Pictures :)

Eat the duck Uncle Eric! :)

I'm a big girl! I climbed up here all by myself - now feed me! :)

Aren't I cute with my morning hair & cheesy grin & don't forget about my DORA PJ's! :)

Life...

I know, I know its been a while!

Life has been busy, with the typical day-to-day things & the extra things like holidays thrown in there, life hasn't slowed down at all...and come to think of it, neither has Alexa! :)

She seems to change each day, growing "older" somehow. From the words she says to the things she does, it never ceases to amaze me what she can come up with! A couple days ago Micah caught her climbing up the bar stools so that she could reach the cookies that were sitting on the counter. Then last night while I was making cookies for our church cookie exchange on Saturday morning, Alexa wants to sit & watch. Micah was out helping his dad so I picked her up & let her sit on the counter next to the mixer & she just loved watching it spin. Every time I added something she would look at me and say "cooking Mommy, ooooohhh YUMMMMY!" with this goofy grin on her face & she'd pat her tummy. When the mixer was done she decided she was bored watching me roll the dough into logs so she moved off the counter & stood on the bench next to it. I have an old crystal cream & sugar set, that I picked up at a garage sale,sitting next to the coffee pot on the counter & she instantly found this entertaining. She took the spoon from the sugar & in the empty cream pourer she started swirlling the spoon as if she was mixing things together. After each mix she would taste the spoon & then she'd pick up a pen & pretend to jot notes onto the pad that was also laying on the counter. I sat watching her do this for about 10-15 minutes before she caught me looking at her & had to offer some to me "taste Mommy taste, yummy yummy," she'd say. We certainly have a little goof-ball on our hands!

The other side of Alexa, however, is definetly a stubborn little girl! She will NOT say sorry! At just about 18 months old, she has the strongest will of anyone I know! (Could it possibly be due to the fact that both mommy & daddy are stubborn too? Nah!) :)

All I can say is based on her current ability to apologize & admit when she's been naughty & wrong, we are in for a LONG road ahead of us! The silly part is -- it is NOT as though she doesn't know how to say the word, or that she's not old enough to know it -- as some people have tried to tell us -- she is simply too stubborn. When we catch her being naughty we will call her on it & say "Alexa, what did you do?" Her answer..."Naughty, I trouble, I trouble, naughty!" Hmm...if she can say those words & know that when we are upset with her she's been naughty & is in trouble...please tell me, what reason, other than her stubbornness, is there for her inability to say sorry? None that I can think of!

Here are a few of the latest pictures we'd snapped of her, boy does she think she is funny! :)

Something new every day!

Alexa is at the stage where it seems like every day her vocabulary is doubling. She thinks she has to repeat EVERYTHING we say! This was at first very cute & amusing. That was until the day I called in to the other room for Micah to come help me with something. The next word out of Alexa's little mouth I hear is "Micah" -- AHHHHHH!~

Her other new thing is stairs. She has been going up stairs for a few weeks already. However, she has recently started to try going down - which is part humerous & part terrifying! She sits on her bumm & slides down, step by step. Only thing is that is not "fun" enough for her - - so instead she has to bounce down step by step on her bumm. This makes for a very amusing experience for her, for her mommy, however, it is terrifying! Her accuracy is not so great and many times she has needed mommy or daddy there to catch her!

Saturday we had quite the scare...Alexa was coming upstairs where I was at the top blowing dry my hair. I looked up to see her 3 steps from the top and she looks up at me & waves & giggles as she says "Hi Mommy, I cum up" -- and not a moment later I see her loose her balance & within a split second she has attempted to regain her balance, slipped a few steps and then rolled down the rest to the landing far below! I dropped the hair dryer & in sheer panic raced to the bottom of the steps to pick up her screaming body from the landing. She was crying so hard & would not calm down as she clung to me. Micah came from downstairs & gave her a huge hug but nothing seemed to help. She finally calmed down a bit & saw the cookies on the counter which distracted her enough to stop crying. I was sitting with her for a while & then I set her down to stand in the middle of the floor...only to find that as she tried to take a step her right leg seemed to colapse beneath her & she let out a sharp cry...much to my horror! I quickly picked her up & hugged her asking her where it hurt...but as she's only 16 months that didn't do much good! I of course feared the worse...something being broken or what not & a trip to the ER being in our future -- however, thankfully as the night went on she slowly went from colapsing with any weight on her leg, to limping and then to walking normal again!

Hopefully that's the worst drama we'll have at our house for the next many many months!

Say Cheese! :)

Someone likes the camera a little too much! -- I had it out the other day to go put it on the charger & as Alexa walked by me she saw the camera so she of course had to stop & say cheese! It doesn't matter if the camera is on or not - if its in her sight someone must be taking a picture of her (or so she thinks!) :) She will say cheese from the moment the camera is out until its finally put away! --Here's a shot I took of her on Sunday morning!

My little go-getter :)

Alexa is constantly running around like crazy - seeming to get older and older every time we look at her! She has to help make supper, open doors, buckler herself in, she wants to walk everywhere and always prove that she's such a big girl! Her vocabulary seems to increase more and more each week and we can't ever seem to get her to stop talking :) which I suppose is a good problem to have!

So I thought I'd add some pictures as I've actually been remember to snap some lately! ;)

Actually falling asleep someplace other than her bed!

(she has not done this since she was an infant!)

Enjoying supper with Auntie Kiley & Sean, Mommy & Daddy at Pizza Ranch :) Yum Yum!


Riding (or at least having mommy push me around) on my car is SO much fun! :)

Any time someone takes a camera out its "Cheese pease, cheese pease" :)

So what if I have my pretty church dress on, I'm still going to climb the stairs!

Kiko, are you coming with me? :)

Random thoughts...

Last weekend we went with some friends to Minneapolis for the weekend. The ladies left Saturday morning to do some shopping and the guys met us up there later in the afternoon. We planned to spend the night at a hotel & then go to the Vikings vs 49ers football game on Sunday. It turned out that despite not being fans of either team, it was a great game to go to - action packed the whole time - it was so close that the winning touchdown was scored with only 2 seconds left on the clock! The stadium was going crazy the whole time and with less than 2 minutes left most people thought the 49ers had won, there were even people who left the stadium at that point - something I'm sure they were kicking themselves for afterwards! We had a fabulous time, I found awesome deals at the outlet stores, and overall we just had a great time enjoying our friends and relaxing.

The only hard part about the weekend was it meant leaving Alexa overnight. In her 15 months we have really only had her stay overnight at someone's house one other time (without us being there) and that was only for one night because we had to be in Sioux Falls on Friday night & again early Saturday morning & all day for a wedding. There have been times I have left her home with Micah for a night or two over the last year, but at least each time I knew she was at home with Daddy -- this time she didn't have either of us and wasn't at home!

