Penny the Pumpkin

So I have this tradition of naming my pumpkins each year. Tonight I finally made time to carve what came to be named "Penny".

Meet Penny!



Amanda got pretty creative with her pumpkin and used a stencil. It turned out super cute!



And of course we lit them up and put them outside right away! However, its a little too windy still for them to stay lit.
But they still look neat! Amanda's is the "adult" pumpkin and mine is the one that looks like a child carved it ha ha



Now, its time for bed. Another long day ahead of me tomorrow...nannying from 8:30-5:30 then heading straight to class until 10:15...ugh. Gotta love Hermeneutics! At least my exegesis paper is finished :) PRAISE THE LORD! Too bad I have another one due next week.... Also, praise the Lord for reading and research weeks! Without which I have NO IDEA how I would ever get everything done. Well, nighty night!

The House Began to Pitch!

Can you say Wizard of Oz?? Definitely thought we were going to blow away last night! I was nannying and the kids were pretty scared when bed time rolled around...of course. Jaden actually woke up screaming hysterically, and Zoe, well she started bed time crying. And then I remembered Zoe's love of the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy. So I told her we could pretend to be Dorothy. And everything was going to be fine. After making this analogy, I thought to myself, "Shoot! That was a scary thing, the house blowing away and killing someone!" But, for some reason, Zoe found this analogy encouraging. And before I knew it, I had 2 little "munchkins" sawing logs despite the hurricane powered winds! :)

Exewhaaaaatt????

Exegesis. An explanation or critical interpretation. In this case, it was an exegesis, or critical interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. Taking into account all historical and cultural context. I honestly had never read the whole book of 1 Corinthians, and this was necessary for doing the exegesis of this passage. Soooo.... I read the whole book of 1 Corinthians today!! And officially spent around 9 hours studying this passage today to write my exegesis paper for my Hermeneutics class!!! I hunkered down just before 9am this morning, with a stack of books, a cup of coffee, and of course the Bible!



My books and, of course, coffee!!!! :)



Where I spent my day...

I have my summary sentence and my defense. And DEFINITELY learned a TON about the Corinthians and Paul!!! It was interesting, but almost made studying the Bible too much work. Seriously. If that is how we should read the Bible, I don't really know if it's realistic to read it every day....or even enjoy it.... But I'm proud of my final product!! Just need to check out some commentaries and see how my summary compares. Hopefully it's close!

And a BIG thank you to my grandma for talking through the scripture with me!!! I really lack insight into the scriptures...or maybe I just don't know as much as I thought and my grandma is super knowledgable. I'm very lucky to have her in my life! Love you grandma! <3

All Things Wonderful...

The weekend is already over and its seems like it just begun! I had been looking forward to this weekend for about a month now, and while it was wonderful, it wasn't really all that I was expecting it to be and it definitely went too fast! This weekend was my annual Mother-Daughter Weekend with my mom! :) The 2nd annual get together for us and this year we decided to go to Women of Faith at the Xcel Energy Center. Most of the speakers were very interesting and inspirational, and yes, even FUNNY! But it was much more focused on story telling, than actually relating anything to scripture, which was a little disappointing to me and not what I am used to at a conference. It also was very geared towards moms, so if it weren't for the fact that I have now been a nanny for almost a year, I wouldn't have been able to relate very much. I think out of all the speakers, Anita Renfroe was my FAVORITE!!! She was absolutely hilarious and has some great parodies about life! Luckily enough, she is on Youtube! Momsense and Love Story are probably my favorites, but Wrinkle Ladies isn't bad either!





We also had GREAT seats! 4th row from the stage!!! And we got to see Steven Curtis Chapman! That was pretty exciting for me. And hearing about his family's life story was also very interesting. It gave me a lot of insight and appreciation for a lot of his songs. I think I want his "Cinderella" song played for my father daughter dance at my wedding...hopefully someday! And "I'll Be Here" might be a nice first dance song! ha ha



Soooo close to the stage!



