philomath

what kind of accent is this?

2011-03-29T20:52:00.002-04:00

What kind of accent do you think this is? What do you think Andrea is saying here? C'mon...!

photobooth fun!

2011-03-24T23:15:00.006-04:00

Who doesn't love a good photobooth night?

a little trip to Cub.

2011-03-23T23:22:00.007-04:00

What happens when 3 roommates have no food and decided to go to Cub together.

This.

From the Office...

2011-03-02T13:18:00.004-05:00

Andrea and I work at Desiring God and we have some fun coworkers.

Meet Michael Johnson... he had some wardrobe issues today.

This is his alternative. Jonathan Parnell's shrunken sweater.

Michael keeps our days interesting at DG. By interesting I mean he brings us much joy.

Pizza Night!

2011-03-02T10:18:00.007-05:00

Effort #2 to revive the blog.

Steph and I made pizza the other night.. (with the help of Andrea and Amy M)

The funny thing about this night is Steph served Orange Juice with the pizza. Talk about weird.

Do you drink Orange Juice with pizza? Yeah... I didn't think so.

long time, no blog...

2011-02-21T23:41:00.004-05:00

So... what has happened to this blog? There has been talk that it is dead, but I refuse to let it die. It must live on.

All I really can blog about now is a little update:

1. Minneapolis looks like a snow globe right now...there has been a record 74" of snow this winter. Sarah is loving it...

2. Sarah is going to visit Ellie in Brazil!!!! She will be gone for 3 weeks in March....she also gets to visit her friend Liza in Guatemala.

3. Steph got a new car! Yippee. The '97 (I think) Chevy caviler met its end. She has now replaced it with a stylish Toyota.

4. Andrea gets to go visit her sister in warm California.... lucky.

5. Heather is going to Kazakhstan to visit her family...even luckier.

6. I (Anna) got to go visit my friend Emily in Louisville at Boyce College (Southern Seminary)... I had a grand time.

There are many more happenings at the residence of 2520. But the one question I have for you is... How can we keep this blog alive? Help readers, Help!

another post from the 2520 girl who lives farthest from 2520!

2010-12-07T13:34:00.003-05:00

Did you know that if you laugh underwater while snorkeling, people can hear you above water?

It's true!

a post from the 2520 girl who lives farthest from 2520...

2010-11-29T14:53:00.003-05:00

...in hot, humid Brazil to say that you guys should really post!

hello...

2010-09-15T09:12:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone! I'm Anna, the other new roommate here at 2520. Since Heather already beat me to the introductory blog post I guess I will just follow her lead.

Hopefully some of you know me...

I've been in MN for a little over 2 years now. I came up for the INSIGHT program, which is now Bethlehem College. For the past 2 years I've been a student at BCS and now I work at Desiring God as a Resource Consultant.

I grew up in Nebraska. My family is great, I have 3 brothers and my parents are wonderful. Our idea of a good time usually involves hunting, fishing, or College Football. Yes, I'm a Husker fan.

Some things that I love: Jesus, passport stamps, studying theology/bible, taking pictures, cooking, thunderstorms, gravel roads (or dirt paths as Steph likes to call them), watching movies, music, old books, being hospitable. The list goes on.

Seeing as the Myers-Briggs test is a crucial part of living at 2520 I would like to inform you that I'm an ESFJ.

So, If I don't know you...and you don't know me...please introduce yourself. Come by the 2520 house sometime. Caio!

Introductory Blog Post

2010-09-14T14:46:00.014-04:00

Hello Philomath Blog Readers!

I'm Heather, the newest (well, one of two) roommates at the 2520 house! Since most of you probably have no clue who I am, my roommates thought it would be a good idea to "introduce myself" via the blog. So here goes. A few things about me...

- I love Jesus above all else.

- I have the best family in the world. No one can change my mind on that. I have an older sister, 2 younger brothers, and parents (of course). All 4 of us were born within 5.5 years. Yeah, growing up was pretty fun! And now I have a new brother! (Technically, he's my brother-in-law, but that's besides the point.)

- I have 3 best friends: my sister, Mom, and Gram.

- I'm a pediatric nurse.

- I'm an Iowa gal. Yes, I love being from Iowa. No, I'm not ashamed of it's lack of big cities and giant abundance of open space. Yes, I miss it. No, I don't eat corn at every meal.

-I'm a work hard/play hard kind of gal.

- I'm an ESTJ (shout out to Skronny!). For those of you who don't know what that means or what kind of personality an ESTJ has, here's a description, it's me in a teeny tiny nutshell:

"In general, ESTJs are doers who roll up their sleeves, dig in, and proceed directly to get the job done. They use logic and analysis as guiding principles for their lives. They are quick to decide and set a plan of action. They marshall resources in an organized fashion, implement, and follow through. They like closure. They focus directly on tasks to accomplish and are able to anticipate the steps needed to complete an assignment. In doing so, they see what might go wrong and take the necessary preventive action. They monitor events continually and make sure that commitments, both their own and those of others, are honored and the job gets done. They are at their best in situations that have some structure to them and involve activity, not contemplation, and in which an end product is desired."

- My last name is Flickinger. I don't know why, but that's REALLY hard for people. Hard to spell. Hard to say. Here's proof:

This is a REAL card that JCPenny sent me. Seriously. They took the information themselves. Come to our house and I'll show it to you, it's pretty funny :)

- I LOVE LAUGHING. It's sort of my "default reaction" if you will. I laugh when I'm happy, mad, sad, and especially when I'm nervous or tired. And I won't completely be myself around you until we've shared a good belly laugh.

- I'll try just about anything once...except for weird foods. I'm not very brave when it comes to weird food.

- My birthday is Christmas Eve and my parents brought me home from the hospital in a stocking (I guess that's something they used to do at Mary Greeley Hospital in the olden days). My mom still tells me every year on my birthday that I'm the best present she's ever received (say it with me now..."awwwww" :)

-I wouldn't call myself "dramatic" but I would definitely call myself "expressive"...which sometimes gets interpreted as dramatic.

- I really like to bake, but I hardly ever do it because I'd eat it all. That's never good.

- I. Love. Movies.

- My Granddaddy and Grandmother (aka Gram) are 2 of the greatest, most Godly, generous, loving, hilarious, fun, etc. etc. etc. people I know. And probably ever will know. I spend time with them every chance I get.

- I really think you should just come over to our house so I can meet you in person. I feel like I'm having a one-sided conversation with myself...

Later!
H

Double Rainbow.

2010-09-02T20:24:00.002-04:00

would you rather?

2010-08-29T17:00:00.002-04:00

Eat a live cockroach every day for a month?

OR not shower or wash at all for an entire month?

Currently...

2010-08-25T19:16:00.004-04:00

Jason Calcote would like you to know that the 2520 house is currently composed of...

How well do you know the 2520 house? Guess who works where... I will give you a hint... there are 2 new roommates, and I'm one of them!

So comment and guess!

the 3 things stephanie is afraid of.......

2010-06-17T22:08:00.003-04:00

1. thunderstorms. particularly when the sky turns yellow.

2. dating and child-rearing.

3. flying.

what are you afraid of?

Vancouver. Twenty-ten.

2010-02-15T18:33:00.004-05:00

Anyone who has spent any amount of time around 2520 knows that as a house we are incredibly committed to celebrating the Olympic games when they come around every 2 years. And when I say committed, I mean committed. We love them. Why, you may ask? I believe it is a combination of factors, the greatest of which has to be the drama. We all know how much 2520 loves drama. The drama of victory, of defeat, and of the specially prepared personal interest stories about each athlete that air between events (Steph's favorite). Mesmerizing. I could go on and on, but really, the question I want to pose to the world wide web is this: if each individual at 2520 were to participate in an Olympic event, which one would they be in and why? I would let you, our faithful readers, answer this question, but I think it'll be a lot more fun if I do. So here goes!

Steph: Clearly this bundle of energy with her penchant for performance and flair would be a natural at ice dancing. Flashy, sequined outfits, choreographed partner dancing, plastered smiles, catchy music to sing along to..........

Lacy: Calm. Collected. Focused. Sailing through the air, with soft landings on the powdery snow. I picture Lacy excelling at ski jumping, not only for her intense powers of concentration, but also because her legs are very flexible, allowing her to bend them at strange ski-jumping angles.

Brittany: With her trendy outdoor North Face snow outfits, nose ring and bleach-blonde hair, it was easy to see Brittany out on the slopes, with her feet strapped to a snowboard, leaping up over the edges of the half-pipe. Sweet 720 spinny move Britt!

Andrea: I had to think long and hard about Andrea, and nothing seemed to fit, until I realized that she needed to participate in a team sport. And not just any team sport. Ice hockey. What could be better than making the well dramatized movie "Miracle" a reality by actually pursuing her own "Miracle on Ice"?? Andrea, I'm sure you'd do great with Herb Brooks as your coach. He's so touchy, feely, you know?

Sarah: Last but not least, myself. Steph and I spent an evening last week watching short-track speed skating, and I knew I had found my event of choice. Intense, cut-throat, head-to-head competition. Pressure to perform. Speed. Skaters with large quadriceps. Clearly, I fit the bill. Key word there would be "competitive."

Well, friends, enjoy these weeks of splendid amateur athletics! And just think, the Olympics end, then March Madness is just around the corner. Yesssss! Until next time.........

Uh, YUCK.

