Time for a Change

Announcement!

2010-07-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Man, it's been awhile since I blogged last.
Life has just been too busy.

Well, as many of you may have heard....it's a BOY!! :)
We are so excited!!

High-five! :)

Wow, it's been awhile!

2010-06-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today I had some guilt about blogging, because I am wearing my shirt that says "I am so blogging this" and in reality I haven't blogged in over a month!

So, here I am. :)

I am all moved, mostly settled in, and life is good.

I've unpacked lots of stuff (almost done!), decorated, rearranged, and more. The house is still in disarray, but at least it's organized, livable chaos.

My life is busy with the some of the usual things, but mostly lots of new fun things. My days (and nights) are kept busy by the following:

1. Grad school homework (only one year to go!)

2. VBS (this is my last year...I mean it this time!), which I am planning from afar- still at the Moody Church in Chicago. I'll head back there in August to witness the event!

3. Internship: I've been interning with Congressman Phil Hare's Moline office on Mondays and Tuesdays and will do this through the end of July. I absolutely love it! It's a lot of that "intern" stuff...filing, mailing, sorting, but it's really interesting and I'm learning a lot. I've also never worked in an office before, so this is a fun new experience.

4. Babysitting: On Wednesdays through Fridays, I am taking care of my BEST friend's baby. It is so fun that my best friend (and our other mutual best pal) have all moved back to Moline and are having babies. I'm watching her baby and then our other friend, who's having her baby in early July, will add her little one to my Wed-Fri gig starting in August (after VBS). This is going to give us a little extra income so I can stay home with Sprout when he/she comes in November. It has been so fun spending the days with Kennedi and I'm so blessed to get to do this.

In attempt to get organized, I've made us a chart, so I don't lose track of the baby, Kedzie, or myself. This will really come in handy when I'm taking care of three babies at once!

5. Last but not least, I am kept busy with my puppy, Kedzie, with whom I am just smitten! She keeps us busy, but she is soooooo cute and fun and doing SO well with training, so we are very proud of her!

I'll keep ya'll posted on Sproutie's sex, which we will find out in a couple weeks. Here is a picture from two weeks ago when I was officially 4 months.

This pregnancy has been an interesting one for me, to say the least...with everything else going on and dealing with some past issues, it has certainly been a time of relying on God for strength and peace, which is always a great, but difficult learning experience.

One more pic...before I moved my team at work threw me a delightful shower with Sprout as the theme! It was so cute!!

Kedzie sleeps

2010-05-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

We just love the new little addition to our family. She is so much fun and so darn adorable.
She is extremely curious, hyper, energetic, and all puppy!
One of the cutest things about her is that because she is so lively, she crashes frequently, completely wiped out.

Here are some of her adorable...and somewhat strange sleeping positions.

It's fun because we're both always so sleepy these days!

Sleeping on my brother's amp in the backseat of his car.

Fast asleep while I do homework.

This breed is known for being somewhat catlike. :)

She literally slept like this for about 30 minutes in the car. :)

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#10

2010-05-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Last one!

#10- 90.1 WMBI

The last thing on my countdown is something that has been a part of my life since moving to this area in 2001. I listen to this radio station constantly and as lame as it sounds, I feel like I know the hosts! I've had the pleasure of visiting the studio a couple of times too and I get all giddy when I see the "celebrities" of this radio station around church or at various Moody-related events. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be getting the WMBI WiFi radio which lets you listen to the Chicago station anywhere in the world! :)

If you don't listen to this station, I encourage you try it!

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#9

2010-05-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Almost done!

#9- Diversity

This sounds kind of lame, but I really will miss this! Obviously, Chicago offers diversity that just isn't in Moline. Besides the actual city of Chicago, the suburbs are quite diverse as well. Many people in our apartment complex speak other languages and over half of my third graders speak a language other than English when they go home each night. I love looking across my classroom and seeing children from China, Korea, Georgia (the country), Russia, and many more places around the world.

I will truly miss this!

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#8

2010-05-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Continuing on...(I'm getting a little bored of this series, to be honest). :)

#8- Trinity Community Philharmonic Orchestra

People always ask me if I watch American Idol. My answer is, no, not since the first season. Why? Because since the fall of 2001, I have played in the TCPO every Tuesday night during a school year!

It has been a pleasure playing horn in this orchestra, first as a student for four years and then as a community member for four years. I have enjoyed playing under three conductors and with many different people in the horn section throughout the years. It's been so fun to get to play regularly with this group.

I wish them all the best!

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#7

2010-04-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Continuing on...sorry it's been awhile!

#7- Apartment Living
Apartment living is great. The space is small, the cleaning is minimal. If you forget something in another room, it's only a few paces to go get it. I really like living in a small place and the thought of having to go "all the way upstairs" to retrieve something at house is something new to me. Also, if you hear sounds in an apartment, it's okay, because you're supposed to hear sounds. In a house, when you hear sounds, they can be creepy because no one else is supposed to be in the house besides you!

We have lived in this apartment for almost five years. Marcus moved into in May 2005 and I moved in after our wedding in July. It's been a wonderful place for us to start our marriage and I'm going to miss it!

Here's a pic of the packing process...

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#6

2010-04-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

Continuing on in my series...

# 6- French Horn students

Okay, so I complain about teaching horn lessons almost every time I go to teach them, but, if I'm honest, I'm going to miss these girls. I teach four eighth grade girls in Deerfield, Libertyville, and Glenview, and they really are a lot of fun. I've been working with a couple of them since they were in fourth grade, which is weird for me to think about! A couple of them I've really gotten to know after seeing them weekly for years. Besides the "easy money," I really enjoy encouraging these girls to keep playing, keep practicing, and to work toward their best potential. I hope I can hand them off to a good teacher when I leave and that they will continue a lifelong love of playing.

The only pic I have of any of horn students is this one, when she starred as Mulan in her middle school's production of the musical. :)

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#5

2010-04-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I'm going to miss about our lives in Chicago, but for now I want to describe...

#5- The Hawthorn School District

Back in 2004, I was first introduced to the Hawthorn District by the junior block program at Trinity. I observed in a first grade classroom at Hawthorn Elementary North two days a week and did some teaching at that time as well. I built a great relationship with the cooperating teacher and we made plans for the following year for me to student teach with her. In 2005, I student taught with Rachel and I grew to love the Hawthorn District even more. In the fall of 2005, I was hired as an instructional assistant at Hawthorn Elementary South. I met a whole host of fabulous teachers and administrators who helped me grow in my teaching abilities and make the connections necessary to land a job in 2006 as a third grade teacher at Hawthorn Townline Elementary.

What a life change this has been! I will always and forever cherish the friendships I have built at Townline (and throughout the district) and the hundreds of students I have had will always hold a dear place in my heart (although that's hard to say when it's almost May!). :) I have been so blessed to get to work in this district for my first job and I know that the foundation it has provided me will only lead to future success, whatever I do and wherever God leads me.

(The crazy third grade teachers I love working with)

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#4

2010-04-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Continuing on in my series, today on the top then things I'll miss the most about life in Chicago:

#4- Erica

Many of you blog readers have the privilege of knowing Erica. I consider her my best friend in Chicago. We met in college when she transferred to TIU in 2002. We got along great then, but post-college was when we really developed our friendship.

I admire her in so many ways for her hospitality (I have "lived" with the Hangs before, and will again this coming May for a bit), for her mothering (she is an AMAZING, inspiring mother and I hope to attain to her standard someday), for her kindness and for her servant's heart.

She is such an amazing, inspiring, kind person. I absolutely love spending time with her. One of my favorite things about my friendship with Erica is our honesty. Together, we can talk about anything, even the "hard stuff" and get down deep into each other's lives. She helps me keep a Godly perspective and prays for me often. Summers with Erica will be something I'll miss the most. In the summers, we hang out frequently- sometimes we go weeks when we hang out every day! We do fun things together and we do nothing together.

She is a blessing in my life and I will truly miss her. I know we will continue to remain close friends, even though miles will separate us. She is an indelible, integral part of my life.

(Erica- this is like the only picture I have of us!!!)

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#3

2010-04-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

I told you these were in no particular order. This one I'll miss the most.