She did really great, despite my fears, she probably didn't even realize we were gone! Micah dropped her off at my mom's late on Saturday morning & she stayed there until we took her home on Monday night. Since I couldn't go THAT long without seeing her, Monday morning I even went there & spent a few hours playing with her before going into work. Apparently she didn't mind us being gone as much as I did!

Then, after having been away from Alexa all weekend, Micah ended up needing to go on a work trip to Northern Michigan and left again on Tuesday and didn't come home until Thursday! So I spent my 26th birthday with Alexa, my mom, and my sister Sarah and her kids. They were super sweet and bought be supper & they even had a cake for me :)! By the end of the 2nd day Alexa was standing at my mom's front door trying desperately to turn the handle crying out for "DaDa!" I tried taking a picture of it (as Mommy thought it was just too cute) but the moment I took my camera out she would walk up to me & say "Cheese momma, Cheese" until the camera went away, and then she would go back to crying for Daddy. So needless to say I was thrilled when Micah arrived safely home on Thursday night and so was Alexa!

Well, its almost 3 am and I'm starting to get sleepy again - well that or my back & body are ready for me to move to a new positions! No, for those of you who know me I am not turning into a night owl - I still need my sleep! I simply woke up around 1:20 this morning & was thirsty & hungry so I decided to go find a snack. Should have been harmless enough, but as I set my foot down and as sharp pain shot up!

I realized that what I had earlier thought was dry skin ended up being a metal sliver of some sort stuck in my foot! So I hobbled back upstairs and got out the tweezers. As I sat, bent over my foot, digging out the metal shard that felt like it was humungous (when really it was smaller than an eyelash) because I couldn't possibly get away with waking Micah up at this hour for a sliver when he has to work in the morning, I realized that I'm old! Although 26 may not be old, my body is telling me I'm old! At least, I certainly am not as limber as I used to be! After I had achieved success and freed my foot from its pain, I tried to stand up & walk back to bed...but in doing so, I felt like my back was going to shatter! I told myself just breathe and lay down -- after all its only 7 steps between where I was sitting & my bed...but as I eased myself back into bed to lay down, I felt like if I exhaled I would certainly crack every bone in my body! So what did I decide to do? I'm instead sitting on the floor with the heating pad on my back typing away at this blog instead of sleeping. And what final thoughts have I come to now...instead of my back being sore -- I think my butt is! :) Enough for tonight, or should I say this morning?

Growing up too fast!

So over the past week or so as I sit and watch Alexa playing, talking, and interacting, I can't help but think how much she has changed and grown up! She's only 14, almost 15 months old but she acts as if she's older! (at least most of the time) I thought it was about time I start documenting some of the stages of her life before I can't remember them anymore! :)

Here's some fun facts to show you what I'm talking about:
* She wants to walk everywhere on her own. She'll hold your hand and go almost anywhere with you and she's actually not that slow of a walker - good thing she has daddy's long legs!
* She opens doors and loves to close them again
* She thinks that she always needs to feed herself. When she's playing with her toy kitchen she'll take a pan and a spoon and she'll pretend to make food and then eat it or share it for you to eat
* She talks as if you should understand the full sentences she's saying -- the sounds out of her mouth truly do sound like complete sentences, but I'm just not sure what language she's speaking them in!
* We'll walk in to Alicia's in the morning and Alexa will turn and look at me and put her finger over her lips and say "Shhh....baby sleepin"
* If I'm laying on the couch sleeping or even just pretending to sleep, Alexa will come over to me, put her arm on my back, hold her face right in front of mine and say "Boo" then back away and giggle and smile
* She constantly wants to go potty! -- That's right at only 14 months old my little girl will look at me and say "momma, potty" then she goes and trots over to the potty and asks to be put on it! Today alone, she has gone potty on the potty (or what she thinks is the potty- more on that later) 3 times! In no way, shape, or form do I believe its time to get rid of the diapers yet but at least she knows and understands the concept and is interested in it!
* The last time we checked she was 22lbs & that was about 2 months ago!

* She LOVES phones -- cell phone or home phone she constantly begs to play with them all. She'll hold it up to her ear and say "Hi" over and over again!

* She thinks the remote to our fan is fasinating! She loves being able to make the wind start and stop over and over again! (see pictures below!)

* She's silly and only has 7 teeth and has had them since before she was a year old-- four on the top & 3 on the bottom (the fourth front tooth is still missing!) (See pictures below)

* She says more words than I can believe. Everything out of our mouths she tries to repeat and she seems to understand what she's talking about...from ouch, cup, milk, juice, diaper, kiko, momma, dada, chair, more, please, kitty, puppy, bear, cow, car, shoes, door, hat, phone, blankie, bag, bed, nigh-nigh(night), kiss, hug, grandma, grandpa, papa, Bobbie, the list just goes on & on!
* She's using sign language and she is getting really good at it! More and please are her favorites to sign but she's also learning milk & thank you!

* She LOVES shoes -- give her shoes and she'll be happy playing with them for hours!
* She loves backing up to sit on anyone and anything so watch out -- if she's backing her little butt up to you -- she's about to sit! :)
* She loves stairs -- going up them is her favorite thing to do -- this scares mommy and daddy but she is pretty good at it -- now if only she could master going down...

* Playing horse is her favorite game. Beware - if you let her ride you once, you'll have to let her do it a hundred times or more!
* She is a smart little cookie - she piles her bear, her baby, and all her blankies against the side of the crib and she tries to get her body over the edge by pulling her little body up to the top and then she sort of hangs there on her tummy until she goes back down having unsuccesfully gone over the edge - its a good thing she hasn't figured out she could be doing that against the shorter side & she'd actually succeed in getting out!
* She has to be a big girl & help with everything! From telling her to bring mom something to give something to dad -- she actually listens & does what you ask (most of the time at least!)

* Her belly button is not private. It is totally okay in her mind to lift up her shirt at anytime and show everyone her belly button and tummy. Oh and beware - if you say anything when she does it - you're next! She has no hesitation in going up to others and trying to pull their shirt up to find their belly button! :)
* Every morning she has to carry her diaper to the garbage and throw it away herself. We keep our garbage hidden in a cupboard that she has to open and close which she absolutely loves to do!
* She's getting so big! Everyone tells me she's just a little peanut and although I know she is -- the girl is only 14-15 months old and is wearing 24 month clothing!

Some other cute stories to document about our little 'angel'
- she thinks if anyone in her sight or vacinity is eating something, all she has to do is tell that person please and then they'll give her some of their food...no matter what it is - so beware our little piggy LOVES to eat your food! ;)
- she has decided that in addition to using the potty chair and the big potty, the booster chair that daddy left sitting in the living also makes an excellent potty chair:
Last night I was working on my bible study lesson (which I had put off for far too long since bible study was at 8pm that night) and I was sitting on the couch trying to focus on the lesson. Daddy had agreed to keep an eye on our adventurous and impossible to contain little darling who was running around diaperless as she had gone potty on the big potty just a short time before. Alexa comes into the living room to see what I was up to and after I tried sending her back to her daddy, I saw her headed for the booster seat in the corner of the living room floor...she backed up and sat down and said to me "momma" "potty" and I looked up to see her sitting there grinning at me. So I of course told her no, that's no the potty chair, and I called for Micah to come watch her. "I am" was the answer I received from the other room ;) by this time Alexa had again grinned at me and said "potty mama" and as I watched her stand up to run away she wiped out on the floor -- having of course gone potty on the booster chair and by that point she had gotten the floor all wet! Good thing we have hard-wood floors and not carpet!

