SNOW!!

Yep...it is totally snowing...right here...right now! On the way home from the movie earlier today it was rain/snowing. You know the kind of rain that hits your windshield with a spread out pattern not a droplet pattern. So...then Sean let in the dogs and there was snow sticking to Roxy's back. Seriously, WOW...snow before Thanksgiving. Who'da thunk it?...it's been a while...a long while since it's snowed this early. AWESOME!!

Check out my Slide Show!

The COOLEST thing ever!

Okay...okay...Rene and I went to the Steven Curtis Chapman concert last night and it was the coolest thing ever...When I was a sophomore or junior in high school I went to see his concert on the "Great Adventure" tour. Back then the ticket was $7 and he played the Walla Walla College Gymnasium and we got there so late that we sat at the back of the back set of bleachers. That was then...this is now...

Rene got into the ticket line way back when at Fred Meyer the moment they went on sale. She got us tickets IN THE FRONT ROW! So, we were slightly right of center stage...it was AWESOME! I could actually see the facial expressions of ALL the band members. And...*trying really hard not to sound like a squeally teenage girl*...it was like he was singing just to me:-)

Yep...it was awesome...and yep...I sang along to just about every song...every once in a while I got distracted by watching everything on stage and forgot the words...but that's okay...even Steven Curtis Chapman forgot the second verse to one of his new songs:-) It was so darn cute!

So, there up at the top are a few pics from the evening!

Yours...

So...Rene and I are going to a concert next Saturday. It's the Steven Curtis Chapman concert...yep...SC2. Last time I saw him in concert was when I was in High School and I paid $7 to see him at Wenatchee Community College. This time he's at the Toyota Center and we paid $47 for front row center tickets. Rene got in line the minute they went on sale and got the coolest tix!

So, today as I was driving I was listening to the new SC2 album in preparation for the concert...I kinda have this thing about knowing all the words so I can sing along. Anyway...I was trying to calm myself down from being frustrated about how messy my house always is. I couldn't figure out how these people could keep their house clean week after week. I'll clean it ALL...top to bottom...but three weeks later it's a mess again and I can't think of where I could have shaved off time of my schedule to have kept it up. So, at the height...or depth...of this pity party for myself this SC2 song called "Yours" came on my IPod. Here's a bit of the lyrics:

"I walk the dirt roads of Uganda
I see the scars that war has left behind
Hope like the sun is fading
And they’re waiting for a cure no one can find
And I hear children’s voices singing
Of a God who heals and rescues and restores
And I’m reminded that every child in Africa
is Yours
And it’s all Yours God, Yours God,
everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky to the depths of the
ocean floor
And it’s all Yours God, Yours God,
everything is Yours
You’re the maker and keeper,
Father and ruler of everything
It’s all Yours"

So...I got to chuckle to myself as I asked the great wide open of my car "are my dustbunnies His, too?"...they must be. Boy...that's a load off...now that I know they're not mine...but His...it sure is easier not to get frustrated by it:-)

Smells...

really bring you back don't they? Today as I left Starbucks I was bundled up in my favorite sweat pants and my new cozy CKU sweatshirt. It was just brisk enough to have a slight chill. I could smell the fresh rain and could even feel a few drops. But the best part of that whole scenario was the slight and distinct scent of someone's wood burning fireplace off in the distance. Too cool...I love living in four seasons!

So we never got to Paris and found the cafe of our dreams...

That's a line from a song by Out of the Grey. Turns out...I just may find that cafe of my dreams. I recently got accepted as a primary leader for People to People Student Ambassadors. I will be taking a group of High School students from around the Yakima Valley/Columbia Basin to Western Europe for three weeks next summer. It's been a whirlwind few days...a bunch of info!!...some apprehension...can I really do this with students if I've never done it myself? But ultimately I am SO excited! Find out more about this awesome program at http://www.studentambassadors.org/.

Last week I went to the Leader Training at the National Headquarters in Spokane. President Eisenhower started People to People in 1956 and the first delegation came from Spokane...so the national headquarters are in Spokane. Their new building is beautiful! These pictures are from the little jaunt up there. That famous pic of Ike is a two story mural. And the other pic is an award winning pic from a student ambassador who went to New Zealand (I think).

Hope you are having a GREAT day. I'm off to figure out the Passport process...how do you prove your citizenship? Is a driver's license okay?

Time out...