#3- My Sister

My sister lives two doors down from us with her hubby. It is SOOO fun to have them as neighbors. I get to hang out with her at least once a week if not more. We go to church and small group together, we have dinner at each other's apartments, we play games together, we hang out, I visit her while she nannies, we run errands together and much, much more. It is SUCH a blessing to have my sister so close and I'm going to miss her terribly when we go. Thankfully, she and Dan will be right behind us in moving...well, in a couple years...but still.

I love my sister!

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss -#2

2010-04-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

The second thing on my list (in no particular order) of things I'm going to miss when we move is...

#2- Chicago and the suburbs

I LOVE the city.
I love going to shows, sporting events, shopping downtown, sitting in traffic, parking in garages, seeing the skyscrapers, walking along Lake Michigan, going to the beach, the zoos, the concerts, Ravinia, forest preserves, farmers' markets, the history, the character, the diversity, EVERYTHING. There is really not one single thing that I don't love about living in the Chicago-area.

This place is fabulous. Even though we haven't actually lived downtown, it will always be my deep down desire to do so. I love being a part of anything when we go down there, but the suburbs are also nice. I love the little "downtown" each suburb has and I love all of the public transportation that can be used to travel between them. I frequent to Metra and also enjoy using the El to get around downtown from time to time. I also like the cab rides and just plain old WALKING from place to place. I love our local library, local bike shop, bank, bakery, post office, and train station.

The place holds a dear place in my heart and I will truly miss all that Chicago, along with Deerfield and the rest of the northern suburbs, have to offer.

Top Ten Things I'm Going to Miss- #1

2010-04-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

This list of the top ten things I'm going to miss the most when we leave Chicago is in no particular order.
Please enjoy. :)

#1: The Moody Church
Our church home is so important to us. The ministries and people at this church have stretched us and grown us spiritually in ways that are indescribable. Just a few of the things we've been blessed to apart of for the past four years include: orchestra, praise band, Covenant (Sunday school class), small group, VBS, Angel Tree, softball, retreats, India STAMP trip, Charasia, and much more. The Lord has used Moody in our lives in a tremendous way and I know we will deeply grieve the loss of this in our lives when we move. We praise God for the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing place.

It's been awhile!

2010-04-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA lately.

I have been seriously busy! But, haven't taken too many pics...

Getting ready for the big move and I'm excited to announce that I am starting a new blog series.
Maybe I will even start it today!

I am going to do 10 posts on what I'm going to miss the most about our life here and then 10 posts on what I'm most excited about for our new life in Moline.

Stay tuned. :)

St. Patrick's Day- The Bulls Style

2010-03-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Friday night we stumbled into some free tickets to the Chicago Bulls.
We had never been to an NBA game, so we said, "Why not?"
My sis, Dan, and Marcus and I headed downtown Friday night not knowing what to expect with these free tickets.
They came with parking--- right in front of United Center (for free) and it turns out the seats were Club Seating in the lower deck. Pretty cool!!

So, even though I don't really care much about the Bulls, it was still a fun experience.

I must say, my favorite part was the entertainment between quarters and then also the mascot, who I mostly watched the whole time. :)

(This was pretty cool!!)

This Bull was hilarious.

A Stroll through the Woods

2010-03-12T06:37:00.000-08:00

This morning I got up nice and early (I don't know why, I was just awake) and got ready for work.
I left the house by 7:00! (Maybe for some of you that is not super early, but I thought it was).
Last night's thunderstorms left behind a beautiful fog.
Spring is awakening every part of nature.
On my way to work, I drive through several forest preserves and this morning I saw a Bluejay, a Cardinal, a deer, and several other beautiful things.
I stopped and took some pictures for you all to enjoy. :)

Spring is in the air!

2010-03-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

Today's weather was just gorgeous!
Everything was muddy, sloppy, and melty.
I didn't care!

I took my new camera (now complete with memory card) and Marcus and I went on a little spring nature walk to try out some of the settings on our new gadget.

It's got a lot of fun aspects to it, yet it is still just a point-and-shoot.
The techy geek in me loves the touch screen.
For those of you who care, you can check it out here.

Well, without further ado, here are some pics I took today with it, completely unedited.
It just takes pictures this cool by itself!! :)

Look at the little mallards in that pic!

More little mallards...

...and back again to Home Sweet Home.

I hope this camera lasts me for many memories...

Missing In Action

2010-03-09T14:58:00.001-08:00

Where have I been!??
In the words of Dr. Lutzer, "Well, I'm glad you asked."

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting to show you all my new camera!!!
And it is finally here!!
BUT, I'm still waiting for the memory card so I can take more than one picture at a time!

Let me just say that it is SERIOUSLY AMAZING.
I am completely pleased as punch with my purchase.
(Students: Can you find the alliteration in the above sentence?)

But...alas...until that memory cards comes (fingers crossed that it shows up today!), you all just have to wait too. :)

They say it best

2010-03-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

Sometimes third graders can really phrase things better than adults.
From now until the end of the school year, I'm going to try to put some quotes from my students on the blog more frequently.

These eight and nine year olds are often inspiring me and also cracking me up.
It's time for me to spread the love!

Today the kids were asked to write in their journals about who their best friend is and what qualities make someone a good friend. One particular student responded this way:

Me too, darlin', me too. ;)

Craft Day

2010-02-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

While the guys watched hockey...

My sister and I made crafts!
She brought over an origami kit and we tried our hand at the ancient art.

We made swans:

and then Samuri Hats:

and then turned the hats into fish...complete with googly eyes!

Next came the turtles:

We thought our pet turtle would like some friends. He was not interested.

And then came the real fun stuff!
Flower pins/hairclips.
We attempted to follow a tutorial on making fabric flowers, but we floundered a bit.
We glued a pin and a hairclip on the back to make them versatile.
Here is the result:

(sorry for the photo quality- I'm getting a new camera soon!)

Oh, and how could I forget the lovely origami pinwheels we made, which Brittney recommended I put in the "garden" on our windowsill.

Thanks for a fun day, Britt! Let's do it again sometime. :)

eBay Bliss

2010-02-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

I love eBay.Maybe you didn't know this about me.

I've been an eBay fanatic since early high school.

I have had 253 positive transactions on the amazing auction site!

Recently (as in the past few years) eBay has not had such great deals...

It has become more of a place to buy things at full price and then pay shipping on top of that, instead of just going to the store and getting what you want/need.

However, once in awhile you can still find a gem...

especially if something is spelling wrong or called the wrong name. :)

Way back over winter break, Marcus and I took a gander through the Gurnee Antique Mall up in...well...obviously, Gurnee. It was full of ~~overpriced~~ lovely items.

My favorite was this old vintage Sunbeam Mixmaster mixer...in (of all colors!) turquoise - my favorite!!! I am slowly but surely working on collecting all things vintage and white-and-turquoise for our kitchen at the house.

This mixer was something I had to have.

But, with a $125 pricetag, it was something to which my dearest (and oh, so wise) hubby said, "You can save up for it."

So, darn it, that's exactly what I did! I pinched my pennies and saved my dollars and as of Friday, February 19, I had $110 saved up. (My dad taught me the little tip that antique stores will always take 10% off items over $50, so I didn't worry about saving the whole $125).

Knowing there was a risk that two months later my little old mixer would have been sold, we traversed up to Gurnee anyway. It was our belated Valentine's getaway.

Indeed, it had been sold.

However, I got these darling napkin gems, which I can't wait to put on our dining room table at the house.

Aren't they cute!?

But, wait, there's more!

I came home and did a little eBay-licious research.

I found the Mixmaster on eBay...with all the parts (the Gurnee one was missing one of the two bowls) and it WORKS (I didn't know if the Gurnee one worked) AND because its official Sunbeam color is "aqua blue' and this one was titled "Turquoise"....no suspecting vintage collecting eBay-er had stumbled upon it! (The others listed on eBay were quite pricey and all being bid on rapid-fast).

But don't you worry. I was the only bidder on this dandy and it only cost me $45. (Well, plus the $20 shipping, but still, I had saved up $110, so we were in good shape.)

(sorry the picture is blurry- i took it straight from eBay)

Now if it would only come in the mail!

I'm so excited!

Second Annual Valentine's Party

2010-02-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

My sister hosted her second annual Valentine's Party last week.
It was so fun!
I didn't many good pics, but here's a few I wanted to share...

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
(my hubby and I have yet to formally celebrate)

We even had homemade parting gifts!!!

