done nothing to. So last night we moved all of our storage that had piled up and cleaned and washed everything. I was amazed again by the dirt and nasty that the last owners left behind. After we cleaned I painted the stairwell since it was an ugly green with some graffiti on the walls. It looks so much better and I am starting to think with little money we could turn that into a really nice room…. Maybe that will be our next project! For now, the girls have a nice, clean place to stay for a few weeks.

This weekend we are looking forward to getting out in the yard and doing some much needed work. The gardens need to be weeded, the grass cut, and about a hundred other random things to be done. I really enjoy yard work, so it should be fun. I can’t wait to get flowers planted also!

Today marks my last day with Student Development for the year. I am feeling mixed emotions about this! I am excited for the change of pace and new challenges but will miss this job also!

Have a great weekend!

The stair's before!

The stair's after

The NEW vanity

New shower

The BEAUTIFUL new shelves Phil installed! Now we just need doors and trim to complete the look :)

To Lake Michigan and Back

Oh how the years go by…

Today I am sitting at work watching the commotions as our students here at Northwestern are finishing up finals and moving out. All students must be moved out of the dorms by noon Friday so many have already gone into panic mode. I see such an array of emotions as they are moving out, some so glad to get out of this place, others not quite willing to let go of the year yet. Though it has been years already I feel like it was not that long ago I was in their shoes.
I am reminded how fast times flies by. Watching the students hurry around, I want to hit the pause button and remind them this is a short season of life that will soon be gone. Enjoy every moment of the experience, it will soon be only a memory.

In my own life I need to remember the same thing. Life is short, days may seem long but the weeks seem short. I want to enjoy all of life for the good and bad. It is so easy for me to forget the small things in life like helping someone out, or just asking how someone’s day has been and truly listening.

No, Not Me!

As you have gathered, this last week has been a complete blur, honestly I think I stepped off the plane into an alternate universe where time and space are totally messed up. But don’t worry, I am super woman and even though life has been crazy I am still taking care of the small things…

No, this is not me, there is not a week of mail stacked on my counter top… apparently you did not read the above about me being super woman!

OH, this is someone else’s bedroom, I would NEVER be home for almost a week and headed out on another trip without unpacking… and no, I am not STILL living out of my suitcase!

Can you believe this person? I mean I bet this laundry pile has not been done for at least two weeks… maybe more…. Who does this? (And do they have any clean underware left?!?!)

This I know for sure is not me, I always do my dishes after I cook, how could any one not?

Ok, and honestly, if you have been under construction, wouldn’t you clean up and take the toilet paper and towel off the office couch?

Lastly, this is definitely not me, never would I have tools and hair products together in the bathroom non the less… my goodness, this poor girls house…

Ok, well thanks for letting me share how messy others are, just remember, I am super woman, my house is perfectly clean and organized and my brain does not feel scattered at all as I am once again on the road. Thank you for your understanding!

Off again!

Where did this week go? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love that the weekend is here, however somehow it just means that this week was so full is just escaped from me!

This weekend we were going to relax, hang out with friends, unpack (please do not judge me for suitcases still on the bedroom floor… ) maybe even clean the house. However our plans changed again and we are off again! I guess this whole planning trips at the drop of a hat thing is sticking for us. (my poor dog, he thinks we no longer love him!)

We will be driving down to Racine, Wisconsin as soon as Phil and I both get off of work today along with his Mom. Phil’s grandfather has been battling cancer as well as a very bad infection in his knee for a while and now the cancer has spread. We both decided that we wanted to make sure we were able to see his grandparents soon. We will spend the day tomorrow with his family down there and then drive up to Milwaukee to visit my brother who is attending the University of Milwaukee. I am super excited to see his dorm, see where he has classes and have dinner with him. Then after dinner we will drive back up to Minnesota.

Maybe one day we will have nothing to do, for today, I am really glad we can take this time to be with family!

Phil’s first day on the job yesterday went really well! He is super excited to have a huge window in his office overlooking the city of Minneapolis. He sent me a text of it yesterday, and it is beautiful! Sure beats his cubicle with no natural light in his last job! He also said he really likes what he is doing, and feels like this is a good fit for him. I am so thankful for God providing a good job and something he enjoys!

