Life in the Midwest...Minne-SOODA

MINNESOTA

Settling in to life in the mid-west....in Minne-SOODA! Sounds pretty random, huh?! Never did I think I would move here! The idea of going to MN never even crossed my mind in the past...& now I'm living here...crazy! (although I'm really not here all that much). But I love it! Every where you turn, there's a lake. And the trees in the fall are gorgeous! So much nature & wild life here. The other day I saw an albino squirrel & I already told you about deer in our yard!

My mom, nana & aunt pam came up to visit at the beginning of Oct. It was my nana's 72 birthday so we got to celebrate it all together! We went to Stillwater (a really cute, quaint town next to the St. Croix River with tons of antique shops & cafes), crossed over to Wisconsin, had breakfast with my boss, Jason, (my family had never met him so it was such a blessing that they were finally able to), went to a really nice restaurant for my Nana's bday for dinner in Minneapolis, drove up north to Duluth (although it was freezing & my poor family were wearing flip-flops!), went to the Glensheen Mansion in Duluth(scary...there was a murder that happened in the 70s there & never found the murderer), & just took time to hang out!

I was sad & homesick when they left, but I always get like that. I'm starting to realize more & more how incredibly blessed I am to have such a loving family....seriously, I don't know what I'd do without my family. I love them so much! I can't believe I was out of the country & didn't see them for 11 months when I had my old job at Media Plus.
October 07: So now I'm about to head off to all of our fall conferences. San Diego is the first one, excited about that because it's starting to get cold here. Once it snows we'll be able to go cross-country skiing, down hill skiing, sledding & once our pond freezes in our backyard we'll be able to ice-skate! I love actually having these options!

Check out these other photos from splat ball a couple months ago.

We drove by the 35W bridge collapse a few weeks ago. I didn't realize how MUCH of the bridge had collapsed. Seemed like it went on forever. So sad.

SAN DIEGO

Our first Youth Specialities convention was in San Diego in October. We were there during the horrible fires that took place. The sky was incredibly smoggy & we could actually see ashes in the air. One thing I got to try that I've wanted to do for awhile now....SURF!! It was SO fun! One of our groups that has gone & will be going again next year to Belize is from California & they have a bunch of surfers. And one of the adult leaders, Tait, took Jennie & I surfing one morning, while it was still dark out, out to Del Mar. He was such a great teacher, he's taught over 300 people to surf. He brought boards, wet-suits, everything we needed. So...I think we can go pro now....not quite. But we did manage to stand up for a few seconds. I can tell it would be an AMAZING sport once you get that 'feeling' down. We stayed out a couple hours, & we were a bit sore the next day. I'm so thankful that Tait was so willing & patient with us. He stayed out getting hit by the waves while he helped us time & time again.

ST. LOUIS

Nov 07: The second YS Convention was in St. Louis, MO. I haven't been to St. Louis since I was a kid so it was good to go back again. It was a a fun convention mainly because there were so many pelicans there. Bri & Jon came in to help out, Stacey, Jenni & Swartz & me...good times! Stacey is a crazy southern girl from Alabama, love her!, Jennie lives in St. Paul, she's married & for being such a petite girl she's got some personality, she also has an amazing heart for the Lord, Swartz is just insane, & Bri & Jon are awesome college students that work for PPM in the summer. Jon is coming on board fullt-time this spring! Although we pretty much worked the entire time. Stacey & I managed to make it to the Gateway Arch...which was cool, maybe a bit overrated, but still a sweet view looking down!

The day I got back in town to MN from St. Louis, it was snowing!! I was so excited! So it's starting to get cold!

ATLANTA

Spent a little over a week in MN then time to leave again! Our next convention was in Atlanta. Nothing too exciting to write about in Atlanta. Except the trees were gorgeous! Christopher was with all of us at this convention. He's awesome, just came on board to PPM recently, he's from Colorado...nickname; Fanny. I had to leave early from the convention, spent about 4 days there & then left for Dallas for a convention there! Work has been NONSTOP!! But it was GREAT being home for a couple of weeks. Got to hang out with some friends...Sandi is pregnant again! My bro & I caught a flight to Oklahoma to spend Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family in Enid...good 'ol Enid. Then back to Dallas for a few more days & flew to MN for 1 night & off to Vancouver SUPER EARLY the next morning.

VANCOUVER & WHISTLER

I absolutely LOVE Vancouver!! We were there for 7 days & I managed to eat sushi 6 times!! I love how international it is! Jennie, Stacey & I spent 5 days in Vancouver for the Canada Fire Conference. It was much smaller than the other conventions so we had more time to have some fun & hang out with the other exhibitors! Went to Stanely Park, Gastown, Robson Street, & we saved the best for last! Stacey & I dropped Jennie off at the airport & then drove up to Whistler!! THe drive was georgeous...up the side of the mountains & along the ocean! We spent the night there & woke up early the next day to hit the slopes!! THey had REALLY bad weather so many of the runs were closed. But it was still cool to do some skiing there, we got to see where they will be having some of the 2010 Olympic Competitions!

The night I got back to MN I could barely open my car door because it was completely covered & buried in snow!! We have SO much snow here it's crazy! And the best part, it hasn't melted yet. Everything is still white! I got to go cross-country skiing the other night...still sore from it. I crashed & burned twice, one time landing on my tail bone...ouch! We have our staff Christmas meeting in Duluth this week.

DULUTH & LUTSON

We had our Christmas party & some meetings in Duluth. We all went skiing one day up the North Shore to Lutson. It was so fun! That's the farthest north I've been in the states. It was about -8 degrees!!!

Oh yeah...the other night I watched a huge deer in our backyard for about 5 minutes. He was about 15 feet from me. Amazing! It's been a great winter so far! Been skiing several times...love it! Our lake in our backyard is totally frozen & ready for ice-skating! Can't wait. I feel like I'm always gone from here though. So when I am in MN it's nice being here in the winter (never thought I'd say that). Good excuse to start a fire, drink coffee (A LOT), watch movies & do lots of winter sports! I've been skiing 5 times already & I plan on going a lot more. Even though it's not the best skiing in MN, it's only a 30 minute drive to the nearest slopes. I'm truly enjoying life in the Mid-west!! Come & visit anytime you want!

Coming up...

I go to Dallas for Christmas this next week & will be in Belize over New Year's leading a mission trip. The spring is going to be pretty crazy too! Becky & I & maybe Stacey are either going to Europe/Middle East or Southeast Asia....haven't quite decided yet, but I think it's going to be Europe/ME...possibly a Mediterranean cruise!! I can't wait!!! Then I'll be spending lots of time in Belize & Jamaica this spring. We're also opening an office in Minneapolis this spring so I may be staying around to start that up. Also, I'm looking in to grad-school in this area. We'll see. Lots of exciting things to look forward to! Isn't it crazy, how life can change in an instant. It's so fun to see where people are & where God has led them to be right this second.
So, let me hear from you wherever you are. If we haven't seen eachother in awhile, let's MAKE our paths cross. I'm coming to realize how intentional you have to be with people & relationships. So, if you're willing then I'm willing...let's make an effort & meet up somewhere...anywhere!!

MERRY CHRISTmas & HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I'll be spending New Year's in Belize...sweet! If you're in the Dallas area during Christmas time, give me a ring! May your holiday be filled with joy, laughter & many blessings!! And may you truly reflect upon the reason we celebrate Christmas...we would have no reason to celebrate it if God hadn't sent his only son to die for us. So may we remember & celebrate Christ's birth!

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