House Tour -- Part 3....

Remember THIS post and THIS post -- way back in January?

Yep, they were the first two installments of the tour of our house.

I obviously haven't done the greatest job in the world of keeping of with that tour. But, I have a good excuse. Other good things to post about have kept on coming up.

Well, to be honest, I haven't had anything earth-shattering to post about this week. So, here is Part 3 of our house tour....and I'm not doing this because I think our home is anything than less exciting to post about.

So, here's a photo of the front of our house from this past December -- on a snowy day. We have a two-car attached garage. It's on the left side of the house. The garage doors are just hard to see in this photo.



When you walk in our front door, this is what you see....



It's a narrow entrace. I like it except when we've tried to move large pieces of furniture into the house. We've had to get creative.

Anyways, after entering, if you look to the right, you see our long hallway.



We have four bedrooms -- all down this hallway. The first door on the left is my office (or potentially another child's bedroom someday). Luke's bedroom is the first door on your right. Looking straight ahead (at the yellow and white towels hanging up) is my bathroom. Yes, Marc and I have separate bathrooms (we're different like that).

Pretty typical 1970s ranch-style house so far, isn't it? (Our house was built in 1972).

Moving on....

If you look slightly to your left, you'll notice the view into our kitchen (again, this is right after entering our house).



We'll do the kitchen tour (and how much updating it could use) in another post.

If you look straight to your left (after entering the house), you'll notice our nice and cozy (but small) living room.



This room serves several purposes: the piano room, the "entrance" room to our house for guests (where we store people's coats when they come over), the room for Luke to look outside in, and most importantly, my Quiet Time with God Room.

This is my MOST favorite chair in the house. We bought it after we'd been married a couple of years. I hope we have it until we have to move to the nursing home. And, maybe it could possibly go to the nursing home with us. Maybe nursing home rooms will get bigger?????



It's where I read my Bible everyday. It's where I read other times throughout the day. I LOVE it when the house is quiet when Luke's napping in the afternoons. It's oh so cozy :)

We do have a piano. It used to belong to my parents. Then, my mom went and bought a grand piano for their living room. She sold this one to us -- at a great deal.

Yes, I do play the piano, but I don't really feel I play well anymore. I took lessons for many years. After graduating from college, I took a job that required travel. Also, I lived in apartments until I got married. So, between the lack of time and not having a piano in apartments, I didn't play much. My skills went downhill quickly. Someday, I'd like to play again everyday. I think it would come back to me.

In the meantime, I do play some, and I do enjoy it.

This is the part of this post of "keepin' it real." If you look closely (and you really don't have to look that close), you'll notice the thick layer of dust on this piano. That would be because truthfully, I CANNOT STAND to dust. So, it literally is one of the last chores I do. I'm embarrassed about it, but I don't do much about it. I mean, come on, I didn't even dust for this photo for the world to see.

Also, in general, I'm fairly organized. But, for some reason, things I don't know what to do with tend to get stacked on the piano. I think it's because this section of the room doesn't get used much. Therefore, the stacked "stuff" is "out of sight, out of mind," right?

So, to know that I am human and certainly not perfect, just take a look at this piano.



Did you notice that big book shelf in the first photo of this room?

We had that custom-made not too long after we were married. We have quite a few books (and we've downsized our enormous book collection A LOT since we've been married). We wanted somewhere to keep the books. We also wanted to display photos. We also wanted a place to keep board games, card games, etc.

That's how we ended up with this bookshelf. So, if we ever move, this bookshelf WILL go with us. It's not a "fixture" of this house.

In this corner of this room (between the bookshelf and the piano), we have these candles.



Let me try to explain these candles in the least confusing way possible....

We didn't do a traditional unity candle at our wedding.

Instead, we did something that Marc named "Giving of the Light."

We used these candles. Now, here's where you'll have to use your imagination a bit.

At our wedding, behind these candles, we had a single tall candle standing behind these candles.

The single tall candle represented God. Then, the center candle represented our marriage.

The two candles on opposite sides of the center candle (representing our marriage) represented our two families.

Then, the outer two candles represented our friends.

