Knitting....Finally

So I never really have posted any of my knitted projects. I know that trying to describe something is futile compared to posting a picture. So, Julianna, this is for you. Candace's Knitting Expo:

Project #1 - Hat for my Sis - Free Pattern stolen from Jo's blog.

Doesn't she sport it well? She was made to wear hats! That's my dad looking super cool in the back ground! :)

Much to Julianna's disappointment, my sister loved the hat. I always freak out a little when making hats because I'm the model and I have an unusually small head.
**Note: This hat did come out way too big, but I was able to improvise, cut out the first ring from the very top and sew it up. A good knitter could tell, but the recipient couldn't so I guess that's o.k.

Project #2 - The Falling Leaf hat that was originally for mom, but Courtney stole it! :) Mom said she would wear it WAY more than she would. She's right. Pattern from Knitty.



I LOVED this hat and selfishly wanted to keep it for myself. The pattern was my first attempt at a "lace" pattern, and it just turned out so well. But, what am I going to do with a hat like that in FL. Also, it was an easy decision since the whole tiny head thing played a factor yet again! :)

Project #3 - Green Sweaterlette (I'm glad my sister likes knit-wear. She is an awesome recipient!) P.S. I also made one for myself in purple merino. The sleeves and body are both slightly shorter than this one, but essential the same. I love it!
It goes great with a white T and jeans. Pattern - Randomly found free online - lots of errors in the written pattern, though. Guess you can't complain much if it's free!

Up close

Back

Front

Project #4 - The Purse - I carry it almost every day. Pattern from Knitty

I love the diamond pattern - very fun and cleaver.

The second strap acts as a nifty closure

I even broke out the old sewing machine and lined it. It was pretty much a necessity because (as I have learned) knitting is much more "stretchy" than crochet, and the purse would have quickly lost its shape without the lining.

Project #5 - Mom's Head Warmer (see Jo, I made one too! :) Actually two-another went to my mother in law) - Pattern from Knitty

Mom doesn't really like to wear hats because she says they don't fit right due to her hair. She really liked this and said it did the trick.

Project #6 - The most beautiful hat ever (ok so I finally kept something for myself. I was lucky enough to have exactly (and I mean exactly) enough yarn to make two of these hats - the other went to my sister in law.)

I love how the top looks like a flower! Thank you super cool yarn!

I also really dig the cable stitches all around. I found this pattern free and randomly online. Free online patterns are hit and miss. This one was definitely a hit. I think this pattern would look equally as beautiful in a solid color - you would be able to really see the cables better that way.

Project #7 - Inspirational Booties for Emma Kate
So I got this fabulous pattern book - Simple Knits for Cherished Babys. It has some beautiful patterns in it. I've made these, along with a different bootie pattern (only one so far), as well as a knitted teady bear I just finished this weekend (he's cute, but he definitely looks hand made! Maybe I'll do better next time. I haven't quite mastered the art of seaming.)
Anywho, I have a couple other patterns lined up from that book. Babie stuff is just too much fun to knit. It's probably my favorite thing. So here are the booties:

As you can see, they are knit (garter stitch) all in one piece - very cleaver.

Here's a finished one before the trim work.

Finished! I went with something totally different I thought would fit the mommy and baby's personality better. They turned out really well if I do say so myself. I love these because they are so simple and even a slower than snot knitter like myself can whip these out rather quickly. I'll definitely be using this pattern again.

So there you have it. About a half a year's worth of projects. Better late than never, eh?

Romantic Simplicity

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm about as low maintenance as they come. What you may not know is that I have never been a fan of Valentine's Day. In my opinion, it's about the LEAST romantic day of the year. Let me explain.... V-Day is a day where you are expected to be romantic. That's kind of an oxymoron to me. Romance isn't in the gift giving, card exchanging, or flower sending. It's the moments that come unexpectedly. When your sweetie does something for you "just because". Those are the times when the romance shines brightest.

Besides, I have been blessed with a husband who shows his love to me every day (well most every day....no one's perfect. :)). I suppose that's a big reason that V-Day is just another day to me.

O.K. so I won't be a total pessimist regarding this day of romance. It does bring a reminder that it is important to show love to the ones you care for, and continue to build your relationship with the spouse.

