Wow...

Back to Iowa, Back to work.
Yesterday was my first day back to work.. and I was very sad to see in the list of patients was one of my FAVORITE men from the nursing home. He is one of the most "to it" patients there are.. so it is fun to have a conversation with him .. and he is just liked by everyone. I saw that he went into cardiac arrest and was in the CCU ( critical care unit) ... But as I walked by his room he was alert and was reading his news paper like he always did at the nursing home. So tonight while I was waiting for all the dishes, I decided to stop in and say hi. He was a little slow in talking but then he started telling me about when he passed out. He told me he saw a big staircase and he explained the stairs in great detail.. and how he saw Christ at the top.. and the light there was so bright and like no other light he has ever seen. It really gave me shivers... I know many people who where about to die have witnessed this .. but it was so weird hearing it from him. He is going back to the nursing home tomorrow.. so I guess he is good enough to go back :) I guess it is selfish but I am glad he is still living.. he was really a joy to me whenever I worked at the nursing home.

On another note: Iowa is cold. No big news I guess :) I took this picture of my car thermometer last night ! Never ever complain of 40* weather :)



And to end this post.. here are some funny pictures from my phone :)

Another funny movie :)

Missing my nephews

I am on my way back to Iowa. However.. as expected.. my flight was delayed. It makes it a lot better though that they now have free internet so that I can spend my time on it.. there could be more productive things to do.. but oh well! My stay at home was really good. If you are stupid and can't tell.. I love my nephews so much and I am sad that they are growing up without me :( ... oh well. Here is a cute movie of all of them.. don't mind sammy banging little ethan on the head ;)



I also read most of the book "Finding the Will of God" by Bruce K. Waltke. My parents gave it too all my siblings.. so i figured it must be pretty good so I started reading ... and it has been a very good book. I sincerely recommend it to anyone and everyone. I have read 3/4 of it and it has already changed my perspective of how to view God's will in my life. So PLEASE if you can.. buy it or rent it from the library.. it is a very good book and I think it has profound implications for the Christian walk.


Anyways.. I am have a couple more pictures I want to post of the week.. but I have to wait to get my baggage because they are on a flash drive in it! Lets just hope my bags make it to Iowa!! :)

Christmas!

Christmas 2007Christmas 2006



Family get togethers at my house are always very interesting... NEVER A DULL MOMENT! Here are just a couple examples :) Hope you all have a merry Christmas!


Here is the family.. minus Ethan and I ! As you can tell .. Patrick is at the stage where he hates pictures taken ..We started to see if we could put the napkin holders in our eye and keep them there! My dad was the winner :)
Sarah and I enjoying our time together!
WE had these candles on the table that looked like shot glasses.. so our joke was that when they all melted we had to take a shot of hot wax! ( Don't worry.. we are not stupid enough to do that!)
Patrick did not want to go home :(

Found out how to do it!!!

I had to make sure I figured out how to put youtube videos in my blog and now I got it down! Enjoy this song.. its one of my favorite :)

my life is not so bad:)

I realize I have a lot to be thankful for .. ( I know BIG surprise Rachel.)

My church in Tacoma is breaking off and making a new church in Puyallup ( my town). So Sunday evening they are having a Bible study in the book of Acts, until they can get settled in their own church building. Yesterday the Pastor talked about how the Devil tries to tempt/sway people by two different means.. persecution and seduction. He told us how in other countries this is where we see the persecution .. however in America the devil's prime tool is seduction. It's now so easy to see.. especially around the Christmas season.. when we see everyone's need for STUFF. People often think.. oh if I get this for Christmas, I will be really happy. However, you can see the Devil working through this... taking the real view of Christmas and making it into a God-less one. This holiday season.. I admit.. I fall in this trap...but when I really think about it, best Christmas present is being able to spend this time with my family. My nephews never fail to make me smile ... seriously.. they are all at such a fun stage .. I even did manage to get my first smile from little Ethan :) ( who knows .. it probably was gas.. but I say it was a smile!!) Then when you focus on the things that REALLY matter, it is so much easier to get your focus and realize that the season is focused around Christ and what he has done for us.. and how we should be SO thankful for all he has done for us!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by... many changes.. very few regrets.. but overall a VERY good year :) Thank you everyone who played a part in my life this year. Everyone one of you blessed me in many ways.. more than you ever will know :)

Have a merry Christmas :) ---Love you all!

A cow?

Don't worry.. he really does love every minute of being a cow :) 

haha Make up for the lack of pictures lately

Hello Everyone! here are just a couple pictures of my lovely babies! I love them so much!!
The slippers I gave patrick but sammy likes them better!
Me and patrick chilling out
Baby ethan!

haha can you tell this is what sarah really wants for Christmas?

Christmas!

I am finally home!! On Tuesday, as expected .. a flight was delayed and I got to spend 4 extra hours at the Denver airport.. getting home at the ripe hour of 4 am. Thank you to andrew who came and got me!

