Some Photos From the Holidays

Thought I'd post a few photos of our time with the family over the holidays. We spent several days in Michigan visiting Hubs' family and had an awesome time.

First, me and Marshall, one of the cutest nephews in the world.

Next - Mike (Hubs' brother), Hubs, and our friend Bill - the boys were hanging out on New Year's Eve.

Hubs and I on Christmas Day at our friend's house. Like the hats? :)

Hubs and Marshall - hanging out on the couch at Grandma's house.

Marshall beaming on his new toy from Grandma and Grandpa - the kid LOVED this thing.

Home

As I sit here starting to type, I cannot describe to you the feeling of comfort running through me. I am home and I am so very happy to be home.

It is strange to me to have been so homesick. I have always been a bit of a homebody but I am usually able to be away from home for at least a week before feeling like I need to get home ASAP. But this time was very different.

Hubs drove me to the airport early Thursday morning and waited with me in the crazy-long line, walked me to security, kissed me goodbye and left so he'd get to work on time. I was fine on my flights and was super excited to see Amy. The first several hours were great. I think it was sometime later that evening that I realized that I was missing Hubs something horrible. And it only got worse. By Saturday I was almost desperate to get home. I was having fun with Amy, but I am struggling with some aspects of our relationship and was feeling a little out of place. And I just plain missed Hubs.

It does give me comfort to know that I missed him. How horrible would it be to be gone and NOT miss your husband? But I did miss him, so much that when my plane was late and I had pretty much missed my connecting flight, I burst into tears at the gate! Gah! Yep, I actually did that! My flight landed at 7:22 and my connecting flight was to take off at 7:24! I literally ran through the Detroit airport - and I didn't even get to enjoy the tunnel that I love so much. Kept going and made it to my gate around 7:30 - to find 3 people there. After inquiring, I found out that the flight had already boarded and there was no gate agent there. I headed across the hall to the other gate that had an agent and a guy from my original flight started talking to me - and I started sobbing. Poor guy! All I knew was that I did not want to spend the night on the floor of the Detroit airport and my flight was gone. But God was so watching over me. I glanced back at my gate and the agent had reappeard. After telling her that I was supposed to be on the Omaha flight, she asked my name - and said according to the passenger list I was already on board. What? Don't ask me how that happened! But again, God had a plan for me - the flight attendant had miscounted due to the fact that there was a maintenance guy on the plane that she had counted accidentally. They had already pulled back the bridge - but after the supervisor came over, they decided that they'd use the maintenance guy as an excuse and took me down, moved the bridget back and got me on the plane! Thank you, Jesus! Just a couple hours later and I was in my baby's arms!

Amy had mentioned a couple of times during the trip that maybe I should just bring Hubs with me from now on. I kind of think that may be happening. It will definitely be happening on our next trip to Philly since we'll be going for the wedding.

I know it's good to get away from each other now and then, but is it strange that a few days seems too much for me? I don't see Hubs all day when we're working, rarely on certain weeknights due to various committments, etc, so is it bad that I really want to spend time with him when I can? Do any of you feel this way?

Hope you're week is off to a great start!

Pray Without Ceasing!

Please send up prayers for Baby Gideon and his mom and dad, Deborah and Gavin!

Deborah and Gavin lost a baby in November of 2005, Gwendolyn. Gideon was born yesterday and had breathing issues. Deborah and Gideon were rushed to the city shortly thereafter.

Just got an e-mail that Gideon is doing better but please keep praying.

Out East

I'm currently in the city of brotherly love - yep, Philadelphia. I flew out here on Thursday to visit my best friend, Amy. Amyla is getting ready for her wedding (just a month from tomorrow) and I am here to help de-stress the bride-to-be. As always, it is fun to be here. But it is also tough. Tough in that our friendship is changing, growing, evolving - in both good ways and bad. Let me see if I can explain this.

I grew up with five sisters. We were never really close. I mean, I call them when I need to and exchange e-mails, but if there is something happening in our lives, all six of us have other friends we call before we call our sisters. I would say I'm probably closest to my older sister Roma (I can't use initials here since ALL of our names start with R). She and I fought horribly growing up pretty much through her going to college. But when she left for college (well, honestly, after she'd been there a while) we started becoming friends. I *GASP* actually missed her. My senior year, the day after Prom (our Prom was always held on a Thursday night and then the seniors had a free day on Friday) my girlfriends and I piled in the car and drove up to see her. We went bowling and went to pig roast and picnic on the banks of the Missouri River. We had FUN together. Then when she got her first teaching job, I went and visited her and hung out. A couple of years ago we met up in the Twin Cities and had a shopping fun weekend. I seriously wished she lived closer - i could see us doing more stuff together. As it is, she lives about 10 hours away with her husband and 14 month old little boy. And as life would have it, it is much more likely that Hubs and I will be moving 10 hours in the opposite direction sometime in the next few years.

