Blog Vacation

Hello everyone!!
Sioux Falls is wonderful. We love our apartment and the city isn't as big or crazy as I had imagined. I've been snapping pictures of our new place and the progress we've made but I'm unable to put my pictures on my computer. Something is wrong and I don't know what!! So I'll continue taking pictures but won't be able to get them up until I get access to my parent's computer with a card reader. :( 


I found out my student teaching placement and I'll spend the semester in a 4th grade classroom! I will be spending some time in the classroom tomorrow and I can't wait. From the one e-mail I received from the teacher she sounds fun, lots of exclamation points in her e-mail! :)


Ben is trying to find a job here in Sioux Falls. It is a slow process right now because we are also busy finishing up our Christmas shopping, unpacking and organizing our apartment and setting up specific apartment related things - Internet, setting up an account with the power company, etc. On top of all that he is fixing up his resume and applying for jobs. 


Ben and I as of right now are planning on leaving to visit my hometown on Monday. Monday will be a travel day, we'll spend Tuesday and Wednesday with my family. Thursday will be another travel day as we head to Ben's hometown. Then we'll spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday there visiting family and the DeRuischer's. We'll head back home on Monday. 


We still don't have internet at home so our internet access is very limited. I think I will have to take a bit of a blog vacation for a bit to catch up on everything and to really enjoy the time we have with our family. After Christmas I'll have some crafts to show you that I've been working on for Christmas gifts and I'll have lots of pictures of our apartment!! 


Until next time.. 

A Wonderful Surprise!

We've been in the hotel since around noon today and well there is only so much you can do to occupy your time. Ben didn't bring much to do besides a book so he was feeling kinda antsy. He picked up a shovel and shoveled the sidewalk in front of the hotel. He has done this a couple times tonight because he was bored. 

While we were sitting in the lobby a woman came over and asked what room we were in. Ben and his dad went to the desk wondering if something was wrong. The desk receptionist was on the phone with her manager and told him about Ben. He said Ben deserves a free room! So... Ben's boredom got us a free room!!!! 

Minor Setback

Hello everyone,
This isn't the post I expected to be writing. I thought I'd be telling you about our apartment, about all the progress that we made unpacking everything and about the beautiful city of Sioux Falls. That post will have to wait until tomorrow because....


WE ARE STUCK IN BLUE EARTH, MINNESOTA! 


Just under six months ago Ben and I were arriving in Minnesota with new rings on our fingers and hearts so big we thought they'd burst at any moment. The weather was beautiful and our drive was filled with many little pit stops because we weren't in any sort of time crunch. 


Today we arrived in Minnesota with all of our belongings in a U-Haul and hearts saddened by our departure from the UP. The weather is.... AWFUL! I can't recall a time where the weather was this terrible. The wind, cold and snow can truly be defined as a BLIZZARD! 


We are about 130ish miles from Sioux Falls. We were forced off the Interstate when it was shut down and led us a city called, Blue Earth. We couldn't see a thing and all the roads are closed so the first hotel we found we reserved a room. 


We have been chilling in the lobby of this hotel chatting with others who are unexpectedly spending the night here too. A restaurant employee, mail man, and others have walked through the door and have added some excitement to this relaxing evening. I really feel like I'm in a Lifetime movie. A family stranded during the holidays in a hotel filled with all sorts of interesting characters to add some excitement to the plot. (Okay, maybe I've just been watching too many holiday movies on Lifetime...)


There have been a few varying weather reports so we don't know exactly what is going on. Some reports say that things should slow down late tonight and roads should be open in the morning and others aren't as optimistic. We'll see what happens but I know at some point we will be in Sioux Falls! 


Until then, keep us in your prayers!

The Start of Something New

We left Marquette today. Overall, the trip has gone well. Everything fit in the U-Haul, the roads have been clear and not a single snowflake was seen. 


We are staying in Lacrosse, WI for the night. We are leaving bright and early in the morning to finish up the drive. It is about 5 hours to Sioux Falls. We'll get there around lunch time and the unpacking fun will begin. Ben's parents will be leaving Sunday morning. 


It is so crazy to think that just yesterday I was relaxing in our apartment. 


We will not have internet for awhile but I'll be back to the blog world soon. 

9 days

We are moving in 9 days. 


This is so surreal. 


