Fostering Friendships

This week was (slightly) more low-key than other weeks, which was a nice turn of events. Jordan's midterm is tomorrow, so he's been studying, studying, studying. I see lots of him, but it's mostly seeing him looking at slides and other study materials. It's nice to have him studying at home.

5:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays mean calling two of my very best friends from college on my drive home. It's so wonderful to have 30-45mins of conversation with Aubrey (my roommate from freshman and senior year) and Amanda (my next-door neighbor practically every year of college). These ladies are such a blessing in my life and it's almost hard to believe that we've known each other EIGHT years.

I went out for coffee (Chai Tea Latte, my fav) with Amber, my gospel community group leader. We had great conversation and it was so fun hearing her story and the different ways God has worked in her life.

Friday evening I went over to Liane's for delicious pumpkin bread and cider, and refreshing punch, courtesy of Audrey. We had a couple hours of great girl talk and I'm so thankful for all these new friends that I have here in KC.

Yesterday, I went to Fall Festival in Liberty, MO with (part of) my church gospel community group and Kody and her little 2-year-old Leah came too (they are the med student wife and daughter that I met last week at church). We walked around enjoying the beautiful weather and taking a peek at the various booths of jams and jellies, jewelry, paintings, and much more. I even treated myself to a fresh-squeezed lemonaide...my fav. (I have lots of favs, lol.)

For dinner, we were treated to home-cooked brisket, green beans, macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin pie at Patrick and Claudia's home (empty-nesters in our community group - they love to host and have groups over, and their home is set up perfectly for it). I felt right at home with 12 adults and 5 kids at a big table. After doing the dishes, we had a bonfire and made s'mores. Really made me look forward to the next time I go home and dinners and bonfires at mom and dad's. Even more reminiscent of home, Claudia sent a meal for both Jordan and Zach, Kody's hubby, who were busy studying while we were out having fun:

So blessed - thanks, Claudia and Patrick!

Church was cancelled today because of planned city utility outages, so Jordan and I took the opportunity to sleep in a bit (mostly me) and Jordan used the extra time to study. I helped quiz him on muscle functions, blood supply and innervation (what nerve they're connected to). I did a bit of cleaning and went to the grocery store. Then, we enjoyed pork chops, rice and brussel sprouts for dinner. A nice day at home.

If you think of Jordan tomorrow AM, send up a prayer that his midterm at 9am goes smoothly and that he's able to remember everything that he's been studying so hard.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

The joke in recent years was that I had to schedule time with my mom weeks in advance to hang out with her. It was basically true though - not just because she was crazy busy, but because I was, too. In my short time here, I've somehow managed to pick up the same crazy-busy schedule that I've always enjoyed. Guess it's in my blood.

SUNDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last week Sunday, we enjoyed (yet again) another fabulous sermon. Here's just a snippet from my notes (over 1st Corinthians 7: 10-16, which our pastor called the "divorce" sermon):

• Strife is the root of all divorce - and forgiveness is the only thing that heals strife. Experiencing God's forgiveness is the only way to truly be able to give out forgiveness (because, through receiving God's forgiveness, we've received the ultimate forgiveness...and if He can forgive our great sins, our selfish is it of us to not forgive others?). God goes to great lengths to forgive us...He sent His Son to die. He turned away from His Son as He took on our sins. Remembering (and receiving!) that great sacrifice should make it all the more simple for us to forgive.  

After church, we went out to Fort Leavenworth for lunch with uncle Pat, aunt Kathy and cousin Greta. We were right on time...until we got five minutes from their house (literally. five minutes.) and the bridge was closed. We followed the detour (away from KC, into the boonies of Kansas)....for an hour. It would have been faster for us to go back to KC and go a different way. We got some good car time in. I was a teeeeensy bit frustrated with the Kansas DOT though. 

Once we arrived, we enjoyed delicious curry and then went off base into Leavenworth for an Ice Cream Social at The Carroll Mansion Museum. We just missed the bass quartet, but really enjoyed hearing the barbershop quartet...so good! It was this group of little old(er) men, with matching vests (in different colors) and ties. Super cute. They were even dancing and swaying with their music. We enjoyed ice cream and homemade dessert (I had a fabulous apple pie with cinnamon crumbles on top) and then got a (brief) tour of the Carroll Mansion. It reminded me of the Pettigrew Museum in Sioux Falls. Here's a short description from the website I linked to above:

The decorative features of George McKenna are the highlights of the house. Each room has unique stained glass windows and transoms, none of the patterns being repeated. Most rooms have combination gas and electric light fixtures dating from the 1880s. On the first floor, the parlor, hall, library, drawing room, and dining room have individual parquet floor inlays of maple, oak, walnut, and mahogany. Each room has carved decorations that reflect the wood of that room: e.g. walnut in the library, oak in the hall, maple in the parlor. There are five fireplaces in the house. Each has a carved mantle, ceramic inserts, and hearth tiles. 

MONDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few weeks ago I went to our church's community picnic and met a few girls who invited me to their Monday evening get-togethers. (not every Monday, but often enough) I am SO thankful for this. I love that Jordan and I have med student friends and wives to hang out with, but I also prayed that I'd have friends that were just friends...and not only med student wives (if that makes sense). We went to the Parkville Nature Sanctuary (only 10 mins from home!) for a walk/hike....just in time to get DRENCHED. Wasn't raining when we started, wasn't raining when we finished. It's been a long time since I've done anything in the rain! Afterwards, we went and warmed up with some beverages at Caribou. Yum.

New friends! Rachel, Jenny, Emily.
Picture courtesy of Emily's blog.

Afterwards, in my still-soaking clothes, I was thrilled to discover (on the side of the road, after I'd already left Caribou) that my tire was completely flat. Woot. Not really, but it did give me many things to be thankful for! (That's weird, I know, but it really did.) Right as I was calling Jordan to come help me, a guy (about my dad's age, named Aaron) pulled up and offered to help me - such a blessing. He was a tow truck guy and knew how to change a tire right quick. I felt like a bit of a wuss for not changing my own tire, but turns out I would have needed someone's help anyways: getting the jack unhooked from the car took some yanking (we didn't have a flashlight, so couldn't tell how it was in there), the little jack was difficult to use (aka, my puny muscles wouldn't have done the trick), my tires come off EXTREMELY hard - dad even has to kick 'em quick a few times before they loosen. And, I wouldn't have known that I couldn't drive a spare on the front down the interstate the next AM. And then he followed me to the gas station and aired up my tire because the spare was really flat! So, thank goodness for Aaron.

TUESDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The tire saga continues. (and despite all the craziness that ensued, I still found myself being thankful for a lot of things!) Jordan and I had to share his car, so he got a ride with another med student for the AM. We overslept and woke up three minutes after his ride was supposed to be there. He literally had 1 minute to get ready (I still had 45mins). I drove his little Geo Metro (with no power steering!) to work and then left 30mins early to try to get the tire situation taken care of. J told me to use my "girl charm" to get the job done, lol. They were booked out at Walmart (despite calling earlier in the day), but the guy still came out to my car and looked at my tire for free (he couldn't figure out where it was losing air though). He directed me to another service station down the road. They were closing  just as I got there, but the manager stayed around to figure out what the deal was (he filled it with air and we found the hole right away) and then he called 2 different service stations to get me in that night. I drove over to the third place, they fixed me up (needed a new tire), got my car aligned (they do a free assessment...and now my steering wheel doesn't shake anymore!) and sent me on my way. So thankful that my parents taught me good budgeting and that we were able to afford a new tire (and it didn't mean that we couldn't pay the rent or that we needed to panic or that we didn't have the money), thankful that hubby and I were able to share a car for a day, thankful that I had the time to drive around looking for a place to get my tire fixed, thankful that everyone was so helpful...it was a good evening.

WEDNESDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I apparently did nothing of importance this evening. I believe I made up a little rice, beans, taco-chicken dish for our lunches and did the laundry. Always nice to have at least one quiet evening at home.

THURSDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel Community night. Something I already really look forward to...and it's only been 2 nights! The other half of the group shared our stories tonight. It is so refreshing and revealing hearing how God is working in people's lives...and how He's worked throughout their lives. I already feel super blessed by this group, and hope that I'm able to bless them in return.

FRIDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date night!!! I really look forward to Friday evenings. Not just because the work week is over, but it's the one night that hubby and I get to spend intentional, focused time together. This week, we had a groupon for The Majestic we needed to use up (it expires at the end of the month). Our groupon was for bowl of mussels prepared in a white-wine garlic cream sauce, served with fries and a martini for each of us - either Grey Goose vodka or Hendricks gin. The Majestic is a jazz club and we were seated super close to the Bram Wijnands Trio - drums, trumpet, piano. What a great experience. Our server didn't come to our table for close to 10mins (which really wasn't that much of a bother, since we were enjoying the music and the atmosphere) but he still subbed our drinks for two martinis that we'd enjoy more than what was offered with the groupon (prices just an fyi...not what we paid, since we had a groupon):

• Burning Bush ($13) - A powerful combination of Bookers Bourbon with ginger syrup and jasmine (Jordan said this was easily the best drink he's ever had. And, after the ice had changed the flavor of it, I even enjoyed it, too.)
• Jasmine ($9) - Plymouth Gin, Cointreau and Campari make a tart martini cocktail with a grapefruit flavor

With our mussels, which were delicious, we opted to get the Charcuterie & Cheese Plate ($15) - described as "the Chef’s selection of fine meats and cheeses". And it surely was. Unfortunately, we don't remember what any of the cheeses or meats were (except the goat cheese. de.li.cious.), the plate also included grapes, strawberries, crackers, and kalmata olives. It was a wonderful date and someday (we're thinking some-dr.-day) we'll go back to enjoy a REAL dinner there...and Jordan can get the $56 Porterhouse steak. Holy goodness prices.

And that wasn't even the end of our night! We headed over to Josh & Audrey's for warm pumpkin pie (and amazing homemade crust!) and wine with a few other friends. So blessed to have these people in our lives!

SATURDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

City Market. 30mins. $11. 'nough said. (I always have to leave after a short while because I want to buy everything.)

7 bananas, 1 cantaloupe, 6 plums, 3 onions, 1 head of lettuce, 3 heads of garlic, 2 zucchinis,
3 yellow squash, and 1 approx 3-cup bag of avocado.

Jordan spent the day studying and I did paperwork. In the evening we enjoyed chicken fajitas and watched Wrath of the Titans. A good Saturday.

SUNDAY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now we've come full circle. Or rather, to today. (I know. It seemed like we'd never get here.) We had a guest speaker at church, Dr. Paul David Tripp, who was in town doing a marriage conference for our church (which we missed out on...I could have gone alone, but didn't think that'd be very fun, lol. We're contemplating purchasing the CD of the conference.). A few thoughts from my notes (over Mark 6:45-52):

• Faith isn't natural for us.Worrying is natural. Getting angry easily is natural. Etc, etc, etc
• Faith and amazement aren't the same (we can be amazed by a bungee jumper, but then not do it ourselves because we don't have faith in the bungee)
• God takes us where we don't intend to go, in order to produce in us what we couldn't achieve on our own. 
• God's care for us begins when He sends us into the storm (we tend to think that His care for us begins when He brings us out of the storm) --> many times we need the storm to see His glory. He knows what we need to be able to see His grace. 

We went out for lunch with Matt & Liane, Larry, and Zach & Kody (and their super-cute daughter Leah) at The Boot. (Yeah...it seems like we eat out a lot...we sorta do - too much, I think! It's hard to find a balance when you want to have friends, but don't want to always be the party-pooper that doesn't want to eat out!) Jordan and I split the Breakfast Pizza ($12) and that was a good, affordable choice. It was about the size of a medium pizza, delicious crust, topped like a pepperoni pizza with extra mozzarella, spicy sausage, scrambled eggs, and jalapenos. I ate two pieces, Jordan ate three, and he ate the other three for dinner. 

After lunch, Zach, Kody, little Leah, Jordan, and I went to The Plaza Art Festival. Which is very similar to SF's Sidewalk Arts Fest...but if you'd like more info about what exactly this Art Fest was like, head on over to my friend Liane's blog - although we didn't go together, she captured it perfectly! (and she takes LOTS of pics - unlike me - AND this post is already waaaayyyyy too long!)

Hope you're enjoying life and glorifying God!

Life's Been Great

My last boss used to get a kick out of me, because every morning when I'd pass his desk overlooking the south side of Sioux Falls, he'd ask me, "How are ya, Bets?" and my response would always be "Great!" He'd laugh, and smile, always seeming surprised that I could always be great. And, at my job before that - my first job out of college - I was referred to as the "ray of sunshine" for my unfailing sunny disposition.

Now, all of this isn't to say that I don't have bad days. Or that I don't get grumpy. Or that I don't snap at my husband. No, that's all me, too. But I'm always striving to portray the happiness - the joy - that Christ fills me with each and every day.

