Derek turns {23}

About 3 months after me, my husband turned 23. I enjoy gloating about how he married an "older" women and how I am wiser etc etc . This gloating will probably come to a screeching halt as the years go on {especially around 50}. Until then I'm enjoying it.

For his birthday I made him biscuits and gravy for breakfast. He insists that it is his absolute favorite breakfast. Sadly for him I have not made it for him yet in our short 7 months of marriage. Something about eating gravy for any meal except supper makes my stomach turn. Alas for the birthday boy I broke down and we had it for his breakfast meal. It ended up that I only made the biscuits (and by "making the biscuits" I popped them out of the pillsbury tube and put them in the oven). Derek made the gravy for fear that I would completely ruin it.

Biscuits, gravy, an egg and a not quite awake hubby :)

We both went to work for the day and then he opened his gifts from me. Just a couple little things:)
After that I told him I was taking him out to eat somewhere. He drove and I directed him where to go. More accurately my iphone directed him and I just prayed it wouldn't give away too many hints {you know how those navigation systems are...very revealing}. Anyway we finally arrived at "2Chez" in Peoria and had an awesome meal while listening to someone play the guitar. It was fun, we felt fancy with our fancy meal and dishes {have I mentioned our typical eating out includes Mexican, Mcdonald's and Panera?}

Delicious!

 

 

Derek and I celebrated with his family Sunday afternoon and then with my family Sunday evening. Everly enjoyed sitting on Derek's lap and thought everyone was singing to her. She also loved the candles.

Needless to say he was very spoiled. Love you babe, hope 23 is a great year for you!
Happy Monday...stay warm!

Westward Bound

Westward bound to....Iowa that is. Burlington to be specific. Sorry if you were picturing canyons and mountains...we didn't go that far west. Although I always used to think it would be soooo cool to have gone west on the Oregon Train. I doubt I would have survived though. I would've been one of those bitten by a rattlesnake, or the one that wandered too far from camp or the one that ate poisonous berries, or trampled by oxen, or froze to death in the mountains.......yeah maybe I played too much of that game on the computer as a child ;)
 Anyway this past weekend some great friends and I headed to Iowa to stay the night with Katie W for a belated Christmas friend get together. The drive there really shouldn't take very long, but down- pouring rain, followed by the thickest fog ever and a finicky GPS made for a few wrong turns and detours. One wrong turn led us to someone stuck in a snowy ditch and we ended up being the heroines and pushing her out...(or something like that;). Once we arrived Katie welcomed us with some great snacks (she is the best hostess) and then we went into their den and cranked up the little heater and talked into the night. The next morning we went out for breakfast, hung out into the afternoon and exchanged gifts before heading back.

The clan

 It's awesome staying connecting with all these great girls from high school. It's hard to believe we've almost been out of high school for 5 years. Being with them is such a testament of how God has provided as we look back at the start of new marriages, college graduations, job searches and job offers.....I hope they know how I've prayed for them all so much.

Opening gifts

Good chats, hilarious stories

Gotta stop at McDonald's for a sweet treat when out on the road:)

Happy Monday :) I worked last night so I'm enjoying this day off and the lovely weather!

It's a New Year! And a snowy one at that...

Although I have zero pictures to prove it, we rang in the New Year with all the excitement of an 85 year old (don't judge). Um yep, I am not ashamed that I was in bed and out like a light by 10:30pm. I've seen midnight plenty of times in my life and my eyelids refused to stay open one more minute. Something about being up at 5am for work and not getting out until 4pm makes one's body shut down involuntarily at whatever time it so chooses. 
We're not complete flops though, we had a-mazing appetizers and pizza at Derek's parents along with a euchre game and then headed to hang out with Holly and Pete and baby Everly. They were sick though so our "rocking" party looked a lot like people sprawled out on couches and floors with kleenexes and chex mix. Hey there's always New Year's 2015 right?!
Yesterday they were forecasting a lot of snow and wind. Illinois weather tends to be slightly bi-polar so I wasn't sure if anything was going to happen. This morning I got up and looked out the window and sure enough...snow, snow and snow still falling. Derek shoveled our driveway which was a little futile since it got covered right back up. Thankfully our wonderful neighbors have a snow plow and keep the drive cleaned off. I made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then my Dad came and picked us up and took us back to my parents house which is only a couple miles away. We had church together as a family in the living room and then ate lunch together. It felt like Christmas all over again....lots of food, games and family time:) 

Derek shoveling away

 

Our little duplex in a blanket of snow

Back to work early tomorrow though so please pray the roads are clear enough that I can get to work so all the nurses that have been so awesome and working double shifts can go home and take a break!

Christmas Chaos

I've been reading for the shear fun of it lately. It's one of my favorite things to do and when I find a great book I am not ashamed to ignore my "to do list" for the sake of finding out what happens in the next chapter. I've been reading the "Divergent" book series and yes I'm hooked on it and thus disappear for hours on end with my nose glued in the book. I started the second book in the series yesterday and I realized I haven't read like this in what seems like forever. It brings back memories from my teenage years when I'd read till 2am and get up for school a few hours later. Oh where has that insanity energy gone? :)

So I thought there were a lot of Christmas events to attend when I was single and living at home. Then I got married and Christmas time went into fast, fast forward. Like we need to get here now and then as soon as we leave we need to remember to take this present there.
Whew. It can only get crazier right? Really though I loved every bit of it. Well except for the part where my house turned into a dumping ground. You know when you're gone from home every day and you only stop in to shower and leave again for the next Christmas event? It's those times that you toss the mail on the table, gifts on the couches, work papers on the desk, clothes don't make it the hamper.... and then multiply this by however many days of holiday chaos and your house has become a dumping ground.

All the stockings hung at my mom and dads house:)

The weekend before Christmas we headed to Derek's cousins wedding in Indiana. It was a rainy, sleety kind of day, but inside the church it was warm (if the men kept the doors shut that is), everything was decorated cute and there is so much love between Will and Wendy. They truly are a great couple!

For my family Christmas on the 23rd we had brunch together and then hung out the whole day eating, opening gifts, playing scrabble, the 5 second game, and ping pong. Three of my family members received the Apple TV for a gift. It was hilarious because the box is so small and my dad kept saying "that's a TV?, are you sure? how do you work it?". 
Overall It was a fun, exhausting day:) On Christmas Eve I worked a 12 hour shift and then met up with Derek at an extended family gathering. Then after that we went to his parents and spent the night there, although after laying under the tree for less than 5 minutes I fell asleep. 12 hour shifts tend to do that to you ;) Christmas morning we had french toast together and then left and went to Church with my parents and was able to hear the Christmas story and sing carols. Afterwards we went back to his parents house and opened gifts, ate pizza, and played games. From there we went to my Roth family Christmas and reunited with cousins through games of dutch blitz and euchre:) That was one crazy, fun day!

Laura took these pics at our Vollmer Christmas

But really, what is Christmas if there never was a Savior wrapped in a manger? I think of God stepping down from His mighty thrown and coming to earth and being born in a stable and I am humbled that so long ago my Savior would have me in mind as He grew up and eventually died on the cross giving me a redeemed life and a hope of Heaven with Him. 
We are blessed. Merry Christmas!