The most detailed entry we've posted to date.

Tammy, this one's for you...

These passed two weeks have been pretty good. We were house-sitting for a family from Immanuel starting on the 13th and did that until we left for my parents last Wednesday (before Thanksgiving). They had the sweetest dogs, and it was fun to pretend like we had dogs and a fancy house for a while.

Their dogs names are Daisey and Maggie and their personalities are so different but both are so lovable. Daisey earned the name Crazy Daisey from us (and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that her family calls her that). She is part Whippet part Lab and has an endless supply of energy. She seems to love everyone and is not afraid to get in your face to tell you so. She doesn't lick, though; instead she sniffs you and, if you can avoid the soaking wet nose, this is a much more enjoyable experience than being licked.

Maggie is completely the opposite of her sister. She is part German Shepherd par Lab and is very mellow. She takes a while to warm up to people, but once she does she is so sweet. She will lay at your feet when your on the couch (where Daisey will just jump right on top of you) and only sometimes asks you to pet her (by wedging her nose under your arm and then giving it a hardy thrust upward). She does give "kisses," but not severely and it was actually pretty endurable.

We loved hanging out with these canines, as we would really like to have one of our own. Silly landlords...

This weekend was fun and relaxing, which is what we needed. As mentioned above, we left for my parents' on Wednesday. We stayed the night there and headed up to my grandparents the next morning. We had the traditional Thanksgiving meal, and traditionally stuffed ourselves to overfull. We stayed the night there on Thursday and headed back to Council Bluffs on Friday afternoon. On our trip back to CB, we began making plans with Shelby and Steve to hang out that night. Right when we got into town we stopped at Best Buy to pick up some stuff for my parents and who do we run into by Tammy and Shelby... and their male counterparts. :) That was a funny coincidence.

So, later we hung out with them and watched what turned out to be a horrible movie... G.I. Joe... good special effects and stuff, but bad writing and thus bad acting. It was fun hanging out with them though, and we don't get to do it that often so... yeah... :)

The next day (Saturday) we spent time with Chris's family. It was really fun! We really don't get to seem them enough and it was nice to spend a whole day together without any really scheduled things to do (I feel like I schedule my life away sometimes!). After lunch with Chris's dad and siblings, we stopped to pick up his grandpa and then we all went for a walk. It was so beautiful outside; the walk was very nice. After that, we played badmitten in the yard for about an hour or so and then went inside for some hot chocolate/apple cider. All in all, it was a pretty darn enjoyable day.

Later that evening, we went to dinner with my parents and then decided to stay the night and leave early this morning to get me to work on time. We seem to make this decision a lot, but I'm not so sure it's a good one. Ha! We just end up being really tired. But we get to spend a little more time with the family that way, and with the added bonus that a nice relaxing evening isn't interrupted by a 2 hour trip in the car.

So, today we got up at 5:30 and headed home. I dropped Chris off at home and went straight to church, where I stayed until noon. Came home and we watched the game (SKOL Vikings! 10-1!) and then I headed back to church at 5:00 to help decorate for the advent season. The church looks so pretty now with all the lights and decorations up :) I'll have to try to get a picture and put it up... Anyway, I stayed at the church until 9:00 because youth group started at 7:00 (Chris showed up then).

And that pretty much brings us up to this moment. And there you have it. Any questions or comments you can direct to me, any complaints you can keep to yourselves ;)

Hey, look at that! Another post! Really I would like to post more often but every time I think about posting it is while I'm at work and my work computer doesn't like this website for some reason.

Anyway, we are currently house sitting for a family from church. They have two dogs, so it's a pretty fun gig. Plus, they're letting me drive their car since mine is busted, so that's really nice.

These next two weeks are going to fly by, I think. We have plans for several evenings, which always seems to speed things up, and next week is Thanksgiving! I am really excited for that particular holiday because a) I love food, and b) we will be putting the Christmas tree up at my parents' house and that's always a fun time. There won't be any presents under that tree this year because we are going to D.C. for Christmas! My parents are flying us all out there and we will be staying for a week, with the exception of Chris who has to come home early for work :(. But, while we are out there we will be attending a Redskins game, which should be really fun.

Other than all this, we're still just getting our jobs done. Chris's job actually just got changed. He is no longer in the accounting department, but is working on budgets in the "Homes" department. (I think that's right...) He just started this new position on Friday so it's still pretty new. I think he is enjoying it so far, so that's nice :)

We hope this post finds you all well and excited for the holiday season to come.

We're still blogging!

Long time no post...

