Sleeping on the Job...

Yesterday Jon and I brought Sydney Herr home with us after church to take a nap at our house, then hang out with us until the Christmas concert that our church held last night. Brian & Sarah were both either in the concert or running sound, so they needed to be there early. After Sydney woke up from her nap I was still in the kitchen making cookies - you'd think all I do these days is bake cookies - so Jon was helping out by keeping an eye on Sydney and playing with her. After a while I had a break where there was nothing I needed to be in the kitchen for, so I went into the living room to see what they were up to. Here's what I discovered:





Haha!!! I quietly got the camera and snapped the picture and then started laughing. :)Looks like Jon's the one that needed a nap.

Alright, I need to get wrapping gifts and baking MORE cookies!! So far this year I've made White Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Crinkles, Peanutbutter Blossoms, Chocolate-dipped Shortbread and sugar cookies. Tonight I'm making Snickerdoodles and rolling and cutting out the dough that's in the refrigerator to make Christmas cut-out cookies. My favorite are the Chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies. I'm not sure where the recepie originally came from, but I got it from my mom. Here it is incase you want to try them:

Cookies:

2 cups flour
1 cup margarine (soft) - margarine works better than butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips until well blended. Add chocolate chips and mix into dough. Roll into thin logs 3-4 inches long and bake 10-12 minutes at 350degrees.

Frosting:

3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. Crisco (vegetable oil works well too)

Melt ingredients over very hot water in double broiler. Dip one end of each cookie in the chocolate and lay on wax paper on a flat cookie sheet. Cool cookies in fridge for at least 1 hour to set chocolate before storing.

Enjoy!

The latest...

So, since last time I blogged what all has happened? November 30th was my mom's birthday so I had a little luncheon in her honor. It was just for family so I invited my sisters, Mom-mom, Grandma Bea, Jon's mom, and Shawna and her mom. Everything went well! Here are just a few pictures:




We are still praying and in search of a job for Jon - things are looking up though. In the past week he's been in contact with career services from his school frequently and they're looking for a Job for him. He also posted his resume and information on craigs list and got a call from a staffing agency that has a possible job opportunity for him - he met with a lady from there last Friday. And Wednesday he got a call from an independant company (we're not sure where they saw his info) saying they have a possible opening for him. So we're praying that one of these Job's is what God has planned - but who knows. In the meantime Jon's been working at the Inn again, expoditing for the holiday season. He works Monday - Friday for lunch and Monday & Wednesday for dinner.

With both of us working the schedule is crazy busy again. Not quite as busy as when I was working full time though.

Tuesday night Jon's mom took both Jon and I to this different kind of chiropractor that she goes to occationally. He's one who focuses specifically on your top two vertabre which he believes have an impact on the whole rest of your spine. We went because his mom and I thought that maybe chiropractic work could help with the mini siesure-like things he gets ocationally when he stands up from a sitting position. It basically causes him loose control of the entire right side of his body for a few seconds and his hand and face sorta clench up. This guy we went to thinks that its very possible that a nerve or something is pinched and that could be causing what happens to Jon. So he did some adjustments to Jon's neck the other night. Time will tell if what the chiropractor did helped because Jon doesn't get these siesures every day, but so far he hasn't gotten any. We're praying they are gone.

Last night we had Dwayne and Rachel over for dinner. It was nice catching up with them since we haven't seen them in a while. After dinner the 3 other couples from our "old" couples group came over - Nate & Shawna, Brian & Sarah and Ian & Ashley. We had a great time socializing and then we turned on the Wii and play some Wii sports and Monkeyball - both fun interactive games for groups.

Tonight we have our young marrieds discipleship group at Brian and Sarah's and then afterward we're going to see the movie "I am Legend" with a few other couples from church. I guess it'll be a late night :). At least we have nothing major to do tomorrow so we can sleep in and have a nice relaxing Saturday.

Well, I think that's the catch-up. I really need to get better at posting more regularly.

Update

Now that it's been almost a month since I got laid-off at THP I figured it was about time to update my blog! I haven't posted because nothing much interesting has been happening - up until this past week. Plus, I've been keeping busy and really enjoying all the time I have now to keep my house clean and organized and to make full homemade meals and get all kinds of things done that I didn't use to be able to do.