...for some breathing. You ever felt like you just need to breathe?... Seriously...try it with me now. Inhale...1....2...Exhale...3...4. Feels good don't it? I guess another word to describe my life right now is Release. So many things lately I've been feeling released about...job stuff...church stuff...life stuff. Y'know...just a big release. I hope I'm not lulling myself into false release-dom?...hmmm... You know; just when you breath and marvel at how your life seems to be going...blamo...stress-world!

• My correcting is caught up at school...for now...
• my house is still relatively clean...
• I have a clean and ironed outfit for school tomorrow...
• I'm not yawning!...
• youth group newsletters are ready to be mailed...wow...
  

Here are a few pictures...

#1...sweet nectar of the gods..Iced...Venti...Non-fat...Almond...Latte...from Starbucks!

#2...the best movie in all the land...Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves...God bless Kevin Costner:-)

#3...Worshipping at sunset at Creation Fest...what could be better?

Transitions and New Beginnings

So...school for me starts tomorrow. Work days anyway...class with kids doesn't start until after Labor Day. It's almost like another "New Year" celebration. There's the one in January...but the one in September is so much more of a "New Year" for me. It's when I start making other resolutions and promises to myself...my lunch will always be packed the night before...I WILL get on the treadmill first thing in the morning...mycorrected tests and projects will NEVER be more than a week out from being returned...I WILL be in bed by 10 on a school night:-)... hey...don't laugh...it could happen:-)

But there's other new stuff too...where, when, and what will I do my "Professional Certification" in?...will Sean go back to school, too?...what are we doing with the house situation?... moving?...remodeling?...and if so...when?...how will all of this affect family situations?... volunteering?...

It's all very "Up in the air" feeling... it's okay though because this time... as opposed to some other transitional times in my life... I feel good about these transitions..not scared or worried or wondering what choice I should make. Now...I'm feeling more like...hmmm...wonder what we'll do...

We had a Fantasy Football draft at our house today...Doug and I have our own team again this year...it's called the Fat Cobras...I can email you why that's our name:-)... It feels like a good team...although we are a little iffy in the Running Back department. I couldn't help it... I couldn't not pick Peyton Manning and then when it came back around I couldn't not pick Chad Johnson. Before I knew it it was round 5 before I picked our first running back...Duece McCallister.

Those are some images I've snapped lately...Sean talking to the "Ghosthunters" Producer outside our house...Sean and I at Creation Fest 2007...our babies playing together:-)... remind me to blog about "Ghosthunters" later:-)

Similarities

So...I have this friend. Wait...let me back up. One of my most favorite authors is Beth Moore. And one of my most favorite Beth Moore books is about David; it's called "A Man after God's own Heart". A quite significant portion of the book is about David's friendship with Jonathan...his rival's son. In this part of the book Beth Moore talks about two kinds of friendships...the kind that is knit together through the years and the kind that is knit together through God's divine timing. I had always been drawn to her description when thinking of my good good friend Carrie. She and I knew each other for less than three months while working at Camp Ghormley ten years ago. I declared her to be my first grown-up friend...meaning a friend NOT met in my elementary days. She was then and is now an incredibly good friend who knows me as well as any of my "oldie, but goodie" friends. Beth Moore's point is that David and Jonathan did not need time to build their friendship...God knit their hearts together as dear friends.

Okay...so as I was saying...I have this friend...this other friend. Our friendship is exactly the opposite. We met...dare I say it...27 years ago. She lived on one end of the block and I lived on the other. We met at the halfway point and introduced ourselves as I'm sure our mothers had instructed us to. She was the tomboy and I was the prissy girl...and we both wished to trade places with each other.:-) You couldn't have found two friends more joined at the hip than us. As with all dramatic stories there came a time when we had to part:-) She moved away to college and I stayed home for college. So, for the last 10+ years we've been more separated. Even when she moved back to the area we see little of each other. It is remarkably difficult to coordinate schedules...either that or we are just really bad at it. The times we do manage to eek out some coffee time are amazing...as if nothing has changed...no need to fill in back story...because we are each other's backstory:-)

My point in all of this is that I've been marveling at the David and Jonathan story because of Beth Moore's illustration of the lack of time built into their relationship. But as of late it has been on my mind in a different way. The point is not necessarily how God knit their hearts together...but THAT he knit their hearts together. A few days ago I sent out a mass email to let everyone know about my blog...one the commenters was this friend of 27 years. So, I went to her blog...which I'd previously visited but not been to in some time. I was so amazed, comforted, pleased that there are so many similarities between her and I STILL:-) Vacations at Waldport, Oregon...opening up to new groups of friends...remodeling our homes this spring and summer...home depot issues...creative projects that get started, stopped, started again and are cheered when they're finished...the thrill of not just being an aunt; but being an Auntie---yes there is a difference:-)...frustrated that there isn't enough time in the day...struggling with 'love your neighbor'...loving new things we learn about God...finding such an amazing experience in volunteering in ministry.

