Friday night and feeling like I should be working..

This font is Trebuchet.. what is that?

So, I am watching TV but I feel like I should be doing something more productive.. like packing, or working. For the next week I will be packing and working.. packing and working.. I should say working and packing.. working and packing. Mostly working - is what I should be doing.

What are you doing on Friday night?

I'm wondering if I'm a normal 26 year old married woman.. should I be out, doing something exciting?

Tell me about your most recent Friday night.. I'm curious.

House

I have two things to talk about..
1) Don't you just love the show "House"? I really enjoy his dry, witty sarcasm. I hope to never be a jerk like him but man alive is it written well!

2) We are buying a HOUSE!!! We are so stoked. Last Sunday we went house shopping with our real estate agent, Terry. She took us to several houses we liked but we fell in love with one in particular house. With the time crunch upon us (I had to go home, pack and fly away to Reno again) we decided that we wanted to make an offer! This was a huge step and really exciting but also a little scary. (I've never spent that kind of money before!)

So, Terry went to her office and got the paperwork pulled together, we came home and I packed.. then we met Terry at the Airport Way - Sheri's - had some coffee and signed our lives away.. I mean signed the offer paperwork. I think we were probably some of her easiest clients EVER :) just guessing. Anyway, they counteroffered and we accepted their counter on Wednesday. Yesterday (Saturday) we went and watched the inspector do his thing.. He gave the house a "clean bill of health" which we were pretty certain of anyway. Now we just have to wait on the financing part of things and in about a month (give or take a few days) we will have our very own house!! Micah and I are SO excited, I hope we don't drive everyone nuts with all of our house talk... please give us grace :)

It has been a fabulous weekend home talking about house stuff.. AND we got to go meet Maddox. He is really cute! It is fun to see Kyle and Emily jumping into this new life of parenthood. From what I saw they are doing a great job of working as a team and loving on their new little guy. Way to go Mellanders!

Well, I gotta go get packing so I can fly to Reno.. one more week and then I will (mostly) be home! Soon to be in our NEW Home!

Don't you just love Hymns?

I feel like so much is happening.. and I'm in a bit of a whirlwind.. this hymn came to mind when I was reading the other morning. God is so good to meet us where we are.

BE STILL, MY SOUL
"Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine."

Thanks for reading :)

More happening than I can keep up with!

The superbowl is this weekend.. in Florida.. and I will be in Florida.. but I will not be paying $$$ to go see the superbowl! Isn't that crazy? My first trip to Florida - ever - and I happen to be going at the same time as the superbowl!

Anyway.. Just so you all know my schedule for the next few weeks..
Feb 3rd - I fly to Florida for training for my new job (less than 24 hours after my old job is done)
Feb 6th - I fly from Florida to Reno for more training
Feb 9th - I fly home to spend time with hubby, go to church, hopefully see my friends, do laundry
Feb 12th - I fly to Reno for another week of training
Feb 16th - home for the weekend
Feb 19th - to Reno
Feb 23rd - home.. to start working!
Mar 3rd - to Pasedena CA for some even that I know nothing about.

Did anyone notice that I will be gone for Valentine's Day?!?!? what were the parent-in-laws thinking?!

I'll be fine. I know Micah and I will make it through this just fine.. but I will miss him.

*Please pray for us - that we will communicate well "long distance marriage" isn't the ideal set-up
*Pray for me - that I will enjoy and be a blessing to my in-laws while I live with them for 3 weeks.
*Pray for my soon-to-be-former-boss (Shawn) that his business will flourish and that he will give glory to God
*Pray for my new job - that I will be a hard worker that excels at what I am given to do - for the glory of God

Thanks so much for all your love & prayers..
friends are awesome!

Since October...

Okay.. so things have happened since the month of October. I will try to get my life on this blog so that nobody is wondering too much :)

November:
What I remember about it was that we spent Thanksgiving with some of my family. We gathered at my aunt & uncle's house in Oregon City. I think there were like 18 people there.. family and some "outsiders" j/k.. I mean friends. The food was great.. and there was SO much of it. Much to be thankful for.. oh I'm jumping back to October for a second: Micah was hired on at the School he had been subbing for.. that means that he has medical benefits and that saves us almost $300 dollars per month! AND that means we now have dental! I'm stoked. Can you tell? I love the dentist. Do you?