When I was working the days felt like they went on forever and I was so bored sitting at work with nothing to do. Now the days feel like they fly by. I can't believe how quickly they go by. I thought I would be all caught up with everything on my to-do list in no time but with most of my list still un-done, I was obviously wrong :). There are so many things to be done and so much to organize and making a full meal almost every day takes a lot longer than I was expecting. I started with a stack of recipes I had cut out of all different magazines and now I've almost made all of them. I've been making a new meal almost every night for dinner. If we like it then I write it onto a recipe card with notes about how much we liked it and what I should do differently next time - if anything.

Thanksgiving also came and went since the last time I posted. We went to my parents house for lunch with a big group of my family. Then we came back to Jon's parents for dessert later in the afternoon and stayed there most of the evening. It was a nice relaxing day.

The weekend after Thanksgiving - Friday afternoon to Monday night - Jon was up at the cabin for hunting - which started Monday. Unfortunatly it rained Monday so it wasn't great for hunting. Tuesday he went out again with Nate down near my parents house. He really wants to get a deer this year :).

Tuesday we went out and got a Christmas tree and Wednesday we decorated it. I like how it turned out this year a little better than last years tree. Here are some pictures.




Oh yes, and I now have somewhat of a job again, starting this past Wednesday. I'm coat checking for day-time banquets at the Inn Tuesday - Friday during the month of December (up until the Friday before Christmas). So far this past week I only worked 2 days because I wasn't expecting to start until next week. I worked only Wednesday and Thursday. Those two days there were not many coats so I'm not sure how things are going to continue...or if I will continue. We'll see.

Since I haven't been working I've been able to get out during the days often and I am just about done my christmas shopping and gift wrapping!! It feels good knowing I don't have to rush around at the last minute in all the craziness to get my gifts this year!

A New Season of Life

Well, I no longer am a full-time working girl!! Last Thursday (Nov. 1st) I was laid-off from THP because of lack of work and the company downsizing. At lunch time my Team leader had the rest of my team go out for lunch and as soon as they left he called me into his office to tell me the news. I was upset and crying during the meeting but mostly just because of shock and being in an emotional mood. I packed up my things and left right after the meeting and cried most of the way home. Jon came home from work for a little to comfort me and by the time he left I was fine - happy in fact :). I really don't know why I cried so much because I'm not really upset. It's quite exciting for me to finally be able to be at home and have time to take care of my house and cook full homemade meals and on and on - oh the plans I have for the next few weeks :). The only thing that's not good is that Jon is still in search of a Job and hasn't gotten any calls yet. But I know God allowed me to get laid-off for a reason and I'm sure we'll be fine. I think this is why God taught us the lesson he did last week in trusting Him because if He is faithful even in the small things like loosing a ring and a wallet, surely He is faithful in the big things like Jon getting a job and making enough money to support us. I just don't know how it's all going to work out. We're praying and we'll see what God does. Jon's been working full-time putting lights on the trees over at the Inn the last few weeks and he has a couple weeks left of doing that.

I have meant to blog every day since last Thursday, and you'd think with all the extra time I have now that would have been no problem, but I've been keeping busy catching up on all sorts of things and cooking and cleaning.

Today I was able to go visit an old friend, Alicia, who I've been wanting to get together with for a while. We had a nice time talking and eating lunch at her house.

Now I'm off to take the meat off a chicken that's been boiling for the last hour. I'm making Chicken pot-pie tomorrow for a care group dinner.

How great is our God!

One week ago yesterday I left for work in a hurry and in the process, forgot to put on my wedding & engagement rings – which are soldered together. When I got home they were gone. Jon and I looked everywhere. We picked through the trash piece by piece, we searched the walkway and driveway outside and also inside my car. I was to the point where I was looking in the same places two or three times. The next few days at work I’d stare all around the ground as I was walking in to see if maybe I lost them there.

Three days later - Friday night - we left to go to the cabin for the weekend. By Saturday night Jon was looking for his wallet and couldn’t find it. Sunday we did a more thorough search of the cabin and car – Jon’s wallet was also gone! When we got home his wallet wasn’t in the house either. The last time we could remember him using it was to get gas at Bergey’s so we called there – no one had turned in a wallet.