So, during our wedding, when what would have been the "unity candle" time, we had these candles instead.

The pastor lit the single tall candle -- representing God over us (that's why it was taller).

Marc and I lit the center candle -- representing our marriage.

Each of our parents lit the next two candles representing our families -- as supporting us in our marriage.

Both Marc and I chose a close friend (not already in the wedding) to come up and light the outer two candles -- representing our friends who were supporting us in our marriage.

Are you confused yet?

I hope not -- I did the very best to explain the importance of those candles in our home. The taller "God" candle is actually at my parents' house. Since my parents purchased those candles, my mom chose to keep that single candle as a decoration in their house.

Lastly, and this IS NOT the best photo -- here is the front of this living room. We have three fairly large windows looking out into our front yard.

Luke LOVES to look outside. We think it's cute when he does.

So, here's a photo from last week of Luke looking outside. Keep in mind I don't have a fantastic camera to work with every different changing light source.



Now, I must go...maybe I'll go and dust my piano. Then again, maybe not :)

Meal Planning Monday and Some More Randomness....

Here are our meals for this week....

Monday, March 15, 2010

Ulimate Chicken Fingers (from Bisquick)
Potatoes
Salad

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Salmon
Pasta with Olde Westport Spice Seasoning
Vegetable

**Also, I'm taking Unusual Arizona Bean Dip as a snack for our Dave Ramsey class

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta (from Macaroni Grill box mix)
Salad

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Lunch: Quizno's

Supper: BBQ Meatballs, Potatoes, Vegetable

**Marc is taking 1/2 day Thursday and all day Friday for NCAA Basketball

Friday, March 19, 2010

Lunch: Chicken Salad on croissants, salad

Supper: Will be with friends for NCAA basketball -- will be eating pizza and other foods that aren't healthy

**Will be taking chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips to basketball party

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Lunch: Fish Sticks, Tater Tots

Supper: Will be eating at Marc's parents (Marc's mom will be making tacos)

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Lunch: Rummage

Supper: Eating at Chipotle with Community Life Group

**Our group, after supper, will be heading to Winter Jam 2010

*****

This past weekend, we entered into Daylight Savings Time. So, as you all know, we LOST an hour of sleep Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Luke did O.K. with the time change, but I did have to wake him up for church (not usual).

Marc had to be at church early this past Sunday because he was on "lights" for the services.

I walked in to Luke's room to wake him up, and this is what I found....a very sweet sleeping boy that I really didn't want to have to wake up. But, I did anyways.

Rarely can I walk into his room in the morning and NOT wake him up just merely by walking into his room -- let alone, take a photo :)



*****

And, also at church, each family, upon request, has a mailbox for communication, cards, etc.

After taking Luke to the nursery on Sunday morning, I went to check our mailbox. This is what I found....



Is somebody trying to "drop one of us a hint" that our breath(s) stink? I really hope not.

Do any of you who go to church with us know about this toothpaste in my box? Did any of you get any as well?

We sincerely apologize if our breaths stink!

Friday Randomness....

Here are a few random things for this Friday evening....

1) The other evening, I baked some salmon, specifically Gorton's salmon. We've had it before. It's not the world's greatest salmon, but it is a very quick, healthy dinner for us.

Anyways, when it was in the oven, I, all of a sudden, heard a loud CRACK.

I opened the oven, and this is what I found (only with salmon in it)....



I'm a little disturbed this happened. This was a really good, hearty (obviously not that hearty) baking dish we received as a gift for our wedding. I've used it many times.

Nope -- I'm not going to glue it back together. It's not that worth it. It's already in the trash.

But, I was also a little disturbed because our salmon didn't bake in near the time it was supposed to. In fact, I even thought maybe something was wrong with our oven. Then, I baked cookies today, and they turned out just fine. So, it wasn't our oven.

Fortunately, I have other salmon in our freezer for next week :) Perhaps I'll have better luck.

*****

This week, we tried a new "box" dinner -- from Macaroni Grill. Perhaps you've tried one of these....



Marc and I cannot emphasize ENOUGH just how YUMMY this was....Wow! For a box dinner at home, it was pretty good. We highly recommend it. Plus, it was super easy to make and fairly quick as well.