I tell you that story to explain my friend situation. As I mentioned, my sisters and I all had friends we would most likely call before we called each other. Through my growing up years there were a few people who were my "best friends" at the time. Christy and I met when we were three and were friends up through junior high. She then became one of the popular kids and I was left behind. We reconnected our senior year of high school when I knew she needed a friend. Stephanie and I became friends in 4th grade and I actually still talk to her a lot - less than when we were both single but I still know she's there. Then there was Christine in high school. I was so hurt by her actions - and lack of actions. Victoria was my saving grace in college. I honestly believe I would not have made it through all of the muck of college without Victoria's friendship. Our friendship is in a tough spot right now. She doesn't seem to need or really want me around anymore. It breaks my heart but understand the need of some people to move on. Katia and I met when I moved to eastern Iowa. Although we are so different in many ways, she is a sister of my heart. She gets me when few else can. She was my first friend to meet Hubs (he picked me up at her house for our first date) and is probably the most supportive of our marriage. Hubs loves her too - she is the sister he never had. And then there's Amy. Amy and I met (officially) in driver's ed. Before that we had seen each other at Temple - I babysat the Temple kids while the parents and older kid went to service. During our sophomore year in high school (we went to different high schools), we were both nominated to serve on the Mayor's Youth Commission. Only 4 students from each school served on the MYC so it was a pretty big deal for us. So when we were in driver's ed that summer we knew that we'd be working with each other on the MYC. Amy was so different from my high school friends. She was more worldly, more fun in many ways - not stifled by the Catholic school upbringing the way we all were. I can't pinpoint exactly when we became friends, or best friends, but I don't rememeber when she hasn't been there. Since we graduated from high school, I have live in South Dakota and in five different places in Iowa. Amy has lived in Kansas, Israel, NYC, Tulsa and now Philadelphia. Yet we have always been there for each other. She was my maid of honor; I will be a bridesmaid in her wedding next month. She, like Katia, is a sister of my heart.

Ok, so I've had friends. And I love to meet new people. But there are few who I let get really close to me. I have been hurt, almost destroyed by friendships gone bad. So I tend to be leery, and sometimes a little standoffish. I may let you see a part of my life but bets are you only know a small part. But Amy and Katia know it all.

And it is tough that things feel like they are changing so much. I love Amy's fiance' but there is fear there too. Fear, because he is so different from us, so East Coast, and although I do not for one second doubt that he loves Amy, I fear the fact that this is his life out here. And my friend is changing. Not in really bad ways or anything, just things that used to not be so important becoming priorities. By not feeling that she and I are speaking the same language, that we are on different wavelengths. Amyla swore when I got married that things between us wouldn't change, but in the 15 months Hubs and I have been married, things feel different. And since Amy got engaged last spring, things have been more different. And with her wedding a month away, I feel a little lost. Sad for what we are losing, but glad for what we are gaining. Hubs says that the right things are happening - that he is my best friend now, and that Amy and her fiance' are each other's best friends. Yes, he's is right, but it is still tough.

Part of me wants to hole away with Hubs and forget about the world. He makes me feel that safe and loved. But I know that it would be wrong to turn my back on friendships and people who have loved me.

I think I am just feeling very uncertain right now. We are trudging into uncharted waters in our friendship and I don't know what to do, other than trust that all will be OK.

OK, if you're still reading - Bless you! Thanks for letting me sort out my feelings here. Hope you all are having a great weekend. Will post photos etc from Philly later.

This Little Thing Called Life

So this little thing called Life has been getting in the way of my blogging. And despite my hopes of keeping my blog updated weekly or at least monthly, I can't say that I'm sorry that I haven't been blogging. Because, honestly, each of those moments when I could have been blogging and wasn't, I was cherishing the moment that was currently happening. And you know what, there were some incredible moments in there.

