A Weekend Full of Surprises!

I know I've said this before . . . but, my husband is the greatest! I mean really, he is!

We are getting ready to celebrate our one year Wedding Anniversary on September 6th and being the wonderful man he is, he asked if he could take on the planning. Okay, you twisted my arm!

So the surprises started last Friday when he called at 4:00 and told me to leave work, go home, put on my new dress (thank you Roisum's and Wranek's for my early birthday present) and be ready to go by 6:00. He had even prepared to have his parents pick up Cayel from daycare! So, home I went . . . I got to take a nice long relaxing shower, paint my toe nails, apply make-up and do my hair with not a soul to bother me. That in it's self was a treat! At 6:00 we headed up to Deadwood and had a marvelous dinner at Jake's. It was a great food, spectacular conversation and a beautiful setting!


After dinner we made a pit stop at an "Old Time" photo booth. I have always wanted an old fashioned picture taken and Josh being the wonderful husband he is said, "let's go for it!" So up to the dressing rooms we went. Josh came out in a cowboy hat with a shot gun in one hand and a revolver in the other, he looked like a natural. The lady helping me pick out my costume asked if I wanted to look sexy or proper. Ummm . . . let's think about this for a second??? Sexy, please. Hmmm . . . should I say the word sexy on our blog? We had so much fun and the pictures turned out great! It is now hanging on it's very own wall down in the "man's cave" (aka, Josh's living room).

We ended the night at the Cigar Bar listening to a Blues Band puffing away on cigars.


Saturday morning we had planned on taking Cayel to the County Fair in Rapid City. As I was getting Cayel ready to go Josh started packing a bag for himself and told me to get what Cayel and I would need for the night. Of course he said not to ask any questions. Ahh, I love him.

We spent the afternoon at the fair, eating junk food, petting the animals in the 4H building (during which I got peed on by a snotty little rabbit)


and going on rides. Cayel had a blast and it was so nice to have some quality family time.



After the fair we stopped at Josh's sisters house to visit, or so I thought. Josh got out Cayel's bag and told me that part of the next surprise was that Cayel was staying with them from the night. After we said our goodbye's we got in the car and he told me once again, not to ask any questions.

Our next destination landed us at Mt. Rushmore! I was SO excited! I have never been to Mt. Rushmore and have been complaining about it since I moved to Spearfish 2 1/2 years ago! Once again, being the wonderful husband he is, he wanted to be the first to take me there and let me experience it with him! It was awesome to see and something I will remember forever!



After Mt. Rushmore we had another great dinner together and he surprised me with a hotel room at the Radisson in downtown Rapid City.

After thinking about the memories from the past weekend, I couldn't help but be brought back to the Love Language Survey we took while we were in marriage counseling . . . What we found out after completing the detailed questionnaire is that we are completely different. I mean black and white, sweet and sour, opposite. Go figure. The results concluded that what makes Josh tick and feel loved are Acts of Service (doing his laundry, cooking for him and cleaning the house) and Receiving Gifts . But me, throw the gifts out the window and an act of service, well that's your job! Now Physical Touch and Quality Time on the other hand, that makes my world go round! My husband gave me the absolute best gift I could have ever asked for, an entire weekend of quality alone time (alone, very important :) with the person I love the most, him!


Thank you honey for an amazing weekend. An amazing ending to the first chapter of our lives together. I love you!