Sarah and I have been friends for forever and I have so much gratitude to God for making the pathway for our parents to each find the same block. What would've have happened if I lived one block over? I'm so thankful that God has knit us together as friends.

Bathrooms

I hate cleaning the bathroom...there...I've typed it. I've said it aloud many times...but now I'm typing it. I HATE cleaning the bathroom. I don't know what it is about the bathroom...but I hate it! I hate some other household chores, too...but not like cleaning the bathroom. That is the one thing I will procrastinate on the most. I've been saying for almost a week now that cleaning the bathroom is on my to-do list. I think maybe the issue is all the stuff in it. Our bathroom tends to collect stuff almost as bad as our dining room table. A friend once told us that we had flat surface syndrome. Meaning if there is a flat surface then that means something must be put on it. So currently there are all manner of hair products...hair clips...deodorants...towels not put away yet...new shampoos that we aren't using yet...all the fun new products I bought to clean said bathroom...even seven year old lotions and bubble baths. I know they're that old because I recall getting them at a bridal shower:-) I guess I don't take many bubble baths after all.

Once all the stuff is moved out then it's not a problem and it goes pretty quickly. And some of those new gadgets and products really work well...some not so much. So...now I'm blogging about it. Hopefully that will make me actually do it today!

On the other hand I LOVE...LOVE...listening to John Ortberg. That's my new-found love of the week. He's an author...some of his books include "If you want to walk on water, you better get out of the boat" and "Everyone's normal until you meet them". His newest which I just started is "When the game is over it all goes back in the box". He's also the senior pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California. He used to be a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago...that's where I first heard him and REALLY responded to his sermons. He was a speaker at the Leadership Summit last week. WOWZA!! He gave an amazing sermon using the story of Esther and talking about Shadow Missions. And now into a few chapters of his new book I LOVE it!

Okay...do you think that my blogging means I'm still procrastinating about cleaning the bathroom?

I wonder...

if everyone likes "Friends" as much as I do. In our new office we have a new 13" DVD/TV and I've been watching my "Friends" DVD's like they're going out of style!

I wonder...how many days eggs really do stay fresh in the fridge

I wonder...if there is a suitable amount of hours I could sleep and NOT feel tired when I wake up

I wonder...if I really could go a month without buying a new scrapbook supply

We finally moved the treadmill back into the office. It felt so good to get on it again. It'd been in the living room along with every other item from our office. There was barely room to walk in the living room with everything piled there; let alone room to get the treadmill down. So, today...I walked while listening to John Ortberg's sermon from two weeks ago. He's awesome!

I wonder...if exercising makes you have more energy later in the day...duh!:-)

Do you ever notice...

...how some of our best times come when not only do you least expect it, but when you'd never predict it?:-) These are thoughts I had last night as I was ending my evening and reflecting and enjoying my new desk.
*While working on our budget two nights ago I was SO blessed to walk with a dear friend through a family crisis. She will tell you that I deserve her thanks...but what a blessing it was to my life to be able to share with her and so completely be there for her.
*Then yesterday, during one of our busiest Sundays...Sean and I were greeters, ushers, and I even answered the phone during a song...I was blessed with a reminder and a challenge from my pastor. "Sure he's the Savior of your life, but is he the Lord of your life? Or do you still want to control your life and are just hoping for his stamp of approval?" Excellent question...mighty challenge...tough to do:-)

I'm thinking...had I concentrated on the little things of the little things I do each day I would miss out on so much of what God wants to bless me with. I saw a plaque that said "Friendship isn't one thing it's a million little things." I think that's what the beauty of doing life together is, too.