And since those moments are what my life has been all about, here, just for you, dear readers is a re-cap of the past 2 months in moments:

• My in-laws, Mom & Dad N, visited in mid-November - the entire weekend with them was a blast! Especially beating the boys (Hubs and Dad N) at Pictionary, not once, but TWICE, to become the Super Pictionary Champions of the World with Mom N
• Attending a work meeting in the state capital and getting to see two very good friends.
• Getting our new KING sized bed delivered (Happy Anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas to us!)
• Thanksgiving with my family, followed by a hike to the top of a bluff to visit the First Bride's Grave, followed by some serious game playing with friends.
• Playing hooky (OK, we actually took leave) and heading to the city the day after Thanksgiving. Much looking and a little buying ensued.
• Celebrating our first anniversary in 2 parts! Yeah! (Pictures will be posted eventually) First part was on Friday night (day after Thanksgiving) - dinner at our favorite restaurant in the city. Second part was on Sunday (actual anniversary) with new, tiny cakes that our friend/cake baker made for us (YUM), plus eating the old cake (not so yum), and just spending an incredible evening with my husband.
• Painting the church nursery and getting to spend time with good friends - and meet new ones. And even though I could be bragging here, the nursery looks fabulous!
• Helping with our Extreme Surrender weekend! Amazing youth event! Have you ever seen 70-80 teens on their knees praying to God? You will never be the same.
• Having my friend K and her little one I come visit for a long weekend - we shopped, baked, cooked, talked, laughed, cried, sang, decorated and just enjoyed our time together.
• Hosting our 1st Annual Christmas Open House in December. We had a house full of friends and it was awesome. We can't wait to do it again!
• Attending our Pastor's daughter's wedding to a great guy fromLatvia - beautiful wedding.
• Followed the wedding with late night shopping in the city and a movie with Hubs. It was 2:00 in the morning before we got home - we were literally trying to keep each other awake all the way home. We are so old! :)
• Christmas Eve with my family.
• Christmas Day just the two of us, followed by games at a friend's house, and just the two of us again.
• 10 hours on the road with my baby heading to the big MI!
• Spending 6 days with Mom & DadN, Mike, Carrie and Little M and Hubs and I. Lots of games of Settlers, Pictionary, Carcassonne, and Wii games.
• 10 hours on the road with my baby heading back to IA.
• So many moments of snuggling, relaxing, talking with Hubs.
• Seeing, talking to, catching up with lots of friends and family.
• Feeling so, so, so loved.

I hope your holiday season was blessed!

Off to my burrow to work on my thesis. Will try to pop out now and again.

Be well.

A Post of Cheers and Jeers

• Cheers – and a HUGE THANK YOU – to all of those veterans who we are honoring this weekend. Your sacrifice and service are not forgotten.
• Jeers on the Harlan Cyclones loss on Tuesday night in football. Bad calls made it a less enjoyable game for many fans. But congratulations on your four season-spanning 49 and 1 record.
• Cheers on visitors! My in-laws, Mom and Dad N, will arrive tomorrow evening and will be with us all weekend. Yeah! (Seriously, I really mean Yeah! My in-laws are awesome!
• Jeers on sore losers. An election is the people’s chance to choose who they want to represent them. Did all of my choices win? No. But that’s OK. That’s why we have a democratic government. Stop whining if you or your candidate lost. There is nothing you can do except run again in a few years or encourage others to vote.
• Cheers on my friend’s Michele and Chad’s new baby, Chloe Madison, born on Monday! Congratulations Chad, Michele and big brother Mason!
• Cheers for federal holidays! I LOVE three day weekends!

Have a great weekend!

A Post - Mainly in Pictures

Besides being incredibly busy, I have just haven't felt a lot like blogging latley. But I give you the following photo essay.

My super-adorable nephew, Ryan. Mommy is an Iowa Hawkeye fan and, as you can see, he is nicely decked out!
My other super-adorable nephew, Marshall, and his buddy, Liam. Aren't they adorable together?!

My nephew, the cow - Ryan's Halloween greeting.

These are a little small, but here is our newest niece, Corrianna. She is a tiny little thing and answers only to Princess!


That's all I've got for now.

Yep, still back

So I returned to the blogging world, only to be so busy that I haven't had time to post!

Hubs and I headed up to MI last week and spent a loonngg weekend with the family. Chris and Mike spent Fri-Sun at their event while Carrie and I and the little man spent time together. We took lots of walks, scrapbooked, watched Chronicles of Narnia, painted our toenails, watched the Lions lose (again!), picked apples, played with pumpkins and relaxed. Ah! Our mom & dad-in-law joined us on Sunday afternoon and the guys arrived soon after. It was so good to enjoy each other's company and laugh and play and, of course, let Marshall entertain us. I took a ton of photos but most are on my film SLR. Here are a few of Marshall at the apple orchard. You can tell he's all boy - look at the mud he found! And he LOVES apples!