My run yesterday was awesome! I ran a little over half a mile… yes, I know that does not compare to the six-eight I would do before… but hey, you gotta start somewhere! It felt so good to run, and know that I am making progress. As I ran they recorded me and then after we watched it and I was able to see a few things I can change in my running style that will help me prevent injury in the future as well as make my running more effective. I am allowed to walk for the next week and a half, then I will get my training program to get back to running after that. My physical therapist says that though it might be hard, she thinks I will still have enough time to train for the marathon, I just need to be really careful so I do not re-injure!

Hope you all have a great weekend, don’t forget, its Mothers Day on Sunday! 

Not forgetful, just busy!

I know it, I have been absolutely horrible about keeping updated these last few weeks. However just to state my case, this is not because I have not thought about it! In fact, I typically go through my day thinking about what I want to blog about, and believe me, I have a lot of good ideas. Yet somehow at the end of the day when I crash into bed (and yes, it has been almost literally crashing into bed) I have not written down anything. These past few weeks have been so crazy, I feel like I need to grab on to something stationary and hold on for dear life… and unfortunately there are no signs of life slowing down.
Phil and I both flew back to Minnesota Sunday afternoon after having an amazing trip in New Mexico. My heart, mind, body and soul really needed to escape and relax. Though we were very busy while we were down there, it was so nice to be doing something different with my great family. I was SO hard to say goodbye, but are excited that we will be going down end of June again for about ten days… and the countdown begins!

Work is insanely busy, though having a week off was amazing, I am paying for it now! I could work 24 hours a day and still not get done all that needs to be done before I start with Events for the summer. As some of you know, I work for Student Development nine months out of the year and then work with our lodging program for three months in the summer. I really love both positions, however this time of year it is crazy trying to wrap up one job and also working at getting the next started. This summer is also extremely busy with groups that will keep me oh so busy as well.

We have had a HUGE answer to prayer as well! Phil interviewed for a position on Tuesday and got a call back the same day that they wanted him to start today! It is a management company that has many apartment complexes for low income and homeless people all over the Twin Cities. He will be doing general accounting work for them. It is a contract position; however it sound like this will be a much longer contract, maybe even a year. So in the mean time, there are a few other direct hire jobs he is still in the running for. We are just so amazed at how God continually takes care of us!

Today I get to run for the first time in months… and I am scared!! Honestly really scared! I think it is more that I don’t want to face the reality of needing to get back in running shape or that I have probably lost all my great progress. However, I am excited that my leg is healing enough to start running again! Today I am running with my physical therapist and she is going to video tape me running and then we will work on form and how I run to help prevent injury in the future. Then in two weeks I meet with the orthopedist again and she said at the point unless something has really changed I should be given the green light to run on my own and start training again for the marathon! I am nervous thinking about running the marathon because I feel like I have lost so much time for training, but am so thankful that I will still be able to run.

And now for the random thoughts/pictures that have been floating around in my head for days…
Please meet Audrey… This is my dog (ok, I mean my moms dog, but I would take her in a heartbeat!) She is the sweetest little girl ever, I really had fun with her while in NM... I am sure she really misses me :)

Did you know spring is here? Yes, yes it is here!! Just to prove to you that it is… look what I bought to make our yard beautiful!!!

Did you know in New Mexico you can bring your little dogs anywhere?!? It’s true, and yes, Audrey loved going to Lowes with us!

I have also decided that I think the Southwest is b-e-a-utiful…. I love the mountains and the clouds and the sun and and and…. :) Marta and her boyfriend and Phil and I took a trip about an hour and a half south of Albuquerque to get hay for my Mom’s horses, I was beautiful country!

Yes, this is what real men do… and yes, these are real men!

And these…

And these…

Opps, i mean look at those REAL girls! :)

Ok, last random thought… can you believe that my little sister is 17!??! Look at her all grown up AND WITH A BOY!! :) Marta, I love you!

Oh my goodness, how time has flown by! I am not sure how this much time has passed, other than our lives being 100% crazy! These past two weeks have brought much change and fun times!

The biggest is that Phil and I on a whim flew down to New Mexico on Saturday to spend a week with family down here. Originally Phil was going to come down alone and work for my Aunt and Uncle and I was going to stay home and work. However some things happened with my family the day before he was going to leave and I felt a great need to just get away! SO, Saturday morning, two hours before the flight took off my flight was booked and I jumped on a plane. It was super quick and last minute but really great. I have the most incredible boss who understood my needing to get away as well as the most generous Aunt who used a free ticket she had so I could come down as well.