Steven Curtis Chapman singing "Cinderella'



Steven and his wife, Mary Beth, singing a "rap" song!! It was funny!!



One last pic of Steven singing



As mom and I were leaving the Xcel on Friday night, there was a line at the elevator so I said .... "Let's just take the stairs" These were the stairs..and we needed to go up several flights, however, we couldn't find the parking garage by taking the stairs and almost got locked in a stairway!!!



Mom and I Saturday morning. Leaving for the conference 30 minutes late...but we were still on time :)

The conference wasn't too bad. I did enjoy it. But I wouldn't say that it's a MUST go to. Now TCX...that is a must! I just wish I could have spent more actual time hanging out with my mom. Even just sitting around the house with her doing her lesson plans and me working on homework. I miss that. At least I'll get to go home for awhile in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. And oh, I can't wait for the month off at Christmas!!! Only 365 more days until our next Mother-Daughter Weekend! :) Can't wait!



Love you mom!

Creeper? Maybe....

Top Ten Reasons to go to the apple orchard:

1. Honey Crisp Apples...enough said :)



2. People watching

3. Cute little children. Now the question is...is it creepy to enjoy watching other people's children?? hmmm I must get me my own so that I can join in all of the fun "children's" activities at places like the apple orchard and not get weird looks... ha ha

4. Fall weather and fresh air

5. Time with friends! AKA Nicole Frost




6. Procrastination...putting off homework to enjoy the season :)

7. Pumpkins...for carving, seeds, and other goodies!

8. Yummy snacks which probably aren't all that good for you - Caramel Apple bar and Pumpkin Muffin




9. To learn all of the crazy things you can do with apples! Can you say apple salsa and apple brats? Yep. That's right.

10. Picture taking opportunities! Sooo fun!







Now...time to read 3 chapters about Hermeneutics and then dinner with Brittany! :) Bring on the craziness of the week!

Satisfying Saturday :)

I have realized that in a lot of ways I live for the weekend! All things good and great are the weekend! Since starting grad school, my goal was to do all my homework during the week (just like I did in undergrad). Needless to say....that hasn't really been working out for me. Hence, I find myself sitting at a coffee shop with books and computer in front of me in need of writing yet another paper. Despite this, I have found that I truly enjoy such "work filled" Saturdays. Who would have thought that work could be fun!? I mean, I love my job as a nanny and many days I forget that its my job, even to the point that I feel guilty when I get paid!

Anyway, I am rambling.... so what is so great about a work-filled Saturday? Well, let me tell you :)

1. Sleeping just the right amount, even if I did set my alarm
2. Seeing an albino squirrel when I walked out the door of my building this morning (either that or someone's white ferret is lose!)
3. Accidentally ending up at Target while looking for a Starbucks and then finding "that" purse that I have been looking for for FOREVER! Might I add that I haven't bought a new purse since my freshman year of college...so in almost 4 years!! I think it was time
4. Finally resorting to go to the Caribou that I know already and then getting 50% off my coffee because I had pink! Yay for having a pink wallet! It was a breast cancer special for the day. Lucky me
5. Writing a paper on my family's heritage and learning that I'm not just "American"! I actually have a culture! I'm basically Scandinavian!! My family fits the description so closely it makes me laugh!!
6. Meeting my best friend from college to share dinner at Olive Garden and see the new movie "Life as we know it" It looks cute!

Now....if the cute little grandma's having their weekly get together next to me would stop talking so loudly that the whole coffee shop could participate in their conversation....hmmm ha ha

Funday Sunday! :)

I have decided that I am a fan of "picture" blogging. Pictures tell stories and often are very clear as to another person's perspective....However, I am not that talented of a photographer. But I love taking photos just the same :) ...stay tuned for the fun pictures to come documenting my day!