Nick and I had a most wonderful evening... He bought steak and shrimp to grill. We made salad and bruchetta with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil for appetizers, and toasted the evening with a bottle of white wine. Then we watched a movie from good 'ole Blockbuster. What a fantastic way to celebrate - a quiet evening, good food, and wonderful conversation reminiscing about the day we met.... I'll choose that any day over waiting outside for 2 hours while people smoke waiting to be seated in a crowded restaurant.

Ah, I guess "they" are right...it really is the simple things in life.

Speaking of which, our college friends Josh and Rebekah T. came for a quick visit on their way to see Rebekah's parents along with their kids - two of the most adorable children I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Ethan is all boy at 3 1/2 and loves his Thomas the Train pals. He is also quite a big eater. He got down on those chicken strips and french fries! :) Ellianna is a beautiful 11 month old little girl. Gorgeous blue eyes and a smile that could win over any one. I had the distinct pleasure of holding her during the church service this Sunday. She danced with the music, slept during the sermon, and smiled sweetly as the pastor blessed her during communion. What more could you ask for? Seriously?

The only complaint I have is that currently I have a nasty stomach virus of some sort. It's been in full swing since Friday, and it's term in office is way past due. I am able to go to work and stuff, but I'm exhausted and uncomfortable. So, I am praying that this will pass soon. I have a big week at work and school... Apparently it's going around - my boss had it, and my co-worker that sits next to me is out sick today.

Other than that, I can't complain in the least. I am truly blessed with all that I have. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you also!

P.S. If Nick will ever load pictures on to the computer, I will post knitting pictures as requested by Julianna. It will prove to be an explosion of yarn! I also have a couple Christmas pics as well.

40 Days of Community

Some of you may heard of Rick Warren and his book "Purpose Driven Life". Well, a couple of years ago our church - St. Paul Lutheran - did a "40 Days of Purpose" during Lent. It was awesome, and it really focused on building your relationship with God on an individual level. This year we are doing "40 Days of Community". This takes it a step further and focuses on "what in the world are WE here for". As a church, as the body of Christ, what are we called to do together? It fits perfectly with our new mission statement - Connecting the Community to Christ. I am excited about going through this study and all the wonderful things that will come from this.
The Sunday before last, everyone participated in a day of prayer and fasting to prepare us for what God will be doing in the coming weeks and ask his blessing upon this journey. This Sunday started off the first day, and so far the daily devotions have been really good. We had our first small group gathering last night and mainly focused on how we are called to love one another and what that means. How can we reach out to others in Christ's love?
It was pretty profound to really take a closer look at 1 Corin.13. It's a passage that I have read countless times and could probably recite if I had to - at least most of it. But when I really stoped and studied it, I heard God speak the words in a whole different way.
Take out your Bible and read it. God is telling us just how important it is to love. He says if we do not love, nothing we say, nothing we know, nothing we believe, nothing we give, and nothing we accomplish matters at all.
It's pretty convicting to read this and other passages regarding love. How many times have I failed to show love to others around me? Thanks be to God for His bountiful grace that covers my many sins and short comings.
May you be blessed by the love that you give and the love that you receive this week and always.

Jimmy Needham

If you don't know who he is, find out and listen to his AMAZING music. It makes me happy. :)

And wouldn't you know it, he's a Texan!