Moving on..
December:
Went really fast.
We put up a tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and we hardly had time to enjoy it. We never got to see our friend's decorations.. it just seems that we were too busy! Now.. the question is, can I remember what we were so busy doing?
We had a Christmas celebration with my immediate family at Seth's house in Hillsboro - all 3 of my brothers and their "women" he he.. sounds funny. But it is easier than saying: My brother and his wife, my other brother and his fiance' and my other brother and his girlfriend! Do you see why I just say their "women"?
My parents were there too. It was so much fun to see everyone.. we were just starting to exchange gifts and the power went out! (Apparently someone thought it was a great idea to put a bunch of oil near a transformer.. so when the transformer blew the oil had to burn up before anyone could get the power going again!) So we opened presents in the dark.. lit by candles and flashlights. I loved it!
We drove down to Micah's parents' house in Reno for a week.. it was a lot of fun getting to hang out with his brother Sean some more. He usually doesn't hang out too much - I hope he knows that we had fun with him! His dad's dad was also there: Grandad Wayne. I love this ol' guy. I connect with him and we have fun - even if you have to yell for him to hear you. It was really good to see him and I wish we could see him more often!

December 2006 - January 2007:
(New Years Eve fits in both months so I had to make a new section for it.)
Dusty & Bethany and Micah & I all went to the Mellanders' house in Canby for a party. We played games and ate way too much snack food; we watched the ball drop on TV (which I have never understood); we were up until about 4:30am and then we had a "slumber party" - which we have been trying to plan for months. It was a lot of fun. We have excellent friends.

January: While in Reno during the Christmas week Micah's dad made mention of there being a job that I could do (from home) while working for his business: www.faith-based-solutions.com
We had told him several times that we wouldn't move to Reno to work for him (because Micah's career is the point - I can work wherever - so, where he goes I will follow!). This talk of working from home was new to me and so my interest was peaked. We got home and after the new year started and I couldn't get this off my mind I decided to call Mike and get some more details. It took several days to get in contact with him (he is a really busy guy). But we finally had a chance to talk and discuss things.. Micah and I talked and prayed.. I talked to the employee (Lauren) that I would be working with mostly.. Micah and I talked and prayed.. I talked to my friends and they all prayed and encouraged me to really consider it.. I talked to my parents and they really encouraged me to really consider it.. I felt total peace and excitement about this new opportunity that would work so well with the "unknown" that we have concerning Micah's career (where we will end up because of it). It seemed to answer prayers that I had praying for months concerning my current job. I couldn't stop thinking about it.. and talking about it.. and praying about it! After all of this TALKING on my part.. and some listening to many wise people I made the decision to go for it! Then came the overwhelming job of telling my current boss (of 4.5 years) that I would be leaving in 3 weeks! I can't tell you how God gave me peace and it was really easy.. I can tell you that God seemed to be working in my boss and seems to have given HIM the peace that he needed to get through the change and move forward in hiring someone to replace me. I have loved my job. I have loved working with Shawn. I pray and hope that his business will grow and succeed in ways that he can't even imagine.
But I am moving into a new chapter in my life, I am so excited and for all that I have written - I feel like I just relived 3 months... this blog has got to END!

I know I should blog..

but I can't think of anything to blog about.. sorry.

My name

HowManyOfMe.com

There is: 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I have always really liked my name.. and I'm glad that I'm unique (just like everyone else!)

In loving memory...

On Wednesday, October 4th, my dear friend's daddy died. Jerry McMahon was a great man. More than that, he was a man that was totally in love with Jesus. Sold out to sharing that love and that grace to anyone that he met. His wife is an example of the gentle and quiet spirit that I am earnestly striving for. Most people will try not remember the last year of Jerry's life while he was taken by cancer, but I will. During the last year I have been amazed & blessed to see how Jerry has responded to all kinds of physical failings with nothing but praise for God. He clung to what he knew was true, and sometimes made it seem like it was easy. I know I have no idea what it was like to watch her husband suffer but what I saw in Cindy was equally amazing. She quietly watched, faithfully loved, encouraged daily, prayed with perseverence and trusted that God had the best in mind for both of them. Jerry is now in the best place possible. We will miss him for the time we remain here..