It's all worth it

2010-02-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

After the Valentine's Party at school, while the kids were waiting for dismissal, I looked over at the board where they play Snowman (hangman) every day for a few minutes before their bus is called over the speaker.

We had such a fun party and it just tickled me to see the phrase they were guessing, one letter at a time.

How cute is he?!

I know I say it over and over, but I will say it again:
I LOVE these kids.
They are one of my greatest joys in life.

Love

2010-02-11T15:15:00.000-08:00

Does your teacher love YOU this much?

Yeah, that's what I thought. :)

No Snow Day

2010-02-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Not sure how...or why...after 12 inches of snow...I still had school today!!
Sheez.

I do love snow.
I just wish I could have stayed home to play in it. :)

Onesies- Batch #2

2010-02-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love it when my BFF gives me onesies to doll-up for baby Kennedi.

You can see my first batch of onesies I whipped up over winter break here.

She gave me some more and I've been having fun...
on almost all of them....
The one with the laundry hanging out to dry...not so fun.
I got in over my head on that one and it was a pain in the butt...AND I broke a needle on my sewing machine.

But, it sure looks cute!

I even made a matching headband to go with one of them.
The pink and green one had some design/phrase on them that Joni wanted covered up, so my ideas had to be spaced just right. :)

Enjoy!

Thanks, Joni, for letting me get all crafty on your baby's onesies!
I'm going to post a pic of Kennedi here that I stole from Joni's facebook (I do not take credit for the photography or for the cuteness of the babe!)

All Mississippi

2010-02-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Marcus's last show with The Broken Bones.
Fun times.
Our long-time friend Phil informed the audience that we are moving to the Quad Cities
...out west...where it's

"Half Illinois, Half Iowa, All Mississippi."

Indeed.

(our lonesome wintry house in Moline)

Help Haiti with Compassion

2010-02-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

The stories of the earthquake in Haiti on January 12 are slowly drifting out of the news and into the past.

But God has not forgotten.

Have you?

Help Haiti with Compassion is one way to get involved in a way that will directly impact the lives of children.

Compassion International is an amazing organization in the top 1% of Christian organizations with integrity in their spending.

83% of the funds donated to Compassion's Disaster Relief Fund goes toward the affected areas and lives are touched.

Compassion has been working in Haiti for over 40 years. They will continue to bring the Good News of Jesus to the people of Haiti during this earthquake recovery and beyond.

Marcus and I sponsor a child through Compassion and have done so for years now. It is so exciting to see how God can use us in the life of a young girl so far away. Ruth Daniela is in Honduras, but many of Compassion's children are in Haiti.

The young boy my parents sponsor, Peterson, lives in Haiti. They have not yet heard if he has survived.

Will you pray for the people of Haiti?

Can you give to the people of Haiti?

Click on the link to the right to give to Haiti through Compassion International.
They need your help.

The Time Has Come

2010-01-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

It's time.
I'm starting small.
I've been thinking about this for a long time.
Going back and forth. And back. And forth.
Should I?
Shouldn't I?

I decided. Why not? What could it hurt?
I'm starting small.
I don't want to make oodles of stuff that will sit around my house.
I love crafting and giving my crafts away.

Now I'm hoping to earn a little money and donate a little money to an organization that is dear to my heart.
Some of you know that a year ago, Marcus and I went to India on a mission trip.
For a year or two prior to that trip, we had been involved with an organization called Charasia that works in India doing orphan care, pastoral training, and microenterprise.

I told myself that if I went into crafting to make money, it would only stress me out.
I'm hoping that keeping the focus on giving will keep it fun.
So, 50% of my earnings will be donated to Charasia.
You can learn more about this organization at their website.

So, without further ado, here it is:

...is open for business.
Check it out.
...and tell your friends.

What a Weekend!

2010-01-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my mom's 49th birthday! Such a youngin'. :)
In honor of her birthday, my dad surprised her for the weekend.
On Friday, he put her on the Amtrak and sent her to Chicago. My sister picked her up and the rest was history! My sis, Dad, and I had planned the whole weekend and everything was a surprise.

Friday night, we went to On the Border for some yummy Mexican.
Then, we stayed at the Embassy Suites and enjoyed the made-to-order breakfast the next morning.
After we checked out, we took her to get our nails done.

Then, after a quick lunch at Potbelly's, we took the Metra downtown and surprised her with a show at the Cadillac Palace Theater.

It was FABULOUS!! I LOVE live musicals and this did not disappoint.

Then, we wandered around downtown a bit...

(We weren't at this theater- it was across the street from ours.)

We stopped at Anthropologie...LOVE that place, but way out of my price range...

Then, we ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. YUM!

(you can kind of see my nails in this pic, haha) - and yes, that is red velvet cake and cheesecake in layers. Delicious. I could only eat two bites.

Then we headed out to take the train back to Deerfield.

My mom stayed at our place and then we went to church in the morning. After church, we drove out to Lou Malnati's for lunch. She LOVES that place. But...the surprises didn't end yet!

We had it all arranged...and as we were being seated, we hear a little voice yell out, "SURPRISE!" She had no clue...the family had driven up from Moline to have lunch together and to bring her back.

Cutest little Miss Thang.

Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!
We had such a fun weekend!!!

Dance Moves

2010-01-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

After the hubbub of the near year and all the festivities that went along with that, we had a wedding to go to on January 2nd.

Todd was a groomsman in our wedding and although we've lost touch a bit, we've managed to see and visit with Todd a couple times a year or so since our wedding. I didn't take many pics, but I do have a few showing off the mad dance moves that took place at this shindig and I feel they are worth sharing.

Umm...yeah...so, it got a little rowdy at times. But, I must say, the best part was when the fog machine (yes, there was one of those) made the smoke alarm go off and the firemen came into the reception hall. Oh good times.

Congrats, Todd and Veronica! We're happy to have been there to celebrate your special day!

Just Gross....or Funny?

2010-01-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

This year, I got a hilarious White Elephant gift.
Paper cups.
Not just any paper cups.
Paper cups that change your face.
They are hilarious.
Some are disgusting.
Enjoy!

Haha! Disturbing, isn't it?

Special Christmas/New Year's Date

2010-01-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

This year for our Christmas gift to each other, Marcus and I had a special date. We stayed at the Hyatt in Deerfield, which was super snazzy, tried out a new restaurant, and more.

It started the morning of January 1st. We slept in until about noon, and I made us some pancakes.

After being lazy almost all day, we did a little shopping and then went out for a yummy dinner. Our all-time favorite restaurant, Bluegrass was closed for the holiday, so ventured out and tried something new. We went to RAM and were pleasantly surprised. The food was delicious and priced just right.

We reflected on 2009 and made some new goals for 2010, which include:
1. Get back on track with our "couples" devotions...we've been slacking these past few months.
2. Be more healthy in general (more veggies at dinner and more frequent trips to the gym).
3. Marcus wants to spend less time on the computer and more time reading.
4. I want to keep on keepin'-on with my grad school and earn straight A's.
5. (This one we added for fun because it is attainable with certainty): move to Moline.

Down the street from the restaurant was our snazzy 4-star hotel (which I of course got for $50 on Priceline.com) :) We got some snacks and lounged around watching a Law and Order SVU marathon (which, ironically, is always on when we stay at a hotel!)

(Is it embarrassing to post pics of us in our pajamas? Hope not.) :)

The next (late) morning we went off to our favorite breakfast spot, Rhapsody Cafe, in Deerfield. It was delicious as usual.

Although 2010 has brought with it some anxiety (for me) because now it's not "next year" that we're moving, it's "this year"...I'm excited for the changes on the horizon and eager to see what God has planned for us.

I pray you all have a blessed year!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

This year we spent New Year's Eve with Brittney and Dan and Becca and Travis at B & T's place. It was definitely one of the best New Year's Eves we've had!

Games and food, the ball drop, the fun!

Wow, Travis. Very nice.

Dan was getting cold....and sleepy (?)

Marcus giving Travis the "awkward hug."

Girls picture! Brittney called this pose "Twin Towers."

Cheers!

I think this is the countdown and everyone is saying "One!"

Happy New Year!

Christmas with the Carletons

2010-01-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

Every year we spend Christmas day with my family. We go over early for breakfast, open presents, lounge around all day, and then have a big lunch/dinner.

My sister went all Martha Stewart-y and made these cool place settings.

Look at her pajamas!!! and all that eye shadow!!!!

