today i choose joy

still here...

2011-02-09T00:38:00.002-06:00

Hello All! Not sure if anyone still reads my blog anymore since i don't write very often! Well i'm up tonight as the pain in my neck is not allowing me to sleep comfortably. Ezekiel and i were in a car accident Friday morning. We were hit by a 20 year old running a red light. It has been a rough week-end and i'm off work this week to try and recover and get some dr appts and physical therapy appt's in as well. Not sure what to do since this is my first time in a car accident, so i'm just praying that God guides us as we navigate this! Well, to those who still read this...how are things on your end?

what God has been speaking to me...

2010-04-15T20:41:00.006-05:00

I had an interesting few days last week-end. There are several things I have been having a difficult time with lately..mainly due to my desire to see several people in my life healed. It is a journey that i didn't realize i was on until it was smack dab in my face. I know that God is good and that He is kind and compassionate, but sometimes i get very angry at Him when i don't understand His timing or His ways. I feel that i forget so easily all God has done for me...

On Saturday night, Pastor Rick preached on "Daring to Believe". I literally cried through his whole sermon as i know God was speaking to me. Rick shared about "daring to believe that God is compassionate and has compassion over me and my situation. He said "faith is daring to believe in the goodness of God's character". He gave a great visual of us only being able to see a small part of God's plan, but God doesn't see the partial, He is the producer and sees the whole big picture.

I was challenged by the song "Healer" that we sang that night...

I believe that your my Healer

I believe You are all I need

I believe You're my portion

I believe You are more than enough for me

Nothing is impossible for You

You hold my world in Your hands

Do i believe that God is "more than enough for me" I would like to say YES, but i'm not sure right now. I know that God is working on my heart and that i just need to continue to walk in obedience to Him. The enemy would like to come and steal, kill and destroy all my hope, but my HOPE is built on my Solid Rock Jesus Christ...

I continue with HOPE on this journey, knowing that nothing is impossible for God and that even if He chooses not to heal me...he is still my patient, loving heavenly Father who knows what is best for his children..

Thank You LORD for redeeming my life...my HOPE is in You alone.

good friday

2010-04-02T23:36:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter to all our Friends & Family! Shiloh, Zeke & I went to Omaha for the day on Good Friday. It was nice to have a family day together and then attend our good friday service tonight at church. So thankful for Jesus' sacrifice so i can live forever with Him! I'm thankful that He loves me so much!

Here is Zekey with the Easter bunny at the mall we were at...

Zekey & Mommy sitting outside enjoying the beautiful sun and warm day...

Riding the ferris wheel inside the Scheels in Omaha, such a big store...we loved it!

Zekey enjoying his apple on the ride home (and being silly!)

THis morning, we colored our traditional Easter eggs. Zekey did so great this year, you can see from the video at the end that he is putting the eggs in all by himself

He loved doing these and ate 2 eggs after coloring them!

Here is Zeke in egg coloring action!!

And eating the eggs afterwards!!

We hope you all have a wonderful Easter celebrating our risen Saviour Jesus!!

spring is finally here!!

2010-03-29T18:54:00.011-05:00

we are back again!!

Here is a little Zeke hug to welcome you back...all of my few readers that endure the many months i do not post. It is difficult to keep up with a blog, have a family and a part time job...sooo i will continue to do my best with what the Lord has given me! So we've had a lot of snow this winter and it felt way too long to me this year...this stuff, good ridence, we'll see you later!

It has made Mommy & Zekey a little crazzzzzzzzzzzy!

Or maybe Mommy A LOT crazy....

...and Daddy...sleepy?

Anyways...dispite the wonderful midwest winter this year. We have survived and we finally see some green grass trying to poke its way through. Ezekiel had the sprinkler out tonight so you can tell that he is right ready for summer already!

I posted a bunch of pictures in this post to give you an overview of the last few months...hope you enjoy (i know Grammy & Poppa will!)

We had a fun Christmas with Shiloh's family on the 24th and our little family on the 25th. Zeke really wanted a blue dinosaur and here he is with the one in his stocking.

The Menter boys (minus Judah)

and then Grammy & Poppa came to visit us for Christmas this year!!

Ezekiel was so excited!

Grammy snuggling with Zekey in his bed the first night they were here

Red jammies in front of the tree

Being silly with Poppa - lots of fun was had by all and a great early New Years Party with Zeke before Mommy & Daddy got to go out and party!!

Next up was Maddie & Derek's wedding at the end of January...it was a fun, exhusting day, but so glad to see my friends get married!

Me & my hubs

Zeke slept through the ceremony on Daddy's shoulder, but had lots of fun at the reception

...with his new friend Chloe (they are best buds now since Chloe's Mommy has been watching Zeke while I work on Tuesdays)

Mommy & Daddy got to go out for Valentine's to Red Lobster...mmmm it was so good!

Fun times with Anna at Lost in Fun

...in the space pit...

...on the inflatables...

and back to space pit...

and back to the balls...it is always nice to have a best buddy to go be crazy with!!

Zeke's smiley face pancakes we made because that is what George (as in "Curious George") had for breakfast and he had to have it too!

This is what Shiloh has been up to...lots of drilling, cutting, measuring and well... sweating while working on finishing our basement. You can tell the dust in the air by the picture. It will be awesome when everything is done! This is the "Office/Music Studio" and potientally another bedroom possibly one day.

