some pictures from the last month or so...

TAYLORS FALLS!!

Spelling Taylors Falls...

"Taylors"

"Falls"

CAMPING!!!

Hanging out at night by the fire...

So, this is "Manny," the mannequin that Seth and some of the others kept scaring us with while we were camping. It was kind of a stressful weekend because we were always waiting for the next prank...

GRETA'S HOUSE!!

When Karin was visiting from Michigan/Sweden, we went to the Johnson's house and swam in their pool. While, actually only Ellie and Greta swam. Karin could not swim because she's allergic to chlorine and Katie diagnosed herself with the same problem....because is was freezing...but we had lots of fun hanging out.

DOWNTOWN MACY'S!!

And of course, Ellie's favorite Kitchen Aid...

On Friday night...

we had a birthday party at our house. Steph wanted to help decorate by blowing up some balloons....but it was a little harder than she thought it would be!

Why I Love 2520

Hello all of you 2520 readers out there (and a special shout out to our anonymous readers, especially RS, you know who you are). This is a guest post from Courtney, a former 2520 resident. While the girls are playing DDR I thought I would let all of their readership know how much I love and appreciate them. So here are some top reasons why I love the 2520 girls (and hopefully you will see that you should love them, too!).

1. They make me love Jesus more. Not only do they point me to him constantly, but their lives reflect a genuine love for the Savior.
2. They make me laugh. Awkward moments. Enough said.
3. They are such fun girls!
4. They are not afraid to tell me the truth.
5. They love God's Word.
6. They love God's people (families, singles, and children).
7. They are extremely hospitable. I have never seen girls open their home like they do!
8. They consider me a sister (and life-long roommate).
9. They would drop everything for a friend in need, and they will cry with me when I need a good cry.
10. They pushed me to run the "Courtney Marathon."

P.S. They are all single!

doesn't seem like you get your money's worth...

These are two pictures of a newly opened bag of chips. Although, I think the chips were crushed.

But still, Trent can't believe it...

But Katie doesn't seem to care...

dramatic reading by sarah.

The other night we were driving home from Chipotle and Sarah found a Golden Book ("The Three Bears") and she started reading...

turtle riding or not?

So tonight we somehow started talking about turtles and it reminded me that I rode a turtle when I was young. This statement, however, brought about much laughing from Steph. She insisted that I must be wrong and had actually ridden a llama instead. She said that people don't ride turtles and that they are little creatures.

Now, even though it is really late and we are tired, we have pulled out the computer and started googling things like: "people on turtles," "sea turtles," etc. We were not able to find an adequate picture, so I wasn't able to prove anything. Have any of you ridden on a turtle before? By the way, my parents have a picture...someday I will find it. Steph wants everyone to know that I've also ridden an elephant and a camel. Steph did ride some coin horses at the supermarket when she was growing up...and a merry-go-round.

Myers-Briggs

We recently took the Myers-Briggs personality test on facebook. Below are the results for the residents of 2520 with a short description for each one. See if you can guess which personality is for which person.

Of course you could cheat by looking on facebook, but we ask that you don't prior to guessing! :)

ISFP (Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving)--The Peacemaker

Quiet, serious, sensitive and kind. Do not like conflict, and not likely to do things which may generate conflict. Loyal and faithful. Extremely well-developed senses, and aesthetic appreciation for beauty. Not interested in leading or controlling others. Flexible and open-minded. Likely to be original and creative. Enjoy the present moment

ESFP (Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving)--The Performer

People-oriented and fun-loving, they make things more fun for others by their enjoyment. Living for the moment, they love new experiences. They dislike theory and impersonal analysis. Interested in serving others. Likely to be the center of attention in social situations. Well-developed common sense and practical ability.

ISTJ (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging)--The Duty-Fulfiller

Serious and quiet, interested in security and peaceful living. Extremely thorough, responsible, and dependable. Well-developed powers of concentration. Usually interested in supporting and promoting traditions and establishments. Well-organized and hard working, they work steadily towards identified goals. They can usually accomplish any task once they have set their mind to it.