2010-02-11T13:24:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, I went into work and found this on my desk (photo compliments of Jon B...and his iphone):

Actually, the mouse sitting in my granola is compliments of him as well. This little, yucky, rubbery mouse has made it's rounds at DG...well...mostly between my desk, Seth's desk and Jon's office.

But I'm pretty sure I'm done eating that granola.

Speaking of pranks, we found the noise-maker you left in our house, Trent. You will be lucky if you get ever see it again :)

chicken potpie with ham...and turkey.

2010-02-09T12:42:00.006-05:00

Last week we decided to make chicken potpie from the Martha Stewart website. There were a few bumps along the way: Cooking it a week late. Not knowing what fennel bulbs or fennel seeds are. Not having the proper pans. But we managed. And had some great help from Bryan, Sarah & Stefan. We made a few changes, such as adding turkey, a few extra vegetables and not making them in the individual pans. But it was actually really good! Here's 2 pictures:

Week #2 of our Cooking Endevour

2010-01-27T16:47:00.003-05:00

Since the plan is to attempt cooking the meal for week 3 in a couple hours, we better show you what we cooked last week for our new recipe of the week. We had some, okay, quite a bit of help from some friends. So the credit goes not only to Steph and myself but also to: Anna, Rachel, Stefan, Celinda (and a couple tips from Sarah). Well, Tristan also helped by eating some of the lettuce wraps. We googled a recipe for lettuce wraps and the first to come up was from PF Changs. It was slightly time consuming (with the special sauce and all) but not super hard. I mean, we made them.

Here are some pictures:

Here's the recipe if you want to try them!

Cooking - Week 1

2010-01-14T11:53:00.005-05:00

So, in our effort to cook more and try new recipes, Steph and I made Swedish Meatballs on Monday night. In all honesty, they were not entirely a new for us. We'd made Norwegian Meatballs in the past and they seem to be pretty much the same. Technically though, it's was new. And since we're both Swedish, it was fun. Steph's always known she was Swedish and I just found out on Christmas Eve that I'm part Swedish...I never knew.

Here's some pictures from our cooking endeavor:

Haircuts.

2010-01-10T00:06:00.004-05:00

So...I'm watching Julie & Julia again. A couple months ago, or whenever it was in the theater, I saw it with my friend, Karen. Of course it made me want to blog and cook more but sadly, it's not been super successful. But Steph and I do have a little dream (for the winter) to try out a new recipe once a week. It's a good plan, I think, but it hasn't exactly started yet. But winter didn't really officially start until Dec 21st, so we're not too far behind. Right? Maybe we will blog our results. Maybe.

In other news: short hair is a new rule for 2520 residents. Steph and I were the only ones with long hair but we just got tons cut off. Steph, 10 inches and mine...well, we didn't measure, so I'll just say 8...

Steph before (you don't need to pay any attention to Sarah...she has pretty much the same hairstyle):

Ta-da:

Me with my hair:

Me after (and with the tea-pot my roommates gave me as a birthday gift):

And...of course...Katie Steller...who cut all our hair off....

storm dodging & trunks.

2009-12-26T17:37:00.004-05:00

We (Sarah & Andrea) dodged a huge blizzard in order to pick up Ellie from O'Hare in Chicago, Illinois, USA, World, Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy. Sarah didn't talk about the storm dodging at all but I insisted we bring it up. She only casually mentioned it, oh about 50 times verbally and 35 on gchat, before she made it her legal middle name (Sarah Storm-Dodger Kron).

Even though the storm dodging was the major part of our trip, take a look at the video to see what else happened. Storm Dodger Kron decided the little sidekick (aka Andrea Froehlich) should hide in the trunk in order to surprise the Brazilian Bombshell because she "didn't know" AF was coming. Let's see what happens...

Eager Anticipation

2009-12-10T15:18:00.002-05:00

Steph and I are at home counting down the minutes. Why? you might ask. Because...Ellie Lundquist is back in the US!! That's right...our Brazilian beauty is back home for Christmas!! She flew into Chicago on Wednesday and is now on her way to 2520 with Sarah and Andrea. Now, if we could just get the hands on the clock to move a little quicker...the anticipation is killing us. Hurry up guys!

homeschooler learns to dance

2009-11-16T22:41:00.003-05:00

Marathon and Bedrest?

2009-11-10T14:43:00.010-05:00

As some of you may know, I (Lacy) have been on crutches for the last 2 weeks. It was exactly 2 weeks ago today that I learned I have a stress fracture in my left hip. The real kicker is that it's been fractured since June! Here's the story...My sister, Linsey, was living with us this summer. She was training for a half marathon and all her running inspired me. So, she and I decided to run a 10K together. Red flag #1, we made the decision to run the night before the race, so I did NO training. I ran the race and, to my surprise, I survived the whole 6.2 miles without stopping. Then comes red flag #2. Two days after the race, when my sore muscles began to loosen up, my left hip started to hurt. Every step was painful, to the point of needing to limp (very sneakily, of course, so as to avoid any extra attention). I assumed it was an over use injury so I laid off exercise for a month and a half. My hip felt a lot better after all the rest, so I started easing back into working out. But each workout was followed by a day or two of hip pain, red flag #3. I suffered through intermittent workouts with no change until finally, 3 1/2 months later, I made a doctor's appointment. I had an MRI, which is how the fracture was diagnosed. Since I did rest my hip for a while after the run and the fracture was not yet healed, drastic measures needed to be taken: crutches for 4-6 weeks. Since I am on crutches, I am unable to perform my work duties as a nurse, which leads to the point of this post. It is a fairly common practice for the folks on our unit (Sarah and I work on the same floor) to get a card signed by co-workers if someone has had a birthday, surgery, injury, ect. This weekend there was a card sitting at the main desk for me. Attached was a post-it note that read, and I quote: "Lacy was injured after running in a marathon. She's on bedrest for 30 days...please sign card." Sarah, being the joy-giver that she is, brought the post-it note home for me to read. My first reaction was, "WHAT!?" 1) I would hardly call a 10K a marathon, it's a quarter of the distance! 2) I'm not even close to being on bedrest. 3) What kind of a running injury would result in bedrest? All I can think of is getting struck by a car or fracturing BOTH hips!Where did this information come from? How funny! It's like a version of the childhood game Telephone. I can't wait until I get the card and I can read the comments...I know it will be entertaining.

go math!

2009-11-03T12:47:00.002-05:00

Math is my friend. Well, not really....but here's a problem for YOU!

You finally get an allowance! You put $2 away in January, $4 away in February, and $8 away in March, and $16 away in April and followed this savings pattern through to December. How much money do you have in 12 months?

Alright, friends.....have at it! :)

This is NOT our home.

2009-11-02T00:14:00.003-05:00

Tonight, I went to Missions in the Main Hall at Bethlehem. I was really tired this afternoon and I thought about skipping. Glad I didn't. I sat on the floor along with probably a couple hundred other people and was blown away by Pastor John's message on missions. If it was recorded, I strongly encourage you to listen to it. Much better than what I'm writing. But here's my take on it...

He talked about how sad it is when we become satisfied with the little things of this earth and when people live as if this is their "final chapter" in life. Heaven is our final chapter and we should not live as if this were heaven. We have the hope of an eternity in heaven...that's why we can give our lives away to missions here on this earth. He said we need to "get it settled" that our reward is not in this life. Total satisfaction is coming. Don't try to seek it out in things of this earth. Give, give, give. Love, love, love.

One of the other things that stood out to me from his message - if we know the central thing, we can be ignorant in 10,000 other ways and we will be relevant to everyone...because "you will never meet a human being who doesn't have a cavernous longing...for God."

Tonight was both encouraging and convicting. Many times I think I live as if this were my final chapter/heaven. I am selfish with my time and find myself seeking satisfaction in little things rather than seeking what my heart is really longing for - God. May I not look to other little piddly things to satisfy my "cavernous craving for God." People, friends, emails, money, marriage, kids, music, shopping, entertainment, attention and the other thousands of things we may be seeking to satisfy never will fill the deep craving of our hearts. It encouraged me that we should be people who are willing to give our lives for others to share the amazing, life-giving message we have.

not only do we have lots of sweets...

2009-10-29T17:22:00.005-04:00

The other day I came home from work and looked at the top of our fridge and it looked absolutely horrible. There's a reason why. It's where we keep all our chips, pretzels and bread. One would think that with just 4 people living here, there would not really be that many bags. You'd think, but it's not true at our house. We obviously like large quantities of food items. We counted the total number of chip/pretzel/rice cake bags. Guess how many...

I'll give you a little hint. A couple weeks ago, our fridge had 9 opened jars of salsa. 9. A lot, right? Not compared to the amount of chip/etc bags.

The worst bag we found is this Market Pantry bag of pretzels. I've noticed it many times while looking through the chip/bread basket. This time I decided to look at the expiration date only to find it expired back in December of 2007. Guessing it's been on top of the fridge the entire time we've lived at 2520.

Sorry MP Pretzels, it's time for you to go.

So, guess how many bags we found...

"Peace Like a River"

2009-10-29T10:14:00.005-04:00

I'm on page 125 (out of 311) and am still having trouble "really getting into it." I'm surprised because many people say it's excellent. That's why I'm still reading but I hate having to tell myself to keep going rather than not wanting to put it down. I guess it must be drawing me in enough to keep me through 125 pages. It's not horrible by any means, it's just not grabbing my attention like I thought it might. Maybe I'm fictioned-out, after all the novels I read as an English major. But I think it's the style I don't love.