Zekey has been doing a lot fo covering his ears while Daddy works. This is our main room in the basement where we hope to one day own a sectional couch so we can have lots of people over!!

This is the view from the other side so Grammy & Poppa can picture what it will look like! You can see the doorway going into the Office (which will have a glass door) and the built-in bookshelf to the left. We have lots left to do and probably not enough $$ to finish, but we keep trucking along, God will provide :)

This was Zekey's first visit to the dentist a few weeks ago...he did awesome and th dentist says he has great teeth! He was just happy to pick out a toy at the end.

I waited out in the waiting room after this picture, and felt like my little man was all grown up being back there by himself...sniffle!

Next up are some pic's from Zeke's swimming lessons...here he is with Chloe before one of the lessons

him and Jeremiah being silly after class...big surprise!!

My little "Perch" graduate that didn't care about anything but the fruit snack he got as a reward! If only life was that simple!!! He actually went down the big water slide in the background, another friend got pics of that which i should post up here some time as well. Zeke will be starting the "Pike" class this Thursday which he will be doing without Mommy! He is doing quite well and i'm excited to see him learn to swim on his own. We are getting ready for LOTS of swimming this summer!!

Well...thanks for sticking with me as i did a quick overview of the past 3 months. I hope everything is well for all of you tonight...i do have strep throat again which i found out this morning and i'm thinking that one of these days i may need to get my tonsils removed...but for now, down go the antibiotics and to bed i go...

goodnight :)

dreaming of warmer days...and the sun

2010-01-20T16:51:00.002-06:00

Welcome 2010! Wow, talk about a string of dreary days...i miss the sun! Don't get me wrong, i do love the snow & cold, i just wish the sun would poke his bright head out every now and then...

Here is my favorite little face in the whole world...

We are going to sign up for swimming lessons tonight. I think I will put Zeke in the Perch class again as i don't think he is ready for to go in the water without me yet...plus i also want to get in the water!

So has anyone set any New Years Resolutions?? I'll share mine, if you share yours...

zeke's cookie party...

2009-12-27T00:09:00.005-06:00

Sorry we haven't posted for awhile... busy with getting ready for Christmas!

Zeke had a cookie party the week before Christmas with a few of his friends... but first he decided to take the camera and take a few pics of his own...

Hmmmm...interesting....then friends arrived and the party began!

Mason & Abby playing & singing

Jeremiah spent most of the morning with the safety googles on...good thing too as he was hitting himself in the face with the bat!

Breakfast time...scrambled eggs, ham & fruit

Of course I had some of my beaitiful friends to help me out with this crew!

Donna & Val (& Chris was there later too!)

The cookie decorating begins! Emma & Anna begin ever so precise...

The girls table...Abby looks like she's praying, what a little angel :)

Boys table - Zeke mostly just eating candy!

Oh! Gotta give him some eyes...

and lots of sprinkles for the finished product!

All done! (from L to R) Zeke, Abby, Emma, Anna, Mason, Sam & Jeremiah. We read the Christmas story, sang some songs - Jingle Bells (with some bells), Away in a Manager, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and the ABC song (by request) and did a book gift exchange. Lots of fun was had by all. We will have to make it an annual thing for sure!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year! Many blessings for 2010 - looking forward to a great year!

snow days...

2009-12-09T15:13:00.004-06:00

Here are some pics from yesterdays snow day...still home today!

Waffles on the couch

Gingerbread house time!

This kit was awesome!

Front of Ezekiel's House...

and back!

Look at all our snow...we had fun sleding yesterday but today the snow is too deep!

a few of my favorite christmas things...

2009-12-08T15:36:00.006-06:00

Happy Snow day! This is the best time of year! Some of my favorites at Christmas time are: going to church Christmas Eve, celebrating Jesus' birthday, spending time with family and lots of SNOW! Here are a few pics from around the house that are also my favorite...

Baby's 1st Christmas Ornament from 1979 (mine!)

Zeke eating 7 layer jello (this one is for Grammy!)

Putting up the Christmas tree and other decor

Some fav ornaments...

S'mores (I have a different one for each year Shiloh & I have been married)

My Dad's ornament that he had on his tree growing up

Our Tree

These 2 are also my favorite!!

Zekey & I had a great day today playing out in the snow, decorating his gingerbread house (mostly just him eating candy!) and reading stories. Tonight we are going to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas and make enchilada's...mmmm

Probably another snow day tomorrow...hope we save some snow for Christmas!

jingle bell craft

2009-12-04T14:10:00.005-06:00

So here is my cute little craft that Zeke & I made today:

My friend Erin's blog gave me the idea and she saw Pottery Barn do something similar and charge a whole lotta $$ for it. I got these bells at the dollar store and used a vase i already had. The bells came with 16 in a pack and i bought 2. So I'm trying to decide if I should fill the vase up farther or get some red ones and switch out the blue. Your thoughts?

I have much more red/green decor for Christmas, but blue is kinda fun, plus it does match my winter craft from 2 years ago (my beautiful signs that took soooooo long to make!) Also I could leave it up come January as well.

