Ah, I'm actually posting!

Ah, finally-I am here to post an update on our travels! We are currently in Wautoma, Wisconsin where we will be presenting our ministry at tomorrow. The church put us up in a nice hotel for the evening and the pastor took us to dinner at a pizzeria!!
What have I been doing these past few weeks? Other than being horrible about posting to my blog…we have been visiting family. We haven’t seen much of our family since last November/December so its been great seeing everyone again. We made our first visit to my parents, where we played golf with my dad and brother, played Wii with the family and I was able to share some alone time with my mom at dinner while the guys went to a preachers fellowship! After a week there, we took off to Michigan to visit Joseph’s family. During our time there, his mom bought us a golf lesson that was taught by a pro golfer and we tested that knowledge on the golf course with his parents-I’m still an embarrassment on the course; but I know what I need to work on now! We also got his mom hooked on Wii-you probably thought I was going to say, hooked on phonics!? Now we just need to work on his dad to get her one! Upon leaving Michigan we headed to Wisconsin to spend time with my grandparents and have been enjoying our time with them! Joseph and my grandpa have been doing lots of walking and I have been enjoying those alone times with my grandma-I really do love my grandparents and I’m thankful that since I have been married that I get to see them so much more! After our meeting tomorrow we will head back to Kenosha and on Monday will fly out of Milwaukee to Wyoming so I can help in VBS!
I joined Weight Watchers online-I’m in dire need of serious weight loss! I have done pretty good on it until the last two days. I need serious help when it comes to pizza-filled with sooo many calories; but I just can’t help it-I love pizza! Weight loss while traveling can be kind of difficult, so, I will be ready to be home for the summer where I can focus on doing some serious lifestyle changes in the exercise and eating department! I’m also very thankful for a very good friend of mine that is also doing weight watchers and even though her and I live miles apart we have been checking up on one another and that helps!
After this coming week, we will be home for most of the summer, unless the Lord gives us or shows us something different! Even though we won’t always be traveling, I will do my best to keep this thing up to date! Also, if you have noticed I posted a new blog called, “10 on Tuesday” instead of Celebrate Life on Saturdays I will be doing that instead! Thanks for reading and showing an interest in my life!

10 on Tuesday

10 on Tuesday

1. I have been horrible about keeping my blog up to date…
2. I joined weight watchers!
3. Joseph’s mom bought me a golf lesson….hopefully my game has improved since that lesson!
4. For all you scrapbookers….I have discovered the world of recycling cards to cut out cute
phrases, borders or pictures to use in my scrapbook!
5. I get to visit my Grandparents this week!
6. Fuze slenderize drinks are great…10-20 calories!
7. Eating to many bananas in a day can cause you to gain weight…
8. Next week we fly out to Glenrock, Wyoming to help in Vacation Bible School.
9. Question, is Vacation Bible School really a vacation for the workers doing it??? Lol!
10. Hopefully 10 on Tuesday will become a weekly thing and help me get back into the groove of my blog!

