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!

The ramblings of life…

It feels like I have been gone for a long time, don’t worry I am back now. Well at least my body is, my brain still may be MIA.

We had an awesome weekend starting a little earlier on Thursday then expected! Phil and I both helped our friend Megan move to her new apartment. Then we went to a party celebrating the end of boot camp (the workout class we have been in since January). The party was an absolute blast, our host Dawn went beyond and above what any of us were expecting. It was a great time with great people! Friday I had off (gotta love working for a Christian College that gives you Good Friday as paid holiday!!) and we worked on the bathroom most of the day. By the time we went to bed Friday night we had all the sheetrock hung (THANKS ROBBIE AND CHARLIE!!). It was great progress and the bathroom is starting to feel like a real room again!

Saturday Phil and I spent a few hours mudding and taping the walls, no to much fun. Honestly both Phil and I were exhausted already so taping and mudding was less than enjoyable! We then went to “Easter” Church Saturday night. It was such a great message and words I really needed to hear. After church we enjoyed a short evening with Phil’s extended family for a not-so-traditional Easter pizza party! It was great to see everyone and enjoy each others company!

Easter Sunday was like none other! We had decided a few weeks back that we wanted to do something very low-key, so along with Emily and Megan we did just that. The day was absolutely beautiful and we spent most of it in the sun. We made Kabobs and grilled them, had blankets out on the lawn and had good wine and ate in the sunshine. After our food we went for a bike ride, and came home and played wiffleball for a long time in the yard. It was such a blast! PD loved us being out in the yard and “played” with us the whole time.

Now for a few updates….

My leg is healing well, my physical therapist gave me permission to start biking! I am so excited to be able to do more and feel like I am making progress. Though it is doing much better, a few times I have forgotten and run across the yard or something like that and am quickly reminded to take it easy! Thankfully the pain is almost completely gone, a really good sign according to my PT. I am hoping that I will be able to start running again in a few weeks!’

The job search for Phil is proving to be more frustrating this time around. Though there have been quite a few potentials, in the end everything has panned out to be nothing. He has applied to many jobs, but is still waiting to hear back from them. We are hoping the with the second quarter starting companies will be opening up more jobs. Even though there are many entry level accounting positions open, we are finding that the people who have been laid off with year of experience are taking these jobs, leaving those with little to no experience job-less. Amidst the trials I feel that both Phil and I are learning to trust in God more everyday and do trust God to take care of us! If you hear of anything opening we would appreciate it!

The bathroom project is slowly making progress. We are hoping to be painting by the weekend, and from this point we will only have the floor left to tile, however we are waiting on this until Phil has a job again! So soon we will have a fully functioning bathroom. We are both really loving the way it is turning out, and are also ready for some order to return to our house. Though we are still having fun doing the project, we are both finding it to be more exhausting then any other project. I think with so much going on in our personal lives anything in the bathroom that is a little more of a challenge tends to get a little bigger than life… you can ask Phil how I am dealing with that!

Happy Tuesday!

Because of What He did for ME!

The last week I have been thinking a lot about my mortality. Did you know you can actually find out the date you will die? Check out: http://www.deathclock.com/ Ok, well maybe not, but I think it puts things in perspective a little bit! On Sunday during the sermon Jason Anderson showed this “clock” to put things in perspective. Honestly, it did the trick, and to be even more honest, I can’t make myself go and do it. Phil did it right away and told me his “death” date and it totally freaked me out! I don’t know if I am in denial, or I just feel strange about knowing a date I could die. But the funny thing is I will die, we all will die. So why do I not want to know a fake number that is computer generated? I should be living like tomorrow is my day, and today is all I have.

With Easter this next week I have been thinking a lot about what Christ did on the cross for me to save me. I am not worthy, I do not deserve grace or mercy. I am full of sin and corruption. Even when I strive my hardest to be like Christ I fall on my face. Thank God I have the hope of salvation.

A few weeks ago in class my professor was talking about grace and mercy, it really struck a chord with me. He used the example of speeding and being pulled over by a cop. The cop walks up to the car and askes, “do you know how fast you were going? He responds “no, not really.” The cop takes his license and registration and goes back to his car to run it. When he comes back to your car he says he is going to let you go this time without a ticket. That is grace, you deserved the ticket, yet you were shown grace. Now imagine the cop then says, “and you know what, he is fifty bucks, take your wife out for a nice meal.” That is mercy. This is what Christ did for us, we deserve death, yet he showed us grace by saving us from this. That would have been enough by itself, yet Christ goes a step farther and says I am not only going to save you, but to make you part of my family and give you the hope of heaven.

If you let this reality sink in, you and I should live out lives differently. We were shown the greatest grace and mercy, let us live lives full of grace and mercy. I want to live each day knowing this could be my last, I want people that I interact with see Christ in me, whether I am at the gas station interacting with the attendant for a short few moments or I am having coffee with a great friend or at home. I want my life to be the city on the hill for all to see.

I hope you all have a great Easter with friends and family, let what Christ did for you sink in, I challenge myself and you to not just let this be another holiday but make it a change in your life and use every moment to live in the grace and mercy Jesus has shown us. Because is what Christ has done for me, I will live me life for Him!

Want to hear a great song that has inspired me? Click Here!! 

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16 (The Message)