Just thought i would share what Zekey & I did this morning as he helped me take apart the bells. I am making chex mix in the oven at the moment while Zeke naps. Tonight we are going to see "Behold the Lamb" at Lincoln Berean church. We are bringing Zeke with us (but didn't buy a seat for him) so hopefully all goes well. We are at the very top of the balcony so I'm not too worried, plus I will bring snacks. That is how you keep Menter men/boys happy...just don't forget the snacks :)

black friday

2009-11-30T15:19:00.006-06:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving with lots of yummy everything...especially the stuffing my favorite! I made green bean casserole which is very American and very delicious! We had a time of prayer in the morning and then we did some worship in the afternoon after lunch and I'm so thankful for my family here in the States and how welcoming and loving they have always been to me.

The next morning was Black Friday. I had never heard of black friday until i moved to the States. All i knew of was Boxing Day sales the day after Christmas. Black Friday is kind of similar, but has way more deals, doorbusters, early hours and crazy shoppers. Plus, looking back, who wants to buy stuff after Christmas is over?

For the last few years i have gone black friday shopping with my mother-in-law around 8am. This year I decided to try and get up early and go to walmart around 6am after the rush, but i was awake at 4:50 so i decided to take the trek and see how fabulous this early morning shopping was. This was the item that motivated me:

Fisher Price T-rex MountainIt was on sale for $18 which was a pretty awesome deal. I made it there right at 5am (since we live close) and people were already coming out with their purchases, it was crazzzy! I did manage to find a parking spot and as i went in i made the first "rookie" mistake of grabbing a cart. That thing slowed me down big time, and i eventually ditched it. So my story of the dinosaur mountain... i went to the toy section right to where the Fisher Price/Imaginex stuff is, but of course on Black Friday, all the deals are down ONE INSANE AISLE...this was one of the worst ideas possible and had i not been in early morning delirium i may actually have feared for my life. My favorite line that i overheard was "Take a chill pill!" ahhh that made me laugh...

Anyways, back to the aisle, i was getting closer down the crazy aisle (still with my cart) and was almost to the toy i wanted for Zeke, when the guy behind me, squeezed by my cart, went in front of me, grabbed the last Super awesome Dino Mountain and shouted "I got the last one!"

I was bummed big time, but went on my way down the aisle and did managed to grab 2 sets of fleece p.j's for Zeke (one for this year and one for next) for $3 each. I also managed to grab a Candyland game for $5 and a 2 Qt crock pot for $4. While these were all great deals, the 40 minute wait in checkout definitely was not worth it, but it was something i needed to experience firsthand.

The rest of the day went very well, as i went out around 8am with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. I managed to find many other deals and i have almost finished my Christmas shopping! My best deal was the comforter i got for Zeke for $15 at Sears and it matches perfectly in his room and was something he really needed (mid-west winds are cold through his window!)

As fun as black friday is, I'm glad it is only once per year and i will continue to enjoy it, but maybe not at walmart at 5am next year...

are you excited?!?

2009-11-24T20:53:00.003-06:00

I am excited now that i know how to add videos to my blog... this was our phrase for the summer, said by Zeke (imitating Mommy) when we were road tripping to Ontario to see Grammy & Poppa...

We are excited that Thanksgiving is 2 days away...i will be making green bean casserole and taking it over to Shiloh's parents's house for a fabulous feast! There will be 11 of us altogether.

Zekey is BEYOND excited about putting the Christmas tree up...we got the outdoor lights up last week, but we are waiting until after Thanksgiving before putting up the tree and all the rest of my decor. Tomorrow will be a cleaning day, so that my house can actually be clean before i put up all my dusty decorations!!

We are also excited that my parents will be coming here for Christmas this year. We would have loved to go home, but it is so much $$ to fly. We will miss seeing Mikey, Kayla, Bryan & Jordan as well as all our other friends and family up there, but we are planning another road trip this coming summer! It will be so fun to have Grammy & Poppa here as they have never visited us at this time of year.

We hope you all have a wonderful, family filled, turkey eatin' Thanksgiving...and for the rest of you up North who already had your Thanksgiving, we hope you have a great Thursday :)

humpty dumpty's testimony

2009-11-21T14:48:00.003-06:00

Well last Friday night Zeke had his first ER visit. He was over at his friend's house chasing Jeremiah and slipped and hit the door frame. He got quite the "owie" where his head split and ended up with 3 staples in his head. Here's what i like to call Humpty Dumpty's testimony:

He did so great at the hospital and didn't even cry when the staples went in. Yesterday we had a follow-up visit at his doctor's and he got the staples out. He did awesome again and just got a really sad face :( The doctor told me she doesn't usually get to have a conversation with the parent during these visits and said that Ezekiel was very "brave". Later Zekey told me that he was "crying on the inside"...too cute! So that was our excitment this week....Mommy is going to cry when she gets the hospital bill :( But until then, i'm thankful for good health and to finally be over all sickness.

Time to go try and find the outdoor Christmas lights in the basement...wish me luck!

my little wolf...

2009-11-20T14:18:00.007-06:00

Here are the long awaited pics of Zeke's costume for Boo at the Zoo and Trunk or Treat at church...

Boo at the Zoo - Logan is a little nervous of this wolf, Anna in her pretty ladybug costume

Mommy & Zeke (i was little red riding hood)

Zeke not impressed with keeping his wolf head on for a picture

Good times with the Runza Rex

Zekey loves all things that are dressed up...this is Homer the Saltdogs mascot

Back home with lots of candy, coupons & stickers!

Our Pumpkins (notice the different shapes in Zekey's pumpkin - i actually let him use a knife to help me!)