Like anyone could even know that!

So..
I have obviously been too busy to do much blogging..
On 8/17 I dropped Micah off at the airport - much saddness - and knew I wouldn't see him again for 10 days :(
I assumed I would have much time for sitting around and waiting for the hours to pass by.. God had a different plan.

The 18th I had planned a sleepover for the high school girls from our church at our house.. that was entertaining and draining (to say the least) but I was most definitely occupied and no time for being lonely.

The 19th was spent at the mall with the high school girls and at church that evening and at the Ahrendt's even later that evening.

The 20th I went on a bike ride with the Ahrendt's and we picked a bunch of blackberries.. then I went home and talked to my mom while I made & baked a cobbler.. which I totally over-cooked and it came out a TAR consistancy! not very appetizing :)

The 21st WORK and off to the Cherry's (Dusty's aunt & uncle) celebrating the birthdays of two great guys - Chuck & John! Excellent dinner and company.. we looked at Chuck & Kristie's wedding pictures.. ALL of them :)

The 22nd WORK and then the eve was low key - Bethany and I drove to Tigard for Shane Co. to clean and polish our rings.. so sparkly!

The 23rd WORK and then the evening was spent having dinner with a family from my church - the Deckers. I love this family, Micah was bummed that he wasn't around for this.. We played a board game from the 80's called Therapy. It was a lot of fun!

The 24th WORK, and then I walked all over Oregon City with my good friend Katie.. ate yummy Teriyaki and did some more walking around.. Have you ever noticed how much UP hill there is in Oregon City? My goodness!

The 25th WORK, and then I went with the Ahrendt's to the Mellanders and hung out.. ate yummy pasta.. good times.

The 26th I went on a bike ride with Bethany and then came home and waited for my family to show up. My oldest brother, Josh, came and hung out with me for a couple hours.. he took me to Gladstone and showed me a cool swimming hole that I didn't know existed.. and then we went to Oregon City to my aunt's house for a family get-together. We all met my cousin Adams's wife and her family.. It was a beautiful night with a gorgeous view.. and of course good food. My parents brought me back to my house and they stayed the night with me.

The 27th my parents and I went to my aunt (different aunt)'s house for breakfast.. that was good. Then we went back to my house and changed to go to a wedding down near the Donald/Aurora exit at a state park (I can't remember the name of the park). That was good and interesting.. then I came back home and tried to take a nap for a while.. cleaned house a little.. watched a movie about a preacher in Washington DC from the Roosevelt presidency.. Went to the airport and picked up my darling husband.. and got home around 11:45!!!
(I think I cleaned out the pan with the Tar in it on the 29th - in case you were wondering.. what a mess!)

SO. I was busy. AND I wore myself out so that I could sleep well. That was the trick to not going crazy without Micah. I am SO glad to have him back home and I praise God for his safe return. I know that I could live without him but I am so thankful for the time that God gives us together and I pray for MANY MANY more years!
I love you sweetie!

I didn't literally fall off the face of the earth!

Hello..
Yeah, I'm still alive. I can't believe that I haven't had anything to say for over a month! Okay.. anyone who knows me knows that I have been saying plenty but that I just haven't written it in a blog :)

Tonight.. it is a Friday. I find myself with a weekend with no plans (other than things like eating, sleeping, talking.. the essentials). The Ahrendts are out of town camping with the WHOLE family (Dusty's family is huge in case you were unaware). The Mellanders are busy with all kinds of things.. Tre lives in Lincoln City and is probably working his tail off.. Venessa lives in Colorado (wherever that is!).. My other best friend lives in Bandon.. Becky is probably doing something adventurous in AK.. my parents are in Florence.. I have no idea what the Bod's are doing.. (it's late at night so if I forgot you please don't be offended).

So.. a whole summer weekend with nothing to do. I hope I don't waste it!

mmm.. not sure if I agree

You're a Weasel!

Cunning and conniving, the only thing darker than your motives is your
reputation. People shy away from you, consider you slimy, and warn their children not
to make friends with people like you. A rare few have even threatened to skin you
alive. The good news is that you're clever enough to keep away from others for the most
part. You are most popular when screeching.


Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Birds of paradise and Flaming Goats?

