The Big Old Town of Huntsville

Last Thursday I headed out to Huntsville to visit my mom and dad. My mom is living in Wyoming now, but she still has a house in Huntsville. So she came in for the holiday weekend. My dad has, of course, always lived in big old Huntsville. Anywho, I spent the past 2 1/2 days visiting the family. While it was a quick trip, it was both restful and fun. Mom has a beautiful house on the lake, so it is always so peaceful. Dad and Susie just bought a new house early this year, so I got to see it for the first time. It is really nice as well. They have bought beautiful new furniture and lots of really cool wall hangings. The house is full of silk flowers as Susie prepares for her and dad's wedding later this month. They are getting married at the lodge in the Huntsville state park. We went out to see the wedding location...very nice. It overlooks the lake, so it should be really pretty. She is using big sprays of fall colors (reds, oranges, yellows, purples, greens, browns, etc) all around the patio and inside the lodge as decorations. Each of the bridesmaids has a different colored fall dress...I get to be chocolate brown!! So fun!! I took my camera to Huntsville, but i didn't take any pictures. Oh well!! 

On another note, school starts tomorrow, so I am getting prepared for that. I have Monday and Tuesday classes so I will head to Austin on Monday mornings, stay the night there and then come home on Tuesday evening. Still haven't figured out where I am staying yet...so if you have any Austin connections let me know. Anywho, tomorrow I will be meeting my new student teachers for the first time...I have 17 this semester!! That is a lot for one person, but I am really excited. So say a few prayers for me!! 

Guess what!!

This evening we took some cookies over to the Riedel girls as a little first day of school treat. After spending a little time with these adorable ladies...Ben officially said it, "I think I have the bug now!!" I had to stop what I was doing and ask him to repeat! And he said it again!! So thanks Kailey, Kaitlynd, Kassidy, and Kendall, you are just too cute, Ben wants his own!! All I have to say is...if we have girls, Ben is going to be so screwed...they will have him wrapped so tight around their little fingers he won't know what to do. Here are a few pics of these adorable girls. 

Ben trying to get in a picture with Kassidy and Charis!!

Kailey and Kendall...aren't they beautiful!!

Sweet Kassidy...she started first grade today. When we went over this evening she was sound asleep. Apparently she was worn out after a long day!!

Kaitlynd looking serious for the pic. 

Luke...I am your father!

So as we continue in our journey exploring Ben's passions...we venture into the land of Star Wars. Ben loves, loves, loves Star Wars. He watches the movies repeatedly! When we first started dating, we went to see one of the Star Wars movies...and I pretended to be interested, but really I had no idea what was going on. Later, Ben told me that he was impressed that I liked Star Wars and that was one of the things that attracted him to me. Oops!! I just don't get it. I guess I have never really watched the movies in chronological order, so I am always confused about who is who and what is going on. Needless to say...it is not my passion. 

Not only is Ben passionate about the movie, but he loves the figurines. He has been collecting Star Wars figurines for years...and I mean years!! Every time we go to Target or Walmart he heads straight for the toy section to see if they have one he doesn't have. When I asked him what his deal with the figurines was, he said, I want to have them for our children. And I said..."well what if they don't even like Star Wars?" And he says, "how could they not like Star Wars, everybody loves Star Wars." "Not me," I say! Anywho, our children will have no shortage of star wars figurines when they arrive...new and in the box!! The question is, will Ben actually let them open them up and play with them? 

When I was pulling out the figurines to take a picture, Ben said, "this was my biggest dream as a child." Well you know, I am happy that I can help my sweet husband fulfill his lifelong dreams! 

56 figurines in total!! 

Ranging from Episode One to Episode six!

Another Collection of Passion

My husband has a thing for knives. I have aided in this passion, I am ashamed to say. He really loves these knives that are handmade by a man in Stillwater, OK named Dave McCrosky. He measures your hand and then custom makes the knives to fit each person. I bought Ben his first one and then ever since then he can't get enough. Now we even have hand made kitchen knives. I have to admit, they are amazing knives and I will never go back to the store bought kind.  No Ben is not a dangerous or angry person...he is just passionate about his knives!! Here are  just a few of Ben's knives. 

