Giving thanks!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What an awesome time of year... Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday for quite awhile now. As a child, Christmas was probably my favorite, for obvious reasons. Christmas always brings so much stimulation for kids - new toys, flashing lights, lots of sugar... :) Of course, Christmas is a wonderful time of year, and for reasons that greatly trump toys, lights and sugar. Most importantly, it's an amazing reminder of God's love for all people and a celebration of Christ's birth!

So the American holiday of Thanksgiving probably shouldn't be my favorite, but it is. I think I made the personal transition to Thanksgiving being my favorite sometime after Mom was diagnosed with Hodgkins. I was young and impressionable... and mom could have died. Her battle with cancer was the ultimate reminder to count your blessings. Our family always joins hands at Thanksgiving and we each share what we're thankful for. There is never a dry eye in the house. I can't remember from year-to-year what anyone lists, but I will never forget the swelling in my heart, the feeling that God is right there with with us in the room.

Thanksgiving for me, is always a necessary reminder. We should count our blessings year-round! Something about the holiday brings with it peaceful reflection and an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Every November, without fail, I transform into a teary-eyed, sappy girl. My poor husband! God has blessed my life so tremendously, and I am really undeserving of all He provides.

This year, I feel like I have more to be thankful for than ever before. I'm married to a wonderful, Godly man. Don't get me wrong; Cole isn't perfect, our marriage isn't perfect and I'm not perfect, either! (I know - shocker.) But God had a perfect plan when he put us together and I am continually amazed by the ways that He works in our relationship, bringing us closer together in happy times and with every trial we face, too. On our wedding day, I never dreamed that I could grow to love Cole more than I did in that moment; of course, I was completely wrong about that. If you think I'm emotional and sappy now, just wait until we've been together for 10, 20, 30 years. It's only going to get worse, Cole. :) I love you.

I really believe that Cole and I wouldn't be together today if it weren't for faithful, praying parents! Several times when I was growing up, I remember Mom telling us that she and Dad's prayer for us girls is to marry kind, loving, respectful Christian men. So I'm thankful for my parents, for loving and supporting and praying for us. I'm thankful for my Dad. He has always been a great example of a loving husband and father and positive role model for us girls.

I'm thankful for my in-laws! So thankful that long before Cole and I ever met, they were raising him to be a good man. They've welcomed me into their family with open arms, and are so loving and accepting of me, even with all of my flaws. I'm thankful for my sister-in-law, Emily. She is beautiful inside and out, and has such a kind-hearted, happy-go-lucky personality. It has been really fun getting to know her better.

I'm thankful for my little sisters. Two beautiful, talented, intelligent young women who amaze me on a regular basis. I have so much love in my heart for you two girls. When I think of you, I know that you each have great things ahead of you, and I'm so proud and excited to see what the future holds!

I'm thankful for family, good health, our friends, our jobs, my Premier Designs business and our home. I'm even thankful for our faithful four-legged pups, Royce and Layla.

What are YOU thankful for?

Tonja's Senior Pictures

I've always had an interest in photography. It started in high school when I was on the yearbook committee - or whatever you want to call it. (Cole would say geek squad, I'm sure... but in all reality, we were a very cool group!) During college I took my first official photography class - a one hour, easy-and-fun course taught by Tod Megredy at Southwestern College. What a blast! Ever since, I've wanted to get the hobby really going, but just couldn't seem to find the time, energy or money... Nice cameras aren't cheap! About a year ago my friend, Sarah, started her own photography business - with lots of encouragement from me. :) Sarah's new biz has been going great, and for awhile now she has been suggesting that I give it a try... Recently she even loaned me one of her cameras to practice my skills. Thank you so much, Sarah!!!

I was extremely lucky to get the chance to "practice" on Tonja, a foreign exchange student from Norway who is staying with my family this year. Tonja was so much fun to photograph - she was completly laid back, patient with my lack of experience and willing to try just about anything. I couldn't have asked for a more cooperative or beautiful model... The girl has absolutely flawless skin and the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen!!! Here are a few of my favorite shots:

 

 

Busy, busy!

I'm almost TOO busy to keep up on my blogging lately! What's a girl to do?!

In the past few weeks, we've had tons of guests at 109 Northfield! First (Oct. 10th) was the Anderson wedding, followed by a home football game and our annual Zubaz tailgate on the 17th. So... here is a quick and easy photo tribute to the past few weeks:

Tyson and Jamie got hitched. The wedding and reception were gorgeous, as were the bride and groom.

Our friends all looked smashing... here are a few of them!

 

Jess and Josh Horton

Andy and Sarah Pavkov

 The 2nd Annual Zubaz Tailgate was a HIT! Our group grew to over 30 members. The ringleader, Andy, has dreams of growing the tailgate to over 50 next year... If you're interested in participating, Andy can get you discounted pants... Come on! Everybody needs a pair of these. Email Andy by clicking here!

Out tailgate was complete with a banner, and K-STATE Snuggie! Good times were had by all...

All hail the queen!

I am totally and completely biased, so it's a good thing I didn't get to vote. :) Congrats to my baby sis, Hannah, who won Homecoming Queen at Friday night's football game! She is such a sweetie... hard to believe she is already a senior in high school! It seems like just yesterday when Hannah would beg Jess and I to take her to the "session-con-stand" at football games when we were in high school. Dad was even in tears watching her walk across the football field. The baby has officially grown up! I'm feeling a little emotional and a little old, too...

It was really fun to get back and see my family and watch the Vikings WIN, too. Here are a few photos from my quick "up and back" trip Friday. We had three couples crashing with us this weekend for a friend's wedding, so I wasn't able to stay in Winfield for long and Cole didn't get to make the trip... I'll attempt to post some pics of the Anderson wedding later this week, too.