Yeah.. that's right, two updates in one day! Can you handle it?

So after the graduation party we went to Applebees (it took FOREVER to get a table), the next day my mother made breakfast for us and Micah's parents. Then we had a big ol' BBQ that afternoon.. Praise God for fabulous weather! Lots of our friends and family joined us for this time of hanging out and some got to see our house for the first time. It was fun.. but after this weekend.. I have to tell you that we were both ready for a vacation!

On that Wednesday we left for Kauai. Kauai is the Garden Isle and is gorgeous.. we took lots of pics but most of them didn't capture the breathtaking beauty of this island where God seemed determined to show off.


This is at the B&B we stayed at our first 2 nights.. about 4 miles inland.. really nice.

This is the ocean view from the resort we were at for the other 4 nights






us by the pool...










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Waterfalls...























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Beaches..


Micah trying to catch the "big one"
(wave, that is)

Me.. trying to catch a little one.. and trying to keep my swimsuit :)



(above)In the distance is the "forbidden island". As we understand it, you have to be Hawaiian to go there but they sell tours $$$ so you can go and boat around it (you still can't go ON the island).

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Tropical fishes..























these fish were after me..
can't you see it in their eyes?









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Birds of Paradise.. what does that make you think of.. is it this?

or these..

Chickens! Chickens EVERYWHERE!

Legend has it that years ago when Mongoose were being imported to Kauai to take care of the bird population the man that was unloading the crate onto the dock got bit by the mongoose and knocked it into the bay.. they have never tried to get rid of the chickens since.. they don't belong to anyone but you are not supposed to feed them. If you want to catch one and take it home for dinner they don't seem to care..

Micah and I were talking and he said the Rooster is the "bird of paradise" instead of the Flaming goat. ???? What??? I laughed really hard and then figured out that he said Flamingo but I just didn't hear it right! So.. there you have it.
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The following pictures are of our trip to the Wiamea Canyon (I think I spelled it right).
Breathtaking.
















































the beach is that way..














Fondly remembered as "Puu Your Mom Your Mom Lookout"

(We don't know what Hinahina really means..)






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Hummers make good fire trucks!








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ON TO THE LUAO!





mmm.. the food was so good..


















Yeah.. I looked hot in that hula outfit!
Oh wait.. that isn't me! Who is the chick with my husband?














What is she doing? What is HE doing?
He got called up to dance.. if you know Micah at all you know that he was really embarassed.. so I took pictures :) Like a good wife..












That's me. Whiter and slightly more skin covered than on that hula girl!

Less than 1/12 of a year ago..

my hubby graduated from College! I was and am very excited about this.. but I was too busy being in Hawaii to blog about it :)

The graduation from Multnomah was a much anticipated event. Micah seemed to have a hard time getting really excited about it.. as if Dr Lockwood was going to pull a prank on him and he would get up there and they would not actually give him the degree. He walked off the stage and his adoring wife was trying to get a good picture of his grin (and it was a real grin). I got a decent picture but was in trouble because I was right in the way and a guy was telling me I had to move while I was trying to get a shot of Micah.. and then the other picture I got has someone else in it.. they were trying to duck through my picture but I got their face nice and clear. I have no idea who he is. Anyway. Graduation was exciting. I am so proud of my husband for working hard and getting through school!

We have a lot of awesome friends too.. they showed up and ate cookies to show their friendship :)


My camera takes forever to actually take the picture.. sorry you guys had to hold that pose for so long :)

Emily & Bethany were there.. although it looks like they weren't able to get into a group photo with the star of the night ;)

Molly's parents.. and us

Cami dressed up like a graduate too! (He did actually graduate)

Micah's parents were there too but the one picture I took of them is NO Good.. so I am hoping to get one from their camera.. I'll update this blog entry with that picture when I get it :)

Tuesday is my Friday!

After a good but full weekend of Micah's graduation.. (I will put some pics up soon)I am back to work.. but a 2 day week isn't that hard to get in to!

