The Power of Prayer...

Please take a moment or more to pray for little baby Stellan. He is the unborn baby of a friend of a friend (my friend Kristi and MckMama were college roommates) recently diagnosed with heart failure.
I trust their family will be blessed by your thoughts and prayers.

Romans 8:26-27
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

it's a small world...

It's a big, big world - there are over 6 BILLION people in the world - yet sometimes it amazes me just how "small" the world can be!

For example, while we were visiting with Jason's cousin and his family, they recounted the following story:

They were at a family camp a few weekends ago - one they had never been to before and knew no one else who would be attending there. When they arrived, they met a family from the same town we live in. It's true, we don't live in a HUGE city, but it's not the smallest town, either. So they asked the couple if they happened to know us. Why, yes...they did. In fact, they just happened to be the very same couple from whom we bought our house! Isn't that crazy? I think it would be odd to be able to say to someone I'd never met before that I had actually slept in the basement of the very home they used to own. Keep in mind, Tim & Helen live in a VERY large city - 300+ miles away from us!

Another "small world" incident occurred last week when we walked across the alley to introduce ourselves to our neighbors (finally!). Only the wife and her youngest daughter were at home, but after visiting with her for awhile, we discovered that I graduated from high school with her husband. I suppose this probably isn't TOO out of the ordinary, as my hometown is only about an hour away, but after living here for almost a year, I had no idea I was neighbors with a former classmate!

It never ceases to amaze me that God holds this world in His sovereign hands. My prayer is to be used by Him, wherever I am at in this world of His!

Acts 17:24-28a
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'"

tim & helen

On our recent travels, we were blessed to be able to connect with Jason's cousin, Tim, and his wife, Helen. What fun it has been to get to know the two of them and their family (they have two children - Thea, 5, and Danny, 2) over the past year since we first re-connected with them at a family reunion last summer. We welcomed them up north into our home this past cold winter shortly after our basement was finished. It was a treat to have them be our first official guests! This spring they finished their basement and thought an inaugural visit was in order! :-) We stayed with them for a couple of days before the wedding and had a blast!

We arrived to an all-out family barbecue, with Jason's aunt and uncle and two of his other cousins and their families (there were 20 of us in all!) who live in the same area. Our kids were thrilled to have so many "cousins" to play with!

The next day, we visited a local recreational center that had a HUGE wading pool, two enormous water slides, and a giant sandbox, to boot! We were there for a bit in the morning, but ended up getting rained out before lunch - the storm clouds rolled in quickly!

The five kids had so much fun playing together.

One night Tim and Helen treated us to a home-made traditional Chinese meal, complete with chopsticks. WOW - it was soooo good! Both Jason and I ate way too much. We are excited to try the following recipe at home!

PORK IN PEANUT SAUCE
1 lb Pork Strips (thinly sliced)
1 Onion chopped
1 Red or Orange Pepper thinly sliced
1 Clove Garlic, crushed
1 Inch Ginger Root grated (or you can use powdered ginger too -- it's easier than grating)
2 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Ground Cumin
2 TBSP Soft Brown Sugar
Juice of 1 Lemon
4 TBS Crunchy Peanut Butter
3 TBS Soy Sauce
#1 -- Stir Fry the Peppers & Onion in hot vegetable oil first until mostly cooked, then remove from pan and set aside.
#2 -- Stir Fry the Pork in hot vegetable oil until done and then mix the cooked peppers back in.
#3 -- Create a Sauce with all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Add sauce to the pork and peppers and fry on medium a little bit longer until the sauce is heated up and mixed in.

#4 -- Serve with hot rice. ENJOY!!!

*Note from Helen: An easy side dish to serve this with is green beans. I stir fry fresh green beans (takes a while to cook) and add a TBSP or two of Soy Sauce and some crushed garlic. You can also had some hot peppers or hot sauce to make it spicy but we usually leave it mild for the kids.

As a special treat, Tim and Helen arranged for a babysitter on our last morning there. Emma played with the kids while the four adults went out for a quiet breakfast. Thank you so very much, guys! We had an amazingly wonderful time and hope to visit again soon!

Travel Mercies...

Please pray for my mom, as she will be flying overseas on a mission trip to Ireland. Her plane departs at 9:30 PM tonight.

If you think of her over the next two weeks, she would greatly appreciate your prayers! The following is her itinerary (in her words):

July 17–Fly from Minneapolis to London.

July 18—Switch planes in London—fly to Belfast (we will be very tired about this time!)