Knives, Knives everywhere. Knives for boar hunting, deer skinning, fish filleting...kitchen knives, knives for fun, pocket knives, and knives for your belt. Ben loves knives.  

Oh how I love my husband!

Okay, if you know my husband Ben, you know that he is a very passionate person. He is passionate about everything he does, whether that be studying scripture, serving the community, helping people in need, loving his wife, trying to be obedient, or collecting things!! Yes, my husband's passion has caused him to become a PACK RAT!!  He said so himself when he was teaching last night  at church. Ben was teaching on the Lord's prayer and its connection to Exodus...particularly the notion of "daily bread." In his teaching, Ben admitted that he didn't always live into this promise and had a tendency to be a slight pack right storing things up, instead of depending on G-d's daily provision. Let's just say I had to pick my jaw up off the floor because this was the first time I have ever heard him admit that. 

I love Ben and his passion...but sometimes it is a bit misplaced. When Ben gets excited about something, he gets really excited and just can't stop himself from wanting more....whether that be star wars figures, knives, bags (or as I like to call them "man purses"), mini horses, water bottles, blankets, etc. So in the car last night, my blackberry kept buzzing. I looked down only to discover that my sweet husband had bid on like 15 different water bottles on ebay. Fortunately, the buzzing was telling me he had lost...but seriously, 15 water bottles. Mind you, we had just recently (within 2 weeks) purchased 4 new water bottles for our trip to Israel. So I say to him, "honey, seriously, don't you think we have enough water bottles, we just got four new ones and you just bought another one on ebay." Then he says to me, "but what about other people, they need water bottles too." Isn't he sweet, always thinking of others. So I say, "I bet we have enough water bottles to give 8 people 2 water bottles each." He says, "no way, that is 16 bottles, you must be kidding me....you can't count the small ones, they aren't sufficient for the hike (referring to the trip to Israel we are about to take)." So I say, "yep, I bet we still do have enough, not counting all the small ones." So we get home and I proceed to pull out all of our water bottles and guess what...16 sufficiently sized bottles!! Plus 20 others!! That's right friends 36 water bottles in my house!! 

In tribute to Ben's passion..I will be posting pictures of his collections over the next few days!!

 Water bottles, water bottles everywhere!! 36 in total!!

Riverside Community 5th Annual Baptism and Back to School Bash

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit- Matthew 28:19

Let me just begin by saying, G-d is good and His love endures forever. This Saturday our community shared in our 5th annual Baptism and it was AMAZING. I was baptized in our first baptism celebration nearly 5 years ago. It was such a special day. Each year, I continue to be more amazed by G-d's glory and provision. In our first baptism celebration, 4 people were baptized, this year 34 people made commitments of baptism or rededication. And each of their stories is an amazing testament to G-d's power and love. We had about 250 people come out to celebrate in this special day!! 

Not only did we have a great turnout, but G-d took great care of the weather. He held off his quenching rain until everyone was baptized, we had eaten dinner, enjoy fun and games, and worshipped our hearts out.  Just when I was thinking it was time to clean and pack up, G-d gave us a little hint of rain and people quickly packed up and were out!! I just love G-d's timing. What is crazy is that people said it was raining everywhere around us, but we didn't get a drop until after 8pm. I just love that!!

Ethan J Heare was baptized! Isn't he adorable. 

After being baptized. Still so stinkin cute.

My good friend Gary! We are so proud of you!

Lance Klein, you are a rock star!! Before!

And After the big dunk! Thanks for letting us be a part of it!

Jack and Joanie...aren't those awesome shirts! Oh how do you get one, you ask...join the greatest acacia group on earth...the DEEP WATER CREW!!

Sweet Braden and Ryan, watching so intently. 

Ben and I watching!!

Ben saying the shema!

Living with wet feet!!  The whole community says the Shema together. 

The Deep Water Crew!! Aren't we a fine looking bunch!

It's a Hard Life

Yes, my dogs have a very hard life. Between barking at vehicles and people passing by, making sure the overstuffed chair doesn't float away, loving on and taking care of their numerous toys, serving as an electric heating blanket for Ben and me, protecting us from other evil animals including deer, cats, and squirrels, and howling at the answering machine...it is amazing that my two furry friends find a moment to rest. But even in their resting, they still manage to lay between me and the door...just to make sure I am protected. Oh...how I love my dogs...seriously, blog entries like this make me think...it is really time for kids. (people must think I am weird for writing about my dogs like this...oh well.)

