Quick update

A couple of quick interesting things that have happened or are happening...
Dan and I have been pretty busy lately with getting ready for Christmas and ending his first semester of teaching.
We went to Kearney last weekend to see some friends and finish our shopping. It was so relaxing and so much fun.
I started my new job at the flower shop and am getting ready to start my job with Big Brothers Big Sisters any day now.
And this week is Dan's birthday week! He gave me a birthday week, so I'm giving him one. I guess maybe this will be our new tradition. Anyway, we started it off by me giving him his birthday present early. He loved his new wet/dry razor! Now he can shave in the shower! And then yesterday he got a birthday balloon and some jellybeans. And today I'm going to make his birthday cake. We're going to be out of town for his actual birthday, so I figured I better make his cake early so we can actually enjoy it. Plus, it's all part of his birthday week! I love this idea.
So that's all there is to say for now. I don't have any really good pictures right now. I took a couple of us the other day, but I don't feel like putting them on here, so there. I'll update with pictures after Christmas. Dan and I both hope that our families, friends, and all the special people in our lives have a wonderful Christmas season celebrating the birth of Christ.

All Ready for Christmas!

I know, I know, we just finished Thanksgiving, but we already have our tree up and are getting ready for Christmas. But first, I'll show you some really cute pictures from Thanksgiving and from my sister's wedding. This Thanksgiving was exhausting, but so much fun! I'll start from the beginning. Dan and I went to my parent's house Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, relaxed, and watched a movie. Then we got up early Thursday to go to Kansas City where I regretfully did not get any pictures. We spent the day with my mom's family and had a wonderful time with family and of course had a fabulously fattening meal! Friday, we celebrated Dan's Grandma Marilyn's birthday with his family. We got to spend time with Matt and Sarah and Camdyn too, which always makes me happy because we just don't get to see them as often as we would like. That night was my sister's rehearsal dinner at Carlos O'Kellys. I can't believe they actually wore the sombreros for a little while. Anyway, the wedding was the next day and it went very well and they are officially Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson. She was so beautiful! Overall, we just had a great Thanksgiving and as I said before, we're ready for Christmas! Here's just a quick update on everyday life things. Dan's first basketball game is quickly approaching, I'm getting ready for a job change, and our cat has a bacterial infection which apparently makes her not want to go to the bathroom in her litter box. So we're all adjusting to new things right now, some fun and some not so fun! : ) I'll let you know how things go.

Thanksgiving is coming!

I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday because I love being surrounded by friends and family. And this Thanksgiving is going to be extra special because my one and only sister is getting married... finally! We had her bridal shower last weekend and it was a blast! She was so excited and so happy, which is so nice to see.

I had bought my sister the game Mouse Trap for her shower gift because it was our favorite game as kids and as you can tell from the picture, she loved it! Like me, she remembered the fun times we used to have fighting over it. And of course, I loved seeing my niece Jordan. She is growing up so fast. We had so much fun together, just being silly. These are all pictures from the shower and Jordan told me to make a funny face on the last one, so that's what I did. Isn't it just the best picture of me? Anyway, the rest of the weekend was spent with my good friend Nikki and seeing Dan's family, including my niece Camdyn who I haven't seen in such a long time. Dan was at the K-State game in Nebraska, so he didn't get to see them, but he got to spend time with the boys. Even though K-State lost horribly, he still had a good time. So my next post will be after Thanksgiving and I'm very excited about that. We're going to Kansas City for Thanksgiving day, but will be in Topeka for a day and then will be celebrating Tiffany and Perry's wedding! I hope everybody has a fabulous Thanksgiving.

Wow, what a long time

It has been such a long time since I have updated this thing. I don't even know if anybody is even reading it anymore. Anyway, Dan and I have been busy with traveling in the last month and this weekend we finally got to stay home. Dan's parents were here visiting, which was absolutely wonderful. So we got to relax and be lazy with them. We grilled out Friday and had delicious steak and potatoes. Yummmm. And then Dan and his dad went golfing Saturday, probably the last time until spring, while Debi and I went *shopping*. And by shopping, I mean we went to Alco. Ah, small towns. So much to do, so much to see. Anyway, we had such a good weekend and I will be the first to admit that I hated seeing them go. I miss our families so much being the farthest away than we've ever been. But we could be further, so I shouldn't complain. Another thing that consumed most of the weekend was playing with the seven week old kittens. Yes, we still have three of them. We got rid of one of them, but are desperately searching for good homes for the remaining three. They are very cute and I will be sad when they leave and yet very happy to have my house back to normal. So, I think that's about it for an update. I will be sure to keep on top of this thing and update it more regularly, just in case there is someone who wants to know what's going on in our lives. :)

Turning 50

This past weekend was my mom's 50th birthday party. It was a blast, but I have to admit that I didn't take any pictures. We had these disposable cameras that we were taking pictures with, so I completely forgot to take any with my camera. But Dan did take one of my niece Jordan, who was the runner up for the life of the party. (My mom being the first) There was a lot of hula-hooping, playing with balloons, and laughing. It was great to see family and friends and to celebrate with my mom.