3 pumpkins :)

Trunk n' Treat at church

Grandma Menter's safari trunk

Chloe & Amelia (Pastor Mike & Beth's kids) with Zeke

The glazed "i've eaten way too much candy and there is no way i'm sleeping tonight" look

Hope you enjoyed the pics Mom!!

I have some updated pics coming of Ezekiel's excitment this past week...gotta love boys :)

elastic bands at the children's museum...

2009-11-13T08:54:00.003-06:00

Hello all!!

Well i finished my 2nd round of anitbiotics yesterday so i hope i am strep throat free!! Here are some fun pics of Zeke at the children's museum a few weeks ago... i love how creative he is (well i helped him a bit!)

Zekey can't wait to put up the Christmas Tree. I told him we have to wait until after Thanksgiving. We may do the outdoor lights this week-end while it isn't too cold.

Last week-end Shiloh & I went to the Fall Youth Convention in Bellevue Nebraska with our youth group (Zeke got to stay overnight with Grandma!). It was awesome and a much needed time after being so sick recently. I was talking with the girls in my room at the end of the night, and it is just so amazing to hear how God is working in their lives - i love it! This has been my 10th youth convention with Rock Solid (they have them in the fall & spring) since living in the States. They are VERY loud, but all problems are solved by earplugs. I don't care that i look like a dork!

This week-end we have some Youth Leadership Training on Saturday morning and we have a delcious dinner at Misty's tonight with the rest of the Youth Team. Should be a fun night. Happy Friday!

we are still here!

2009-11-06T13:48:00.002-06:00

Hey all....

Just wanted to let you know that we are still here! My strep throat came back this week and so i'm trying to stay positive and rest as much as possible with a job, a husband and a 3 year old!

Once i get my life back together here i will post some pics of Zeke's costume from Boo at the Zoo and Trunk or Treat at church.

Leave me some comments so i know you are still out there!

pumpkin patch!!

2009-10-25T23:32:00.012-05:00

One of our fall family traditions is to go to the pumpkin patch and pick our pumpkins!

Last year we went to Roca Berry Farms, but this year we opted for the free adminssion entry at Sunwest Farms not far from here. The weather turned out to be pretty decent and it wasn't very busy as it was during the Husker game! We went with the Mollo's and had such a fun time! Zeke picked his pumpkin right away and was quite excited about it (little Logan checking things out!)

Ezekiel also enjoyed the funny wooden characters... charlie brown & snoopy were his favorite!

Hayride out into the field to pick our pumpkins...

Bouncy house and carmel apples (Chris is enjoying hers!)

We ended the afternoon with Anna & Zeke sitting on top of the giant spider and another hayride before taking our 3 pumpkins home...

Our pumpkins now decorate our front step until later this week when we we'll carve them. Such fun with my boys!!

Love you monkeys!!

another chilly day...

2009-10-24T09:47:00.003-05:00

I'm hoping for some warmer weather so we can go to the pumpkin patch!!

We need to pick some pumpkins and we are running out of time...it has been so cold here the past few weeks and i just need one warm day!!! Happy Saturday...Goooooooo HUSKERS!!!

a midwest fall...

2009-10-21T16:23:00.019-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone...or happy hump day as my mom said today! I thought i would share some fun pics from this fall. Even though we've been sick lots, we have managed to have some fun along the way as well. I love Zeke's face on this pic below taken Saturday at a youth hang out event. Zeke, Sam & Emma are happy as can be snuggled under the blanket.

Ezekiel & I had to take our last trip to the Zoo for the year and use up our train tickets. It was a chilly one that day!

Loving the hopscotch!

This was the evening of our Canadian Thanksgiving. We had lots of friends over for yummy dessert...

The kids had a dance party in Zeke's room with his little finger lights

OK these next 2 pics are bad because they are through Zeke's window..these are wild turkeys that have been hanging out in our back yard TWICE!! They give me the willies...yuck! Zeke & I scared them off the first day, but they came back so i had to take some pics to prove. They were even walking through Zeke's swingset!!

This is how i prefer to see turkeys!! This was my turkey for Thanksgiving 2 weeks ago, i forgot to get a cooked pic of it!

Here is a picture of the crazy snowfall we had 2 weeks ago, this is our deck:

This is Zeke ready to play in the snow (he was sooo excited this year!)

This is how much snow was actually left that we were playing in (there was a bit more in the back - we slid down the hill twice with our sled)

SO yes we are feeling better in our household and looking forard to dressing up for Boo at the Zoo next week and Trunk or Treat at church. I think Zeke is going to be a wolf (he just wants to scare people!) The leaves are turned and falling and we are preparing for winter (and looking forward to some more snow!!)

We are off to church tonight for Youth Group (for us) & Rainbows for Zeke!

Go Huskers!!!

2009-10-17T14:18:00.006-05:00

Well it is probably high time that i do a blog about the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers are the College football team for UNL (University of Nebraska Lincoln)

When i first moved here in July 2003 i knew of the Huskers and had even watched a game with Shiloh (before we were married) the previous fall when i was here visiting. I had no idea how crazy Nebraskans (and my husband) were about Husker football.