In fact, we're going to try a different one for next week. I already purchased it today, and we have chicken waiting in our deep freeze for us to use.

*****

Last night, Marc was at a "weather" meeting. So, I took Luke to a Parents as Teachers playgroup/activity evening.

Admittedly, since having Luke in Parents as Teachers, we've done a POOR job at getting to these events. And, I really have ZERO excuses as to why we haven't been to more of these events.

Nevertheless, I'm glad we went last night.

The theme was "animals." So, they had a little "pasture" set up, complete with tools. Luke discovered a rake. He had a hard time putting it down. He raked for awhile, and then, he went over to the "puzzle" table to work on puzzles. The rake went with him. When storytime came, the rake sat down with him to listen to the story.

When it was time to leave and he did have to put the rake down, he screamed and cried.

Perhaps we'll have to get him a cheap set.

Enjoy the overload of photos from one event :)









We MUST do better at getting to these events. Luke had a great time, and they do hand out a complimentary book to all of the kids. You can never have too many books, right?

A Fun Little Activity....

I would by no means call myself creative. I mean -- I have a business degree. I worked as an accountant for awhile. Then, I spent 10 years in the big ol' business world...NOT as a marketing person.

In other words, I probably see things probably more black and white rather than a little gray and creative.

So, sometimes I need a little help when it comes to being creative with kids.

Fortunately, we are a part of Parents as Teachers with Luke. I make every effort to read their newsletter -- which often times has ideas of things to do with kids.

I recently came across an easy idea...this was something I could do with Oliver as Luke wouldn't quite be old enough. If you don't know, I have the privilege of watching Oliver and his sister Lily 1-2 times a week. Oliver is almost 3, and Lily is 14 months old. Lily entertains herself pretty well. Oliver has a great imagination and LOVES to talk. He's very curious and eager to learn; therefore, I knew this activity would work well with him.

Basically, you take cream cheese and spread it across graham crackers. Then, you use other "snacky" type foods to make faces or pictures on the graham cracker. We used grapes cut in half, raisins, pretzels, and peanut butter chips (as I didn't have any chocolate chips).

First, I showed Oliver a face.



Then, he took off on his own with this project....



He was very precise....



And, he came up with this (not too bad)....



He ended up doing 3 more faces for a total of 4. And, you include the one I did...we had five faces fairly quickly.



In the end, I let him pick one to eat (Ollie LOVES to eat). He probably would've eaten all of them, but I told him he had to take the rest home to eat later -- with his mom's permission.



After that, I suggested we make letters our of pretzels (Ollie's really into making letters now). He didn't quite understand at first, but one I showed him, he was all over that activity.



He wanted to make a "K" for Kendall (his mom)....



Then, of course, we made his name and his sister's name....





And, of course, Lukey's (Ollie calls Luke, Lukey)....But, we left the "Y" off of Luke's name with pretzels....



Ollie likes to talk with me about all of his friends. This day, however, he wanted to specifically make Ava's name out of pretzels (so Ava -- this is for you)....



In case you're wondering -- Lily was sleeping during this time. But, to not leave her out, here's a VERY CUTE photo of her I was able to catch after her nap. She's such a content little girl. She mostly wonders around our home -- finding toys and carrying them around while jabbering to herself.



And, during this graham cracker/pretzel time with Ollie, Luke found things to play with while occasionally joining us in the kitchen for a pretzel snack. But, here's a photo of him I caught later in the morning. This photo is so "Luke." He has his blanket (the one he wouldn't survive without) up to his nose with his thumb in his mouth.



*****

And finally -- this one is specifically for Ollie and Lily's parents --- here's my "funny" Ollie story from the morning.

Ollie tends to notice everything around our house. He asks MANY questions, but I'm very amazed at how he remembers things and also how he notices if something's out of place in our home.

Anyways, Marc has these cereal containers on a top shelf in our kitchen.



Ollie's noticed them before, but this day, he noticed they were empty. He asked me where the cereal was.

I told him that the cereal was in bags way up high -- behind the containers.



I then explained to him that the containers were empty and that Marc needed to fill them up again (it's Marc's cereal -- I just stay out of it).

