Home Sweet Home or Wild Life Preserve?

Let me just tell you, we have seen a lot of animals since we moved to our new house in January. Our cat, Phoebe, loves it! Last night she was "playing" with her bunny friend who comes around a couple times a week. He just sits in the yard and hops around the house and she runs to all of the windows in the house so she can see him.

This morning, she and Heston saw a fox! He tried to grab the camera but it ran away. The other morning we woke up to a turkey gobbling in our yard.

Some birds have made a nest in the cap of our propane tank. They greatly amuse Phoebe, that is until the propane guy comes to refill the tank! Then the poor nest will be destroyed.

Then or course, we have deer. They kind of scare me sometimes because they are so big and when I look out the window, I think it could be a person!

I love seeing God's creation, with the exception of ticks! Praise the Lord for his miraculous creation and I am thankful that I live in a place where I can so easily enjoy it.

For those of you who have been praying for our car situation, I thank you. We have not heard the final cost or damage yet, but I will keep you posted! Thanks for your prayers!

Please also pray for my parents as they are still trying to settle an insurance claim over my dad's surgery last year. It has been a battle from the beginning and just pray that my parents won't have to pay any more then they have already had to. Thanks!

Please Pray

Our vehicle broke down last week (very unexpectedly - they say this type of thing should not happen to a vehicle in this good of condition)and we are suppose to hear from the repair shop today how much it is going to cost. They already gave us an estimate of what it is going to cost and there is NO WAY we can afford that. We know God has a reason for it and we are waiting on the Lord! Thanks for your prayers!

All Your Anxiety

This song came to my mind this morning and I thought I would share it with you today. What great truth it holds and how true it is. The Lord is faithful to us no matter what He allows to come across our paths. His way is perfect and we can rest in that.

Is there a heart o'er-bound by sorrow?
Is there a life weighed down by care?
Come to the cross--each burden bearing,
All your anxiety--leave it there.

Refrain:
All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy seat--leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.

No other friend so keen to help you,
No other friend so quick to hear;
No other place to leave your burden,
No other one to hear your prayer.
Refrain:

Come then at once--delay no longer!
Heed His entreaty kind and sweet;
You need not fear a disappointment--
You shall find peace at the mercy seat.
Refrain:

Our Weekend in Milwaukee

We had a nice weekend down in Milwaukee even if the nature of the visit wasn't all together pleasant. Heston had an appointment with a neurosurgeon for his back. She showed us his MRI's and such and indeed there is a problem. She wants to run a few more tests before she decides which surgery to perform, but surgery is inevitable. We are praying that the less evasive surgery will fix the problem instead of having to do the bone fusion. We will meet with her again in mid-July. She said "that is the military for you!" But we are blessed beyond belief that Heston's health problems and doctor's appointements and medications and tests have all been covered by the VA. We would not be able to afford it if it weren't for that. But the Lord knew that. I wholeheartedly believe that even if Heston was in the military only for the medical benefits and school benefits, then it was worth it all. The Lord knew that from day one and we rejoice in His provision.

We had an enjoyable weekend, though and we were able so spend some great time together! We got a cheap hotel on priceline and enjoyed an afternoon nap before we headed downtown to go to Buca Di Beppo's for dinner! We had a $25 gift card so our dinner was super cheap! We enjoyed reminiscing about our dinner at Buca's on our wedding night! We walked aroud down town a little bit before we headed back to our hotel. We bought Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast the next morning!

Saturday we got to sleep in! It was so nice! Then we ate our yummy doughnuts and headed to our new favorite mall: Mayfair Mall in Wauwautosa! We walked around the mall and headed to Maggiano's for lunch! We love this restaurant! Heston almost proposed at this restaurant in downtown Denver, but he chickened out and proposed the next night! And we also had our wedding rehersal dinner at Maggiano's! Good Memories!


We walked around downtown again and enjoyed the nice spring day! We walked down to a Starbuck's and enjoyed some drinks as an Easter gift from Mom. Thanks mom!

We got home around 7:15 or so and Phoebe was so happy to see us!