Marcus got some coffee...and a new French Press (since ours got ruined in the kitchen flood)!!

We got my dad some hand-held games and I made a cover for a little basket to put them in.

I had to post a pic of my sis in real clothes... :)

Emily, my bro's girlfriend, and my brother, and me doing a crossword or two. Classic.

ZamZam got some shoes (and lots of other things) which she was quite excited about. :)

That'll do it for the Moline Christmases...
What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Christmas with the Andersons

2010-01-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

I suppose I should probably blog about Christmas! Several things have happened since then that I also want to blog about, so I need to get a move on!! :)

Every year we spend Christmas Eve with Marcus's side of the family. We have dinner, open gifts, and then have a Gingerbread House contest. It is always loads of fun!! :)

Enough babbling, here are the pics:

WE WON!!!!

I hope you all had a great Christmas!

More to come...

Barbie Room News

2009-12-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

Well, the much anticipated Barbie Room is almost finished.

What a great husband I have!

I have loved Barbies since I was little and played with them on up through high school (embarrassing fact, I know).

In high school my love for playing Barbies began to mature into a love of collecting them.

I knew one day my home would have a Barbie room in it.

When we bought this house, I immediately picked out which room I'd want.

I choose the "coal chute" room.

I wonder what Marcus's great-grandparents would think of their coal chute now. :)

Below is the process:

After the boiler/furnace was put in several decades ago, the coal room was no longer needed. Marcus's great aunt and uncle put in shelves and used the room for storage. They even kept some coal in a jar for sentimental value. :) But, by the time we bought the house, the coal room was spic and span and looked like this:

That there is some prime Barbie display space, wouldn't you say?

Well, turns out those shelves are a little too short to actually house any Barbies. :(

So, we took them out and started painting.

Way back during the summer (oh, it seems so long ago!) I participated in Glidden's free paint giveaway. I ordered up myself three FREE quarts of a lovely paint color called SEXY PINK. I couldn't resist. It was nearly back-breaking (at least quite the ab workout) to paint these porous surfaces (which varied from brick to plaster to cinder block throughout the room), but we managed.

First, a little spackling to rescue the crumbly plaster...

Then, the paint makes its glorious debut!

Next, we added some light pink for the window and the door. It adds such a cute touch!

Meanwhile, the boxes of Barbies and Barbie memorabilia were sitting outside the door, just waiting to be set up!

Once the paint had dried, I measured out and selected my favorite calendar pages from years of collecting Barbie calendars. First, I tried using some wallpaper glue to adhere the pages. After that didn't work, I went to Lowe's to get some 3M spray glue, which worked like a charm! First, I put my all-time fave Barbie on the door.

In The Pink Barbie (my license plate's namesake)

I'm going to frame it with some ribbon, but I didn't get that far this time around...

Marcus had the great idea of choosing some of my favorites to put in the window. I love it!

Next came the carpet.

Remember this lovely upstairs bedroom?

We measured the floor of the Barbie room and cut a piece of this purple carpet to fit in the Barbie room...

It looks great in there! :)

Next came the shelves.

We got them from IKEA for $14.99!

Some of my Barbie boxes are really tall, so we took out one of the shelves so we'd have one that is really tall...

Next came the setup!

There is a little area on the floor with Barbies that can be played with (for all the little girls in my life)

and then back on the shelves are the collectibles!

The last step will be curtains....which I have at our apartment, but I didn't bring them to the house this Christmas because I never imagined we'd get this far! I also have this chandelier from IKEA, which unfortunately is not going to work, so I need to go plan B for the lighting.

But for now, I am so giddy with the results of the Barbie room. It's everything I ever dreamed of!

Who wants to come over and play?

One last onesie and a burp cloth to boot!

2009-12-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

I had one more onesie to make and I decided to go for the "Winter Onesieland" theme. :)
I also had some extra fabric so I spit out a quickie burp cloth.

That's all the crafts (that I'm posting) for this Christmas, we're leaving town in T-minus 10 minutes!
Merry Christmas, everyone! :)

Crafty Gifts

2009-12-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

(Sing to the tune of "I've Been Workin' On the Railroad")...

I've been workin' on some onesies
All the live-long day!
Joni gave me some plain white ones
Just to see what I could make!

Can't you see the fun I'm having
Making these cute little clothes?
Maybe I will make some more soon?
I guess nobody knows!

haha. Okay, that was fun...now, here they are:

It's just a "thing"

2009-12-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

So...
I know it's only a "thing" and I shouldn't be so upset.
At least it's not a human or something that "really matters."
Plus, I shouldn't have had "it" out and about like I did because it is supposed to stay at school.
But still.
I am upset.
I am frustrated.
I am sad.
I am a bit panicky.
:(
:(

I LOST my camera. :(
...except, it's the school's camera...not mine.

Please pray for it to be found.
Are you allowed to pray for things like that?

And I had good holiday pics on it that I haven't downloaded yet!
I was going to post them on the blog!
Humph! *sitting with arms crossed with a pouty face*

Meeting Kennedi for the first time

2009-12-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

This weekend we made a speedy (we were there for...oh...18 hours?) trip to Moline to meet Kennedi.
She was born November 30.
It was so great to meet her and so fun to see my best friend as a mom!! :)

4th Annual Christmas Girls Weekend

2009-12-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

Each December my CBFs (College Best Friends) and I meet up to do some Christmas shopping. The traditions differ a bit year to year, but this year we went to Oakbrook, stayed in a hotel, and shopped till we dropped! It was great!

Can you believe we only took ONE picture!!!???
We were too busy having fun. :)

Just because

2009-12-08T16:06:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile!!
Here I am!
Just a fun little pic from Thanksgiving...

Updates:
Our kitchen floor was replaced today!
I had a superbly fun girls weekend in Oakbrook.
All of my Christmas shopping is done!
Now that our apartment is put back together, I can decorate for Christmas!
I started two new grad classes this week and am already loving them.

Have a wonderful day!
Stay tuned for a "real post" soon.

Life.

2009-12-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

Just a few little tidbits.

1. When we came home from Moline after Thanksgiving, our kitchen looked like this:

...mind you, when we left, it was spic and span. :) Hmm...weird things happen when you leave for five days. The maintenance folks are still trying to figure it out. Here's to eating out for a few days!

2. Then today at work my eye turned pink, I went to the doctor and he says I have pink eye.

3. My bestest best friend forever had her baby!!! I haven't got to meet her yet (much to my dismay, she went in to labor as we were driving out of Moline!!) I'm so happy, regardless!! Can't wait to meet her!
These are pics I stole from her facebook:

Congrats!! I love you guys!!! Can't wait to come meet the little babe. Doesn't Joni look good in that gown!? ;)

Family Photo Shoot

2009-11-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

Every Thanksgiving we do a little family photo shoot with the timer on my parents' camera. This year, my brother took some shots...and we also did some of the timer thing...we had a fun time outside in the freezing cold, as we do every year. :) Stay tuned to see which ones come in the family Christmas cards! :)

Not sure why we felt the need to be so ghetto, but it was fun. In one, we're holding up a "M" and a "C" for Merry Christmas. :)

Crafting for Baby

2009-11-24T12:51:00.000-08:00

My bestest best friend forever is about to have her baby!!
She is due Thanksgiving Day.
We'll see what happens!!
I've been making her some things...
Some requested and some for fun...
Check it out!

...a nursing gown- she asked for one of these to wear in the hospital. It is so soft! ...and has little openings for nursing. Sorry if that's too much info, but I had to model to demonstrate it for her.

Plus, a little matching onesie for the baby, Kenndi.

Joni also asked for a warm blanket for the winter months...hope she likes it!

Feeling Thankful

2009-11-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving I am feeling particularly thankful.
Each year around this time I know that I "supposed" to feel thankful, but this year I'm not finding myself forcing it as much as usual.
I am thankful for several things.

A few things that come to mind (in no particular order) are:
I am thankful for...
...a sovereign God who knows all and works everything out for the good of those who love him
...a wonderful, supportive, helpful, loving husband
...amazing friends who really care and show it regularly
...living two doors down from my sister
...a phenomenal, Christ-preaching church full of faithful followers who push me toward holiness and just have an honest-to-goodness fun time together
...a fun family
...a wonderful class of adorable and fun students
...a grad program that I'm actually enjoying and learning a lot from
...a new house and all of God's provisions that go along with that
...God blessing us in ways that allow us to bless others

What are you thankful for?
Make a list and share it with someone today.