Maybe it's okay if I don't love it now. Maybe the books message will be worth it. Ok, I've decided I'm going to finish it...hopefully soon. Katie's waiting for me so she can read it.

Are you reading any good books?

oh, the perils at 2520.

2009-10-26T20:20:00.006-04:00

For a while, some of my roommates (most obviously not Steph) have commented/complained about the abundance of sweets in our kitchen. I agree, there are a lot, but didn't really realize the extent. We currently have:

Frozen cookie dough:

Carmel Fudge Brownie Ice Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream, Orange Sherbet, Mango Sorbet & Fudgsicles:

Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting & Twizzler bits:

Two Carmel Apples with nuts (from Cub...10 for $10):

Special K Bars:

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:

Mini Kit-Kat and Butterfinger candy bars:

One left-over Carrot Cake cupcake from Jason's birthday:

Oh, we also have 3 pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and a couple bags of candy corn...no picture attached. Feel free to come over and eat a sweet...or 5.

goldfish

2009-10-26T14:37:00.002-04:00

today i was google-chatting with anna and we realized that 'goldfish' is a really hard word to type. you should try it. or maybe it's just us. it does become easier with practice. anna says it's the d and f combo. maybe. do you have any hard words?

Regression 2009 Part 1

2009-10-25T18:02:00.002-04:00

Want to know what happens when you are sick with H1N1 (Also known as swine flu, for those who don't know. Got that, Steph?) for over a week and you can't read any books because memory and concentration are a bit of a challenge?

Movies. LOTS of movies. Here is a list of what I watched while I was sick:

1. Fellowship of the Ring: extended version

2. The Two Towers: extended version

3. Return of the King: extended version (4 1/2 hours!)

4. Pride and Prejudice/Pride and Predjuice: 6 hour version

5. The Incredibles

6. My Best Friend's Wedding

7. Bourne Identity

8. Bourne Supremacy

9. Tuck Everlasting

10. The Guardian (Andrea got sea sick with this one and almost didn't go to church. You'll have to ask her about it.)

11. A League of Their Own

12. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

There might be more. I was semi-conscious for most of the week and can't remember details. A special thank you to the Tong's for allowing the projector to stay at our house the whole week! Made the movie watching that much better................

what makes you most nervous?

2009-10-22T13:07:00.002-04:00

1. Making a presentation to 500 people?

2. A long car ride with a person you just met?

3. Talking about your deepest fears with someone you like?

4. Meeting with the President of the company you work for?

Squirrels Strike Again!

2009-10-15T16:38:00.003-04:00

Andrea and I bought 2 pumpkins at Aldi this afternoon, for $2.20 each (good deal, by the way). Exactly 37 minutes and 13 seconds later, a squirrel took a bite out of the top of one of them. What the.......! Another reason NOT to waste your money on expensive "pumpkin patch" pumpkins. Especially if you live in the Phillips..........

g.o.a.l.

2009-10-15T10:52:00.006-04:00

Sarah, who is affectionately described as the nurse who lives in the basement, is sick. And has been since last Friday. Poor thing. She might have H1N1. Maybe. Yesterday through a google chat conversation, we discussed the scale of 1 to 10. 1 being perfect and 10, about the worst you can feel. Yesterday she was feeling around a 4 or 5, which was better than the 7 or 8 she felt some of the previous days.

Our goal for Sarah is to get her to a 1.5...soon. We were not sure if we could ever get to the perfect 1 on this fallen earth. Right?

Today she's planning to venture out to the grocery store with me. Probably not to all of her 3 stops: Aldi, Rainbow & Trader Joe's. We're hoping that at least going to one will put her up a notch or two on the scale. Mind over matter.

Her health is our goal. And don't worry, when it happens, we are disinfecting our house like none other. Then y'all can come over again.

2520 still loves the Twins.

2009-10-12T19:22:00.008-04:00

Last Tuesday, we went to the tie-breaker game between the Twins and the Tigers. It was probably, no exaggeration, one of the best sporting events we've ever attended. The game lasted 12 innings and almost 5 hours. Started at 4pm and we didn't leave the dome until after 9! When they won, the Metrodome turned INSANELY crazy. It sounded and almost felt like we had won the World Series or something like it. The crowd went wild and cheered for minutes on end:

Even though the Twins just lost 3-0 to the Yankees (don't get us started on the Yankees...), we still love the Twins...Carlos Gomez, Cuddyer, Mauer of course, and oh Denard Span.

over 54,000 people were at the Dome:

You probably can't see very well because they look like little stick figures, but the little meetings at the mound happened every few minutes, so it seemed. Mauer walked up there practically every other pitch. Ok, not quite but it happened a lot. And they went through about 8 pitchers. Probably part of the reason the game took 5 hours:

Steph and Lacy got Malt Cups. Lacy said: "I have the nervous munchies...I have to get a malt cup!"

They gave us homer hankey's. I love these. I got one from the '87 team...but I don't know where it is anymore:

We let Sid come, even though he made fun of the Twins all year...and not until the last few games against the Tigers did he start getting excited. Sarah was hesitant at first to let him come, but he promised to cheer for them:

Sarah's mom came too. Big Twin's fan...all season long:

and they won and got excited:

and so did the crowd:

next year, Twins, next year...

Restoration 2009 Part 3

2009-10-05T22:16:00.004-04:00

Wow! We've been remiss in blogging about our progress in Restoration. 2009. Part 3 of this process was removing the jungle weeds in our back yard. When we say jungle weeds, we mean jungle weeds---as in covering our windows jungle weeds. This spring, Sarah noticed some plants growing next to the house, in a small, empty garden plot. They seemed innocent and harmless, so she didn't do anything about it and left on vacation for the summer. When she returned several months later, she discovered that the plants were not as innocent as she thought! Of course Andrea should have noticed the growing plants, but it's harder to notice things like this when you see them daily. It's like a baby -- when you see him/her every day -- the growth does not seem quite as dramatic. Y'know? Anyway, back to the story. The plants were, and we're serious here, at LEAST 6 feet tall. No joke. They looked like this:

So, we called him:

Michael Barnhart. Jungle weed expert. He's a hard worker. After 2.5 hours of two people chopping weeds (Yup. Andrea helped), we can see out of our windows again.

from natcon....

2009-09-25T22:30:00.002-04:00

Natcon '09 has finally arrived! We are sitting at the walk-on registration desk. We have a crazy amount of candy...and might go back to the grocery store to get more. We 'tweeted' about our candy and have had a few takers.

So...you should follow the conference on this cool website that the DG guys created. You can find it here.

So far, besides the obvious things (worship music, great speakers, awesome fellowship, etc), it seems like a couple themes for this conference are twittering, candy and Piper's (not John) yellow binoculars.

It's 9:44pm and Mike Tong just walked in to the conference...yeah! Since he stopped working at DG this year, it's not the same at the office or the conference. We told him to give us orders and pretend like he's in charge and still our boss, like the good 'ol days...

Tim Keller:

2009-09-25T10:10:00.005-04:00

"The gospel creates a new self-image...it humbles me before anyone, telling me I am a sinner saved only by grace. But it emboldens me before anyone, telling me I am loved and honored by the only eyes in the universe that really count."

here we go...

2009-09-22T22:39:00.004-04:00

Tonight a few friends came over for dinner, one of them was Becky. After cleaning up the kitchen...Becky, Steph and I sat on the kitchen counters talking and laughing. Lacy came down and left for the gym while the three of us were sitting there. We all felt somewhat guilty that we were not going to the Y, where we are paying for a monthly membership, but never really go.

So, October is the trial month. We are committed to working out 3 times per week. If it works out, great. If not, I don't know. Maybe cancel our memberships? By God's grace, we will be able to have the diligence to follow through...

Monday and Friday -- Gym at 6pm
Tuesday -- P90x at 6pm

Monday and Tuesday are mandatory days, and if we don't go, we owe $1. Friday is a little more lenient. If we can't go, we can make it up on Saturday (with proof). The money (if there is any) will go into a pot that Sarah is in charge of. This will hopefully be motivation because none of us really want to give Sarah a dollar for not going to the gym, right? At the end of the month, it will be decided where it goes.

Pray for us...we might need it...

Restoration 2009 Part 2

2009-09-19T11:38:00.002-04:00

The face magnets are all back on the fridge! A few months ago, Scotch Banyon decided to hide our magnets in different places around the house. We have spent the past 2 months trying in vain to discover all of the hiding places. Today, we have Restoration because all 6 of the magnets have been found!

Ellie was hiding in a chip bag, Lacy was in the cookie dough inside the refrigerator, Steph was inside a Diet Coke 24-pack (very appropriate), Katie was sitting on top of the plates in the cupboard and Andrea was 10 feet above the staircase coming down the stairs. These first 5 magnets were found relatively quickly, yet Sarah remained elusive. In fact, we had pretty much given up finding Sarah. And believe me, because of this one missing magnet, things seemed pretty incomplete around 2520.

This morning, I awoke to discover that Sarah was back! Apparently, she had traveled inside of the Tong's borrowed Wii box back to the Tong's, where she sat in obscurity until the Banyon's borrowed the Wii themselves. When they opened the box to hook up the Wii, out popped Sarah. Which is quite appropriate, when you stop to consider that Scotch was the reason she was lost in the first place. Interesting how things often come full circle, isn't it? Katie was kind enough to give Sarah back to Andrea the other night, thus making it possible for Restoration 2009 to continue. Thanks, Katie!

