until next year...

Signing off...until 2007...and our internet gets hooked up!
This year has absolutely FLOWN by. The birth of Evan in August by far our best day of 2006.
Maxwell turning two and into quite the toddler has been amazing too. We are really excited to see where God takes us over these next years, the good things, the challanges, the bad things, all of it.
The first few weeks of January we will be settling into our new home (wow, we have a house!) and getting to know the lay of the land. I hope we can get comfortable somewhat quickly, and find a good home church. It is going to be crazy I know but I am ready for it! I cannot believe it is 2007!

A very Happy New Year to you all!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends as we celebrate the birth of Jesus this season!

Happy Birthday Alec!

Happy 23rd (Golden) Birthday to my brother Alec!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?

"We have arrived – lake front property
Don’t tell the authorities – they will raise our taxes!" - My Uncle Don

Is it not December? Is Christmas a mere three days away? Where is the snow? It has been raining since yesterday here in Wisconsin too. My brother in Minnesota told me they have snow there...so there is still hope for a white Christmas.

I got this picture in an e-mail from my Aunt Sue of their home on their "lake"-aka Lake Tony. It really is a beautiful Lake...family fun for all, the fishing is good, and the weeds and algae levels are all good.

In all seriousness though I am amazed at their ability to remain humorous despite "Lake Tony" overtaking their driveway for the umpteenth time.

Oh yeah...He's stylin' !

Last weekend, we hear a clunking heading into the kitchen and in waltzes Max with my shoes on. He was pretty good in them!

The Reason For the Season

I love Christmas. It is by far my most favorite time of year. Minus the Wisconsin bitter cold winds and snow. I do love all the hustle and bustle, I do not mind the busy stores, the constant Christmas music, and all the decor. In fact, I love it all. I love buying gifts for family and friends even though it is always harder than you think to pick out gifts for each individual person in your family.
Santa, Christmas trees, decor, music, and presents are all fine things to enjoy, but are we enjoying them too much? Have we forgotten the true reason we celebrate Christmas? In this country, without a doubt.
In fact, we have taken Christ completely out of Christmas. It is unfortunate really that we get so caught up in the holly and jolly that we forget all about why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. I mean we do not exactly know that Jesus was born on December 25th of whatever year it was, but the reason we do celebrate Christmas as Christians is to remember his birth. To think about and praise God that he sent his son so that we might be saved. Tinsel, trees, and toys cannot make us happy (maybe for a short while) but a relationship with our Savior can bring us joy everlasting. Christ coming to earth, leading a perfect life and then giving his own life for us on the cross is certainly a reason to be joyful and celebrate.
Try to remember that this season...amidst all the cookies, presents, bows, and mistletoe that the real good tidings and great joy is knowing Christ, having a relationship with him forever!

I also encourge you to check out THIS poem by John Piper.

what a week

photo: courtesy of canstockphoto.com
Justin got his wisdom teeth out yesterday. I did today. Man, am I sore. We both look like chipmunks. I was really freaked out this morning about it after Justin came home with blood all over the front of his shirt yesterday and was tempted to cancel my appointment. I needed to get them out because they were comig down and shifting my other teeth. It was not all that bad but I am so sore and sick of tasting blood. EW!



Next week is the big move, we are tying up loose ends here and getting things prepared for our arrival next Friday. This week we need to gather and pack up all we do not need, so I better get a move on!

Recommendation Monday.

Check it out HERE.

all better

I got my perm fixed. Much better. Although I did get it layered a little and that cost me another $40. So that brings the grand total to $150. It makes me rather nauseous. I noticed as I was getting the shirt and sweater I was wearing on the day of the original permout of the dryer that they are ruined from the chemicals running down my back. Sigh.
Overall my hair looks pretty good but for all the drama that went with it, it was not worth it. Ah well such is life. Needless to say I am not going to do this again, costs too much and I guess my hair is too thick for this. Just going to go for a fun color next time. :)

Afro

The above picture...could be me...yes I got a perm, but there is no way anybody is seeing my face underneath that perm! It looks HORRID. I have had a perm just after Justin and I were first married and it looked great, I loved it. This time, not so much.

I got my salon day rescheduled for today so I was excited to head out the house. As things tend to go for me, it was not a good experience. I am really bummed because I paid $100. for it and it looks really bad, not to mention during the washing out of the solution they use to keep the curl the girl who was doing my hair got my whole back and butt wet! It is not that I did not like the stylist, she was ok, but she was not overly friendly, didn't seem to love (or even like) her job, and did not care that I left the place soaking wet! I just was a little upset because I paid so much to get my hair done at a supposed great salon and it looks horrible. It looks like a have a fro except in the front my hair did not really curl and so the front part of my hair is straight..I pretty much look ridiculous.

I am calling the salon tommorow. I do not know what to expect but something must be done about that hair dah-ling.

Justin laughed , I guess I can laugh about it too...as long as that mane gets tamed. :)

Brothers

A day at the salon...

