The Days of My Life

Success!!!

kendraheatwole — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:13:42 +0000

Since I’m a glutton for punishment, I decided to try again to post some pictures from the past week and it seems to be working!

Paddling on our little pond, dreaming of bigger waters…

Due to the spring melt and several rainy days, the waterfalls in and out (or out and in, if you go by the order of the pictures) of our pond were much bigger than normal. We slept with the window open one night so we could enjoy the sound of the water rushing over the rocks.

Yesterday morning. The reflections were so pretty and a pair of mallard ducks swimming around made it just perfect. I love where I live.

Jim hard at work creating storage space in our attic. My job today is to start filling it up.

In other news and in fitting with the title of this post, I was finally successful in getting a VA drivers licence yesterday. Third try must be a charm, since that’s how many times it took my sister-in-law as well. The first time I went, I was told I needed five pieces of ID–social security card, passport, birth certificate, marriage licence, and something off a list of very specific things that proves I live in VA. The second time I went, my proof of residence document was not approved (“We take auto and life insurance bills, but not health insurance. I’m sorry, ma’am.”) Yesterday, after waiting for an hour, undergoing much inspection of said ID and an eye test and paying my $32, I got the all-important paper.

I also bought $50 worth of seeds for my garden yesterday. YAY!!! I can’t wait. If things keep drying out nicely, we should be able to plant the early stuff by this weekend.

This really changes the subject, but as you think of us, I’d appreciate if you pray for us about two things in particular. The first is that if I should have a job, the Lord would lead me to something that fits me and my desired schedule (part-time, no evenings or weekends) well. I’m primarily interested in something that will give me an opportunity to interact with people, use the gifts God has given me, and keep me from getting fat (because when I feel bored or lonely, the most appealing thing is often finding something to eat). The second relates to our decision about where to go to church. It’s been a difficult journey, but we’ve decided to take some time to visit around a bit before making a decision about which church we will plug into. Neither of us particularly enjoys being visitors and we’re both feeling the loss of home churches that we really loved and were very involved in. It has made our Sundays not so fun. Pray that God would give us both peace and a clear sense of direction as we seek His leading in this important decision.

It’s Wednesday

kendraheatwole — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:32:41 +0000

I teach piano to two little first-graders in town on Wednesdays so I’ve kind of set aside Wednesday for running errands and doing whatever needs doing in town for the week. Last Wednesday, it felt like I got nothing accomplished–two of the stores I wanted to go to were only open Thurs-Sat., I was supposed to get the annual state inspection done on my vehicle and it failed, the cashier couldn’t get my gift card to work at the grocery store and I held up the line for what felt like ages until she got it figured out, I was late for lunch with my grandparents, and I didn’t have much time to visit with Krista/Lincoln. Now today, I have quite a list of stops to make and I’m running late already due to an appointment that couldn’t be made until 10:30 this morning. All that to say, I am trying to update my blog from home on the dial-up while I wait.

Going to town is not all bad though. Last night Jim and I went to town. We stopped at Lowes, Kmart, Kohls, Walmart, Ross and Kline’s Dairy Bar and came home $428.29 richer than when we left (minus the cost of gas). How often does THAT happen?! =) I’ll tell you. It happens once, right after you get married, when you return the wedding gifts that you got doubles of or can’t use on the same night you return a bunch of building materials that were left over from the attic renovation project.

Well, it’s evening and I now know what happens when you try to post pictures on your blog using dial up. It crashes and you can’t get it back for hours and hours. Adios for today.

My Husband is a Sneak!!!

kendraheatwole — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:08:02 +0000

One year ago yesterday, I got an unexpected letter in the mail from a guy I didn’t know. Amazing what can happen in a year. So yesterday morning, my husband went to work. I had my quiet time, took a shower, and did some work on the computer. A friend called mid-morning and while I was on the phone, I wandered out into the kitchen. There on the counter was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. At some point, my husband snuck into the house and dropped them off and I had no idea he was there. It sort of freaked me out that someone could be in the house without me knowing. Granted, he did leave his truck down the driveway and walked so I wouldn’t hear, and then ever so carefully opened the door and crept in. But STILL. I loved the flowers. We went out to Texas Steakhouse last evening to celebrate.