Restoration 2009 Part 1

2009-09-16T22:46:00.002-04:00

The first installation of Restoration 2009 is getting our piano tuned. Yes, we are aware that we've had it for over 9 months. And we should have done this long ago, but we didn't. So, Tuesday morning at 10:30 am, Robin (a guy) came to the house and started tuning. I assumed he would just sit and tune but he wanted to talk throughout the 1.5 hour process. We talked about where we both grew up, the band he plays in , lots of politics (with many differing views, to say the least), the Bible, how he used to live on 11th Avenue, schools we both attended, how to play piano by ear, and of course how he learned to tune pianos. It was pretty interesting.

But bottom line is, it is now in tune and Restoration is in progress. Stay tuned for more Restoration news.

And if you want to play, come on over.

Be near, oh God.

2009-09-13T23:50:00.006-04:00

I've listened to this Shane & Shane song (Be Near) over and over for the past couple of months. The words are so good and helpful. God's nearness is GOOD. I long for more of it. These are my favorite words to the song...but instead of just reading the words below, you should go to itunes and listen to them sing it :)

be near, oh God
be near, oh God of us
Your nearness is to us our good
be near, oh God
be near, oh God of us
Your nearness is to us our good, our good

What the 2520 house is thankful for..........

2009-09-11T21:15:00.005-04:00

The other afternoon Steph, Sarah and Andrea were sprawled out on the couches being Debbie-Downers (wuaaah, wuaah---remember Saturday Night Live?). Moping around, complaint after complaint, in the typical dramatic 2520 way. The weather is too hot and humid! Our neighbors are too loud! The house is too dirty! Why does life have to be so hard!

Suddenly, Andrea stood up, looked out the window and exclaimed, "Gosh! Our yard is SO ugly!" She was immediately convicted of a complaining spirit (Steph and Sarah, meanwhile, gripped in the throes of the devil's lying schemes, continued to complain). Andrea turned and looked at her roommates and stated, "Man, all we're doing is complaining!" At that moment, an idea popped into Sarah's head.

"OK guys! This is what we're going to do----quick! Quick! Everyone think of 3 things they are thankful for,and we're going to go around in a circle and share. Steph, you go first." Blank stares. "Uhhh, uhhhh," stuttered Steph.

"Quick! Don't stop to think too much! Just say the first thing that comes into your head," said Sarah. Finally, Steph timidly exclaimed while glancing nervously at the coughing, sore-throat, cold-suffering Andrea, "OK......ummmm.....I'm thankful I don't have any physical ailments."

"Good Steph! That's good!," encouraged Sarah, "Andrea, you're next."

"OK.......I'm thankful for this house?" said Andrea, questioningly.

"And I'm thankful for pretty colored leaves changing in the fall," said Sarah. The 3 roommates continued the exercise. Andrea was thankful that she is done with school, Sarah that her hair had just been cut and was now short. In reply, of course, Steph was thankful for her long hair, and Sarah countered with her chapstick.

This led the three girls into a conversation about being thankful for little things, such as chapstick......and how it's okay to have that be one of the things we are thankful for because every little thing in life is a gift from God. And they point us to him! Next time you find yourself in a spirit of complaint, try Sarah's little exercise. It was good for us. So..........what are you thankful for?

novels

2009-09-03T12:37:00.002-04:00

Sarah is going to the cabin this weekend and wants to bring some good novels with her. But she doesn't know what to read. I recommended "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote and "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn.

What would you recommend?

The Perils of Biking

2009-09-02T21:25:00.004-04:00

I have had 3 very interesting things happen to me while biking in the past 3 weeks.

Event #1: Almost ran into a girl hula-hooping (yes, that can be made into a verb) in the middle of the Midtown Greenway. I'm not exactly sure why she decided the Greenway was a good place to spin that hoop around her hips.

Event #2: Swallowed a bee while cruising down by the Mississippi River, and was subsequently stung. On my tongue. Good thing I'm not allergic or I would have been in trouble!

Event #3: My favorite---this afternoon, biking down a path in St. Paul, I ran over a squirrel! But don't worry; it promptly jumped up and ran off into the woods.

Lessons learned:
1. Hula hooping can be dangerous, especially when performed while standing on a bike path.
2. Keep mouth closed while biking.
3. Trying to avenge myself on the Phillips squirrels for everything they have destroyed in our backyard using a bike won't work. It doesn't kill 'em.

Bob's Java Hut.

2009-09-01T15:38:00.003-04:00

This afternoon, Sarah and I tried out a new coffee shop. Bob's Java Hut. Interesting place. I'd recommend it. One whole wall of the coffee shop is a garage-door type window that completely opens. We sat inside, but not completely...

If you want to try it out, it's at the corner of Lyndale and W 27th. Oh, and Sarah says the coffee is fine. I don't know cause I don't drink coffee...but the steamed milk is good.

Before we left, Sarah wanted to eat her peach....in the sun...

Steph and Andrea Go to the Cabin

2009-08-25T13:44:00.014-04:00

The time has come, my friends, for me to make my entrance into the world of the 2520 blog. Who am I, you may ask? Well, for starters, my name is Sarah, I am a nurse and I live in the basement. I have lived down there very happily in my green room for almost 3 years! You may have seen me or met me at certain social events hosted by 2520, but only if my fellow housemates decide that it is acceptable for me to emerge from my basement hovel. You will have to talk to them about how they determine when it is appropriate for me to come out.

I must confess that it has taken me the entire 3 years to be OK with the idea of contributing to the 2520 blog. The event that pushed me over the edge happened a few weeks ago when I FINALLY convinced Steph and Andrea to join me on a journey up to my parent's cabin outside the Boundary Waters in northern MN. There were several reasons why this adventure took some "convincing", not the least of which is the fact that the cabin has no electricity. Yes, that means no cell phone chargers. So just like it took 3 years for me to blog, it also took 3 years for Steph and Andrea to take the leap outside of their comfort zone and learn how to portage a canoe and eat wild blueberries. Wait. I don't think they actually ate any blueberries. But I digress.

Our adventure began on a Friday afternoon, when every other person in the metro area had also decided to go up to their cabins. 6 + hours and 2 construction traffic jams driving a stick shift later, we finally made it to East Bearskin Lake. The next day, the weather cooperated and we went canoeing to the Rose Lake overlook, a very picturesque spot on the Canadian border. Our route involved portaging a canoe, which basically means you pick the thing up and carry it over your head on the trails that connect the various lakes. A bit of a trick, I may add.

Here are a few short videos to illustrate, with Steph as narrator:

As you can see, it was a growing experience. Thankfully, we made it to the overlook without mishap, in part because it wasn't windy at all, but also because Steph and Andrea are good paddlers. I am being serious. I was impressed with their skills.

Here is a shot of the overlook:

After taking a swim in a nearby waterfall, we headed back to the cabin, grabbed a malt at a very colorful local bar, enjoyed a fish dinner, and played an intense game of Aggravation with my parents and cousins. We headed back home on Sunday morning, stopping in Grand Marais to complete the experience.

Doughnuts at World's Best:

Pizza at Sven and Ole's, with wild rice on it!:

Walking the shores of Lake Superior:

Whew! A bit of a whirlwind, but lots of fun. Steph and Andrea passed the wilderness test with flying colors. And they even had fun doing it! I think..................

Piper Chairs

2009-08-24T23:51:00.004-04:00

We would just like to take this opportunity to thank Abraham and Molly for the use of their folding chairs.

For the past 2 and a half years.

Because of these chairs, we were able to host a lot of parties. Because of these chairs, more people were able to sit down at these parties.

Can we get some thank you's from all of the people that have sat in these chairs while hanging out at our house please? (especially if you are in the pictures?)

Thanks again, Molly and Abraham. Thanks! Bye! Thank you! See ya! Bye! Thank you SO much! Bye!

If you squint hard, you might be able to see the very functional black folding chairs in these pictures.............

We are alive...

2009-08-18T23:05:00.003-04:00

but locked out. Yes, it has been a long time since we've blogged. We are aware of that. Back to the locked out part. We came home tonight from a long night of shopping at MOA (where the shirts at GAP are really cheap) and found two cops questioning and shining flashlights at our neighbors across the street. We try to quickly get into the house and find that our screen door is locked from the inside. Perfect. And we don't have a garage door opener to get in through the back. We are locked out. Sarah's up in White Bear Lake and Lacy is at work until 11:30 pm. What do we do? Call your old roommate. So here we are, sitting at the Burns' residence...updating the blog. Boom. We are back in action.

in KY...

2009-05-22T23:10:00.007-04:00

We are in the South right now for Courtney's wedding. Actually for a weekend full of festivities. Not much down time here. I already saw a "pig" wandering around Southern Sem and even caught a glimpse of Dr. Mohler's parking spot. Lovely.

Today we went to a bridesmaids luncheon. Courtney's mom treated us all at "The Butterfly Garden." Really cute place. We ate Asian Salad and sandwiches. YUMMY. We are at Country Inn & Suites right now with Courtney. The Waldemar's are right across the hallway from our hotel room. YAY!

K...we are leaving in a couple minutes to go to the nail place. Trying to decide whether or not to get a manicure....

i knew frisbee was dangerous...

