Absolutely unbelievable that this exists.

Uro Club

This is so unbelievable. Kley laughed so hard when I showed him this. No way no way no way.

Crazy infomercial.

Tiddy Bear

This is one of the most ridiculous infomercials I have ever seen. :)

The Lord is my Rock.

Recently the joke has been with Kley and I that I am a "strong tower." It's been funny, because it's pretty untrue. I'm much more of an emotional person than Kley, so this phrase has come out a few times recently when I have shown "weakness" (whether that be emotional or physical), and it lightens the mood. :)

Thankfully, He is the real strong tower.

"I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
Psalm 18:1-2

Whole and Hole.

This week wasn't the best. Kley and I both had a rougher week at work than usual in dealing with behaviors, which made us more tired and on edge. We didn't have the best week in our marriage either.

Sometimes having a blog is hard and makes me miss journaling. I used to journal a lot, but this blog has sort of taken the place of paper journaling. In most cases, I love blogging. But, there are times where it's inappropriate to blog intimate details of your life, especially inner details of marital conflict, because this is obviously more public than a private journal.

I don't want to speak poorly of my husband. I love him very much, but he is also an imperfect man. This week, an ongoing issue that we have talked about in our marriage reoccured again. Kley did something that hurt me.

I was sad because he chose to hurt me. I was mad because he did it again. I was disappointed to have to deal with this again. I was tired of facing it and I didn't want to forgive him. I selfishly felt like I had forgiven him enough and I shouldn't have to do it again.

It sounds horrible to write, but that's how I felt. I'm sure everyone has felt like that at some point. It's not a good thing, but it turns into a good thing when it pushes me to a breaking point- leads me back to Jesus and back to Kley.

I drove to Raccoon River Park (where Kley proposed to me) and sat in my car, watched the sunset by the lake, and listened to Fernando Ortega's instrumental version of Nothing But The Blood on repeat. It's definitely one of my favorites.

"What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus."

It made me think about the difference between hole and whole. Like there is a hole in your heart when someone hurts you. There is a hole in your heart without Jesus, and He is the only one, the ONLY ONE, who can make you whole, and thus make your relationships whole.

It was a profound moment for me. I'm so thankful that Jesus DIED (and ROSE) so I could be forgiven. Over and over again. No matter how many times I sin. No matter how many times I commit the same sin over and over again.

How could I not forgive Kley when He has so graciously forgiven me time and time again?

(This is not to discount or discredit all the things that I have done wrong. I am clearly an imperfect wife as well and have hurt Kley many other times.)

Thank you, Jesus, for making me whole. For making us whole. For the restoration and the ability to start new, build back, and continue loving and growing.

I love you, Kley.

An ice cream kind of night.

Today was a rough day for both Kley and I at school. Sometimes guiding/training/correcting behaviors is really really hard. I pray for strength to be a patient, calm, and encouraging teacher.

Tonight we thankfully don't have anything planned. I'm going to try the new ice cream I bought and watch some 24 (our current show we're watching). 

:)

For all you Full House fans out there...

Jesse & The Rippers reunite

If any of you were/are Full House fans out there, you have to watch this. (Once a Full House fan, always a Full House fan. I bet I've seen each episode at least 6 times.)

Jesse & The Rippers were on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon performing a medley of their greatest hits.

Just watch it. It will make your day. :)

A Wedding in Minneapolis!

On Friday one of my best friends from college got married! We headed up to Minneapolis to celebrate Kristin's big day. She married a guy named Phil- they met while both working in the Grand Teton National Park four years ago. I am so happy for them and so glad we could be a part of their journey/special day.

It was an outdoor wedding at an extremely beautiful place! Here are the bridesmaids walking down.

This was the arch we were sitting under.

The music- quiet, but simple and beautiful.

Kristin and her dad!

The flower girl was funny- they kept encouraging her to throw out the flowers, then threw out too many, and had to stop and pick some back up when she ran out.

Presentation of the couple!

The scenery.

Cake!

Reception area.

Kari (another roommate), Kristin, and I! It was so fun to see them both in person again!

Speeches.

After the wedding we drove around some of our favorite places again. :)

Downtown Minneapolis.

Como Lake.

And, of course, Bethel!

Saturday morning, before heading back, we had breakfast with our good friends David and Jacquie- it was such fun, and always so good to have fellowship with great friends!

Vacation Books and Movies.

So I never posted about the movies/books we watches/read from our Colorado vacation a few weeks ago!

42 is about the story of Jackie Robinson. Honestly, I wasn't super excited to watch it and I didn't think I would like it. I was wrong. It's definitely different than the usual movies I like or would choose, but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it!