Marshall and his little snack - apples and dirt!

Marshall and Mommy - sitting on his first giant pumpkin!

This week has already flown by! We got home late Monday night (yeah for Federal holidays!) and back to work we went today. I spent this evening baking apple pie using up just a few of the 1/2 bushel of apples we brought back from Michigan. We've got a busy week ahead and are looking forward especially to Saturday. Along with some friends, we are planning a game night at our church for adults complete with snacks and tons of games. If we get a decent turn out, we're hoping to make this a monthly event.

Hope you are all having a great week!

Getting back into the groove...

OK, I think it's time to start posting again. I'll update on all the other happenings later but wanted to mention a couple of things quickly.

First, if you have any interest in ministry or missionary work, go check out my pastor's daughter's blog here. This is Elizabeth's second year in Latvia. She recently returned there after being home in Iowa for the summer. Elizabeth is an incredibly beautiful, Spirit-filled, young woman. She doesn't have many posts yet, but if you keep checking in on her, you will see what an incredible writing gift she has. She would love to know you're reading too!

Also, go check out Julie's story about her friend Beth's adoption story here and buy a chance to win the amazing quilt Julie is making. Thanks to Catherine for passing on this story!

Will catch up with you soon! Have a great weekend! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers while I took some time out!

Sorry

To those of you who do stop and read, I am sorry. I just can't do it right now. There is nothing huge and overwhelming going on right now. But there are some smaller things, smaller things that sometimes feel big and overwhelming. But God is good, ALL the time. And so is my husband. Thank God for my amazing husband. That boy can handle my ever-changing moods like there's nothing to it.

I will write again sometime soon. First I have to finish my thesis. And then I have to work through this other stuff. Honestly, I don't even know what all it is yet. I just know I have to deal with it. Chris and I will be making some decisions and they're going to be tough decisions to make and follow through with. But again, God is good, ALL the time.

Take care, my friends.

Unmotivated

So I haven't felt like blogging at all lately. Could be that there's a lot going on. I'm not sure what it is, but I just haven't wanted to write much of anything lately - my blog, e-mails back to friends, or even my thesis. On that last one, I must get my tukus in gear if I really want to graduate in December. But like I mentioned, it's just very hard to write right now. So I'm going to share some photos with you and a little bit of what's happened over the past few weeks.

We got to see my sister Roma and her husband Rob and their little guy Ryan a few weeks ago. Here's Ryan and Chris having fun. I think Ryan was afraid that Chris was going to take his book home with him!

Below are some of my favorite guys in the world. In the back is the world's greatest husband, Christopher. Beside him is Mike, Dan and Arlin. In front are Kenny and Dave. These guys are all in our small group and are a lot of fun to be around and study with. This photo is from our Father's Day celebration/challenge. They're gathered around the chair they had to build and got judged on. This group was the winner of the challenge.
Katia and Ian came out the weekend before the 4th of July. We spent one of their evenings here out at our friend Cherie's house. Here's Chris with Ian and Griffin playing swords. Here's Chris and I with Katia and Ian.

It's been so busy lately; I feel like time is just flying by. I got sick in the middle of July with a combination of a sinus infection and bronchitis. I ended up missing several days of work trying to shake them. Finally recovered enough to go back to work only to head to Florida for a work conference. Had a great time there although the plane rides there and back didn't help my sinuses. I got to spend some time with my friend Tami and meet the precocious and adorable Cori. Also got to see my friends Mike, Robert, Damarys and others. It was nice to catch up and quite fun to meet new people. Unfortunately, there was no time to go see or visit any of the local attactions in Orlando but I had still had a great time. I was able to go on a conservation tour to The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve which was very cool. We went on a hike through a nature area, canoed in a lake that is part of the headwaters of the Everglades, and took a swamp buggy tour over some rough terrain. Definitely a cool ecosystem!

Got home from Florida on Friday afternoon and had a wonderful weekend with my husband. And then it was back to work. Seems like Chris and I have been running ever since. Spending lots of time with church friends and catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while. We're getting excited too - Chris' brother Mike and sister-in-law Carrie and their little guy Marshall are coming down to spend Labor Day weekend with us. We can't wait! Marshall is now walking on his own and we especially can't wait to see him! My sister Robyn is also due with my niece on September 2nd. We can't wait to hear about Baby J's arrival! I'm thinking it could be anytime now. My friend Sharon and I went garage saling on Saturday and I found a bunch of cute little girl stuff, along with some fun Iowa Hawkeye stuff for Ryan (Mommy is a big Hawkeye fan) so I need to wash all of it and get it ready to send. I love the fact that my sisters aren't garage sale snobs so I can get stuff for them and the babies. :)

We are planning a weekend trip out to Denver in October to see Robyn & Erik and Baby J, and Roma & Rob & Ryan. It's nice that I have 2 sisters in Denver and we can see them all the same weekend. We're actually planning on going out on Amtrak - something neither Chris nor I have ever done so we're cautiously excited about that. I'm just hoping we are both able to sleep on the train.