2009-05-15T19:18:00.004-04:00

Last night Sarah and I went to the park to play ultimate frisbee with some friends. We played for about 15 minutes before the drama ensued. Sarah jumped up to block the frisbee from my team. She successfully did that but the bad part was that she landed on her arm...and didn't get up. But it was an awesome play. As Sarah was on the ground, she exclaimed (in her sarcastic tone): "Where's the nurse when you need her? Oh, yeah...she's hurt!" As she was saying that two nurses and an athletic trainer surrounded her. Thankfully they were there!

We were about 20 feet from the hospital where Sarah works as a nurse....so we walked over to the ER at Abbott. As we were walking to the hospital, Sarah said: "I wish I had sworn." But she refrained because of the TBI guys that were there.

She was being quite the goofball at the hospital. She became BFF's with everyone - the front desk guy, the registration lady, her male nurse named Gregg, the X-Ray technician and her nurse practioner, Marilyn. I'm sure the Abbott employees thought I was a jerk because I kept laughing at Sarah. I really did have sympathy for her but it was just too dang funny. Sarah said: "I better stop laughing or they won't believe that I'm hurt."

After about an hour and a half, Marilyn gave her a prescription for Vicodin which Sarah promptly filled at the medication vending machine. Crazy, huh. Then she was allowed to leave.

The good news is that her arm was not broken. But we don't know yet what the extent of the problems are. She got an MRI today and is awaiting the results.

This is what she ended up with: an x-ray, sling and Vicodin:

another question...

2009-05-11T01:01:00.004-04:00

Tommy and Andrea want to know what you think (because we think we already know what we think), is it unbiblical to be sarcastic?

Stephanie says: "Obviously it's not...well, I don't know..."

For full credit, answers that include Biblical references should also appeal to the original languages.

and the winner is.....

2009-05-07T15:11:00.004-04:00

SCOTT!

Way to go! You are the winner of the $5 Chipotle GC!!!

The correct answer is 49%. Thanks everyone for trying!

the math problem!

2009-05-05T23:57:00.005-04:00

Here is the math problem that I was "trying" to solve the other night. Sarah and I solved the problem last night (well, she basically told me what to do, and I did it...) I have the correct answer in my hands............

I am going to give a $5 Chipotle gift card to the person that submits the correct answer first.

So....put your thinking caps on and get ready!!! ;)

Katherine runs her own pizza shop. For each pizza it costs $2.21 for ingredients, $1.24 for overhead, and $ 0.47 for mailing flyers. She charges $5.84 per pizza. As a percentage of her costs, how much profit does Katherine earn for each pizza she sells?

READY, SET, GO!!!!!

this is why i don't get hw done at 2520...

2009-05-03T01:23:00.004-04:00

The other night, I was sitting on my bedroom floor trying to write a paper on Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf. Hence the classical music in the background. Anyways, Steph popped in...bringing Sarah's computer, a diet coke and algebra problems. Needless to say, the rest of the night was not very profitable (school-wise) for me. But I do love Steph's company :)

In the second video, Steph had started google chatting. And then she video chatted with Anna and Kat, who tried to help her solve the math problems...

If any of y'all are math wizards or something, I'm sure Steph would love your help...

i got a gift...

2009-04-28T23:39:00.003-04:00

Last week a bunch of my friends and DG coworkers went to the Gospel Coalition conference in Chicago. It sounded like it was a great conference and tons of fun. I didn't go....boo. Sometimes I felt like I was there because I would receive texts like: "Josh Harris just smiled at me" and "I printed out CJ Mahaney's name tag" or "I just got my picture with Mark Driscoll!" When Anna came back, she told me she had a present for me. I wasn't really expecting this:

Haha! I laughed when I saw it but...perfect present cause I love CJ Mahaney :)

some pictures!

2009-04-26T15:25:00.008-04:00

Sarah and Andy welcomed their baby boy, Yoseph into the world yesterday! Congratulations! He is beautiful!

We are a little crazy sometimes. Just sometimes.

Shane and Shane concert! Best concert ever!!!!

Shane & Shane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question from Trent...

2009-04-23T22:42:00.003-04:00

Is it un-biblical if a girl asks a guy out?

Love Lustres at Calvary

2009-04-12T00:31:00.002-04:00

a prayer from Valley of Vision....

My Father,
Enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips, supply words that proclaim 'Love lustres at Calvary.'
There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on thy Son, made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me;
There the sword of thy justice smote the man, thy fellow;
There thy infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite atonement was made;
There infinite punishment was due, and infinite punishment was endured.
Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,
cast off that I might be brought in,
trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend,
surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best,
stripped that I might be clothed,
wounded that I might be healed,
athirst that I might drink,
tormented that I might be comforted,
made a shame that I might inherit glory.
entered darkness that I might have eternal light,
My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes,
groaned that I might have endless song,
endured all pain that I might have unfading health,
bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem,
bowed his head that I might uplift mine,
experienced reproach that I might receive welcome,
closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness,
expired that I might for ever live.
O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me,
All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished
Help me to adore thee by lips and life.
O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight, as I see

Holy Week

2009-04-10T09:25:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday at church Pastor John encouraged us to not just let Holy Week pass by but asked us to consider how we would mark this week. So our friends, Mike and Catherine, have been hosting worship nights at their house every night this week. We are reading through a section in Matthew and Psalm 22 each night, singing and praying. It has been incredible. Worshipping with the body has helped my heart ponder the death and resurrection of our Savior.

Late last night a few of us were at their house talking and most of us thought this has been the most significant week leading up to Easter for us. Normally, I don't do much to celebrate Easter during the week leading up to it. I wait until Easter Sunday. But I would encourage you to not wait until Easter. Even though it's already Friday, don't let the rest of your Holy Week just pass by....

Philippians 2:6-11 "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

"The 2520 Stranger" by Scotch Banyon

2009-03-27T00:02:00.008-04:00

FADE IN:

INT. 2520 HOUSE - EVENING

A light TAPPING on the front door.

Andrea Froehlich, 26, with flowing brown hair, awakes from the bottom section of a trundle bed.

ANDREA
(In flawless Spanish)
Oh my stars...I am so tired.
Whoever could it be at the door?

Andrea staggers out of bed wearing a full bodied chicken costume, bright yellow feathers adorning her frame.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on the door, louder.

ANDREA
(In flawless French)
One minute! I will be with you momentarily mysterious stranger, you who are rapping so fervently on my front door.

She flaps her arms ever so elegantly as she walks down the stairs.

An elderly couple straight out of some Green Acres re-run sits inside a picture frame, hanging from the stairwell wall.

Again, KNOCKING.

ANDREA
(In flawless German)
I hear you visitor, I am but moments from the door, mere feet from the door knob. Upon its turning, the bolt will slide open and we shall meet face to face.

The door opens, letting in the brilliant whiteness of the world outside.

Andrea shields her eyes, blinded by the glory of the suns rays.

The light fades away as quickly as it came.

The front porch is empty, save for the detritus of winter; sand, salt, and squirrel carcass.

A perplexed crinkle on her brow, Andrea examines the empty porch.

ANDREA
(In flawless Italian)
Have my ears deceived me?
Have they betrayed my trust,
thrusting a knife into my back,
a most poetic homage to the late Caesar?
I hear a knock knock knocking
yet they have seemingly been produced by some unseen specter!
I shall count this as an audible misunderstanding
and shut the door and return to my abode.

She SHUTS the door and goes towards the kitchen.

Beneath the puffy yellow feathers of her costume, a GRUMBLE emits from Andrea's stomach.

She looks down at her poultry belly and laments -

ANDREA
(In flawless Russian)
This miscalculated encounter has left me famished.
I SHALL MAKE A SANDWICH!!! THE MOST EPIC OF MEALS!
THERE SHALL BE DELI MEATS! CONDIMENTS!
BREAD MADE FROM THE FINEST OF GRAINS!
A FEAST FIT FOR A KING!

Andrea turns the corner and into the kitchen.

Her face opens in sheer terror.

She throws her downy arms up into the air, sunny feathers bursting upward.

Her frightened lips, shaking, manage to emit a prehistoric SCREAM.

She slumps to the floor, unconscious.

Feathers fall softly around her.

A shadow looms over her, like a dark cloud blotting out the sun.

TO BE CONTINUED

March Madness. Madness, this is madness...

2009-03-19T15:49:00.003-04:00

So, March Madness is finally here and we are really happy about it!! Oh yeah. Right now, the Purdue/Northern Iowa game is on, and I'm pulling for Purdue. I have them in the Final Four! I don't know if that's a good choice or not...meh.

Tonight, our own MINNESOTA GOPHERS (go blake!) are playing Texas at 6:10pm. Yeee-haww! And, can I get a "boom?"

We are gonna watch the games this weekend, so if you like college ball and have a heart for free-throws, then come on over!

updated update...

2009-02-20T00:06:00.002-05:00

Hey all, we just wanted to give y'all a little updated update on our lives here at 2520...some of the things include:

1. Getting gym memberships at the yMca...not the yW. We found out from some friends about some great membership deals for people who make little amounts of $ (like us!) They have some awesome new treadmills and elipticals with Cardio Theaters! So running for a half hour goes real fast because we can watch basketball and other stuff...anyways...moving on...

2. Car Wash!! BOOM. We made it through. It was a little scary and dramatic but we did it. We even have a video.

3. Gabe & Julia visited us last weekend and it was so great to just hang out and have really good conversations. They love Jesus so much and it's so encouraging to be with them!!