Little Ladies

2009-11-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun doing our nieces' hair for the wedding.
They were so sweet and loved being pampered.
Once they were all dolled up, they couldn't help but act like little princesses. :)

Wedding Weekend

2009-11-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

The Wedding Weekend finally arrived!! :)

Marcus's youngest sister, Becca, and her new fiance Travis tied the knot this past weekend. It was a great time spent with family and friends celebrating the wedding!

Here are some pics from the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony, and reception. :)

Did anyone else love this weekend?

2009-11-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was just gorgeous.
The weather was right around 70 degrees and the sun was shining.
What a beautiful fall weekend!
I had the pleasure of spending most of Saturday outside.

I was downtown along Lake Michigan as well as in Glenview at The Glen.

My friend Erica does photo shoots at The Glen and sometimes I tag along. What a fun day as she photographed the family of a mutual friend.

Check out Erica's photos here and Julie's family here.

Ukulele Land

2009-11-06T15:40:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, my husband is a ukulele enthusiast.
He has recently posted a pic of a little pin he commissioned me to make. :)

Check it out on his blog Uke, Ubu, Uke!

He even has some fans and is mentioned on other big Uke blogs.
A blogging wifey couldn't be prouder. :)

He is a uke player, builder, teacher, and collector...we have several around the apartment and he's always got his with him. What a fun little instrument it is.

Baby #1 is here!

2009-11-04T06:13:00.000-08:00

Our friends Dan and Angie had their baby!
We were all surprised to hear that Angie went into labor Halloween morning. Hooray for a holiday baby! And the sex was a surprise too!

We're so happy to welcome little Alayna Marie to the world. We had the privilege of meeting her last night! It was so fun.

First, here a couple of the gifts I made for her. There was one more gift, but my sewing machine broke right as I was almost done with it, so I had to finish hand-sewing it in the car on the way! So...no pics of that one. :)

I made a couple of burp-cloths...
Just got some regular square flannel ones from Babies R Us- pre-shrunk them, and went to town adding ribbon, fabrics, and buttons.

My sis and her hubby came with us. We are all in small group together.

I wasn't sure who I thought she looked like...but in this pic I definitely see her daddy!

Here's Mama Angie, baby Alayna, and my sis...

My turn!

Marcus's turn!
He did a great job.
I'm pretty sure this is the first newborn he's held since his niece was born in 2006.
He did a great job. :)

Welcome to the world, Alayna, we can't wait to watch you grow! :)

Halloween Now and Then

2009-11-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

At school, the teams of teachers always dress up for Halloween in a theme.
Here are the third grade teachers at Townline Elementary through the years:

2006

2007

2008

...and...drum roll, please.... 2009!

Can you guess what we were!?

Oh, so much fun. I love these ladies! And my job! And dressing up in themes!

Doodly-Doo

2009-10-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Doodly doo.
This is my current new phrase.
It means "you know- that thing I don't feel like explaining..."
As in "Let's go to the store for those doodly-doos..."

But, lately, doodly-doo has taken on a new meaning.
Think "Googly-bear" from Monsters Inc.
It means "little cutie-patootie-darling-too-cute-for-words"

In my life, I currently have two doodly-doos.
When I see these two, I always address them with "Hi doodly-doo!" (in a high-pitched baby voice).

First, there is Annika. My sister nannies for her and in Brittney's words, "She just kills me."
This little doodly-doo (there it is, in context) is simply a riot and gosh darn adorable.

The second doodly-doo in my life is my sister's cat, Pepper. She is also so darn adorable. She is the sweetest little cat I have ever met. She just sleeps and snuggles ALL day and never does anything else. She is so small, almost like a kitten, and has the cutest blue eyes.

Gee, it sort of seems like the doodly-doos in my life are really in my sister's life. Hmm.
Do you have any doodly-doos in your life?

Birdie Headband

2009-10-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

An idea for another fall-festive headband.
This time I wrapped the band in ribbon (which took for...ev...errrrrr <- said in Sandlot voice)

Life with a hot glue gun sure is fun.

Thanks again, sis, for being such a willing model.

Pumpkin Craftiness

2009-10-28T20:59:00.001-07:00

What do you do when it's pumpkin carving night and your pumpkin looks like this?

You make a pumpkin craft instead!

Cut out some orange felt.

Using embroidery floss, hand stitch some curves of the pumpkin.

Lay on some ribbon and a button.

Munch on some Halloween M&Ms.

Warm up the hot glue gun.

Glue on some backing to hide all of the stitches.

Hot glue the pumpkin onto a headband or pin or any other decoration thingy you want.

Put some easy Pillsbury cookies into the oven.

Have your sister try on the headband!

Happy Halloween!

Calling all Parents!

2009-10-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

So, I am not a parent, but I do work with children, so that kind of makes me count as one. :)
However, the key differences iare that I have 25 of them...and I get to say goodbye to them at 3:05.

Anyway. I know several of you have shown Baby Einstein to your kids, and I certainly have shown the videos to kids I used to babysit. Since becoming a teacher, I have learned the (nearly impossible, but oh so important) lesson that kids age 2 and younger should not have any screen time.

Lo and behold, Disney admits that they agree. I recently stumbled across this little news article and was, well....struck.

Enjoy.

Fall Colors

2009-10-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today on my way home I made a few stops on the side of the road.
I am blessed to have such a beautiful commute and today I finally remembered my camera.
I pulled over a few times and was able to capture the teeny bit of fall that is left.

Fall has always been my absolute favorite season.
I wish it would last longer.
And now the rain has been pouring for several hours...
so I bet the leaves are almost all down...
That's okay.
This commute is just as gorgeous in the winter.

Pumpkins!

2009-10-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago we ventured out to pick our pumpkin for the annual carving contest we do with my sis and her hubby. Our pumpkin is currently out on our apartment stoop being nibbled by squirrels! We'll see how the contest goes next week!

I am SO blogging this!

2009-10-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

Aren't these shirts the best!?!!??!!

You know you want one.

Quickie Craft

2009-10-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

As the middle of my week has come to a head, it has brought along oodles of stress and loads of homework.

Before I got to work this evening hitting the books, I allowed myself one teeny weeny itty bitty craft.

It was a quickie. Took about 10 minutes.
And boy, was it fun!
You should try it.

I'm thinking it needs to be adhered to something...
a headband?
a pin?
a patch?

We shall see...

Oh, and by the way...
THIS was on my door today when I came home from work! I almost touched it when I reached for the door handle!

15 Seconds of Fame!

2009-10-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

How exciting!

Yesterday on my way to work, I stopped at a stop sign (as I usually do) and looked out my window at a beautiful fall sight. There was no one behind me, so I grabbed my camera from the backseat, rolled down the window, and snapped a photo.

At work, I showed it to some friends who told me I should submit it to Brant Miller's weather photos. He is the local NBC weatherman and he shares pictures people submit of weather and nature on the 10:00 news. I decided to go for it.

Lo and behold! He shared it! I was anxiously watching the news, waiting for the weather to come on. At 10:20 (which is about 20 minutes past my bedtime, thank you very much) I was so excited to see my name and picture flash across the screen as weatherman Brant Miller described the "radiation fog" that apparently was seen in my picture. Whatever that means. :)

Hooray for 15 seconds of fame! If I find the clip somewhere online, I'll post it. Until then, enjoy the pic right here!

Best Friend's Baby Shower

2009-10-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the baby shower of my very best friend.
Joni and I have been BFFs since 7th grade...13 years.

I can't believe she is having a baby! I'm so excited for her and her hubby.
The shower was a lot of fun and she of course is just so darn adorable.

I took pictures of her maternity pics...

There were about 80 people there and she got sooooo many gifts!

Here she is with the blanket I made for baby Kennedi...

Alicia, Joni, and I have been best friends since junior high...

Hooray! What a fun time. Can't wait to meet the baby soon!

Baby Blanket #2

2009-10-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

My second ribbon blanket is for my BFF's baby!

Her shower is this weekend.

I can't believe my bestest best friend (since 7th grade!!) is having a baby!!!!!

It's so soft and fuzzy. Without the traditional pinks and purples, I went ahead and girl-i-fied it with ribbons galore!