That's about all I've got for now. Oh yeah, I've been noticing some interesting paths on my stat counter - some local, some not. I don't mind people reading my blog (obviously since I haven't password protected it or hidden it) but I do like to know who's reading. If you're reading, and haven't commented yet, drop me a line. I'd like to know who my audience is. :)

ABCs

ABC's from Rachel

A is for age:
32

B is for booze of choice:
Kaluha & Milk over ice

C is for career:
Soil Conservationist with USDA NRCS

D is for your dog's name:
No dog – no indoor pets due to allergies

E is for essential items you use/love everyday:
Current favorite CDs, water, hair clip, lip balm, Werther’s original chewy

F is for favorite song(s) at the moment:
“While You Were Sleeping” – Casting Crowns & “Dance, Dance” – Fallout Boy

G is for favorite games:
Settlers of Catan, Crazy 8s, Yatzee (with Chris), Liverpool Rummy

H is for hometown:
Sioux City, Iowa

I is for instruments you play:
None, would love to play piano or guitar

J is for jam or jelly you like:
Grape jelly, strawberry jam

K is for kids:
None yet

L is for last kiss:
Christopher, this morning

M is for most admired trait:
Being able to befriend anyone

N is for name of your crush:
Christopher

O is for overnight hospital stays:
When I was sick as a baby, with Chris when he was sick in January

P is for phobias:
Spiders (esp after my infected bite this summer)

Q is for quotes you like:
“Always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then, you destroy yourself. And so we leave, with high hopes, in good spirit and with deep humility and with very much gratefulness in our hearts.” Richard M. Nixon, upon resigning the Presidency

R is for biggest regret:
wanting others to like me, need the approval and acceptance of others – really working on this.

S is for sweets of your choice:
Chocolate chip cookies – trumps almost anything else.

T is for time you wake up:
6:00 am

U is for underwear:
Hipsters, fun and cute

V is for vegetables you love:
Green beans, corn on the cob

W is for worst habit:
Habitually being late.

X is for x-rays you've had:
Ankles, wrists, elbows, knees, ribs, skull – have I mentioned that I am a major klutz!?

Y is for yummy food you make:
Rosemary chicken, lasagna, Grandma Ford’s peanut butter frosting, spinach rosemary roll-ups, Lust cups (Remember these, Deed? Haven’t made them in ages!)

Z is for zodiac sign:
Cancer

Now you know my ABCs... Won't you play along with me!Do it on your blog and then leave me a comment that you did it.

A few photos

Had a few photos uploaded that I hadn't had time to post yet.

The first 3 are from the weekend Katia and Ian were here. The boys fell asleep on the couch watching Finding Nemo.

Chris and I had been wondering what to get our nephew Marshall for his 1st birthday. Daddy said Marshall would like a sports car, preferably a convertible so he could, and I quote, ride like the wind. Oh yeah, and red would be good. Do Uncle Chris and Aunt Renae deliver or what?!

Check out Marshall loving his new ride! Photos are courtesy of Grandpa Nicholson.

Marshall and Grandpa

Marshall in his convertible

Marshall and Daddy cruising

Marshall loving his sports car

More smiles from Marshall

A final photo of the 1-year old!

Off to Florida

Haven't been feeling very inspired to blog lately. Here's a little update.

Had a great weekend visiting my sister and her husband and meeting Ryan. He was even cuter in person! We also got to see my cousin Tommy and his wife Sarah and their little guy Sam. They live in Sioux City and Sarah and I started talking about scrapbooking and how we need to get together and work on our scrapbooks. The guys weren't too excited about that until we figured out that both Chris and Tommy are big sci-fi fans. So now we're hoping to plan a weekend in Sioux City with Tommy and Sarah soon.

On our way home Saturday afternoon, we headed to Council Bluffs and saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Curse followed by dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. The movie was good, not outstanding but it was fun.

