A Wonderful New Product I Must Promote....

Perhaps some of you have tried these, but I feel I MUST promote these.

These have been on commercials lately. I was inspired, and so, several weeks ago, I bought some for Marc and me to try.

Oh my goodness -- they are wonderful! They're peeled and cut potatoes. You merely "steam" them in the microwave for 10 minutes. Then, add your milk and butter (I also add sour cream and pepper), and mix them. Voila! Mashed potatoes!!!!! No more peeling, no more boiling, no more washing big pans that you boiled potatoes in...

So, for Thanksgiving this year (I'm always in charge of the mashed potatoes), I bought a couple bags of them and my potatoes were wonderful and much much much quicker and easier.

Can you tell I'm a fan? They're found in the frozen potato section of the grocery store. They also come in "garlic" and "cheese"potatoes.

Tagged....

So, Shannon tagged me....So, here's the information on my husband. And, at the bottom, I shall tag some other lovely ladies.

Name? Marc Allen Friesen -- Here's a little known fact. Apparently, Marc's dad wanted to name him Abraham John -- after each of his grandfathers. His mom said "No" to that idea. What if he would have been named Abraham? Then, we'd have Abraham and Sarah :)

How long married? Almost 4 1/2 years -- we were married June 5, 2004.

How old? Marc is now a whopping 34 years of age. He was born September 25, 1974. He is older than I am as I am only 32.

Tallest? Definitely Marc, but not too many men are taller than I am.

Who can sing the best? I'm going to say that I can, and I'm fairly sure that Marc would agree.

Smart? Yes, Marc is very smart. Any of you who have spent any time around Marc know that he is absolutely FULL of trivial "nuggets." His father is the same way. Also, when I told Marc I was doing this on our blog, he wanted me to point out that he once scored in the 97th percentile on some intelligence test (isn't that like Marc to point that out?) Seriously though, Marc is very smart, but I also feel that I can add some smarts to our marriage.

Laundry? I do nearly all of the laundry. Marc, however, is capable. It's just one of those thing we settled into when we got married. He does some other things that I definitely don't do.

Paying Bills? I pay the bills and keep track of our bank accounts. When we first got married, I discovered that I couldn't very well read his writing in a checkbook. So, I just kind of took that job over. On the financial front, however, Marc definitely takes care of long-term investing and retirement savings.

Right Side of Bed? If one were to stand at the foot of the bed and look at how we sleep, Marc is on the right side of the bed.

Mows Lawn? Most definitely Marc. I absolutely cannot stand mowing the lawn. So, I'll take laundry anyday over mowing the lawn.

Cooks Dinner? I cook nearly all of the dinners. However, Marc does do all of the grilling. Again, that's one of the things we settled into when we got married. Marc is capable of making a few things. We were 28 and 29 years of age when we got married. Therefore, Marc had lived alone for a few years before. He had done some cooking.

Admits wrongness: I would honestly say that he admits wrongness better than I do. Neither of us like to do it, but he's a little bit more humble about it than I am.

Kissed First: He kissed me first in my apartment; however, I certainly didn't stop him. It was nice because I didn't have a roommate to bother us.

Wears the Pants: I honestly don't like to say who "wears the pants" in our household. I think there are some things that I probably make more of the decisions on (dinner, groceries, etc.). I do consider Marc to be the leader of our household, and I think he does a wonderful job at that. I hope I always show my respect to him as my husband in that way.

Here's a photo of Marc and me from a little over two years ago. We were up in Manitoba (Canada) visiting our good friends Tammy and Reynold. There just happened to be the Manitoba Marathon that weekend, and so, Marc ran the marathon. It was a nice rainy day.

I hope everybody learned a little bit about Marc that you may not have known.

So, I tag Lindsay Frasier, Alisha Wallace, and my sister-in-law, Amber Koehn.

Out of Sorts....

Luke has been "out of sorts" over the last several days or so. Here's our story....

This past Saturday night, Marc and I went out on a "date." Sadly, we hadn't been out on a true date since Luke's birth. So, several weeks ago, we asked my parents to come over and watch him so we could go out. They graciously agreed and drove up here to watch him.

Because of Marc's "bum" foot, there were several things we couldn't do (i.e. bowling, ice skating). So, we started out our evening at this great place -- Abuelo's!