Christmas Letter 2007

You faithful readers, may already know of most of the happenings of my year, but just in case you missed something, here is our Christmas letter for your reading pleasure.....
Rejoice Friends and Family!
It’s that time of the year again – time to reflect on all the blessings we have received this past year and celebrate our greatest blessing, Christ Jesus our Lord!
This year has certainly been an eventful one for us. Last Christmas we did a “tour-o-Missouri” and were able to visit most of Nick’s side of the family. We stopped in Higginsville, Tipton, Kansas City, and, of course, Springfield.
Nick continues to stay busy at St. Paul, and with various youth activities. For the second year in a row, he had the opportunity to co-chair the Florida/Georgia District Middle School Gathering. He had a great time spending one weekend with over 800 participants! He also spent many hours preparing for the National LCMS Youth Gathering that took place in Orlando, FL in July. Candace, two additional adults, and 22 high-school students had a great time during the five day event.
Candace is still enjoying her financial analyst position with Marriott and is looking forward to finishing her MBA at the University of South Florida in Tampa this coming summer. After many years of crocheting, she took on a new challenge and learned to knit this summer. She spends any free time she can manage to find between work, school, housework, and helping out with the youth, honing her new skills. Candace continues to enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes on Nick. 
We were fortunate enough to do some traveling this year. In May, we took a trip to Texas to visit Candace’s family and attend the wedding of Kim Pfluger (now Miller), a life-long friend. Also in May, we traveled to Missouri for a long weekend to help Nick’s parents move into their new home. It is beautiful, and we look forward to many happy memories that will be made there.
June brought us to Indiana for Candace’s family reunion to celebrate her grandparents’ 70 years of marriage. In August, we were fortunate enough to be able to travel to Illinois to attend a friend’s wedding, as well as visit with a lot of our college friends we don’t get to see very often. As you can expect, we had a great time.
Remodeling phase 2 took place at the end of August. We removed (in both bathrooms) our old cabinets, countertops, and faucets and replaced them with new ones, including a medicine cabinet/mirror/light fixture. It was hard work, but it looks great! Nick is by no means a handy-man, but is slowly picking up on things (except for the plumbing…..Nick tried to put on a new valve which did not work and sent water spraying from the wall into the bathroom!)
The fall saw some difficult times as we had to say good bye (for a little while) to Candace’s grandpa Harold. It was a beautiful service and celebration of the 90 years of earthly life Christ blessed him with.
Thanksgiving was again spent with our good friends Dave and Sonya Timmerman who now live in Coco Beach. We are excited they are so close now!
In early December, we celebrated our 5th anniversary (a little bit early) by going to Discovery Cove in Orlando to swim with the dolphins! We also got to pet a two toed sloth, a small anteater, and stingray, as well as feed many different kinds of birds. It was an amazing experience, one that we won’t soon forget.
This Christmas will be spent in Texas with Candace’s family, and in January, we will travel to Missouri to have a “late” Christmas with Nick’s family and celebrate Murray’s (Nick’s brother) 21st birthday. We are eagerly awaiting the vacation, relaxation, and the time together with the ones we love.
As we look back over the past year we give thanks to the One who gives us all that we need and even more, and we look forward to the promise He has given to all of us – fulfilled in His birth, death, and resurrection. May your family also find peace and joy in this assurance.
Blessings this season and throughout 2008! ~Nicklaus and Candace Moss

Like being a kid again....

That's pretty much what our Thanksgiving can be summed up as. For 3 whole days I had no responsibilities, no cares in the world, got to do what I wanted to, and so forth and so on. The boys pretty much sat on their arses the entire time playing Command and Conquer on their computers they figured out how to sync together. What nerds, and what boys!!! Normally this would have bothered me to no end, but with cable and Dave and Sonya's big screen, I was perfectly content to watch food network and TLC's What Not to Wear, and paid no mind to the boys and their game. Also, one afternoon, Sonya and I ventured out to do a little bit of shopping. It was mostly window, but it was successful in that my single purchase of the day took care of my sister. Not only was I excited to find exactly what I was looking for ON SALE, but now I have one of my toughest people off my list. Her, my dad, and Nick have got to be the hardest people to shop for, but it all the more exciting when you find something you know they will like (hopefully).

Keeping true to our tradition, we ventured out one evening and took pictures that will go out in our annual Christmas letter. Both Dave and Nick love photography, so we get "free" pictures at studio quality! Thanks boys!! Here are a couple "contenders" we are trying to choose between. Which one do you like?
#1

#2

#3


Just for fun, here is a cute pic of Dave and Sonya - the best hosts ever!!


We also had fun cooking lots of awesome food. The pumpkin pie bars were alright, but the Oreo truffles were amazing!! (Yes, Jo, those are the ones.)I will definitely make those again even though they were a bit time consuming. Late at night we amused ourselves with poker, trivial pursuit 90's, hearts, and phase 10. Good times, good times. True friends are one of God's greatest gifts. People who you can be yourself around and don't run screaming in the other direction. :)

Here's hoping you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are blessed with an even better Advent and Christmas season!