I spent half the week home sick with a sinus infection combined with bronchitis. I'm finally starting to feel better. Which is a good thing since I have to jump on a plane at 10:00 tomorrow morning. I'll be in Florida through Friday. I am looking forward to the conference (annual work one that I go to every year) but Florida at the end of July?! Hmm, two things come to mind - hurricane season and HOT! And I though I'm feeling better, I'd kind of rather stay here to finish recuperating, not push my luck by flying across the country. But no matter, I'll be on my way to Florida in the morning and Chris will be baching it for the week.

Hope you all have a great week! A few pictures...

Ryan wasn't so impressed with Tommy!

Ryan with Mommy & Grandpa

Who wouldn't love to get this in the mail?

That's my nephew Ryan! And I get to see him TOMORROW!!!! Yeah! Can you tell I'm an excited aunt?! And Chris and my brother-in-law Rob get to meet for the first time! Yeah! Although, Roma and I talked and decided this could be a mistake since both the guys are so mischevious and full of trouble. We'll see how the weekend goes.

So it's county fair time here. Which means HOT weather - and thunderstorms. We're in a warning right now and, although hail and lightning might not be good for the crops, it would so kick the humidity we have just hanging over us. It is blasted hot and humid here! And we are going to enjoy a little of it while we watch the fair parade tonight with our friends and their kiddos! But the sky is looking a little scary right now. Hmm.

Not much else happening here. Just excited about seeing the fam tomorrow, working only 1/2 day (YEAH!) and finding lots of AC over the next 72+ hours.

A Quick Rant - And a Praise!

Just a little update

First off, I have to say I LOVE short weeks at work! I so don't mind working and I really do love my job, but it sure is nice to have a super-short week! 4-day weekend followed by a 3-day workweek - oh happy me!

Chris and I have had a great week. He has been superbusy at work, as have I, so when we get home it's all about relaxing and together time. We have a little nightly game of bocce ball and it's fun to just get out there and play and tease each other and watch the crazy cats try and steal the balls. Hello Kitty - get out of the way! Last night he kicked my tukus! At one point I was down 17-3. I rallied back and only lost 21-10, I think.

Tonight we get to hang out with our friends Josh and Renee. We are bringing dinner with us and will eat and play games at their house. We are so looking forward to it. We've all be swamped the past few months and haven't really had any time to spend with them. So tonight we get to catch up and have fun.

Now to go back to the title of the post.

The Rant
So this morning I'm calmly driving to work - doo duh dooo. Just driving along. Then I reach a corner where another county road intersects the county road I'm on. And a mini-van decides they must pull out in front of me. No problem. I slow down - WAY down. Because they are not driving my speed (about 7-10 over - it's a county road!) but they're only about 2-3 over the limit. Now I can respect that someone, especially with children in the vehicle, wouldn't want to speed. So I slow down. So we get to the edge of town where one of the town's big daycare places is. And the mini-van flips on its turn signal - and flicks a cigarette butt out the window! GRRRRR! I so don't care if I offend anyone with this - if you are a smoker and smoke in the presence of your children - BITE ME! I would like to ring the neck of Little Miss-I-won't-speed-but-I'll-expose-my-little-darlings-to-noxious-gases-and-fumes! Grr. Grr. Grr. I know - there is nothing I can do about it. But I can rant about it on my own blog!

The Praise
I have got some of the best co-workers! Tomorrow is my birthday and when I got in the office today, they had up a big banner (we do this for everyone) over my desk. They have kind of forgotten the past 2 years so it was awesome that they remembered this year! Plus, Marolyn (she made our wedding cake so you know she's a great baker!) brought me a whole container of chocolate waffle cookies with a note that these are for Chris and I! Yeah! And then she baked me a fruit pizza and wrote Happy Birthday Renae on it for all of us to share. And then I got told that they're taking me out for lunch! Yeah! They make me feel so special.

And tomorrow, Chris is going to help one of the guys with a project during the day so I will have some downtime. I'm planning a quick workout followed by a relaxing bath and catching up on a new book I'm reading. I'd also like to get caught up on some of the housework while Chris is gone. In the evening, we're planning on heading over to Omaha and one of the funplex type places with go-karts and mini-golf. We both thought that sounded like fun.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Happy Independence Day!

Yeah! I love the 4th of July - not only for the fireworks and great food and fun times, but because it's only 4 more days until my birthday!