Hope she likes it. :)

Baby Shower #1

2009-09-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

(My Baby Blankets and Showers are numbered because I've more of both coming up in a few days)

This past weekend was my friend Angie's long awaited baby shower!! It was long-awaited by ME because I've been so looking forward to it. The girls in our small group hosted it and it was so much fun!

The guests decorated onesies...

We all ate some yummy food...

...gathering to pray...

Some lovely words from Lauren to Angie...

Some cute baby sock decor by Esti...

The diaper smelling game...

The small group gals (minus my sister who was in Moline for my sis-in-law's shower):

I am so thankful these ladies are a part of my life. Can't wait to meet your little one, Angie!!

Who's next??

Changes and Updates

2009-09-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to my hubby's Photoshop skills and his willingness to help me improve my blog.
I decided some changes were needed in order for me to take my blog in the direction I'd like it to go.

I'm hoping to use this blog to share a little more about what's happening in our lives creatively and also update you fine folks of the changes on the horizon...which I guess is what this blog has always been, but now it has a title to match that purpose.

Our lives are busy working through and toward the changes in our future.
Namely:
1. Moving to Moline
2. Career Changes
3. Educational Pursuits
4. Growing in craftiness abilities and interests
5. Growing and developing as individuals, as a couple, and into the people God wants us to be.

This weekend we hit up the Antique Market in Sandwich, Illinois.

There were so many vendors and a lot of neat things.

Here are some of my favorites:

WARNING

2009-09-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

THIS BLOG IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR CHANGES.

Baby Blanket #1

2009-09-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

I've made my first baby blanket!

It is for a friend of mine who is due in early November. Angie is in my small group and it's been so fun getting to know her over the past couple of years. She and her hubby are expecting their first baby (and the first baby in the small group!) the first week of November.

The ladies in our small group are throwing her a shower on Saturday. If I ever remember to bring my camera home from school, I'll be sure to post pics of the shower.

In the meantime, here's the blanket I made for the baby. They're going to be surprised about the sex, so I had to go neutral. It's hard to do!! :)

I got this idea for a ribbon blanket from a woman at my work who's been making smaller versions- burp rag size (but quilted, so cool!)- for all the pregos at school for years. They are so darn cute that I just had to try my hand at it.

I chose a super soft cotton-y material for one side and a fleece for the other side. I pinned it together inside out, with the ribbons looped on in the inside. Sewed around the square, all except a few inches on one side, flipped it inside out, sewed up the opening, and VIOLA!

It's SO cozy! I wish I was a baby wrapped up in it!

FUN day

2009-09-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

For all of you wondering (all one of you)...

Pedantic comes from the root word "pedant," which means, "a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning."

HAHA. It's a nice word for anal rententive and it pretty much sums me up!

Anywho. Today Marcus and I ran a 5K at Trinity for the annual Homecoming Fun Run. It was indeed fun! :) Then we spent the day shopping and yard/garage/estate saling, and thrifting. It was so fun! Check out the fun ribbon I got...

You'll have to wait to see the rest of my stuff when I create something out of it!

Sorry for the poor photo quality. I keep leaving my camera at school on accident, so these pics are taken with the trusty Photo Booth on my laptop. :)

Pedantic

2009-09-16T18:54:00.001-07:00

Do you know "pedantic" means?

I'm sitting here doing homework and Marcus is reading a book. He just leaned over and asked me, "What does pedantic mean?"

I looked it up in the dictionary. I never knew there was a word for that. For me. A word that sums up one major aspect of my personality. Haha. It's pretty funny...at least my dictionary's definition is funny. I happen to know a few of you out there who are pretty darn pedantic yourselves. ;)

Do you know what it means? WITHOUT LOOKING IT UP, leave me a comment as to what you think it means.

...and here's a funny picture just because. It was taken a few weeks back...

Meeting the Mayor

2009-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

The mayor of Vernon Hills came to our school today.

This year at the school where I teach, a new program called Local Leaders has been put into place. Each month a local leader from the community is going to come and visit. I decided I needed a picture with him! :)

Nevermind how dopey I look. It sure is weird shaking hands with someone and not looking at them but rather at a camera.

Haha. Stay tuned for the other local leaders I get to meet each month. :)

Lots of Labor this Weekend

2009-09-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

We did SOOO much this weekend at the house.

Labor Day is a day set aside to acknowledge your labor and rest from it.

Well...we labored instead.

We had lots of help and got a lot done.

It was fun and fulfilling!

We...

painted the dining room...

Stripped and sanded all the paint off the front door...

...Got to check out the chimney job that was done last week...

We were not too thrilled, but what's done is done.

The chimney was torn down and "re-directed" to a different spot on the roof and replaced with a stack.

I have several complaints:

1. It rained while the chimney guys were working and there must have been a leak...

When we took off this light fixture from the dining room ceiling, it was filled with (brown) water!

I knew we didn't have an amber-tinted light fixture!!

2. They left us with a gross patch of green shingles where the chimney used to be. Can you find it?

3. The stack is crooked!!

Anyway...

We had lots of help.

My parents, siblings, and friends were there.

The living room got spackled and primed...

The living room and dining room ceilings got painted...

My dad installed our new washer and dryer...

And I decided to write our to-do list on the first door in our pile-of-doors that currently sits in the kitchen.

It was fun to check things off the list!

And last but CERTAINLY not least...

Marcus finished the porch floor! It is beautiful!! (compare it with the floor that is just inside the door, but remember, the porch floor was painted BLUE!)

Now we just have to add the molding to the bottom and it will be done.

Thanks for all your help, Mom, Dad, Britt, Dan, Brandon, Emily, Endrice, and of course, Marcus!!

New Pet

2009-08-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

This summer we acquired our annual foster pet, Nacho. He is a three-toed box turtle and he brings us much joy on breaks from school.

He belongs to a fellow teacher friend of mine and when school is not in session, we take care of him for her. This year she is taking the year off, so we get to have him for awhile longer.

He's a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from this summer:

What can we say? We just love animals...especially reptiles. :)

Sewing...

2009-08-24T10:36:00.001-07:00

The weekend before VBS, when I loads of work to do, our internet went out!
To fill the time and relieve myself of some stress, I dug through my fabric bags and boxes and found some fun stuff I got on freecycle...
I got to work on making a princess dress...

It was really fun piecing together what I had and deciding how to make it and how I wanted it to look.

I had some blue shimmery fabric, some blue lace, some gold shiny stuff, and some yellow tulle. I had some purpley/rainbow ribbon...so I got to work on piecing it all together.

I have a special little girl in my life who is always donning princess costumes over her everyday clothes. She has several princess dresses. I figured she could use one more...

So, on Kayleigh's 4th birthday, I stopped by her house. Erica got her up from her nap and brought her out so I could be there when she tried it on. :) Her brother was very interested in which princess it was supposed to be, so I deemed the dress a Princess Kayleigh costume. :)

I made it a little big so she could slip it over her play-clothes like she usually does. :)

Happy Birthday, Princess Kayleigh! I love you! :)
(and thank you, Erica, for sending me the pics)

White Sox Game!

2009-08-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

I finally got to go to my first game of the season...and it's mid-August!!

I got to breakout my new jersey that some of the boys in my class pitched in and got me last year.

Cool sunset over U.S.Cellular Field

(That's Alexei Ramirez, my favorite player!)

Vacation Bible School!

2009-08-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

This week I've been out of the house by 6:45, up and at 'em for VBS.
What a blast this experience has been.
I have learned so much about myself, my church, God's people, and more...
just as I do every year at VBS.
I am so blessed to belong to such an amazing church. The love, thoughtfulness, servant-hood, and genuine love for Christ just shines from the people at The Moody Church.
The people of the church are what brought us there and has kept us there for several years now.
Leaving the church, in which we are involved and have grown spiritually so much, will be THE hardest part about moving to Moline.
My time serving as the director of VBS will be forever in my memory and heart...as will all of the many amazing times we've had, the wonderful friendships we've made, and above all, the immense spiritual growth we have experienced at our church.
Praise God that we will be there for about another year.

One more day of VBS! Please pray for the hundreds of children and volunteers who are coming through our doors tomorrow, and who have been here throughout the week.
It has been an amazing time!

Visit from our Nieces!

2009-08-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Things have been absolutely crazy around here!!

Besides being fully engrossed in VBS, we had an exciting visit from our nieces.

Each summer we have them come with us for a week.