4. Valentine's Day. Some of our friends invited us to hang out after church at Chipotle and Texas Tex Lanes (or something like that). Bowling rocked!

5. We just returned from Rainbow with a candy stash for the D.A. Carson seminar this weekend. You should come too! Here's some more info! If you go, you can have some of our candy. Ask nicely. We have Sour Skittles, Starburst Jelly Beans, Twizzlers, Chex Mix, Sour Punch Candy Straws. We still have some chocolate left over from our excessive purchases in Cali...actually, to be honest, one of us is out and the other only has a tiny bit left. We should've gotten more.

6. Ellie is leaving tomorrow afternoon for Brazil. Actually she is stopping in Austria to visit her brother. It still hasn't really sunk in that she is moving away. We love you, dear friend!

7. Andrea's taking violin lessons at the U and Stephanie is considering taking them too. Woot woo!! It's the Asian thing to do.

Ellie the cat.

2009-02-09T16:00:00.004-05:00

This poor, homeless, kitty has been camped outside our house (either the under the front porch or the back, alternately) and has continued it's campaign for mercy for over a week. I'm convinced that the poor cat has been abandoned by it's owners and is in search of a new home. Who knows how many houses the cat has passed up in search of a house that she was convinced would show her mercy. She undoubtedly watched our house from a distance for many weeks before deciding that, yes, this indeed would be the perfect home. She saw the stream of people who came and went from the house, she heard laughter and singing, she smelled enticing smells and felt love. Yes, this indeed would be home. A place for her to lay her head. A place for her to do her part in the cleaning of crumbs off the floor and protecting from any rodents that might try to enter. She would even do her part in keeping the numerous squirrel population at bay.

Alas, when she arrived at the house, sure of a welcome, she was instead greeted with shrieks of fear, was shooed off the dry (although cold) shelter the deck provided--she was confused. Days went by, cold nights marked time...how long must she wait for a morsel of food, a comforting pat, a warm, dry place to sleep?

If you too feel compassion for this poor cat (whom we decided to call Ellie, since Ellie the person is leaving in 11 days) and are willing to do as the 2520 girls are unwilling to do (namely give Ellie a home)--please let us know! We are pretty sure that she is, or used to be, an indoor cat and for some reason has become separated from her family. She does not have a collar, but is friendly to people and seems comfortable indoors.

Please help her before it's too late!! (WARNING: all blow-gun owners, STAY AWAY from Ellie!!)

do you know what a bar is?

2009-02-08T01:00:00.005-05:00

We've recently realized that a lot of our friends are not Minnesotan...i.e...they don't know what bars are. We are not talking about a bar where you get a drink or Quaker Granola bars. We are talking about...bars! They are a sweet treat baked in an 9x13 pan...just like brownies. I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe some pictures will help.

We call this a pumpkin bar:

Rice Krispie bars:

and Special K bars:

The list of bars could go on and on....Seven Layer Bars, Cookie Bars, Almond Bars, Smore Bars...

What would you call them??

my fear...the car wash.

2009-02-02T23:08:00.002-05:00

A recent development over at 2520 is the amount of bird poop that has landed on our cars. Seriously, I have never seen so much bird poop on one's car before. Nasty. Andrea went to get her car washed the other day, and came home with a new sparkly, clean car. Mine, on the other hand, still looks disgusting and gross. It's bad.

As we were driving the other day, I told her that I have a fear of going through car washes. I also told her that I have never really driven through a car wash before...only with my parents. Andrea then told me that she has a fear of car washes as well, and has never gone through one by herself until Saturday. What?! I have never known this!!! :)

I don't know what it is about car washes. I think it's the feeling of being confined to a small space and being surrounded by water. Ick! I don't like that feeling. Or the possibility of being stuck in there....not good. I don't know. It's just something silly that I'm afraid of. Andrea can't even explain why she's afraid. She just is.

Is anyone else afraid of going through car washes?

for ellie....and past youth group peeps...

2009-01-24T12:26:00.003-05:00

Thought you youth group guys might enjoy this short video of Jason Kemper. For those who don't know him, he is an American who has lived in Ireland for the past three months and obviously caught onto the accent quite quickly. Here's his blog. He used to work with us in the youth group. He stopped into work yesterday and it was hard to take him seriously because he talks so different now!

And the dinner comment is regarding a two-year-old bet made about the Super Bowl champ. If our team won, he cooks dinner for our house. If his team won, we cook dinner for him. I don't even remember which team was "ours" but they beat Chicago. However, he still has not fulfilled his end of the deal....

For those of you with Feed-Readers....

2009-01-18T10:40:00.002-05:00

That "Singey's" post that may have shown up on your feed reader was posted by Trenton Burns (Katie's finance). He was signed into our account and decided to have some fun. Providentially, I walked past him right after and the guilty look on his face and our blog page open on his computer gave it all away. It's not coming back! Sorry to disappoint. Peace out!

the Y-Dub

2009-01-16T18:47:00.002-05:00

Andrea, Steph and I (Katie) have been seriously throwing around the idea of getting a gym membership for the last week. We are determined that it will happen! However, our first attempt failed...miserably.
So last night we got home from dress shopping at about 8 o'clock and decided that the best time to get a membership to the YWCA was then!! We knew what we wanted; Andrea was going to get the student discount membership and Steph and I were going to get the joint house membership so it would be cheaper.
As we started driving, Andrea exclaimed, "Shoot, I don't have proof that I'm a full time student!" We kept on driving because we figured, "oh I'm sure they'll let you workout anyway". Plus, even if they didn't, Steph or I could have used our guest pass for her.
Upon arriving to the YWCA we found out that the membership desk was just about closed. Fortunately we got there just in time!!!
We go over to the desk and greet the employee. Steph and I get all ready to apply and I look at her driver's license and it still has her old address on it! So, I asked her if she had anything else that proved she lived at 2520. The answer was no, but she thought that they would just believe us. So the woman finds out and shows us the form of things that would qualify us:
-Driver's license
-Utility Bill
-Phone Bill
-Lease
-Joint Checking
Hmm...nope, nope, nope, nope, and nope. But wait! "I have a checking account!" Steph told her.
Response with a pointing to the paper, "Joint checking"
"Well my name and address are on it"
"Joint checking account" More pointing, "It has to be joint"
So I ask, "does a cell phone bill count?"
"The phone number must be attached to the address, so it has to be a land line"
We saw that we were getting nowhere fast, so Andrea asks, "well don't you just have a free one-day pass to check the gym out?"
Even before Andrea finished her sentence, "that is not true."
"Oh, I thought you did."
"That is not true."
"I'm pretty sure I came here with a friend and they told us we could."
"That is not true. Maybe if you have never visited the YWCA before you might get a one day pass. But we have a system that tells if you've been to the downtown, the uptown, or the midtown."
Needless to say we left the gym with our iPods in tow and no gym memberships.

dude....garlic is strong....

2009-01-14T23:38:00.002-05:00

Most of you probably know about our (Steph & me) garlic mashed potatoes we made a long, long, long time ago. We accidentally got the garlic bulb confused with the clove. So the potatoes were, well, very garlicy. Well, now Steph just obtained a new pampered chef garlic press.....the best part of this garlic press is that you don't have to peel the garlic. And since we both now have an aversion to garlic, this is wonderful. So we are going to try to make them again..... :) BOOM. Let us know if you want some....

here's a picture of the garlic we put in the mashed potatoes...yuck...yuck...

my fave five pastors/preachers:

2009-01-12T19:54:00.002-05:00

John Piper. I grew up thinking Christianity meant a boring life but at least heaven after death. After listening Sunday after Sunday to John Piper's preaching, the Lord showed me that Jesus is my joy. My heart became increasingly satisfied in Jesus rather than bored by him. And I'm thankful for Piper's teaching on God's sovereignty over ALL things, especially his purchase of me.

C.J. Mahaney. One of the most encouraging person I know of. But my favorite sermon of his is one he preached on the woman in Luke 7 who wet Jesus' feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. He calls it an extravagant devotion to Jesus and listening to C.J. deepens my longing to have that same devotion to my Savior. And he loves basketball. I like that!

Tim Cain. The first time I heard Tim Cain speak was a 15 minute devotional and I could have listened for hours. He talks about Jesus in such a way that makes me yearn to know him more deeply. I want to know more about this "insanely beautiful" Jesus. He makes me realize that if I want to share the gospel naturally, I need to love the gospel more myself.

Mark Driscoll. I love Mark Driscoll! I'm reading his book right now ("Death by Love") and it is great. Driscoll's sermons are filled with Jesus. And he doesn't back away from talking about difficult subjects. He's real.

Tim Keller. I'm so grateful for Tim Keller. About five years ago, I went through Keller's study on Galatians and God used it to change my life. I'd never before understood the gospel like I did after reading Galatians so in depth. I realized more of what a sinner I was but also what a great Savior I have in Christ!

I have to add Jordan Thomas too. The few sermons I've heard from him have left such an impact on me about how great and glorious our God is...and of his captivating love. His one communion service message at Bethlehem a couple years ago was one of the most memorable short messages I've heard. He conveyed the love of Jesus in such a beautiful way and I don't think I will ever forget it.

Steph's going to post her's soon...what are your favorite five?

engagements in the house!! woo woo

2009-01-09T13:41:00.001-05:00

Two 2520 girls got engaged - within a matter of a week of one another! In case you are wondering, the girls who got engaged were Courtney and Katie! Courtney to Daniel Ressig and Katie to Tony (aka Trenton).