ENFP (Extroverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceiving)--The Inspirer

Enthusiastic, idealistic, and creative. Able to do almost anything that interests them. Great people skills. Need to live life in accordance with their inner values. Excited by new ideas, but bored with details. Open-minded and flexible, with a broad range of interests and abilities.

ESTJ (Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging)--The Executor

Practical, traditional, and organized. Likely to be athletic. Not interested in theory or abstraction unless they see the practical application. Have clear visions of the way things should be. Loyal and hard-working. Like to be in charge. Exceptionally capable in organizing and running activities. "Good citizens" who value security and peaceful living.

ESFJ (Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging)--The Helper

Warm-hearted, popular, and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. Value traditions and security. Interested in serving others. Need positive reinforcement to feel good about themselves. Well-developed sense of space and function.


Guess if you can!!

gearing up for the olympics....

It's official! The house is definitely getting ready for the 2008 Olympics. Yesterday, Andrea pulled out her autographed 8"x10" of Dominique Dawes (Awesome Dawesome). She received it after she sent a letter to Dominique expressing her greatest admiration for her--actually Andrea wrote all of the gymnasts. (she refrained from answering my questions about who else responded, but I'm pretty sure she told me previously that Amanda Borden and Kerri Strug also responded, although not with an 8"x10").

Stephanie also asked me to tape the swimming since she will be out of the country. (Ironically she'll be much closer to the events than I will be!)

On a different note--please be in prayer for three members of the house as they will be leaving on missions trips within the next two weeks. Katie leaves on Saturday for the Dominican Republic (she will be gone 10 days). Andrea and Stephanie leave on the 29th for an unnamed location (they will be gone 17 days). Pray for safe travels and bold, Christ-like love for the people they come in contact with!

night time intruders...

Two nights ago I was closing up the main floor windows and shutting the blinds before I went to bed. As I was closing the last one (the kitchen window, which is facing our backyard) I heard some movement that was definitely coming from our yard. Thinking it was someone from next door (the blue house) I switched on the light on the outside of our garage and flung open the blind covering our back door window. This is what I saw:


That would have been bad enough, but then I realized that I had more of a problem on my hands than I realized!



We had caught a squirrel in our newly acquired live trap and had put it out of it's misery (thanks Mike!), but hadn't disposed of it yet (it was 10:30pm by the time we got around to "putting it down"). Well, this family of raccoons were more than happy to help me with the problem of disposing of the squirrel's remains--the only problem for them was the trap! When I went out to scare them away and assure them that I would take care of the squirrel myself, they didn't seem to believe me and challenged me! (what nerve!) There were 6 raccoons in all--I'm guessing it was a mother and 5 babies. The mother got a bit protective when I came out there and she tried to scare me. I, however, was armed with a broom and plastic garbage can lid (they weren't too impressed!). They soon found out just how serious (and stubborn) I was and decided it wasn't worth the fight. They did, however, all watch me from the top of the fence nearby while I rescued my squirrel remains (and trap) and then "hurried" back inside. It was quite exciting!

hip-hop and Na

When I was at the New Attitude Conference last month I bought a couple CD's. One of them is called 'The Atonement,' by Shai Linne. He came and sang a song at church a few months ago and he sang at the conference as well. I don't normally listen to much rap/hip-hop but I have really enjoyed this CD. The words of his song's are excellent. And he even has a few songs with some John Piper and CJ Mahaney sermon clips. At the conference, Shai Linne sang a short version of one of his songs. Sorry it's so dark. It was real dark in the room.

Another CD I bought was the 'Looked Upon' CD by the Na Band. The leader of the band, Devon Kauflin led the worship songs with his dad, Bob Kauflin at the conference and it was some of the greatest singing time I've ever experienced. The CD does not compare to the live singing but I still really like it and would recommend both of these CDs...

good and bad guests in the ghetto

We've had quite a few guests at our house this past weekend! On Friday evening, we had my sister (Kayla) and her friend (Kari) here. We went out to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory, watched Remember the Titans, part of Sound of Music and went to the Somali Mall so Kayla, Kari and Ellie could get henna.

Kim and her friend Lisa stayed here this weekend as well. They were in Minneapolis for a conference on Perspectives. Kim is known by some of our friends here as "the ear lady" because last time she was here, she checked all of our ears. Some of us had too much wax. She gave us helpful tips about how to clean them out. Just ask if you want to know...