I was looking forward to today.
Today was my day.
Ok...I think that whole philosophy of putting "me" first is stupid. Part of the reason I think that there are so many divorces today. We are so selfish.
Anyway...
It does not mean we should neglect ourselves and look and feel terrible.
As a mother of two young children I hardly have any alone time, I am lucky to get a shower each day.
I am not complaining, just merely stating facts.
For my birthday this year (back in August) Justin got me a gift certificate for a really nice salon/spa. He intended for me to use it for a massage, but just four months after having a baby I am not feeling like a massage. So I was going to get my hair-cut or colored or permed(permed sounds so 80's but trust me I did it a few years ago and it turned out well). Most days my hair is up in some strange bedraggled, discombobulated look. I think it is cute, it suits me, and it is easy with my thick hair.
I plan to walk out the door at 12:15, perhaps stop on the way for a coffee, and arrive to my appointment at 1:00. After I came home Justin and I were going to head out with our good friends Chad & Nicole for dinner. I have the boys dressed, fed, and content and I finish getting ready and I am out the door at 12:17...pretty darn good for me...notorious for not being on time. Working on that.
Anyway, I hop into the car, turn the key and nothing. Again. Still nothing.
So I sit there. I know I am not leaving , not getting some thinking time in the car, not getting some good coffee, not getting to my appointment. Soon the door opens and there stands Justin. He claims he knew it was coming. I am the optimist, he is the pessimist. That is why he is never diappointed when things don't work out. I walk in the door and say; "this always happens to me." He wraps his arms around me and I cry. Silly I know but what can I say, I had been looking forward to listening to NPR without inturruption, running into get coffee in under 5 minutes, reaping the benefits of my gift certificate(which now has been reduced since I did not cancel my appointment 24 hours ago). Now I will spend the afternoon typing this, (and getting inturrupted every few minutes by one of the boys) doing laundry, and making dinner for us all.
Ah well such is life. It was a good reminder for me that things don't always go as planned, we are often disappointed in life, but to know and have Christ is far better than a day at the salon.

Neighbors

One of the best things about owning your own home is that you are not connected to anyone else. Your house is your building, and it sits on your lot. I have to admit though, I will kind of miss no longer having neighbors above, below, or next to us to chuckle at.

My friend Beth's recent post reminded me of a good story. You should read her story. It is laugh out loud funny.

When Justin and I were first married we lived in a teeny-tiny apartment. His friends David, Danny, and Patrick and brother Jordan would come stay at our small place...and when I think of it know I do not know how we all fit. I swear it was only like 500 square feet. One small bedroom that just fit our bed and a shelf in it. One small bathroom, a galley kitchen and a small living room...which we had a fuse ball table in for some stupid reason. When the guys all left it would smell like guys. If you have ever been to a bachelor pad you know what I mean. It is not exactly bad ( well in some cases it is) but it is not exactly good either. Alright I am getting sidetracked.

One night we were laying in bed, we are total night owls...we would stay up until 2am even when I had to go to work at 4:30. We were settling in under the covers when we hear,

" I came into the room to work this out, and you turn your f&^%$#@ back on me!"

What?

Ok...a little background on our upstairs neighbors. I realize that the above comment could be taken as "Anne, how can you find this humorous?". It was. The neighbors upstairs were older...I would guess in their late 60's. He was a disheveled, messy grey haired, thin man. His voice sounded like Bugs Bunny..."ahhh, whats up doc?" She was short, a bit stocky, had short grey hair, crazy big glasses with black rims, and she always had her fingernails painted black ( to match her glasses?). They were quite the (humorous) sight. Neither of them worked ( as far as we could tell) so they were together literally all the time.

After hearing this, we just looked at each other like this could get interesting.

We hear her murmur something. We cannot make out her words.

"Well, I came into the room, and you turn your F*&^%$#@ back on me!" (In his Bugs Bunny voice)
More murmurs from her.

" I came into the room, and you turned your F*&^%$#@ back on me!"

Now we are laughing. It seemed wrong for us to be laughing at this couple arguing because we should not get joy out of their argument, but it was so ridiculous! It seemed like it would never end! He kept repeating himself, and it sounded like she was trying to explain why she turned her back but he was not getting it!

This went on for a good 45 minutes.

The next night after we arrived home for the evening we were sitting in our living room when we heard him say.

"Hey can you grab me another beer?"

We hear the refrigerator open, steps across the room and a thanks from him.
It seemed all was well again in the Bugs Bunny abode.

monday recommendation-Ys by Joanna Newsom

" “Ys”—pronounced “eess”; it’s the name of an island in Breton mythology—is a series of complex, through-composed songs that have more in common with Kurt Weill’s long-form ballads than with contemporary pop music. Yet Newsom tends to perform in rock clubs, not concert halls, and many of her fans—including the novelist Dave Eggers, who praised her “bare and unflinching” music in Spin—are devotees of independent rock. Moreover, the songs on “Ys” feature lush, intricate orchestral arrangements by the pop composer Van Dyke Parks."-STRING THEORY-The harpist Joanna Newsom’s daring new album.- by SASHA FRERE-JONES

great album.

seriously.