So I have coined today Funday Sunday! Here is why:
1. Went to church with my friend Brittany from Seminary and her 2 friends who were visiting from Iowa...Laura and Laura!
2. Worship was great (and lead by my favorite worship leader- who I "know" and would love to know better! ha ha)
3.The sermon was great as well! We have been doing a series called "Why Me" which is basically about where God is in the trials and pain of life
4. Enjoyed a yummy brunch after church with Brittany, Laura and Laura
5. Studied at Fort Snelling State Park
6. Enjoyed some roomie time with Amanda (finally) as we drove to the park and studied together



Pretty fall leaves...my favorite color for leaves!



Amanda taking photos on the beautiful fall path at the park



Me and my roomie, Amanda



Our study spot - where we had to fight off both ants and mosquitos... ugh



Fort Snelling State Park is quite close to the airport....so airplanes would frequently fly over head and make us feel like they were coming straight at us. Here you can see the "Delta" airport sign from where we were sitting. The noises didnt quite fit with the scenery...oh well.

Studying in the park was a nice change of pace and scenery. However, the bathrooms were already closed for the winter, the bugs were carrying us away, and our tummies were growling...so our trip had to come to an end. Now...time for a yummy dinner of spaghetti and then more reading :) Fun, Fun, Fun! And then off to another week of work and class!

Sleeping In .... ZZZzzzzzz

IT'S SATURDAY!!!! :) Officially my new favorite day of the week. No obligations and plenty of relaxation. Well, and homework. But either way, as I was getting ready for bed last night and relishing in the fact that I could sleep in as long as I wanted, I started to think - "but will I really sleep in?" Some times I'm just not good at "sleeping in" and won't sleep past 8/9am. AND THEN I started thinking "Well, what really defines "sleeping in"? And then I realized "Shoot. Hermeneutics must REALLY be getting to me if I am thinking this intensely about sleeping in on a Saturday ha ha Oh interpretation, subjectivity and objectivity. Well, at least I can say I must really be learning something in seminary! And even applying it to my every day life! Needless to say, it's Saturday and I officially "slept in" and didn't get out of bed until 10:30 am :) Life is good! Had a very relaxing morning and am now in major need of starting homework! ASAP! And don't ya know...I have Hermeneutics homework for my goal for the day :) Happy Saturday!

Sniffle, Sniffle

The weekend is almost here again and I'm finally just writing about last weekend! This "balance" thing really isn't working out for me....it has been more of a balancing act really! ha ha

Last weekend I was able to enjoy life as a "mommy" or should I say nanny! I spent almost 72 hours straight with my nanny kids!! It was loads of fun, but super exhausting...especially since I got sick :( Jaden was sick already on Friday and Zoe has been fighting the sniffles herself. So between playing non-stop with the kids and crawling into bed with Zoe when she would wake up in the wee hours of the morning for no apparent reason, I inevitably ended up with a terrible cold myself. However, I think I have already improved quite a bit! But it has been seeming to suck the energy out of me this week! Anyway, here are some fun photos to sum up the weekend :)



Zoe putting the cookies on the tray....she had them all lined up on the edge in a straight row...it was so cute! ha ha



Zoe after I showed her how to put the cookies on the tray :)



Sprinkle, sprinkle



Are they done yet????



Playing "The Princess Game" AKA Pretty, Pretty Princess



The Princesses :) Zoe won the game of course



And finally, every princess needs her fingernails painted :)

At this point, my camera battery died :( Which means I didn't get any pictures of Zoe collecting leaves for her leaf rubbing pictures, or painting, or playing "movie theatre" (Zoe's favorite activity of the weekend which I improvised after I got sick ha ha). And Jaden really was present all weekend! He is just much less photogenic sometimes ha ha. Harder to photograph him basically. Although he did help eat the cookies, collect the leaves, paint pictures, and played "movie theatre" with us :)

All in all it was a fuuuunnnn weekend! Love the kids and it was weird to leave them!! Now....back to school for me. I feel like all i do is read, read, read, and then read some more! At least it is all fairly interesting. And I like to read. I don't think I have ever read this much in my entire life though! ha ha Well, I guess it's time that I did then!