Gum and a Long Day

Apparently, Joseph doesn’t like gum as much as I do! Last Friday we spent a couple of hours touring Seattle and one of our visits was to the gum wall at Post Alley….probably thousands of pieces of gum have been chewed and stuck to that wall! Some people even profess their love on that wall! Now, while I do love gum, I don’t love it enough to actually touch the wall or leave my own piece of chewed gum; but I did have Joseph take my picture in front of it! I tried to convince him to do the same; but he was unwilling! We also went to Pike Market-where they throw the fish-we didn’t see them throwing the fish; but it was still fun! The Pike Market also sells fresh flowers, fruit and vegetables-I have never seen an open market like that before! At almost every open spot of the market, we saw people playing instruments or singing for tips! We also went up into the Columbia Tower, the tallest building in Seattle, to overlook the city! Yes, we did go to the Space Needle; but we didn’t go into it, it was much cheaper to visit the Columbia Tower and from the Columbia Tower we were able to get some good pictures of the Space Needle! A couple of blisters later and an afternoon later, I must admit we had a great time touring the city of Seattle and hope to go again when we have more time!
On Sunday morning we were in Sammamish, Washington at a church that was planted by a couple that I went to college with! It was great to see their work flourishing and they treated us so well! They put us up in a nice hotel, gave us a basket of goodies, treated us to a couple of meals, filled our gas tank and gave us a great love offering! We felt really blessed to be there and to be a part of their services!
Sunday night we were off to Ana Cortes, Washington. They put us up in a hotel that Joseph wanted to live in-there was a fireplace in our room and that was the greatest things in Joseph’s eyes! We had a good meeting there, Joseph preached and I was able to play the piano for their services. During that time there I was able to get catch up with a friend of mine from college, who is very involved in that church and who set us up with the meeting! Joseph and I also went to brunch with him on Monday morning and we really enjoyed ourselves!
Monday after brunch we took off to Missoula, Montana where we had dinner with a friend of Joseph’s and the church that Joseph used to be the assistant at put us up in a nice hotel! Tuesday morning, we enjoyed breakfast with the pastor and his wife before heading off to Yellowstone and this is where it gets interesting…I better start a new paragraph to explain!
So, we got on the road at around 11:00 and according to our GPS would arrive in Cody, Wyoming where we would be staying that night around 8:00. We arrived at Yellowstone around four and had to pay $25 to go into the park-which I think paying to go into a park is absolutely crazy-and yes, I do realize it’s a national park…but still, its crazy! During our drive through we got stopped twice by herds of bison in the road way, we were able to see geysers-it was pretty relaxing! Despite, not being able to see bear-the one animal I desperately wanted to see we decided to leave for Cody, it was about 6:30 so we had plenty of time to arrive by 8! But, nope the one road that had the fastest access out of the park to Cody closed minutes before we got there due to trees falling in the road and the fastest way to Cody from there was a trip that lasted for five hours. Not fun! During our time being stuck in the park, we were also able to see quite a few deer and elk; but honestly it wasn’t worth it to me, because we ended up being trapped in our vehicle for 12 very long hours that day. After a very long drive, I was ready for a bed and a shower-I couldn’t wait to arrive to the prophets chamber in Cody just so I could have those two things! Well, while the room was clean and had a nice bed for us to sleep on-the shower was absolutely disgusting. What was the point in showering in a dirty shower when it would just make me feel even dirtier? I couldn’t wait for Tuesday to be over!
So, Wednesday we woke up, grabbed a bite to eat and left for Sundance, Wyoming where we would have our last meeting before heading home. The pastor was gone and left a deacon in charge-we had no clue where the church was, the GPS didn’t recognize the address and we couldn’t get a hold of the deacon. We showed up at 6 and realized that services would be starting at 6:30 and we still had no clue if anyone- besides the pastor who wouldn’t be there-knew we were coming. They didn’t! The few people that showed up were nice; but we left there without a love offering or a place to stay. I was still in search of a shower, we drove off to Spearfish, SD for the night and put ourselves up in a cheap; but nice hotel-where it was worth the money for the clean shower!
Today we arrived to Rapid City for the next couple of days! While walking the mall, I heard someone call my name…which is crazy since we are not even at home! I turned around to find a family from our home church! We knew they would be in town; but didn’t expect to run into them at the mall! So, this evening we get to meet them for dinner and I am so excited to see friends from home!
Tomorrow, its off to Mount Rushmore and Saturday we will arrive in Sioux Falls for a few days before taking off to visit our families and have one last meeting of the summer!

Raised Hands...Swaying...? Interesting!