After a late night working, this is what I turned around to see. My two dogs crashed out right behind me.  They like to be really close. 

The MuckRakers

muck·raker (typical defintion)

intr.v. muck·raked, muck·rak·ing, muck·rakes 

A person who searches for and expose misconduct in public life.

muck·raker (riverside definition)

intr.v. muck·raked, muck·rak·ing, muck·rakes  

One who cleans out the mucky, yuck from the baptism site!! (AKA...my best friends)

We are currently preparing for our 5th Annual Riverside Baptism and Back to School Bash. Unfortunately, my Acacia group and best friends always get recruited to help out with all of my projects. This time, they got a really dirty job...MUCKRAKING!! That's right...we headed down to the baptism site to clean out all of the weeds and muck that was clouding up the water. We had a great time and smelled lovely after we finished. Thanks to my favorite peeps!! The baptism site looks really beautiful now. 

 Baptism is my favorite Riverside event!! I was baptized in our first baptism ceremony. As I told Scott then, I was more nervous for my baptism than I was for my wedding. I just love learning about all of the stories of God's power! I love that our entire community comes out to celebrate in this special event. It is truly a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven!

Chris, Ben, Kim, and Meg...the Muckrakers!!

You can't tell in this picture, but Ben kept slinging mud all over us!! Just love him. 

The supervisors...they took a little break to fish!!

Looking good guys!! Thanks for all of your hard work. 

Michele's Shower

The deep water girls headed out to Michele Woodman's baby shower yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful occasion, complete with Joanie Dean's delicious punch, Jenny Rudd's delightfully delectable cupcakes, wonderful hors dourves, beautiful decorations, and amazing friends and family. Michele looked so cute...as always!! Thanks for a fun shower hostesses!!

Michele opening her present. Luke is going to decked out in all his new stuff!!

Sweet Michele, looking beautiful.

My good friend Jen and I (she didn't really want to take any pictures). But isn't she so cute!!

Kim, Joanie, and Judy

The Snavely sisters and Christi H. (she's expecting too!!)

Two fine hostesses! Lacy and Jenny. 

Little blurry...but still cute. Love my acacia sistas.

Jenny's cute cupcakes!! They were delicious too...strawberry cake!!

I love my job!!

Okay, so this summer I have spent my mornings working at the Loft Coffee House. The Loft is a ministry of our church and is an awesome place to meet new people! We not only serve great coffee, pastries, breakfast tacos, smoothies, lunches, and pie...but we get to serve some fantastic customers. Each morning our long table is filled up with the "regulars," a group of 6 or 7 men who come in every morning for coffee and conversation. We all sit, drink our coffee and shoot the breeze. This morning they asked me to teach them the pageant wave. Apparently, I had showed them my mad waving skills sometime earlier in the summer (not sure why) and today they wanted me to teach them some of my skills. (don't ask me where I learned this). So Jenny quickly grabbed her camera as I began Pageant Waving 101. I love these guys!! Are you jealous that I get to do this everyday. 

Happy Birthday Lizzy

My good friend Lizzy turned 39th this week. We had a little celebration in her honor. She even let us take her picture...a rare occasion.  

Joanie and Lizzy 

Jenny and Raenette

The table at La Hacienda. Yum!!

It must be in the water!!

Okay so like 75% of my friends and family are either pregnant or just had a baby! I think it must be something in the water...problem is they all live in different places!! 

All of this baby talk is giving Ben the baby bug! it is all I can do to get him to stop talking about having a little one. Every time he sees a picture of one of our friends' newborn babies or catches a glimpse of a baby bump, he gives me the look like isn't it OUR time yet? I can tell his mind races incessantly about when the perfect timing is and what our future little ones will look like. Really people, stop having babies or my husband is going to go crazy. (okay, so maybe it isn't Ben who is obsessed, but I am the one writing the blog...so I can say whatever I want). 