One of the first signs of this craziness were the flags and outdoor home decor that many have on display here (especially the "Husker yard rock" which is a Lincoln favorite!). The next sign of the crazyiness is that people all over talk about Husker football as if it is the be all and end all of the world. When Shiloh and i were first married, i dreaded game day as my husband became a different person...stressed out about where he was going to watch the game, how they were going to do and then the outcome of the game directly affected his mood for the rest of the day. On game day in Lincoln, the entire city is geared up, wearing red and if you go anywhere, in any store, they are playing the game over the speakers (even the grocery store!) Forget trying to drive anywhere downtown the entire day they are playing...crazy. Somehow the Huskers are even meantioned at church on Sunday morning during the sermon.

Don't get me wrong, i do like football...I went to UWO (University of Western Ontario) football games with my Dad all the time and wore purple and cheered, the whole nine yards. I do have to say that College Football in the States is unlike anything i've ever experienced. Click here for an article by an ESPN Sports radio blogger that visited our state in September and his experience with Husker fans. Makes me feel proud to be a Husker fan!

Over the years, the Huskers have grown on me. I finally made it to a game back in 2005 (i think) and it was pretty stinkin' awesome!! The energy in the stadium with 85,000 other fans was unbelieveable and nothing like i've experienced anywhere else:

So i have come to enjoy watching the Huskers myself and look forward to Husker parties, where i can talk with my friends about life AND watch football at the same time. It is 2:30pm and about time for the Huskers to kick off against Texas Tech this afternoon. And i'm here, wearing my Husker shirt (Zeke is too) and i've come to terms with how my husband turns into a crazy football, "where am i going to wacth the game" loving maniac....and know that at the end of the day, he'll be back, ready to talk about real life again and maybe even watch a chick flick with me....maybe

flu, colds and strep throat

2009-10-15T20:59:00.008-05:00

Mmmmm like that title? That has pretty much been my life for the past almost 3 weeks. It started out with the flu, which turned into a cold. Then saturday afternoon i started getting a sore throat. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and found out i have strep throat which was a bummer, but i'm glad i at least know what i have. I'm on some meds and my throat is starting to feel a bit better. It has been hard being sick for so long as i'm usually a very positive person and i feel like i've been a downer lately to everyone i talk to. But i guess that is part of life...it just seems like there have been so many things over the past few weeks (which i will not blog about)that sometimes could make me want to just roll over and stay in bed all day. But i know that God is still good even on the difficult days and i have to stand on that. I keep being remined of the Casting Crowns song:

I’ll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I’ve cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I know this is not the first time i've gone through something difficult and it won't be the last. God will not give me more than i can handle. So for anyone else who is stuggling right now...i'm with you...and my hope & prayer is for a sunny day soon...

A Canadian Thanksgiving

2009-10-10T21:55:00.007-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving today to all my Family & Friends up north!! I am excited today to be celebrating Thanksgiving with my little fam here in the States even though it isn't Thanksgiving here yet. Zeke and I are going to do some thanksgiving crafts and then get the turkey in the oven. I will have him help me make the cresent rolls later so he can feel like he helped with dinner. He LOVES to help me in the kitchen, so i'll take it while it lasts!

Here is the history behind Canadian Thanksgiving and why is is different from American Thanksgiving....

In Canada, Thanksgiving is more closly related to the traditions in Europe than the United States. Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving. Other settlers arrived and continued these ceremonies. He was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him - Frobisher Bay.

At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their Indian neighbours. After the Seven Year's War ended in 1763, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving.

During the American Revolution, Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada where they brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. There are many similarities between the two Thanksgivings such as the cornucopia and the pumpkin pie. Eventually in 1879, Parliament declared November 6th a day of Thanksgiving and a national holiday. Over the years many dates were used for Thanksgiving, the most popular was the 3rd Monday in October.

Finally, on January 31st, 1957, Parliament proclaimed..."A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed ... to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.

So today I thank you God for all you have blessed us with, may i be continuly reminded of your great faithfullness and give thanks to you alone for you are good!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

TGIF

2009-10-09T09:15:00.003-05:00

I love Fridays! I might go as far to say they are my favorite day of the week. I consistently always have Fridays off, which i love. Zekey and i usually go to the Lincoln Children's Zoo because we have our annual pass to go there. We were thinking of going this morning and using up our last 2 free train ride tickets we have left, but it is a little chilly this morning. The cold never stops me, but i have to think about my little man since he gets cold a lot faster than me, plus he has had a bad cough yesterday & today so i think we will hibernate indoors today.

We do need to go out and get our turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving (which is on Monday). I hope we can find one! This will be the first year we have done a turkey for Thanksgiving (other than 2006 - when my parents were here for Canadian Thanksgiving and my mom cooked a turkey). I'm excited because i think it is important that Ezekiel celebrates Canadian holidays as well as American ones since half of the people we love most are in Canada! And of course I'm still Canadian too! SO i decided to take Monday off to celebrate and we are also having people over in the evening for pie & dessert.

Well i hope you all enjoy your Friday (especially all the Husker fans after last nights game against Mizzou!) Yeah long week-end, here we come!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-10-07T14:44:00.009-05:00

Today is my Dad's 59th birthday, so this post is all about him! (This picture is from August when we went on the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride in Niagara Falls where we went right up to the falls - it was amazing, my parents tried to go and take me when i was 2 and a threw a fit and wouldn't let them, they never went back until this summer, so this picture is extra special!)