(Actually written on May 7th-just late posting it...)
I left off in Idaho Falls! We arrived their Saturday night to a beautiful hotel-we felt spoiled just being in our hotel room! After we checked in, dying of hunger we went to Olive Garden, which was absolutely delicious! The evening was relaxing after a long day of travel-8 hours.
On Sunday we presented our ministry to a church there in Idaho Falls and I must admit that was quite an experience. I don’t even know how to describe the church…when I say the church I am referring to the people there! They were friendly, just different from what I am used to. For instance, I am not used to people raising their hands and swaying when they sing hymns…
On Monday morning when we woke up we were still curious as to where we would be staying that night as well as Tuesday night. We really didn’t want to have to pay for a hotel so we were just trusting God to provide a place for us. The pastor from Glenrock referred us to a pastor in Prosser, Washington, who had a prophets chamber. So, catching the pastor off guard we called him early Monday morning and he gave the okay to use his prophets chamber for the two nights. So like two crazy birds we flew as we readied for the day and took off on an hour trip to Prosser.
After we left Prosser it was off to Spanaway, Washington for a Wednesday night meeting at a large church. The people there were friendly, gave us a decent love offering and gave us a few “missionary handshakes”. For those of you that don’t know what a “missionary handshake” is, it is when someone shakes your hand as they pass money from their hand to yours! The church also put us up in a hotel and is putting us up in it until Saturday-which is such a blessing!
Tomorrow we plan to tour Seattle and I am very excited! And on Saturday we will take off to Sammamish, Washington for a Sunday morning meeting. After that we will be in Ana Cortes for Sunday night. Our journey is almost over for a little while!

A month later...

It has been forever! Below is a post that I meant to publish a month ago but we have not had capable internet service for my blog until now. I apologize to all my faithful blog followers and hope that another month will not pass by before my next post.
Where to begin? We stayed in Kalispell for two weeks and that was an interesting experience! We had some good meetings out there and made a few new friends! While there I met a pastor’s wife, who is a scrapbooker-just as I am! I was able to spend some time with her over lunch and doing a little scrapbook shopping! Joseph and I were able to visit the driving range a few times and I have finally figured out how to hold my club correctly! I was also able to meet a good friend of Joseph’s from Missoula!
After we left Kalispell, we took off to Great Falls, Montana for a three day missions conference! The church treated us so well! We stayed with a lady from the church and enjoyed late nights chatting with her! Each night of the conference the church spoiled us with gifts and good meals! The conference started on a Friday night and on Saturday the men went for lunch and the ladies had a special brunch together. After the men and ladies activities were finished, Joseph and I decided to visit the mall and waste some time. Well, me and my small bladder had to visit the ladies restroom almost immediately. And, it was during my restroom visit that things became exciting…or maybe the correct word is disgusting? After I finished my business, I heard what sounded to me like a little splash. I slowly turned around and there sitting at the bottom of the toilet bowl was my pretty phone. I pondered, do I really stick my hand in and grab it or do I let it be? After deciding that Joseph and I really couldn’t afford to buy me a new phone, I gathered my courage, stuck my hand in and grabbed the phone! I dried it as best as I could and immediately Joseph and I took off to Verizon; but people seem to not be so helpful when they realized where my phone was and it could not be fixed. Joseph was eligible for a phone upgrade; but I wasn’t. So, since they were offering a buy one get one free blackberry deal-Joseph bought a phone-as he was already needing one and I was able to get a blackberry curve for free and a new phone number! As I said, other than this event the rest of the conference was amazing! God was really at work at the conference and some new friends of ours, surrendered to be missionaries! Our friends had been fighting God’s call for years and they discovered after surrendering their lives to God’s will, peace filled their lives. I couldn’t help but to think that there are so many people in this world, that are not willing to give their lives to God-instead they choose money and worldly goods. However, when those earthly goods and money are being threatened from their lives, they live their lives in fear; but if they would only accept God’s salvation, they wouldn’t have to fear-God would be in control of their lives and they could have peace that God would take care of them!
We left Great Falls on a Wednesday to go to Evanston, Wyoming for a meeting and then the following day we took off back to Glenrock, Wyoming! We arrived to Glenrock at about four in the afternoon allowing us just enough time to get ready for dinner and the evening services as Joseph would be preaching that night! When we arrived to church, we felt like we were right at home-it was great! On Friday, I woke up not feeling right; but still went on with the ladies from the church and the other missionary wife for brunch and a ladies shopping day in Casper! I shopped with the Pastor’s daughter and enjoyed my time with her, we found so many good deals and discovered that we share the same taste in a lot of clothing styles! When I got back to my hotel room that afternoon, I decided to take a nap and when I woke up, I had such a fever and felt horrible. So, unfortunately I had to miss Friday evenings meeting and get my rest! By Saturday afternoon, I felt 100% better! I was glad to feel so much better and be able to enjoy the rest of the conference! After the conference was over, we were able to stay for a few more days! During that time, I made a jean skirt with Pastor’s daughter out of a pair of jeans-it turned out super cute! And, I should probably admit that all I did was rip the seam out and she did the rest! But, at least I now know how to do it myself! We were also able to spend more time with Pastor and his wife-which we always enjoy! We also, made new friends with a couple in the church who shares Joseph’s passion for mashed potatoes! We had fun playing Wii with them and enjoying homemade hot fudge! I could probably write a book about all the fun we had in Glenrock; but I will stop and move on to where we are at this point and time!
We left Glenrock this morning and drove to Idaho Falls, Idaho! We have a meeting here tomorrow night! From here we are off to a few meetings in Washington State, a meeting in Wyoming and then home to South Dakota for a few days! Exactly two weeks from today we should be home and we are thrilled!