Prayer Request

Unfortunately, this blog entry comes with sad news. Over the Thanksgiving holiday a close church friend's husband was in a terrible accident where 60% of his body was severely burned - 25% of his body is 3rd degree burns. He is at supposedly the best burn unit in the southeast in Augusta, GA undergoing treatment. He was supposed to have his 3rd surgery today on his L arm and R leg. He has already had his R arm, L leg, stomach, and back worked on (scraped and cleaned out). Multiple surgeries are certain to follow. They have sent off a removed portion of his unburned skin to Boston so that they can "grow" new skin for him - this will take at least 21 days to harvest. Amazing, isn't it?

The recovery process is going to take months and will be a long road for both Jen and JD. Please keep them in your prayers as they go through this difficult time that is very touch and go right now. Physical healing and spiritual prayers are both needed.

P.S. We are also trying to think of things we can do for them, so any ideas are welcome! Our high school youth group (Jennifer is an AWESOME volunteer) is going to send a care package, but I'd love to hear other suggestions.

Thankful

Sometimes life just makes it plain hard to be thankful. After the past couple of weeks I have had, I'm searching for the silver lining. So, this great month starting off with my mom calling me on the 6th to let me know that Papa is now up in heaven playing scrabble with Chandler (my younger brother who passed away in 2001). My Papa was 90 years old, had 9 children (all still living), and just celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary with my Grammie this past June. He lived a long full Christian life, and I am happy that he is now home with our Savior and isn't suffering any longer. So, as far a funerals go, it wasn't bad. I ended up playing Lift High the Cross for the final song at the service (trumpet). It was hard, but it meant a lot to my Grammie, and God gave me just enough grace to get through it.

The nice thing was that I got to spend some time with my family. They are completely exhausting sometimes, but I love them all. It was wonderful to see my beautiful sister doing so much better. Even though she may not be able to see a difference, I certainly can! I just want her to be happy and enjoy the life God has blessed her with - she's always in my prayers, that's for sure.

Then, two days after I got back from the funeral ordeal, I had all of my wisdom teeth (3) pulled. Great fun that was. I am still in a mild amount of pain and still a little dizzy at times (that crazy pain medication really messed me up, but on the plus side, I felt no pain for 3 days), but I think I'm on the downhill slope at this point.

So on with the silver lining already. Yes. While in Indiana at the funeral, I knitted my sister a hat which for some reason she really seems to like. I was loving it until the decreases, but it just doesn't look right. I also knitted the falling leaf hat in knitty's fall patterns (version 2). Turned out a little big, but otherwise lovely. Darn if it's always got to be something! If I make it again, I will definitely go down from #7's to #5's dpns. It may be fine for someone. I will admit that I have an abnormally small head. It's true. I'm not lying. Anywho, I need to go yarn shopping again. I have completely depleted my yarn worth knitting supply. I'm starting to understand the concept of a "stash". Although, I am pretty particular and first like to start with a pattern and go from there. I digress.....

Thanksgiving is a mere two days away! And its all the more appealing since I have been on a liquid/soft food only diet for the past week. FOOOOOD!!!! MMMMMMMMMMM.....Nick and I are traveling over to spend the grand holiday with our wonderful friends Dave and Sonya again. We are so blessed to have such great friends. I'm about ready to head out to the grocery store to shop for the goods, and then I'm heading home to make these (pumpkin pie bars):


as well as some little delights I like to call Oreo Truffles!!! Be very very jealous. I will try to take some pics to share with you all when I get back!