Ben and I were talking last night how we don't really feel like we are moving. 


We are starting to say our goodbyes. 
My goodbye party is tomorrow.
More than half of our belongings are packed.
Classes are over tomorrow.
Moving plans have been made. 
Our apartment looks like it is getting ready for a big move but we still don't feel like this is really happening. 


Our relationship has only ever known Marquette. We're anxious to see where God will lead us next but a large part of us will stay in Marquette as we leave this beautiful city that has taken care of us so well over the last 4.5 years.


(Please continue praying for Marinette students and teachers. Today is their first day back after the tragedy. It will most certainly be a tough day for many.)

Give Them Strength

Yesterday was a very sad day. I spent most of my evening glued to my computer as a terrible story was unveiled. 


A sophomore at Marinette High School (A school in Wisconsin - just minutes away from my parent's house) held his classroom at gunpoint yesterday afternoon, 23 students and 1 teacher. After a 5 hour standoff 5 students were released and then minutes later the situation ended quickly when the gunman decided to take his own life. At that point a Rescue Crew quickly got into the room and brought the rest of the hostages out and to their families. 


As far as we know the only injured person was the gunman. It hasn't been announced yet but from what my dad heard on the scanner, the 15-year old gunman passed away last night and his body was sent to Green Bay for an autopsy. 


The school has been closed down for at least today.


You can find more information at http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/north_counties/hostage-situation-at-marinette-high-school.


Please pray for all of those affected by this tragedy. Give them the strength to get through this!


Pray especially for those who witnessed the end of this young boy's life. 

Wedding Videos!!

My cousin Kelly put together two super fun videos from our wedding!!


CHECK THEM OUT!!


This one is a 10-minute video of different parts of our wedding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzmly9KCwUM


This is a quick little "extras" video which includes a lot of shots of my little cousin Logan! He is such a cutie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJzKxCUF-Og


Let me know what you think! :)

Preparation

We are preparing to make our big move to South Dakota, with only 18 days until we leave, things are getting pretty hectic. 
Both Ben and I got SLAMMED with extra homework today. Assignments that were not expected and will take more time then we'd like but life is good.

• We leave for GR tomorrow.
• We get to meet baby Erin on Wednesday and see Lauren, Eric and Addison!
• We received a phone call yesterday saying we got the apartment we wanted. 
• We've made some serious progress on cleaning and packing up the apartment. 
• Tomorrow is Ben's last day of work and I've only got one more shift at work. 
• Today was my last day of undergraduate classes, ever.... 
• I'll have all of my CA paperwork done for the semester tonight!

(One of these days I'll get my computer fixed so I can put up pictures on this blog again... on a day where I have a free moment... There are so many I would like to share)

Happiness. Pure Happiness.

Today has been so wonderful and I've been in the BEST mood. 


It didn't start out that way. Both Ben and I were not feeling very well this morning.  Ben missed a class and I thought I might have to too. 


But things turned quickly. 


I had my last Integration of the Arts class. The day was filled with music; singing and playing various instruments. It was very relaxing and I really enjoyed the company of my classmates. 


Then shortly after I got home I found out that Lauren was in the hospital and in labor!! 


I ran some errands and got  some supplies to make some more Christmas gifts. 


Then I had a wonderful meeting with my boss where I found out my survey results. 72/73 tenants took a survey where they answered questions about me and the area that they live in. My results are even better than last semester and I couldn't be happier!! I reached all my CA goals this year. 


My happiness caught on to others throughout the day. I was told by the mailman that I should be NMU's student of the week (because of a small favor I did for an old tenant) and a random student told me that it is amazing how happy I always am! This made my day and made me even happier! I noticed people are super friendly when I'm in a SUPER happy mood. 


I got home from work and shortly after I got the phone call I had been waiting for from Eric saying baby Erin was born at 5:45pm this evening. She is a beautiful, dark haired, 6lb 15oz, 19in, perfect baby girl. A few pictures have already been uploaded online and it is amazing to see how much Erin looks like her big sister, Addison! 

These pictures are so beautiful!! 

The evening continued with a Christmas Bake-A-Thon with a few good friends. I made smores' bars and started candy cane spiral sugar cookies. On the agenda for tomorrow, more sugar cookies! 