Then, Ollie proceeded to give me some instructions.

He said, "Oh -- well then, could you please tell Marc to fill up the cereal containers. Then, ask him if I can have some of his cereal next time I come here."

I promised Ollie I would do that, and I did just that last night after Marc got home.

After a few chuckles ourselves, Marc promised he would comply with Ollie's request.

So Ollie -- next time, you can have some of Marc's cereal as a snack.

Meal Planning Monday (on a Sunday) and Luke at the Park....

Here are our meals planned out for this week...

Monday, March 8, 2010
Homemade Pizza

Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Leftover Homemade Pizza

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Salmon (Gorton's)
Pasta with Olde Westport Spice Seasoning
Vegetable

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Lemon Chicken Piccata (Marcaroni Grill's Recipe)
Vegetable

Friday, March 12, 2010
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Caesar Salad
Bread

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Lunch
Marc: Will be running in a 50 km group run in Wichita -- will not be around for lunch
Sarah: Rummage/Leftovers

Supper
We will both be eating grilled hamburgers/other misc. food at end of run

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Lunch
Sonic

Supper
Will be eating with Community Life Group at Seth & Sarah's house

**In case you're wondering -- Marc is participating in a Kansas Ultrarunners' Society group run on Saturday, March 13. They are running a 50 km (31 miles) group run. It will be an all-day event. That's why we're "carb-loading" at the end of the week (pasta on both Thursday and Friday).

*****

Since Luke didn't take off walking until the winter and this winter has been cold, snowy, and icy, Luke hasn't had much experience walking outside on different surfaces. Though we spent quite a bit of time at the park last summer, it will drastically different this summer.

The other day, it was fairly nice outside. So, I took him to the park after being at the library for Toddler Storytime. To say he enjoyed it would be a DRASTIC understatement. To say that he threw a major fit when I said it was time to go would be a DRASTIC understatement.

Here are a few photos.







And, the fit when we left...NOTHING would satisfy him -- not even the blanket.

Seven Years Ago....

This post actually should have been done February 22...but, I'm just now getting around to it.

It was seven years ago on February 22, 2003, when Marc and I met.

In case you don't know the story, here goes....

Marc and I actually went to the same college for one year (my freshman year and his sophomore year). No, our paths didn't cross that year. We didn't know each other -- which is somewhat odd since this college is small.

After that, I transferred to WSU (and ultimately finished there).

But, my freshman year was not wasted....I met many great people there -- a few of them are my closest friends to this day.

Almost five years after graduating from college (six years for Marc), my really good friend Alissa mentioned to me that she had given my name and phone number to a guy -- a guy she sort of knew from college; a guy with whom she was serving on the Young Alumni Committee at the small college. She told me his name was Marc Friesen. He was an accountant, and he ran A LOT (I had a business degree and did run some then -- she thought we might hit it off; she also mentioned she thought he'd get along with my dad well).

Before I could even say, "Alissa -- why did you do that?" she had already e-mailed him a photo of me. Then, Marc e-mailed a photo of himself to her -- which was forwarded on to me.

Are you getting all of this?

I thought to myself, "We'll see if he calls." (I had been on a blind date before, and NOTHING ever transpired of it, and so, I wasn't real hopeful on this one).

Well, less than a week later, Marc did call. Unfortunately, he called when I was traveling on business. He left a message that he'd call another time. Again, I wondered if he really would.

Two days later (on a Saturday evening), Marc did call me. I guess neither of us had anything going on for a Saturday night :(

We ended up chatting for around 1 1/2 hours -- mainly about "light" stuff -- nothing too heavy.

He asked me out for the following week -- I accepted.

So, a week later, February 22, 2003, we went out.

**As a side note, when he showed up at my apartment door, he did have a rose with him. That was an immediate sweetness I noticed.

It was the most wonderful date I'd had. We merely went to Olive Garden. We tried to get to a movie (I know, I know -- not the best first date thing to do), but we weren't able to find one we liked at the time we wanted.

So, we headed back to my apartment. We ended up watching a movie I owned, and then, we TALKED non-stop until 3:00 A.M. -- yep, 3:00 A.M.