We have been keeping pretty busy lately with work and travel. Last weekend we were in MN for the Vikings game and to spend some time with family. A couple weekends in a row before that we were in Omaha to work on my old room at my parent's house (trying to get it fixed up a little...). And this weekend we are going to St. Louis to visit the Grulkes. We had plenty of fun on those trips, and we are pretty excited for this weekend!

In other news, there's not much other news. We're still just hangin' in Waukee and working. We are still on the Awaken team in support staff roles. We love the community that provides for us and have a lot of good friends still involved with it, so it's pretty fun.

Really, there's not a lot else to report. If you are curious about anything, let us know and we'll fill you in!

Welp...

So, it's been a long time. Really, though, there's not much to report. We've both been keeping busy at work. We've done a little traveling (to Kansas for Chris's b-day, most recently), but other than that life is pretty much quiet.

On another note, anyone want to hire me/us to take pictures of their family/kids/wedding/engagement? And by "hire" I of course mean we could do it for free so we can maybe get some kind of a portfolio going incase, some day, we actually do decide we want to be in the photography business.

:)

Mas palabras...

Sitting at my aunts house, spending some time with family, watching my two young female cousins run around doing the chicken dance... glad for some time off and for a little down time. Went for a walk with my mom earlier. She tried roller blading for the first time and does not prefer it to roller skating. My two-year-old cousin is now talking in almost complete sentences and it is amazing to me. He is very happy go lucky and adorable.



Oh, ok. So during his sermon on Sunday, Pastor referenced some protest led by that great man Phelps.... apparently he and his group were protesting a Jewish center in Des Moines. According to their fliers, "Jews killed Jesus. Jewry will soon be dead. God hates Jews." So much hate. It was really frustrating to me because, not only is this guy and his group making a mockery of Christianity (and humanity in general), but this disgusting display of hate occurred at the same exact time as our mission trip, during which we did our best to share God's love. It starts to make you feel like Love is futile. Fortunately I am naive enough to ignore that feeling, and I pray for the strength to continue ignoring it the rest of my life.

My dad and his unity celebrated their "100 days out." Which means he will be home (hopefully) in 100 days. That's exciting. We are going with my parents to Washington D.C. for Christmas so that is exciting. We will go to a Redskin's game, which my dad has always wanted to do. AND they are playing Dallas so it should be a great game. I am getting excited.

Chris is plugging away at his job. He has so many jobs to do within his one job. We are excited for him to get started chasing after his CPA. The tests are supposed to be hard, and the study stuff is ridiculously expensive, but it is still exciting! :)

Ok. So that's more of an update than last time. Maybe next I'll put pictures up.

Ciao.

It's time...

...for an update.

It's been so long I don't even know what all has happened since the last post. Probably a lot but not much of note.

I just got back from a mission trip with my youth to St. Louis. It was a pretty good time. It renewed my hope of long term missions some day, which is hard because I am not sure when that day will come.

Chris was a home alone all week and got quite a few hours of over time in. He has decided to get his CPA and hopes to have that accomplished by next year. This will entail a few more classes to achieve the credit requirements, as well as passing each section of the CPA exam (which is quite tough). It's all pretty exciting :)

I just got back today from the mission trip so I am tired and can't think of much else. Hope that appeases you :)

Ode to the West Des Moines Library

I step out of my non-air conditioned car into the sticky humid heat of a late spring day in Iowa. I make my way through the thick air into the reprieve of shade provided by the building. As I relish the coolness the shadow provides, I notice the little square labyrinth of long benches and flower beds to the left, and the large pond not too far behind it. Cute, I think, and continue my walk toward the building. As I approach, the automatic doors slide open (Star Trek was so before its time), and I am greeted by a blast of blessed cold air. When it hits me, I feel as though the heat from outside is peeled from my skin and lies waiting there, just outside the door; it is not welcome here.

Mixed with the processed air is the scent. The scent any booklover would recognize, blind folded, as the scent of a used bookstore or library. The scent of paper that has been mixed with ink to become beautiful pros, masterpiece novels, classic reprints, and children’s books we will never forget. The scent that would make me feel at home anywhere.

I notice the spaciousness, the two floors, which is relevant only for one reason: it means lots of books. After obtaining my new library card from the very friendly librarian, I immediately search for my desired books. It takes me 5 minutes or less to find them, check them out, and be standing back outside the building with my heat suit on, pondering on which bench to sit.

I decide on the far bench, the one facing the pond, and take my seat. I now notice a fountain about 50 yards away at the end of the pond. I begin to read. When the wind blows, and it’s always blowing in Iowa, the spray of the fountain leaps the 50 yard gap and I can feel tiny pricks of coolness on my exposed skin. When the coolness fades I am reminded of my non-air conditioned car and the trip home I must make. I stand, make a path through the shade, and leave.

But I’ll be back soon. That smell and that pond will call me back