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Love you guys!

some really good music

2009-01-06T22:11:00.004-05:00

Sovereign Grace Ministries has a new CD (Together for the Gospel Live) by Bob Kauflin and it is really good! When Steph and I were in Cali, the CD was in my sister's Jeep we drove for the week. It played through it's entirety about three times in one afternoon as we got lost in the ghetto of LA. The best part was driving through the mountains of Malibu while listening to the words of Before the Throne of God Above. So worshipful. We both bought the CD and listen to it all the time at work, home, ipod, everywhere. Go get it!!

You can download three of the songs free on the SovGrace webiste.

P.S. This is a shout out to one of our fav. worship leaders -- Bob Kauflin -- we'd like to wish him a happy birthday! (Jan 7th)

:)

p-i-a-n-o

2009-01-06T10:37:00.006-05:00

My roommates are really cool and bought me a piano for my birthday! Here are a couple videos. You can't really see the second video very well but the best part is Sarah repeatedly saying: "Steph, turn on the light....steph, turn on the light...." :)

Really, though, I am so so thankful for my roommates. Not just because they bought me a piano. But Sarah, Ellie, Steph, Katie, Lacy & (Courtney!) are some of the best roommates I could ever have.

And the movers -- Mike, Nick & Becky, Trent, Mr. Lundquist, Andrew, Timothy -- Thanks so much!!

.69

2009-01-04T13:33:00.005-05:00

When we were in Cali, we found great deals on candy at Target - 75% off! That meant we got big bags of Christmas candy for 69 cents/bag. The problem was that any candy we bought, we had to fit in our suitcase. Yes, we did think about waiting and buying it in Mpls. but there is usually never any candy left over at the Target's in Mpls. Maybe the Cali people are healthier. Ellie confirmed that there was no candy in the Minneapolis Targets....at least the one she went to.

Andrea happy about all the candy:
Steph trying to sort out which bags she can depart with:

Trying to fit everything in the suitcase was rather difficult:

As we were walking to the checkout each with about 13 bags of candy....
Andrea: "Are we being stupid?"
Steph: "Oh, do you think we should get more?"

being dead

2009-01-03T14:31:00.002-05:00

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me..."

Last night I went to the all night prayer at church. It was so good. It ended with 5am Communion and Pastor John encouraging us to have a wonderful liberty from ourselves in 2009....and a blessed self-forgetfulness...to be others-centered. We've died with Christ so why be so concerned about ourselves or our ego? He said we should "count ourselves freshly dead."

I wish I could remember more but I was real tired at that point. If anyone has thoughts about this, please share!

what color is this hair?

2009-01-02T20:02:00.004-05:00

Our friend, Jesse Peterson is visiting Mpls. right now. He is single and likes long walks on the beach, loves Jesus, plays drums in a band, lives in Boston, drives a Ford Explorer, is really smart, graduated from TBI, former youth pastor, etc. Just Kidding. Well, most of those things are true (except for the walks on the beach) but the real reason for this post is to determine a much debated subject. The color of his hair. We can't seem to come to an agreement so we are wondering what color you would describe his hair as? Please comment with one of the following hair colors:

blonde
dirty blonde
light brown
brown
dark brown
black

sitting at quizno's...

2008-12-29T16:53:00.002-05:00

...reading the riddles on the kid's meal bag...

Andrea: "What should you not eat after it's served?"
Stephanie: "um...I don't know. OH! I know! Soft Serve!"

(The real answer: Tennis Ball)

Ellie Has Her VISA in Hand!!!!

2008-12-17T22:52:00.002-05:00

PRAISE THE LORD!

fun at sarah's house!

2008-12-15T22:23:00.002-05:00

Last week, we all went over to Sarah's parent's house for dinner. Sarah and Ellie made really good lasagna (you should ask Sarah for the recipe). And her mom made an awesome dessert. We ate, talked, listened to her dad tell ole and lena jokes....

laughed a lot, watched some home videos of Sarah and her siblings....

played and sang a couple Christmas carols.....

Sarah and I had fun playing together. AND we are thinking about getting a piano for 2520. If any of you know of a cheap or free piano, let us know.......

"How To Laugh Quietly" by Sarah K.

2008-12-11T00:07:00.002-05:00

the newly acquired jewelry post (for Bep)

2008-12-06T10:54:00.004-05:00

Ellie and I (Andrea) got our nose pierced a couple weeks ago! Ellie was much calmer than I. Steph in the background: "Whoa! I don't want to see!!"

As we ran out of the house, Ellie realized she was wearing her slippers but she decided to keep them on! Jake (the nose piercer) thought it was pretty funny.

Becky and Sarah came with us. They both already had their nose pierced. This is right after we got them pierced...standing outside of Saint Sabrina's. You can't really see them, but they are there...

Jesus is not gloomy

2008-12-04T10:29:00.003-05:00

"If he is gloomy, our salvation will be sad. And that is no great salvation. Jesus himself - and all that God is for us in him - is our great reward, nothing less...Salvation is not mainly the forgiveness of sins, but mainly the fellowship of Jesus...If Christ is gloomy, or even calmly stoical, eternity will be a long, long sigh." John Piper

Before I went to China this past summer, Mike had us read the book "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" by Piper. It was so good because it made me love Jesus more and helped me think more about what a great Savior he is. It made me want to know him more and helped me see that Jesus is the furthest thing from gloomy. He is glorious.

So, I think you should read it too! And pass it out to your friends and family this Christmas. Or maybe to your coworkers, classmates, neighbors. And a good thing is -- You can get a case of books from Desiring God at a suggested donation of $1 per book plus shipping costs! Here are the details.

You should read it!

knitting frenzy.

2008-11-29T15:24:00.002-05:00

Lately, there has been a lot of knitting at 2520. Last week I came home and there were seven girls in the living room having a knitting party! One left before the picture but here are the rest of them:

I don't know how well you can see the item that Steph is holding up but in case you can't tell, it's a wrist-band she made for me. It's lovely!

writing idea?

2008-11-22T23:42:00.003-05:00

Anyone have any good ideas for paper number 3 in my Creative Writing class? For the first paper I wrote about experiencing pain through other people (focused mainly on my sister's boyfriend almost dying). I wrote about my trip to China and true happiness for the second paper. If you have any brilliant ideas for the third one, I'll take 'em.......

2520 group chat

2008-11-21T16:23:00.004-05:00

yesterday afternoon all of the 6 2520 girls were on googlechat--so we (or I) started a group chat. It didn't last long, but it was CRAZY while it lasted...

Lacy has joined
Andrea has joined
Sarah has joined
Stephanie has joined

Sarah Kron: this is retarded
me: this is where it gets confusing
Stephanie: what is this?
Sarah: house meeting
group chat
cha-ching
Andrea: oh my goodness
2:14 PM
Stephanie: what?!!! this is crazy!!!
Katie has joined
Andrea: this is crazy
i don't have time for this nonsense
Stephanie: where is lazer tag?
Lacy: interesting?!
So what's the first topic for discussion
Katie: I don't have time email, but I love it!
me: crazy huh?
sarah, you might need to be a little bit more expressive in your chats....for example use more exclamation points!!!!!!!
I don't either
Stephanie: OH MY GOSH!!!
2:15 PM
Sarah: laser tag
where are you?
this makes me laugh
Stephanie: i'm dying
Lacy: I'm in my room....zap!
me: lacy and katie...can you confirm sara
Stephanie: lacy, you aren't up on my googlechat
me: oops
Sarah
Katie: yes
Sarah: wow
me: :)
Sarah: i'm offended
me: ok
Sarah: by that
me: I'm done
Sarah: actually
Stephanie: LOL
i need to pee
Katie: this is so overwhelming
Sarah: woah
Stephanie: i hav eto go
bye!
Sarah: ADD
Katie: I'm over stimulated
2:16 PM
Lacy: what?
me: do you need to pee so bad your eyes are turning yellow?
Sarah: seriously over stimulated
Andrea: you guys are crazy!!!!!!
me: (lacy knows what I'm talking about)
Lacy: haha ellie
Stephanie: yeah
Katie: yes!
Sarah: but funny nonetheless
Stephanie: this is
how did you do this?
Lacy: steph...are you really dying?
Stephanie: yeah please help me
ok i gotta run bye!
Stephanie has left
2:17 PM
Lacy: um... sad...she just left...should we be concerned?
me: bye
Lacy has left
2:18 PM
Sarah: lacy you are funny
i just re-read what you said
zap
ha
Katie: ok, I'm out
me: me too
Katie has left
Andrea has left
me: I mean, I don't really have anything "important" to do, but I just feel like I should leave

sermons!

2008-11-21T09:31:00.003-05:00

This week I've been listening to some sermons by Tim Cain. I've enjoyed them a lot because he shows us how "insanely beautiful" Jesus is and how everything is a gospel issue. They make me want to know Jesus more.

If you want to listen to them, go to: http://hopeingod.org/Youth.aspx. They are from the Bethlehem Baptist Youth Retreat. They're geared to Senior High students but they are really, really good!!

some things you oughta know.

2008-11-18T18:36:00.007-05:00

After living with Katie for over a year now, I've come to learn that she is normally pretty willing to let people use her 'stuff.' However we've learned that there are some things that you just don't ask about! Wrapping paper, recipe book and her Brownberry Country Wheat bread.

