Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of our family and friends!

First Snow

I have tried to get pictures to capture how beautiful the snow has been here, but it is usually dark when it is so pretty and the pictures don't turn out well. So, here are some pictures of the dogs playing in the first snow of the year! They really love their sweaters!

Turkey Try

On Sunday, I tried my hand at making a Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. On Thanksgiving I realized I had never done this before and I didn't know if I could. I have watched my grandma, aunt and mom do this for years, but had never done it before. Well, it turned out pretty well. We had some friends over. The doggies even wanted some of the leftovers! OF COURSE!! I also tried (2 times) at making my grandma's roll recipe. It wasn't quite as good as hers, but wow, they were pretty good. It was great to have that taste again. The picture of Joel sitting is putting all the leftovers together! It was tons of fun! I'm glad to know that if I HAD to do it, I could. I think mom's is better though!

Tradition

Today, Joel and I were able to endeavor on our annual Christmas tradition. We had a great day. I had a meeting at school today, but after that, we met at our area IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for brunch. Then we split up and did some Christmas shopping (we're almost ALL done). We then went and got our REAL Christmas tree! It smells so pretty! We asked what kind of tree hold it's needles best since we are getting it kind of early. Of course, they told us the most expensive, but it is a beautiful tree and it has smelled the whole apartment like pine! I don't even need to buy any candles to make the apartment smell good. Of couse, no Christmas tradition would be complete without some White Chocolate Mocha and Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks! The tree is decorated, almost done with shopping, and even got some laundry done...thanks to my wonderful and productive hubby! Enjoy the pictures! It was a great day of tradition!

BUCKEYE WIN!!!!!!

Joel and I had a party today in celebration of the very long rivalry between the OHIO STATE BUCKEYES and MICHIGAN WOLVERINES! SUCCESS!! THe Buckeyes won! It was such a great game and we had tons of food and good times. We had just a few people from work including MO-a fellow ER nurse and die-hard BUCKEYE! It was a great Saturday to relax and enjoy football, buckeyes, chili and fun.

SICKO...ANY THOUGHTS?

Hey bloggers!
Well, we finally broke down and watched the long-awaited SICKO that EVERYONE kept telling me I needed to see. I must say, I was a bit skeptical. Not only is it about healthcare, but it is written by Michael Moore. Well, I must admit, I agreed wtih ALMOST everything he said. He was right on and hit a lot of topics that I have been frustrated about for years. I also learned a lot that I didn't know.
All in all, I think it is a MUST see. I think every healthcare worker should see it, but also every healthcare consumer.
I look forward to hearing your comments about what you think...Hint HINT!

Reformed?

As I handed out candy to about 10 kids today for Halloween, it struck me that I should post not about Halloween, but about October 31st. Now if you say "October 31st" the first thing that comes to mind is pumpkins, candy, scariness, and kids. The sermon that I heard this past Sunday talked of a very different October 31st, which is Reformation Day as well as Halloween. Reformation Day is the celebration of the Reformation. As a re-cap of what the Reformation is...

On this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Also, the theses were written in Latin, the language of the church, and not in the vernacular. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. When Luther and his supporters were excommunicated in 1520, the Lutheran tradition was born.

As there were trick or treaters tricking and treating, I couldn't help but thinking of my roots, the roots of the church and the importance of this day on 1517. I praise God for His hand in the life of Martin Luther and for the listening ears of Luther himself. May I have the strength and courage to listen and hear God's voice and to feel His hand nudging.

WOMEN of FAITH

This weekend, I was able to go to Minnesota for the Women of Faith conference. It has been recommended to me before that I needed to go, but what a blessing to be able to go with my mom, 2 aunts, cousin and other new friends. It was an amazing weekend and we had great "girl" time together.
The conference title was "Amazing Freedom". I encourage you women out there to go to the website and check out some of their stuff
www.womenoffaith.com
OR
if you have the AWESOME opportunity to go to a conference, it will change your life!
Thanks Aunt Donna and Heidi for putting this together for all of us to come.
What an amazing, freeing weekend!

O-H-I-O AND Cleveland ROCKS!!!

NEED I SAY MORE?????
Ohio State moves to #1!!

Blessings...

God is good.
We hear that and sometimes may even say that often, but do we always think about what that means? God is good, whether we are or not, whether our circumstances stink or not, whether we are focused on Him daily or whether we are focused on ourselves. Blessings from God can come in many different shapes and sizes, they can be people, they can be, well anything. Today we got an amazing blessing that really came at "just the right time." A lady came up to us at church today and gave us a gift of money. She told us that Joel had been so great and that we really held a special place in her heart. It is wonderful to hear these things and they really remind you that you are and have done what God has called. But when we looked at the amount of money she gave, we were floored! It was a HUGE blessing for us and it really helped us with unexpected bills we have had!
God is good! He is good yesterday, today and forever. I am so thankful for His blessings to us in the form of money, but in the form of relationships, love and strength.
Hallelujah!

What are YOUR blessings today?

A Fun Fall Recipe

I thought I would share this recipe with you. I made it last fall and people at work enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what I would think of putting together chocolate and pumpkin, but it's actually very good. Let me know what you think...



PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES


INGREDIENTS
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)



DIRECTIONS
Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Randomness....

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

"Make My Day..."

I came home from a crazy busy day in the ER today and ready to jump into bed when Joel tells me that I got something in the mail. How excited I was to see that it was a PACKAGE! WOO HOO! I love packages. I was even MORE excited to see it is from my favorite PA and friend Robin! To my surprise, she sent me beautiful handmade jewelry that will match ANYTHING I have. I LOVE IT ROBIN! Thank you so much! Thank you as well for the beautiful words you sent with it. You truly and honestly did "MAKE MY DAY!"
Thank God for friends and for packages that turn bad days into good ones!