At that point, he did leave. He asked if we could go out again -- of which I said, "Yes, of course."

I went to bed with a smile on my face....I got up early the next morning to go to church. Because it was such a GOOD date and I had an ENORMOUS smile on my face, I wasn't even tired in church and throughout the 3rd grade Sunday School class I was teaching at the time -- despite my late bedtime.

Nope -- I didn't tell a SOUL about the date -- not even my parents.

I was afraid that if didn't work out, I'd be all let down and let others down as well (I was 27 years old at the time, and I think some were wondering if I'd ever meet and marry somebody. After all, we live in the midwest, and the tendency is to get married and have kids way younger than on the west and east coasts).

*****

We did go out again two weeks later, and I would honestly say that it was during that date that I KNEW I'd marry this guy.

*****

Fast forward 6-7 weeks from then -- I hadn't yet met Marc's parents (he had already met my parents)....

Marc mentioned to me that there was this family reunion he needed to go to. He wanted me to go as well -- his parents would be there.

I wasn't sure I really wanted to meet his parents for the first time at a family reunion, but I guess I knew this was the one I'd marry (and actually, by then, we had already talked about marriage).

So, I went...Meeting his parents was fine and not too awkward, despite it being at a family reunion.

We hung out at the family reunion for a bit (neither of us are huge family reunion people). Then, since it was a nice spring day, we headed over to Dyck Arboretum and took some photos of ourselves.

Here they are....seven years ago.





And, just for fun....





We were engaged one day short of 4 months after eating each other...Then, Marc gave me this....



Not quite 16 months after first meeting, we were married...And, it's been a wonderful almost 6 years being married to Marc.

And, as a result, we have this little guy....



A couple of fun facts about us....

**I mentioned that I used to run. After Marc and I met, we did quite a bit of talking about running. It turns out that we've run MANY of the same races (we had some "like" t-shirts to prove it). I did tell Marc that he could've spared me the extra time of waiting and asked me out at some race.

**We have figured out that one year, we were at the same New Year's Eve gathering (several years before we met). The ULTIMATE funny thing is that this New Year's Eve gathering was VERY SMALL. We think there might have only been 5 or 6 people there, TOTAL! But, neither of us remember each other. And, Marc was there with a girlfriend at the time. Perhaps that's why I didn't pay attention to him.

The 34th Birthday....

As previously stated, yesterday (March 1) was my 34th birthday...

I had and continue to have a really bad headcold. You know how this winter has been called the "Endless Winter?" Well, I'm calling this cold the "Endless Headcold."

So, that was the only real bummer of yesterday.

Luke gave me a nice gift of sleeping in until almost 9:00 yesterday -- it gave me the opportunity to be lazy for a bit in the morning.

My best friend (next to my husband, of course) Tammy called me shortly after Luke got up. She lives up in cold Manitoba (Canada), and it's A.L.W.A.Y.S. a treat to talk with her. We weren't able to talk long as she has two young boys that were demanding her attention.

A former coworker called me after that....I'm happy he remembered.

So, by the time I was off the phone and we ate breakfast and I took a shower -- there wasn't much left of the relaxing morning.

Here are some intermittent photos of Luke to break up this wordy post. These photos are actually from today (Tuesday, the 2nd), though.



A little before noon, my dad showed up to take Luke and me to lunch -- which was very nice. We went to the Bread Basket here in town. It's a place I don't often go for lunch -- so, it was especially a nice treat.

(And, though I had my camera with me, I neglected to take photos -- Shame on me)!

A little secret about my dad -- he's a "Railfan." In other words, he likes trains.

You might remember from previous posts that Luke likes trains as well. It's something he certainly "shares" with his grandfather.

It's convenient that the Bread Basket is near the tracks here in town. So, after lunch, we, of course, went to the tracks. We saw a train! Luke and my dad were thrilled. I just sat there and enjoyed Luke's smile as he watched the train. I love my dad, but I've seen him watch trains for MANY years. It doesn't quite excite me in the same way as it does watching my son :)

After returning from lunch, Luke took a nice two-hour nap while I took a short nap and had my daily quiet time with God -- always desired and needed.