We went early to avoid a wait -- thankfully, we did because when we left, there were a lot of people waiting. Of course, Marc got the "Grande" Plate -- you know, the one many of you probably share with somebody else but Marc eats by himself.

After eating, we decided to go and hang out at Barnes and Nobles. We were there ten minutes when my dad called my cell phone. When it first rang, it didn't even occur to me that there might be a problem -- I just assumed my dad wanted to know where something was in the house. Nope, there was a problem. Luke had been crying and crying and crying some more. Apparently, they tried just about everything they could think of, and nothing worked.

So, we drove home. Of course, by the time we got home, Luke was happy on my mom's lap. Who knows what his problem was?

Then yesterday, Monday, Luke was cranky at Andrea's -- for no apparent reason.

Last night, he woke up twice, crying. This is really abnormal for Luke since he's a GREAT sleeper -- we've been blessed with that.

So, he's already been crankier and fussier than normal lately. Then, this morning, he had a dr's appointment -- his four-month check-up with shots! You can imagine what that did!

He was cranky even when the nurses walked in the room -- ready to give him his shots. In fact, one of the nurses even said, "Gees, I hope he's not coming down with something. Are you guys going to be with him at home for this long weekend coming up?"

Fortunately, I was able to say, "Yes, and I'll be home with him the next two days as well."

After the stressful appointment of fussiness and crying, we went home, and he took a great nap! Then, he got up and ate. We took a short, yet uneventful, trip to the grocery store. When we returned home, I once again layed him down for a nap. He fell asleep but awoke about 30 minutes later. I went in to get him, and he would not settle down.

Finally, I opted for this...

Yep, the opportunity to fall asleep on Mom and Dad's bed. I'm sure all of you parents have done this once or twice -- you know, the thing you say you won't do.

But, it worked. He took a somewhat decent nap this way. It's a good thing he doesn't roll over just yet :)

I can't say the whole day's been cranky. I did manage to get this "happy" photo of him, playing in his favorite place -- the infant/toddler "elephant chair" -- as Marc and I call it.

I'll keep you posted as to whether he gets sick or something....We hope not, but it's going to happen sometime.

Movie Critique....

Last week, I started to watch "Dan in Real Life." It stars primarily Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche. Today, I finally finished it while feeding Luke. I won't give the story line, but I will give my critique.

I personally thought it was a very slow moving movie. I actually wouldn't even recommend you rent it because it is slow moving -- you can add a comment to this blog post if you disagree. Some of you may recommend it to others.

Anyways, even though I don't really recommend it, there is a line at the very end of the movie that I really appreciated and will remember.

Steve Carell's character, Dan, is talking about "plans." He talks about teaching his kids about making plans. Then, he says, "Always simply PLAN to be surprised." In other words, our plans don't always go as we think they should.

I thought to myself, "How true is that?" Marc and I are planning freaks (for lack of a better word to use). We plan and plan and plan some more. Then, we get discouraged when our plans don't work out.

Whenever that happens, I'm reminded that God ultimately has our best in mind -- so, His plan is what's best. Often times, I am surprised about His plans. I just need to remember that more often -- not to get too upset when my plans are not His.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

So, my ultimate purpose with this blog post is to go on ahead and make plans, but plan to be surprised. God has your ultimate plan in mind (Sadly, the movie didn't mention anything about God's plans).

Thanks for reading!

Yuck or Ouch!!!!

If you've been following this blog, you'll know that a little over a week ago (look back at previous posts), Marc had foot surgery -- a bunion removed.

Just to "jog" your memory a bit....here's the "before" shot of Marc's foot.


This past Friday (a week after surgery), they took the big bandage off. This is the "after" shot of Marc's foot -- while still recovering. Remember, the surgeon broke two bones to make the correction -- henceforth, the black and blue. Plus, the stitches don't get to come out for almost two more weeks.

If you've seen Marc, you'll know he's still wearing the big boot. That too will be worn for almost two more weeks. Then, he'll try wearing a regular shoe. We'll see how that goes.

Four Months....

Luke was four months old yesterday. Can you believe it? We hardly can. Here are the "comparative" photos.



One Month....

Two Months....

Three Months....