Now for the second night in a row she has used the booster chair as a potty chair successfully - much to mommy's dismay! In my opinion there is not enough disinfectant in the world to make me say that's okay!

Goodbye hand-me downs! :(

So irony strikes again! When I was a little girl I hated, absolutely despised, getting hand-me-downs! I begged & pleaded & wished & hoped for the day I could buy my own brand new clothes & finally wear something that no one else had worn before! Being the youngest of 5, accomplishing that goal took a very long time!

Now that I am grown up (sort of) and have a little girl of my own do I hate hand-me-downs? No way! I absolutely love them. It lights up my day to get "new" clothes for my little girl from my sister (who's had two girls of her own). The first year of Alexa's life her babysitters often commented on the fact that she wore a new outfit everyday with hardly ever a repeat in outfits! It was amazing & grand & I loved every minute of it, especially as my husband tends to think that children's clothes should cost about $0.25 or less! ;)

Only there's one problem with my beautiful world of hand-me-downs...they will be coming to an abrupt and awful end! Alexa, my 14 month old little girl, is the SAME SIZE if not bigger in some aspects than her older cousin, Faith, who will be 3 in November! Yes that's right -- there is an almost 2 year difference between the two little girls & yet they are currently the same size!

So apparently my animosity to hand-me-downs has come back to bite me in the butt big time! I suppose all that complaining I did as a child had to have consequences but who would have ever thought it'd come this soon or in this way. I guess I'll just have to keep feeding Alexa until she's bigger than Faith & then Alexa can get her older cousin Mackinzie's hand-me-downs before Faith does! :) hehe oh how a girl can dream!

His last message...Watch Therefore!

Below is the recording of the last sermon my Dad ever preached. I had the privilege of being in the congregation that Sunday, August 31st, 2008 at Lynden URC where he was preaching as a favor to their pastor. He passed away while golfing in a charity tournament only 6 days later on Saturday, September 6th while on the 7th hole.
I find it comforting and yet ironic that his last sermon told people to Watch Therefore! As you do not know the day or the hour... -- We never know when the Lord will call us home or when He will return...we must always be ready & watching...

Tired, Stressed, and Emotional -- a very bad combination!

So I'm going to keep this short for once -- a shock I know -- but with everything going through my mind, my heart, and my life right now I just don't think I can fully process everything in my head these days.

Work is busy busy busy as usual and I'm pretty much a basketcase rushing back and forth between sanity and insanity -- I feel like I'm giving every aspect of my life 50-75% effort & the rest I'm just in robot mode... which makes for many mistakes and even more work.

The bright side is, perhaps if I stay busy enough my mind and my heart won't realize that its already been a year without my dad, my life has continued to happen, change, and grow each and every day... part of me wants to scream & just say STOP - -go back - - I want a do-over!

To bad that we don't get that chance! -- This week at work, two of the people I directly work with gave me a wonderful and totally undeserved thank you card & gift & I couldn't even keep from crying... I wonder, when will anything or everything in life stop making me cry & miss him more?

To young to potty-train?

What age is too young to potty train? - - Seriously people? I've heard mom's out there saying that a child isn't ready and can't possibly control their body like that until their well over 2 and almost 3 years old. "There's just no way" I've emphatically been told!

BUT - on the other other side of things, I know many children who have been trained well before they're 2 years old and many who have been fully trained shortly after turning 2...and there are websites & articles out there that even talk about infant potty training (to me that's a YEAH RIGHT) but hey what do I know!?!

Before jumping in & telling me what you think, here's my personal experience (which is pretty limited considering Alexa is only 13 months old!)

Many observers of my little girl tell me that she's getting ready to be trained -- based off of what they see only. After all, she can says many words but she usually doesn't make too much sense & she certainly isn't using full sentences or anything so its not like we're hearing "I have to go potty!" from her sweet little mouth!

Instead, she's been doing this little form of a potty dance, bending over and holding the front of her diaper whenever she's going potty. As for going #2 -- lets just say she's ALWAYS been obvious about that one -- she typically stops what she's doing, scrunches her face all up & grunts as she starts to turn pink or red in the face! So a month or so ago (shortly before she turned 1) we went out & bought a potty chair so she could begin to grasp the concept & at least get used to the idea of sitting in the chair. She LOVES it -- at least she loves playing with it! She has always been one to want to follow anyone into the bathroom to see what they're up to & she thinks its so funny to listen to the noises & hear the toliet flush and now being able to sit on her own potty is tons of fun to her... so she's at least intersested in the idea!

But here's the kicker- - every now & then -- the child will take her diaper off! -- and I mean OFF. If we change her out of her clothes and don't immediately put her pj's on she'll get up & run around & play in just her diaper -- pretty normal I know -- but then she decides she's had enough of the diaper & wants it off -- so she takes it off with relative ease, throws it down & walks off free as a bird! Again, we find this cute and funny as after all, its in the privacy of our home & can't really hurt.

Then on Sunday night we're all just standing around after church talking and she's just off playing like the rest of the kids. I look over at her & notice she's playing with her tummy -- and taking her diaper OFF! -- Silly girl! So I race over & strap it back on telling her "No, No, we don't do that" trying all the while not to laugh!

I have no idea if or when my little girl will ever learn to use the potty instead of a diaper but I know this -- any outfit that doesn't come with bloomers or shorts is SO not going on my child without adult supervision nearby! Next thing you know she'll be trying to go naked everywhere!

All moved in...ALMOST! ;)

Wow, so the time has come. After months of thinking about it, talking about it, planning for it, and preparing for it the time has finally come! My mother is officially on her way back to the US! Her stuff all arrived on Tuesday & she'll be arriving tomorrow night! :)

For those of you that know me really well, you know that this has been something I have longed for, prayed for, wished for, and hoped for many many times over the last 7 years. However, it is very bitter-sweet. I found myself unable to sleep tonight & so I began to write...if this doesn't make much sense I'm sorry! ;) - In 100% honesty, I wanted this so badly I could taste it, and now it not only is something I am totally looking forward to, but something that scares me to the core.

I LOVE my mom. She is an amazing woman. All my life she has poured herself into being the best mother, wife, and preacher's wife she could ever be, and let me tell you, she topped the charts! Talk about a woman that could handle/manage 5 children, a busy church calendar, be always ready for guests & entertaining, and keep a perfectly clean and presentable house -- that's amazing to me! Memories of my childhood involve no frozen meals (no matter how much we begged because they seemed so special) but always home-cooked meals, baked goodies, and tons of games and fun. As we got older things turned from children's games to card games and stimulating conversations. I still remember coming home from college my freshman year to have "coffee" with my parents every chance I got!

