Let it snow!

Just a few pictures to show all the snow! All I can say is WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT GARDEN THIS SUMMER!!! The weather was beautiful today, I enjoyed a nice long walk. I was able to talk with a friend I haven’t talked with in while…it’s always nice to catch up with great friends. I am so blessed to have GREAT friends.

Am I behind or what?? HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a nice Christmas season with family and friends. This past month just flew by! It’s amazing how quickly time passes when it’s your favorite time of year, you are surrounded by family and friends you love dearly, it snowed (and continues to do so) more than it has in 10 years, there are more Christmas parties to attend than you can count, and the list goes on and on…Below are just a few pictures from our family Christmas, we had a blast.

Last week the State of North Dakota began the 2009 Legislative session, so I am busier than ever. I am responsible for tracking bills related to education (K-12 and higher education) and workforce in our state (along with all my other duties). It will be a fun and exciting session. Again, happy new year!

Happy December! Can’t believe it’s December…I was just getting used to November. Zack and I spent Thanksgiving in Michigan with his family. We ate too much food and had a great time with family. On Thanksgiving day, Zack’s mom, Zack and I delivered Meals on Wheels, what a fun experience. All was going well until I realized that we had more than one meal to deliver…needless to say we had to do some back tracking! We also went to a production called Too Hot to Handel, a jazzed up version of Handel’s Messiah – it was AWESOME! Just a few pictures of our weekend.

Sarah, Ethan and Abby - ready to eat!

Zack definitely ready to eat!!!

After lunch we go over to the relatives for dessert! See EVERYONE in the family is tall...poor me.

Yummy!

Zack, Wilbur, and me...he had just woke up.

The Detriot Opera House.

Zack and I!
Check out our matching sweaters!!

P.S. the new addition to our family!

Snow!

SNOW!! It’s here! Thursday night we received 9.4 inches of snow. I happen to be home alone, because Zack was traveling for work. We had some crazy weather last week. Wednesday night I woke up to thunderstorms and heavy rain. Thursday night I woke up to the wind blowing and blowing snow. Bizarre to think last weekend we were raking leaves…good we didn’t put that off any longer. Here are some pictures of the snow at our house.

Along with the beautiful fall weather comes the raking of leaves! Zack and I finally got around to raking…well we “blew” all the leaves into piles and then raked! I believe we ended up with 13 bags of leaves. Yesterday I was out shopping and heard Christmas music over the loudspeaker…can you believe it??? It’s not even Thanksgiving yet!! CRAZY!

My favorite!!

Walking...

A brisk walk can be so refreshing. I just returned from an invigorating and peaceful walk. For those who don’t live in ND, yesterday was VERY windy. I heard someone say there were 60 mph gusts throughout the day!! Those mighty gusts blew all the leaves off the trees so during my peaceful walk tonight I heard the sound of leaves below my feet… music to my ears. The only thing missing was an apple in my hand! When I returned home I had a small piece of Plachenda (small pastry with pumpkin filling), it reminded me of my grandma. Plachenda was one of the German foods my grandma would make for the grandkids. I sure miss Grandma’s cooking.

Remember I said I wanted to start read biographies…well I finished my first one (I know, it took a while) – My Grandfather’s Son by Clarence Thomas. I would highly recommend it. Now on to the next book…hopefully that won’t take too long to read. If I could only be coordinated enough to read and walk, I could sure get a lot more reading done! I'm always open to new book suggestions!

October

October is here! Fall leaves, pumpkins, cool weather, and one more day closer to Christmas. This past Friday Zack and I volunteered at an event where teenage kids come to talk with “professionals” in the area. It is a project our local Young Professionals Network service team takes part in. Zack gave advice on tenant rights and I answered questions about writing a resume and completing job applications. On our way home we talked about how fortunate we were to be raised by such wonderful parents who cared and loved us so much. Yesterday we went to a beautiful wedding. My favorite part was the table spilling over with chocolate delights. I had to hold myself back from going back three times!!! One thing I enjoy about weddings is that you get to catch up with people you haven't seen in a while. This week my dad cleaned out the garden and picked eight lovely pumpkins. I can’t believe all those leaves and vines only produced eight pumpkins. My tomatoes finally arrived and we are inundated with tomatoes. I think my mom will finally get her fill of tomato sandwiches.