And then, Sunday afternoon, we had three great friends -- Gabby, Greta and Bethany over for lunch. We had Cranberry Chicken with rice (a new recipe from Lacy), played speed Scrabble, looked at Sarah's pictures, a nap for two of us and did lots of laughing. Here's a picture from a few weeks ago. We wish Katie could have been here too but she was just getting home from the hospital.


Then, about a half hour later, our small group showed up for...small group. Johnathon taught on Bethlehem's fighter verse (Psalm 96:1-3). It was really good. We also had a time of singing, accountability and prayer.

But then, today, came the nasty pets. The squirrels and the ants. We have had some problems lately with the ants in our house. They are out of control. The other day we didn't have any ant killer, so we decided to "windex" them. We thought they were gone, but tonight they have made their mega debut in our house. We have seven ant killer traps on the floor! Ick!
We also have a squirrel in our backyard--in our new trap! Our friend, Abraham, inspired us to trap them so now we are waiting for him to come give us a lesson on finishing the job. After seeing the ruined plants, we wanted vengeance on the squirrels,
but now seeing it struggling in the trap, we want it freed! We'll see what happens.

mpls...tunisia...italy...mpls

Sarah (our roommate who is a nurse and lives in the basement) has returned to 2520. She returned home after traveling with a good friend to Tunisia and Italy, becoming real tan and eating Gelato multiple times per day. They were visiting another good friend who is living in Tunisia. We missed her a lot so when we came home from church last night, we were so excited to see her backpack by the door and the light on in the basement. It is good to have her back!


Sarah brought these back for us -- tiles from Tunisia! FYI: Tunisia is known for their tiles:


Here's a picture of Sarah giving the Tower of Pisa a hug. She said her hair is tucked behind her ears because she didn't blow dry it.

Remember the 1996 Summer Olympics?

Probably the best Olympics ever. Tonight (12 years later), Steph, Katie and I pulled out the VHS tapes of the women's gymnastics. It's bringing back great memories and tears from some.

Some quotes from watching:
Steph: "I'm getting nervous...I can't watch."
Katie: "I think I'm going to cry." Steph: "Me too."
Steph: "This is like ti-vo...I thought I'd have time for a bathroom break..."

We decided to Google some of the pictures of the girls to see what they look like now. Some of them look so different! Can you name who is who in the current pictures?

then...
Jaycie Phelps, Dominique Moceanu, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes (Awesome Dawesome), Amy Chow, Amanda Borden and Kerri Strug.

now...

steph's commercial

Last night, Steph was telling Lacy about the Desiring God National Conference (post from 2006 conference). She was so excited that it sounded like a commercial. She tried three times on video. We are not sure which one is best (or worst :), so here are all three of Steph's ads:







Which one do you think is the most convincing??

p.s. You can also find more info about the conference at the DG website...

pictures of the pit!!

You're All Invited!

We are excited to announce that we have a new addition to our house! It took hours of hard, strenuous labor, but we finally got our fire pit in. Now it is ready to be enjoyed by all! Consider this your invitation to come over to break it in. We'll probably have fires every night.
Here is a picture with evidence that we worked so hard. Look at all the dirt in the wheelbarrow!
Another picture of us working hard to get the pit in (especially me). Nice smile, Ellie.At one point we dug the pit three feet deep and Ellie got in it to continue digging. She was hoping this might be her secret entrance into Brazil.

*Shout Out*
I want to thank everyone who made this fire pit possible. First, God because he is the giver of all things. Second, my parents. My dad bought the pit, then went out of his comfort zone to bring it all the way to Minneapolis. Third, Ellie and Andrea who did most of the shoveling:) Fourth, Andrea's dad who provided the giant rocks. And finally, Greta, who came over and watched us put it in.

P.S. If you come over, bring some firewood and newspaper!

NBA Finals: Game #6

Ok everybody, get excited.....KG (a.k.a. "the big ticket", or Kevin Garnett) and the Boston Celtics are 3:39 seconds away from winning the 2008 NBA Finals! The score is Boston- 118 to LA- 84.

