The Big 3 - 3....

Tomorrow (March 1) is my birthday. Yep, I'll be the big 33! I'm not making this blog post because I feel I need "gobs" of attention. I just want to visibly show Thanks to God for my life.

In most of my adult life, I haven't been overly excited about birthdays -- not because I didn't care but because I felt like it was just another day.

I don't know if it's motherhood that's changed that attitude or God working in my life or both. But I now know and understand that celebrating the day that I first took a breath of oxygen outside of my mother's womb is worth celebrating!

Am I fulfilling God's purpose for me on this earth? Each day, I hope to be working more and more toward fulfilling that purpose. What can I do to further His kingdom? That is my prayer for my birthday.

Sing to the lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. Psalm 96:1-3

This evening, I went out with some wonderful women -- Lisa, Sarah, Sam, & Laura. It was a birthday celebration for Lisa and me (Lisa's birthday was actually back in January). Shame on me for not taking photos. We went to eat at "On the Border" (you can't go wrong with Mexican food) and then, we hung out at "Barnes & Noble." What a fun girls' night out! We need to do it more often, ladies.

While I don't have an official photo for this post, here are 25 random facts about me -- just for fun. I hope you learn something interesting about me. These are not in order of importance; however, #s 9, 23, and 25 would definitely be most important.

1. I was born at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, KS
2. I weighed 6 lb. 5 oz. at birth.
3. If my mom’s due date was correct, I was born exactly one month early.
4. I have one brother, Joel, who is just over two years and one month younger than me.
5. I have a sister-in-law, Amber – Joel’s wife.
6. I have two nieces, Grace (3) and Natalie (1).
7. I was very fortunate in that I had four grandparents until I was almost 25 years old. I currently only have one grandparent left. She lives about ½ hour from me.
8. People who know me as well as my parents tell me that I’m a good mixture of my parents – in personalities. Most people tell me, when it comes to appearances, I look more like my dad.
9. My husband, Marc, is my best friend.
10. Besides the USA, I have been in Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Ireland, France, the very edge of Italy, and Monaco.
11. Marc and I have a world map, on my office wall, with markers of various places we want to visit in our lifetime. Some of those places include, but are not limited to, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, and Japan.
12. I was in the same school system from kindergarten through 12th grade.
13. I never went to preschool.
14. I have completed running 5 half-marathons. My goal is to eventually run a full marathon – yep, Marc rubs off on me a bit.
15. My childhood pet was a dog named “Simon.”
16. My mom says that I was quiet until my freshman year in high school. She claims I haven’t stopped talking since.
17. Up until I got married, I had ZERO interest in cooking. Now, I really enjoy doing it. I just don’t like to clean up.
18. My favorite sitcom is “Seinfeld,” though I can’t quote it nearly as well as Marc.
19. I enjoy sleeping, and that’s been the biggest challenge so far to me as a parent – not as much sleep (I know there are more challenges to come).
20. I have been in Monterrey, Mexico, five times on mission trips, coordinating vacation Bible schools in neighborhoods without any sort of Christian influence. I would say that those five trips definitely have shaped some of who I am.
21. I met Marc on a blind date. We were “fixed up” by my good friend Alissa. Marc was on the Young Alumni committee with her for Bethel College, and she thought we’d be a good match. We’re very grateful to her.
22. I feel very fortunate to have a mom and dad who will be married 37 years on March 25.
23. My priorities in life are, in order, 1) God 2) Marc 3) Luke and any future children 4) Other Family…
24. My favorite season is fall.
25. I am a Christian, and I’m proud to profess that.

Supper, Birthday, and Christ-Like Example....

This blog post is multi-facted...Yep, three different parts to it. It could get potentially long, so enjoy the reading and photo viewing.

Luke had an "off night" tonight. We've had several of those lately. I'm fairly sure it's his teeth because he is gnawing, gnawing, and then, gnawing some more on his toys. So, by the time Marc got home, I did not have supper ready at all. In fact, I hadn't even started it. So, we resorted to an old trick that our friends Mark and Lisa Siebert taught us -- popcorn and Orange Julius. Thanks Mark and Lisa. We love it!