Now I'm watching Grey's Anatomy and about to work on Christmas gifts. 

LIFE IS SO GOOD AND GOD IS SO GREAT!! 

Travel Update

I just talked to Ben. He went through quite a bit of bad weather including snow, snow/rain, and rain. He is almost into Michigan so he'll be home soon!

A Hunting We Will Go

Ben and Rich (one of our groomsman) have traveled out to Sioux Falls to look at apartments. 


Here was the original plan:
Thursday Ben drove to Rich's apartment in Minnesota.
Friday they spent the day looking at apartments and getting to know the town a bit.
Saturday, they were going to look at a few more places and Ben was going work on getting a job. Then they were driving back to MN to spend the night.
Sunday, Ben comes home.


BUT.. I am an IDIOT! I have a HUGE test tomorrow that will determine if I will get my teaching certificate. I need to show my license.. but I gave it to Ben along with our credit card in case he needed it for the application process.


So less than an hour ago I realized this and now Ben and Rich are on their way home right now so that I will have my license in time. 


This was such a silly move on part. The exam costs $75 and I have to take it here so I'd have to drive the 13 hours to get back here for a test that lasts about an hour. I'm thankful that things seem to be working out but I feel so terrible that Ben's weekend of SD stuff and hanging out with Rich is cut short.


BUT..
Ben made some serious progress on the apartment hunt. It looks like they have narrowed it down to house-type apartment that has 5 apartments in it. Ben wasn't able to get any pictures (he was going to do that tomorrow, Saturday, but now he can't) but he seems to be in love with it so I'm sure I will be too! 


Ben said they saw some pretty sketchy apartments today and some great ones that were just a tad bit expensive for our budget. Ben is going to create a sketch of the layout and I'll be sure to put it up when I get it. :) 


Pray for safe travels for Ben and Rich (they might run into a snowstorm in MN)!

Thankful Thursday

I've had a bit of a rough week but there is truly so much to be thankful for this week. 


I'm thankful...

• that Meghan's full body scan came back showing no other signs of cancer.
• we did have some extra money saved away in case of emergencies and we were able to pay the large amount of money to get our car fixed. 
• for the beautiful weather we've been experiencing! Mid 50s all week!
• that Ben gets to spend the weekend with his best friend looking at apartments in Sioux Falls. 
• to be catching up on homework.
• for a friend who always knows the right thing to say.
• for Thanksgiving break that begins in 12 days!!

Here's to a productive weekend filled with packing, homework, working, taking my final education exam, and cleaning!  Oh and watching Grey's Anatomy Season 4! :)

Prayer Requests

I have two special prayer requests.


Meghan, is our best friend's "little" sister. Lauren (a bridesmaid at our wedding and her husband, Eric, was our best man). Three years ago she battled osteosarcoma and won the fight. Last week a mass was discovered in her lung and it was removed on Friday. The results of the biopsy came in today and it was osteosarcoma. Meghan and Lauren's mom began a blog back when Meghan was diagnosed the first time and I encourage you to read it. Right now things are looking up and pending the results of a full body scan it looks like the cancer was isolated and Meghan will not have to go through chemo treatments. 


Meghan and her family are very special to us and I know many of you met them at our wedding and would like to be aware of what is happening to our good friends.


You can find the blog here. (click on the colored word)

(I snagged this picture from Lauren's Facebook)

My sister-in-law Eryn also could use a few prayers. She has been sick for awhile (strep throat) and is also encountering some challenges at work. Please keep her in your prayers too. 

Happy Anniversary (A Day Late!)

Ben and I started dating four years ago yesterday. 

I believe this photo was taken on October 23, 2006

I would have wrote yesterday but unfortunately we were both sick. 


I found myself in bed in between classes yesterday and Ben came home from work and missed class because he also wasn't feeling well. 


So Ben and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary by resting on the couch (thankfully we could both fit!) and drinking a lot of water and tea. 


We watched P.S. I Love You together and I HIGHLY recommend that everyone sees this movie! Ben and I both really enjoyed the movie and the special story that it tells. 


Really, you need to rent it!!!

Disclaimer: Make sure you have a box of tissues next to you. You'll need it! 


Good news: We are both feeling much better today. The restful evening really helped. 


And more good news:

IT IS SNOWING!!!!!!! 

Tired...