By the way...had a lovely interchange with someone needing directions...a very "Our Town" moment:-)

Must continue the cleaning/unpacking saga that is my living room:-)

The light...

at the end of the tunnel. WOWZA!... Sean has worked so hard on the office remodel and omigosh...we are almost done! He just put up the window sills and then he needs to put up the window molding. Eric is coming tomorrow to hook up the lights and then turn on the power and we are DONE!! And once the power is on then Sean can get his desk set up and then the wheels toward getting the living room clean will really get moving. And therein has been my problem. Everything from the office is sitting in the living room waiting...even the HUGE desk that we're getting rid of. So, now that we're getting stuff moved in I can have my living room back!!:-) Yay!!

I'll post pics soon...of Creation Fest, too!

Observations and Highlights

• We just got back from celebrating my cousin's wedding. True to form for all of us VerHoeven's...it was an amazing party! It was fun to see everyone; only a few of us weren't there and boy did they miss out! It was a red-letter night, too...Becky and Laura got none other than the elusive Sean on the dance floor for something besides a slow dance! It was so much fun...and Jonathan will make a great addition to our family!

• Did you know that dogs are more than dogs?... We have three babies and I didn't intend to speak of them that way when I became their mommy; but now I look at them sleeping on the floor and just love them so much. They bug me from time to time and it sure is easier to leave them for a weekend than find childcare for actual kids...but they're my babies. I won't pretend that their life is more important than your human child's is...or that they are more important than any actual human children we may have. But until then...they are my babies!

• All things Disney are great! Whatever...don't emal me about it:-)

• My house is a mess!...Sean once said to me (and I intend to scrapbook it one of these days)... "we are educated people...why can't we keep our house cleaned?" I am telling you...it's SO frustrating. In fairness to us... there are parts of the mess that cannot be dealt with until the whole office remodel issue is finished...but I have no excuse for the breakfast nook debacle:-) Plus...now that I've seen a demonic mouse scurry across our kitchen floor I'm even more frustrated...I just wish I was also more motivated. I am slightly more motivated...but I'm too distracted by everything else...like blogs...or to-do lists.

• Yogurt and granola parfaits are amazing!

• I believe myself to be a "Producer" type of late person. I learned this in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I am constantly making to-do lists...constantly trying to press more events into less time... ugh... to-do lists are great, but what about when those lists don't get accomplished?

• I have a renewed interest in eating more healthfully...is that a word? Many things led to this revelation AGAIN:-) I read an article about women's 2-4 year sagas of getting in better shape/losing weight. It's inspiring...because they were far more out of shape than I am and some of them had far more obstacles than I do or did. Plus...I saw my aunt this weekend and she lost 45 pounds and she looks amazing! Hmmm....I wish I wish Coke was healthy! It's a sickness:-)

• I am going to school tomorrow to work on my classroom again. I am moving classrooms this year. Many of us are moving because we have 8 new classrooms being built. Some of us are moving to new rooms and some us...me...are moving into existing rooms left empty by the other movers. So...I worked two afternoons last week and still am not done! I declared to Sean that I would go to school one more day but this time leave at a more normal school day time...like leaving at 7 or 8. So I'm thinking that if I can leave the house at a decent time then I'll have several hours to finally finish putting my room back together. Then I won't worry about school stuff again until August.

• I happened upon a local photography website today and discovered that the photog is using the catchphrase of a well-known scrapbooker on her website and I'm not quite sure what to do about it...email her?...email the photog?...hmmm...more thinking will be done.

• T-minus 9 days until we leave for Creation Fest! I'll be sure to post pictures when we get back!

So, in conclusion of these highlights and observations... life is good!

This is what I think...

when finding someone to marry. Try to marry someone you laugh with! Yeah, yeah...love is great too...and I suppose thinking they're cute as a button helps, too. But I must say one of my most favorite things about our marriage is how much fun we have together. My husband is a big goofball and I'm sure he'd say the same about me. I know he'd say that...because several times a day he'll chuckle and say "you are so adorable"...which is his way of saying I make him laugh. I'm telling you there is nothing better than laughing till you can't breathe...laughing about something so silly...an inside joke that only you two think is funny...a funny thing that reminds you of a funny thing that reminds you of a funny thing...all with the love of your life!

This is a picture of Sean at the beach...it's called Sean VS. the Ocean. He was hunting for agates and that darn ocean kept getting closer and closer...at the end of the day Sean figured it was Sean (4) vs. Ocean (2). It's okay if you don't laugh...we will...by ourselves...we'll laugh until we can't breathe...with each other!