Then this afternoon, I was visiting my grandparents. As we sat in the living room talking, we kept hearing this strange noise. It sounded like someone in the house and finally I got up to check. I didn’t really think I would find someone, I guess, because when I rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw Jim standing there, I let out a shriek. My heart was pounding for at least five minutes. He used to surprise me by stopping by (sneaking in) while we were dating, and thought it would be fun to do for “old times sake.” If I die young of a heart attack, you will know why. I guess this is my payback for all those times I stood right outside the bathroom door and scared the beejeebers out of my roomie, Jen. =)

It’s felt a lot like spring here the past couple days. The snow is mostly melted out of our yard and the ice is off the pond. Every morning/evening five deer cross our yard, munching away on the brown grass. They look up at me watching in the window and I’m almost positive they are thinking, “Plant a garden! Just go ahead and try! Bwaaahhhahahhaaaaa!!!!” The other day Jim called and I told him I was watching the deer. He said, “Oh, we could start feeding them if you want.” And I said, “Um, I was thinking more of EATING them!” OH. They’re kind of his pets, but he did admit that they are free meat walking around and maybe we could shoot one. We’ll see. By the time shooting time comes, they might be my pets too. Unless they eat my garden. If they do that, WATCH OUT. I might take up hunting as a hobby.

We had the Good family up to visit last Saturday. The kids had fun feeding the fish. By summer, the fish are tame enough that they can be caught with bare hands, but they were pretty skittish and darted away when the kids tried to snatch them up.

Wedding, Honeymoon, Etc.

kendraheatwole — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:29:00 +0000

I thoroughly enjoyed our wedding and was happy with how things went. It was so good to see so many friends and family members. I don’t have any pictures yet, but I pirated a few of Glenda’s from Facebook.

We went to Costa Rica on our honeymoon. For the first half, we were two of four guests at a small eco-lodge in Drake Bay. The accommodations were on the rustic side, the food was deliciously gourmet, and the scenery beautiful. Activities included boat rides (saw dolphins and flying fish one day), snorkeling, hikes in the rain forest, and a day on the beach. We saw lots of birds, lizards, and strangest of all, tapir. The snorkeling was a highlight for me since it was a new experience and something I’ve always wanted to do. The second half of our trip was in the northwest part of the country on a ranch. We went from hot, humid rain forest to dry, brushy farm land with tall mountains (volcanoes) looming in the background. It reminded me a lot of Colorado. Activities there included a canyon tour (20 platforms connected by ziplines, rock climbing walls, rappels and rope swings), tubing down a river (class III and IV rapids), hikes in the Rincon de la Vieja Nat’l Park (reminded me of Yellowstone, with fuming, spewing, sulfurous pits of boiling mud and water), and walks to nearby waterfalls. We really enjoyed our trip. Out of 470 pictures, how do you pick a few to post?

There was one little glitch. I started experiencing symptoms of a UTI on our first day there. By day eight, I was laying in bed shaking with fever and ended up in a clinic on IVs that night. Making memories….=)

It is good to be home now. I’ve been enjoying setting up our house and starting to establish “new normals.”

Life is good.

Follow up to my last post…

kendraheatwole — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:35:12 +0000

After I got over my weepies, and after Mom, Glenda and I went out shopping and successfully crossed many things off the “need-to-buy” list, and after Carolyn gave us a lead to the only store in town that had the colour of napkins I wanted, and after I had “lunch” at Costco (free samples of new products), and after I found a shower curtain I really liked after weeks of looking, and after Cheryl and Max arrived safely, and after the snow held off most of the day, and after Jim said he was feeling a little better, and after taking Glenda up to show her my new house, and after John and Esther arrived safely, and after trying on my wedding dress so my mom and sisters could see it, and after having fun showing my grandmother/mom/sister/friend all the stuff my friends in RL gave at my lingerie shower, and after having a lovely supper with the Masts, and after sitting for 45 minutes in a hot tub outside in the dark with two friends, sipping hot chocolate while snowflakes fell on our heads and the whirlpool jets made bubbly piles of foam all around,…after all that, I’m ready to call it a good day. Thank you for praying for me.