After both of these things we were praying hard. God was certainly trying to teach us something but we did not know what.

This past Tuesday (1 day less than a week after I lost my ring) Jon called me at around 9:30 in the morning to say that his wallet was found. Apparently he set it on top of the car while filling the gas tank Friday night, then forgot it there and we drove off. It stayed on the car (probably because of the bike racks) through the pouring rain and high speeds, till we were almost up to the cabin, where it must have flown off and landed on the side of the road. Then some kind man found it and turned it in to the municipal office up there. A lady at the office found Jon’s number on his gun carry permit (which he had just gotten the day he lost his wallet); she left Jon and urgent message saying they had his wallet and he could pick it up anytime. Amazing!

Then, not even two hours later, I went out to my car to take my morning break and noticed a parking space open right near where I usually park. So, like I’d been doing often since I lost the ring, I was looking around on the ground to see if my ring was there. I looked kinda quickly because I had looked a bunch of times already, as I was turning away something caught my eye and I turned back and walked over to it…IT WAS MY RING! Unbelievable! Amazing! God is soo so good!

So, the moral of the story: God is in control of even the smallest little details of our lives, and he cares! He gets all the praise for that amazing day! So many things could have happened to either my ring or Jon’s wallet, but God protected both and worked through the whole situation to teach us to trust Him even more.

Hopefully this story encourages you today as much as it has and continues to encourage Jon and I.

Jons Graduation

Here are just a couple pictures from Jon's Graduation Ceremony.

This is Jon and a few of his friends from school:

And of course, a picture of Jon and I :)

Job Search Status

The week before we left for Cayman Jon finished his online portfolio web site. It looks really great!

Take a look around his site if you’re curious about what Jon went to school for and what he’s looking to do at a future job: www.jpfportfolio.com.

He’s now in the process of searching through job listings and applying for numerous job opportunities. Please continue praying for wisdom and direction for us during this time - and thanks for all the people who have, and are already praying! We really appreciate your prayers.

Cayman Islands

Jon and I just returned from Grand Cayman Sunday night. We had a great time although the trip seemed short. David was sick the day were were supposed to leave so he and Jon's mom stayed home an extra day. Thankfully it only took one day and Dave felt up to flying. Here are some pictures of where we were and what we did.





This is the Friedrich's house:

Jon has a smaller boat down in Cayman that we used often to go out fishing or snorkeling.

Speaking of fishing, we did a good amount of fishing around the reefs and one day we fished off the dock. Out around the reefs was pretty good fishing but we got our lines caught on the reef often. I did more fishing than Jon just because he was always busy putting new bait on my hook or a new line on my rod, or taking a fish I caught off the hook. I just cast the line out and reeled the fish in :). He's such a sweet guy!

Here's two big fish I caught the first day we went reef fishing. Jon also caught one the same size another day.


Sting Ray City is always a fun thing to do in Cayman. The one day we got out there and ours was the only boat there - the sting rays swarmed us! This year I wasn't as afraid of them as I was last year. Jon feeds them squid to keep them near us. I'm really afraid of their tails but I like to touch them. Jon will actually pick them up when he's feeding them.

This kayak that we're on has a glass bottom so Jon and I went out to the reef with it. That was pretty cool but a little scary. I kept thinking we were going to hit the reef because it looked much closer than it was.

Myrtle Beach

Alright, finally getting around to posting some pictures from Myrtle Beach. This is just a few.

Here's our car all packed up on the way down. We got horrible gas mileage with that bag on top, but we fit everything of ours and Nate & Shawna's in our car - except our beach chairs which we gave to Kemmerer's to take down.

Nate and Jon bought fishing rods before we headed down. They went fishing a few days out on the beach and at the spot where we always go crabbing. Nate caught a little shark the one day.



Throughout the week a bunch of people were getting stung by Man of War jelly fish. Neither Jon or I got stung but only for Jon was that surprising. He was in the water a lot. Below is the one time I went in the ocean the whole week - and I made sure I stayed on my Kyack the entire time. There was no way I was chancing a jelly fish sting!

Dave & Ben brought an air mattress down to use as a raft. This is some of the guys playing "king of the mattress" :) Jon actually got on top just a few seconds after I took this picture:



And that's all. I was disapointed with the amount of pictures we took while down in Myrtle Beach. I have to get some pictures from others down there.