The last few days have been rough in terms of sleep. Theoretically I should be getting enough sleep but I toss and turn throughout the night and when the alarm goes off I feel like I haven't slept at all. I'm usually the type of person who hops out of bed when the alarm goes off and jumps right in the shower, eager to start the day. Well, not lately. Ben puts the alarm on snooze and we fall back into half sleep/half awake mode for another 10 minutes... or sometimes 20. Today was no exception. We spent 20 minutes refusing to leave the comfort of our warm bed. Finally I nudged Ben awake and told him we needed to get up because he had to work in 40 minutes. We spend a few minutes stretching, talking and slowing waking up. The light is turned on and we begin our morning routine. UNTIL we notice the clock. It is 7:14am and we don't need to be up until 8am. Whoops, Ben set the alarm for 6:50am instead of 8am. At this point I'm far too awake and here I am, working on homework before 8am. 


Good times.... good times... 
Oh, and where is Ben? Sleeping... haha

70 Days Until....

Christmas!! 

Can you already feel the excitement in the air? 


I've already noticed some Christmas decorations at various stores and when I leave our apartment in the morning, there is the faintest smell of Winter. Christmas will be here before we know it!


I wanted to be super prepared this year but here we are about 10 weeks away and I really haven't started, until... TODAY! 


I had a running list of ideas for crafty gifts and I finally sat down this morning to make a supply list. Ben and I spent some time at Micheal's pricing some items and then buying a few things. 


So far I've got 2 big projects to work on. I'm super stoked. I'll be working with a medium I often don't use, paint. Wish me luck!


I'll be sure to take lots of pictures that I will share after Christmas.. until then, I'll have to leave you in the dark. :) 

4 Months

We've been married four months as of today! 

Ben and I went past our reception location this weekend and memories of our wedding day came flooding back to us. The day just flew by so I'm so thankful there are so many pictures from our wedding. I will eventually get them all up on Facebook but here are a few that make me smile a lot! 

I love this one. 

The way Ben's hand rests on my hip makes me break out into a big smile. I also love the fireplace in the background and our initials on the mantle.

One of my favorite parts of our wedding day was playing Ninja with all of our family and friends!

And one picture to make you smile! 

My mom asked me to smile and this is what I gave her.. haha

This was taken about 45 minutes before I married Ben! 

SF Student Teaching Application

I received a phone call today from the woman who is making the Student Teaching arrangements. I have to fill out some additional paperwork. I now am in the process of filling out fourteen questions that will convince them to find a placement for me. Talk about pressure! The questions are not easy and I have to complete them tonight so I can turn them in tomorrow to keep this process rolling. Even though I'm doing my part to get everything in as quickly as possible I found out today they won't make any decisions until early December. My chances are good but this causes quite the wrench in our plans. Ben is heading to Sioux Falls on November 12th to sign a lease and we won't know if we are going to be actually living there until December. We have to continue with our plans even though we aren't exactly sure what will happen. The woman assured me that everything looks good but she also said they can't make any promises and something could change. I know everything will work out yet I am worried. This will be a good lesson in patience. Wish us luck... 


We are now under the 2-month mark until our expected moving date. Our spare bedroom has a collection of boxes and empty totes. The packing process will begin this weekend. Ben works all weekend so I'll be home working on homework and packing.

10.10.10

Happy 10-10-10.


October. 10. 2010. 


I was going to wait and post this at 10:10pm. Wouldn't that be crazy? 

Big Wedding News!!

This is HUGE news for me!
I have slowly been going through all our wedding stuff and organizing it all. Filing what I could, downsizing what we had left, and finding a way to get everything into only two boxes. Well I am FINALLY done! I've worked on getting this done a little bit each week and it is finally complete. 


Post-Wedding To Do List:
* Print pictures for picture frames
* Put pictures up on Facebook
* Gather more photos from a few more people


That's it! The end is in sight! :) 

What a beautiful sight! 

On the left: Pictures, Pictures Discs, 

Files of cards, bridal showers, from my wedding binder, etc.

On the right: larger wedding keepsakes

Check out that organization! Hard work, but I'm so happy with it!

This was a MESS until recently. ALL organized now. 

This was a BIG project for me. 

This is all that remains of our wedding. 

Bittersweet. 

Weekend Update

Today was a busy day.