Congrats to all the pregnant ladies out there. We can't wait to meet the new additions! And to those with newborns...well done!! 

Those Who Drank the Water

Julia Kate Bierhalter was born July 28th to my college friend Sarah Bierhalter and her husband Blake. Isn't she beautiful.

Hudson Mitchell Denny was born yesterday, Aug 4 to my college friend Karen and her husband Byron. Isn't he so handsome. Congrats!!

My sister-in-law Lyndsey! 30 1/2 wks pregnant with our nephew ER Grant!

My cousin-in-law Elizabeth (on the right)! Little Greta Ruth is due in October!

Sweet and beautiful Michele Woodman. She is due in late August!

My good friend Jamie King! I left for a week, no sign of pregnancy and now the girl looks like she has a deflated basketball under her shirt! Little baby King is due in late January! 

Cute and newly employed Christi Hinkebein! I don't have a pregnant picture of her, but trust me she is way cute. Baby H is due in February. 

Love the babies and their mommas!!

 

Pictures of Lake City

Well we made it to Stratford after an 8 hour drive! Ben and I fly out tomorrow for San Antonio. The week was awesome, but we were ready to be home. I am definitely not prepared for the 100+ degree weather we are experiencing here in Texas, nor for getting back to the real world of work and school. It was awesome to hang out with the family and enjoy the beautiful scenery and weather. 

Here are some pics from our trip..

View from our cabin. Isn't it beautiful. Truly rustic...no electricity. Everything was run on propane, including the refigerator. 

One of the many beautiful waterfalls we happened upon. 

Pop doing what he does best...fishing!!

Ben and Lyndsey fishing....Lyndsey caught all the fish!! 

This is one of the pretty hummingbirds outside of our cabin. This is the one that wouldn't let any of the other hummingbirds eat from the feeder. Ben nicknamed her Brooke..ha!!

Ben and I on the front porch of our cabin. 

Ben and I on the Alpine Loop Jeep Ride. Wednesday we went on the jeep tour around the alpine loop. It was about an eight hour jeep ride. It was absolutely magnificant. We drove all the way to the top of the mountain and down the backside. We stopped for lunch in Silverton and then headed back around the mountain towards Lake City. 

Another beautiful waterfall we saw while on the Alpine Loop. 

View from the top of Engineer Pass on the Alpine Loop. 

Another view from the top. 

Lyndsey and Terri in the meadow while on the Alpine Loop. Lyndsey ended up having to go to the emergency room on Wednesday evening because she started having contractions. She is 7 months pregnant. They rushed her via ambulance to Gunnison, where she stayed overnight. They got the contractions under control and she was able to come back Thursday morning. But without cell phone service it was pretty scary because we didn't know what was going on. Richard, Lyndsey's husband, blamed the whole ordeal on me...because I told them I wanted to see sonograms of the baby. At her visit she got the new 4D sonogram, so finally I got to see Little ER. 

Another beautiful waterfall!

Well the Alpine Loop Jeep Ride was beautiful, but also very eventful. First the fuel pump in Pop's 1948 Willy's  jeep went out as we were summitting Engineer Pass (12,000+ ft). So we had to tow them in the jeep we rented. Ben did a great job with that...let's just say it was really scary. As we descended the mountain the jeep worked fine since it didn't need to pump fuel. But once we headed back up the mountain after lunch, we again had to tow the jeep. Then when we were about 15 minutes from home, we got a flat!! Oh what a day!

The boys...Richard and Ben washing dishes. What big help they are. 

Me at the top of the mountain we hiked on the second day. Yes, I am standing next to snow. That is how high it was. So fun!!

Down by the river next to our cabin. Ben and I were looking for cool rocks. 

Ben looking for rocks!! One of his favorite pastimes. 

Macy Moo and Daddy. 

The boys in the jeep. Taylor, Garrett, and Ben. 

Ben helping Macy make smores. We made a campfire our last night and cooked hobo packs...my favorite. Then we made smores. This morning we used the same campfire to make campfire donuts...another one of my favs.

Macy and her fish!! Isn't she so cute. 

Hope you enjoy the pics. There should be more to come in future days!! 

(not sure why things are underlined now...too tired to figure out)