I'm Back!

WOW! I'm so embarassed about how long it's been since my last post. Everyone has probably long since stopped checking my blog. But I'm back! It's been a crazy month and a half. We just got back from Myrtle beach last Sunday - I'll write more about that later when I have some pictures ready.

Jon finished school at the end of August!! It's amazing that it's been 2 years since he started at ITT Tech. He worked hard throughout his classes and graduated with honors and a 3.6 GPA. I'm proud of him :). Last night was his graduation ceremony. My parents, Jon's family and I all went to celebrate with him; then we all went out for dinner & dessert afterward. I'll post some pictures later. We used my parents camera to take the pictures so I don't have any right now.

Jon had a week free inbetween finishing school and Myrtle Beach, so he took it upon himself to re-paint our front porch - a project we've been putting off for a while. It turned out really well!! Here are a few afterward pictures:




Some of you may or may not have known Jon & I were considering going on a 2-3 week mission trip to Japan later this year. Right before leaving for Myrtle Beach we found out that the dates we could go were the two weeks right before Christmas - that was the latest possible time we were thinking it could be. I was already feeling like maybe it wasn't a good idea, but finding that out made me really nervous about going and the stress that would have put on our entire Christmas season. Ultimatly though, the reason Jon decided not to go was because he was not comfortable with how that left his job situation - he really wouldn't have been able to get a job until the beginning of next year.

Speaking of Jon's job situation, since coming home from Myrtle Beach he's begun a full-time search for a Job. He's spent the last few days working the whole day on perfecting his resume and working to create an online portfolio of all his work - he's creating a website specifically for his portfolio. We've both spent time searching monster.com and a few other job-search sites looking for possible job opportunities. It looks like it's not going to be easy to find a job just starting out in the graphics design field. We could use prayer - especially Jon - for wisdom, direction and guidance. It's somewhat overwhelming and stressful.

Equinox Visual has been put on the back burner for now while Jon is looking for a job, he's not sure what will eventually happen with the company.

So anyway, a lot of that was about Jon. Nothing much has been going on with me latley. I really enjoyed Myrtle Beach and getting away for a week from work and busy life. In a little over a week we'll be going away again - this time to Cayman with Jon's family for a week. That will be fun too. All this vacationing though is really making me not want to go back to work :).

Hopefully it won't be too long before I have a chance to post pictures from Myrtle Beach and Jon's graduation.

Quakecon 2007

Here are just a few pictures from Quakecon...There aren't many since most of Jon's pictures were of computer cases, cars, or other things that mostlikely wouldn't interest a lot of people.

This is at Stephen and Matt's house - They're playing Guitar Hero:

Sorry for the disturbing picture - this is Jon with a huge hot dog they got over there: :)

Jon drinking a Bawls energy drink - they were giving them out free the whole time:

Here's the line they stood in to get into the conference Wed. night:

This is in the BYOC (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) area:

These are two pictures of the inner atrium of the hotel where Jon was staying:

Hopefully that was enough for you to get some idea of where Jon was this past week. He's got plenty more pictures if you ever want to see them.

I'm so glad he's back!!! :)

JON'S HOME!

Jon, his mom and David flew into philly airport last night at around 9:00 pm - safe and sound. Jon's dad and I had been waiting there for about 45 minutes before they arrived. I am so glad I have my husband back!! The saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is definitely true for me. :)

I didn't end up making corn last Saturday because no one had 600 ears of corn (200 for me and 400 for my mom) and it's also the very beginning of the corn season so we were told the corn is not as good. We might be freezing corn this coming Saturday now.

Sunday I was busy cleaning and getting ready for Jon to come home. I was pretty sure most of the day that I was sleeping at my parents house Sunday night, but by around 7:00pm I still had wash in the washer, and a list of stuff I wanted to do yet - so I decided to brave-it and stay home by myself...for the first time ever since being married! I called Jon right when I was getting in bed and talked to him till I was pretty tired, then after I got off the phone with him I started praying and praying - about anything I could think of - to keep my mind distracted till at some point I fell asleep. haha

I'm going to post a few pictures Jon took while at Quakecon.