SJ: Oh, oh...he's so happy! It's so cute! (referring to KG)

(I'm officially going to start "live-blogging" at around the 2min mark, but I had to add that comment)

AF: I'm so happy for him!

SJ: How tall is Kevin Garnett?

EL: I think he's around 7 feet...right??

AF: Yeah, or 6'11"

EL: (after looking it up) he's 6'11".

SJ: He looks taller because he's so skinny.

.............
2:21 left in the game

SJ: I forgot he was called the big ticket.

KH: One hundred twenty-three points! This is like the worst game I have ever seen in my life!

AF: Oh, NO! This is the best game...that's because I have seen game after game after game of KG losing.

SJ: It's because it's a blowout!

AF: Just you wait till you see him after the game.

(TV sound went off for a second)

SJ: Oh, did he swear??

.....
1:52 left in the game

KH: C'mon Lakers...catch up! Is there a 10 pointer??

SJ: Yee-ah!

AF: How do you write that?? YEE-AH

SJ: Boo-ya...alley oop!

KH: Did they put all their B-string players in??

SJ: I don't think they have "B-string" players.

.....
1:04 left in the game

KH: This is just embarrassing for the Lakers...seriously to lose by that much in the final game....41 point difference, oh wait, 42 point difference. No ones even cheering.

AF: AWW!

SJ: Andrea, I'm happy for you...I am, this means a lot to you!

KH: OK, a little premature...you still have 30 seconds to play (after the gatorade was dumped on the Celtics coach.)
..............
26.7 left in the game

EL: Guys! 19 seconds left

KH: And they're running the clock down

SJ: YAY!!

AF: This is so exciting!!

SJ: Wait for it! Oh, this is so cool...I love sports!

KH: Wait, was that a leprechaun??

AF: Well they are the Celtics.

SJ: Are celtics Irish??

AF: Oh yeah, Celtics=Leprechaun

..........
Celtics WON game! (131-92)
...........

AF What are they doing??

SJ: He's crying!

AF: Oh, look at him. I knew he was going to be happy! I've been waiting for 8 years for this moment!

.......KG is being interviewed........

AF: He talks like our neighbors!

SJ: His method of communicating is obviously yelling!

SJ: I bet Jesse's really happy!

from the south

Katie and I are in Louisville, Kentucky for the New Attitude Conference and we are going to be exhibiting for Desiring God at the conference. I have been so excited to come, both for the conference and to see Courtney, who used to live at 2520. We are at Courtney's house right now and Courtney, Katie and I have been sitting on her couch for about the last hour because we saw a mouse. Donald (Courtney's boyfriend) just arrived and is setting traps. He just found two dead mice in the traps that he set under the sink. This is serious. Besides the mouse and getting sick on the first flight, it has been a good trip so far! It has been great to hang out with Courtney -- we all miss her so much. One of the many things I miss about her is her daily routine.

evening:
Download podcasts to Ipod
Get coffee ready in the filter for morning
Get ready for bed
Crawl into the top bunk
Read
Crawl down and go to the bathroom
Get back up into bed and immediately shut the light off
Sleep

morning:
Get up
Turn on the coffee pot
Shower
Hair and Make-up while listening to Ipod with cup of coffee sitting on sink (Burts Bees and cell phone always close by)
Morning devotions
Breakfast (cereal) -- either at the table or standing in the kitchen
Prepare lunch to take to work
Get dressed (in the closet) with clothes that had been picked out earlier
Run out the door immediately after getting dressed

You could count on this routine happening in the same order each day. Courtney tells us that her routine now differs from what it was at 2520. We miss you a lot and a lot and many things about you, Courtney!

Oh my goodness...Donald just told us that their are baby mice and many....ahhhhh... And he is making the "humane" traps "less humane." If you know what I mean. Abraham would be proud.

from what i've gathered...

guys like david letterman better and girls like jay leno better.

agree? disagree?

awkwardness....

I have one question:

Is awkwardness just a perception, or is it a reality?