Thanksgiving, Mermaids, Expenses & Minding Our Manners

Our nightly routine consists of reading a Bible story and a book of Cayel's picking, followed by bedtime prayers and thanking Jesus for one favorite thing/event/person for the day. While we were on vacation in Alexandria, our nightly routine continued but because of all the really great things we had done each day, Cayel had a hard time thanking Jesus for just one thing. One of the first nights the conversation went something like this:
Mommy & Daddy: "Okay Cayel, now what special thing would you like to thank Jesus for tonight?"
Cayel: "Doin swimmin!"
Mommy & Daddy: "That's a great thing to thank Jesus for."
Cayel: "Ohhhh . . . and boating wifh my daddy."
Mommy & Daddy: "Yes, that was another special thing to thank Jesus for."
Cayel: "And my big fished that I catched."
Mommy & Daddy: "Yes, we can't forget the big fish you caught. Now time for bed."
Cayel: "But what about my stooter (aka, scooter) that I rode wifh Tolby (aka Colby)?"
Mommy & Daddy: "Okay Cayel, no more talking, it's time for bed."
Cayel: "But I want to talk to Jesus!"
Mommy & Daddy: "Okay, you can talk to Jesus but mommy and daddy are turning out the lights and going to the family room."
Cayel: "Oh-tay.

Assuming that it was just an act to prolong bedtime, we turned out the lights and walked out of the room, keeping the door ajar to quietly listen . . . sure enough, for 15 minutes Cayel laid there in the dark and talked to Jesus. His conversation started with thanking Him for all the fun things he got to do that day and transitioned into how sorry he was that Jesus died on the cross and how he hoped Jesus would bring the naughty people to heaven with him so they could say sorry for putting Him on the cross. After he was done talking His ear off, he rolled over and peacefully went to sleep.


Ahhh, I love that kid!
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Josh's main task for the week while in Alexandria was to take groups of the family out fishing in shifts. Most mornings started for him at 5:00 a.m. so he could greet the sunrise alone on the lake. By 9:00 a.m. he was making his way to shore where he would pick up a 2 of the 5 boys for their first round of fishing. Once their hour was completed, he would come back to the dock to drop off the first 2 and pick up the second 2. Granted he got a few breaks throughout the day, this schedule continued for most of the morning, every morning and most of the evening, every evening - including some mid afternoon fishing extravaganzas. And let me tell you, he never complained :) . . . I wonder why?

As Cayel and I were waiting on the dock for his turn to fish I asked Cayel if he was going to catch me a fish. His response, with all the innocence in the world was, "yes, me's doin to tatch you a pwetty muymaid." "A what?" I asked. "A muymaid. You know, a dirl (aka girl) fishy." Oh yes, a MERMAID!

Ahhh, I love that kid!
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Yesterday was Cayel's first day back at daycare in 5 weeks (his daycare took some time off for her daughter's wedding). Although he generally LOVES his daycare, he was a little reluctant and teary eyed to be going back. He opened his bedroom door this morning and before I even had the chance to say good morning, he plopped on the floor and said, "me don't want to doe to T's house today. Me want to stay at home wifh you." His pouting continued throughout the morning and eventually turned to tears as we drove to T's house. Although it broke my heart and I wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back home and play hookie for the day, I decided to be very matter of fact (fighting my own tears) and explained that mommy and daddy unfortunately had to work (stress the word unfortunately). His next response through the tears was "you have da work betause I espensive? Betause I costed four hundwed dollars?" Um yea, what in the heck do you say to that? "Yes honey, because you are expensive and because you cost me four hundred dollars (times 10 :)." But oh so worth it!

Ahhh, I love that kid!
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After we got the whole expensive/$400 thing out from under the rug, the next topic of discussion as we drove to daycare was how I expected him to be a big boy for T. She was going to have extra kids for 2 days until school starts (including 2 new babies) and I wanted Cayel to know how important it was that he helps T, plays nice with his friends and minds his manners. He rambled through his list of "not to do's" which includes but is not limited to: no hitting, no kicking (don't ask) no biting (yes, he used to be one of those kids), no being sassy and no throwing toys. Then he proceeded to say, "you be a dood (aka good) dirl too mommy, no hitting or biting or sass talk at wok otay. Otay Tale, I won't hit or bit or sass talk my clients. Although truth be told, I'd like to :).

Ahhh, I love that kid!

Bleeding Retinas

Has if your retinas weren't already bleeding by the 100+ (sigh, exaggeration) pictures that I posted from our Arrowwood trip . . . I found a few more on my camera and added them. If you haven't already, take a peak. Scroll down . . .