MISSING MY LOVE :(

As I type I'm sitting in my old bedroom at my parents house! Jon's away at Quakecon in Texas and I'm sleeping here at my parents tonight and tomorrow night. The last two nights since Jon left Manda slept at my house with me. That was fun catching up! Last night we went out for dinner to Salad Works and then picked up Starbucks and went back to my house to talk and catch up the rest of the night. I had a lot of fun and it kept my mind off how much I miss Jon!

This "separation" is longer than we've ever been apart since getting married. Jon left Tuesday morning soon after I left for work and won't be getting back till after dinner time Monday night. :( I MISS HIM SOO MUCH! I wasn't really thinking about him leaving too much up until the night before he left - it was after we finished packing up all his stuff and were crawling into bed - I broke down crying! It finally hit me that he was leaving for a week. It was a very sad goodbye the next morning... Tuesday when I got home from work I just walked around the house feeling lost for a little while - it felt so strange!

Packing up to come to my parents for two nights felt even more strange than being home alone. I don't even really know why. I guess just being at our house is somewhat of a comfort when Jon's gone. Who knows!

Tomorrow night I'm going out to dinner with my mom - we haven't decided where yet - and then Saturday morning I'm making and freezing creamed corn with my family. I'm doing 200 ears for Jon & I so hopefully we'll have enough to last us till this time again next year. Yummm! I didn't do corn last year and I missed having it.

Saturday afternoon I'm going back home and Sarah's coming over to scrapbook and go out to dinner with me. Then she's sleeping over.

I haven't figured out exactly what's happening Sunday. Either I'm sleeping at my parents again or Kassia and Kelsey are sleeping at my house.

Monday night I'm driving up with Jon's dad to pick up my long lost husband and his mom and dave at the airport! :) :) I can't wait!

As you can tell I'm keeping myself busy while Jon's away! That's a good thing though.

Passion Fest

FINALLY I'm posting a little about Passion Fest which happened back on July 7th! Overall the day went well. I thought it was going to feel like a long day since it was HOT and we were outside all day - but it wasn't bad. I was stationed at the volunteer tent for almost the entire day to help check volunteers in and out. Jon helped setting up the state and being a stage runner when the bands were playing. He enjoyed that because he got to be back stage with some bands that he likes. :) The highlight of the day was the "Livin It" Dirt Bikers that performed. Here's a few pictures and a video (if I can figure out how to get the video to work):

The William Penn Inn donated some money towards the event and we caught a picture of their logo projected on the big screens next to the stage:


There was a huge turnout - the township police thought it was probably double the amount of people that came out last year. I think Jon and I will probably help out again next year - it was a fun day!

Bike Ride

Last night Jon and I were planning to go watch Grace Community Church’s Softball team play their second playoff game. Jon thought up the crazy idea of biking there and back and, for some reason, I agreed. So soon after I got home from work we headed out – an hour and a half before the game time. 10 miles later and after a quick stop at Taco Bell for a small dinner, we arrived at the game during one of the first few innings – sweaty and tired - and boy was I sore! After the game Brendan Alburger offered to drive us home but Jon said no – he’s trying to get me in shape to bike the 40 miles down to Philadelphia in a few months - and so…we headed home :).

The ride home didn’t actually feel too bad. Instead of going back 309 we took a different route through Lansdale which was a little less hilly than 309 would have been. We got home just before full darkness hit. I still didn’t feel too tired but I discovered quickly that my legs were pushed past their limit. Jon called me upstairs to look at something he had been working on earlier in the day so I started climbing the stairs…about two steps up my legs collapsed and I had to catch myself from falling flat on my face! I proceeded up the stairs a little more carefully and made it to the top. When I turned around to come back down the stairs my legs gave out again! So I basically crab walked the rest of the way down and at the bottom stood up - only to fall right to my knees!!! LOL

Jon picked me up - laughing and at the same time apologizing for laughing, but I was laughing too. I am so out of shape! I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to come to work today because I wondered if I’d even be able to move. I woke up this morning sore but able to move so I did come to work.

I know I haven’t posted in a while and there are a few things I want to write about but I keep putting them off so I decided just to write this post and I’ll catch up with the rest later. I need to write about Passion Fest and a trip to the cabin that we took a week or so ago, but I have pictures for both and my laptop is currently being repaired so I can’t get to the pictures.