Have a happy turkey day. :)

Halloween Fun at Work

So let me just tell you how BIG of a deal Halloween is in my office. People plan for weeks(months even)in advance in attempt to claim the coveted title of best team, individual, scariest, etc. It's sheer madness. I participated, but since I'm not all that "into" Halloween, I have no chance of winning anything, but that's fine with me. It becomes even harder for me to really get into it since I am not a part of a team, but rather and "individual contributor". However, I joined forces with another independent, and we were the Next Iron Chefs. It was great. I wore regular clothes, threw on my apron, and Ilia (my partner in crime) made us these rockin' hats. I must say that we looked pretty stinkin' awesome. Behold:



Is that not a great picture? Now, I must tell you how the whole thing works. It's not enough that you dress up, but you also must decorate your cube/ area to reflect your costume and theme. So, my desk became kitchen stadium:



Check out my fantastic Kenmore flat-top stove. I hand crafted it myself. :)

Among the craziness were teams that did: Candy Land, The Adams Family, Star Trek, Wild Hogs, Disney's Magic Kingdom (an entire department combined forces for this one with one team doing Monster's Inc., one toy story, one the Haunted Mansion, and one various Disney characters like Mulan, Fairy God-mothers, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, etc.), and my favorite, the IT help desk did the "Beyond Help" Desk Mental Hospital. Then in the afternoon, all the kids (employees kids, grand kids, nieces, nephews, etc.) come and trick or treat in all of our areas. It's so fun to see all of the kiddos in their costumes. It provides a safe environment for the kids, and is nice since this is the only trick-or-treating that some get to do since their parents don't feel comfortable taking them out at night.

So there you have it.... a snippet of the crazy place I work.

Something worthy...

So, I found something that may be worthy of the beautiful purple merino I recently bought. What do you think? I love it, but am having difficulty with the pattern. I don't know if it's the pattern or the reader (I know that it's partly the pattern because I did find an error I could prove was wrong, so I feel slightly vindicated). I guess we shall see how it goes this weekend. Wish me luck!

My first time....at the Yarn Store

So I finally got to experience all that is a real yarn store this Saturday. It was quite exciting and beautiful. I went with the fabulous Julianna, Christy, and Christy's adorable daughter, Emma. That kid is too much fun. We had a great time. I did learn some things on our outing:

1)I want lots and lots of things that I can't have.
2)I'm super cheap and I believe this makes me the opposite of a yarn snob. I was amazed at how expensive a small bit of yarn cost. $17 for a ball of yarn! I hardly pay that much for an article of clothing. Although, I did not leave empty handed (thanks Julianna for prodding me along!). I got 4 sets of dpns in various sizes I need for projects I want to start, one ball of something beautiful called Rose Garden (It's oh so girly), and finally 3 balls of Merino in a royal purple - it's gorgeous!
3)If I had all the money in the world, I would build a house that had a room filled with yarn that I could look at, knit/crochet with, touch, etc. anytime I wanted. Knit and Knibble had a beautiful wooden table that I wanted to just plop myself down at and knit for hours. Unfortunately, we were on a schedule and that just wasn't possible.
4)I may be (apparently) the only person in the world that prefers to knit on metal needles. The girl at the yarn store said she didn't think they had any when I asked her for them. After a few minutes she did find them and said, "Oh, we do have them. I just didn't think we did since no one ever uses them." Gee thanks... I think the preference of metal comes from my years of crochet. Metal feels "right" and I like the ease of "slippage" they provide.

All in all it was great trip. After the yarn store, we went to hoyti toyti Hyde Park in Tampa. I was introduced to Anthropology where I beheld more pretties that I could not have. It was a really cool store, though. Then we went next door where I had a pumpkin truffle at Godiva - yummy!

But alas, I have the big dilemma of finding something worthy of knitting my 276 yds of purple Merino. Any ideas?

Excitement is a new Apron

Don't you just love surprises? In my family we have always had the tradition of giving "happy presants" on occation. A happy presant is a gift for no reason just to make someone you love happy. Nick won MAJOR brownie points yesterday. I came home, got the mail, and lo and behold, there was a package containing this:

How cute is that? I was just saying casually in conversation last week that I needed an apron (since I love the kitchen, but I'm a messy cook), but that it was hard because I didn't want a grandma flowerdy one. I wanted a young, sexy, house-wife one. I have to say that not only am I impressed he picked this out of an everyday conversation we had, or that he spent several days trying to find the "perfect" one, but that he hit the nail on the head so accurately. If I had to pick an apron out, I would have picked one just like this. Amazing! Maybe we don't give guys the credit they deserve. Just look what this one is capable of! :)

In other news, I have over 200 pages of reading to do this weekend!!! :P And I desperately need to buy yarn and dpns to make this:

Julianna, we need to make a date to go to the yarn store. When are you available? :)

The Wait is Over!