Even when things are stressful or difficult or life is just hard (we live in an imperfect world, after all), I try to keep my focus on what matters: Christ. God's love. His love for us (of all things). Romans 8:28 reminds us, "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." "His good" in this verse doesn't always mean "our good" but lately there's been a lot of good in our lives, and I'm oh-so-thankful for it. Here's what's been making me respond, "Great!" lately:

Med School
Jordan passed his first section - Foundations of Medicine - so there was much rejoicing in the Larson household. Next up: MusculoSkeletal. 

Friends

• I had lunch with another med student wife this week. She had her little daughter with her, just at a year old; so cute. We had a great time getting to know each other and the hour I had for lunch just flew by. We're hoping to get together with our hubbies for dinner one evening soon. 
• Friday evening we went to Josh & Audrey's house to celebrate the end of the guys' first section of medical school. Liane surprised me with a chocolate cake for my birthday (birthday extension!)...so sweet. There were even candles and singing. And delicious chocolate cake. And wonderful new friends. Thanks, friends. Audrey had a fab spread of food for the guys' celebration including bbq (this is KC, after all). There were about 15 people or so that came, a good group. We're so glad to already have a group of friends.
• After Josh & Audrey's, Jordan and I ventured to FOP - here's the description on the KCUMB 2016 Facebook page:  Hey all! Congratulations on almost being done with your first section of medical school! One of the fine traditions we have here at KCUMB is for the first and second years to get together at the end of a section to celebrate (and forget everything we just learned)! We call this Foundations of Partying.
  
  This year "FOP" will be at the Velvet Dog in Martini corner. There will be free cover, and drink specials from 9-midnight for KCUMB students and guests. (Still working on what we will be offered). The deal has also been expanded to their sister bar/club, the Monaco, across the street. See you all there!!

Needless to say this was WILD. I used the excuse that I was driving to not drink, lol, but I really was driving. There were hundreds of med students. Jordan and I spent almost 3hrs meandering from the front of the bar, up to the 2nd level, up to the 3rd level, to the back of the 3rd level, down to the 1st floor and to the back of the bar (which was an outside courtyard) talking with Jordan's classmates and meeting other med students and their spouses. I was VERY surprised that I had a good time. A really good time. And I wasn't even drinking. ;) Although, I could have used a glass of water from all the shouting I was doing to communicate over the music, haha. Earlier, I'd told Jordan that I'd like to leave no later than midnight, but when midnight rolled around I was enjoying myself and didn't say anything to J - he was very surprised to look at his phone and see that it was 12:45am and we were still out. A good night.

• This weekend we have our first non-family apartment guests! Matt and Cathy are in KC for a wedding (Matt is originally from KC) so we were more than happy to have them stay with us. We, of course, had to get bbq from Bear's Smokeshack (Jordan's FAV) for lunch. We're so glad to have some friends from home visit us, even if it's just for a bit!

Community

• I went to my first PC meeting here in KC! I had a lot of fun, met a lot of fun women and picked up some tips for my PC biz. I even found my way home WITHOUT my gps. Be impressed.
• Thursday evening was our church's first Gospel Community Group get-together. Our church is so, so, SO intentional about these groups. There are 60 of them every week, and each group has 10-15 people that were placed in the group according to where they live. I'll admit, while I was excited, I was a little apprehensive, too. Liane was in a group that was 10mins from mine, so I was bummed that we weren't in the same group. But I know that God's plans are good, and that He must have had a plan for her in that group and a plan for me in my group! So. I went by myself (J tells me often how blessed he is to have a strong independent woman who can do things alone, but I'd still rather  do things with him) on Thursday, straight from work in the rain. (People in KC can't drive in the rain. Good grief.) Then I tried to turn the wrong way down a street, so I guess I can't drive in the rain either. But back to the intentional part. There's a 15-pg Group Participant Manual that our church puts together for us, and it is so thoughtful. If you have time, peruse it. This first week we shared a meal and 6 people shared their stories - we're all a mix of ages from 20s to 50s+ and a mix of single, married, married with kids, and married emtpy-nesters. I felt so welcomed and I'm so excited to see what God has in store for our group. Next week, the other 4 of us will share our stories. Despite my initial apprehension, that was immediately washed away. This is a good group, as I'm sure all the Gospel Communities are, but I'm super excited that this is mine. 