A little trivial nugget for you all: The actual brand "Orange Julius" is owned by International Dairy Queen -- the very company I used to work for. Know that what I'm talking about here tonight is not the "official" product. I don't want any of my former coworkers coming after me for trademark violations on this blog :)

For the popcorn and Orange Julius dinner, you merely need two appliances -- a microwave and a blender.



You need the following ingredients:



PLUS...a bag of microwave popcorn (or, if you prefer, an air popper, etc.)



During the 2007 Kansas State Fair, we discovered this awesome Chili Cheese spice blend that is GREAT on popcorn. If you'd like to order some, go here...www.oldewestportspice.com



Voila! With a little blending and a little microwaving, you have a meal. NOTE: If any dieticians or health food addicts are reading this, know that this is not a full, nutritionally sound meal. It does have some good qualities, however -- orange juice, milk, etc.



The real beauty of this meal is that clean-up is SUPER EASY! In no time flat, I had this -- a CLEAN kitchen with very few dishes to get it that way.



Here's the recipe -- I hope you don't mind, Lisa, if I put this on here.

Orange Julius

1/2 can orange juice
1/2 C. Sugar
1 C. Water
1 C. Milk
1 tsp. vanilla
12 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a blender.

Now, another subject...

My grandmother, Elizabeth Koehn, turned 85 today! Sadly, she is my only grandparent left. She doesn't live too far from here. She just lost her husband of 67 years in January. I hope she had a great day! Here's a photo of her back in August, the first time she met Luke -- her first Great Grandson.



And finally....

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Philippians 4:8

That verse has been stuck in my head today. At my job at DQ, I work with some employees who like to talk about things that are definitely not worth repeating. It's very tempting sometimes to get "involved" in their discussions. However, that verse always comes into my mind, and I simply walk away. I want the light of Christ to shine through me. One way is to talk about better things than what is often being discussed. Today, a 55 year-old employee said to me, "You know Sarah, I respect you too much to talk really bad around you."

I appreciated that. I hope to continue to let this employee (and others) to hopefully see Christ through me. I don't think many of them know Christ at this job.

So Long, Farewell....

Some of you (especially our small group guys and Young Married Sunday School class guys) might be a bit sad if you come over here.

Our pop fridge in our garage is no longer working. Nope, it's definitely beyond repair. And, at least for right now, we're not going to purchase a new one. We believe that there is better use of our money.

No more ice cold Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and bottled water on a whim.

From now on, if you come over here and want a cold beverage, you'll have to warn us first. If you just show up unannounced, you might have to settle for a room temperature beverage.

Here's a photo of "Sad Marc," standing beside our non-functioning beverage cooler.



**Please Note: I just couldn't think of a Bible verse to go along with this post :) Somehow, I don't think the words "pop," "Soda," or "Pepsi" are actually used in the Bible. If they are in there, please post a comment with the address of the verse.

It's That Time of Year Again and Sitting Up....

Yep, it's that time of year again. It's time to complete the appropriate forms and file the....TAXES -- both federal and state. Some of you may be procrastinators. You know the type, scrambling at the very end to get them completed and then rushing to the post office late on April 15.

Marc's not one to do that (procrastinate). This past weekend, he completed both our federal and state income taxes. They were filed online last night. DONE!!!! Ah...while we don't like to pay taxes and filing income taxes each year is a bit of a pain, we do it because we obey our government.

Here's a photo of Marc diligently working on our income tax returns.



Income tax filing time is when many Americans are tempted to and often give into cheat. While, in some cases, it would be easy to do and very tempting if it would be in one's favor, it is incrediblydishonest.

Not that I would remotely imply that any of you reading this blog post would cheat, but I would like to post these following two verses. Hopefully, these will help somebody out there.

The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful. Proverbs 12:22

He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises Him. Proverbs 14:2

On a different note, a Luke note, he has recently (within the last couple of days) gotten to where he can sit up on his own without support. While he still is a bit wobbly and occasionally still does some face plants, he is doing very well. Here's a photo of him from this evening, red cheeks and all (he tends to get red cheeks when he's tired). Pardon the bib -- I forgot to take it off of him.



Until next time....

Happy Birthday Reynold....

Most of you "local" people who know us will not know about the person in this post. I, however, encourage you to read on anyways. Let me introduce you to a good friend of our's.