That's right. I've finally got some pictures of the bathroom rennovation process. It was quiet exciting, a definite learning experience, and only included one major catastrophie - which is not bad considering all the stuff we did.
So here is the process in pictures.

Our Bathroom right before Demo


Nick removing the old plumbing in our bathroom


Yea! The nasty sink in out! At long last!


Out with the old......


In with the new!

O.K. let me just tell you how much Charles did NOT like all of this mess and noise. However, as soon as we got the new one in, he had to come inspect it fully, and make sure that he claimed it as his own - just like the rest of the house. He cracks us up! :)



O.K. Charles we know the sink is yours......

Now for the before and afters for our bathroom:

Before (obviously)

After.....

and After

Next up was the guest bathroom. I must say that I got way better before and after photos of this one.

Right after demo


Good bye to nasty sink #2


This is a way before picture - before we got our new tile and toilets last year. Check out that rad pink tile and the designer toilet seat! And, WHO puts light blue and red together? That is NOT ok.


After!


Before angle two


After angle two


And finally....Before


After!

So there it is....we still have a bit of finishing touches to do. The tile guys have to come back and redo 1 tile in each bathrooms since the new cabinets are slightly smaller than the old ones. After that is finished we have to instal the baseboards. Currently, we are changing out all the light switches and outlets in our house since the current ones are almost 30 years old, broken, and/or nasty. Nick is doing them little by little after work each night. It's amazing how even the smallest things can make such a difference. The best part about this, besides growing in our marriage and the satisfaction that we did it ourselves, was that we saved a boat load of money on installation! Yippie! Happy rennovations to all.

Alas!

Alas, school is back in full swing, and at least one of my professors is on crack - I'm quite sure. No really. What other reasonable explanation is there for someone who has 5 text books + additional articles as assigned reading for the semester? Honestly. By the next class, I have to have finished reading a 191 riveting page turner on "The Evolution of Cooperation". NON-STOP fun I tell you.In his defense, he is not the only one on crack. Apparently I am, too. I have (like a loon) signed up to take 3 classes this semester. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 6-9:40PM. The good thing is I will be totally finished the week before Thanksgiving. Then it will be all downhill from there.

School has plighted my knitting activities, though. :( Sadly, I am going to have to face the reality that I will have to put it on hold for the next 12 wks. "sigh" I was able to get a couple projects under my belt this summer, though. I made a baby sweater, a hat (it's really not worth wearing, but it was great practice honing my dpn skills - that's double pointed needles for all you non-knitters., and a really cleaver headband/hat thing. I will have to make another one of these. You know how winter hats always give you fits if you wear your hair up? Well, this little ditty lets you have the best of both worlds. It's a fairly simple pattern if you focus on your counting. It's a simple K2 P2 pattern worked on straight needles, but I think I'm going to modify it a little bit on my next one to make cable stitches on the center stripes. I have taken pictures of my pieces, and eventually (I promise) I will get some of them posted.

In other fascinating news, Nick and I are continuing to work on our bathrooms. We- well Nick really - tore out the cabinets, counter top, and sink in one of the bathrooms last night. I am very impressed! Nick, the man who, when I married him could hardly hammer a nail in the wall has been just amazing with this bathroom project. Now, you may be thinking, demo - that's easy. You're just tearing apart something. You are partially true, but he also had to unhook (and not destroy) the plumbing fixtures. Plus, he - all by himself - repaired a hole in the drywall. AND, now that it's painted and textured (also done by wonder husband) you can't even tell where the hole was! Let me tell you! I AM AMAZED!! Today we are going to Lowes to buy all the new stuff. We went a few weeks ago priced and picked out all the things we wanted. Today is ZERO% financing for 12 months on our CC (nothing like getting to hold on to your money for another year!), so today we will be going to purchase all the goods. I am SO EXCITED!! I have been waiting oh so patiently for this day to come. :)

Other than that, it's been same old, same old around this joint. We won't be doing anything too exciting this weekend. Staying around the house working on the bathrooms. So, if that sounds like your cup of tea, you are welcome to come over.