Jon’s away for most of next week at a video game conference in Texas, so I’m hoping to catch up on posting while he’s away… we’ll see.

Dorney Park

Yesterday Jon & I, Nate & Shawna, Alysa, Kassia, Kelsey, Steve, Aaron, Mike Kemmerer, Mike Alburger and Eilee went to Dorney Park. When I woke up to see overcast weather I was bummed. Jon and I drove to my parents in the pouring rain to meet up with the rest of the group to car pool up in the Kemmerer’s van. As we got closer it was still overcast but the rain had stopped.

It was perfect! The day turned out to be a really fun time! It was overcast till mid afternoon but there was no more rain. It being overcast didn’t stop us, but it kept the crowds away, so there were absolutely no lines all day! We got right on the rides within a few minutes of standing in line. We’d had our fill of roller coasters and water rides and were ready to head home by around 7:00 pm. Unfortunately, once again, I did not take any pictures! I just hope by the time I have kids I’m better at this picture-taking-thing! :)

Book Sales!

For anyone that attended New Attitude this year, listen up! If you’re thinking about buying any books or resources, Crossway is offering a 40% discount AND free shipping on anything in their online store! You must go to Crossway’s site through New Attitude’s website to get the discount.

If you weren’t at New Attitude there’s still a chance for you to get great books at a great price. Desiring God Ministries is offering every book in their online store for $5 on June 27-28 (tomorrow and Thursday) Jon and I are placing an order! Click here to go to their store.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

I can not believe it! Jon and I have been married for one whole year! Yesterday was our anniversary!! With everything going on the last month it was a little hard to plan ahead, but Saturday, after Stephen and Matt left, Jon booked a hotel in Philly - right by where we got engaged - and we packed our bags and took off! Saturday night we walked around South Street, ate some yummy pizza for dinner and went down to the water front - where we got engaged - to look back and reminisce the last year and a half. So much has happened but yet it seems like it was just yesterday. Random times throughout Saturday and yesterday we would stop and think about what we would have been doing at that time one year ago. It was really fun.

This is where we got engaged:

Sunday we didn't have to be out of the hotel till 12 noon so we slept in and had a continental breakfast. Then we headed home, planning to eat lunch at the Olive Garden in Montgomeryville. As we started driving though, traffic was looking pretty bad and we were both getting hungry. Just in time, Jon looked up the closest Olive Garden with the GPS and it told us to get off at the next exit (less than a 1/2 mile from where we were). It led us to an Olive Garden right in the middle of Philly. That was fun!

When we got home I was really tired for some reason so I laid down and took a quick nap. I woke up to the sound of Jon laying a bouquet of flowers on the bed next to my head! :) He's so cute! He ran out of the house as soon as I had fallen asleep and got them for me. We then went for a walk around the yard - since it was such a nice day out. Last night Jon made steaks on the grill and we had a delicious dinner at home. We pulled out our toasting glasses from the wedding and had the same kind of sparkling wine as we did for our wedding.

After dinner we just felt like watching a movie together so we ran to blockbuster and rented the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie and watched it. I know, that's not a very romantic movie, but we've never seen it and we want to go see the third one in theaters before it ends so that's what we wanted to watch :).

And that was the end of our One year anniversary! We both really enjoyed our quick get-away and a leisurely day together. Now we're full speed ahead into our second year of married life. Ha! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for us! These are the flowers Jon got me:

New Attitude, Jons B-day, OC & More

Ok, so it has been FOREVER since I posted last. When I tell of all that has taken place since then hopefully you’ll understand.

Let’s see, I left off right before we went to New Attitude. The conference was great and refreshing. If you’re interested, all of the messages we heard are being offered free of charge from Sovereign Grace Ministries here on their website.