26 things you may or may not know about steph

1. loves hockey
2. went to norwegian and korean culture camp as a child
3. in HS, went to choir class early to take her friend, Angela's chair
4. bakes a lot
5. plays on a girl's softball team
6. didn't notice the fishy tasting water last month because as she said, she "doesn't really drink water."
7. has had braces twice, one root canal, cap, and wisdom teeth pulled
8. does not like hot weather
9. has a brother living in australia
10. became a christian in high school
11. went to chipotle three times in one day when they were giving away burritos
12. graduated from the u of mn with a major in family social science
13. loves swedish fish
14. was a swimmer in high school
15. wears contacts and does not own a pair of glasses
16. would rather stay in a hotel than in a tent
17. has two brothers and one sister
18. is a small group mentor
19. grew up in shoreview, mn
20. loves it when 9pm rolls around because that means free cell phone minutes
21. was left on a doorstep as a baby
22. has worked at starbucks, great clips and family dentistry
23. the drink she is most likely to order at starbucks is an americano
24. usual grocery store purchases: a couple apples, two little things of yogurt, reduced fat cheez-its, bag of pretzels, pasta, soup -- and that's about it.
25. is a great roommate
26. can't parallel park to save her life

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPH!!!!!!!!
(May 10th)

special week!

This is National Nurses Week 2008. And there are two nurses living in our house - Sarah and Lacy! I found an exciting website that allows you to send an e-card to a nurse. If you would like to bless our roommate, Sarah, please go to this link: Nursing World and click on view the e-card. The link for the e-card is: E-Card. Sarah's email is: sarahkron@comcast.net. Some of you who know Sarah know that this is not her main email, but she didn't want me to post it. So, if you know her real email, you can send it there.

please help

As most of you know, Ellie is planning to go to Brazil as a missionary to the deaf. However, there has been a slight hang-up in the process. And we are asking for your help. We've been brainstorming about what to do. We've been thinking that she pretty much has two options: 1. apply for a volunteer VISA or 2. Get ordained and re-apply for the missionary VISA. Neither of the two afore-mentioned options are ideal for Ellie. You can read her blog if you want to know more about why the volunteer option is not best. And she does not feel adequate to be ordained. So, as we were discussing this dilemma this afternoon, a brilliant thought entered my head. It is option number 3. and obviously the easiest and best. She needs to find a husband. Not just any husband, but one who wants to get ordained. Oh yeah, and move to Brazil. The good thing is that we know a whole batch of candidates who could potentially fulfill this role. Perfect. So if you could just help us by picking the best one out and sending him Ellie's way. What a great way you can minister to Ellie. She is open.

Here is a picture of Ellie:


In all seriousness, please pray for Ellie during this VISA obtaining process. Please pray that God would give her wisdom in choosing the right husband (KIDDING). We do ask that you would pray for wisdom for Ellie and for the hearts of the people at the Consulate who will be accepting or denying her VISA. We know that it is in the Lord's hands and that he is able to do all things well and knows the best time-frame.

is 'important' subjective?

A recent phone call from a 2520 girl to 911:

"Hi, this is not an emergency but I think it's important..."

We've been duped!

Our boss, Mike Tong, who we consider to be full of wisdom and insight when it comes to all procedures in the office has always told us that we use Library shipping...not Media. We are obviously not a library. However, even though Library Rate is a strange name for a shipping method we thought that it was named that because it is slow. You know, libraries are quiet and therefore slow. So the shipping is slow too. Makes sense, right?
So, when we got these notes, we laughed and laughed and thought the postal workers were crazy. Maybe it was the "new guy" that wrote the note.
We confess now that we were slightly wrong because we had the wrong definition of what Library Rate was. We equated Library for Media. This error has been corrected by Lukas Naugle. But, DG is also considered an educational institution which qualifies us for Library Rate.
So, now the funny part is that the post office was still wrong and Library Rate is not just for libraries. We think it's still ok to laugh.

library shipping.

Two packages of books were returned to work last week. The packages had been sent out 'library rate' (meaning the cheapest method of shipping with the USPS -- nothing to do with libraries). There was a note attached to the returned package. Apparently there is a USPS employee who is not aware of the meaning of library rate because the note said: "To qualify for library rate the parcel must be going to or coming from a library."

Interesting.
Funny.

when forgetfulness is a bad thing --

Yesterday I read Exodus 16 which is a story of the Israelites complaints to the LORD. Only two chapters earlier, I had read: "The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left." And only two chapters before that, in 12:27, I had read: "...for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses."