Today, Jordan and I had a relaxing afternoon together. I read a new little cookbook (yeah, I do weird things like that) that I'd gotten for free from PC. I read a magazine. I fell asleep in the chair. Jordan played xbox (something he hasn't done since med school started). I warmed up some leftovers and we had a little picnic in the living room. Now he's frisbee golfing with Josh and Preston and we're planning to play a game after Matt and Cathy return from the wedding. Tomorrow after church we're heading out for lunch on base with my aunt, uncle and cousin. They are far too good to us, and we're so blessed to be living so close to them. Should be another wonderful afternoon.

So that's life this week. It's been great. I hope yours has been, too.

The Groove

We're getting into the groove of things here at the L household. For Jordan, that's mostly studying. He'll occasionally take a break to watch a TV show (he loves Burn Notice) or a movie (this weekend's choices were Freelancers and the most recent Sherlock Holmes).

For me, that leaves a lot of free time (or at least more than hubby). I've never been good at just having "open" time, so here's what I've been up to in the past week:

Work. Yeah, it deserves to be top of the list only because it takes up most of my time. 8:30-5:30 every day. 45-min commute to work (thank you, big-city traffic) and 30-min commute home (again, big-city traffic...at a normal time [re: not rush hour] this commute would take 15-20mins). So, this is my day from 7:45am to 6pm.

By-choice work. This week, it was freelance editing for a friend's company back in SD. I'm super thankful for the extra cash and I think Jordan was super thankful that I had a quiet activity to do while he was studying.

College friends. Those "long" commutes leave lots of time to ... sit in traffic. I'm so excited that 2 of my bestest best college friends and I decided to have weekly phone calls to catch up. These ladies are my FAV. One of them I haven't seen since my wedding in March 2010 and we've made plans to meet up before this year ends. So. Excited.

Here they are. The lovelies. With bonus lovely in the middle :)

Cooking. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE to cook. It must be a stress reliever to me. This weekend included canning 4 pints of mom's tomatoes (brought from the garden in SD!) with onion and garlic, making creamed cucumbers (hubby's fav) with cuc's from mom's garden, cooking Thai Peanut Chicken Stir Fry for my lunches (this week, I'm going a step [or 12] above my standby egg salad sandwich!), BBQ Beef Shepard's Pie (mashed potatoes courtesy of mom's garden), SPICY salsa that J promptly devoured in 2 sittings (habanero courtesy of mom's garden), and a scrumptious study-break smoothie [note alliteration, hehe] made with watermelon (courtesy of Kay's boyfriend in West River SD), strawberries (courtesy of dad's wallet from the KC farmer's market) and 1 lime pudding (33 cents, courtesy of my cheapness at the grocery store).

Yum for later. Yum for now.

Errands (and others). Bank. Grocery store. Walmart. Laundry. Checkbook balancing. Haircut (nothing major or exciting). Those regular sort of things.

Crafty. I was feeling creative this weekend and spent some time making these little beauties...pics to come later of what they're for...

Church. A thoughtful sermon over 1st Corinthians 7:36-40 (while heavily relying on Eph. 5:22-33). Here are a few quick thoughts:

• Eph 5:31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." I never thought about this before, but this verse is where the "leave and cleave" phrase comes from (be united = cleave). Leave and cleave = commitment and passion = love and respect. 
• In the past, people married for social status, money, etc - marriage was all about commitment (passion was missing). Today, marriage is all about passion (commitment is missing). God sees marriage as BOTH commitment AND passion.
• I've heard this many times before, but a reminder is always welcome: Marriage is a SMALL representation of something bigger --> the relationship of Jesus with His people (which is faithful, covenant love). Our marriage is to reflect Christ's love. It's not perfect, but it's the closest we'll get on this earth.
• Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." This verse portrays God as a lover. If you do not embrace God as a lover, you will embrace other lovers as God. This followed up the point that we tend to put our lovers (our  spouses, etc) in a place of worship - that place is only for God. If we always embrace God as a lover, He will have the first and foremost place of worship in our hearts. 

So, nothing major this week. But sometimes it's the quiet weeks (yeah, this was a quiet week for me, lol) that show you that you've really settled in and that a place is becoming home.

A Birthday Week

I use my weekly calendar to remember what I've been doing with my life and what was of interest to tell you all. Yes, I have one of those fancy droids and do use Google calendar (which I think is fantastic) but I guess I just like pen & paper for some things:

Apparently, the little reminder in my phone calendar isn't nearly as exciting as my own  handwritten calendar. 

