first base coach!

last week we watched eric hedstrom's baseball game. after each inning, the first base coach came over to the stands and gave an update on the inning. he was very entertaining! as you can see in the video, after the game jared gave us some tips on how to be the first base coach.



by the way - good home run eric!!

AND, please pray for the hedstroms. they are adopting four children from columbia and are in columbia now!! the kids names are jessica, erika, diego, and bryan. you can see thier caringbridge website at: www.caringbridge.org/visit/thehedstromfamily




p.s. courtney wants me to mention that it is roasting in our house. because it is.

benefits of the phillips

we don't even have to leave our house to have all the excitement we could ask for.

if you are an extravert, you never have to leave because there are always those sauntering around the neighborhood or people sitting on their porches during all hours of day and night.

no need to download any more music from itunes when you can always hear the next door neighbor's perfectly fine.

you don't need to call 911 because the police are either on their way or already here.

when 4th of july rolls around, just stay here for all your firework entertainment. but come early, because they don't wait until the 4th to start. it's a weekend full of festivities. we thought perhaps we had moved to a war zone and were afraid our cars were going to blow up.

cats and squirrels are of endless supply.

if you want an excuse to buy new tires, come on by and drive the alley. they are sure to be popped, thanks to all the glass.

if you are planning to travel to a foreign country anytime soon, spend a week here first. it will help you adapt to another culture.

afraid you are losing touch with culture and trapped in your christian bubble? just come and listen to some of the words spoken on the streets.

even if you own a house, no need to do your own yard maintenance. the neighbors are quick to offer their lawn mowing and snow shoveling services - for a charge in order to pay for "school." hmm.

come here for your relaxing vacation. the distinct smell of burning "plants" may bring you to your happy place.

you don't have worry about recycling because the pop cans are absconded by unkown individuals. recycle day is everyday.

throw the alarm clock away. we don't have roosters, but we do have neighbors who are sure to do the job.

if you like the sounds of beethoven, come to the area and listen for the ice cream man. he drives up and down our street at least 20 times per day. and it's only may.

if you want a "compliment," go for a walk or run, and you are sure to receive many.

we are happy to be here. really, we are. even in the midst of all the craziness, we love it. every superstar needs a little bit of ghetto.

pray with us for our neighborhood. and that we would be a shining light and salt to them.

just some fun pictures!

purchase of the day = $2.99 = frisbee = hours of fun.

Going to the chapel BABY!!!

We received this e-mail late Tuesday night. Don't even think about asking who it was from. We don't know. Honestly.

Girls,
I know we've agree it would never go here, but please, listen to me now:
Will ya'll marry me? I'm dead serious. I've decided to become a
polygamist. Now, don't get me wrong, I won't be movin' to Salt Lake
City any time soon, and certainly don't be thinkin' that I've
converted to that Latter Day Saints church. No way! The Lord Jesus
is indeed God! But with that said, I see some advantages. I mean,
how could I possibly pick just ONE of ya'll! You're ALL so beautiful
and talented and smart and funny and full of the joy of the Lord! I
could never choose just ONE of ya'll! So, I've just decided: If I
can't pick one, then I'll hafta pick 'em ALL! I hope you gals are
down with this. And don't worry, Jesus said that in the resurrection
none of ya'll will be any specialer to me than any other one of ya'll.
But boy we can have a lot of fun together til then, can't we?! I'm
sure ya'll will agree. Let me know what dates work for ya'll, I'll
let you fight among yourselves for picking gowns and so forth. I'm
gonna buy a used cargo van that we can all take on down to Cali in the
fall.

Much love,

grody tore (for you, orison)

Ok, where do I even start?


I love the grocery store! The grocery store is a guaranteed adventure. So much of an adventure that I feel tired after I leave the store. Long lines, interesting people, awkward moments, bargain shopping...

I'll give you a brief snapshot of what my day-to-day adventures are like in the grocery store.

My most recent awkward moment happened today with Andrea. We walked into the store and grabbed a cart. We then proceeded to the produce section, where Andrea hiccuped really loud. Right after the first one came out, the hiccup surfaced again (quite the horn)! A random guy turned around and started to laugh right in front of us! We burst out laughing! I immediately ran towards the apples and could not hold it in! I looked up and there he was, that random guy, STILL laughing at us. Ok, awkward.

One of the most memorable moments was when Andrea and I walked over to the self-serve section of the store. Or we thought it was self-serve. We quickly started sampling left and right the many different options before us. There were gummy bears, licorice, almonds, trail mix, and peanut butter covered pretzels. The grocery store lady walked over, yelled at us (as if we were back in the 3rd grade), and told us not to "sample" again. Apparently, sampling equals stealing. Oh gosh.

The last experience that I'll note was probably the most uncomfortable moment of them all. I was standing next to the grapes and Andrea had a question. She asked me what day of the week it was, and I replied with a hearty WED-NES-DAY! A random guy then piped in and affirmed my answer. He then cornered us and wanted to shake our hands. I shook his hand first, and then Andrea felt obligated to shake as well. Great. (Notice uncomfortable, awkwardness). I felt horrible that I shook his hand. Not only did I shake his hand, but it probably was the worst, limp, handshake that I had ever given out. I broke my handshake policy. Seriously.

All uncomfortable.
All awkward.
All with Andrea.

I love you, ANDRRREEEA!