I spent three hours teaching about heat energy to 16 2nd and 3rd graders. It was a great learning experience!


We got some sad news earlier this week. My cousin's grandma passed away. Although it was something that they knew was coming, having a family member pass away never is easy. The funeral was here in Marquette so a large portion of my family were here today. I got to spend some time hanging out with my family before we went to pay our respects to Helen Tramp.


After the funeral service my parents, Aunty Wendy and cousin Mikayla spent some time catching up at our apartment. We had a nice time celebrating my birthday, talking about healthy living, playing with Mikayla's Halloween costume and Mikayla had a blast hanging out with her buddy Ben. They went to the garden and spent some time harvesting. We also went for a car ride up to a beautiful mountain and were in awe of the beautiful colors!! We stopped at a local pizza shop and they gave us a bunch of free pizza. Yum!


Now Ben and I are taking some time to relax this evening. It is something we haven't done often enough. I feel like we are running from one thing to another and hardly to have time to just sit and relax. We are so exhausted from the day that we figured now is a good time to relax. Mos of you know that I can't do that... so here I am! :)


Overall, it was a nice day. I enjoyed seeing so much of my family but unfortunately it wasn't for a happy occasion. Please pray for peace and comfort for all of those who mourn.


Now for some pictures...

My mom and Mikayla

Mikayla had to show us her awesome Halloween costume

and my mom had to try on Mikayla's wig! 

 My dad tried it on too. So did Ben... but I don't think he wants his picture on here. :)

Beautiful witch! 

 The beautiful fall colors! I will miss this!

Can life really get better than this? 

Mikayla and I! 

Mikayla LOVES Ben! He does silly things with her. 

Like having a pepper eating contest. 

Followers

I know I have been absent from the blogging world but I am trying to catch up on life a bit and needed to take a break. I'm hoping to write more as things seem to be slowing down a bit (hopefully I didn't just jinx myself!). I know some people who check the blog every day so to make things a bit easier you can become a follower of the blog. To do this click follow on the right side of the blog. When I created a new entry you will be alerted. This way you don't have to check it every day. :) 

10 Weeks and Counting

10 weeks until..

Ben graduates

I am done with methods

we move to Sioux Falls

our best friends welcome their second child

We are already in week 6 out of 18!

THIS IS CRAZY!!!

Life is CRAZY!

We are trying to take a step back and really enjoy where we are right now. Newly married, taking in all the beautiful colors and smells of our last fall in Marquette, learning all we can in our classes before we find big kids jobs, saving what we can for our big move..

All I want to do now is pack... I feel like we'll be moving before we know it and we won't be ready!!

Anyone want to help me pack?

Preparing to Hibernate

We haven't broke 60 degrees in the last few days and our garden is dwindling. So we began to prepare to hibernate.

Our tea supply is stocked and freezer is full of frozen goodness. We wanted to make sure we had some "fresh" food in the freezer so we can enjoy our garden long after our season has ended.

Here is a behind the scenes look at....

Our Freezer!

A visitor!

Ben and I have a visitor!

Our visitor arrived last Sunday and will be leaving tomorrow.

Raena came up to visit!!!

We kept her busy by various activities.

The first few days of the week were HOT!!!!!

So of course we took Raena cliff jumping!

We went to the garden and picked lots of veggies, including some HUGE zucchinis. We peeled them, shredded them and prepared to make something delicious out of all that zucchini. (see below!)

We had a surprise visitor while Raena was here. Our best friend Rich surprised us and came up to Marquette. We spent Saturday night with Rich and our friend Andy. We went to Aubree's then came back to our apartment for some fun.

Raena, Ben and Andy preparing to take part in a mystery pepper eating contest.

Andy, Raena and Rich ate a jalepeno but apparently it wasn't at all hot.

Here is what we did with ALL that zucchini. So far we've made 10 loaves and will be making more today. We have plain zucchini bread, some with blueberries and some with pineapples. YUM! It was a chilly day and the apartment was cold but after baking and cooking dinner with the oven on for six hours, it was nice and toasty!

The weather was really cold, windy and rainy for most of the week so we spent our time watching movies, playing games, taking naps, and having some wonderful conversations. We did manage to get out on a "less rainy" day for a hike and to introduce Raena to the world of geocaching.

