Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day - filled with laughter, games, and lots of food! Turkey, green bean casseroles, rolls, cranberries, stuffing, salads....the list could go on! We had 16 people over and had such a good time!

Preparing the cranberries the night before


Cooking!




Dad carving the turkey!


The guests have arrived!


The big feast!




We had to make time for a rousing game of chess

It was quite funny!
That night we attended our annual Thanksgiving hockey game - that was so much fun! But in the midst of all the fun and food, we remembered that we have so much to be thankful for! God has truly blessed us so much!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Uber Amazing



UPDATED: I was kindly awarded the "Uber Amazing Blog" award by Suzanne, Lacey, Deborah, and Abby! Thank you so much, girls!





I pass this award unto:

~ Nicole at Adventures....at home

~ Nikki at Nikki's Notes

~ Megan at AIMING for Perfection

~ Anna at Hope Road

~ Abby at Ab's Page

~ Lacey at Lacey's Corner

~ Alyssa Scott

~ Bryant at Him Whom I have Not Seen

Congratulations! You truly are uber amazing!

The rules are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate blogs that you think are super.

3.Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing reward by commenting on their blog.

4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

Thanks and happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Hallelujah!

I finally got my pictures to upload correctly! So, here are the promised pictures of my cousin's wedding that took place on October 25. As you will be able to see, it was a rather untraditional wedding - done up completely in hockey. Hockey is their favorite sport (and I believe they met at a game), so this was what they really wanted. It was fun and decorated neat!

The bride, Lindsey, with Heidi (sister of the groom). Many were sporting hockey jerseys.

Grandpa and Grandma


Brian (the groom) while seating his parents during the ceremony

A bridesmaid and groomsman


The groom and groomsmen - they all wore specialized hockey jerseys. The back said the last name of the groomsman and the front had a special logo about the wedding.


Here she comes!


Our pastor wore a referee's shirt


Mr. and Mrs. Brian Rittgers



They rented this neat bus to take them to the reception

My little cousin, Sophie!

Their cake - there's a hockey puck on the top, but it's blending in with the backdrop



These are pictures from Rockford, Illinois, when we did a revival there a few weeks back. Dad and I had the exciting opportunity to sit in on a Rockford Icehog's hockey practice - it was so much fun! This player, Peter MacArthur, used to play on our local team when we won the championship, and he now plays with the Icehogs. It was really cool to be able to talk to him and get our picture with him.

Tonight we conclude our revival services here at our home church - we have had a great week thus far and we pray that those who were in attendance received some help! Continue to be in prayer for us! We so appreciate it!


Monday, November 17, 2008

a random post

Since I'm having issues posting any pictures, I thought I would post this fun little thing until I can get it working the way it's supposed to. :) I found this on Happenings - feel free to copy the list, highlight the things you've done and copy it onto your own blog. Let me know if you decide to post it on your blog!

The things that I've done are highlighted! :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang/played a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Run a Marathon
27. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
28. Seen a total eclipse
29. Watched a sunrise or sunset
30. Hit a home run
31. Been on a cruise
32. Seen Niagara Falls in person
33. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
34. Seen an Amish community
35. Taught yourself a new language
36. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
37. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
38. Gone rock climbing
39. Seen Michelangelo’s David
40. Sung karaoke
41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
42. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
43. Visited Africa
44. Walked on a beach by moonlight
45. Been transported in an ambulance
46. Had your portrait painted
47. Gone deep sea fishing
48. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
49. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
51. Played in the mud
52. Gone to a drive-in theater
53. Been in a movie
54. Visited the Great Wall of China
55. Started a business
56. Taken a martial arts class
57. Visited Russia
58. Served at a soup kitchen
59. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
60. Gone whale watching
61. Gotten flowers for no reason
62. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
63. Gone sky diving
64. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
65. Bounced a check
66. Flown in a helicopter
67. Saved a favorite childhood toy
68. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
69. Eaten Caviar
70. Pieced a quilt
71. Stood in Times Square
72. Toured the Everglades
73. Been fired from a job
74. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
75. Broken a bone
76. Been on a speeding motorcycle
77. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
78. Published a book
79. Visited the Vatican
80. Bought a brand new car
81. Walked in Jerusalem
82. Had your picture in the newspaper
83. Read the entire Bible
84. Visited the White House
85. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
86. Had chickenpox
87. Saved someone’s life
88. Sat on a jury
89. Met someone famous
90. Joined a book club
91. Lost a loved one
92. Seen the Alamo in person
93. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
94. Been involved in a law suit
95. Owned a cell phone
96. Been stung by a bee

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Sarah Palin Rally

Last Monday, we had the AMAZING opportunity to go to Dubuque, Iowa, to see Sarah Palin! While we are enormously disappointed that she and John McCain did not win this election, we were so happy to have had the opportunity to attend one of her rallies. We had an absolute BLAST! We stood up for 5 1/2 hours straight - no food, barely any drink, no bathroom, and no sitting down......but it was well worth it!

We got in line at 10:00 Monday morning and were basically at the front of the line. We couldn't believe that we among the first to arrive - but the line quickly got longer! The doors opened at 12:00, so we were ushered through security and found our place to stand during the rally - which was RIGHT in front of Sarah Palin and in the second row!! We had an awesome view!

With all of our road maps and directions, we were ready to hit the road!

We got there safely and with no problems!

The long line






Some ladies showed up in hockey jerseys - when Sarah came out, she pointed at them and laughed. They thought that was very cool!



Some people would hoist this guy up in the air and he would try to get the crowd pumped up

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley had the amazing privilege to introduce Sarah Palin

SHE'S HERE!! The crowd went ballistic!

Hank Williams Jr. was there!!! The crowd went wild when Sarah introduced him! He led us in the National Anthem and then sang "McCain-Palin Tradition" (click here to hear). It was so much fun!




You can tell how close we were!

Here she comes down the line!

This is not zooming up - this is how close we were to her! We all got to shake her hand!!! She even touched Nikki's buttons on her shirt and said she liked them!

We got to shake Todd Palin's hand too!


Nikki got her picture with Hank Williams Jr.! She was so excited!

This lady made this great Sarah Palin hat!

After the rally with all of our cheering gear!
As for an update on revivals, Dad and Deanna have had an interesting past two days in North Dakota. They left LaMoure on Thursday, heading north to Kenmare, when they were forced to stop in Bismark because of bad weather. So they were snowbound in Bismark for two nights. The revival in Kenmare was supposed to start last night, but they had to postpone. Dad and Deanna were able to able to leave Bismark this morning and arrived safely in Kenmare, where they were able to start the revival meeting tonight. :)