Wedding Week

kendraheatwole — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:10:47 +0000

It’s Wedding Week and what can I say?!!

The snow doesn’t stop. Family members are taking turns with the flu. It keeps snowing. Jim is working practically around the clock because of snow-related power outages. Today HE has the flu and is working anyway and is totally miserable. Six to twelve more inches of snow are predicted for today/tomorrow. Fortunately, that’s supposed to be the end of it for the week. I feel a little discouraged today. I don’t care so much about decorations or flowers or food. What will be terribly disappointing to me is if our people can’t come to the wedding because of the snow. I feel so bad for my man, who is exhausted and feeling so bad. I hope I don’t get sick.

Pray for us!?

Untitled

kendraheatwole — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:10:46 +0000

I haven’t been doing terribly well at blogging. My apologies. Some things don’t seem that interesting, some things don’t seem appropriate for public posting, and the rest gets lost in midst of everything else going on.

I’m home alone this week since GrD and GrM, along with my brother and his wife, went to AL to participate in the prison crusades. I get to stay home and be the farmer (feed the dogs, feed the cats, gather eggs), mail gatherer, and hopefully make some more good progress on wedding stuff. I go for the final fitting of my dress today. =)

My sisters came down to spend the weekend with me. It was special to have them here and I had fun (I hope they did too). They drove down in an ice storm on Thursday night (kinda deja vu from Christmas, when they came in a snow storm), arriving around midnight. On Friday we baked cookies for the wedding. That evening Cheryl had invited Jim’s sisters and several cousins/friends to go out to eat with us at El Charro and that was fun. After we ate we went back to the house and sat and visited and reminisced, which ended up in playing MASH. Remember that game from childhood? If my future ends up as the MASH game predicts, in ten years Jim and I and our twins will be living in an apartment in Tibet and I will be working as a choir director.

Frosting…frosting…frosting…more frosting…

Heidi and Max.

Mel’s artwork.

Home Again

kendraheatwole — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:17:53 +0000

Home is a funny thing. For ten years, Red Lake was my home. It wasn’t where I was born and raised, but it was where I grew up, where I belonged, where I truly felt “at home.” It has surprised me how fast feelings of being disconnected come. I guess being at camp most of the summer and traveling most of the fall started the process. It was with mixed feelings that I thought of going back to Red Lake last week to pick up all my things. For the first time, I went “home” to Red Lake, but I didn’t have a house there. My things were all in boxes. I didn’t have a job or responsibilities awaiting me. I wouldn’t “be back soon.” I wasn’t sure if it would be a happy or a sad visit.

It was a good visit. It was good to have Jim there with me. I was so blessed (once again) by my friends and church family, who had us over for meals and came to a farewell drop-in and gave so generously toward our trip expenses. It was fun to stay with Masts and play Rook every evening. The weather wasn’t bitterly cold (I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by that–I wanted Jim to experience frozen eyelashes and hair all frosty from breathing but for the most part it was nice it wasn’t frigid), we only had a few hours of slushy roads the whole trip, we got in a little snowmobiling (thanks to LaMar!) and we explored a few ice roads. We got to see Jim’s family on the way out and Bethany on the way back, and appreciated their hospitality. I learned how to drive stick shift a little better. And we survived eight days of pretty intense “togetherness.” I think it was a successful trip. =)

And I have to admit, it feels good to have all my belongings in one place. I’ve essentially been living out of a suitcase since last May. Being able to unpack and settle in here makes this feel a lot more like home.

The House

kendraheatwole — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:21:00 +0000

Okay, okay, here’s the long awaited house pictures. Before and after.