This summer was the first time with the little one. ;)

Marcus's sister and her hubby enjoyed a vacation getaway for their 10th wedding anniversary while we enjoyed some fun times with the girls.

It is late and I took zillions of pictures of our very full, busy, and fun days.

S,o for the sake of time, I'm sharing a few of my favorites:

Aww, aren't the precious!?

Thanks girls, for a fun week!!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-08-03T07:57:00.001-07:00

July 31, 2005:

July 31, 2009:

Do you want to know what I did today?

2009-07-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well, no, you probably don't. All except a teeny bit of it, maybe.

It was a superbly productive day, actually!

I went on a 30 minute run.

I finished FOUR grad school assignments.

I finished my VBS to-do list (for today, I'm sure more will be added tomorrow).

My kitchen table has looked like this all week as I have been literally sitting there 9:00-5:00 every day working on grad school and lots of VBS: (click to enlarge)

But! Amidst my hours of desk work, I had a fun break!

My friend Julie and her two kids, and our friend Emily and her two kids, came to Deerfield for a playdate.

As you can see from most of my posts, summer really consists of hanging out with my friends and their kids! :)

Julie is done with summer school, so we finally had a chance to hang out.

Emily is in town from Florida and I see her about once a year...

We went to the park across the street...

Avery had a pouty moment...it cracked me up. She just sat in this swing pouting for several minutes. :)

Then, later in the evening Lindsey came over to help me sort through my Scentsy delivery! I've got "Tuscan Garden" warming in the warmer right now and our apartment smells SO good!! I love it!

Now we are about to relax, guilt-free (because I got so much done today!), and watch Coraline with my hubby, my sis, and bro-in-law. :)

What a great Thursday!

Birthday Events

2009-07-27T16:29:00.001-07:00

This year it was my Golden Birthday, or Star Birthday, whichever you call it.

I turned 26 on the 26th. I love birthdays, even if I am getting older...

First, on Thursday, I was surprised with cupcakes at small group. Thanks, Esti! :)

Then on Friday, my sis took me to get our nails done by her mother-in-law...

Saturday, I had my party. If any of you know me, you know I love to host parties. The "hosting" kind- you know, like a Tupperware Party or something. I think it's fun to sample the products and buy stuff and earn hostess gifts while helping out consultants and their businesses.

For my Golden Birthday, I decided I would throw the ultimate hosting party. I rented out the party room at the local Potbelly's and rounded up some of my favorite businesses. I had some consultants who were friends and family and some I booked through other people I knew...

There was Gigi Hill...

Scentsy...

Pampered Chef...

Tastefully Simple...

Mary Kay...

and Princess House...

The consultants all had fun and were able to sell some goods and network with each other a bit.

My friends and family got to eat some Potbelly's...

(recognize this cutie from my previous post?)

...and everyone got to shop!

My sis surprised me by bringing cupcakes! Everyone sang and I felt like a little kid! Ha! It was so fun!

Then afterward, my mom and sis came over and we opened presents...

I've always been jealous of my sister's book holder that is shaped like a lawn chair for reading at the beach, so my mom got me one. Also, a White Sox key for our house (Marcus got one for his birthday, too).

Then, for my real birthday, on Sunday, my sis and Dan had us over for dinner...

...as well as a game of Clue and some dessert.

Thanks to everyone who helped make my birthday special! I really love and appreciate all of you!!

Here's to another great year! :) *Cheers!*

Play Date!

2009-07-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

Isn't this what summer is really about!?

I spend my days hanging out with my friends and their kiddos. So fun!

Here are my friend Jennifer's cutie-patooties, who I got to play with this week...

Allie

...and big sister Maddie

...I could get used to this life!! I love spending time with my friends and playing with their kids.

School is right around the corner.

Do I have to go??

Chicagoland Andersons

2009-07-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

For the past several years, four out of the five Anderson siblings have lived around the Chicago area. It has been very fun, even though we didn't get together as often as we potentially could.

We had our last outing as a Chicago-sibling group.
Scott and Robin, Marcus's brother and sister-in-law, are moving away to New Mexico next week.
Lindsey (next to me in the pic) is moving away to Moline to start her new job in a two weeks.
Becca (in between Scott and Robin) is getting married in November and moving to Northbrook (still Chicagoland, yeah!)
We are moving to Moline...........

........someday........ ;)

Rocking Chairs

2009-07-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Another fun day with some of my favorite kids...

4th Annual Door County Girls' Weekend!

2009-07-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

Woohoo!!!

I'm back from a wonderful annual trip with my roomies, Jodi and Megan, from college. Each summer we go to Door County, WI and stay in Megan's parents' cabin...

We eat tons of junk food...

Lounge in the hot tub...

Shop till we drop...

Read...

Watch movies...

Nap on the hammock...

Roast marshmallows at the fire pit...

And of course, do many photo shoots:

Jodi got me this flower hairband and bracelet as part of my birthday gift.

Megan's dog, Buddy, always joins us. :)

For some odd reason we always do this foot pic from the hammock...

There's a little glimpse of the cabin. :)

and just for fun...

Girls Weekend 2006:

Girls' Weekend 2007

Girls' Weekend 2008

Adge Day #3

2009-07-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

When I went to pick up Selah for my third and final "Adge Day," I was greeted by Buzz Lightyear:

On my way to the Hang household, I stopped by Color Me Mine to pickup Kayleigh's wand. It turned out so cute!! She loved it.

I took Selah to a fabulous park in The Glen. This place is really very cool. At first she was totally uninterested. She wanted to just sit. Check out this park!

It had a cool sprinkler thing...uninterested...

But then we found this huge sandbox! She became interested!

We rested on the big wooden swings...

Looked at the beautiful gardens...

...and played in the sand some more.

Then we met up with Erica and the other kiddos for some yummy lunch at Potbelly's.

Maybe she'll enjoy her Adge Days more when she's a little older. We still had a fun time together, though. :)

She just wasn't quite sure what to do with herself without her siblings around.

I love you, Selah! Thanks for a special day!

I'm Sore!!

2009-07-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend and my muscles are SO sore!!

Saturday morning we had two softball games...

Then, we drove for three hours to Moline...

And painted for about four hours...

After a late night pie & coffee date with my BFFs from Moline, we slept for eight hours and then got up and painted and worked on the house straight until about 6 PM.

We finished painting two rooms, though!

I finished the office (which I think I am changing the name to "the den" because it's going to be more than an office- more like a music/computer/library type of room. Any name suggestions? Is that a "den" technically?

See that closet in the corner? We're going to make it into a little walk-in bookcase. :)

Haha, don't mind the patio furniture in the dining room. It's all we've got for now!

...and Marcus finished the porch!! He did the ceiling and gave everything another coat. It looks fabulous!

We obtained this old couch from our old church library. Right now it is in the garage, but I went in to see where people were, and I found Marcus, our niece Maddy, and brother-in-law, Phil chilling on the couch in the garage. Ha! We say it's a psychiatrist couch. Not sure yet where we'll put it, but it's pretty cool.

By the way, the garage is where we've been storing the carpet and tile we've ripped up, so that explains the interesting foot rest they're using. :)

Ho hum...as much as I love my life in Deerfield, when will we get to move in to OUR house??!

Adge Day #2

2009-07-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today was my special day with my favorite little Kayleigh. She is such an adorable kiddo and a real goofball. She would even say so herself.

When I brought her home, this conversation took place:
Erica: Were you a good girl with Adrienne?
Kayleigh: I was a silly girl!

We went to "Color Me Mine" in The Glen. She picked out....

A WAND! (of course)

(note: she's wearing the dress I made her) :)

So talented...

Then we went to Noodles & Co for lunch. Yummy!!

Thank you for a special day, Kayleigh Bayleigh!! I love you!!
...and thank you, Erica, for letting me take your little bundles out on the town,
and for paying for it! :)

Vacation!

2009-07-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

(click on collages to see them bigger)

Sand Dunes:

Go Karts, Mini Golf, and Paddle Boats:

Family Weirdness:

Lake Michigan Sunsets:

Ahh...everyone needs a vacation!

Let's Go!

2009-07-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

Today I am being slowed down by a little speed bump I often encounter in life called:

Type A Personality

That being said, my day is filled with

Packing

Making LISTS

Packing

Running errands

Packing

Cleaning

Packing

Because tomorrow, we leave for PENTWATER!