Check out the football Grandma Joyce caught at the game!

Hannah's Fan Club:

Dad, Mom, Grandma, Jess and Andy

Operation Recuperation

Whew! We had quite the Bluegrass this year. It was a fun, fun weekend with family and friends! I've included some photos of our stay in Winfield, but I sure wish I had taken better photos and more of them! We were lucky to have some good friends of ours join us for their first bluegrass ever. We hope Brett and Cindy want to come back! As usual, we are exhausted. The festival (or "Big Blue" as Dad calls it) really wears us out.. It seems like I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep, and it's already Wednesday! During my "Total Tone" class at the gym on Monday, one of the girls there had also been in Winfield. She said she even cried on Sunday because she didn't want to pack up and leave... This festival is serious business! :)

One very special family friend wasn't able to make it to Bluegrass this year. Janet was just too sick. In May, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, underwent surgery and some chemotherapy. Then she got a staff infection which never seemed to improve. Eventually, the infection took over, shutting down her liver. She passed away yesterday, and we will miss her so much. She is truly pain free, at peace and in heaven now.

Janet was actually the person responsible for bringing our family to Bluegrass for the very first time - 12 years ago. When we moved to Winfield, she worked with Dad at the bank, and somehow convinced him to give the festival a try. (He wasn't very excited about paying good money to park our camper less than five miles from home for the entire weekend!) One visit was all it took. We're hooked. As long as I live, Bluegrass will always make me think of Janet Menke. She really was like a grandmother to me.

Here are some photos from this weekend...

Brett, Cole and Cliff grilling and drinking.

Hannah and toothless Emma. :)

Bluegrass brings out the musical side
(and the not-so-musical side) in all of us.

Ready to head to the Pecan Grove!

Cute couple! BUT looks can be deceiving. They are ornery. :)

Another reason I ♥ mint.com!

I may be nerdy, but stuff like this is really interesting to me... Wish they had KC on this graphic, too! :) You may need to click the link to see the entire thing... Enjoy.

The Most Frugal Cities in America:


Budget help from Mint.com

Road to the Bowl!

Support our Junior League fundraiser by donating, and earn a chance to WIN a trip for two to K-State's post season bowl game. Of course, there is a SMALL chance that the Cats won't make it to a bowl game. In those unlikely circumstances, there will be a cash prize awarded of $1,000. To learn more about service projects of our Junior League, click here! To donate and earn a chance to win the trip, click here!

Any help you can give is GREATLY appreciated, thanks! :)

The countdown begins...

Football season kicks off in 12 days!

We're so excited for another K-State football season to start, whatever the outcome may be! Living in a college town can really stink at times (i.e. move-in weekend and awful traffic) but September always makes me thankful to live in Manhattan! "Hotel Eilders" as we're calling it, has been taking reservations for the first few home games already. We love having our friends and family visit us any time, and especially when tailgating is involved... We haven't scheduled the "2nd Annual Zubaz Tailgate" yet, (NO - we don't do this for every home game!!!) but it'll happen. Here are some photos of past tailgating fun:

It was painful for Cole to wear so much purple! :)

Mom's Surgery

Mom called Monday to say she would be having surgery on her neck/back on Tuesday afternoon... Talk about short notice! Evidently the surgeon was able to squeeze her into his schedule, but the message got to her only the day before her surgery.


In 1995 Mom had back surgery on a herniated disc, which the doctors originally diagnosed as bone cancer. Once they got in to check it out, they realized it was just an abnormal-looking herniated disc. Whew! Our life was pretty much a roller-coaster ride for a few years there... At one point they were just sure she had lung cancer, too. Nope. I guess doctors tend to assume the worst when they're dealing with a cancer survivor! I think we were all a little nervous, considering her history.

The surgery went really quickly once they started. Three. Hours. Late. I wonder, did God want us to spend a little more time praying, or what?! The operation only lasted about an hour and twenty minutes. What an enormous blessing to hear that things went well after all that waiting! Hopefully no medical professionals are reading this, because I'm sure I'll butcher some of the technical parts in this process...

Basically, they went in through her old scar on the front of her chest. They cut out the bad disc, removed several bone fragments that were pushing on her nerves, inserted a titanium plate and added pieces of cadaver bones to grow over the plate. The bones will eventually connect with other discs in her back, limiting her mobility, but greatly reducing the pain she has been experiencing. For years she has had migraine headaches, tingling in her right arm, and severe back pain. She had been considering spinal decompression therapy, but two weeks ago she was told that there was only one millimeter of tissue protecting her spinal cord from permanent damage, and she decided it was time to go forward with the operation.

Wednesday afternoon Hannah and I were able to take her home, but I was really surprised they let her out so quickly. She'll be wearing this oh-so-stylish brace for about six weeks. I'm sure she'll be good and ticked off that I posted the picture. :) Just remember - I love you very much, Mom. You've been a blessing to my life in more ways than you'll ever know!

Layla learns to sit.

Ahh. Puppies. They are so stinkin' cute, but we forgot how much work they can be. Here's a video of crazy Layla, who joined us on our recent trip to Iowa. She was a hit with the family... Especially Cole's great-uncle, Dick, who after two days with Layla, was convinced that he and his wife, Elaine, are ready for a new puppy. Pretty much everyone loved her... Everyone except Grandma Betty, who "doesn't like dogs." I think she was more than a little sweet on Layla, but just wouldn't admit it. :)

Okay, so she doesn't actually sit yet... It's a work in progress.