Leaving Glenrock-Sad....

We were sad to leave Glenrock, Wyoming; but it had to be done! We thoroughly enjoyed our two weeks spent there and are so thankful for the friendships we created during our time there! We had a Sunday morning meeting there, to close our time together and the church was so good to us, they gave us a huge love offering and filled our gas tank before sending us off!
We left Glenrock to head to Sundance, Wyoming. An hour before we were to arrive to the meeting Joseph called the Pastor to let him know how much longer it would be before we would arrive. The weather was not looking promising, a blizzard was predicted-which would make 2 blizzards for us in the last week! The pastor explained that he wasn’t even sure that people would be in attendance that evening with the upcoming storm and told us that it might be best to reschedule and for us to keep traveling, so that we could try and get ahead of the storm, before the interstates started closing down. We got right outside of Buffalo, Wyoming-just 25 miles south of Sheridan when suddenly we were right in the middle of the weather that had been predicted. It was like night and day with how quickly the weather changed. We didn’t know what lied ahead so we decided to get a hotel for the evening! We couldn’t even see out the window of our hotel room, that is how bad the snow was falling. When Monday morning came, the snow drifts around our van were almost as tall as the van! The interstate going south was closed; but the interstate going north was open, so we along with a very few other travelers braved the weather and were back on the road! I was thankful that there were not more travelers on the road as it’s the other cars in weather like that, that scares me because you don’t know what they are going to do! We traveled at about 40 mph for around 2 ½ hours before finally seeing good weather! It made for a very long travel day to Bozeman, Montana!
We stayed one night in Bozeman before we headed to Kalispell! We are currently in Kalispell and are staying here two and a half weeks in a very nice prophets chamber! We have many meetings around the area!
So, far during our time here we have been playing lots of Wii fit and I have lost 2 lbs as a result-getting a little closer to my 1st goal of 5 lbs! We also hurried to the driving range on its opening day-I always get embarrassed hitting the ball in front of others; but for the 1st time out this season, I did okay!
After we leave Kalispell, we will be on our way to Great Falls for a missions conference, then off to Evanston, Wyoming for a one night missions conference and back to Glenrock! We are so excited to go back to Glenrock, the pastor called us this past weekend to see if we had the dates open at such a short notice and we only had one night that we would be unavailable. So, we are very excited to go back and be a part of their missions conference!

Short and Sweet!

Unfortunately, nothing very exciting has happened to tell you about. We are still in Glenrock, Wyoming; but will be moving on this Sunday afternoon to Sundance, Wyoming.
While here in Glenrock we have enjoyed getting to know the Pastor, his wife and family so much! They have been SO kind to us…had us over for dinner and fellowship many nights! We have also appreciated their Godly example that they have set before us!
This past Monday, Glenrock was the recipient of a blizzard! And I thought it was spring, especially since on Sunday it was in the 70’s! We received at least 12 inches of snow; but, on Tuesday it already started to melt as it was in the 40’s! Wyoming weather is very fickle!
For those of you who voted in my poll, if you chose, Norwegians…read more books than any other population-you are correct! Norwegians are very knowledgeable people and they love knowledge!
So, yes, this is really short; but that’s about all there is to say! Oh, one more thing…I am going to start a new edition to this blog! Celebrate Life will be posted every Saturday if time permits and I have an internet connection. Celebrate Life will be a post of 10 things that happened in the week that I am thankful for or need prayer about!