July 19—Rest and recuperate from loss of 6 hours (time difference)

July 20—Travel with Christian friends in Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland (or “the South”) to County Roscommon. This week we will go door-to-door distributing a booklet written by an Irishman, Dick Keogh, from County Tipperary. We cannot distribute any literature written and/or published in Northern Ireland or England because it will be immediately discarded (considered Protestant which has political as well as religious connotations in this country). This booklet addresses the reported apparition of the Virgin Mary in this town. Pilgrims travel to this site to worship and pay homage. The gospel is clearly presented and role of the Virgin Mary is clarified based on Scripture passages.

July 27—Travel to Croagh Patrick in County Mayo where 25,000-40,000 pilgrims come from all over Ireland and the world to climb this mile high mountain (it took me 2.5 hours to do so in 1998 so not as easy as it might sound). Pilgrims believe that climbing will result in the earning of indulgences so that less time will be spent in Purgatory after their death. We provide free refreshments (orange drink, water and tea) and free booklets explaining that Christ has already paid the full price for our sins and that gift too is free. We do not need to earn salvation—just ask and accept the free gift.

July 28-Day off to rest and recuperate

July 29-August 1—More literature distribution in County Roscommon and/or County Mayo

August 2—Travel to Belfast to prepare for return trip to the States

August 3—Fly home to the U.S.

August 4 or 5—Go back to work full-time…well…my intention is to at least show up at the office!

Wedding Bells...

My brother, Nathan, was married on Saturday. We excitedly traveled the 4 1/2 hours to celebrate with them - Lukas, Chloe, and Madelynne were honored to be a part of the occasion (ring bearer and flower girls, respectively!)

Friday evening my mom hosted a down-home rehearsal dinner, complete with Famous Dave's BBQ.


Friday was also Cassandra's birthday, and Nathan surprised her with a gorgeous set of pearl earrings, necklace, and bracelet.

Jason tried to mix things up a bit with a few party games...including the "shoe game" for the bride and groom-to-be. For example, "Who is the better cook?" or "Who spends more time on the computer?" Each having one of the other's shoes, they then had to raise either the bride's shoe or the groom's shoe. Trust me...it has all of the potential to be a hilarious game!

~Getting ready for the big day~

~Outside the church~

~Nathan & Lukas~

~Nathan & the girls~

~My mom, my brother, and his son, Michael~

~Cassandra and the kids~

The girls were assigned the special task of handing out mints from their baskets at the reception!

~Gifts for the happy couple~

There's a funny story about the cupcake tower...let's just say this is the "before" picture! Jason and the kids went to pick out cupcakes, and by this time several other guests had gotten their dessert (and thankfully, the bride and groom had taken pictures by the cupcakes). The unfortunate part was that everyone had taken from the same side - notice the very small base on the tower? I think a part was missing. It just happened the the cupcake Jason removed was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" and the entire tower went toppling over. That's right...cupcakes everywhere. Lukas was on site, scooping up frosting off the floor to eat. I was completely mortified, but also had to find the humor in the situation!

~The kids had a blast with the disposable cameras~

~My mom and the 4 grand kids~

Our family - amidst the hustle and bustle of the day, I completely forgot to ask anyone to take a picture of us...can you believe it? This picture was quickly snapped in the hotel lobby by an accommodating desk clerk!

It was a special day filled with so many emotions. My sister was unable to join us, as she is taking a 3-week intensive teaching course many states away. We all greatly missed her and missed the presence of my dad, as well. Nathan and each of the three groomsmen wore a pin in honor of our dad, commemorating the division of the Army in which he served.

We wish Nathan and Cassandra nothing but the best...and thank them for having us be a part of their day!

something's in the works...

We're heading out of town for a little "vacation" and to celebrate my brother's wedding on Saturday. Madelynne and Chloe are flower girls and Lukas is the ring bearer! There will be lots more pictures when we get back, I'm sure...

Diamonds Vacuums are a girl's best friend...{& finding a "deal" isn't bad, either!}

I realized you have been just hanging on the edge of your office chairs...WAITING to hear about our vacuuming saga. Unfortunately, my summer blogging has proven to be pitifully inconsistent!

SO...long story short, I decided to get a Dyson.

Admittedly, it's an up front investment...but I had already "invested" several hundred dollars over several years for vacuums that were not lasting - and not even doing that great of a job while they were actually working! Not to mention the 5-year warranty and never having to purchase a bag or filter (the filter is washable) were two more convincing factors in my decision!