We also watched Argo. I wasn't super excited to watch this one either, but I'm glad I did. I didn't love it, but it was very interesting. I was also a little confused because I fell asleep for a little bit in the middle and missed some important plot elements- oops. But, it's a very interesting movie, based off of real life events. It's about the hostage situation with Iran in the 1970's and trying to help some escape by disguising them as actors for a fake movie.

I also read two books. Having relaxing time to read on vacation is so awesome. I wish free reading would be a required part of the workday- like how we had "DEAR" in elementary school? (Drop everything and read.) That should be enforced in the work environment as well. That would be great, although I'm sure not everyone would love that idea.

I first read The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman. I read a review about it on someone else's blog, and it was a good read. It was a little slow in the beginning, but not boring, and the plot picked up a lot in the second half. It's about a guy who comes back from the war, meets a girl, and they become lighthouse keepers on a small island off the coast of Australia. They try and try to have a baby, but she has three miscarriages. One day a small boat floats up, with a dead man inside and a screaming little girl. They end up keeping the baby girl, and the ramifications of that play out throughout the rest of the story.

I also found this story, The Birth House by Ami McKay, from the same blog review as before. This is set in the same relative time period (1920's) as the book before, about a midwife and her birth house. Miss Dora Rare ends up under the shadowing care of the elderly midwife- she learns her tricks, and the midwife ends up passing away, leaving Dora to take over. Another doctor comes to town highly advocating having babies in the hospital with "proper supervision and care." It's a really interesting story about life in this small town in Nova Scotia and about midwifes. It's a little more graphic and eclectic, so beware, but it's a good read.

Goin' to the chapel.

Friday morning, after our week in Colorado, we flew back to Sioux Falls, SD and then drove back to Sioux Center, IA for my cousin's wedding. We got to see my family as well, which was nice, because they were gone, then we were gone, and they are gone again next week too. I have many memories with Alyssa growing up when we visited my grandparents, so it was great to be a part of her special day! (Alyssa is my only cousin on my dad's side.)

Here are my grandparents walking down the aisle.

Arthur (groom) walking my Aunt Donna (MOB) down the aisle.

Uncle Eric and the beautiful bride! (Her dress looked very similar to mine, so of course she had great taste! :)

Walking down the aisle!

This was the church we always went to when we were in Sioux Center.

The wedding party.

Program.

Message.

Kiss!

Wedding cake.

Centerpiece at our table.

Take home gift- yummy mints! (Mine never made it home- I ate them all there. Ha.)

Head table.

Congratulations Alyssa and Arthur- so glad to share your special day!

Beaver Creek Summer Vacation 2013 part 6

Today was our last day in Beaver Creek. Sad, yet good. Sad because you never want vacation to end. Sad because we had such a good time that we don't want it to stop. Sad because it was nice to get away, relax, and have time off work. Yet, also good, because routine is good in life. Good because as good as vacation is, home is good too. Good because thankfully I have a job to go back to that I like. Ah, the cycle. 

This morning we played mini golf. How awesome is it to play mini golf with mountains in the background? Pretty awesome.

I picked baby blue (my favorite color).

On the first hole I got a hole in one. Sweet!

The first 9 holes went pretty well for me.

They had mini daisies on the course- my favorite!

Then I started to lose my game (not that I was ever good at golf).

Kley, Brett, Elizabeth, and I played.

In the end I took second. Kley beat me by one stroke. But it was still super fun.

Then we hit up Starbucks. We gave them some good business this week!

We had a little time left before we had to leave, so we decided to ride the gondola, and I am SO GLAD we did! It was awesome and beautiful. I actually liked it better than the other one we did, because I loved being in the open air. You could see so much more. The one we did in Vail was enclosed, so you couldn't see as much, and it was also quite hot inside. (Not to be a complainer- it was still great.)

We went up so high!

I know I've posted a ton of mountain pictures, but I can't get over how beautiful they are.

Here are some from the top.

I love them all. I wish you could have been there to see the real beauty.

Going back down. 

Then we headed to Denver! (We are flying out of Denver in the morning.)

First we met up with my old college roommate, Brittany. It was so good to see her and talk in person!

After that, Lauren and Stephen picked us up. We are staying with them for the night! Lauren and I have been friends since second grade. :)

We had a yummy dinner at a new restaurant called Ignite.

We sat on the rooftop deck, which was so cool, and we got to watch the lightning as a storm rolled in.

Kley and I.

Lauren and Stephen. We are so blessed to have you guys as friends and so glad we were able to see you!

We had a wonderful trip. Now headed to NW Iowa tomorrow for my cousin's wedding!

Beaver Creek on Dwellable