After New Attitude was Jon’s 21st Birthday! What I said we would be doing in the last post was not actually what was happening. I planned a surprise party for Jon at Fox & Hound in King of Prussia. It was just him and I and a small group of our friends. We REALLY got him good. He was planning on meeting up with all his friends at 8:30pm at a bar that’s about 5 minutes from our house. Knowing that, he was getting really worried as we kept driving farther and farther away from our house to go to a “surprise” restaurant for dinner together. He kept saying stuff like “where are we going?” “We shouldn’t be going this far away! We’re never going to make it back in time!” etc… I was laughing inside :) We had a great time hanging out when we got there, and everything went smoothly. My big gift to Jon was a GPS system - which has come in handy quite a few times since Jon’s birthday. Here are a few pictures from the party (click them to enlarge):






Thursday night after Jon’s birthday party was crazy – just as I had expected! I was up till late doing wash, packing and straightening up the house; getting ready to leave for Ocean City. Friday June 1st I took a half-day at work so we could make it down to the shore in pretty good time after finishing up packing.

Our week down in Ocean City was a nice break from work, school and normal busy life. We had great weather most of the time too. It only rained for a day and a half. I’m upset at myself for how few pictures we took while we were there, but we weren’t really doing much that was picture worthy. I did get a few though so here are some:




Jon had all kinds of fun with his cousins Stephen and Matt – who came in from Oklahoma the Monday after we got down to Ocean City. As usual they were up till the early hours of the morning almost every day. I was excited to find a store on the boardwalk that sells previous-year Gap clothing. I came home with a few extra pieces of clothing then I went with, and a cute ‘Life Is Good’ back-pack bag.

This past week back at home with Stephen and Matt still here, went by incredibly fast. Every night Jon and his cousins were doing something. And we had a nice family dinner at the Inn Tuesday night in honor of Jon’s birthday. Since we left for Ocean City just a day and a half after Jon’s birthday, my parents and family never got to celebrate with him and neither did Jon’s parents. So our two families went out for dinner and then back to Jon’s parents for desserts...yummmy!

So that’s a very quick summary of what has been going on in the last few weeks. There’s one more thing though, but I’ll post again to talk about it…

Catch Up!

WOW! It has been a LONG time since I posted last! Almost a month ago. So many things have happened - which is part of the reason I haven't posted. My sisters and Grandma Bea planned a surprise 25th Anniversary party for my parents on the 18th. It went well and I believe they were surprised. Kelsey and Alysa made and served them a nice romantic dinner at their house and had them all dressed up in a tux and dress. While they were eating people were arriving and staying in the other half of the house. Right as they were being served dessert we all walked in and surprised them! :)

Only a few days after that (which would have been this past weekend) Jon and I went down to Wildwood, NJ Sunday after church till Monday night. My Aunt Kathy had booked a bunch of rooms down there and all of my dad's family was invited down at any time throughout this past week. It turned out that everyone was there at the same time so it was quite a party! I got burnt pretty much all over because I laid out on the beach for a few hours Monday and only had SPF 4 on...but now I have a semi-nice tan so it was all worth it :). Jon went out fishing with all the guys on Monday morning and caught a bunch of sharks (small ones), some small blue fish and some other kinds of fish - I forget all the names. He had a lot of fun. Wildwood is definitely more of a party town than Ocean City. The hotel right across the street from where we were had a bunch of seniors there for senior week. Sunday night they were throwing beer bottles out of their balcony's and hitting a nice mustang parked across the street. Nate and Jon went and told the hotel security which created a scene that we all enjoyed watching. The cops there aren't very smart, is all I have to say.

Tomorrow Jon and I leave for New Attitude in Kentucky. We'll be there until next Tuesday. Normally New Attitude is a conference put on by Sovereign Grace Ministries for singles of all ages. However, this year they also invited young marrieds to attend - which is why we're going. Jon and I are excited and looking forward to learning, fellowshiping and encountering God there through what will I'm sure be some very good teaching and worship.

Next Wednesday, the day after we get back from New Attitude, is Jon's 21st birthday!! He's SOO excited :). We're going out for dinner and then out with some of the guys.

And then...next Thursday... I'll be rushing around just about going insane trying to do wash, pack and clean to leave for Ocean City Friday afternoon!! We're going down for a week with Jon's family. I have no idea how I'm going to get everything done in basically one night!?!

Speaking of not know how I'm going to get things done... I haven't even started packing for New Attitude yet and we're leaving tomorrow at 8:00. Plus tonight we will hopefully be FINALLY selling our old Audi! We've been trying to for the last few weeks but the guy we're selling it to is just not very with it. He supposedly now has the money together and insurance so as long as he shows up we're good to go!

Well, I better get going. Lots to do and not enough time :).