I was supposed to be heading up to northern Wisconsin this weekend with my dad and brother, but after getting sick (and behind on homework from nannying all last weekend), I don't think that will be happening. I will just have to enjoy the fall colors right here in good ole' St. Paul! It just isn't the same though.... Well...back to reading and then time for bed for me! Gotta make Chandelle a healthy girl :)

WOW! It's Wednesday!!!

The weekend sure flew right by...and apparently this week is flying by as well! It's already hump day. The weekend was amazing though!!! Getting to see so many summer project friends...including the newly weds Liz and Garrett Davis!!! AH! So exciting! The picture below is from all of us at the wedding. Love these people and miss them soooo much!



After catching up with everyone at the wedding, my friend Jeff suggested we have a blog for us all to stay updated on what's happening with everyone. We thought Ben Tesch would be the man for the job....but then I got to thinking - "Why couldn't I make us a blog!? I blog." So that's my new project. Making a group blog. Not sure if people will really follow it, or even how I should approach this idea....but I'm excited for it! Especially since I am seriously thinking about getting rid of my facebook account. It's just taking up too much of my time.

So I'm officially on day 3 of full time seminary. Still a crazy thought to me and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. It is all very interesting stuff to be learning, but this week I"m just really busy and don't know when I'm going to have time to do all of the reading. I guess that's why I get 2 weeks for "reading weeks" with no class...so that I can catch up! ha ha This weekend I am spending the weekend with Zoe and Jaden...nannying ALL weekend long! Pretty excited for this! Hopefully it will be relaxing and fun :)

Well...I guess I should get to some of that reading which I seem to have so much of. At least I get to carve pumpkins tonight at Bible Study! Can't wait for that!!! I even have a porch to put the final pumpkin on :) YAY!

Finally Friday! :)

Woo hoo! It's finally Friday! It has been quite a week! It definitely dragged on and on and on. Seems like last Friday was almost 3 weeks ago!! This week was full of finishing up my 2 week September School class (which meant writing a super long reflection paper), nannying, attending a 4 hour seminar on how to do research!!!! (biggest waste of my life)....and well maybe that's it...but it seemed like a ton! I went to bed at 8:30pm last night because I was soooo exhausted from it all. But now the weekend is here! And it's off to a decent start!

Highlights from my Friday:
1. Only worked until 2pm
2. Pay day!
3. Ate ice cream .... for dinner :) Or at least started dinner with dessert. Have been craving Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream all week! Delicious!
4. Showered in the afternoon ha ha
5. Took time to lay on the couch and watch a movie
6. Ordered tickets for my mom and I to go to Women of Faith at the Xcel Center in October!



And to top it all off!!!! I just realized that Halloween is coming....which means pumpkin carving...and I have a porch this year to put pumpkins on!!!! :) Soooo excited about this!

So my Friday has been pretty relaxing...but my weekend in general is PACKED full!

Saturday I am attending the All Seminary Retreat at Bethel until 2:30. Can't wait to meet more sem students! And then my dear friends, Athena and Maggie (who I went to Australia with last summer!!), will be coming to visit for our lovely friends Liz and Garrett's wedding on Sunday!! Soooo excited for these 2 to get married :) <3 Monday because I start classes at the Seminary! AH! :)

Well...I think its early to bed for me tonight...so that I can stay awake for all the fun this weekend! :) Happy Friday!