Each October we take a three day weekend to this beautiful Michigan getaway.

We've talked it up so much that my family has agreed to make the trek this summer.

We will be staying in a big ole' house with:

Mom & Dad

Sis & Bro-in-law

Bro & Girlfriend

And we are going to do lots of fun things and eat lots of good food and get lots of sun.

I'll tell you all about it when we get back!

Adge Day #1

2009-07-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today Malachi had an "Adge Day"...which is what I am affectionally titling my special days with other people's kids. :)

We were planning to hit up a water park, but it was dreary, cold, and drizzly today. So, after about an hour of me ransacking google to find an alternative, turns out the little tyke already had a plan. I called up Erica (my pal and his mom) this morning to discuss plan B. Malachi already had it decided: River Trails Nature Center.

I had never been there before and he was a great host, showing me around.

It was cold and buggy, so we mostly stayed inside.

We took a moment to cheese it up for the camera. (Note the hoodies we are wearing...um yes, don't be deceived, it is July 1st).

We went fishing. After I expressed concern about him going over the fence and into the "water," he informed me that he was just standing on the bridge.

Then, after his request for pancakes for lunch, we hit up Omega. We practiced finding and sounding out the word "pancake" on the sign. (Erica- have him look at this pic, he should be able to tell you which word is "pancake.")

We were the only people there under the age of 80. It was great! He ate a huge Mickey Mouse pancake and then one of mine as well. Ha!

He was very proud of his creamer tower.

Thanks for a fun day, buddy! I love you! (Even if you only say it back to me with an embarrassed cough ;)

Tuesday

2009-06-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, I painted the trim.

Then I started on the walls.

It's kind of an army-green. I got one coat on and will need to finish the edging next time...

I caught the 7:00 train back to Chicago and got home around 11:30.

Whew!

Now to get caught up on all that homework I missed out on...

Monday!

2009-06-24T21:03:00.001-07:00

This past Monday morning I woke up at 5:30 to take the train downtown and then the Amtrak out to Galesburg. Of course, I was exhausted.

But, I got some work done at our house.

I spackled LOTS.

I primed.
My mom caulked.

And then I went to my niece's third birthday party.

There were 9 girls there...from 3 families...

Here is our oldest niece, Maddy:
Here is the birthday girl, herself:

...and middle sister, Emma:

The cute Dora cake Marcus's sister made...or as I called it, Dora's Head on a Platter. :) haha

Three years old!

...I ended up having to take the dress in a bit, it was a little too big. No worries, it was cute nonetheless!

Sunday

2009-06-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday after church, I worked on our niece's birthday gift.

She turned three on Monday.

I worked on this thing for about 7 hours. Good grief. And I thought making gifts was going to be easier than buying them...

...but, it turned out pretty cute.

Saturday Fun

2009-06-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

We had such a busy weekend (and beginning of the week)!

I'm going to make a post for each day, so stay tuned.

Saturday, we got up bright and early and were out of the house at 6:45. We got downtown to our softball game ready to play (but more ready to go back to bed).

Dan had a killer hit....

We chilled for a bit after our game to watch the next one...

Then after we got home we rested a bit and Marcus and I headed out to Rockford with his band for a show.

The show was really great, considering...
They played very well and then were done. Or so they thought.

The manager angrily informed them that they were paid to pay until 9:00. It was only 7:30. No one told them they were supposed to play for 4 hours.

So they played...
...and kept playing...
...and played some more...
...and then it was time to go home, but...not so fast!

The other band who also played at the show had some car troubles. They got in the van to leave and some fluid came rushing out from under their hood...we stayed and helped for a bit...

Then, we were super hungry and decided to go to dinner (at 10:30 PM), but when we got to the parking lot of Red Robin, fluid began rushing out from under OUR hood! (Zach's hood, to be exact, we didn't drive, but it was the vehicle we were in.) Coincidence? Perhaps.

We ate anyway.

Then proceeded to drive back from Rockford, stopping every 10-15 miles to refill the coolant in the radiator.

We stopped a gas station (twice) and also on the side of the highway (twice).

It was getting late, and Zach was getting loopy...

You can't tell, but behind me is the interstate.

We got finally got home around 1:15 AM.

Marcus is 28!

2009-06-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

Marcus's birthday was Friday, June 19th. He turned 28 years old. Weird...I have known him now 12 years.

He wanted to stay in for the night...
He requested Thai...so I made some homemade crab rangoon and Thai Fried Rice.
...oops left my apron on for the pic...
Back in April I got him a new ukulele for an early birthday gift. But, since I felt weird giving him nothing on his actual birthday, I picked up this toothbrush for him. :)
Brittney and Dan got him a mug from Starbucks he's had his eye of for quite awhile...

Happy Birthday, Babe! I love you!!

(We had a very busy weekend, more posts to come!)

Blogging to Avoid Homework

2009-06-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

So, I am hopelessly trying NOT to do homework...I am drained! But, Marcus just left for band practice and I have the evening to myself to try and be productive.

But, first, I decided to blog.

And since there is really nothing new or interesting in my life other than the constant homework, I am posting to introduce you to another room of our house.

As some of you know, when we move (do you know when?!! because we don't) Marcus will open his own business, Anderson Lutherie, which he currently has on the side of his full-time job at Music Center of Deerfield. Thankfully, the house is zoned commercial and residential, so we won't even have the legal hurdles of running a business from our home. The house is perfect for this. Behind the garage, his great-grandfather had built a workshop. It is beautiful. It is the one part of the house that won't need remodeling (we'll have to install a ventilation system of sorts), so that is perfect. My pictures don't capture the wood quality of this shop, but I hope you can see how great it is.

This first shot shows the back wall of the garage--yes--it opens! Into tons of storage space. Down on the floor, under the workshop behind it, his great-grandfather would store lumber (he used the shop for building furniture). On the wall that comes out into a door, was lots of space for bigger tools.

As Marcus would say, "Do you see that flame on the wood drawers?" :)

There is so much storage in this shop (and in the garage) that I fear we will forget where we put things. On a positive note, there is plenty of space to hide presents. Ha!

In this picture of the garage, you can see in the far corner, the door leading to the shop as well as the back wall partly open. If you look closely, you can see tracks on the floor- the wall that opens has wheels so it opens nice and smooth! You can also see the garage door boarded up, they didn't use it as a garage. :(...but we plan to! :)

This next picture shows the other side of the garage and all of its storage. If you look to the right of the light, you can see a little bar on the underside of a storage unit attached to the ceiling. That bar pulls down to reveal a ladder, so you can walk right up to all the stuff you stored up there!

I think it is a unique little feature, but it might have to be taken down so we can install a garage door opener. :(

Okay, okay, now that I've successfully bored you all, off to homeworkland!

New Post Just Because

2009-06-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well, school's out, summer's here, and I've been enjoying being lazy! My first day off, Thursday, was spent sleeping in, working out, and doing grad homework for four hours. I hear about people in my classes who work, parent, and do homework, and I really don't understand how that's feasible. God bless you folks! Friday, I got a couple good books at the library and laid out at the pool.

I'm officially ready for summer to begin after those two relaxing days and this coming week starts my busy summer schedule or friends to see, meetings (VBS) to plan and attend, and several French Horn lessons to teach...even some training workshops at school to attend.

I know a post isn't very exciting without pictures, so I thought I'd take this post to show you all one of my favorite rooms in our new house...which we still don't know when we'll move in to, but it's our house, nonetheless. :)

It's a little mini-room near the attic that is kid-sized. I hope to use it as a kid's craft room. I want to paint it white (instead of mint green!!) and then from there, let the creative juices flow, letting the kid(s) color the walls however they want. I know we don't have kids yet, especially not ones old enough to "craft," but the room is there if God decides for us to go down that path. This room is very short and cute and the workbench/tables are kid-height. I get kind of claustrophobic in there, so I always like to leave the door open...

...but if you do close the door, you can see this little bell up near the ceiling. It connects to a button in the kitchen which Marcus's great-grandmother would ring when it was dinner time to alert her hubby (who was hard of hearing) to come down. I'm not sure if kids ever used this room or not, but the room attached to it (which you can kind of see in the first pic behind Marcus) was used as a dark room for Great-Grandfather to develop his photography (there are two such dark rooms in the house).

Someday we'll live in this peculiar, fascinating home! I'll try to post pics and stories about the various rooms throughout the summer...