Threads of Love

Several summers ago, Heston's Grandmother, Gram, taught me how to crochet. At first I did it just so I could spend time with her and talk, but I found out I REALLY like it. I thought to myself, I am the person I use to make fun of! =) Well, I have made blankets for a few friends' babies, and yes, even some for my own children (who are not yet born). Since I enjoyed it so much and since the winters are SO LONG up here in Wisconsin, it was suggested that I make them and give them away to a charity. My cousin works for a nursing home and she said that they love lap afghans, but she also suggested making blankets for the preemie babies at local hospitals. So, I did a little bit of research for a Christian organization that would also share the love of Christ with the family of these babies, and I have been making small blankets for them! It has been a joy to do this. Here are a few pictures!

Weekend Project

I FINALLY got a project off of my evergrowing "TO DO" list. I have had the pillow forms and some of the fabric for over a year now! I had done 2 pillows and quit. But I spent several hours on Friday night and even more hours on Saturday cutting out the fabric and sewing these pillows together! I really had fun once I got into it, and I wished that I wouldn't have waited so long! I am happy that each of my couches now have coordinating pillows! It really brightens the room. Don't worry, those pillows are spread out on 2 couches, they were all scrunched together for picture purposes alone!



I also made some curtains for our bedroom out of the coordinating sheet set that came with our comorter set. We never used the sheets because they weren't the softest, but they were perfect for curtains! I am in the process of picking out paint colors for our bedoom - that will be my fun summer project!

I was also able to get all of by spring clothes out of storage. I feel like I have a whole bunch of new clothes! I was more than happy to pack away those heavy sweaters that are such a staple to a Northland wardrobe! Hello springtime!

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We really didn't have any plans to go anywhere or do anything except for to go to church. What a wonderful day we had at church! We teach the 2 & 3 year old Sunday School Class and I was very excited to teach them the lesson about Christ's death, burial and resurrection! These kids never cease to amaze me. They know so much! Most of the time this is to my shame. They get SO EXCITED when they hear the stories of Christ and I always ask myself if I am as excited as they are about my Christ. What a rebuke! Here are a few pictures of the kids in our class. We usually have a few more, but they were traveling for the holidays!

Asian Cabbage Slaw

I just wanted to share a great salad for this summer! Heston and I improvize a little since he doesn't like water chestnuts, but it is a wonderful, refreshing, summery salad! This tastes great alongside grilled shishkabobs! Enjoy!

Asian Cabbage Slaw

Yield: 8 servings
Serving size: 1 cup

Ingredients
•1 head of cabbage, shredded
•1/2 cup canned, sliced water chestnuts
•4–8 green onions, finely diced (the more the spicier)
•2 tablespoons sesame seeds
•1 cup canola or olive oil
•1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
•1 tablespoon sugar
•black pepper, to taste
•1 cup chow mein noodles

Preparation
1.Place shredded cabbage, green onions and water chestnuts in large bowl.
2.Dissolve sugar in vinegar. Pour vinegar into oil and whisk until mixed.
3.Pour over cabbage mixture.
4.Toss to evenly distribute the dressing.
5.Chill several hours or overnight.
6.Add chow mein noodles and toss before serving.

Nutrients per serving
•Calories: 195
•Protein: 2 g
•Carbohydrate: 9 g
•Fat: 18 g
•Cholesterol: 0 mg
•Sodium: 37 mg
•Potassium: 194 mg
•Phosphorus: 42 mg
•Calcium: 56mg
•Fiber: 2.6 g

Future Blogger

Last night, our cat Phoebe, was helping Heston with his Ebay addiction, actually, she loves laying on the computer. Usually, I let her lay on my lap and then her head can be on the computer...Crazy cat!


"Hey, I think I could get use to this blogging thing"


"What, you want me to get off the computer? But I just got comfy!"


"Oh, yes, now that is the spot!"

Fruits & Vegetables

We have recently had to made some diet changes for Heston's health and we have been eating alot more fruits and vegetables. I am glad it is spring and it is the season for wonderful fresh fruit! Shortly the farmer markets will be opening up and we can get even fresher fruit and wonderful tasting veggies! My new favorite fruits are tangelos and plums and I love baked sweet potatoes!