This week down here has been a blast. We have been mostly hanging out, with so much time together. My mom and I went for a very long horse back ride yesterday through the Bosque by the Rio Grand River. It was beautiful out and so much fun to be riding again. I think it has been almost four years since I have been riding, and for a girl who grew up riding everyday, that’s a long time!

My Mom moved into new house last fall but has not had the chance to paint much, so we went together to pick out some colors and started painting. Last night we got the first coat on her kitchen and had a lot of fun doing it. Marta and Phil did a junk food run, so we all got on sugar highs and painted… that’s my kind of fun :)

Back at home we have almost completed the bathroom and are just waiting on a full time job for Phil before we finish a few things. I meant to take pictures, however with our last minute trip, I just didn’t have time! It is looking so awesome though and it is AMAZING to have a toilet upstairs again!

I have also received some good news about my leg! I went for my six week check-up with the Orthopedist and she said it is healing really well. I will be able to start running again with my PT this coming week and two weeks after that should be able to start running for real again. I am so excited to be able to get back to running, though I am partially scared, I know after this amount of time not running it will take quite a bit to get back into it!

Phil is still searching for a job, there have been a few things he is in the running for, however nothing has panned out yet… There is a possibility of a job opening in New Mexico though. This is a really scary thing to think about so we are trying to just take one thing at a time and trust that God has a good plan! The thought of leaving Minnesota is so sad, however we would love to be with all my family down here. So we will see, it probably won’t happen for a long time still… but we will see.

Work has been extremely busy, I feel like everyday I am there I just do not have enough hours to do what I need to do. I am so grateful for an awesome place to work and am so thankful for amazing co-workers.

Well, that is all for now. I have been writing this post for the last few hours but keep on getting distracted by all that is going on here, so I better end before I have another thing to pull me away!

Never to old for Mom

These last few days I have realized how much I am missing my Mom. As most of you probably know, she moved to New Mexico about a year and a half ago. All of my life, I have never been more than a hour away from her, and I think being homeschooled made me even closer to her. Being so far apart has been totally new to me!

In college, even when I would not see her for a while we would always talk on the phone a lot and I knew that if I needed her she would always be there for me. When I was sick she would bring me in healthy food she had made for me, or come and bring me home. If I was upset she would always talk to me. Even since I got married she would still bring me food and take care of me. Often I will feel like I do not know how to be a good wife and know I can always ask my mom and she will have great advice.

Over the last year, I have realized how much she means to me and how much truly miss her. I don’t mean to say Phil is not there for me, he totally is and I could not ask for a better husband! There is just something about a mom that a girl always needs. I know that I can call her and talk honestly about my life and feelings. I know that she will listen, give me good advice and always pray for me.

Growing up we had our differences… ok really I was just difficult :-) I remember her saying things like, “someday we can be friends, but today I need to be your mother.” Because of things like this, today we are friends. My mom is my greatest influence and mentor. If I can be anything like her, I am a lucky person. She has taught me so much about life, she has shown me what a woman of God looks like. She has had so many hard things happen, yet she still shines Christ’s light. I know everyday she prays for me, there is nothing better than that.

I feel like I am just learning what it is truly like to put yourself aside and care for another person. I am sure there have been many times she would rather be doing something else than dealing with a crazy teenager, or sick kid, or being woken up in the middle of the night because I was scared. But I never even though for a second that my Mom would rather be any other place. She sacrificed a lot for me, and I am grateful. I hope that I can be more like her ever day!

Mom I love you and am so thankful for you, these words do not do justice to how I feel. I hope that when I have kids someday, I can be a mother like you!

Parenthood… or something like it

I sit here at my computer half awake feeling like I understand what it is like to be a parent… if you are thinking I am going to share something, sorry… not today. However both Phil and I agreed we have now experienced what it is like to not sleep during the night while you take care of something or someone!

Last night we had the first thunderstorm of the season. It started about two in the morning and lasted until I got up for work at six thirty this morning. I normally love storms, there is nothing as cozy as snuggled in bed hearing the earth get much needed rain and knowing things will start to turn green as a result. However last night this just was not the case! You see we have a dog… a dog that typically sleeps through the night and does not bother us… this really is the way we prefer it! However, much like a child, he did not like the storm, not ONE bit!