By request of my mother, I am going to post some pics of the kittens. I know that not everybody gets excited about kittens like I do, so I haven't posted that many. But my mom has asked for an update, so here are a few of my favorite moments with the kitties. The one on the left was taken about a week ago when they were all waking up from one of their many daily naps. This one on the right is my favorite kitten. She is very sweet and quiet and loves to sit in my lap. The last photo is the only black and white kitty. This one and the gray one love to pose for pictures, but the two little black ones are always on the go. They are all starting to fight with each other and are slowly starting to get interested in solid food. As much as I love them and will be sad to see them go, I will also love to give them to good homes and to have my spare room back!

Not much going on

There's not much going on right now, but I thought I would post something anyway. Here are the top five exciting things going on right now in our lives:


5. A friend from Manhattan Christian College is applying to be the pastor of the church we go to. We got to see him this weekend and it was very nice to see a familiar face. We're praying he gets the job.


4. We're going to York, NE in two weeks to visit my friends from high school. We're going to be doing some shopping in Lincoln and I'm already picking out things that I want/need... mostly want. Don't worry, we won't be spending a lot, but buying anything has just been so rare for us, that it really is an exciting event.


3. The four kittens that we have at our house are doing great. They have their eyes open and are getting more curious about their environment. They are almost three weeks old and will be looking for homes soon!


2. For those of you who don't know about Dan losing his wedding band a while ago, surprise! He did. I wasn't that upset about it, but I have been wondering when he'll want to get a new one. So this weekend, we ordered him a cheap ring from Amazon.com. You might think that's lame, but even Dan thought it would be a better idea to get him a cheap ring just in case he decides to "misplace" it again!


1. Finally, this week is my mom's 50th birthday! Her birthday is ont he 26th and she's having her party on the 29th. We're going to Abilene for the big bash and expecting it to be so much fun! I'm just glad that she's excited about turning 50!


So that's all for now! We're thankful for the slow weeks so that we can recover from traveling or the stress from a busy job(more Dan than me at this point). I'm sure we'll have much more to update in the next coming weeks!

Traveling weekend

Dan and I had a great weekend, even though driving is not the fun part! We went to Abilene on Friday night and spent the night with my parents. Saturday, we went to a wedding which was so much fun! And we got to spend some time with Dan's family as well. Little Camdyn is always the life of the party, naturally. Really, that's about all we did. We're getting ready for another week. Dan's teaching is still going very well and my job is slowly starting to pick up. We'll be traveling again in two weeks for my mom's 50th birthday... so exciting!

Coda's a mommy... again

Coda had her babies this weekend. It was a stressful ordeal for me, but she seemed to do well. She originally had five babies, but the first one had complications and didn't make it. But she has four adorably cute babies that are doing very well. There are two black-gray kittens, one all gray, and one black and white kitten that looks like her. One of her kittens was born breach, which was very scary for me, but it is doing so good. This picture on the right is one of the better pictures I could get close up, but you can't really see the gray kitty who is on the left hiding under Coda's leg. I could go on and on about Coda and her cute kittens, but I won't.


On another subject, Dan's dad came to visit this past week for business, and it was so great to spend some time with him. We went to the high school one night with Dan so he could play basketball with some of the students. It was fun to watch Dan play basketball since he hasn't played in forever. As you can tell from the photo, he was red faced and worn out when he was done. It was funny! Dan and I both wish we could live close to our families, but we have been blessed to see them quite a bit these first couple of months.