I owe all the credit to my brother Carl (music guru) who happened to see her live last weekend.

Maxwell goes on a tree hunt

Max with Grandpa and Grandma


loved the tractor



the tree is cut and Max takes the tree to the car to load...
































Wisconsin winter...

about oranges...

I wish that oranges were able to be eaten as easily as apples because I always enjoy an orange more.

homeowners

After an extremely long week last week we found out on Saturday that we got the home we had placed an offer on! Two other offers had been made on the home but we won! HA! We are really ecstatic (and nervous) to own our first home! It has great new hardwood floors and really only needs a little painting in a few rooms.

So we are really doing this. Reality has hit this week, we are moving away from family and friends and to the unknown. It is a bit scary I will admit it, but exciting too. I am eager to see where this next year takes us, what the Lord teaches us, and where we will be next.

"...He learned obedience from what he suffered, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."- Hebrews 5:8-9

The strings of sin pull at my heart,and for some reason I follow.
Why can I not hold on to Christ's handsthat surround my heart?
anger,
covetousness,
crime,
demerit,
disobedience,
envy,
evil-doing,
gluttony,
guilt,
immorality,
imperfection,
iniquity,
lust,
offence,
pride,
tort,
transgression,
ungodliness,
unrighteousness,
vice,
violation,
wickedness,
wrongdoing.
There is hope!
GRACE!
But lest us not forget, atonement.
On a cross he bled and died, re-paid our debt,faced wrath of God our Savior!
Our Jesus made it feasible for a holyGod to be propitious, our scapegoat even though we are ugly, horrid, guilty sinners.
Oh, how great our Savior is,
so draw near to him and let him take a hold of your heart,
and though we will falter
as Satan pulls sins strings,
bring yourself back on hands and knees,
to be forgiven and wrapped in Christs arms again.
Live a real, vital, dynamic melding with our Lord that is not abstract but true!
originally written:October 3, 2005

maxwell and mom

Evan & Mom

recommendation monday: Mrs. Meyers

Who knew cleaning could be so much fun? With Mrs. Meyers cleaning products it can be! While this product is hard to find sometimes (our Target stopped selling it!) it is well worth the searh. I can only say I have used the dishwasher soap and hand soap, but I love them both! My personal favorite scent is Lemon Verbena, but I know they all smell good! It just makes household duties a little more fun when the products you are using smell sooooo good !

while you were sleeping...

Maxwell and EJ passed out on the couch.

Buying a home over the internet?

Maybe you think we are crazy and maybe we are, but we are considering it. We had friends of ours go and check out the home so we are not completely blind going into this. The thing is we have not had time to go and house hunt like we thought we would. We are moving just after Christmas, and by the time we would have time to go it will be like mid-December. We both love this home we found. It is on a dead-end street, it has a fenced in backyard, it has wood floors (a must for me!), and the master bath is awesome! Not only does it have a whirlpool tub it has a two-person shower. Justins dream come true. Two showerheads to use at once...what could be better. For a man who spends no less than a half hour in the shower this is a beautiful thing. So, this week we are hopefully going to make an offical offer, and we shall see. It is all still up in the air, but I thought I would give an update.
Plus, that awesome tree in the picture...would be ours! I have two boys...need I say more?

Free Documentry to check out!

If you have time (or continually hit pause like I did and came back to it) you should check out this really interesting documentry put out by the BBC. It is called Control Room (about 1.5 hrs.) and is about the war and the news network Al Jazeera. Here is the link.
Thoughts?

three months

It amazes me how much this boy smiles...he can always make my day just that much brighter!

Vote!

photo credit: cnn.com

Don't forget to vote today!

Shameless tears

"If this story leaves you cold, I don't think I can help you."- my cousin Jeff Heidkamp

Check out the story here.

oh yeah! a fattys update!

Alright so I am not going to lose 18 lbs. by thanksgiving...it was a bit much for me to hope for.
So my cousin (also working to lose the baby weight) had a goal of losing 10 lbs. by December 10 and I am shooting for 15 by Thanksgiving.
I have lost 8 lbs. since I started three weeks ago. I am pretty proud of myself so far, I lost 4 the first week, 3 the second and 1 last week. They say it gets harder as you get closer to the goal. I am proud to say I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight but let me tell you...my body not so much the same even more different than from my first pregnancy. Ah well such is life. I will never wear a bikini again...okay so I never wore one to begin with since I have swam competitively since like 5th grade and have always worn competitive suits but I am not big on the bikini thing anyway...a little too much nakedness for me. Anyway thanks for all the encouragement...and telling me I look skinny...you know who you are. I appreciate it, even though I know my face will always be as round as a basketball! :)

ps- what is up with my hair? I have got to do something about that!

October.