And finally, four months....

Wow! What a change each month!

Thanksgiving....

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

There are many verses on "Giving Thanks" in the Bible, but that is one of my favorites. It's also one of my favorite praise songs!

Anyways, we are glad we have the Thanksgiving holiday. It remind us of what we should be doing all of the time -- that is, giving thanks. We don't do it enough.

I (Sarah) am thankful for so many things, but the top three have to be 1) I have a God who loves me for who I am, and I have the freedom to worship him in this country 2) I have a wonderful husband who also loves me for who I am, and 3) I have a very cute and wonderful son whom we love very much.

I want to take a moment to reflect on Luke, our son. Keep reading -- this could get long. It may be one of those posts for "true friends."

Thankgiving weekend, 2007 (specifically, Sunday, November 25) will always be special in my heart. That was the day we found out I was pregnant with Luke. I look back on that day with a heavy heart, however. When the pregnancy test was positive, I was actually crying when I told Marc, and sadly, they weren't necessarily tears of joy. They were tears of not trusting God in the way I should.

Most of you reading this know that just four months before Thanksgiving, Marc and I went through a miscarriage. That miscarriage happened after trying to get pregnant for 18 months -- thinking that pregnancy may not have even been an option for us (we were starting the process of fertility testing at that time).

The miscarriage absolutely tore me apart. I don't think most of you realize just how much it did tear me apart. I was a mess for several months. Looking back on it, I realize I probably should have seen a counselor or been a part of a support group. It was extremely difficult always seeing other women (especially at church) pregnant or having babies.

However, we persevered. I realized that God allowed it all to happen (infertility and miscarriage) for some purpose. I'm not completely sure what his entire purpose was, but I have since realized that God did teach me some things through the experience -- it made me realize just how much I wanted a baby, it made me realize that I worked too much and put way too much focus on work and money, etc.

I remember telling Marc that I want to always "be there" for other women or couples when they go through miscarriages. Miscarriages are all too common. More people than we know have been through them. Since last summer, God has given me the opportunity to have very long conversations and offering of support with two different, very strong women who too suffered miscarraiges -- one of them even lost twins. I hope that I was able to offer encouragement and support to both of them. Sadly, I'm sure it will happen to somebody else we know. I hope that I will again be able to offer that support -- even into my old age.

Anyways, back to Thanksgiving, 2007....my tears on the positive pregnancy test were indeed not trusting God. I didn't trust that this pregnancy would be successful -- and it couldn't have been. Many women suffer through multiple miscarriages.

Over the course of the next month, I was in and out of the dr's office many times for blood work -- constantly checking hormone levels. My confidence went up slightly as the hormone levels continued to rise. My nausea, though not fun at all, was actually a welcome sigh of relief. We told a couple of close friends, and we practically begged them to keep it a secret. We have some wonderful friends who did keep it all a secret!

December 31, 2007, was another day of tears -- this time, happy tears as we saw Luke's beating heart on the sonogram. Even though we saw that beating heart, however, I (especially) still had doubts about telling people our good news. We finally shared the news with our parents over the next couple of weeks, and by 13-14 weeks, at the persistence of Marc, we started to tell other people. If Marc wouldn't have persisted on telling people, I would, out of fear, probably still not told people for another 4-5 weeks. It's funny now when I think about it, but the not-so-funny part was the lack of trust in God.

One of my points to this blog post is to not make blog readers feel sorry for us. I just merely want to share our story out possibly helping somebody else. I also realize that we have a fairly "easy" story with a happy ending. Infertility and miscarriage are actually very common, and many times, couples' stories end up completely different than our's.

Another point to this blog post is to share a new meaning of Thanksgiving to us -- it was the Thanksgiving holiday weekend where our lives started to change forever -- in a great way.

A third point on this blog is that this experience did teach me to trust God. I know that He ultimately has the my very best in His plans. It's just so hard to see sometimes. Trust is something I will always be working on in my spiritual growth. I'm sure many of you are also working on that. If you have any good advice, please let me know!

My last point to this blog post is to simply say that Marc and I are extremely thankful for Luke -- born July 21, 2008. I hope we don't just express that on Thanksgiving, but we express that each and every day he's with us.


Here's an updated photo of him -- taken just the other night.