It has been really good seeing my family, nephews, old co workers, and soon see all my friends! It's amazing how much the boys have grown up... Patrick talks ALL the time, Sammy walks and his personality is SO adorable .. I just want to hold him all day long, and Ethan .. wow.. what a cutie :) I am secretly trying to be the first person that Ethan smiles for .. lets see if it works!!

Tonight I am going Christmas shopping with Rachel..which should be fun! Weird not having to drive a hour for the mall!! And to much of everyone's surprise... I have not even gone to Taco BELL or STARBUCKS! I better get on that :)

Also... Today I got to help sarah with her once a month cooking. Man we cooked at lot. I think we got a little tired so we did not make all 30 meals were were planning to do.. but I we just had 5 or so left!

It's so nice to be home and have warm weather... and not having to warm up Lucy or any car before I can stand to ride in it!!

WEll I hope you all are enjoying your Christmas break.. and time with family and friends :)



Taking care of all my boys at once!
My three little boys!
Little Ethan and I
Merry Christmas!
Ethan is SO tiny!!

TODAY

I AM GOING HOME!!
I get to meet ETHAN FOR THE FIRST TIME! My brother in law is going to get my from the airport ( the rest of my family really does not want to see me so they are forcing the in law to do retrieve me !)... then i am going to get to see my babies (and family!) ! I am so excited to go home for a while... !!!

Hope you all have a blessed Christmas and I love you all

Somethi

Too often we don't realize

What we have until it is gone.

Too often we wait too late to say

"I'm sorry - I was wrong."

Sometimes it seems we hurt the ones

We hold dearest to our hearts;

And we allow foolish things

To tear our lives apart.

Far too many times we let

Unimportant things into our minds;

And then it's usually too late

To see what made us blind.

So be sure that you let people know

How much they mean to you.

Take the time to say the words

Before your time is through.

Be sure that you appreciate

Everything you've got;

And be thankful for the little things

in life that means a lot.

New Post

Well hello everyone :)

Brr. Iowa is COLD. FREEZING. Poor lucy has a hard time getting around on the ice and the snow.. so I try and take good care of the poor little car.

Today I was talking to a man that works at the hospital and he was asking about my life.. and it came up that I graduated from Dordt and I was from Washington. He wondered why I moved back here.. and I told him about school and that good stuff and he asked me if I regretted not moving back to Washington. I confidently could say, no I am so satisfied being here and I know this is where God wants me right now.

It is a wonderful feeling to know that you are where God wants you. However, I often wonder about my life. Now that it is almost perfect, I often forget to thank God for the perfect times. I put him on the back burner.. unless something serious happens I quickly retreat to him for help. I often cringe when I look at my life... not praying so much or making excuses not to do my devotions at night. Thats one think in life I need to work on...

Anyways.... that's that for now.

Right now, as Iowa is ICED over, I feel like I am more pinned to my house. Then it gets really boring here I want to go out and DO something but I can't cuz I dont want to kill myself on the road! However, I am thankful for my friends who come SAVE me and take me around places :)
So on Sat. I decided I was just going to make the best of it and spend that time at my friends house. We decided to make Christmas cookies with decorations then watched one of the best movies ever, The Holiday. Then I just spent the night there because no way was I going to get my car home with a foot of snow on the road! It was really fun and relaxing.. and for the first time this holiday season I felt like Christmas was coming soon.

Anyways, life has been good... even with the snow falling down, it still makes everything so pretty. Sorry for the rambling.. it's more for my sake to get it out of my head ;)

Hope you are all doing well! XOXOXOXO

Iowa is an icecube

I have a new obsession.

GETTING ALL THE ICE OFF OF MY DRIVEWAY. Seriously, it was and just a solid piece of ICE. It really sucked pulling into it, walking on it, or doing anything! So i bought a whole bunch of salt. salted it, then waited a while. Then I spent 2 hours today digging the ice off the drive way and got one and a half sides done. Then today when I got home from school I went at it again!!! It is becoming an obsession to get all the ice off!! My hands have bruses on them from it!!
At least we know that my roommates and I won't be having broken hips or bones from slipping on our driveway!!! ;)

SNOW!!!

Today was the first day I drove in the snow! SCARY!! I had to drive to work or else I would have stayed at home all day!


1st. My street is the last one in Sioux Center to get plowed!

2nd- today it snowed, sleet, rained, snowed= BAD ICY ROADS!!!

3rd- I got STUCK pulling into my DRIVEWAY. my nice neighbor saw me struggling and offered to pull my car up for me! it was really nice of him!

4th - Then i decided to shovel my drive way. While I was doing it my neighbor took out his nice snow blower and did his whole drive way in the same time I did about a foot square of my driveway. Oh well.. it was a good work out!

Hopefully it melts soon ;)