Then why am I scared? Because that's the life/memories/dream I have...having that simple, safe, "perfect" feeling back again. For the past 7 years that is what I've wanted back (and my parents of course)... you know the age old saying..."be careful what you wish for"...its because how you end up getting your wish to come true may sometimes (and usually does) come at too high a cost/price! As much as I am longing for my Mom to be here...it makes me miss my Dad more and more.

After a bunch of wonderful people came and helped unload the 53 foot semi which brought my Mom's stuff here from Lethbridge, Sarah and I were left with the unreal task of organizing and unpacking it before Mom sees it and falls over - - (there is stuff EVERYWHERE, from in the house, to in the unfinished basement, to stacked and piled all over the 3-stall garage that Mom & Sarah & Jason share... which no longer fits a single car in it...

As we began unpacking over 30 years worth of stuff, memories came flooding back. Things I literally haven't seen in years have surfaced, from favorite mugs (which we now wonder why we even liked!) to egg holders to magnets and on and on. Its been great to see it all and cherish it, tell stories about it and laugh over it. However, as I lay awake tonight, I can't seem to get the memories out of my mind and instead of laughing, I find myself getting sad and then worse yet getting mad. Its awful but I keep having to resist the urge to yell and scream and throw a hissy-fit like a little child - - this was not the way my wish was supposed to come true!

All in all - I'm a grown up now (whether I like it or not) and I've accepted things are the way they are. Doesn't mean I have to like it all the time, but its life. So if you're looking for me over the next few days, weeks, well, better make that months, come to my Mom's house & weave your way through the maze of boxes...better yet - bring your wallet & make an offer if you see something you like! :)

Happy Birthday Alexa! :)

WOW! What can I say? My baby just turned 1!

I can hardly believe it...it seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital holding my tiny little girl --- now she's over 20 lbs, is above 75% for her height & her head & is walking, talking, and changing like you would not believe! :)

Here are a few pictures of our little "party" for her 1st birthday...

Joy & Sadness...how they mix!

So for the last few mornings on my drive into town I have heard numerous people read their "letters" to their fathers in light of the upcoming Father's Day holiday. Each time as I sit there trying to maintain my composure I have felt the flood of tears come pouring down. I can't help but wonder when these overwhelming emotions will finally stop...

This should be a happy time right? After all I have an adorable new nephew, I have an amazing little girl about to turn 1, summer is finally about here, and this week Sunday will be my husband's first official Father's Day. So why can't I seem to enjoy any of it? Why is it lately I'm completely cranky, irritable (okay so those of you who know me are going this isn't new but I mean more irritable than normal!) and my emotions go off the deep end at the most tiny of comments! As each new day comes & goes I find myself wanting more & more to be able to just pick up the phone a call my father, to sit down next to him & have a heart-to-heart or to go for a drive with him & listen to our favorite country music blarring at us through the speakers...I guess I just don't feel like anyone else ever understood me the way he did...no one really took the time to get to know ME, my thoughts, my fears, my likes & dislikes...not really anyway...its hard...I don't feel like I can talk to my Mom (who used to be my best friend) because I'm afraid of upsetting her or burdening her...but yet because I can't talk to her, instead of just loosing one of my two best friends I've in a sense lost them both and it sucks! I can't imagine how someone in my shoes without faith & without a relationship with Christ could possibly cope - HE is the only one who gets me through each day, his comfort & support & the love of my family - without that I'd probably be truly lost.

So after all these "letters" I've heard read the past week - I decided to write my own. Here goes nothing...

Dad,

I want to start by thanking you. Without the amazing influence you & mom had on my life I would not be as spiritually sound as I am today. Your lives set a shining example for what I can only hope my own life will be. Growing up I never doubted for one single moment that you & Mom loved each other wholly & completely, with that everlasting kind of love. Not only did you express it daily, but your actions, words, and looks shouted it from the mountain tops. Nor did I ever doubt your love & devotion to our Lord & Savior. For this I am eternally grateful!

-- You taught me to be discerning, to know right from wrong, to not just absorb everything I heard but to strive to understand it & determine how Biblical it is/was. You taught me to study and ponder His word, to engulf my life in it. You taught me to realize that our God is an Almighty, Sovereign, and Just God who is to be honored and revered. You taught me approach the throne of the almighty with reverence and awe. You taught me that God is not only graceful & merciful but powerful & almighty, that he will punish those who forsake Him. I can't express enough how grateful I am to have been raised in such a home. I will always treasure & miss our theological discussions, and of course, having a handy "spiritual reference guide" on speed dial! I love that you taught us to be honest, to be kind, to be merciful, to be patient, to be loving and to be trustworthy.

The fact that you taught us that life won't always go our way, that we won't always get whatever we want, that sometimes in life you need to bite your tongue and turn the other cheek, these are all valuable life lessons that I no longer take for granted. I look around me & I see a culture & generation saying how life can be however you want it, its a "have it your way" kind of world - - I am grateful that I know life isn't that way. Sometimes things people say & do will hurt us, upset us, or we will take offense to it, but that is life & its up to us to decide how it affects us, how we will react to it. Thank you for teaching me discipline. I am grateful that you taught us to have strong work ethics, to realize that we ultimately deserve nothing in this life and that it is by the grace of God we have anything at all.

I want to thank you for your unconditional love. From countless broken bones to sick days to sporting events and school plays, piano concerts, talent competitions you were always there. Holding my hand and supporting me no matter what. I was truly blessed to have a Father like you -- you truly were the shining example for me of my heavenly Father & now I rest assured that you are with Him in glory.

To my amazing & wonderful Father, never will there be another man quite like you upon this earth - - All my love, now & forever!

How time flies...

Wow, its hard to believe but 1 year ago I was lying on my couch (on my left side) stuck on bedrest! -- Now I have a little girl who is WALKING (well, she just started taking steps without holding on to anything on Saturday) and a brand new nephew who is absolutely adorable! My sister Sarah welcomed Luke Evan into the world on Wednesday June 10th & he is a heartbreaker already! All I can say is I'm thankful this year it was her & not me laying in that hospital bed! :)

Toys - Why bother? :)

What is the point of children's toys? Really? Can anyone tell me please?
We've been given a few adorable toys for Alexa - they're pretty fun, cute, and entertaining, at least for the first few times they're played with. However, I don't see any point in them. She'll crawl up to them, play with them for a short bit, as long as someone else is there with her, and then she moves on to the next one. We have even gone to a few houses where our daughter is thrilled & entertained by those leap frog & playschool learning toys - the kind pictured below that light up, make noise & she can stand up by...

