Congrats Sarah and Chris

Here is a picture of my sister, Sarah and her new husband, Chris. We had a great time at their wedding. As you can see Maddie loves her aunt and uncle very much!!

IT IS FINISHED!!!

My seminary work is complete!! It's been good, but I am glad it is over. Soon I will get my diploma, a really expensive piece of paper. At least it makes me sound smarter. What will I do with all that extra time this fall - no papers to write, no assigned books to read?

Long overdue update

Ok, as many of you have pointed out, we've been slacking on the blogging. So here's a synopsis of what we've been up to:

HOUSE: Yes, we are in our house and not living in a van down by the river. We really like it although we have some work to do. For example, we have a great, original 1970s bathroom that is pink, has blue sinks, and some sweet lamps. We'll be changing that soon.

MADDIE: Maddie is just as sweet as ever and learning new things every day. This summer she took swimming lessons with a couple other friends from church. Ok, it wasn't really swimming; it was more like getting used to the water. However, she really loves going down the big kids water slide with mom and dad. The picture of her floating was taken at our Student Ministries Lake Day. Lately, she's really been into dolls, putting them in a stroller and pushing them all around the house.

ROCHESTER: We were in Rochester a couple weeks ago. I (Eric) played in a church softball tournament. Unfortunately, we weren't able to win our 4th championship, but it was fun anyways. We got to see our friends Ryan and Megan's new baby boy!! We also got to see some other friends, but they weren't as small or as cute.

SEMINARY: Almost over! One more paper due on Sunday; such a good feeling.

That's all for now. We'll try to be better at blogging, but no promises :-).

update

Just wanted to give a quick update to everyone...Eric is in Gulf Port, Mississippi (actually on his way home right now) from the 2nd half of the high school mission trip. He will be back to Sioux City tomorrow night. Maddie and I arrived last night at about 10:30pm from a great time in Indiana. My sister's wedding was great...she looked beautiful!

The great news is that we are closing on our house on Monday...Finally! Thanks for all of your prayers and please keep them coming! We miss you all!

Gulfport mission trip

This morning at 7am, our high school team left on their mission trip to Gulfport, Mississippi. I am going to Indiana tomorrow to be at Kate's sister's wedding and then I will fly down and meet the team on Monday night. Please pray for the team: pray for safety as they travel today and tomorrow; pray for unity among the group; pray for them as they minister to the people down there. I am looking forward to joining them next week; I'm looking forward to the wedding this weekend as well.

Buffalo Wild Wings

One of the disappointing things (although not more important than: friends; families and students I worked with; softball, football, volleyball leagues; etc.) about leaving Rochester was that Sioux City had no Buffalo Wild Wings. However, driving around one day, I saw the signs for a new BWW. I was so excited I had to drive by to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. It opened last Monday, June 4. Since today was Tuesday (wing special day), I decided I had to go, even though I had no one to go to lunch with ;-(. So I went there, ordered my food, and then I saw a family from the church that I know - the Ackermans. I think it was a sign from God that I was supposed to be at BWW today (and every Tuesday from now on). I had my normal 10 medium wings and 5 honey BBQ - so delicious!! If you ever need me during lunch on Tuesday or when the Broncos game is not on local TV, you know where to call!

Vacation!!

Well we are still not in our house...now living in the basement of some people from the church. They are so nice to take us in, but we are eager to get into a house to make Sioux City feel more like home. We are hopeful to be able to get into our house the last week of June...PLEASE KEEP PRAYING! In the mean time Maddie and I are heading to Indiana in the morning for a 2 week vacation. My sister gets married next Saturday so we will help with last minute details and spend time with family. Eric will join us on Wednesday, but leaves right after the wedding to go to Mississippi for the 2nd half of the high school mission trip. Just thought I would update everyone. That's it for now. We love and miss you all lots...thanks for all of you that helped babysit, bring food, and move us this week! We really appreciate it.

House update

We were supposed to close on our house last Friday, but some other issues came up and we still have not been able to do that. Please keep praying that this will get worked out soon.

No communication with the outside world!!

I have now been on the job for a week and a half. Things are going well as I try to learn the ins and outs of the new church; meet students, parents, and others; and learn to survive without cable, internet, or phone. We are staying with a family that has an extra house on their farm land. Unfortunately, the house doesn't have cable or internet. We have cell phones, but we can't get any reception because we are so far out of town. When we drive into town for work or to go somewhere, our phones work and I have internet at work so I can check e-mail and turn in my school assignments. At least the house has hot, running water and we don't have to use an outhouse for the bathroom (for those who like to bash on Iowa, yes, we do have running water)!! Of course, things could be worse if we were missing things like food or other items many people in the world don't have. I guess I shouldn't complain. I also want to thank the Connellys for letting us stay at their house. They have been very kind and we appreciate them opening their home.

Survivor

I cannot believe that Dreamz backed out of his promise to Yau Man. Thanks to that decision, Earl won the million dollars. Earl was a good player, but Yau Man was by far the best in the game. I think that Yau Man is my favorite Survivor player ever!!