But the Lord Determines My Steps

So today officially marked my last day of September School class at Bethel Seminary. I learned the mircroskills of counseling and honed in on my acting abilities as I role played counseling sessions every day for the past 2 weeks. It was only a basic counseling skills course, but I think I learned more in the past 2 weeks that I did through all of college! At least in terms of applicable work knowledge and such. The past 2 weeks definitely weren't a cake walk. I think I broke down in tears on more than one occasion as I battled with God over where he is calling me in all of this. I have realized that I just have a lot of fear. I'm afraid to actually do what I want. I have always thought of being a counselor, but never saw it as a possibility for me. I have also always just wanted to be a stay-at-home mom...so then how does grad school fit into that picture?? Luckily, and strangely, enough part of the class requirements included writing a reflection paper on my calling to counseling, my strengths and limitations within the practice, and where God is at in my journey. I actually enjoyed writing this paper! So much so that I put it off until the last minute because I was stressing out over it and then stayed up until 2am to finish it because I was on a roll! ha ha But after writing this reflection, and actually reflecting on my experiences and what God might be calling me to, I have realized that I am exactly where God wants me...even if it isn't necessarily my first choice. But then again...it is almost like a dream come true.

I have been feeling so beyond blessed over the past few weeks. I graduated with a 4 year degree - debt FREE! and now I'm at Bethel!! Bethel of all places. A Christian school that in some ways I always day dreamed about attending. And now here I am! And working towards my MASTERS. My teachers pray for me before I take tests or leave class! Its just all so crazy and surreal. And to top it all off I'm living in a cute little apartment, still getting to see my best friend from college on a fairly regular basis, have found a great church community and have even started to make some great new friends. I also have the best family who continues to support me in my craziness and indecisive confused moments. Its just so weird because this is never the way I saw my life going. In a lot of ways, I'm loving it. But in many ways I'm also missing home like crazy. The Proverbs are full of so much wisdom and are a good reminder - Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." But I'm still missing the little things in life that you take for granted when you live in a small town. I wish there was a way to combine St. Paul and Cornell. But I think I have always wished I could combine Cornell with wherever I was living.

I guess God has me exactly where he wants me. I cant always tell why he wants me here or what he is doing, but I'm going to trust him that he is working out the best. Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28 "In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him." That is super encouraging in this time of confusion.

This is What a Weekend Feels Like :)

Life in Stillwater is officially over. And life in St. Paul is in full swing! I have been living in the Bethel off campus housing (fountain terrace) for about a month now! WOW! Time sure flies! My roommate, Amanda, wont be moving in until next weekend. At first, living alone really sucked! But in some ways, I have become accustomed to living alone. In a lot of ways, though, it has been pretty lonely.

Over the past 2 weeks, life has been pretty hectic. I resigned from my job as the Director of Children's Ministry. Making that decision was one of the hardest things I have had to do. But I know it is for the best, even though I miss the kids at the church like crazy! I decided that the time commitment of that position, as well as the stress level, was going to be too much for me to continue working there while going to grad school. Instead, I will be working about 25 hours a week as a nanny-a low stress job, where I can leave work at work. My last day at church was about 2 weeks ago. And then I headed to Colorado for 10 days with my mom, brother, and grandma to visit my Uncle. It was a great trip and I enjoyed being with my family, but it didnt seem like a vacation because we were always on the go. And my family started to drive me crazy! ha ha But now that I'm home, I wish I could be on vacation still. I really loved Colorado, and the mountains, and am seriously thinking about moving there after I finish Seminary. We will see where life leads me.

Since being home from vacation, I went straight to work and worked long days. But it was great to see my nanny kids again! I missed them so much while I was on vacation! Today was my first official day "off" and this weekend is my first weekend off since January!!!! SO this is what a weekend feels like! I definitely love consecutive days off. I spent today at the Minnesota State Fair with my friend Christina. We saw many of the main attractions at the fair, including the lumberjack show! And, of course, we ate our way through! I shared cheese curds with Christina and then enjoyed an apple cider freezie (very yummy!!) and a cherry sno cone. And then I took home a small bag of kettle corn and, of course, I couldnt leave the fair without a caramel apple! YUM! This was my first visit to the fair "on my own". I have always went with my parents. And even then, I have only went twice or so. But I effectively navigated the bus system and rode for free! And then found my way back to my car with my friend Christina. When I got home, I was so dirty (and hot) from the fair that I jumped right in the shower. It appears that I gained a new foot tan at the fair from my sandals too! I thought my feet were just that dirty. Nope! ha ha Now I'm just relaxing and planning for my Sunday :) Church with my friend Katie before she leaves to Ghana for an entire year! Maybe life isn't so bad, but finding balance is hard!