NYG Baby!

Sorry for the delay - after a long but inspiring week at the 2007 LCMS National Youth Gathering, I came back to work for a few days and then we were off to the Midwest to visit our friends from college. I think this is the first time I've been able to catch my breath!

The few days with our friends can be summed up in a few phrases - foam 'n fellowship, lots of girl talk (did I get an education!), non-stop Mario-carts, 3am nights, a very pregnant friend waiting for the big day, reconnecting. It is truly a sign of a wonderful life long friendship when you can go without seeing each other for over a year and pick up like it's only been a week. I love you guys!!

So back to the NYG...it was in a word - AMAZING! As usual, it delivers, praising Christ the King and touching the hearts and minds of so many youth (and adults, too). The theme was CHOSEN scripturally based on 1Peter 2. We are all chosen in Christ, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God! - what a wonderful thing to know! The kids we took (22 in all) were absolutely fantastic, and they appeared to have had a great time. I sure hope so. So here are a couple of pics from the gathering:

The Backpacks - fun and really easy to decorate this year, but since they weren't colored, it didn't have the same effect when you were walking down the street.


Nick serves communion during the worship service on Tuesday night. This was a big highlight for him!


Tommy and Dave being silly. I love you guys!


I can't belive it's been six years since I met you. I can't imagine my life without you! I love you!!

Bragging......

Yeah, just wanted to say I have the best husband ever!!!

He sent me flowers today at work......for no reason. :) Even the tightest of tight-wads like myself enjoy the surprise and joy of getting flowers for no reason. AND he got me daisys so they should last a long time.

Continuing on, we are going to be re-vamping our bathrooms shortly!!! Yea! I have been waiting patiently, and it is almost here! Saturday we went and picked out what we wanted for both bathrooms, and priced some things. Turns out, it is going to be less expensive that I had origionally thought. Bonus. I primed the hall bathroom, and plan on painting tonight - sage green, thanks for asking (it was a light and navy blue "under the sea" theme - I described it as looking like a children's coloring book- not too pretty). I've got to get the painting taken care of before the cabnits and countertops come in - don't want to get paint drippings on the new stuff. I will try to post some before and after pictures when everything is finished (may be a month or so).

Family news.....Mom, Dad, and Courtney all arrived safely back in Texas - Praise God! and God willing she will now begin her long road to healing and getting her life put back together. Keep praying!!

Knitting news... I have completed the back and the front left panal of the baby sweater I am attempting to knit. I am getting a little bit faster, but I am still pretty slow. At least my stitches appear to be even. My first project (a little hat) wasn't completely horrible (but far from gift worthy), and best of all, I learned a few things from it, so that's the important thing.

The LCMS NYG is this weekend in Orlando! All the hard work and planning will finally come to fruition. I pray that the kids have a wonderful, faith building, friendship making, inspiring time! Keep us all in your prayers! We are leaving Friday evening and having a night of fun at (appropriatly) Fun Spot before the gathering starts on Saturday afternoon. I've never been go-carting before, so I'm sure that will be an experience!

All in all, this has started out to be a fabulous week! Hope yours is going just as well!

Sometimes you have to wonder........

Well, a bit of bad news. The St. Paul administration building was broken into and robbed the Monday night. The culprit took loose cash and stole Nick's laptop. It unfortunatly gets worse - the computer guys at church didn't have his laptop connected to the server, so ALL of his hours and hours of work were lost. Needless to say, it wasn't a great day yesterday. So, last night I tried to make things a little better. I made a manly man's meal of meatball subs and we watched a movie. We also prayed for the safe return of the computer.

This morning when Nick got to work, he was greeted and then sent down to the police station. Why you ask? Well, it turns out that the robber (aka idiot boy) was caught trying to break into the middle school building last night. Hitting up the same spot two nights in a row! That's smart. Doesn't this dude watch Cops? It sounds like it was quite exciting, though. The superintendant was called out at 1:30 this morning and there were 6 units, a canine unit, and a helicopter! That would have been a sight to see. Despite finding Nick's laptop bag, on him, idiot boy said it was his "friend" that hit up the admin building the night before. Riiiigghhhtttt. That's why Nick had to go down town - to identify the bag.