What are your favorite summertime fruits or vegetables? Any good fruit salad ideas?

Place cards, Chicken, and Centerpieces!

We had a great deal weekend, both personally and for the Graduate Studies Department! Yesterday, when we were doing our weekly grocery shopping at Wal-Mart we came across a huge clearance table (which I always love!) and there was this huge stack of 72 "create your own placecards" for $1.00!! That's right, for this years Grad Studies Banquet I don't have to spend many hours trying to format and cut out place cards! These place cards come with a template and are perforated! Praise the Lord - both for my sanity and for the save in money!

As we were going through the store, we came to the meat section. I hate picking out meat, probably since I was a vegetarian for 8 years...Anyways, we always look for the sales. We saw this package of boneless skinless chicken that was marked $1.14. Then another section that was marked $1.69. I went and got the meat guy to make sure that this price was for the whole package and not per pound. Sure enough it was for the whole package! Then we looked some more and there were 4.48 lb. packages, normally $9.48 on sale for $2.97! Needless to say we stocked up and filled our freezer with chicken for a good part of the summer! I love when I can be resourceful of our money.

Lastly, thank you all for your suggestions on Centerpieces. I was on a roll today ordering all of the class supplies. I should have mentioned to you all that we invited the wives to join thier husbands for this class. Therefore, I thought I could make the banquet a little bit more feminine! I was picking out paper for the ladies sessions and found letter head with red poppies. That sparked an idea! I then found red poppies for $2.49 (6 flowers each) and vases (round cyliner) for $2.99. Then we are going to do light yellow table clohtes, and red napkins. I am going to be looking for bamboo placemats or something like that to go under the vases - anyone know where I can find these? I also might put some rocks in the bottom of the vase. I will keep you posted and take pictures! Thanks for all of your suggetsions! I am going to store them away for the next class!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Centerpiece Ideas

Hey, I need some help. We are looking for cheap ($10 table) centerpieces for our Grad Studies banquet this summer! I am full of ideas, but they always end up costing too much...Any ideas? I would apprecaite any thoughts or sugestions! Shannon, you should be a pro at this! Thanks for your help!

Recap of our week

This has been quite a week, but God gives us the grace to get through each thing He brings across our path! He is so faithful to us even though we don't deserve it. We are so thankful for the promises that are true each and every day. We serve an awesome God.

There are 4 weeks left in the regular semester, then just one week of finals. Heston is praising the Lord for that! He had 4 tests this week and that is never fun. He was having a really rough day on Monday so we went home a little bit early. Since it was a little too early for dinner, I threw in some laundry. While we were eating, I heard some water running/dripping, but that is not always unusual since some of the water drains in our kitchen sink (weird, I know). Anyways, we finished dinner, then while was putting away the food, I realized there was TONS OF WATER all over the floor! I was running around getting all of our big towels to soak up all of the water. It was all in our pantry and in our storage closet, but thankfully it didn't saturate the carpet in the living room. I felt so bad for Heston as he was turning off the water, pulling the washing machine out from the wall and cleaning up all of the water! Somehow, the drain pipe got disconnected or something so all the water that was draining from the washing machine was all over the floor.
Good thing about it all is that we had a sparkly clean floor after the whole ordeal! I am very thankful that my husband is a fix it man! Otherwise I don't know what we would do! It even made us smile looking back!

Tuesday night Heston had to work late at the Men's volleyball games and then he needed to work on some projects. Well, there I was home alone. Our house is out in the middle of nowhere and last weekend, we had a little scare-we think someone may have tried to brake into our house! We had come home from town and our cat was outside (which she NEVER is because of wild animals) and our back window was open! Anyways, ever since then, the house is a little bit scarier! So I thought I was tough and could handle the home alone experience, but I wasn't. I tried watching TV, but every time I heard a noise, I would mute the TV and tried to think of what I would do if someone were actually breaking in! I had my cell phone and the phone right by me and concurred that I would go to the closet and hide if necessary. It was not very relaxing. Then I got my Bible out and tried to read, but it almost made it worse because I was ACKNOWLEDGING my fear! Finally, Heston called around 10:30 and asked if he needed to come home and I said YES!! He came home and all the lights were on! I know God would protect me, as I beleive He did last weekend, but our finite minds often get the better of us!