Moving Out, Moving Up, and Moving On

Life in Stillwater has been an experience and a joy. It has been where I took my first step of true independence, living on my own for the first time! I have learned a great deal about myself in this place...what I really like, dislike, how I function, my needs, and even developed a greater understanding of what it means to be an adult and who God is amidst all of the chaos of change. Today I packed up all that has embodied these "Stillwater Experiences" and prepared to fully embrace the idea, and reality, of moving out. Tomorrow my mom and grandma are coming to help me continue packing and to move all of my small stuff (boxes, etc.). On Monday I will be able to officially pick up the keys for my new apartment and we will clean the place up and unpack a bit before I make the complete "move-in" on Tuesday. Then I will be living life alone for about the next month before my new roommate, Amanda moves in. Amanda is coming to Minnesota all the way from Kentucky! I can't wait to meet her! Life after college has been super lonely and I haven't felt all that close to my current roommate, so I'm excited to start a friendship with someone else who is in the same phase of life as me. Amanda and I have been emailing like crazy and I can tell we are going to get along great! Can't wait to meet her! And I can't wait to be all unpacked at my new place near Bethel, where I will be attending Seminary starting in September. I am so excited to live in community again! I have definitely missed that aspect of college!

While moving day is going to be great to just get it over with, it is also going to be stressful because I am so "Type A" and can't stand all of my stuff being so unorganized and all in boxes! ha ha Can't wait to get unpacked and make it through these next 3 weeks. After move in day, I have a few days to get settled and then Vacation Bible School starts at my church! AH! So not ready, but I'm sure it will go great. And then only 1 week left after that and I'll be done with my job at church so that I can just focus on grad school. That will be such a relief, but it has also been one of the hardest things I have done. I will probably cry on my last day of working there. Tomorrow I am teaching Children's Worship Hour, which is basically the children's message during the regular message/sermon. I get to teach the kids about missionaries and how God calls us all to tell others about Jesus! So exciting! I just love experiencing kids embracing and understanding the Gospel! :) Such a joy and definitely one of the things I will miss about my job at the church.

Just because the "job" part of my life involving children's ministry will be coming to an end, doesn't mean that I want to be done doing ministry with children at all!!! I am definitely going to volunteer with the children's ministry at the new church which I have started going to, Substance. I'm really excited to be able to invest there and make connections. It is a really young church and I think I will find a lot of ways to get involved, be challenged, and experience growth. I have been longing for all of these things since I graduated from college and began this transition into the "real world". Honestly, it hasn't been such a "bad" transition, but I know it could have been so much better! I am finally starting to learn life balance skills and can't wait to see how Bethel is going to continue to grow me in that, through the power of the Holy Spirit that is.

Tonight as I was packing up some boxes, I came across one of my fav Max Lucado books, which was actually one that my mom gave me as a graduation gift when I graduated from college. I can't remember the exact title, but it was something about an oak tree and an acorn. The story is all about this acorn trying to figure out what to be and what to do with its new, separate life. And as I was reading it, it finally hit me! Just as the acorn just needed to rest and allow God to make it into what he wanted it to be, that's all I need to do too. I need to rest in God. Go to HIM first and allow HIM to transform me into the person He wants me to be. I find that I am continually seeking to become something more. But I often leave the pressure of the change on myself, when in reality, only God can change me. So as my Saturday comes to an end, I'm resting in that truth. That God will make me who he wants me to be, and no amount of striving on my part will ever change that. Day 1 of life in the balance is a-okay and I definitely can see that today was for the best and I'm believing that for tomorrow too! :)