High Five for Friday

#1: Thanksgiving

We were blessed with the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with my cousin, Jamie, and her husband, Matt, who traveled from California for the long weekend.  We only get to see each other every year or two so it's always special to see them.

I also got to congratulate my grandparents on their 6th wedding anniversary last week:)

All in all, Thanksgiving is just a lovely day in my mind.  Love the time with family, good food, and time to intentionally reflect on the many blessings in our lives.

More pics on Facebook.

My loves

Awww!

#2: A Life Intercepted

I finished reading A Life Intercepted, by Charles Martin.  He's one of my favorite authors.   This wasn't one of my favorite books of his, but still a good read.  The author's note at the end of the book warmed my heart though.  Charles wrote the book as a way to share with his high school aged son that football is not what defines you as a person or your value.  I am not big on football, but I appreciate this perspective as a parent and spouse of a player.

Here are some quotes that I appreciated from the book.  All were referring to football, but I think they have very good implications for life in general.

Quotes:

If you want to succeed out there, you've got to risk failure. ... A lot of players equate losing with failure. ... But losing and failing are not the same thing.  Play this game long enough, and you will lose. ... Every time you step on to any field, you have a fifty-fifty shot at losing or winning.  So get over the numbers, they are not the measure of your value. ... Don't buy into the lie that says you don't count if you don't win.


I couldn't change my circumstances, but I had a lot to say about who I was in the midst of them.  And who I became.


The only thing you have control over is how hard you work, so if it's in your heart to be good at this, don't let anyone out work you.  And when somebody beats you -- because they will -- well...good for them.  Tell them. ...  Your performance on Friday night is not the measure of you value as a man come Saturday through Thursday.


Forgiveness offered -- especially when so undeserved -- cuts chains off the human heart that no other power in the universe anywhere can rattle much less break.  Love does what hatred could not and never will.


The wonder and majesty that is football is not what you accomplish in solitary feats of greatness,  but who you get to play it with.  The heart of football is found in the huddle -- not the highlight reel.

#3: Five Day Weekend

I really like my job, but I also like a break from the routine.  This week I had off Wednesday through Sunday for the holiday.  It's been lovely staying up late, waking without an alarm, freedom in schedule to do what we like when we like.  Brent even took a four day weekend to join us:)

#4:  The House

As of today, we have a shingled roof!  According to Brent, next the steps are completing the electrical and plumbing in the basement, then pouring the concrete in the basement, then windows.  I'm excited for windows:)  I like to see the obvious progress;)

#5:  Ladies' Morning

Last weekend, my aunt and cousin came to do some shopping at the Mayo Clinic Employee Craft Show and have lunch with my mom, sister and I.  It's always so nice to have excuses to get together:)

High Five for Friday!

#1: Work Family

I am so very blessed to have a wonderful work family.  This week we said goodbye to one of our family members as she transferred to a new role at Mayo.  We celebrated with a potluck and many laughs. I'm telling you, nurses have the greatest stories:)  We also celebrated one nurse completing her BSN and another receiving her official certification as a CNRN.

Office-Mates = Work Family

#2: Back to the Gym

With the weather getting colder and the days getting shorter, I knew I needed to make a change in plans to keep exercising for the winter.  This week was my first week back at the gym and it couldn't have worked better!  On the days that Luke gets a ride home from school via carpool, I'm able to head straight to the gym after work.  This week I was able to make three trips.  I'm not a huge fan of being a gym member, but I do appreciate the options it avails.  This week I ran on the track, did a water work out ("Fluid Motion" class that uses the water as extra resistance in a cardio workout), and walked on the treadmill.  I'm so very grateful I was able to work this into my schedule and that I can be a member at DAHLC since I'm a Mayo employee.

#3: Report Card Time

Luke got his first quarter report card which included several nice comments from his teacher.  Luke's very adaptable in terms of teachers and he's seen several different personalities in his 5 years of school, but I feel like this year he's connected with his teacher the best so far.  They just seem to get each other:)

#4: Hearts at Home

Last weekend was the annual Hearts at Home Conference in Rochester.  This huge conference just happens to hold one of its three annual conferences in Rochester and this year I was very excited to see two of the main speakers: Dr. Gary Chapman and Lysa Terkeurst.  They did not disappoint and neither did the workshop speakers I heard.  It was a great weekend of time with friends, learning, and rejuvenating as a mom and wife.

#5: A Day with the Girls

Today, I got to spend the morning with Nora and our niece, Piper.  After dropping Luke at school, we walked around the Christmas decoration at Menards then made a trip to the mall play area.  The girls had a blast playing:)

Starting the morning off with
smiles at Papa and Gma's

Peaking through the tunnel

Let the season of "hat hair" begin!

Queen of the castle!

Playing together

Sweethearts:)

Quick House Update:

Last weekend all of us were able to walk through the house as a family.  Nora and Luke each got to see their rooms, which was sweet:)  This week, despite cold, rain, and wind, all of the roof trusses were set.  Not sure what progress will be made next week with the holiday, but it's fun to see it all come together!

Nora in her room

Luke in his room

Roof trusses!

High Five for Friday

#1: Get Away

Last weekend, we had the chance to visit Brent's older brother, Greg, and his family in Rosemount, MN.  It was a short trip, but great to get away and to spend time with them.  We got to their place late afternoon, just in time for the Michigan vs. Rutgers and we hung out at their place for the evening.  The kids all slept together in one room, which resulted in them all being awake before 6:00 a.m. Yikes!  I love how they love each other, but sleep is fun too, right???;)  Sunday, Cally and I did a little shopping and had lunch on Grand Avenue in St Paul then stopped at a few stores at the Eagan Outlet Mall.  While we were out and about, Greg and Brent brought the kids to the Minnesota Zoo and watched some NFL games.

