Friday, May 30, 2008

An Unfinished Task

“I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”
Psalm 57:9-11

Members of an unknown Amazon Basin tribe and their dwellings were seen during a flight over the Brazilian state of Acre along the border of Peru.
According to Survival International, there are over 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide.

We have a job to do.

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” Psalm 105:1

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.”
Isaiah 12:4-5

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend...

What a weekend... so much fun, family and merriment. I will try to describe in as little words as possible.

Saturday: Karsten graduated from med school and he and Brooke had the last party EVER at the current Slater residence. They headed off to Evansville, Indiana today for Karsten to start his residency. We wish the best of luck and it won't be the same without them in Springfield. A few photos of the party.
After the party Saturday, we headed to Matt's parent's for the rest of the weekend. We were looking forward to laying by the pool and relaxing. Unfortunately, we got rained out (the boys and Izzy still took the plunge, but us girls steered clear). However, we didn't let the bad weather get us down, we made Smore's in the oven and played a plethora of games.
On another note, Matt and I finally started hanging things on the walls around the house. I unpacked some of my favorite plates from the wedding and placed them in various locations all over the house. Here are a few shots of the progress. Hopefully this will liven up the place a bit.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

This Seriously Made My Day



If you grew up using different accents all the time like I did... you will know how HARD this would be.
I hope this makes your day, it definitely made mine!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Home Sweet Home

Although last week was less than ideal, Matt and I rounded it out with a fabulous relaxing weekend. We got to spend time with some of our favorite people in our very own home, which was pretty stinkin' sweet.
Friday night, after Iz and I went to Matty's softball game, the Woodrums stopped by. I got to see their finished wedding album, which of course was stunning and we ended up watching Matt and I's wedding video, since they couldn't make it to the wedding. It made both Matt and I want to get married to each other all over again!:)
Saturday, I had the opportunity to volunteer at Restoration Urban Ministries with a girlfriend from work. It was Jesus Day so a bunch of local churches got together to hand out food, clothing, and whatever else they could. It's crazy to think there are that many homeless families in the Champaign area. Gina, my friend from work, has been putting together resume workshops at R.U.M and so far 2 or 3 people in her class have since attained jobs. she is so passionate about these people and it is so refreshing to work so closely with someone who loves the Lord with all of her heart. She asked if I would be interested in helping out with the workshops and despite feeling completely inadequate, I am looking forward to seeing where God will lead.
After R.U.M. Matt and I hung the rest of the blinds in our house. Matt thinks we should start a blind-hanging business since we have become so efficient. Later that evening, the Gorrell family came by with the boys, and the Pollocks showed up a little later. It was soooo great to have multiple couples and kids in the house and not feel cramped! We ate, chatted and played a lot of MarioKart (thanks to L & B). We had a LOVELY time!!!
I'll top this post off with some Izzy pictures... She is quite photogenic, too bad she still pees in the house.





So long for

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Forgetting my Head


I’d forget my head if it weren't attached.
Ordinarily when I travel to Chicago for work, my travel days are Wednesday through Friday and I have come to appreciate this schedule considerably. I get to come home slightly early on Friday afternoon and I don't have to think about work for 2 whole days! For some reason, this week the schedule got flip flopped and our group was testing in Chicago at the beginning of the week instead of the end. I know what you are thinking… what’s the big deal. Apparently I was not prepared… Here is the WHOLE pitiful story.


Matt stayed home from work Monday given that a plumber was coming to fix the bathtub faucet in our master bathroom and our washer and dryer were being delivered (we ended up getting a killer deal on some front loading energy star ones). I am glad Matt was home to spend time with Izzy and get her better oriented with using the grass as a toilet and not our kitchen floor. Anyway, I went home for lunch and hung with Matt and the dog, which was nice, but I headed back to work since the team was departing for Chicago at 2 p.m.

I was pretty proud of myself for having my scripts completed in such a timely manner on Monday and I needed to print and staple them before the journey northward. I made a few last minute changes to the documents and selected save and then print. I went to the printer to acquire my masterpieces and staple them in appropriate groupings. However, they weren’t quite finished so I proceeded back to my desk to start packing up, fully intending to revisit the printer to pick them up. I was probably having a totally non-work-related conversation with a coworker on the way to the expedition WITHOUT my scripts. This was not too big of a deal since I had saved them and could print them in Chicago but still, what a waste of paper.