So what do we do? We go and purchase the same kind of toy from a garage sale for Alexa (all our other toys have either been given to us or their from the happy meals or out of cereal boxes) so she can have hours of fun at home without needing us to play with her, right? - - WRONG - - she will stand by it as long as we're in the room but the moment we leave, she comes crawling out after us, and plays with the first non-toy object she finds. She loves to go over to the tupperware drawer, have us open it, and play with the stuff in it for hours - and she doesn't care if we're around or not! This child is truly crazy! - - I am 100% convinced that there is honestly no point in buying any toys for a child under the age of 1, maybe even 2 - - because she is thrilled to play with anything BUT actual toys!

For example - the child will try endlessly to get the tv remote in her hands or get our cell phones away from us but give her a fake toy cell phone or even an old non-working real cell phone - - it'll keep her entertained for maybe a minute! All she wants is the real stuff!

Well, there you have it, my idea of a lesson to be learned - save your money! ;) There's not much real point in spending it on toys at least!

My Way :)!

Did you know that sometimes, just sometimes, whining can pay off? Well, perhaps it wasn't whining, perhaps I just have an incredibly awesome husband! Either way, I GOT MY WAY! :) YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!

Forgive me, but being the youngest of 5, marrying a "dutch" man & living in Northwest Iowa, I have not gotten my way very often in my life. But it has finally happened & I am thrilled, no make that ECSTATIC!
I have been begging & pleading for months now (well, for sure since October) that we move our master bedroom upstairs to the now newly redone bedroom that has a HUGE (okay its average for most of the world) size closet & is directly across the hall from my daughter's room & has the bathroom with the shower that I use in-between the two rooms. Let me explain...I live a beautiful (in my opinion) but OLD house.

The main floor has an awesome kitchen & then a room that used to be the dining room but we found it was too small so we moved our dinning room to the other half of our living room & made the dining room just the entry room/ extension of our kitchen area ... and then it has one decent size room (9x12) and a dinky, teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy little closet under the stairs. Certainly not enough room for my clothes let alone Micah's as well. The bathroom on the main floor is really nice & cute but it just has a tub & I am more of a shower person than a bath person in the mornings. Plus you have to walk past the front doors to get at the bathroom so its not so nice for getting up in the middle of the night. (I know I'm lame but I get scared of what's outside & who might be staring in at me!)

So anyway, when we bought the house the upstairs bedrooms both had no real closets - only the "crawl-space" areas of the slants where the roof meets the house...if that makes any sense - I'm not big on the real/technical terms or anything! Back when we found out we were pregnant, we started gutting, insulating, and building a closet in the one room upstairs to make it the nursery. When Alexa was about three months old we moved her upstairs to her new room & she's been sleeping up there ever since. This is great except on weekends when we just really don't want to get up in the morning & yet we have to go all the way upstairs to pull her out of bed & bring her to us. So I decided to rip apart the other upstairs room. We spent most of October, November & December tearing everything out & insulating it all. Then we built a closet & finished the room off. This was all done by sometime in February.

So naturally I wanted to move upstairs to be closer to Alexa. Micah, who's not a fan of change, didn't want to go all the way upstairs every night & back down again every morning. He thought we should stay on the main floor. I begged, I pleaded, I threw probably every type of "tantrum" I could think of. I tried every reason I could come up with and explored pretty much every angle to convince Micah we should move our room. Nothing seemed to work. Finally I just decided to call his "bluff" so to speak & moved all my clothes & stuff upstairs. And it sort of worked. He'd come sleep in my room for a few nights & then he'd convince me to go back to our old room. After trying to fit our king bed upstairs with no success, we found a reasonably priced queen bed and bought & moved that up there. By this point Micah had pretty much given up on where we slept. His stuff, however, remained down on the main floor as did our king bed.

One would think I should have been satisfied with that right? After all, I got my bedroom to be upstairs, I had a real closet & a great new bed. However, I wasn't done yet. I had a bunch of toys (Alexa's of course) in my living room making it look very cluttered & messy. I do not like clutter & I certainly don't like things to be messy. My solution? To move the King bed to the room downstairs (which used to have my parents furniture in it for when they visited) and to make the main floor bedroom into a toy room! :) I again begged & pleaded & tried to show Micah all the reasons my idea was completely brilliant. He was convinced it wasn't necessary & things were just fine as they were. But then after unloading a U-haul full of stuff into my mom's house & helping my sister & her husband move some of their stuff into their new house he finally agreed. We picked up the monster of a mattress (NEVER buy a pillow top king size bed by the way) and carried it out the garage, around the front of the house & down through the walk-out entrance of our basement (the beast wouldn't find down the stairs inside the house!) A few hours later we had the house exactly as I wanted it...at least for now! :) Here's a few pictures of the new toy room & the new guest bedroom.

What price did I have to pay for getting my way? Simple...I just had to agree that the dog could sleep on our bed...good thing she's really small! I'm probably going to regret that but oh well, right now all I care about is the fact that I finally got to have something my way - it sure feels great! :)

Canada & back again!

So last week Friday morning my husband, my daughter, and I left on a "vacation" to my mother's house in Lethbridge, AB Canada. The purpose of our trip (at its origin) was to help her pack up as much as possible of her home so that it can be decluttered & shown to potential buyers.

Approximately a week before arrival, my mother decided she would rent a U-haul, pack up a load of stuff, drive the truck to Sioux Center and fly back home. All simple enough in theory. Right? - - WRONG! Oh well, life's full of "fun"-filled non-vacation vacations isn't it?

But anyway, back to the story. So we packed up our little family and headed west. We made excellent time, Alexa was a perfect child, happy & enjoyable the entire way. We arrived in Billings (our stop for the first day) around 4pm their time. We checked into our hotel and decided to find dinner. In hind-sight this would probably be when the trip began its downhill slope but who knows for sure! After searching all over the city for the restaurant Micah had chosen (when in fact it was on the same exit as the hotel) we finally ended up eating a quick meal at a Denny's (not so great) and heading back to our room. Since there was a pool and Alexa loves bath-time we decided to give her the first "pool/swimming" experience of her young life and it was GREAT! :) She was totally confused by the whole thing but had a good time anyway & didn't cry at all! After drying off, we heading back up to the room for bed-time (she typically goes to sleep at 7pm & it was about 7pm in Billings (8pm our time) We put her in her pack-n-play & shut off all the lights...normally she just lays down & goes to sleep - no effort necessary at all- she has been that way since she was about 2 weeks old...9 months later she decides she's had enough! She figured out how to stand up in the pack-n-play & thought that would just be the most fun ever! After almost 2 hours of crying, giggling, talking & screaming the child finally fell asleep! - - Mind you no great naps took place in the car - - she typically takes two 2 hour naps during a day - - but in the car there were about an hour worth of naps taken...and still the child didn't want to sleep. Apparently there was way too much to see & do in this new place!

On Saturday morning we headed for the border & although encountering tons & tons of deer alongside the road & one deer ON the road we made it to the border, got through it, & to my mother's house slick as could be. We immediately put Alexa down for a real nap & went to work on the house.