I've mentioned my good friend Tammy several times on this blog, in previous posts. Reynold is Tammy's husband. Therefore, he is a good friend of our's as well.

I first met Reynold in 2002, way up in northern Indiana. I was up there because Tammy was graduating with her Master's Degree. At that time, Tammy & Reynold were merely dating. A couple of months after that, I traveled up to Ontario to volunteer at a camp, Silver Lake Mennonite Camp. Reynold was then director of that camp. Tammy was head cook. So then, I got to know Reynold better.

Reynold is originally from Manitoba. When Tammy & Reynold met, he was living in Ontario. Since then, they have gotten married, moved back to Manitoba, and have had two wonderful boys.

Fun Memories or Facts on Reynold:

1) Reynold is the biggest fan of the group U-2 that I have ever met.
2) Reynold eats more toast than anybody I've ever met.
3) Reynold has completed running a 1/2 Marathon.
4) Reynold enjoys and takes pride in making fun of our Kansan accents. Next time they visit us, perhaps Reynold will imitate our accents.
5) Reynold gave Marc and me a great tour of the city of Winnipeg. He knows it well. He took Tammy and me around the city to find Marc at various points when Marc ran the Manitoba Marathon in 2006.
6) Reynold is a Youth and Young Adult Pastor at Bethel Mennonite Church in Winnipeg.
7) Reynold is a wonderful husband to Tammy and a wonderful father to Caleb and Jesse.
8) Reynold happens to also be a Friesen.

Reynold may not particularly want this photo on our blog, but I really like the photo. This was taken in June, 2006, when we were up there visiting. We spent an afternoon at Lake Winnipeg -- a very large lake compared to Kansas lakes. It was a fun day.



Here's a photo of Marc and Reynold. During that same trip, we also visited a mint -- you know, where they make money. It actually was a very interesting tour.



Reynold -- you're getting a little bit too close to 40 this year! Perhaps we'll have to make a winter trip up to Winnipeg in a couple of years to celebrate the big one! Have a wonderful birthday!

Community Life....

Last night, our church's Community Life Leaders (small group leaders) gathered together. It was an evening of encouragement, fellowship, food (of course), learning, and prayer. It was held in a barn which is owned by a couple in our church (Thanks Dan & Marjean). This, however, was no ordinary barn. This was a great barn for a great gathering, complete with clean cement floors, a bathroom/shower, and heat.

The Young Married community life groups were well represented --

Us (Marc and Sarah)
Joel and Kendall
Jon and Lori
Kelsey and Tammy
Adam and Jill

Joel and Jess -- we missed you last night. It was SO VERY NICE to see you both this morning. We hope you and your families were able to enjoy some leftover BBQ.

Being on the Community Life Council now, I had the wonderful opportunity to order the food and help set it up. We ate catered BBQ from none other than....Like my shadow in the photo?



Soon after the food arrived, other leaders started to arrive. At first, it was mere mingling.



Then, Adam said prayer and the buffet line began. Nobody hesitated on that one.



We were entertained by a great men's group -- all nine of them. The group is called "Hearts for Him." The nine men originally started this group at another church in town. They have since made a couple of different CDs. I would call it "Southern Gospel" type music. Though I'm generally not a fan of that type of music, I did enjoy this group. They did announce at the end that they would be performing at Grace Community Church sometime in April. Marc and I look forward to that Sunday.



Adam then led a bit of an "ice breaker." A nominated person from each table (our table chose Marc) went to the front. They were asked to come up with a noise of their choosing. When all of the noises were put together in a rhythmic fashion, we had a "human appliance." Short, but very entertaining, nonetheless.



At the end, Adam gave a brief devotional and challenge to us all after reading some scripture from Ephesians 2. We then spent time in prayer with others at our table. We had the privilege of eating, laughing together, and praying with Jon/Lori and Joel/Kendall.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25

Seven Months....

Today, Luke is seven months old. Wow -- How Time Flies!

So, we took the usual photo of him in our chair for comparison.

As a recap....Here's Luke at one month (end of August)



Here's little Luker at three months (end of October)



At five months (just before Christmas)



And.......today, at seven months. We even got a great smile out of him this morning.