Katia and Ian came and visited for the weekend. It was so fun to have them here! They got here later on Friday so we just relaxed and ate once they got here. We took our time getting going on Saturday but ended up shopping in Omaha. We found a pirate costume for Ian (his current obsession! Have you ever listened to Veggie Tale's "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything over and over and over - try it sometime!) and some other fun stuff. We even had time to stop by the Just Desserts place - yum! After we got home, the boys, Chris and Ian, had quite the water fight outside while Katia and I threw together a quick dinner. Sunday was church and then the swimming pool - it was the perfect day to go swimming. Just the right temperature and not too crowded. We came home, changed and grabbed a snack and tried to rest before heading to our friend Cherie's house for a barbecue and fireworks. It was a very nice and relaxing evening. Ian crashed on the way home and it wasn't long before we all headed to bed. Poor Chris had to work on Monday but I had taken the day off to see Katia and Ian off. We got them packed up and on the road before noon. I was able to get in some quiet time, a good workout, a library trip and grocery shopping before coming home for a quick nap. We made homemade pizza for supper and crashed pretty early.

Today we've taken it pretty easy. We both slept in and kind of putzed around this morning. This afternoon we headed into Harlan to the laundromat. We have a washer and dryer, but we have these huge quilts and blankets that almost don't fit in our washer - and they don't dry well in our normal size dryer either. So we loaded them up and took them into town. We had the place all to ourselves and squeezed in a game of Trivial Pursuit while we waited for our stuff to dry. We followed all that excitement up with a round of disc golf at the park and then headed over to Westphalia for their annual Parish Picnic and chicken dinner. Now we're home for th evening and relaxing. It's nice that we have such a short work week ahead - Yeah!

This weekend we're taking it easy again, hoping to spend some time with friends on Friday night and spending a quiet evening at home on Saturday (seems like we don't have many of those lately). Then next weekend we'll be in Sioux City to see my sister Roma and her husband Rob and little guy Ryan while they're back. We're so excited about that! The following weekend after that, I'll be crazy getting ready to head to the NOPHNRCSE conference in Orlando. I fly out Sunday morning and get home on Friday. I'm very much looking forward to seeing my friends and co-workers, but honestly, Orlando, in July - if a hurricane doesn't sweep me away, there is a good chance I may just melt!

I just realized that it's already the first week of July and my thesis still isn't done. I MUST get to work on it! It's been difficult to really sit down and write. I am definitely not feeling inspired but I'm thinking I may just need to inspire myself - like now! My thesis is a bit different from the typical thesis as it's not a research thesis but a creative thesis. Yep, I basically get to write 60+ pages of my own poems and stories. Not a bad thing normally, but I am not feeling creative in the least, even my crocheting and scrapbooking have suffered. I would so love to have the majority of the work on it done by the time the fall semester starts up so I don't have to worry so much about deadlines. We'll see how much I can manage to apply myself.

Anyway, things are pretty ho-hum here in Renae-land. Hope you are all doing well!

Offer and More

Offer

We got an offer on our house in Michigan today. It's a pretty decent offer. Now we have to submit everything to the mortgage company to see if they will accept it and allow us to short sell. Send up a few prayers up for us that all goes well and the mortgage company gets their heads out of their tukus'.

Weekend
Chris and I headed up to Sioux City on Friday afternoon to visit my parents. My awesome husband drove the whole way and let me take a nap - despite the fact that he was a little tired too. We met my mom at the mall and had dinner and shopped around a little bit before heading back to the hotel. In the morning, we picked up Mom and then Chris dropped Mom and I off at my cousin Tami's bridal shower. He went off to explore on his own while we had some girl time. It was nice to visit with my aunt and cousins. I think one of the coolest things is just watching my cousin Tina and how much she has grown up. Tina was born the day before me, our moms even shared a hospital room and her parents are my Godparents. Anyway, Tina was always the wild child (at least compared to me). She got married shortly after we graduated from high school and then had her oldest son Ethan. Sadly, that marriage ended when her husband took his own life. A few years later, she met Josh and married him and they had Noah and Sydney. Both are adorable, as is Ethan. But they found out in the last few years that Noah is autistic. It is so incredible to watch how Tina is with him. She was a good mom anyway, but she is absolutely amazing with Noah and all that she has done to help him advance. She is such an advocate for him. I was almost in tears just being so happy for her and so proud of her.

After the shower, Chris came and got Mom and I and we picked up Dad and relaxed for a while. We all headed to Famous Dave's for an early dinner and then we headed back home. Sunday was church and small group.