Tomorrow we are leaving at 5:30am to meet up with the rest of the family to walk the Mackinac Bridge for Labor Day. We'll say goodbye to Raena at that time before heading back home for a night of homework.

It has been so nice to spend some time with Raena and Ben's side of the family. Life is going to getting pretty busy in the next few weeks so it was so necessary to take some time to enjoy each other's company this week while having some fun!

2 Months!!

I'm still working my way through some wedding keepsakes but due to training things have slowed down a lot!

I did find Ben's wedding gift today and took a few pictures. I made this photo book and filled it with photos from before we were dating until the day Ben proposed. Ben's best man, Eric, gave it to him before the ceremony.

I also got a free 30 page, hardcover, 8x8 photo book from David's Bridal. We will be getting a hardcover book with pictures from our photographer so I made one to include photos from our reception. I LOVE how it turned out!!

50 Days!

Can you believe it!?!?!

We got married 50 days ago. Has it really been that long?

This time 50 days ago I looked like this....

Thankfully it wasn't long and I was ready to get married...

Now 50 days later, we are still finishing up post-wedding things. :)

New Look....

I played around on a computer program I have called paint.net to make a new banner found at the top of the page.

Life is so hectic now and my last day of summer is tonight. I'm hoping we start getting into more a routine around here soon so I can catch up with the blog. Bear with me I promise I haven't forgotten you all!

Life Update!

Ben and I have been enjoying all there is to summer. Taking time out to geocache, hike, spend time with friends and experiment with food! Here is a series of photos to give you a behind the scenes glimpse into our first two months of marriage!

Our garden grows MORE and MORE every day. We go out every day to pick peas (above) and green beans. The community garden is also filling our fridge with zucchini, lettuce and the occasional tomato. Our grocery bill is getting smaller and we are enjoying some time together in the garden picking lots of weeds!

Community Adviser training starts August 1st and I'm trying to get ahead of the game by completing all that I can before training. These are the door decs (name tags) that are put on each apartment door for each tenant. I did sea animals. This is half of the ones I made. The other half were finished a few days later. Over 140 total!

We've been trying out new recipes and foods too! Ben made this meal complete with a Portabella mushroom with melted cheese, a tomato sauce filled with basil that we grew, all on top of noodles. Something I would have never tried before but it was yummy!

Ben likes playing around with food for dinner, while I prefer dessert! Here are some peanut butter honey balls I made. A healthy snack that still satisfied my sweet craving!

This weekend we are traveling back to Ben's hometown for our best friend's daughter's first birthday party! We are very excited to be there to celebrate with little Addie. Ben took off half a day of work so we can get there late Friday night. We'll spend the evening with family and then Saturday we are going to the zoo, Addison's birthday party then having a slumber party at her house! We can't wait!!!! Our last "mini" vacation before training begins and Ben leaves for his canoeing class (August 8th).

Wedding Details

I wasn't sure where to start with this post-wedding blog so I figured I'd start with something I"m familiar with, writing about the wedding!

Here are the details of our wedding, in no particular order!

I made this board to put our place cards on.

Eric's gift: Xbox Live points and beef jerky that Ben made

Justin's Gift: Flask and beef jerky

The rest of the guys got a water bottle and beef jerky

The lanterns we hung above the head table. Inside were battery powered candles.

Our table markers made with pictures taken by Cheyenne!

The back of the table marker had a question about us with the answer in the inside.

Pinwheels for the kids found on the kid's table and bubble were used after the ceremony.

All the gifts for the kids and bridesmaids.

The ladies got Lemongrass goodies: body polish, lotion and chapstick and homemade bracelets made with the help of Raena.

The kids got bubbles, Play-Doh, juice box, fruit snacks, a bag with their name on it and the girls got a bracelet and the boys got a keychain.

The assembly line.

The programs.

Raena and I did some damage at a craft store!

We spent an evening putting together all the bracelets.

The finished product!

I ordered these napkins on ebay and LOVE them!

http://stores.ebay.com/memorablewedding

The five pound bag of Andes mints that found themselves scattered throughout the reception.

There are many more photos to be shared from our big day. I'm getting a photo CD of most of the pictures soon so I'll be putting things up in the next few weeks as I get them all organized! Until then keep checking for random posts about our lives as newly weds! :)