Work went well this week. My new boss is big on mentoring and making sure that his team is happy and growing/learning - that makes me super happy. My first two bosses (at my internship & my first job) were BIG on mentoring. I thank my lucky stars (okay, I think God!) for these ladies and the things they taught me during the time I worked with them. What a blessing. I hope I'm able to grow as much here as I did in those two positions.

I had a lovely weekday lunch at Mildred's Coffeehouse in the Crossroads with Audrey and Liane, two wonderful med student wives. Mildred's is literally up the block from where I work, and Audrey and Liane braved the street parking to have lunch with me. We had great fellowship and I am so blessed by these women's friendship! And, because you've got to know, I had the Classic BLT on wheat toast and added avocado. So delicious. I had a half sandwich with a cup of Roasted Red Pepper bisque. Yum. It was $10 with the tip, and I'd recommend this little gem to anyone.

Friday night our group of friends went out to Jack Stack BBQ in the plaza, we waited an hour for a table, I had my first-ever cosmopolitan, and we found out just how blessed we are to have a great group of friends this early in the med-school game! All 4 guys are in school together, and Audrey, Liane and I work, and Preston's girlfriend lives in TN...but we're hoping that someday she gets to move here and join the us every time we go out! We all go to Redeemer Fellowship together, but this was the first time ALL of us were able to go out. Such a fun evening.

So thankful for our friends from all over! L to R: Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, South Dakota - WOW!

Jordan and I splurged on a full slab of Beef Back Ribs ($26.75) that are described as 8 Dinosaur-sized Ribs for those who crave the taste of Beef. Served with Creamy Coleslaw, Hickory Pit Beans, and French Fries. The were not kidding about the dinosaur-size. I ate 2 of the small ones, Jordan ate 4 and he had the other 2 for lunch yesterday. Ridiculous.

Dad, Mom and Lucas arrived around 9pm Friday evening...and we kept them waiting in the car for an hour in our parking lot (OOPS!) as we finished up dinner at Jack Stack. We were SO happy to have them visit, and of course, couldn't fit all the fun into a few days. They'll definitely need to come back:

City Market - bought a few groceries for the week and showed mom & dad how CHEAP everything is!

Ixtapa Mexican - a birthday lunch with dad, mom and Jordan. I enjoyed Tacos Chidos with shrimp ($15.49) which had five mini soft corn tortillas topped with shrimp, caramelized onion, guacamole and fresh cilantro. So delicious.

KCUMB Tour - Jordan showed us around campus, since mom and dad had never seen it before.

WWI Museum - Mom, dad and I spent 3-4hrs exploring this museum, and even though I'd already spent hours here in July, I read new and different things that I hadn't had a chance to read the time before. Such a good museum.

Fort Leavenworth - We visited my mom's sister and her family (AND my cousin Matt from Texas and his wife were staying with them, so we got to caught up after not seeing each other for probably 6 years! A great bonus. Plus, it was the first time I'd met his wife!), enjoyed fabulous beef stew made by my cousin Beth's boyfriend (and biscuits by my momma!), enjoyed amazing cheesecake made by my aunt Kathy, and took a walking tour of base.

Weston, MO - On the way home from Ft. Leavenworth, mom, dad and I met Jordan in Weston so they could experience the underground bar for themselves. Jordan taught us to play Texas Hold'em and mom beat us all!

We also spent an even at our apartment making zucchini, onions, yellow squash and kielbasa...one of my very favs (zucchini and squash courtesy of mom's garden!). We played Up and Down the River for over an hour and laughed hysterically. A wonderful evening.

Mom and Dad brought me my very fav Sioux Falls Oh My Cupcakes! for my birthday. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. So. Delicious. 

Beautiful flowers from hubby for my birthday!

 I'll leave you with a challenging quote that was in our bulletin this past Sunday (blog post dedicated to our fab - and challenging - church is forthcoming...):

"Idolatry need not entail a statue of Buddha or genuflecting in a pagan temple. Idolatry is any tendency in the human heart to dethrone God for the sake of something else, whether that be money, sex, ambition, power, pride, or some thing as seemingly innocuous as respectability. To the extent that we give our affections to anything other than God on the assumption that it can do for our souls what He can't, we are guilty of idolatry." 

~ Sam Storms ~