After three days of packing, lively "discussions" (known as many other names and described as statements of different opinions between interested parties, usually at very loud decibals in heated manners) and many numerous problems solved we were read to load up the now 17ft Uhaul & head to Iowa. (Apparently the 14ft truck we'd originally reserved can only hold 3,000 some lbs -- and when you're packing up a minister's library - - well lets just say that was NOT going to cut it!)

The border went really well - - I think the officer at the border said it best when we told him that we'd been visiting my mother to help her pack her house up & he said "Oh that lady in the Uhaul in front of you?" - -"Yes Sir the crazy lady in the Uhaul" I answered to which he replied "Yeah I noticed no one was willing to ride with her!" :)

We had left my mother's house around 1:30pm & had at first been planning to get as far as Great Falls, MT. When we got there so quickly we decided it was best to keep going since the forecast called for snow from Tuesday night through Thursday in the area. We quickly discovered however, that the snow/rain mixture was already blanketing the area. After traveling on several treacherous roads we finally reached Billings, MT at around 8pm on Tuesday night. The snow had turned to rain when we reached I-90 & the rain had even started to let up. We figured that no matter what the night would bring we wanted to get some sleep so we checked into the motel. After a tense evening involving several "supper option debates" and people just walking off on their own, we all tucked in for bed. This time it only took about an hour of Alexa babbling before she gave up & got some sleep! (Yeah for the small victories!)

The next morning we had some light snow around the Billings area but once we got on Hwy 212 (the awesome short-cut road) the snow was gone and the roads were great. Other than some light rain off & on we had a smooth trip back arriving in Sioux Center around 9pm so Mom could go see her house.

Despite several stressful situations & heated "discusions" we all made it back in one peace thankfully. What have I learned from the last six days? SEVERAL lessons. I have learned that different people have VERY strong opinions about things and this can cause many heated debates. Every family has their own way or method to their madness. If you don't understand someone else's method do NOT assume its wrong, just respect that its not your own & DO NOT tell them to change to your way - - accept the difference & live your own life. Do not judge what you do not know or understand. I have found that I do not handle very well having my way of life critiqued and criticised by those who do not understand it. I have also learned that certain people simply feel that they have to state their opinion frequently & bluntly & if you don't agree with it or do it, they feel you've hurt their feelings.

I have also found that events in life can dramatically alter a person. This alteration can affect not only daily activities, habits, and situations, but also personalities. For those around the people undergoing the alteration a word to the wise - tread carefully, everything & anything can cause conflict.

I have also found that when people do not take the 100% open mind approach to hearing each other out things can easily get misunderstood & blown way out of proportion. I have also found that stating the way YOU feel can cause many hurt feelings & animosity. Beware!

Please do not misunderstand me. I LOVE my family & my mother. I truly do. I guess its just hard to see the difference in how things are now & how they used to be. It truly shows how much influence one person can have over other people's lives. It honestly makes the relationships in life that are left behind change drastically & sometimes the easiest & most open of relationships can become the most stressful & difficult ones to maintain. Thankfully we have the grace of God to see us through. Truly amazing!

That's probably enough for tonight - - its been an exhausting week & its still not even over yet...

When it rains, it pours...or should I say snows?

Wow this was an interesting weekend to say the least! Of course typically when I have a great & totally fun weekend planned things usually fall through or change or inevitably everything else falls on the same weekend & we end up missing out on one fun thing to do another. That all I could deal with. This weekend however, it was one fiasco after another!

First of all was the snow storm. Fabulous! -- Wasn't the first day of spring on March 21st? I do believe it was...shouldn't that mean NO MORE SNOW? Of course not, we live in Iowa after all...where it snows any day of the year! So between blowing snow, rain, and sleet, we made the wise choice not to go to the hockey night in Sioux City on Saturday night. Total bummer. In an effort to salvage the night we invited our friends to come to our house because of course I love to play hostess & what better way to spend a wintery Saturday night than spending time with friends?
The spur of the moment planning ended up being okay as most people's other plans were cancelled as well so we had a pretty good turnout. We of course played a game called Settlers. (Technically Settlers of Catan I believe but who really cares right?)
Apparently we can not play this game with competitive people...or at least those who I would call "game crazy" fanatics. They seem to take it oh so literally and totally just play to win, not have fun! UGH! I myself can be competitive, especially when its in a game with family members, but when you're playing with friends isn't the point just to have a good time? Why on earth is it always about picking on the person in the lead or picking on the same people EVERY move just because? Enough already! And why, oh why do people fee the need to explain their every move? We don't care, after all - ITS JUST A GAME - if they want to justify it that is more than fine but how about doing it in their head instead of out loud...okay? :) Its like putting a rotten vegetable or fruit in with a bunch of perfectly good ones, it spoils the whole group! - - When one does it the rest feel like they have to & because this competitive vicious cycle & it stops being any fun! Oh well, we all survived and thanks to good friends we were able to still have some fun that night.

Then Sunday came. The weather was still nasty out so almost all area churches cancelled. That meant being cooped up at home even longer! At least we'd invited a few couples over for Sunday dinner. That at least came with no fiascos. However, Sunday night was a different story. I was on the schedule to bring juice & cookies for the after church refreshment line. No big deal right? Wrong! So I remembered & the other lady forgot. Again not a big deal, the kids just can't go grab like 4 cookies as they typically do. :) - - Before church starts I can't find any coffee grounds which I need to make coffee (which needs to be started before the service to be ready in time) Well, thankfully that arrived just a few minutes before the service started so another "crisis" avoided. (Don't want those avid coffee drinkers upset!) :).
Then the fun began. Alexa, having a nasty cold, was not willing to sit quietly in church (not a shock, I know). So instead she'd every once in a while let out a sort of scream/grunt thing that was shrill & loud! After two of those during the first song of the song service we had had enough & I needed to take her out. My husband seemed to think she could just go in nursery, but hello, she has a nasty cold & that's just not right nor nice to let her get the other kids sick! So I just sat in the entryway with her. At first this was fine with her. Plenty to see, Mom's right there, fun fun...but then she got bored & tired, after all it was almost bedtime. So I give her her bottle & her blanket & cuddle & rock her while she eats, hoping she'd fall asleep. She was super tired at this point & kept rubbing her eyes but no sleep would come & she's had enough. She's barely able to breathe through her stuffy nose, she's cranky & tired, and she's teething. Not a good combination. Bawl-fest here we come! After walking all over & finally getting her calmed down, church was almost over & it was time to get the coffee, juice & cookies ready. I set Alexa on the floor of the kitchenette playing with the lid to the cookie container (she couldn't have been happier). The other lady joins me, opens the serving curtain, & takes the cookies & napkins out front to set on the table. I, trying to hurriedly poor the juice & get cups out accidentally hit the closed & still sealed gallon of apple juice with my elbow sending it plummeting to the floor below (maybe a whole 4 feet). It creates a large THUD and both the top & bottom of the container burst open. A gallon of apple juice is now a lake on the floor of the kitchenette & my daughter is screaming at the top of her lungs, partly due to the scary loud noise it made & partly due to the fact that she is now covered in apple juice. Where is Daddy when you need him? Talking away with friends, oblivious to the fact that perhaps his wife & daughter could use his help despite the fact that half the church can hear her crying! Thankfully our church has a lot of kind & generous people, & while one gal grabbed Alexa & helped her, another rushed to get paper towels & help soak up the mess...because of course there aren't any towels around when you need them! Eventually the mess was cleaned, the juice was all poured & the kitchen was returned to normal. We all seemed to survive. I joined the rest of the people standing around visiting only to find that my husband still was not holding my daughter but had let a couple little girls take her to go play - - again I apologize to their mothers if they get the nasty cold in their house! Silly man doesn't seem to realize that when a child has a nasty cold its best to not let her give it to others!