Anways, the rest of our week was well and we were able to spend some time together and with others. We love our ministry here at Northland. We are thankful for what the Lord has given us and for what He is doing in our lives.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

My Spiritual Birthday

Nine years ago today, when I was 15 years old, I got saved! I had grown up in a Christian home and I thought I was saved when I was 8. But after learning more about God and heavean and hell throughout my youth group and school, I really doubted my salvation. One night, after hearing a message, I grabbed my friends arm and asked if she would go forward with me. We walked up to the front and then went to tbe pastor's office and a lady talked with me about salvation. I already knew all there was to know about salvation, and she knew that, she was just confirming with me what I was about to do. I then prayed and asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and save me and cleanse me from all of my sin. That was a glorious day. Since that day I have not doubted my salvation. I am still growing; not always at the speed I ought to, but the Lord is at work in my life and I praise him for that! 1 John 1:9

Lessons in Self-Discipline

I have been challenged as of late to lead a more dicsiplined life. I have been married for almost 3 years and it amazes me that I don't have a more disciplined life in how I care for my husband and for my home. I go it spurts of doing well, but I have never quite accomplished my goal of making the daily things in my life habits. I know it takes consistency and time to make things habits, but I have just been too lazy to stick with things long enough to make them habits.

I was talking with my sister in law, Heather, after we got back from our weekend at her house and I told her that after spending a weekend in her home I was challenged to make the beds each morning and keep the kitchen clean. I was also reminded how important it was to have a daily menu. Not only does it make that daunting task so much easier, you make healthier meals, save money at the grocery store by only purchasing what you need, but most of all, it makes Heston SO HAPPY when I tell him what is for dinner. I am thankful to Heather for showing me this and for reminding me how important it is to care for my family.

Not only do I want to be disciplined in cleaning my house and making meals for my husband, I want to be dicsiplined in Scripture reading and daily exercise. Both of these things are importaint to my daily life. I know my scripture reading and meditation is most important, but I know for me, these 2 things go hand in hand. I find that if I am disciplined enough to work out, in that same day I also am disciplined in my scripture reading.

You all can pray for me that I would exemplify the Proverbs 31 woman and take care of my household. Heather mentioned the title of the book Beauftiful in God's Eyes by Elizabeth George. This book goes through Proverbs 31 section by section. I am going to read this book and make this part of my daily Bible study.

All of the above mentioned things are habits I want to form in my life before we have children. I know if I can't be disciplined to do those things now it will only become harder once we add a baby to our lives. That day will be here soon enough so I must get on the road to self-discipline!

If you all wouldn't mind sharing ideas in how you exemplify self-discipline in your daily life I would love any suggestions!

Trial of Good Times

Have you heard of it? I hadn't heard of it until yesterday at church. A man in our church, Mr. Mike Glanzer spoke of this trial. He used James 1 as his supporting passage. He said that this is the true test of our walk with God. The basic thought is that when our lives are going well, we have clothes in the closet, food on the table, a car to drive, at least a little money in the bank and our health is good, it is easy to forget God. During these good times, I often find myself drifting in my walk with God. I don't cling to the Scripture like I do when I am going through hard times. I become self-sufficient in what I can do and forget to rely on the Lord. I become proud in what I have accomplished and forget that it is ONLY God that can accomplish things through me. This was a rebuke to me. I realized that in this "trial of good times" I am failing. I need to run to my God with the same thirst and desire taht I have when I feel like I really NEED Him. The sad fact is is that I ALWAYS need him, but due to my self-sufficiency, I feel like I don't need Him quite as much. I encourage you to stop and think about this. I am glad that I did and I pray that I will start succeeding in this trial by seeking after my God in the way that I ought!