I've decided to start blogging a picture a week, to document through my 27 years of history... in no particular order. This photo was taken in 1999 at Pine Lake Christian Camp. We had the sweetest cabin of girls that year, and were SO tight!! This was one of my most memorable summers ever. And believe it or not... I still keep in touch with most of these ladies! They have grown up to be ... [ Read More ]
Dining Room Makeover
Don't get me wrong, I love all things obnoxious. But the blotchy, teal, uneven sponging just wasn't working for me. This photo was PRE-makeover, with the exception of our amazing dining room table.I chose this crisp celery green. It makes me feel happy, when everything else in life is a horrible shade of blotchy teal. The hardest part of this makeover was the excessive coats of white ... [ Read More ]
Escape Artist
So, it's been a standing joke that my kitten, Gretchen, can open ANY door. She's known as an escape artist. Well, the thing is, now that we live on an acreage, she's an outdoor kitten... which she quite loves on most days. So it seems she shouldn't have any need to escape, because she's already outdoors... right?Well this afternoon when I got home from training in Ames, I was pulling up to the ... [ Read More ]
Christmas Madness
This year, to avoid the tradition of holiday emergency room visits, we hosted the Klinge family Christmas at our home in the country.But we still found ways to carry on our normal Christmas traditions... such as Christmas cut-out cookies, oyster stew on Christmas Eve, stockings lined up on the wall, and Christmas carols being sung to piano music!Our New York family members made the long and ... [ Read More ]
A Snowy Saga: Chap. 3
If you haven't already, you may want to read Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 first. Otherwise you'll be confused.So Ever and I were stranded in a ditch with sub-zero temperatures. Nick's boss, Jeff, valiantly came to our rescue with his beastly plowing truck. He pulled Ever's truck out of the ditch, and Ever said his goodbyes. I still don't know if Ever made it back home. Jeff and I spent the next ... [ Read More ]
A Snowy Saga: Chap. 2
If you haven’t read Chapter 1, please read it here. The drift my Jeep was laid to rest in spanned from one cornfield to the other, completely covering the road. Like a smooth, horrifying, death-trap. I took a brief moment to reflect on the events at hand, breathed in deeply, and burst into a pathetic flood of tears. Luckily I was smart enough to have brought necessities including a fleece blanket, ... [ Read More ]
A Snowy Saga: Chap. 1
I've given myself a good solid day to reflect on the following events, fully recover, and try and find the words to explain the horror. Allow me to start from the beginning... Each year, when the first snowfall enters the forecast, everyone starts freaking out and acting like it's going to be a big one. And it never is. People driving around like psychotic idiots. Grocery stores are packed, ... [ Read More ]
In Memory of Grandpa Klinge
My Grandpa died yesterday, on December 6th 2009. He lived a full life, filled with the joy of love and children, grandchildren and great grandchildren; as well as a the occasional pain that the Lord throws our way throughout the journey of our lives. Being a highly decorated veteran of World War 2, he's had to pay the price in recent years suffering from the severe pain that is a result of ... [ Read More ]
My friend Francis
I just can't help but blog about my day today. I think it's funny that, right after the Lord convicts me of my unpleasant attitude about my place of employment, I have such a wonderful day at work with my residents. Now, I should say that when you take a position in a nursing home, they tell you that you should NOT form emotional attachments with the residents. I realize that most people don't ... [ Read More ]
Kickin’ it with the In-Laws…
Nick and I love to entertain... and last weekend we were delighted to have Nick's sister Sarah come to visit, with her 3 children, Draven, Alyssa, and baby Haleigh, as well as Grandma Judy! They drove up all the way from Muscatine just to see us and our new place!! After a tour of all 3 stories of our house... we had sloppy joes for lunch and got suited up to go ride horses down the road. ... [ Read More ]