Playing puzzles with Mommy
 and Cousin Annalise

#2: Nachos

Last weekend, I went to lunch with my mom and a few of her friends from work.  We went to a new restaurant in Rochester: Five West.  We'd been for a happy hour and dinner once, but I had the most AMAZING nachos last Saturday.  I'm not kidding, I have thought of them every day since I ate them.  They may very well have ruined all other nachos for me.  If I haven't hyped them enough, we can chat more;)  They're called Herb Roasted Chicken Nachos.  So, if you ever want to try them, give me a call and we'll share a plate with a couple sangrias:)

#3: Basketball

Luke started his RCYBA Youth Basketball.  This is his first season playing with this organization, but he gets to have a coach he's had in the past for baseball and football and knows quite a few kids on his team.  Brent's also assistant coaching this season.  I'm looking forward to watching him play this season!

#4: Vocabulary

I love listening to Nora talk, tell stories, and to hear her sense of humor.  Yesterday she used the word mystery appropriately without it ever coming up earlier in the conversation.  It's so incredible how kids pick up words and vocabulary.

#5: Brent

Today is my man's birthday.  He doesn't like celebrating or receiving attention for his birthday, so I take it easy on him.  (Actually, neither of us are much about our birthdays.)  Regardless, I am grateful for him, his life, and the opportunity to share life with him.  Love you, babe.

Love this guy

High Five for Friday

It's been a l-o-n-g time since I've posted a High Five for Friday (an entire year!), but I have missed the opportunity to blog about everyday life so we remember it in years to come.  Check out my original High Five here.

#1: Our sweet, growing boy

This week Luke discovered Ramen Noodles.  We never buy or eat them so he discovered them through a friend at school who brought them for lunch.  Luke was fascinated:)  He asked me to get some next time I grocery shopped, but then Brent mentioned that there were multiple flavors.  Change of plans: he had to come grocery shopping to check out the selection:)  So, Thursday night Luke joined me on my biweekly grocery shopping trip.  It was a great time for the two of us to bond (which we don't get very often these days), to practice his math skills as we compared prices, and, most importantly, to introduce him to the world of Ramen.  Once he chose his variety, then he requested a thermos to use for his school lunch.  Supplies in hand, Luke was ready to learn how to make Ramen this morning so he could take it for lunch.  It was a sweet time talking through the steps in the process, teaching him details about the stove, and what can and cannot go in the microwave.  This all probably sounds so very simplistic, but I'm telling you, this boy takes such pride in learning skills that give him more independence.  These are precious memories:)

#2 Halloween

We had a wonderful day  last Saturday celebrating Halloween.  Nora was Sofia the First and Luke was a football player.  We started the morning with story time at ABC and Toy Zone, with stories and songs lead by Peter, Nora's favorite!  Then we went to BooFest at the Creek, an indoor carnival put on by the Rochester Public School Foundation with the Blue Papa and Gma.  After Nora's nap, we had dinner at Culver's with the Brown Papa and Gma and met Troy, Audra, Annie, Ethan, and Alaina for some trick or treating.  Nora blew us away.  She kept up with the big kids, ran from door to door, and loved every minute.  We even had to stop at a few houses in Brent's parent's neighborhood before finishing up trick or treating for the year.  The only down side to the day was dressing and undressing Nora in her costume.  She is currently very sensitive about anything going over her head and fearing she will get stuck.  The Sofia dress was puffy and intimidating in her three year old mind.  She survived and enjoyed wearing it once it was on:)

Halloween 2015

 #3  Volunteering

I love being able to volunteer at Luke's school and was able to have my first time for the school year today.  There is something about seeing the kids in their "natural habitat" that I just love:)  It was Book Fair week, which Luke and I also love, so I got to help four classes make their purchases today:)  After helping at the Book Fair, I was able to spend some time in Luke's class working one on one with a few kids on their reading.  I am very impressed with his fourth grade teacher: how she interacts with the class and how the kids clearly respect her.  The atmosphere of the class was simply more grown up than his classes in the past...guess they've got to get ready for middle school in just a couple years...yikes!!!

#4 House

We walked on the main floor of our new house this week!  That means we have basement walls, main floor trusses, main floor sub-flooring, and exterior walls!  I can't remember what, if any detail I've gotten into about the house, but we're building a rambler with three bedrooms on the main floor.  We'll only finish the living room in the basement to begin with, but there will be space for two additional bedrooms and one bathroom in the basement as well.  We love seeing the progress and especially appreciate our friends (who live next to our lot) for sharing progress pictures with us so often:)

View from front yard
Right to Left: Luke's bedroom window then front door
The rest will have the garage in front of it

View from backyard
Main Floor Left to Right: Nora's bedroom window,
living room, dining room, and master
Basement Left to Right: Bedroom, living room is the rest

View from the entrance into open living space
(missing interior walls)

#5 Settling

We moved out of our house on October 21, so we've been living with Brent's parents for a couple weeks now.  I feel like we've fallen into a new normal and all is going well with our daily schedules and the additional driving (Luke will finish the school year at our old neighborhood school).  We've also been able to work out some carpooling with some family friends which is wonderful.

Fall Fun

As an added bonus, it was a beautiful fall week.  The final trees were turning, the weather was warm, and I came to my parent's after work two days in a row to find my parents, Piper, and Nora outside playing in the leaves.  It was perfect:)

Soldiers Field Memorial

Nora and Piper in the oak leaves:) 

More Soldiers Field