I love my Dad and miss him very much. I love living in Nebraska, but i really miss him... i miss being around to hear his funny jokes, watching baseball playoffs & Survivor with him, going shopping with him (he loves that part!) and sneaking ice cream from Baskin Robins before dinner!! I can always count on a good laugh from my Daddy and he has always encouraged me in everything i do. Most importantly, he loves Jesus and has been praying for me my whole life. Pretty cool, eh?!? I'm glad that we are able to webcam (even though it's not the same) so he can watch Zekey be crazy and so he can see me going crazy with a 3 year old as well - i think he enjoys that! Here are a few pics from this summer:

I love you Dad and hope that you have a awesome night tonight eating Fish & Chips!! Enjoy the quiet because next year we are going to partttttty for your 6-0!!

We love you!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Dress Story

2009-10-06T18:55:00.004-05:00

I have to share this super fun thing that happened to me today! My friend Maddie will be getting married in January and she asked me to be a bridesmaid! So fun and i feel super honored to be asked. Maddie is awesome and is taking over leading the youth drama team this year which I'm really excited to pass along to her! Anyways...back to the cool thing...so I'm excited to be in Maddie & Derek's wedding, except $$ has been a little (or lot) tight lately. So i was kind of stressing about paying for a dress. Maddie was looking on craigslist and found a dress from the same store, same color (truffle) and close to my size. So i messaged the girl and she brought the dress by my work today and i tried it on and bought it for about 1/4 of the price of it new!

This was totally a God thing and i love that. He cares about the smallest things in our lives and i'm so thankful that He loves me enough to keep showing me that! Rock on - i will have to post pics of me in the dress after i get it altered.

Connect Groups!

2009-10-05T22:00:00.002-05:00

Yesterday our church launched "Connect Groups" which is our new small group ministry. Last night we started a new Group and it was awesome! It was so fun to be in group again as we didn't meet with a small group at all last year. The group we joined is for Young Adults so Shiloh said he feels like the old man of the group! I told him "Someone has to be the oldest!" It was amazing to meet so many new people that we have never even seen at church. One of the girls in the group we knew (other than our leaders Jeff & Ciana + James & Melissa) as she was a student on the AIM (Youth missions) trip we took back in July 2005 so that was really fun to reconnect.

I'm excited to hear other stories from people's groups that meet this week. I feel like we as a staff (at church) have put so much work (sweat & tears!!) into this minstry it is great to see it launch. And we want feedback!! If you are in the Lincoln area and haven't joined a group yet, get plugged in!!

Happy Monday - looking forward to a better, sick free week :)

2009-10-04T12:47:00.019-05:00

We're back and it's Fall 2009! I wanted to begin blogging again and needed a cute, new fresh look so here it is - hope you like it!! Here are a few pics from our busy, travelling summer! We took a family reunion trip with Shiloh's family up in the mountains in Colorado for a few days. It was beautiful & cool - and we had an awesome time.

We also road tripped up to Canada to visit my family. It was a loooooooooong trip, but we loved it!

Grammy, Papa & Zekey

We went for a hike on my Grandpa's land to show Shiloh & Zeke where he used to make maple syrup.

Lots of swimming!!

My brothers & Zeke

Day trip to Niagara Falls Ontario

Same spot Shiloh & I were engaged Feb 2003

Family Pic (Jordan & Bryan, Mikey & Kayla, Papa & Grammy, Shiloh, Zeke & I)

Back home at the Lincoln Zoo - lots of fun times with Daddy!

Digging for dinosaur bones...

Trip to Naponee Nebraska with friends (our annual trip!) Out on the pond with Val & the kids

Duck-Duck-Goose in the dirt

Shiloh's HUGE 12 lb catfish he caught one night

Zeke's little fish he caught

SO that was just a few pics of the awesome Summer we had. We have been back home and getting into the swing of Fall with church activities (Zeke is now in Rainbows on wed night) and we are starting out new small group (or Connect Group) tonight! We are excited to meet some new people and to be challenged in our walk with God. We have had a rough last couple of weeks with several things including coming down with the dreaded H1N1 flu...but we are on our way to feeling better and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Stay tuned for more posts!!

Canada

2008-09-02T12:42:00.002-05:00

Hello!

We are having a fabulous time in Ontario so far. I have had the chance to visit with my cousin Kim before she headed back out to BC, I also got together with some old church friends Sabrina & Maddy + baby #2 (almost here), Robin & Eli & Ariana and Jillian & Ethan. It was a fun morning and great for Ezekiel to play with some "little" friends while he is here. I also got to go out for tea & dessert with my high school ladies!! (Natalie, Sarah, Leanne & Patti) We had a blast and i will have to post the pic here when i get home.

Shiloh came last Fridays and so it has been nice to have a little family vacation all together here. We went with Mikey & Kayla to downtown Toronto where they are going to live after they get married. Some good times with the almost newlyweds!

Yesterday was the best Labour Day ever!! We had lots of family time around the pool as it was really hot and then Bryan & Jordan cooked us all dinner. mmmmmmm...i love food!

Mikey & Kayla's wedding is fast approaching...4 days! I'm looking forward to seeing more family and friends which should be exciting. I feel as though our time is going fast here and i'm not looking forward to going back to work yet. But it has been a very restful time so I'm thankful for that!

Well i will let you all know how the wedding turns out and put some pics of the cutest ringbearer ever soon!

Summer days...