The kitchen. No more wallpaper, new stove/microwave unit.

The dining room. I’m seeing that you can’t really see the difference in the walls in these pictures. The dining room and kitchen were mostly wallpapered with a small flowered pink and blue paper. There was also some pink paint. Now there is no more wallpaper and we changed the pink paint to a very light beige. The table is an early wedding gift.

The living room. Again, we replaced the pink paint with light beige. We took out the blue furniture to make way for the couch and piano we’ll pick up in Red Lake. The tables are another early wedding gift.

The master bedroom suite. Incidentally, I don’t have any after pictures of the bedroom itself yet. The walls in the bedroom and this little closet/vanity area are now “modest silver” instead of pink and the mirror above the sink was replaced with a medicine cabinet with mirrors.

The master bath. The change here is obvious, I think. =)

So Jenni, can you see the windows? One in the kitchen, a double window in the l.r., two single windows in the b.r. and one single window in the red bathroom.

Thanks to Obe…

kendraheatwole — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:34:08 +0000

…my cousin’s husband, who fixed my brother’s wireless router so I can once again pirate his signal from next door and get online without leaving the comforts of my pajamas and my uncombed hair and my bare feet.

In lieu of writing a bunch of stuff you’re not overly interested in, I’ll post some pictures from the past week and a half.

My sweetheart helping with the painting project. The white blur in the air would be drywall dust.

I find it interesting that WordPress suggests “the Mona Lisa” as a caption for this photo. Ha. This Mona Lisa is sanding and making a dreadful mess. Dec. 22

Christmas Eve morning dawned clear with beautiful hoar frost coating every twig and blade of grass.

Jim and I left after work on Christmas Eve and traveled to his parents’ home in OH for Christmas weekend.

Christmas Dinner preparations. Beautiful and delicious.

Making music. That would be five guitars, one bass, one violin and one keyboard.

Dec. 31. Making potato chips with the family. It’s been a long time since I helped with that project!

We start teaching the trade young. =)

She’d not be happy I posted this, since she didn’t even want her picture taken. =)

My next post will be before and after pictures of the house. Yesterday Jim and I spent the whole day cleaning and organizing: shampooing the carpets, wiping down trim, window frames, light fixtures, etc., scrubbing floors, hanging kitchen cabinets, installing the new kitchen stove and microwave over the stove, putting everything back in the cabinets, replacing furiture in its proper places, assembling the new kitchen table…it looks like a house again!!! Today Micah and Krista are coming up to help/hang out. I think the guys are planning to get firewood and us girls will maybe wash the windows. I am so happy with the paint choices and the furniture and the way things look. It will be fun to get my stuff down here so we can finish arranging and maybe do a little decorating. I can’t decide how much to do before the wedding. What I really wish is that Jenni was here today to help me decide what to do for curtains. =)

Wedding plans are coming along, I guess. I bought my dress fabric and the lady that is sewing for me is getting started on that. I have a caterer lined up. Jim’s sister and I have the flowers and a general decorating scheme figured out. We’ve mostly finalized what we want to have included in the service. I keep wondering what I’m forgetting?!

I haven’t said a lot about “serious” things recently. Over all, I think we’re doing okay. There are some really big decisions (like where to go to church) that have not been easy. Lots of discussion, tears, heart searching, and prayer have gone into that one. We have started our premarital counseling and that has been helpful in challenging our thinking on various fronts. A great visit with friends about heart things on New Year’s Eve was encouraging and a blessing. One thing both Jim and I keep realizing is that we don’t know how to do this on our own, and we desperately need God’s wisdom and help. This is a wonderful time of life. I am so blessed.

One week from right now, we’ll be in Ohio somewhere, driving toward Red Lake. Forty two days from now, I’ll be getting married. And oh dear, 20 minutes from now, I’m supposed to have the carpet cleaning machine back to the grocery store. Guess I’d better get out of the pjs and comb my hair, tan pronto!