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy birthday to the most important woman in my life . . . my dear mom! Today as you celebrate your birthday, I think of all the reasons that I love you . . .

I love you for your dedication to our family. I love you for ALWAYS putting us girls first. I love you for being a stay at home mom while we were young - always having french toast or pancakes in the shape of Mickey mouse for breakfast and homemade cookies or apple flautas for after school snack. I love you for your ability to care for and love children for nearly 20 years, children that weren't even yours. I love you for all the mornings you used to walk me to school when I would cry. I love you for the notes you used to put in my lunch box and the random cards and emails that you still send today to encourage me. I love you for the birthday balloons you used to put in my locker each year for my birthday. I love you for always being so festive and decorating our house from top to bottom for each season or holiday. I love you for your strength. I love you for the relationship you have with the Lord and how your dedication to Him has been an example for my life. I love you for the unselfish love and support you have given dad and your example of how important your commitment to marriage is. I love you for your drive to go back to school after 20 years. I love you for your dedication to your job. I love you for supporting me during the most difficult time in my life. I love you for going to all of my doctor's appointments when I was pregnant, for being the one to take me to the hospital when I was in labor, for holding my hand during the grueling 13 hours and for being the one to bring me and your first grandson home from the hospital. I love you for pulling out the 10-year old 2-way conference receivers so I could page you at any hour of the night to come to the basement and take your turn with Cayel when he was first born. I love you for teaching me how to be a mom. I love you for taking the first flight out of Minneapolis to Denver to meet me there when Cayel had his brain injury. I love you for taking 2 weeks off of work to be in Denver with me while Cayel was hospitalized. I love you for your ability to always find something good in every situation, even when I can't. I love you for your talent of quilting. I love you for your decorating abilities (even though I said I would never put junk, aka antiques in my house :). I love you for the Saturday morning talks over a VERY strong cup of coffee. I love you for your passion. I love you for loving your grandchildren the way you do.

I love you mom . . . I love you more than you will ever know! Today I pray that the Lord blesses you with a peaceful day filled with family, friends and memories. You are so special and I thank God for giving me YOU as my mom! Happy birthday to my mom, my best friend!

Arrowwood Resort

So remember I said in my last post that I had really good excuses as to why I hadn't been updating our blog weekly? Well, here is excuse #2 . . .

The day after Vacation Bible School, we quickly did laundry (and I'm mean quickly, I even ended up taking a bag of dirty laundry with to do at our final destination, pathetic I know), packed our suitcases and we filled our vehicle to the brim with suitcases, lawn chairs, games, food, a cooler, a scooter, a life jacket, a bicycle helmet, a DVD player and lots of movies and we traveled across the state to the beautiful Northern Minnesota town of Alexandria, where we stayed in a 4 bedroom/3 bath condo at a spectacular resort called, Arrowwood, to do something I like to call, vacation.

On this vacation, we spent a week with Josh's family . . . his two sisters and their families, his parents and his Grandpa Bill, not to mention 5 little boys ranging in age from 1 to 8 years old (I think this family need a ringlet curled, tutu wearing, pig-tail sporting, ball of pink :). The vacation was exactly that, a vacation! It was filled with relaxation and rejuvenation and just a few other things . . .

eating, and . . .



grilling, and . . .


swimming at the water park, and . . .









pontoon(ing), and . . .






fishing, and . . .


paddle boating, and . . .




reading books, and . . .


horseback riding, and . . .




squirt gun playing, and . . .


mini golfing, and . . .


scooter riding, and . . .




playing games, and . . . sun bathing, and . . . sunset watching, and . . . taking naps, and . . . sleeping in, and . . . shopping, and . . . specialty coffee drinking, and . . . laughing, and . . . most importantly, making memories.








Memories that will last a lifetime . . .

Boomerang Express

Okay, okay . . . I'm here! Wow, a month (and yes, a few days, I know) has passed since my last post. I promise, I have good excuses!