Last Christmas....
Stephanie (just asking for formality sake): "Hey Katie can I use your wrapping paper?"
Katie (with a smirk, knowing the question would come eventually): "Well...no...I like to save that for myself. I like to be the only one with that wrapping paper."
Stephanie (quite shocked): "Oh...okay..."

In the spring, Stephanie had a folded up recipe (not 8x10)...
Stephanie: "Katie! Can I put this is your recipe book so they are all together?"
Katie: "Well...no...you can put that in the recipe box. This is for 8x10's and only for my recipes."

Tonight...
Katie: "Do you want a grilled cheese? You can have one with my cheese if you use your own bread."
Andrea: (testing Katie out): "Well, I'll have one if I can use your bread."
Katie: "I like my bread. It's the only bread I like and I can only buy this bread at Cub and I don't want to run out."

I do want to add that Katie ended up making Steph her own recipe book and also bought her a roll of her own wrapping paper. And I am sitting at the kitchen table eating a half grilled cheese that Katie made with her cheese...and my bread. And there are many times she makes me a meal...with her own groceries! Love ya Kate.

road trip '08!

2008-11-16T00:54:00.002-05:00

We've talked about taking a road trip for quite some time but with the high gas prices we refrained. But as you all know, they've been dropping so last night we made it to Hudson. That's right ladies and gentlemen - Hudson, Wisconsin. If you don't already know, 94East takes you directly there.

After hanging out at Matt's Bar (home of the Juicy Lucy), we thought we were going home but "missed the turn". Trent was driving. Steph nonchalantly said: "Let's take a road trip!!!" Trent, being the literal interpreter that he is, said "Ok." So we drove around some St. Paul backroads and went through the McDonald's drive-through. It was quite disappointing that they only offered vanilla. But the good part was that Trent paid for everyone. After this, Trent pulled onto 94East rather than 94West (which would have taken us home). He purposly did this. Andrea said "Oh."

So we turned up the hip-hop music and did a little dancing. Trent kept driving and driving...all the way to Wisconsin. Trent and Katie jumped out of the car and ran for a couple minutes. We stayed in Wisconsin for about 5 mintues and turned around and came home. Oh man, it was fun.

On the way home we stopped at a rest-stop because Trent was getting sleepy. We pulled in next to the truckers and Trent reclined his seat into Andrea's knees. He requested a newspaper and used it as a blanket. After about three seconds he sat back up and announced that he was well rested.

The atmosphere was quite different on the return-trip. Most were tired and the music changed to country. The other problem was when Katie found out that her partially un-eaten ice cream cone that she stuck in the car melted. Hmm. Good lesson. So moral of the story. Don't leave ice cream in cars while on a road trip to Hudson.

Can't wait for road trip '09...or maybe road trip '08 part 2. Secure your spots now. The car is full. But we can maybe rent a van...or talk to Tyler.

height changes

2008-11-15T10:12:00.002-05:00

Has anyone noticed that you are taller in the morning than you are at night?

I've noticed this because I have a habit of looking out our little sliver of a window by our front door because there is so much activity going on outside at all hours of the day and night. But the point of the story is that at night, I have to stand on my tip-toes but in the morning, I don't....

Maybe everyone already knows this but I did a google search and read that our spine compresses during the day and therefore makes us shorter at night.

Meet Manny

2008-11-13T23:17:00.004-05:00

We made a little mistake, at least I think, by stealing a friend's (Seth) mannequin on Halloween night. It's lived at our house since then and keeps getting placed in random spots and scaring unsuspecting people. Manny has been found on the toilet, sitting on the kitchen counter, lying under blankets on the couch and so on.

Tonight somebody placed Manny in a bedroom closet --

We found the culprit:

If I have my way, Manny goes back to Seth tomorrow!

bd

2008-11-11T00:21:00.003-05:00

bd=blind date.

some married friends of ours decided to set some of us (meaning the single ones) up on blind dates. one down. three to go.

ellie is next.

well, there's really no point to this post. i just thought it was kind of funny and an update on our lives.

peace out.

hey 2520 readers...

2008-11-09T17:51:00.003-05:00

Why not make the blogging world more fun and friendly?

We've recently realized that we have some anonymous readers...some that we now know about :) and maybe others that we don't.

So we would love to hear from all the anonymous readers. Those of you who have made your presence known, you can give us a shout out as well!

Au Revoir!

Snow!

2008-11-07T23:24:00.002-05:00

Today, November 7th 2008, was the first snow of the season. Just Tuesday of this week it was in the 70's and now..."it's like flippin' winter out there!"

Tell us what the weather is like where you live!

update

2008-11-05T22:28:00.003-05:00

Hey friends...

I thought I would update y'all on our lives here at 2520. We are all enjoying the wonderful weather. It's super nice out....today I wore my flip-flops....in November! YIPPPEEE!!!

Sarah is celebrating her two-year anniversary in this house. She moved in November 6th, 2006. She was just offered a job as a teacher at the hospital. Congrats Sarah!

Ellie is down in Chicago right now. She and Sarah drove down there last Friday night, and then Ellie stayed down there to visit her friend, Autumn. Ellie isn't eating any sweets, too. Keep it up!!

Lacy just went to bed and is going to Duluth this weekend to be with family. Have fun at work!!!

Andrea is studying French right now. She recently found a bumper sticker on her car that reads, "Mullets Rock"....does anyone know about this? Andrea is making leaps and bounds with her vocal outbursts. She got scared twice today and didn't scream out loud. You go girl!!!

Katie and Trent just had pizza tonight and shared the rest with us. Thanks guys! You rule!! Her excitement of the day was when she scared the Executive Director of DG with a fake mouse today. Way to go, Katie! (And she didn't get fired)

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know what's going on. This blog post is pretty much amazing. And, I love my roomies! They are awesome....just awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. Katie and I (Andrea) are taking over one paragraph. Steph voted yesterday in Shoreview and got free ice cream from Ben & Jerry's and free drip coffee from Starbucks. She is growing out her fingernails and this morning when she used the hair straightener, she felt as if it was not working properly.

We hope you feel updated. Cheers!

You Are God Alone (Not a God)

2008-11-01T10:02:00.002-04:00

If my ipod has a play count, this song is high on the list. We sung it at church a while ago and since I downloaded it from itunes, I have listened to it over and over...and over. I love the words and they've been good for my soul to hear.

You are not a God created by human hands

You are not a God dependent on immortal man

You are not a God in need of anything we can give

By your plan, that's just the way it is

You're the only God whose power none can contend

You're the only God whose name and praise will never end

You're the only God whose worthy of everything we can give

You are God and that's just the way it is

You are God alone

From before time began

You are on your throne

You are God alone

And right now in the good times and bad

You're on the throne

You are God alone

If you ever download it, get the Billy and Cindy Foote version. A couple other worship songs I've listened to a lot lately and recommend: Come Thou Fount (Jadon Lavik), Mighty to Save (Hillsong), Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy (Fernando Ortega), His Forever (Sovereign Grace), Mission Accomplished (Shai Linne) and the Shane & Shane bluegrass sampler :) http://mp3.rhapsody.com/shaneshane/bluegrasssampler.

What songs do you love right now? Worship or anything...

Free at Chipotle!

2008-10-31T10:30:00.005-04:00

All you have to do is wear tin foil in some way, shape or form and you get some of the best food in the world...free! It's today (October 31st) at Chipotle. Some ideas:

cleaning at 2520!!!

2008-10-29T19:55:00.003-04:00

There are a couple of us in the house who apparently never learned how to properly clean a toilet. We realize we are probably the only two girls in the world who don't, actually didn't know this. But now we know. I guess I should say who, so the other girls are not embarrassed, because of course they knew this cool trick. It's Steph and Andrea. Okay.

So, a few weeks ago I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom with Lacy and I was cleaning the toilet. So, I was dumping the toilet cleaner in the toilet like this:

of course. Lacy kind of stood there and watched and said, "Oh, you don't do it like this?" And she proceeded to show me the correct way:

How genius, I thought. This way the cleaner gets everywhere in the toilet bowl, not just the center! Oh man, I never knew. But, I was told, that is why the toilet cleaner is shaped like this:

A few days ago it was Steph's week to clean the bathroom. The same think happened, only I took Lacy's place and was probably not as gracious as Lacy. Steph and I laughed a lot. We are glad that we now know how to clean toilets properly. Probably the worst part is that I actually had a job cleaning someone's house when I was younger. All the weeks of cleaning their toilets were done incorrectly.

If anyone has other cleaning tips that you think we might not know, please tell us........

a verse i love today:

2008-10-28T12:01:00.005-04:00

Isaiah 26:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

Perfect peace does not come from everything going the way we want but from a mind set on HIM. I want to trust Jesus more. So sweet to Trust in Jesus!

catering!!

2008-10-26T01:01:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, Sarah's brother had a MN wedding reception (He got married in Idaho and had a reception at his parent's house here). We were 'hired' as the wait staff. Sharon gave us all matching aprons...which are really cute! Since we had so much fun serving the guests and because we really like the aprons, we thought we should start a catering business. However, we would not provide the food...just the service...with a smile. So, if any of y'all are looking for something like that, let us know :)

Lacy, Stephanie and Ellie

It got really cold outside!

These delicious treats are called 'Sins of the Inn.' Wow, they are amazing. Steph recommends these...and believe me, she knows everything about the dessert table.

Ellie and Katie...really excited...

All of us.