About a half an hour in to the drive I reached for my cell phone to call Matt and let him know I was on my way. I reached in my coat pocket, my bag, my other bag, my purse……. And to my dismay… no cell phone. I had a coworker call it and sure enough a girl in the office picked it up. I LEFT my phone on my desk. This REALLY got me down since I wouldn’t be able to talk to Matt over lunch and check in on Izzy whenever I wanted. So far… no scripts, no phone… what else can there be? Well I’ll tell you.

About a week ago I “lost” my debit card and had to cancel it and request a new one (this was a 5 dollar fee mind you). The bank communicated that they would mail the card to me in 7 to 9 business days and then 3 days later they would mail me the pin number. In the meantime I found the “lost” card in my coat pocket and I STILL haven’t received my new debit card. Guess I should check ALL of my coats before jumping to conclusions. Not having a debit card is a problem when I travel because if I need cash for anything I can't just go to an ATM and get some and I like to carry around an extra form of money other than my credit card. At check-in I couldn’t find my credit card. Eventually, by dumping out my purse on the floor and digging through it all I found it, thank the Lord.

To top it all off I had to use my room phone at the hotel to call Matt and check in on Izzy. I knew there would be a charge of some kind so I called down to the front desk to ask. She explained that it was $2 a minute. I thought it was steep but “no big deal, I will just call and tell Matt to call me back.” Well, I called the wrong number twice somehow and then I called Matt who didn’t pick up (I didn’t think this was a big deal since they didn’t start charging me until the other person picked up, right?? BOY was I WRONG!). Well Matt and I eventually worked out a schedule and I used the hotel phone sparingly. I get my bill on Wednesday morning and there were 60 DOLLARS worth of phone charges. Apparently they start charging from time it starts ringing. I am such an imbecile. (I love you Matty but you aren’t worth 60 bucks… at least not in hotel phone calls).

The trip was topped off by arriving home (exhausted) with MANY presents left by Izzy in the mudroom.

Let’s hope this weekend is a little bit better!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Welcome Home Izzy Anderson

It's official. Matt and I are parents! She is a little hairier than your average baby but we couldn't be prouder.

Name: Izzy (short for Isabella Von Dutches)
Weight: 9 pounds 4 oz.
Breed: Standard Poodle
Color: Parti; Cream and Apricot
Age: 8 weeks
Likes: Chewing on Mommy's rugs and furniture, romping around outside, playing in my water bowl, pooping & peeing
Dislikes: My crate, being alone, stairs of any kind, my leash, my stupid haircut




So now the potty-training begins. So far she is doing pretty well but I guess some accidents are inevitable. If any one has any helpful hints I would LOVE some advice.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Birthdays, Graduations, Vera Bradley, and a New House

It has been over a week since my last blog entry and let me tell you, A LOT has happened with the Anderson fam. Much more than ordinary happenings in a standard 7 days.

Since my last post...

  • Pat, Matt's little brother graduated from college
  • My April 30th birthday came and went
  • Matt and I who were on vacation all last week, took a much needed getaway to Indiana (doesn't sound like much of a get away, but when the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale is in Fort Wayne it makes the trip purposeful.)
  • I did some SERIOUS damage at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale (Thanks to everyone who gave me money for my birthday, I couldn't have done it without you!)
  • We officially closed on our house Friday morning
  • We officially moved into said house Friday Afternoon (Thanks Derek and Mom and Dad, we really couldn't have done it without you!)
  • We didn't have t.v. or internet so we rented Mario Kart for the Wii, which came out at the end of April some time, this made the time go much faster...
  • And as we speak, we are getting our dish installed and tonight the seller is supposed to re-grade our yard
Talk about a busy week.

The week in photographs....

Pat couldn't have done it without these two (Yey for supportive parents!)

Aww look at those handsome Anderson brothers!

A few favorite photos from Indianapolis and Fort Wayne
Matty at a pizza joint in IndyIf Matt would let me... I would paint my walls like this at homeOn the Canal Walk in IndyMore Canal Walk
A tree on the Canal WalkJust some of my loot from Vera Bradley!:)

The house is most definitely a work in progress. But this is what we've got so far.
KitchenLiving RoomMaster BedroomThe new duvet in the guest bedroom