Private Investigator

We are in Glenrock, Wyoming-a small town about 20 miles from Casper! Staying in a great prophet’s chamber and the Pastor’s family has already been so good to us. We arrived here Monday night! When we arrived we couldn’t get a hold of the Pastor and his home number is unlisted, so we became private investigators and called everyone we thought that might have a connection to him and would have a way to get in touch with him. We finally did get a hold of him and are now living in their church’s prophets chamber for the next 2 weeks! Its great and we are thankful to be in a place that has an internet connection!
For the last 2 Tuesdays someone has been calling Joseph’s cell phone number at 6 a.m.-very annoying and it’s an automated message. So, I decided to become a private investigator once again and I called the phone number back and it goes to an answering machine telling me that I have reached Bob and Dale-not a clue as to who they are. Well, I then Googled the number and the first five sites were about how calls from this number have been people scamming the recipients of those calls for money-they claim they are trying to collect a debt and have you verify your personal info by you giving them the info and then through that they can use the information to steal your identity and to take the alleged debt out of your bank account. Crazy stuff!
Well, we are now at the half way marker in our travels for this go around on the deputation trail. We should be home about this time in May and will be home for most of the summer! Summer is not always a beneficial time for meetings, because people are on vacation, churches have vacation bible schools and summer camps. While home for the summer, I try to work and usually work at the public school day care program; but I am looking at getting a nanny job. I have one prospect and am asking for prayer that it all works out and that I can get this nanny job!
For everyone who voted in my poll….Norway is known as? The Land of the Midnight Sun! Japan is known as Land of the Rising Sun, Scotland is known as The Land of the Book and Russia is known as The Great White North!

Steamboat Springs

Plain Jane, Wyoming

To start off with-I don’t particularly like Wyoming! We arrived here in Evanston, WY on Tuesday. Our travel time should have been only 5 hours; but it was 7 hours. We endured icy roads and were stuck on the interstate 30 miles away from our destination in a stand still traffic jam for an hour and a half. However, I better learn to like Wyoming as I will be a guest of the state for the rest of the month.
On a better note, we were able to spend a night in Steamboat Springs, Colorado! We didn’t get to take in all of the sites; but just from the little time we did spend there it makes me want to go back, when we can spend more time there! We were there on Monday and just took the day walking the downtown area and admiring the scenery. We ate dinner at a fifty’s diner, Johnny Be Good’s-they serve the best burgers! I had a Plain Jane Burger and Joseph had a Mogul Masher which was a burger with pineapples and Canadian bacon on top of it! We were going to visit Strawberry Park on Tuesday before we left; but when we awoke to snow and bad weather we decided it wouldn’t be a good idea and will have to save it for next time.
We enjoyed our meeting in Walsenburg, Colorado! The church had a neat idea, during Sunday school class they take up a change offering, people give loose change or loose bills. They take the change offering and dump it into a big coffee container each week and they do so until a missionary comes. When the missionary arrives, how much ever has been collected is given to the missionary wife-which was me this time! After our meeting there, I took the change in to the bank to have it cashed out and there was $90.00 for me to spend! The rules and conditions of the money, as told to me, by the Pastor’s daughter was: I don’t have to share it with anyone and I can use it on whatever I want! So, while in Steamboat Springs, I bought a denim skirt. I also bought some much needed new makeup and I am saving some to buy a new wallet!
As I said, we are currently in Evanston staying in a prophets chamber. We didn’t have an official meeting last night, so we took in services from the church that is allowing us to use their prophet’s chamber-we will have an official meeting with them next month when we return to be in their missions conference. However, the church has already treated us so well, they gave us a love offering just for being with them last night! Now, when we leave on Saturday to take off to Cheyenne, I can eat! Ha!
On a side note-this has nothing to do with our travels; but I think its funny. Since I am always looking for a new jean skirt and one of my favorite stores to shop for them at is Maurices, we stopped in at one here in Evanston. When we stepped into the store, a very friendly sales clerk inquired if I needed help with anything. I replied that I was looking for a long jean skirt. To which she told me, “all we currently have is short ones-you know the skimpy kind?” I thought it was quite hilarious that she admitted that the skirts were skimpy-which means they are obviously inappropriate to be wearing!