Eventually she of course started crying & they brought her to me, after all at this point she's about an hour past bedtime, and not only is she still she's teething, cranky, & tired, but she's also sticky as can be from the apple juice. Home to a bath & bed time we go! So much for having a relaxing, easy-going, fun-filled weekend, instead we got one of DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA! Lets just hope next weekend goes much better, after all we have an 18 hour drive ahead of us. Alberta here we come! Are we crazy? Perhaps!

Babies, babies, and more babies..

Wow does life seem like its all about babies right now. And I'm not just talking about the cute & cuddly ones either.

Everywhere I look around me there are babies. A dear friend of mine and my daughter's babysitter, had a baby girl 3 weeks ago. Another dear friend just had a baby boy this week. My sister is expecting her third child & first baby boy in about two months.

My own little baby thinks she's big stuff now & she tries to convince her mom that she's growing up & is a big girl at only 9 months old! Silly girl learned how to crawl only about 3 weeks ago & already wants to stand on her own, walk around furniture, & attempts to walk with just one of my fingers instead of two! She has also learned, however, how to turn on the water works when she doesn't want to do something or have something done to her. Oh how smart such small children can be! Anyway - here are a few pictures of my baby...

Then of course, there are the adults who act like babies. I have several of these in my life but I probably better not name them! Lets just say when they don't hear things they like, the walk away or do a really good job of using their selective hearing ability. But then again, if we're honest, lets face it, we all do act like a baby from time to time. After all isn't it tempting to think if we just throw a big old hissy fit that we might just get what we want or get things our way? If only. I would love for life to be that simple. Unfortanetly, or perhaps quite fortunately, we can't just stomp our feet or cry our eyes out or do any other child-like tendency & pitch a fit to get our way. We have to accept that first all things might not ever go "our" way - - unless of course "our" way is the Lord's way.

One of the hardest lessons in life and one I struggle with almost daily is that truth - unless we align ourselves with His will for our lives we will never get things "our" way. For those of you planners out there like me, how often do we figure everything out perfectly, make this neat pretty plan only to have "life" throw us a curve ball? If you're me, FREQUENTLY! :) And that's okay. I've learned that some of the best things if life were the curve balls thrown into my perfect little plans.

If I have learned anything the last year it is that no matter what happens in our lives, good or bad, the only thing we can plan on & count on is that the Lord is in control and that nothing, I repeat NOTHING, happens apart from His will. Amazing & completely calming thought isn't it?

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Bad Day...

Do you ever seem to just have a bad day? Its so frustrating when something small gets your spirits or your train of thought in a depressing or negative spot and no matter how hard you try you just can't change it. Its the kind of day that if what you felt inside was the same as the weather it would be rainy and gloomy all day.

Last week I had one of those days. It started off normal as can be & was all fine & dandy until I went to break time at work. Usually the conversations are your typical break time topics ranging anywhere from the latest TV shows to people's kids, to anything in between. Pretty much all topics are acceptable and most can be truly entertaining. If you show up at break you take what you get - no real ground for complaining - after all its your choice to be there. - (right?)

Well when I went to break that day I had no idea that the topic would effect me so much. (Nor did I have any idea what the topic would be.) That day conversations started with the latest news/updates & that quickly got the ball rolling - a woman in the community (whose husband was my high-school history teacher) had experienced a massive heart attack earlier in the week and was, from what I gathered, alive but still in the hospital receiving treatment. This "update" quickly sparked a conversation around the room on various people's experiences regarding those they'd known who had experienced heart attacks & survived them.

I sat frozen in my chair. I had totally not bargained or expected that topic on that day. I didn't know what to do. After all it has been 6, almost 7 months, since my father passed away from a sudden massive heart attack. I should be more than able to deal with this type of topic right? That's what I would have thought and what I tried to keep telling myself.

I sat there staring down into my coffee cup repeating (in my head) "you're okay - its no big deal, it is what it is, its been over 6 months you're fine, you've accepted what has happened, deal with this, be an adult & just look up & you'll be fine."

I really don't know much about the details of the rest of the break time conversation. I know I heard others speak & I know I kept sitting there. At first I had thought about just standing up & leaving but I totally did not want to draw any attention to myself & if I tried to move I figured I'd probably just trip or fall or something totally embarrassing like that. So I just sat there. I must have blinked over a thousand times a minute to keep myself together. I tried thinking about anything & everything to stop my train of thoughts but somehow I couldn't. I just sat there with my head screaming what my mouth couldn't (or what I wouldn't let it scream) "why couldn't I have a story like that to tell - - why couldn't he have survived, what makes all those other people so special that they lived through a massive heart attack but he had to die?"

Oh, you do not have to worry about me - I know the answers to my questions - It was the Lord's time for him to go - it had been set before he ever took his first breath. I know this truth, I believe this truth, and I have accepted this truth. My heart, however, still aches for one more hug, one more smile, one more conversation with my father.

You probably need to realize as you read this that my father was not just my Dad, but he was one of my best friends. There is next to nothing that he did not know about me. I was one of those crazy people who would come home from a night out with friends or from a date & I'd run to my parents room, plop down on the end of their bed, (waking them up of course) and proceed to tell them everything about my night. When they moved these conversations did not stop - they simply transitioned to long phone calls or skype conversations. Everyday on my maternity leave I would sit on my computer & have a conversation (or multiple) with my Dad on skype.

Anyway - by the grace of God I was able to choke my tears & pain down long enough to get through break, walk out of the room & make it to the bathroom before my gut, my head, and my heart exploded & I literally had a total bawl-fest. It was like the moment that first tear snuck by I had lost any chance of holding it together. After a few moments I was able to compose myself & make it back to my desk but from that point on my day was shot. I spent the rest of that day, that night, and even the next morning just sulking in my grumpy state. It really sucks when as much as I know I "make my own weather" (from "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People") that I can control how I feel, I simply didn't feel like I could choose to let go of my sour mood.