2008-08-18T15:02:00.008-05:00

Hello Everyone! We are back again! I got motivated to update my blog today because my friend Erin just started one and i thought, well people don't even know that Ezekiel has turned 2!!! SO yes Ezekiel turned 2 in May (and i turned 29) and my parents were here to celebrate with us! Here are a few pics from our birthday celebrations!

Dinner At Olive Garden

Ezekiel 2nd B-day!

The Monkey cake I made for Zeke

The "Annual 2 year old" party at Val's house
(missing Jeremiah)
- all the kids turned 2 within 2 weeks of each other

Moms and Babies

Lots of Fun!

Shiloh started a new job as an electrician apprentice today and I have been working part time in our church office about 20 hours/week.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and doing lots of swimming! We will see our Canada Family & Friends in a few days!

loving spring

2008-04-27T15:48:00.006-05:00

Hello Friends!

We have been enjoying Spring so far (even though it hasn't been super warm yet!) We have gone to the park several times. Ezekiel espeically loves to ride in the bike trailer this year which is great for exercise for me! Last Thursday i took him and his little friend Anna to the park in the bike trailer, they loved it! I looked back and they were just chatting away with each other and telling me to go "faster!" Here are a few pics from another park we visited 2 weeks ago:

We also have been tot eh Lincoln Children's Zoo (the day it opened!) with Shiloh's parents. It was a fun relaxign evening to walk around and look at the animals and ride the "choo choo" train..he was kinda mesmorized in this pic, but keeps talking about the train.
Daddy also helped him feed the goats, it was a little scary at first, but he loved it! He even tasted the animal treats to make sure they were ok!! (eww so gross!)

Shiloh & I were able to get away for the week-end. We went up to Strombsburg, Nebraska and stayed in a little bed & breakfast. Our friends Lydia & Chris got married yesterday so that is why we went up there and since Shiloh was involved by playing guitar and singing we were also invited to the rehearsal. For the reception they had a swing band playing '30's and '40's music and so it was so much fun to dance to that kind of music verses doing "YMCA" at another wedding! It was such a beautiful wedding and great to see how God brought these 2 together. They are also YWAMers and i work with Lydia at church so we have a great connection!

My parents are coming to visit on Tuesday, so we are looking forward to our time with them. We haven't seen them since Christmas so they will see a big change in Ezekiel! Well i thought i would try and keep up with my posting. Thanks for the comments for those of you who are still reading. Love you and miss you all!

our little man

2008-03-05T14:29:00.002-06:00

We're backkkkkk...

2008-03-05T14:15:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone!!

Yes, we are back after a long cold winter....and many many MANY months of not blogging. I thought it would be fun to start back up again, since Ezekiel is now 22 months old and is saying super funny things and just being...well...his crazy self. I have been enjoying facebook and being connected with friends that i haven't talked to for years, so that is quite fun!

I tried to add a picture on here and have been having troubles, so i decided to go ahead and blog even if i couldn't add pictures.

I have been working at our church for the past 3 months, only doing 12 hours a week which is really nice. Shiloh's mom watches Zeke for me all day Tuesdays and for a half day on Thursdays. I am the Operations Assistant, which just means that i help out Jeff Tyson who is the Operations Pastor so i do everything from ordering Easter Lilies to helping pick out stuff for our Foyer Renovation. I like it b/c i am always doing something different so it doesn't get boring.

Ezekiel has been saying lots and lots of new words, his new favorite word is "Gammy" for Grandma. He will point at our bedroom (where our computer and web cam is) and say "Gammy!" when he wants to call her which is super cute! Anna came over for a visit this morning which was so nice since the weather is super blah today.

My brother Bryan is coming for a visit on Saturday which we are really looking forward to since he hasn't been here since 2004. And Shiloh & I are going to a Shane & Shane concert on Friday night with our BFF's Jeff & Ciana and our new friends Chris & Lydia so we are super pumped about that as well.

Well...i think that's it for now, i should get to cleaning as I've put it off for most of the afternoon. Leave me comments if you are still out there reading :)

i'm one!!!!

2007-05-13T23:38:00.000-05:00

hello everyone!! It's been so long since we've posted! Life has been very busy lately. Here are some of my pics from my 1st time in the grass...

We have been having lots of fun lately. I have learned to wave (thanks to Grandpa Tompkins) and i just started clapping yesterday for mommy during dinner.

We have had a very busy month and a half since we last posted. The first 3 weeks in April were spent mostly working on the extra room in the basement. we got that finished and then Grandma & Grandpa Tompkins came to visit for 2 whole weeks! We did lots of fun stuff...went shopping, to the Children's Museum, Omaha Zoo and of course celebrated my 1st b-day! Lots of fun stuff.

They are back home now and we also celebrated Mommy's b-day (she is getting kinda old...28!) and then today was Mother's Day and Daddy & I bought her some pretty flowers.

Well we have another busy week planned as Mommy is helping a lady in the church with her daycare for the next 2 weeks (she just had surgery and cannot lift) which means i get to play with some new friends while mommy works hard!

Happy Mother's Day to all our friends....we love & miss everyone!

a note from zeke...