This week we are trying desperately to clean and sort and organize our house. We have kind of been shoving stuff in since before the wedding. And then we brought back a whole bunch of Chris' stuff from Michigan and now we have a massive mess. So we have been unloading closets, and basically making keep, sell and toss piles. I have a nice pile of stuff for a garage sale. And we have thrown a ton out already. It feels good but I'd like to get rid of even more. Ever since I moved my mom out of the house my family had lived in for over 20 years, I have this overwhelming need to downsize.

We have another motive for getting things cleaned out though. My friend Katia and her little guy Ian are coming down for the weekend. And since the bed in the spare room is currently covered with all kinds of stuff, we're thinking we should get it cleared off and the room cleaned out so they can sleep in there. And maybe we should get the other rooms done so we have some space to relax and play. Which means I will be cleaning and sorting every night this week. Not so much fun. But I'm hoping the end result will encourage me to keep on top of it.

We are really looking forward to seeing Katia and Ian too! We'll miss Seanie but he gets to spend the weekend at the lake with his grandparents. We're hoping to maybe hit the zoo on Saturday and hopefully go swimming at some point too. It'll just be nice to have them here.

Photos and More

Yeah! Blogger is finally cooperating and I can post some photos! These are from our trip to Michigan over Memorial Day.

We also got some fun news this weekend. My sister Roma and her husband Rob who live in Denver will be visiting in July. They have a 6 1/2 month old little guy, Ryan. Chris and I haven't made it out to visit them yet so we haven't even met Ryan. And Chris and Rob haven't met yet either. So we'll get to see them and spend some time in Sioux City. Should be fun!

My nephew Marshall all smiles

Our friend's little guy, Liam

Liam and his Daddy, Bill

Marshall and Grandma

Marshall and Liam playing

Carrie, Mike and Marshall

Amy, Bill and Liam

TGIF!, Date Night, Weddings, & Photos

TGIF!
Yeah, it's Friday! Chris headed out early (way, way early) for his company retreat in KC. So tonight, my friend Melanie (whose husband Dan works for the same company and is also at the retreat) and I are going shopping! Mel's kids are visiting Grandma this week and won't be home until late tomorrow so we're both single and carefree tonight! Of course, knowing us, we'll probably spend the whole evening looking for stuff for our husbands and talking about them! We're planning a nice dinner in Omaha and then more shopping, followed by a sleepover at Mel's. I'm looking forward to some girl time!

Date Night
Last night, Chris and I went had our date night - a yummy spaghetti dinner at Joe's followed by a movie. The movie ended up being a serious downer. Chris had voted for Cars but thinking that The Break Up was a romantic comedy, I opted for it. After the movie, I promised Chris, and I am repeating that promise in writing here, that he gets the final say on all future movie choices. He is really good about balancing the number of chick flick, comedies and superhero movies we see so it's all his from here on out. Like I mentioned, I was expecting a romantic comedy, and there were funny parts, but honestly, it was just depressing, very sad. We walked out feeling terrible but it was nice to realize that we don't act anything like the couple in the movie - and Chris is always telling and showing me how much he appreciates what I do. I cannot thank God enough for a loving, Godly husband.

Wedding
Tomorrow afternoon Chris and I have a wedding to go to. He probably won't make it to the ceremony but is planning on meeting me at the reception. We are in charge of running the wedding video so I'm really hoping he gets back in time to do that. I'm running over to the reception site today to set it up and I am hoping it works! Wish me luck! This is the first wedding we've attended since our wedding 6 months ago and we're looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the evening. We're also excited about the gift we're giving them! Our friends, Deedra and Justin, gave the neatest gift and we're using the idea for Stephen and Laura's wedding gift. Deed and Justin gave us a simple little decorative box. Inside was a note that this was a blessing box. You were to write down your blessings, large and small and put them in the box. You could pull one out to read when you were sad or needed encouragement. Then on Thanksgiving, you should read all the blessings together. We love it and use it regularly. And now we get to pass it on! Joann, my friend and Stephen's mom, thought they would love it too so that makes it even better. Laura also mentioned to Joann that they hadn't received any photo frames as shower gifts and she was hoping to get some. So now they will be getting frames too. I think this is the first wedding I've been to where I haven't agonized over the gift and it is so nice. My goal on the shopping trip tonight is to find the perfect boxes for the Blessing Boxes - and to buy several! We have several more weddings this summer and I love this gift idea.

Photos
Finally was able to upload the photos from my camera to the computer from our trip to Michigan. I didn't get many taken but there are some adorable ones of my nephew Marshall and our friend's little guy Liam.

Never mind - dumb blogger won't upload photos right now. Will put them on later today.

Hope you all have a great weekend!