I can't imagine experiencing anything like the Passover or dry ground in the middle of a large sea! How could they go from the chapter 12 and 14 experiences to grumbling in chapter 16? Did they forget what the LORD had done?

But a lot of the time, I'm as forgetful as they were. I read verses like Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ" or "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" How can I know Jesus and experience his love and still grumble? How can I read verses like these and two minutes later grumble about crummy weather or plans that don't go my way?

free cone day!!

Ben & Jerry's is serving free ice cream today (April 29, 2008)! I guess this year is the 30th anniversary of free cone day. You should go!!

Weird or Talented? Or Maybe Both.

what's happening at 2520?

Of course some of the same things continue to happen near or at 2520 -- such as frequent and strikingly obvious drug deals and our oven's temperature rising to 500 degrees on it's own (only when I make cupcakes). It's happened many times. I don't know why, but our oven hates the combination of me and cupcakes. Other than that...

The other night we had to call the police. I think we were even more justified than normal. Usually our calls are for the average drug deal, loud music or because the door from the abandoned house next door is being stolen. But not this time. We were coming home from small group and Steph and I couldn't find a parking spot -- partially because of our crowded street and partially because of a lack of parallel parking skill. We decided to park behind our garage. As soon as we pulled up to the garage we heard 3 or 4 really loud gun shots. They sounded close. A few seconds later 3 guys ran right behind our car. They were running fast. Needless to say, it made our hearts race and we immediately called the police and told them in a quivering voice what had just happened. I think it is probably one of my scariest moments in the Phillips thus far. The story kind of loses momentum after that because we never found out what really happened.

And that night was the first night our new roommate, Lacy moving in. So yes, we have a new roommate and she experienced hearing the gun shots on her first night. She is in Ellie's old room. It's no longer purple, but peach. We are happy to have her here! Lacy works with Sarah at the hospital and is just as granola or maybe more so than Sarah is. There are lots of other great things about Lacy. Hopefully you will be able to meet her :)

Along with Lacy's arrival came a couch. Now we are well furnished in our living room area, and actually have to get rid of some things. Part of the reason we have so much furniture is because Kin Mily let us down and did not collect the desk he lied about wanting. Anyway, our next step for our living room is organizing the furniture...not an easy task with our awkward shaped room.

We would also like to welcome Mr. & Mrs. Haas to the Internet. Thanks for reading our blog. And sorry that Katie did not tell you about the gun shots. If you want to leave a comment, please feel free.

On Monday nights we have been having a time of prayer for the Phillips area. It has been an encouragement to pray with other believers. If you live in the area and want to come, let us know!

AND this summer Katie is planning to go on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. We are excited. Ellie is going to Brazil when she gets her remaining support and her VISA. If you think of it, pray that her VISA would come through. It is in somewhat of a delay. Also, Sarah is going to Tunisia, Italy and some other places...

Steph had an exciting day today. She had her teeth cleaned this morning and it was the first time in her life that her teeth were cavity-free. Those of you who have never had many cavities probably do not understand how wonderful this news really is.

****Ding Ding Ding**** it's time for a QUIZ! Which paragraph above was NOT written by Andrea? And who do you think wrote it?

Something's kind of "fishy" around here, part 2

So, the title is somewhat misleading because this post has nothing to do with the water situation in Minneapolis. This post is about something else kind of "fishy"...

I recently posted my desk on Craigslist.com to be sold. I received a few emails from individuals requesting more information and expressing interest in the desk. My policy is to respond to the first person to express interest, then pursue other people if that person doesn't work out.

This time the email was from a "KinMily" who expressed sincere interest in the desk and said that he/she for sure wanted to buy it. I pursued this contact and after a few emails exchanged this "Kin" said that he/she would send a check and have some movers come pick it up from me. At this point my warning flags went up and I said that I wasn't sure if that would be ok. That I would prefer having face-to-face contact with "Kin". They assured me that the check was already in the mail and that everything would be fine.