Unfortunately, the computer was not in the bag, but perhaps there is still a gleaming ray of hope that we will get it back.

P.S. This upstanding citizen has a record. He was caught breaking into another church in town not too long ago. What a winner. Someone made the comment, "Isn't that like a straight ticket to hell? That's like mugging a nun or something!" I thought that was pretty funny.

Ah, speaking of God working in mysterious ways, my sister is going to come home to my mom and dad! At long last, our countless prayers have been answered (at least partially). She was recently diagosed with fibromyalgia (where your muscles just hurt all over for no apparent reason), and this was the straw that broke the camel's back. I am so thankful, and will continue to pray for all since it is going to be a long hard road for all physically, emotionally, and financially. Please keep everyone in your prayers!

I do have to report some happy news, though. It can't all be depressing or deep! I am getting close to finishing my first knitting project! Picture to come soon..... :)

Knitting, although much more tedious than crochet, is way too cool and I can't wait to get better and better!

Taking the bad with the good.....

Sometimes life is unfair and you just don't understand why. That is what happened to me this past weekend. Per my previous post, I had planned to go to Texas to see my dear friend, Jonathan, get married. Well, I didn't get further than the Tampa airport. It was all the joys of going to the airport and on a trip without the end result making all the hassle worth it - pack, check and double check I have everything, drive to the airport during rush-hour malfunction junction traffic, airport parking, airport transit, SECURITY, delays, sitting alone waiting for hours reading a book that is not so good (For Planets and Kings by Ethan Canin did not float my boat. I kept reading hoping there would be this great ending and I would understand the point of the book, but, alas, the ending did no more for me than the beginning or middle). All this only to find out that I will miss my connecting flight and they have no other flights to San Angelo until 6 the following evening. Great just great.

Disappointed and upset doesn't even begin to describe what I felt. After calming myself down, and touching base with the people I needed to, I had to trust that God's knowledge is much greater than mine and I must continue to trust in Him. I did receive word and some great pictures from Kim, and it seems to have been beautiful and wonderful - for that I am thankful.

So what do you do when life hands you lemons.... I called up Julianna and we went shopping - she had to get some cool duds for her upcoming speaking event. She was able to find some great outfits and bargains for the NYG and work, too! We then headed home and I made grilled chicken with vegi kabobs and baked potatoes (yum!). Another friend who was baching it this weekend while his wife was out of town came over as well, and after dinner we all played a rousing game of Apples to Apples. Let me tell you, if you haven't played this, you should grab some friends and try it out. FUN and Funny!

I have also learned the two basic knit stitches courtesy of Julianna. I've done multiple rows, and it doesn't look extremely atrocious! How exciting! It's going to take lots of practice and learning how to read a pattern before I can make some socks, but I'll eventually get there.

For the 4th, we hopped on over to the Space Coast to see our dear friends, Dave and Sonya, who's recent call to Faith Lutheran Church brought them closer to us. It was so great to see them! We went to eat dinner on the 3rd, and woke up in the morning to drink coffee and chat. Sonya and I went to lay by the pool in between the rain showers and read while the boys played PS2. We got around about 1 and headed to the park for lunch - hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and coke for $1. That's right, $1. Pretty awesome if you ask me! After that, we drove around, toured the church, went to Target (they had an AMAZING clearance section, and I found some great deals! 2 pairs of cropped pants for work, a cute skirt I can dress up or down, a nice white button-up dress shirt, and a cute t-shirt all for $40.) Not bad, not bad at all!
**Side note: Is it just me, or do you find that after HS your closet slowly but surely migrates to Target and clearance items? Currently, about 80% of the clothes in my closet are one of those two things.**

But, I digress...After that excitement, we went home, and watched some Mythbusters and Food Network while Dave worked on his home-made pasta we had for dinner (it was awesome!). We then trucked it down to the city park where they had a great symphony orchestra and a fireworks display. We played Phase 10 and ate funnel cakes and cotton candy that Sonya insisted on because it was "holiday food". :) Early this morning we came back for another exciting day at work.

So, all in all, I can't complain. Despite the bad this week, there was lots of good, too. Blessings to all for a great weekend!