Birthday Blowout

This weekend has been amazing. It all started when my parents surprised me by coming to Phillipsburg to spend the weekend with me! It was definitely a surprise! Dan was in on it and he shocked me, because he is usually terrible about surprises! They didn't just come for the holiday weekend... they came for my birthday! Yeah for birthdays! Anyway, so Saturday we grilled, courtesy of Dad and Dan, and watched the K-State game, which ended up being very sad. We went out to lunch on Sunday at the Chicken Inn, which was a first for Dan and I. It was a cute little place to eat, but nothing fancy. Then of course, Labor Day was my birthday! So we had a small lunch, but made sure to leave room for cinnamon swirl cake and home-made ice cream! My mom is an excellent birthday cook! Then Dan gave me my b-day present, which happened to be a gold star for the outside of the house that I've really been wanting. And some candles for some sconces that we have in our bedroom that have been bare since we moved. He did good on my presents this year. If you ask him, he'll say he does good every year. :) Overall, it was a wonderful birthday. My parents brought Dodge, their cute little puppy, but Coda didn't like that surprise. She is very pregnant at this point and very grumpy. I have to admit if I was that huge, I'd be a little grumpy too! Other news, Dan is preparing for his students to take their first test of the semester and from the looks of it, they should all be able to pass it. And I officially start my new job tomorrow, but I really don't have much to do. More exciting is that Dan's dad is coming to P-burg for two days to do some work, so we'll get to spend a little time with him. We're both excited about that. I think that is all the news we have right now. Happy Labor Day to everyone! Hope your weekend was labor free! Mine sure was, except for dishes!

Another week

Well, I don't really have anything to post right now. I don't even have any good pictures. But I can say that Dan is doing very well with teaching. He was asked by the principal if he would open up the weight room during the week so that the students can lift weights, which works out perfectly since he wants to work out three times a week anyway. And he'll get paid for it! It's hard to imagine he'll get paid for lifting weights... he's so spoiled! Another recent thing is that we opened up our bank account here. But we're waiting on our debit cards, so everywhere we go we have to write checks. I keep asking Dan if he thinks certain places will take checks and he is constantly reminding me that if anything they don't take debit cards. It's a whole new way of thinking in P-burg! But I am excited to get my debit card soon so that way I don't feel so "behind the times" anymore! Well, that's about it for now. I'll let you know how the new job goes!

Fun weekend

Isn't this such a cute picture? I'm glad I made them pose with me! Dan and I went to Topeka for the weekend to visit family. We had such a great time. Friday night, Dan got to play two softball games and he hit three home runs, two in the same game! And I got to see my cute little niece, Camdyn. She is getting so big. Then Saturday, Dan went golfing with his dad while I went shopping with Debi. That night, we all went over to Matt and Sarah's house to eat dinner with both of Dan's grandmas. It was such a fun night because Camdyn, of course, was the life of the party. Sarah's mom and niece (Chloe) were there also, so that was fun too. I got quite a few good pictures of Camdyn, so I'm just going to put them all on here so everybody can see them. And we have a couple of Chloe, so I'll put them up too. By the way, this picture with Camdyn's arms in the air is of her doing "touchdown!" She's a true K-State fan.

Exciting News

Yesterday was Dan's first day of teaching and today was his first full day! Things have been going well for him. He said that some of the teachers came up to him and told him that the students are already talking about how they like him. I think he's going to fit in well in Phillipsburg. I got up early with him yesterday and made sure he looked ok and then like my mom always did, I took some "first day of school" pictures. He was not happy about that. But doesn't he just look like a teacher? That's not the only good news... I had my interview today for a domestic violence services agency in Hays. They are opening a new branch in Phillipsburg and need someone to run it. After my hour and a half long interview, I was beginning to wonder if they were going to hire me. Then I got my answer two hours later. They called and asked if I wanted the position... of course I do! I start the day after my birthday, September 4th. Until then, I'm going to see if I can get some hours at a gift shop in Stockton. I spoke to the lady last week and she said she would hire me, even if it's only for a couple of weeks. So everything seems to be going along nicely. That's what a lot of prayer will do. Speaking of prayer, a huge blessing has been a neighbor lady who brings us tomatoes and cucumbers every once in a while. It is so nice. And this week, she stopped by and told us she was buying us groceries for next week. And to top it all off, I think Dan and I are going to Topeka this weekend to see family. That is a great end to a great week!

Our house

Well, out of boredom, I decided to post some pictures of our new townhouse. We love it. This picture on the left is of our new office. We spend a lot of time in it because we've never had one before.
The next picture is of our thrift store find. We really wanted a chair for our new office so that we could read in it or I could sit and talk to Dan when he is working on school stuff.
So we went to a thrift store in Hays and found this chair for $7.oo! It was only the most hideous color of gold that we've ever seen, so we went to Wal-Mart and bought a cover, and covered it ourselves. We had such a fun time!

One of my other favorite places in the house is the kitchen, oddly enough, considering I don't like to cook. Dan's grandma gave us her oak table that she didn't need anymore and in the morning when the sun is shining through the sliding glass doors, it's the best place in the house. Coda likes it too, although her favorite spot lately is in an overturned clothes hamper. I don't have the heart to turn it upright just because she loves it so much.