I researched prices at all of the local stores - Target, Lowe's, and Sears - in order to find the lowest priced Dyson - after all, what is a major purchase without trying to find the best deal?

Everything I found was still a little more than I was hoping to pay (after all, this was money I had been setting aside in the hopes of a camera upgrade!), so I decided to check out eBay and Amazon.com. After reading review upon review (I love the reviews on Amazon!), I had decided what model I wanted and I was all set to make my purchase when I noticed a section that read "Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links". That did the trick - my interest was piqued (and, yes, I'm super susceptible to an advertised deal!) so I proceeded to click on each link. One was an Oreck ad, which had an interesting comparison of the Oreck vacuum and the Dyson, but I was pretty set on the Dyson and not looking to change my mind there. The next was for a place called Factory Direct Superstore. I checked it out and discovered that I could get the next "step up" Dyson from the one I was going to buy from Amazon for virtually the same price, free shipping, AND a "free" car cleaning kit (supposedly an $80 value!). My only fear was that I knew nothing about this website and I was a bit afraid to fork over my money to some potentially fly-by-night internet scam!

After MORE research, I finally decided this indeed was a legitimate place - so I ordered my new vacuum. To my delight, it arrived as promised in about 10 days (I was told 10-14 days).

Now I can vacuum happily ever after (or at least for 5 more years!).

Another one bites the dust...

Sing with me now...

Bmp, bmp, bmp...Another one bites the dust
Bmp, bmp, bmp...Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust!

Why is it that appliances seem to "break down" all at the same time? In the past few months, we have had to either repair, replace, or go without the following:

1. Gas grill...which we replaced as an early Father's Day gift!
Happy Father's Day, Jason! :-)


2. Lawn mower...which we had repaired (but borrowed a mower from friends until it was done - we've had LOTS of rain and the grass has been growing fast - thus, the onslaught of Mosquito Season!)

3. Weed trimmer...we were going without this one, but Jason just found a "deal" last week and bought a new one. It took him quite a long time to do all of the overdue trimming this weekend!

4. Vacuum cleaner...it had been on it's last leg for awhile. First the power button malfunctioned and so the only way to turn the vacuum on was to plug it in. Then some part fell off the bottom (it had some wheels on it - but the vacuum still worked without it, so I still continued to use it!). Finally, it continuously burnt up any belt I put on it, so I had to retire it. Here it is (in all of it's non-functioning glory):
It's a Hoover WindTunnel that I bought off of Amazon.com about a year ago. Before that, we had a Dirt Devil that I think we inherited from some friends, and before that, I can't remember exactly what we had...but it seems like we replace vacuum cleaners about once every year or so!

We didn't exactly want to spend an arm and a leg on a new vacuum...so I thought MAYBE we could use this for awhile:

It is actually a "working" kid's vacuum cleaner...but the suction isn't that great.

I also tried this:
BUT, it's not exactly what I would call "user-friendly" for home vacuuming.

And, I'm the kind of girl that LIKES to vacuum!!! I mean, really...I LIKE (maybe almost LOVE) to vacuum. How long could I live without a REAL vacuum, you might ask??? Well, not too long.

I borrowed my friend, Kristi's vacuum - one she did much research on...and I loved it! It's a Dyson and I have always wanted a Dyson (What can I say? When it comes to cleaning products, I have HIGH aspirations, I guess!). But, with all of the other appliances we have had to replace or repair...how was I ever going to be able to get a Dyson?

If you want to know all the down and dirty details of my vacuum-purchasing saga, you'll just have to stay tuned for Part 2 of this exciting vacuuming tale...

War Paint

We are in a fierce battle...

with these:

It's mosquito season!!!

And the kids are all suffering from their wounds...especially Chloe! Here they are with calamine lotion slathered all over them:

We spent much of the night trying to console Chloe with all of her itching - she reacts SO badly to the mosquito bites. I think I got a total of 3 hours of sleep! She probably got even less, poor thing. She has lots of skin problems (as I alluded to in an earlier post) - in addition to eczema, she also has an odd case of athlete's foot that only seems to crop up during the summer months. So, with itchy, burning toes, inflamed bites covering her face, arms and legs, and just prone-to-itchy skin, it makes for one very uncomfortable little girl!

I have been putting bug spray on the kids, but the mosquitoes in our back yard are horrible! The city has also been spraying (I saw the sprayer go down our street last night), but it just doesn't seem to be helpful yet.

I'm hoping to find SOMETHING to ward off the bugs a little bit better...and something to help soothe the itching, too!