I was out of town when the check arrived and I had Andrea open it. When she opened it she told me that the amount on the check was $2800.00 from a PickaRestaurant.com. Now I was really sure that this was a scam. I emailed KinMily back and said that I was not comfortable with that amount of money coming through my account and that I was unwilling to cash it. They responded saying that they had purchased other items in the area and so the extra money was for the movers and was because there were multiple items needing to be picked up. They sent the address that I was to wire the money to, the "movers", who happened to be an individual in California. At this point I was certain it was a fraudulent check and began trying to contact the company PickaRestaurant.com. I never got through to this alleged company, but got through to the bank listed on the check. As soon as I mentioned who the check was from, the customer service agent said "Oh, let me guess, the check is for too much and they want you to wire the money back to someone??" She said, "Yep, that's a scam!"

Needless to say, I filled out an internet scam report with the FBI and sent an email to KinMily advising him/her of this action. I'm still not sure where the scam actually is, if it's the company PickaRestaurant.com, or if it's this individual. Maybe we'll never know, but it sure is fun getting to the bottom of something like this. I mean, growing up I always wanted to be an FBI or CIA agent, maybe I missed my calling in life!

Or, maybe this whole "missionary" thing is just a cover!

Something's kind of "fishy" around here!

Here's the scoop...



Certain members of this house believe, or are convinced, that the Minneapolis water has begun smelling and tasting "fishy"! The others in the house agree that something is "different" about it, but wouldn't go as far as to say it is "fishy". The really "fishy" thing about this whole matter is what is causing this taste/odor?


One theory is that there are "a million dead fish" in the Minneapolis wells (p.s. I'm pretty sure that Minneapolis water is not well water!)

This is really the only theory posed thus far. We are seeking other opinions on the matter, but are seeking, above all, the TRUTH!! If any of you other Minneapolis-city-dwellers has information, or opinions, please don't keep us in suspense!

A belated birthday post for Sarah

We were in much turmoil regarding the birthday post for Sarah. Her birthday this year was on Easter and we didn't know if it would be appropriate to post about Sarah on such a significant day as Easter. So, that's why it's a belated birthday post.

Here are some of our favorite memories of Sarah (not in any particular order):

1. Sailing.

2. Blue Nile (x2).

3. Her laughing until she was crying.

4. Cleaning out the fridge.

5. Head dancing.

6. Stuffing grapes in her mouth.

7. Granola.

8. Asking if the ice cream was vanilla based at Culvers.

9. Watching movies.

10. Covering our tracks so that she didn't know we slept in her bed.

p.s. the above reason, appropriateness of posting, also applies to why we didn't post for Andrea (her birthday is on Christmas)

pi day

So apparently 3/14/08 was Pi Day. Here is a little excerpt from Wikipedia:

Pi Day and Pi Approximation Day are two holidays held to celebrate the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in American date format), due to π being equal to roughly 3.14. Sometimes it is celebrated on March 14 at 1:59 p.m. (commonly known as Pi Minute). If π is truncated to seven decimal places, it becomes 3.1415926, making March 14 at 1:59:26 p.m., Pi Second (or sometimes March 14, 1592 at 6:53:58 a.m.). Pi Approximation Day may be observed on any of several dates, most often July 22 (22/7 (European date format) is a popular approximation of π). March 14 also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday.

Our friend, Greta is an enthusiastic pi day celebrater and baked us a pie with fruit and sugar and other wonderful things. She brought it over to our house unexpectedly. What a treat/grand surprise. Thank you Greta!!

ping-pong...

Tonight we (K & A) were talking to a friend (T) about playing ping-pong at BBC. First we studied up on ping-pong by looking up the definition at dictionary.com:

2. "to go back and forth; change rapidly or regularly; shift; bounce"

So we decided we didn't even need a ping-pong table to do it....we could use our words. It seemed fitting to start with the word "ping-pong" and we went back and forth rapidly and regularly shouting out the next word that came to mind. I think we are ready for the real ping-pong season! Here is a re-cap:

Ping-pong
Janitors at Bethlehem
Clean Freaks
Kitchen Fridge
Smelly
Feet
Toes
Steph
Funny
Comedian
Bryan Reagan
Jason Calcote
Small group leader
Small group
Brownies
Table
Antiques
Grandpa
Harmonicas
Trent Burns
Sorry
Sarah Kron
Unashamed
Boat
Gloucester
Meg & Aaron
Friends
Gabe & Julia
ASK class
Pastor David Livingston
House by Piper's
Talitha
Hairspray
Aerosol can
My hair
Greasy
Fast food
French fries
France
Oui
Pronunciation
Frustration
Tupperware

what comes next according to you??

fun with O.