(this post took me 2 hours to write.)

kron, sarah

sarah has bbeen in florida for the past couple of days. that means sleeping in her bed. you may think that is weird, but it's not. she has such a comfortable bed. and just last night i figured out her pillows make you feel like you're lying on a cloud.

as you can see in the picture below, sarah left a special treat - a note and chocolate. just like a hotel. okay. i need to go to bed because tonight is the last night sleeping in her bed because she is coming back tomorrow. i mean, i am happy she's coming back. welcome back, sarah. missed you!

Googling-a brave new world

The inception of the internet has provided us with many avenues for information gathering, and we are all greatly indebted to the creators of this great thing that we call the “world wide web”. I mean, you wouldn’t be blessed with the privilege of reading our profound blog without it. But, I digress.

With the rise of the internet another great tool has been gifted to us—googling. Ah, yes. Googling. Have you ever been dying to know something about a certain person, but were too scared to ask? No longer do you have to be in the dark. Googling is here to provide you with much needed answers and information. Some may call it stalking—we like to call it well-informed. It’s all a matter of semantics, really.

Our recent discoveries in googling have opened our eyes to new truths. Like, our worlds really are much, much smaller than we think, or sometimes you find out some much needed information a little bit too late (minor detail), or you find out specific details that allow you to further understand the inner-workings of things (eb), or you might even find out that a person is more famous than you ever thought (sermon audio).

There is a plethora of information waiting to be discovered if only you would open up your computer, pull up Google, and let the words take you where they may.

So, next time there is a burning question in your mind, come to us. We can help. But you better come quick—we might start charging.

to my friend.

Your birthday today, Steph, has caused me to think about how much of a blessing you have been to me. I am so thankful for you. And I love you. In just the two and a half years I have known you, there have been so many great memories.

Steph, it's a blessing to see God's sovereignty displayed in the past and present and I know that he has a wonderful plan for the rest of your life. He formed you and knitted you together in your mother's womb...in Korea. And he choose you to be adopted into the Johnson family. Before any person knew you, God's thoughts towards you were precious and your frame was not hidden from the Lord. Oh, how precious are God's thoughts towards you.

I am also so glad that in God's sovereignty, he allowed us to become friends. There are so many great memories with you. Too many to list, but remember playing football in the skyways, and throwing a whole garlic clove in the mashed potatoes, and dressing up as swimmers, memorizing fighter verses, and giving 'Derrel' a pie instead of calling the police, and laughing all the time, and staying up late talking and praying, and making videos, and taking pictures, and remember when it was just the two of us who always sat in the second row at church every sunday, and starbucks, and taking a road-trip to indiana, and you making everyone laugh, and talking with a lisp while whitening your teeth, and starting a blog with me, and getting soaked in the rain, and hiding in a certain apt. wondering what to do next, and playing dutch blitz, and youth group, and teaching me life truths, conversations about being gassy, and, and, and...

Love you booger.

ha-ha-ha

tonight we played a fun, new game. the way you play it is demonstrated in the videos. you try to fake laugh for as long as possible, but your time is up once you begin your 'real' laughter. it's fun. try it. it's a good way to build fellowship. oh, think of the possibilities this game can bring.

dinner party '07 anyone?

Below you will find photos from a dinner party that we (Steph & Andrea)threw. We were teased by many for not being able to cook so we decided to prove to our friends that we could cook. By ourselves. NO HELP. Little did we know that we needed a lot of help. We searched the internet to find recipes and planned many different options. Just in case one failed, the guests could move onto the next. We liked to diversify our cooking. We made chicken, meatloaf, green beans, carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, fruit pizza and special k bars. Whoa.

The problem lied most specifically in the garlic mashed potato efforts. The recipe called for 1-2 cloves of garlic. After mincing the entire bulb, we realized we needed more garlic because we had made a few extra potatoes. We didn't have much time, but knew that we must go to the grocery to purchase more garlic. As we arrived back at the apt. we realized it had an overwhelming smell that permeated the room. It was not pretty. The mashed potatoes were tasted and it was immediately realized that they didn't need any more garlic. I guess the whole bulb was enough.







This picture is a little description of how we felt after spending an entire afternoon cooking (5 hours to be exact). When the people started arriving, we just wanted to leave and go to Chipotle.

maybe it's maybelline...

When I was sitting in the bathroom the other day, I made an amazing discovery that has really gotten my brain thinking! I found out that Courtney, Andrea and I wear the same brand of mascara. We love Maybelline! Here are the reasons why we share the same affection for our mascara...

"In my rebellious days, I used to read Glamour magazine and they said that Maybelline was the number one mascara to use." -Courtney (notice past tense)

"When I was standing in the store, I thought that it looked kind-of old ladyish, but I bought it because it was on sale." -Andrea (notice smart-buyer)

"It looks 80's." -Sarah Heefner (notice she uses Loreal)

I use Maybelline because it's cost effective!

welcome to the blog, our new bff, c.j.

Ah, Yes, there indeed had been much excited talk about a certain bald headed preacher coming to Mpls. As many are well aware, we all love C.J., but at the CDG conference we were reminded why we love him. It’s not just because he is funny. Or because he has a great laugh. Or just because he loves basketball. Or because he is so joyful. Or even just because he is humble. The biggest reason we love and respect him so much is because God uses him to make us want to know and trust in our Savior more. C.J. makes Jesus look so precious and beautiful. And that is why we love him so much.

We should add that we did in fact stand in line for about 45 minutes waiting to talk to him. It was worth it. We also got our picture taken with him, but had to promise that we would never delete it. Oh, he is such a great guy.




Courtney would like all to know that her eyes are closed.