Christmas Thoughts

It's hard to believe that Christmas is upon us once again. It is always a busy time of year with Christmas parties, concerts and shopping. I've been involved in our church's choir for the past year and sang in the "Child of Hope" cantata last Sunday, which was a beautiful representation of the Christmas story and the hope that He alone can bring to the world.

Daniel and I got home a little while ago from the Christmas Eve service and will open gifts this evening. Tomorrow we'll celebrate Christmas with our wonderful friends, the Bakers. We are so very grateful for the relationships we've made and the people that we can share holidays with. It definitely makes it easier to be away from family. Daniel, Makwa and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Makwa Moments

The other night, Makwa was laying on the floor shivering. It was one of our first colder nights and we hadn't turned the heat on yet. Daniel and I covered him with a blanket and he quickly warmed up.


Daniel saw a dog couch in a magazine and insisted we get one for Makwa. His reasoning was that Makwa needed a warm, soft place to rest on instead of laying on the floor in the living room. So we ordered the couch. Makwa really likes his couch and we've now put it in the bedroom for him to sleep on at night. He's been sleeping much better since he started sleeping on his couch.

Berry Picking

Daniel and I went apple picking a few weekends ago for my birthday. A year and a half ago we found a great farm in Londonderry, NH and have gone there for our berries and apples ever since. It's only about 45 minutes from our house and it's a pretty drive north. The leaves have started changing and we enjoyed some of the fall colors along the way. We picked four pints of big, delicious raspberries and a 1/2 peck of apples. I think we ate as many raspberries as we picked! I made a batch of raspberry freezer jam to enjoy in the winter time and an apple crisp, which only lasted a couple of days. I thought I'd share some pictures of our trip to Sunnycrest Farm.

Makwa Moments

We've enjoyed taking Makwa for walks to the beach. It's a nice walk from our house to the park and Makwa likes to wade in the ocean water. He was a little confused on his first visit as he attempted to drink the water. He didn't like it so much and spit it back out! Here are a few photos of a couple of trips to Obear Park.

Makwa Moments

Meet Makwa

Daniel and I would like to introduce you to our newest family member! Makwa, whose name means "Bear" in Ojibwe (a Native American Language), is a six year old Boxer. Daniel's brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Rachel, adopted Makwa as a puppy from a shelter in Minneapolis. He had been rescued from an abusive home. They don't know much about his life before the shelter, except that he was kept in a small cage and it appears as though the cartilege in his right ear had been broken. Makwa is a very loyal and loveable dog. Jonathan, Rachel, and their daughter, Miriam, will be leaving for the mission field soon and are unable to take Makwa with them. They asked us if we would be willing to take him. Of course we said "yes"! Daniel and Makwa have been good buddies from the beginning and Makwa and I became fast friends. We are very excited that he's come to live with us!

Our Anniversary Weekend

Daniel and I spent our second anniversary in Burlington, VT. Daniel was scheduled to attend a training for work over our anniversary so it was easy to decide where to go. We've been to Burlington several times, but never had a chance to explore outside of the city. Since the training was a week and a half, we had a whole weekend to visit new places. On Saturday morning we drove across the islands of Lake Champlain. We stopped at a state park on North Hero Island, where we found a trail in the woods to hike. We continued up through the rest of the islands and made our way back to the mainland, just a few miles from the border with Quebec. We stopped at an ice cream stand along the road for a little treat before making our way back to Burlington.

We set out for a sunset cruise on Lake Champlain that evening. It was a 2 1/2 hour cruise on perfectly calm waters with views of the Adirondack Mountains. The sunset was spectacular! On Sunday morning, Daniel and I drove up into the mountains to visit the tourist town of Stowe. We wandered through the town and played a round of miniature golf. Daniel beat me by just a few strokes. We continued up the road to the base of Mt. Mansfield, which is the highest peak in Vermont. We rode a gondola up to the top of the mountain, where we were met with phenomenal views of the surrounding mountains and valley below. Daniel found a mountain trail that he wanted to climb, so we hiked up part of the rocky trail. It went all the way to the summit, but we didn't go that far. We returned to the base of the mountain in the gondola and took the scenic route through the mountains back to our hotel in Burlington. It was a fabulous weekend celebrating our anniversary.

Back to Work

It's been a long time coming, but I finally got a job! In fact, I was offered two jobs in one week! I had once again began the process of job hunting, in hopes of finding some sort of teaching job this year. I started by applying at two Christian schools in the area. A friend of ours, who taught at Covenant Christian Academy, told me there were positions available, so I sent in my resume. Our neighbor, who teaches at Beacon Christian Academy, suggested I submit my resume there, as there was a chance they would be hiring as well. I interviewed at Covenant on Tuesday for an assistant teacher position in Pre-K. The principal offered me the job at the end of the interview. I told her I needed to think about it, as it was only part-time. I also knew that I had an interview with Beacon on Wednesday as an administrative assistant. The job was offered to me that morning. Now I had a dilemma. After a year and a half of not working, I suddenly had to choose between two very different jobs! Daniel and I spent a few days discussing and praying about where I should be. In the end, I chose to work at Beacon Christian Academy. It isn't a classroom job, but I will have constant interaction with students and I'll be gaining new experience. I'm thankful to finally have a job and I look forward to starting in two weeks!