Mas Maine and Canada

THought I would post more pictures from our Canada/Maine trip. Here you will see some interesting whale pictures. We didn't see any of the whales that jump out of the water...we saw some that barely wanted to show their dorsal fin-but it was still cool to see them. There's also some more lighthouses, sea kayaking, Joel "standing in the gap", and Joel's attempt to capture me taking in the view.
Enjoy...

Canada/Maine Trip

Last week we took a great trip to Maine and Canada. I have always wanted to go to Maine, and we got the perfect opportunity when we found out our friend Jeremy Bustos was getting married in Canada. We flew into Boston and then drove along the coast up to Nova Scotia and then took a ferry over to Grand Manan island for the wedding. It was beautiful! It was fun to see them get married and in such a beautiful place. After the wedding we went back down to Maine and went to Bar Harbor. Through our adventures we got to do some whale watching (and actually saw whales!!), ate our first WHOLE lobster, sea kayaked, stayed in a Bed and Breakfast and...just relaxed. More pictures to come, but here are just a few. Oh yeah! We also saw LOTS of lighthouses...I LOVE lighthouses.
Enjoy!

...Tell me what YOU think...

I was recently at work and had a guy who knows that Joel is a pastor ask me if I had seen this movie. I answered "no" and asked why? He said he would like me to watch this movie and then he wanted to know what I thought.
So, what do you think? If you haven't seen it, watch it and then tell me what you think.

Overdressed

I JUST heard one of the songs from the most recent album that Caedmon's Call put out. It's coming SOON and I can't wait. The song I heard was Reason and it's AWESOME. If you want to get a good deal, go to the website at the right and you can get 2 for $12.
Can you tell I'm a huge fan?

North Carolina Trip

Well, sorry for the absence, we have kind of been all over the place. Our most recent trip to North Carolina was awesome and I thought I would share some of the pictures with you. We went for the first part of the trip to watch our nieces play in the fast-pitch 10 and under world series! They did great and came in 3rd place. This week they are in Alabama at another big tourney! It was so fun to watch them and get to spend time with fam. Joel surprised me and we went and did some hiking at Chimney Rock, got to see and hike places from Last of the Mohicans. We also did some driving on the BLue Ridge Parkway which is beautiful! He then surprised me and took me to a Bed and Breakfast which I have always wanted to go to. We went to Cherokee country and learned a lot there and then hung out in Charlotte with a friend of mine who I haven't seen in 15 years. When I was in Elem school, Taylor had big brother big sisters and this lady, Tani, was my big sister. I helped in her wedding, but haven't seen her since although we have kept up through letters and pictures. It was fun to have JOel meet her and her fam.
It was a great trip!
Enjoy the pics and if you want to see more go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9513&l=8d4c1&id=717665241

Unexpected surprise

So, I have to brag on my husband. When we first got married he told me that he never wanted to be one of those people who never did little things to show me he loved me. He didn't want flowers to JUST be on Valentine's or cards to JUST be on our anniversary-he wanted me to know DAILY how much he loves me. Today was such a day. I came home from work to a beautiful bouquet (sp) of flowers-orange and yellow roses- which are my two favorite colors. Now, I admit, he brings me flowers often and I LOVE that. He even made the neighbor lady jealous and she went on to tell me how lucky I am to have a husband who does this. I agree. I just felt so loved today when I came home and saw these. He really does such a wonderful job of showing me DAILY (like he promised) how much he loves me. I'm a lucky girl!

COFFEE! NEED COFFEE!!

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

What have you been learning from YOUR job?

Well, I admit that I learn new things in my job everyday. I learn new things about how to save lives. What can I say, I'm a nurse. But, more importantly, I learn more about people each day-good, bad, and well ugly.

-THere are some VERY...interesting people in the world. Some that make you smile
Some that make you question things, and some that well, challenge you.

-The old saying that "bad things happen to good people" is really true. It's been
One of the biggest challenges I faced working in the ER and Pediatrics. It's
to see bad things happen to anyone, but it seems that a lot of times really bad
things happen to really good people. It's hard for anyone to see, but hard to
reason through it when I know that my God is in charge of all that happens. It
has made for many interesting and late night chats with Joel and I.

-THe outcomes of a lot of challenging situations are all in how I react to them. A
recent song that I have been listening to is "Hallelujah" by Bethany Dillon. I
have been trying to download it to the area in the margin to the right. But I
have listened to it every day before I go to work. It says:Hallelujah, Hallelujah, whatever's in front of me, I'll CHOOSE to sing Hallelujah". Not always
an easy thing to do.

-People notice a lot more than you think they do.

-I need Jesus hand in everything I do-especially my job.

-I meet people at their most vulnerable time a lot of times, what I do with that
responsibility is really important and needs to be taken seriously.

-It's a fine balance between compassion and being too involved. Some people are able to callous themselves to "do the job", I can't do that, but I am finding it hard sometimes to not become jaded with all the different kinds of people I meet. I don't ever want to become jaded becauase to me this is more than a job, it is what I am called by Jesus to do.

SO, what have you learning from YOUR job. Whether nurse, housewife, teacher, etc. what have you learned?

CLEVELAND ROCKS!

We recently took a trip to Joel's old stompin ground, Madison, OH. If you have never heard of it, that's ok. Most people haven't. It's right outside of Cleveland. We met up with some of JOel's friends from High School. We sailed on Lake Erie, hung out with kiddos, went to an Indians game, went to Cedar Point, camped. We had a great time. Enjoy the pics!

Wild Thing!

The hair after the ride!

For those of you who know my mom, these pictures of her on a "hog" have got to just be classic! Even the purest of heart have a wild side!
Also some fun pictures from Father's day with my bro. Enjoy!!