During the late afternoon, Luke and I went to the grocery store to get a cake and some ice cream for after supper....

I neglected to take a photo of the very cute little chocolate cake I found...So, will you settle for a 1/2 eaten cake?





Soon after that, Marc called to say he was on his way home....So, Luke and I once again got packed up and met Marc for supper at Applebee's. We went there so neither of us would have to cook. Plus, Marc and I have a birthday date planned this weekend.

Luke had a "toddler moment" at the restaurant. We ordered him a grilled cheese and fries -- something he normally eats. And, this was especially special because it was NOT "Kids eat for 99 cents" night.

He wanted NO part of that meal. He refused each time it was put in front of him or offered directly to his mouth. At first, I thought to myself, "Wow -- he's not eating. I hope he's not getting sick AGAIN."

Nope, he devoured a little cup of peaches I just happened to have along.

He was just being "toddler picky."

Uugghh...We had to pay for the meal that he DID NOT touch at all. Has this happened to any of the rest of you parents? Please, tell me, "Yes."

From there, we actually parted ways for a bit...I went out to the Graber Backhoe office as it is a payroll week, and payroll needed to be done. I prefer to do it WITHOUT Luke's assistance. Marc went home with Luke.

Fortunately, payroll went without a hitch!!!! I was home shortly.

Marc and I then ate the cake and ice cream AFTER Luke was in bed -- since he ate a TERRIBLE supper. Nope -- no sharing dessert with Luke for my birthday!

I opened many cards that people sent me...Thanks everybody!



And, to end the evening, I spent some time on Facebook -- thanking everybody who wished me a "Happy Birthday."

A little secret about myself -- I actually have been spending A LOT of time off of that site. I had even gone for a 12-day stretch without it, and I really didn't even miss it.

But, one good thing about it -- all of your friends know your birthday.

So, THANKS everybody for the birthday wishes. I don't think I've ever had so many birthday wishes.



**In case you're wondering -- Marc did divulge to me what he bought me (the shipment hasn't arrived yet, though). He bought me 3 books (yep, 3) that I've been wanting. So, I'm VERY excited about that (I like to read).

I'll save those titles for another post.

My brother has a birthday in another month. So, we always celebrate our two birthdays at my parents' sometime later in March.

Marc's mom called me to wish me a "Happy Birthday." We'll celebrate with them in the coming weeks as well.

To end this VERY LONG post that keeps getting longer....

I used to not make a real big deal about my birthdays. I always thought to myself, "It's just another day. Who cares?"

Well, I've matured in my thinking over the years. To not celebrate my birthday or at least acknowledge it, I think, would be borderline an insult to God. Do I dare say that?

He created me...he created me in the way He did for a reason. I'm thankful for my life. Therefore, I will always be thankful for another year.

Luke LOVES to watch a couple of DVDs in the Praise Baby series. The God of Wonders DVD in that series has a song called You've Given Life to Me. During this song, there actually is a train. So, Luke simply knows this song as "The Train Song." He knows exactly when the train is going to come on.

Anyways, because I have seen this DVD MANY times, I have really focused on the words to this song. I have focused so much that I have typed out the words to the song and hung them up a couple of places in the house.

I sometimes tear up when I read the words because the words really emphasize what God has done for us -- sent His Son to become man and walk beside us "to understand."

I think the older I get (and since we're talking about my birthday -- it's O.K. to say "older") the more I'm "getting" that.

So, to end this post, I'd like to post the words to the song. Please, for me, in honor of my birthday, take the time to read and really study these words. Pray for God to give you the understanding of what His Son means for us -- after all, Easter is approaching as well.

You've Given Life To Me

You are my Hope
You are my Light
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life
You have created
All I can see
You’ve Given Life To Me
You’ve Given Life To Me

Though You are God
You became man
Walked here beside us
So we’d understand
All you created
All we can be
Lord, You have set us free
Lord, You have set us free

And we praise You
And we praise You
And we love You
And we love You

You are my Hope
You are my Light
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life
You have created
All I can see
You’ve given life To Me
You’ve Given Life To Me