Fourth of July

Daniel's Birthday

Yesterday was Daniel's 31st birthday. I've been planning for his birthday for a couple of weeks. My mom and I found a great picnic basket on sale while I was in Bemidji. It's a traditional looking basket with an insulated inner lining, which can be zipped closed. It also has a plastic place setting for four with plates, goblets and utinsels. I decided to take Daniel to the beach for a picnic to celebrate his birthday. I wanted to surprise him with the basket, since we like to go on picnics often. My parents shipped the basket to me and UPS confirmed that it would arrive before Wednesday. I spent much of the day baking Daniel's birthday cake and preparing chicken salad sandwiches and a pesto pasta salad for our picnic dinner. The whole time I was anxiously waiting for my package to arrive. I decided it would be good to have a plan B in case the basket didn't arrive in time, so I figured if it hadn't come by 5pm, I'd just use a cooler and give Daniel the basket when it came. Shortly after 4pm, the UPS truck stopped in front of our house! I was so happy it came in time! I quickly unpacked the basket from the box, washed the dishes, packed our dinner and loaded it into the trunk of the car. There was just one more glitch to the plan - it started to rain! The weatherman had said the rain wouldn't move in until after dark. How wrong they were! Daniel came home just then and I had to make a decision quickly. Do we wait and see if the rain stops? Or do I have to move to plan C? It looked like the rain wasn't going to stop so I changed plans. Again. So, while Daniel went to change clothes, I got the picnic basket and blanket out of the car and set up our picnic on the deck, out of the rain. Daniel and I really enjoyed the picnic, even though we weren't on the water's edge. And he was excited to have a real picnic basket.

Minnesota Trip: Part 2

While Daniel and I were in Minneapolis, we stayed with Daniel's brother, Jonathan, and his family. We enjoyed spending time with them and soaked in every moment with them as they will be leaving soon for the mission field. We went to our first Twins game in the new stadium and had a few family gatherings. I remained in Minneapolis a few days longer than Daniel and stayed with my cousins. I was also able to spend time with some of my friends. It was great to see everyone while we were home.

Minnesota Trip: Part 1

Daniel and I recently traveled to Minnesota to visit with family and friends. I was in Minnesota for two weeks, Daniel for five days. I flew into Minneapolis on Saturday, May 22nd. My sister, Tara, picked me up at the airport and drove me up to Bemidji. I had a wonderful time with my family! My mom let me borrow her car during my trip (thanks, Mom!), so I drove back to Minneapolis on Thursday to meet up with Daniel, who had flown in that morning. I made two stops on my way to visit friends. Here are a few pictures of my time "up north".

Our Home

Ice Cream

Daniel and I went out for ice cream a couple of weeks ago with some friends. We had dinner at Fuddruckers and then stopped at Richardson's, our favorite homemade ice cream shop. Daniel ordered a large mocha flavored cone. He was given three huge scoops and needed to put it into a cup. He ate the whole thing and then ate some of mine!

Good-bye Computer

My computer died on me the other night. I had been doing some things online when it started to feel hot on my lap. I closed what I was doing and set it aside to cool, but soon noticed it was smelling funny. I quickly turned the computer off and Daniel went to unplug it from the power. The funny smell turned out to be the plug melting inside! The rubber around the plug began to melt and it wouldn't come out of the computer. When Daniel finally got it out, the tip of the plug broke off. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do to fix my computer. It was, however, five years old. The guy at Best Buy told me he'd never seen anything like it. So, it's officially dead and for now we're using Mom and Dad K's old computer they gave to us. Thanks, also, Aunt Karen for bringing it out to us earlier this year! It works just fine and I can still use the internet. And thankfully we have an external hard drive and backed everything up on my computer a couple of months ago. I've lost a few photos, but nothing like what it would have been like if we hadn't done the backup. I could have lost hundreds of files and photos!

Yard Work

We had nice weather this past weekend to get some yard work done. We had some raking to finish as well as trimming bushes and redoing the garden. The family that lives on the first floor, the Baker's, joined Daniel and me out in the yard on Saturday and we spent the afternoon transplanting plants and clearing away the overgrown areas. We spent Sunday afternoon out in the yard with our landlords, burning sticks and branches. When we were done burning, the Baker's kids, Hailey and Haddon, wanted to help put water on the embers. I don't know who had more fun, the kids or Daniel! It was a fun weekend for us, as this was our first chance to work out in the yard. We may not own our home, but we finally have a yard space to take care of!

Photo of the Day

"Nature"

Tomatoes and Peppers

I decided that I'd like to try my hand at growing plants this summer. We have a deck on the front of our house that gets lots of sun so I finally have a place to put some plants. I started my tomatoes and peppers from seeds a couple of weeks ago and have been taking good care of them, watering them and making sure they get good sunlight. Last week the tomatoes sprouted! They are now about 2 inches high. The peppers have yet to sprout, but they take longer than the tomatoes. I can't wait to see them come through the soil. I also found a strawberry pot last week and will try to grow strawberries as well. I've never done well with plants. They always seemed to die on me. Maybe this year I'll have success! I'll keep you posted!

Happy Easter!

Daniel and I had a wonderful Easter! We began the day with a phone call from Daniel's parents in Sudan! It was great to talk with them for a little while and catch up on everything that has been happening. Then we made our way to church. I had to be at church by 7:30 this morning as I've joined the choir and we needed to warm up and practice before singing in the first service. Following the second service we gathered with friends from church to celebrate Easter with a delicious ham dinner and great fellowship. It's been really great to be able to celebrate holidays with friends as we are away from our families. I hope you had a blessed day!

Photo of the Day

"Hello Spring"