Life's A Beach

Mark used to have a poem and it went something like this..."Family reunions, aren't they great? Spending quality time with the people you hate." We are at the beach with Sean's family and I guess that poem would be a little strong in this situation. But it betrays the essence of family vacations. The older we get and the more of us there are the harder it is to do a family vacation. When it's just the two of you then you can come and go at your own pace. When it's the 12 of you figure to add on 20-40 minutes to any task during said vacation. You are either waiting for someone else or you are hoping they'll wait for you...you start to the walk on the beach you wanted but are held up by making sure everybody who wants to go goes. You stand in line or you clean extra dishes or you have sand all over the bathroom. But then there are those moments when you remember why you went on vacation altogether. You are all in the ocean at the same time laughing until you can't talk because you are trying to brave the waves. You encourage each other to go further, you laugh when you bite it in the surf, and you hold on for dear life when you think the wave is too big for you. That's what life is like with families isn't it...encouraging, laughing, and holding on for dear life in the rough parts. Because in the end the memories we will laugh and cry about aren't the super long shopping trip at Safeway or who's towel was in who's way...it will be that one time we all played in the surf at Gleneden Beach in the summer of 2007:-)

Delight Yourself...

...in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart, Psalm 37:4. This verse has shown up in my life many times. A few years ago Jacki preached her very first sermon and it was on this verse. It was an AWESOME sermon! The biggest thing I remember from her sermon was her challenge that if we concentrate on delighting in the Lord then he will mold our desires for ourselves to match his greater desires for our lives. Then this spring in youth group I challenged our mid-high students to memorize this scripture and darned if a handful of them did! Way to go mid-highers!! Then last night at our session meeting we were doing our study on the book "Seizing your divine moment" by Erwin McManus. Chapter Two had a lot of Psalm 37:4 in it. My example was my involvement in Youth Ministry. I only said yes to volunteering in Youth Ministry at my church because I felt I was obligated to do so. I had committed to being an elder for the Christian Ed. team at church and it was my job to volunteer with the youth. I could've sworn up one side and down the other that it was definitely not the desire of my heart to work in youth ministry. But now I LOVE LOVE LOVE working with the youth of my church...God has transformed my heart!...I love it when he does that. This morning I was on my new front deck reading Youth Worker Journal magazine and got even more excited about all the stuff there is to learn about in youth ministry. It is the desire of my heart and I am delighting in it!:-)

I do...

Tonight we went to a wedding of a good friend of Sean's. Some of our summers have been full of weddings and some are on the light side. This was the first of two we are headed to before school starts up again. Sean and Jason worked together in Sunnyside and now are still good friends thanks to a little game called World of Warcraft. Sean stood up for Jason as one of his groomsmen. Many things occur to me during wedding season. In this case one of those things is how handsome my husband looks all dressed up in a tux. Another thing that occurs to me is that no matter how many years go by after our own wedding and no matter how much I know I can't go backwards I still like to critique other people's weddings. Sean has taken to asking me as soon as we get into the car what I thought of each part of the ceremony. He loves to hash over things with me. And I like to see the things that people choose that I would have loved to copy or things that don't really appeal to me. The variety is vast! Lastly, the biggest thing that occurs to me during a wedding is how much of a reminder it is for us and our marriage. During our ceremony our minister talked a great deal about the committment that marriage is. Love is not all it takes to make a marriage successful. When I don't wash the dishes one night or when Sean doesn't turn on the entry way light it is not love that makes our marriage work through those disagreements...it is the fact that we've chosen to commit to each other. Love is there and it is great and it is the biggest part of our relationship. But, God designed it with committment in mind as well. So as I sit through someone else's wedding what a gift it is to witness the beginning of their life together but also what a gift it is to look back at the almost seven years we've been man and wife to see how God has honored that committment.

How long...

How long does it take for one person to write a second blog? Apparently it takes 16 months. I just got back from CKU Anaheim and among many things I learned that weekend one of the biggest things is that there is no time like the present to document the present...the time is now. I have a scrapbook layout that's been brewing in my head and right now the title swimming around that concoction is "Later"...that seems to be the word of the year for me. Who am I kidding? That seems to be the word of the decade! It is the answer to almost every question in my life. When will I clean out my car?...later. When will I begin walking again?...later. When will I print those pictures for the church bulletin board?...later. When will I concentrate on having a family?...later. When will I correct those papers?...later. When will I finish that layout...or even that album?...later. When will I start drinking water more than coke?...later. When will I really use my blog?...later?...maybe now.