At about 2:15am when the storm started he freaked out, for the next THREE hours he proceeded to run circles around our bed, crying, whimpering, and panting OH SO LOUD! Both Phil and I kept on getting out of bed to calm him down, he would for about a minute and then start freaking out again. Normally I would just try and ignore it, but he was so loud and so persistent there was just no sleeping happening. After this went on for way to long there was an especially loud thunder clap that sent him jumping up onto our bed to be close to us. I figured this would maybe clam him down so we let him stay. After close to an hour more of him being scared, he finally settled down right between us and slept.

Though now both Phil and the dog were sleeping, being on a queen bed left almost no room for me, so I proceeded to stay awake until my alarm went off. (Have I mentioned that our dog is a 107 pound lab? Yeah, he is almost as long as I am!)

Is having kids something like this? If so, I think I need to get a bigger bed!! As I left this morning, my two boys were still sleeping oh so peacefully on the bed, PD had officially taken over my side and was looking quite proud of himself… I wonder if secretly he “pretended” to be scared just so he could get up on the bed  :)

Just as I finished typing… it started to thunder again… poor dog…. Poor Phil who is at home with him!
 

The one with emergency rooms, fires, bathrooms, friends, and wiffle ball...

Just for the record, nothing burned that we didn’t want burned and the emergency room ended up ok! :) But as you can guess we had quite the weekend!

We kicked off the weekend by grilling out with our small group on Friday. It was a blast to hang out and spend some good time with friends. Every time we leave friends I am reminded of how grateful I am for good people in our lives!

All last week I was very stressed out and lacking sleep so I had been looking forward to sleeping in for days. However as much as I wanted this to happen, it was just not to be! :) Emily, my twin sister who lives in our basement apartment had been battling a migraine headache that would just not go away. She had taken off work for the past few days and just was not getting better. So Saturday morning 7:45am she calls me from work saying she was starting to lose vision and needed to go to the hospital and get something to relieve her headache. Phil and I rolled out of bed and picked her up and headed to the ER… Needless to say I think God was teaching me something about giving and caring for others! In the end they gave her some great drugs and was able to finally be headache free after a four day migraine! Phil and I also had fun playing doctor in the hospital… I think we watch to many medical TV shows!!

She looks scared.... why would she be go scared when Dr. Katie is taking care of her?!? At least Dr. Phil was staying away.... I mean he really only knows about taking care of crazy people right?

I'm just checking her fluids and making sure her IV is dripping at the correct rate... don't worry, I'm a pro!

OH NO! Flat-lined! Good thing Phil and I know what we are doing... we most definitely saved her life!

This is my solution for fixing a headache... Oh no... this is mean! (Just for the record this picture is AFTER she had the meds and was feeling better... no am not so cruel as to pretend to hit her on the head WHILE she has a migraine... just after!)

Just taking some notes to put in her file!

*disclaimer... I do not take any responsibility for my actions that morning... or the embarrassment i caused Emily.... clearly I was still sleep walking.... I mean LOOK at my hair?!?! (who in their right mind would go out like that?!)

After we got back from the hospital we biked over to a park near our house where we met friends and played waffle ball… this is apparently our new favorite thing to do! It was so beautiful out and a blast to do.

Saturday night we went to church and then came home and grilled and had out first camp fire of the year. I am not sure what it is, but I just love sitting by the camp fire with the warmth coming from the fire and the cool air. Phil and I ended up having a great talk about the sermon… but more on that later!

Sunday I finally got to my much needed sleep-in! When we got up we started work on the bathroom right away and finished grouting the tile countertop of the vanity and installed the hardware for the shower. I had a much needed talk with my mom also… although it left me crying at the end because I miss her so much!

For lunch, we meet Phil’s parents and sister to celebrate his Mom’s birthday! It was very nice to see them!

After lunch Phil and I decided that we needed to get out and enjoy the great weather, so we took the dog for a walk to the dairy queen a few blocks from our house. Seriously… I felt like the All-American family! It was so nice to be out and enjoying the warmth!

To finish off our weekend we spent more time getting the bathroom together. This morning I took the first shower in our new bathroom and got ready at our new vanity! So unbelievably nice! It looks so great, and is awesome to have some BIG progress being made! Today we are continuing to prep the walls for paint, and after this is done we will be able to install the toilet… something I am greatly looking forward to!