Its days like those, the really "bad" days, that I am so thankful for my darling little girl. She's a great daughter & an amazing little girl - I couldn't have asked for a better child. She is typically not cranky but an incredibly happy little girl & best of all she sleeps 12 hours a night! :) One thing she is not, however, is a cuddly child. I can't seem to understand it considering I am a total "cuddly" person. I absolutely love hugs & cuddle time. I even find myself going into her room at night, picking her up & cuddling with her (while she stays sleeping) to get my "fix" of cuddle time with her! - - I know I'm crazy but I promise she stays sleeping the whole time and if she wakes at all its just to open her eyes, look at me, and the she goes right back to sleep - (she already knows her mom's crazy).

From now on when I have a bad day I have decided I'm just going to look at this picture and remember how great my little girl is - after all how can anyone be made when they see this face grinning up at them?

Now I'm guessing by looking at this picture you'd figured out that what she's standing by is indeed a toliet but in my defense I couldn't stop her from pulling herself up & standing by it nor could I resist taking a picture of that sweet face looking up at me! Sorry to those of you who find it "offensive" or "gross"

From Party Poopers to Mixers to Places to call home

Why are there some people who seem determined to ruin good times? Is it honestly because they simply can't break out of their bubble, their shell, their comfort zone, or whatever else you want to call it? Or is it more because they have to have things exactly their way & do not like any deviation from that way? I wish I knew.

I myself am a person who has a hard time "coming out" of my shell. I tend to be rather self-conscious and only open up one of two ways. Either I'm super nervous & I start rambling only to say way too much and make a fool out of myself or I truly feel like those I'm with are my friends and I am comfortable with them which allows me to freely make a fool of myself. Being this way has led me to dislike things such as large group activities, spot-lights or stage events, and most of all mixers. However, just because I dislike these things and would 100% not choose to do them in front of strangers does NOT mean I'd ruin a fun game around my friends! After all, aren't our friends the people we are supposed to be ourselves around? And what is more "being yourself" than being willing or able to make a fool out of yourself in order for everyone to have a good time?

Anyway, Don't you just 'love' mixers as much as I do? Sense the sarcasm. That's because I truly do totally, completely dread them. Mixers usually involve one of two things-
1 - Putting yourself out there to get to know new people in embarrassing or odd ways through the use of games. Don't get me wrong I love new & exciting games. Especially ones that truly are hilarious and or challenging. But I personally think that any games which are totally out of my comfort zone (i.e. embarrassing, odd, humiliating) are only supposed to be played with my friends, not total strangers! I mean after all, who else are you supposed to look like a fool in front of if not your friends?

or 2 - through those fabulous pre-set questions - "Tell us your name, how old you are, where you're from and something no one else knows about you..." SERIOUSLY? Whatever variation the questions are two are almost always included, your name (duh) and where you're from. Why is this a main question in every group mixer? I seriously hate this question. This question is not easy to answer because it to me it can be interpreted many ways. Are they asking where I was born? Where I lived the first years of my life? Where I've lived the most? Where I live now? Come on now people, its not like these questions all have the same answer! (at least not for me!)

I for one, do not have a set answer to that question. Each way it can be interpreted is a different answer for me. Undoubtedly when I answer the question with an "I don't know where I'm from" I end up getting another question like "well, where do your parents live?" or "where do you live now?" or "why don't you know?" Then I have to go into a long explanation of why I live in X but was born in Y but spent the beginning of my life in Z and lived the longest in A but now live in B and oh yeah my parents live in C... as you can see it gets pretty complicated! So if I ever run into any of you who don't know me or want to have a "mixer" please read on so you know the answers to the "typical" questions & come up with some new ones, okay? This perhaps is also why I plan to never move again!

Just so you know/realize what I'm really talking about...here's a recap of all my moves from my first days until now. I was born in Sibley, IA, but at 2 months old I was moved to Napa, CA (not that I complained during that move!) until I was 5 years old. Just before my 5th birthday we moved from California back to Iowa where I lived in Rock Valley until I started college. (That move I complained about but can you blame me,..California to Iowa? seriously who does that!)

When I graduated from high school I decided that as I'd watched each of my siblings move away to go to school I really didn't like people leaving & wanted to stay close to my parents so I moved only 20 minutes away & went to Dordt in Sioux Center. After only a semester there my parents decided that Dad had to take the call (he was a minister) to a church in Lethbridge, Alberta - in CANADA - not 20 minutes away but more like a 20 hour drive! Okay so its only 18 hours but still its not "close by" like I wanted! Apparently I had little to say about it because by May the house was packed up & off they went. I then had to find a place to live once my freshman year of college was over - not like I could go "home" again like most people! So I moved into my first apartment in Sioux Center. I lived there a whopping 8 months or so before my roommate moved home & I had to find a cheaper place to live. Micah found me a basement apartment which was affordable so I jumped on it & moved in - - after discovering I really didn't like having to walk through the older woman's kitchen & living room to get to the basement door where I had no kitchen of my own and certainly didn't have much privacy I moved again (after only six months) to another basement apartment. This one came equipped not only with a private entrance (that actually locked!) but a heated garage stall, a kitchen, and tons of square footage! It was finally a place I felt like I could call home!

Then when Micah & I got married 8 months later there was NO way I was moving! We stayed there past the 1 year anniversary of my moving in and right up until May of 2006. At this point Micah, my husband, decided he wanted to please those in his life (other than me) and agreed to go to Vet School which meant "we" had to move to Ames, Iowa. I say "we" because after purchasing a trailer home (not "trailerish", like you might imagine or are picturing in your head right now - I was insistent on that) and moving our stuff down there so I could start my new job, Micah remained in Sioux Center working and we saw each other only on the weekends for about two months until he finally came down to Ames and found a part time job to do before school started.

After 4 months of living in Ames and a whole week and a half of vet school, Micah decided he did not want to live other people's dreams for his life & instead wanted to make his own plan for his/our life so he quit vet school and we headed back to Sioux Center.

Only at this point we only had our trailer in Ames and no place to live in Sioux Center. So what did we do? We moved in with his parents and siblings.

It took about 6 weeks of living in an upstairs bedroom before we started renting the old Dordt swine farm house. Let me tell you - that place was a real beauty! - Definitely spacious as long as you didn't mind sharing your home with mice, wind, and spiders! We lived there about 9 months before we bought our first house! Most people think we're crazy but we now live only 4 houses from Micah's parents.

We have been living on the Middleberg blacktop for almost two years and loving almost every minute of it! I have absolutely no plans to ever MOVE again, expand, remodel, & redecorate plans but definitely no moving plans! Especially after watching and helping my sister Sarah & my mother build a house together - I've decided I am completely content to live right where we are! So now you know all my moves & you can come up with your own answer to the "where I'm from" question. Hopefully Alexa will thank me someday for being able to always know her answer to that question!

Anyway I think that's enough of a tangent for me to go off on for today. Perhaps again another time.