The first and most important excuse is that I was on board the Boomerang Express touring through Australia's Outback for a week. Physically? No. Spiritually? Yes.

So have you ever prayed for something and then wondered why you did? Um, embarrassing to admit, I did. Kind of. Sort of. For a few minutes anyway.

In June I was asked by, at the time an acquaintance and now, a dear dear friend, to Co-Chair our churches Vacation Bible School. "Really?!?!?!" I thought to myself. "But I work full-time. And I'm a mommy. And a wife. And if I remember correctly, the last thing I tried to help start turned out to be um, to put it nicely, an emotional disaster and in my eyes, I failed." Sure I had been praying for God to use me. For God to fill me. But this? Vacation Bible School? And not just Vacation Bible School but to Chair it?!?!?! Needless to say, I was reluctant and truth be told, a little nervous, but all the while I felt God tugging at my heart saying, "do it, for Me." So do it I did! And it was wonderful and amazing. A lot of work of course, but such a beautiful ministry to be called to.

My dear friend and I started planning "early", I mean we had a whole whopping 8 weeks (um, yea, the curriculum had a checklist for planning that started 12 months prior to VBS)! And let me tell you, those 8 weeks went by in the blink of an eye. Thankfully we had an amazing team with so many great leaders and volunteers! We had 2 meetings a week every other week (that rarely ended before 11:00 p.m.). We planned (thank goodness my dear friend is also a little Type A :), we giggled, we planned, we talked (it's like we'd been friends for years), we planned, we prayed, we planned, we organized (and reorganized and reorganized . . . all the way up until the last night of VBS, as they say, "practice makes perfect"), we planned, we grew our relationship with the Lord and we planned some more. Finally after the 8 weeks of planning, it was time to see it all come to fruition . . .

We opened the doors that first night and were flooded, I mean, blessed with 178 children that ranged in age from 4 years old - 6th grade (being the Chair and all, I snuck Cayel in (teeee heeee). Come on, he's almost 4 (if I stretch it :). Each night the kids made a craft, they worshiped, they sang, they danced, they ate yummy snacks, they played games and they learned all about Jesus Christ and His love for them! I can't possibly put into words how utterly magical it was . . . All of the ideas we had when we started planning. All of the meetings. The organizing. The decorating. The delegating. The teamwork. The praying. The envisioning. Each night, the leaders and volunteers went to their rotations (or stations where each activity took place) and the little children (who were divided up according to age/grade) traveled from rotation to rotation spending 20 minutes with each leader. Melissa and I had the wonderful pleasure of walking around and sitting in on each rotation throughout the night (like little mice in the corner). It was so beautiful to step back and watch it all . . . The children sitting on the floor eagerly listening to the Bible verses. Other children worshiping and singing at the top of their lungs as they praised their Father. The giggles as they ran around the church yard, playing games and learning all about team work, patience and love for their fellow friends. I couldn't help but envision the Lord looking down each night, smiling at His children as they experienced His personal love for them! Sadly the week came to an end and we celebrated by inviting all of the children's families to the church for a program. We shared stories of what the children had learned, we played a slide show of pictures from the week and we sang and danced our hearts out. But most of all, we prayed that the Lord would touch not only each and every child that walked through that door, but each and every mommy and daddy and brother and sister. We prayed that the love the children experienced throughout the week, would be carried home that night to each and every family. I still pray for that . . .

So have you ever prayed for something and then wondered why you did? Um, embarrassing to admit, I did. Kind of. Sort of. For a few minutes anyway.

Those few minutes . . . were short lived. Once I said YES to VBS, the Lord took over. He blessed me with strength. He blessed me with courage. He blessed me with energy. He blessed me with motivation. He blessed me with dedication. He blessed me with grace. He blessed me with friends. As He has many times in the past, He worked in me, deepening my love and my faith in Him.

"It all comes back to Jesus." John 4:9