Happy Leap Year Everyone!

In honor of leap year, our boss at DG (that is Katie & Andrea's boss) Mike Tong decided we should celebrate since this day comes along only once every four years. So at 4pm we leaped. After watching the youtube videos of two remote employees who took part in the event, everyone in the office took turns lining up at the starting tape. We were not allowed to make any running starts (much to our dismay because that's the way we practiced). Each person leaped twice in a row and the one who went the furthest won a $15 Chipotle gift card. Here's Jon Bloom (not the winner):



If you want to see videos of any of the other contestants, let us know.

Here are the results and the youtube links (in an email from Mike):

Thank you everyone who came out today – the event was a great success! No one got hurt (except Andrea in pre-event training) and we even had entries from Dan and Jeff.

Here are the final results (from the nicest try to the furthest leap):

11’11” Kate Martin

13’7” Katie Haas

13’11” John Knight

14’1” Sarah

14’11” Seth Magnuson and Jon Bloom

(They jumped together, holding hands for safety)

15’ Andrea Froehlich

16’8” Dan Brendsel

17’11” Tyler Kenney

18’1” Peter Melling

23’3” Jeff McFadden

(You be the judge)

Congratulations, Peter! Thanks for showing us that if we really believe in our dreams, we can LEAP as high as the sky!

Mike Tong

Leap Day Event Coordinator

www.desiringGod.org/LeapForJoy/

random assortment of thoughts...

Yes, the blog still exists.

It has been a while since I have posted, so I will go ahead and give it a go.

So many things have been going on in the 2520 house. Ellie is in Colorado for training before she leaves for Brazil. We miss you, Ellie! The house isn't quite the same without you. Your room looks...well...clean. Katie is leaving for Boston on March 6th and will visit Meg and Aaron. I am a little jealous. I really like Boston. I hope that she has a fun and refreshing time with them! Sarah was at her cabin this past weekend, and we are awaiting her return. She has been knitting a ton in the past couple of months. This hobby has just re-surfaced. Andrea is taking piano lessons this semester and has graced us with her piano playing. Quite good. I can hum along to some of the songs. I finally quit my job at Starbucks and have started working for my dad at the office. It has been good. So far.

I have recently picked up the book, When People Are Big, and God is Small and really love it! This book talks about overcoming the fear of man and people pleasing. It is really good. If you haven't read it--READ IT! This book is probably one of the most helpful books I have ever read.

Ohh! Sarah is HOME!!

That's all. Hope everyone is doing well. Don't forget to comment. :)

(The picture was taken when Courtney came to visit.)

Isaiah 6

Man. We have not posted in a while.

At the fall youth retreat, Kempton (the new youth pastor at BBC) preached some great messages on Isaiah 6. Here is one of them. You should listen to it...

message!!

"HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD OF HOSTS; THE WHOLE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS GLORY!"

in honor of katie haas on her birthday.

Katrina!! We love you so much. It has been such a blessing to become closer to you over the past year - as a friend, roommate, coworker, sister in Christ, dance dance revolution and singing partner, fellow model (see pictures below), partner "calling the cops in the middle of the night," purchaser of brown mary-jane crocs, camper, movie star, member of costco, learner of fighter verses, student at theological foundations and U of MN, broomball player, youth group mentor, retreat go-er, pranker (brownies, cars, ridgewood and such)...

You are such an encouragement to us in so many ways. And we are so grateful that you were born :) (cheesy...or corny?) Really. We are though. AND glad that you moved into 2520. We were all pretty sad when Courtney moved out, but the Lord is so gracious and good in allowing you to move in. From the day you moved in, it has been obvious that you belong here.

One more thing. Your diverse interests such as smiling and laughing have brought us to the knowledge that we should also add them to our facebook interests.

February 1st, 1984 a wee lass was born into the Haas family of Hugo, MN. Look how far she has come now...