How often do I get to work a 2 day week? Not since I started here.. I think. Whatever.. I am so excited! Micah and I leave for Hawaii tomorrow and that makes today my Friday! I look forward to getting a little less pastey white, reading some good books, spending time with my hubby, swimming, driving around in a little car :) relaxing! It was brought up to me by a sweet lady, Kelly, that we should all plan a trip to Hawaii for someday in like 5 years.. So, everyone start saving your pennies, nickels and dimes! Do they have kid hotels, you know like the places you can leave your pets if you are gone for a week? J/K hopefully within 5 years our kids (that we may or may not have amongst us) will learn to LOVE staying at their grandparents'!

Look at that.. I don't have kids and I'm already trying to pawn them off to someone else! Hmmm.. how did I get here? Umm.. Hawaii! Thanks to D&B and K&E for taking care of our puppy while we are gone - we greatly appreciate it!

I guess I should get to work now.. its just hard cause it is Friday!

Sorry if I make you jealous...

Gotta get outta here!

In case you are curious.. we are going to Hawaii!!! to be more specific.. Kauai!! I have never been and am in serious desire of a vacation. In celebration of Micah's graduation we were given some funds to go on a trip. Praise God we were able to find good deals on everything so it has been made possible for us to go to the Garden Island. I am so excited!

Hmmm...

You scored as Michelle Dessler. You can kick any guys' butt and escape when being held hostage. But you have bad relationships with co-workers, sometimes becoming to personal with them. You don't mind being put in danger, but you can't stand it when a loved one is. You are compassionate. David Palmer 65% Michelle Dessler 65% Jack Bauer 55% Kim Bauer 35% Sherry Palmer 30% Chloe O'Brien 25% Tony Almieda 15% Which 24 Charcater Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Hmmm...

You scored as Michelle Dessler. You can kick any guys' butt and escape when being held hostage. But you have bad relationships with co-workers, sometimes becoming to personal with them. You don't mind being put in danger, but you can't stand it when a loved one is. You are compassionate. David Palmer 65% Michelle Dessler 65% Jack Bauer 55% Kim Bauer 35% Sherry Palmer 30% Chloe O'Brien 25% Tony Almieda 15% Which 24 Charcater Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

April Chill

Hello to my adoring public I am sorry that I have left you without updates for an entire 11 days!

I have been busy, sick & tired. Work is pretty much the same as always so I won't go into that. I have a cold that is annoying and sent me into a coughing fit on my way home today.. I wasn't sure if I should pull over.. I thought I might just cough until I died or until I couldn't control the vehicle and I would drive off the road. So then when I pulled into my driveway and was still coughing I was so distracted that I locked my keys in my car. Luckily Micah was already home so he came to my rescue when I knocked on the door. So then I was home and coughing.. isn't that awesome?

I love NyQuil.. oops I mean the generic one - because it costs like half what the real thing costs!

Other than all of that I got nothin exciting to say.. man I feel so lame.

is this really me?

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!"You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up.If only your routine didn't always bomb!You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Living Intentional.. thanks God :)

So.. just after commenting on Justin's blog about how hard it is to go to work on Mondays.. and how I have to remember that God has a purpose in my being here (yes I am blogging while at work).. John walks in. (I have changed his name to protect his identity).

John is a 50 something phsychologist who is in the process of evaluating God. He has come and talked with me about God, Jesus, the church on several occasions. He doesn't even ask about his insurance.. just stops in to ask me a question.. always a couple months between visits and ALWAYS really good questions. This man thinks it through!

After the normal pleasantries he said "so, if this doesn't put you on the spot too much I would like to know how do you evaluate whether something is your thought or something that God is telling you?"
(Good thing I had some coffee earlier)
So.. I thought for a second.. and then we discussed it..

After a few minutes of that discussion he said he would have to think on it and that he had another question..

"How involved in everyday life, do you think God is?"
another good one that could go so many directions.. so I thought and then answered as best I could.. and we discussed it and then he thanked me for my time and said goodbye.

My point in all of this is that we can play things off as coincidence but God used this visit from "John" to remind me that He has me where he wants me for right now and that He has a purpose for me during the hours that sometimes I think I'm just making dinner for Micah or I'm just doing laundry or just working or just grocery shopping or just filling up the tank.

Do you ever stop to think that the gas attendant may not have had a single real smile all day? (I've been a gas attendant.. it can be pretty hard) When you pass a memo on to a coworker do you send it with an attitude? When your boss leaves early without any real reason do you have issues with it? (that last one is directed at ME)

Thoughts?