2007-03-26T23:01:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends & Family! Hope you enjoyed my video of me playing piano. It is still attached at the bottom of the posts. Here are some new pics of us:

wearing my boston hat after my nap (i kicked my pants off, i was so excited!)

daddy after a long day at work

me & my sippy cup

after my tubby

We are going to be kinda busy this next week as we are finishing the room in the basement, so i thought i would let everyone know. Hopefully you can enjoy these pics until mommy posts again. We have also been sick, pray that we get better soon. Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather! i can't wait to go on my first bike ride with mommy & daddy (i heard they are buying me a bike trailer to ride along with them...shhh don't tell them i know!)

Until next time...

new puppy...

2007-03-14T15:22:00.000-05:00

Auntie Ariann & Uncle Mike got a new puppy on saturday! Yippe, i have another furry friend to play with!

just came home

my new little friend...

he's so fuzzy...

we can play on the floor together!

I think his name is going to be Bubba (short for Bubbagonouish??) He is learning to be house trained right now and Tina (their other doggie) is showing him how things work around the house. SO fun! I'm learning to pet him nicely and not pull his ears too hard. He is so funny, he tried to eat my sock..silly puppy!

ezekiel's 2nd swing...

2007-03-12T21:58:00.000-05:00

Well tonight Ezekiel and i ventured out to the find another park near us.
I say this is his 2nd swing b/c we went for a walk yesterday with Grandma & Grandpa Menter, Ariann, Mike and Tina and of course Daddy too!! We walked and walked and WALKED and found a park with lots of fun stuff, but we forgot our camera, so tonight Ezekiel and i walked to a closer park and i remembered my camera this time. He had much more of a reaction tonight he was laughing and smiling..so GREAT!

We couldn't stay too long b/c it was getting late, but i thought i'd share some pics. I wish i could put some video on here, does anyone know how?

picnic pictures...

2007-03-11T23:28:00.000-05:00

Our Family Picnic Saturday

fun times!

i'm still alive...

2007-03-11T23:09:00.000-05:00

Hello all... i just wanted to write and say that we are still alive & kicking!! I haven't written at all this week and that is because we FINALLY have some nice weather! Which means that i've been outside walking! ahhhh i have been dying to get that stroller out and go for a walk so we have done that several times this week.

I was also busy working on getting the drama for Rocks Won't Cry ready for the students to work on this wednesday. We only have 3 more weeks to work on it before the Fine Arts Festival.

Ezekiel has been VERY busy, climbing and super crawling everywhere and i'm really enjoying this age! He is so much fun! Not that he wasn't fun as a baby, but i feel like i have relaxed more as a mom and i feel like i can enjoy him more. I think the relaxing part is also because we are done with all the house closing "stuff" so i feel FREE!!!

I had MOPS on friday and we made no-sew blankets for women at the crisis pregnancy center and we will be delivering those tomorrow afternoon. I have really been enjoying MOPS and always look forward to Friday mornings.

Zeke is eating and growing like crazy! He has definitely hit a growth spurt and he eats as much as Shiloh practically so i was wondering where all the food was going! His favorite new food is grilled cheese! Yesterday we went out on our deck and had a family picnic for lunch. I made grilled cheese and we had chips and apple sauce and a banana. We had so much fun enjoying the beautiful weather and spending time together as a family! It was one of those moments when you want to "freeze" time to remember it!

thoughts on global warming...by shiloh menter

2007-03-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to post somthin' regarding global warming. As a Christ follower I have to have a different perspective on things like this. This seems to be the Hollywood cause-du-jour of the moment. We do know that the earth will one day be re-made into a new earth and this sin-corrupted earth will no longer be (II Peter 3:10). We also know that the earth is wearing out like a garment (Psalm 102: 25,26). This passage also shows the sovereignty of God over creation. The earth is His to create and to destroy. Do we need to care for creation? Yes!! We need to be good stewards of His creation, that has been our mandate from the beginning. Will we be the ones to destroy the earth? Is this just another way for government to limit our liberties?

more pictures...

2007-02-27T10:55:00.000-06:00

well i finally got more batteries for the camera so here are some more pics: zeke being cute (it's a tough job!)
mommy & me

...hello, close up!

Yesterday Anna came over to visit and stay for the morning while her mommy & daddy did some errands...we had a good time eating breakfast together...

...and playing on the floor...

i couldn't resist feeding him spaghetti again, too much fun!

Well not too much else to write about, we had a pretty relaxing week-end, it snowed again, we stayed inside, yada, yada...Shiloh & i had a wonderful time on Friday night, we went out for dinner to Grisanti's to celebrate Valentine's Day..better late than never!

zeke's 1st spaghetti...

2007-02-22T22:06:00.000-06:00

Tonight was the first time Ezekiel sat down with us for a whole meal and ate the same thing we were having! mmmmm yummy spaghetti...thought i would share these darling pictures from this evening...

we started feeding it to him by spoon...but that wasn't fast enough, he really wanted to dig in and feed himself, and he even got quite a bit in his mouth! This kid LOVES to eat..just like Daddy!

i'm all clean after my tubby....and ready for bed!

Ahhhh...time to relax and watch Survivor and eat banana bread fresh from the oven..Shiloh just got home from class..nighty-night!

our first walk of the year...

2007-02-19T16:23:00.000-06:00

Today was our first walk of 2007 outside!! It was finally a nice day and Grandma Menter called to see if we wanted to go for a walk. It felt so wonderful to get outside for the afternoon!
We were definatly running out of ideas and fun things to do inside! Although a favorite new game for Zekey is to climb all over mommy & daddy like we are a jungle gym. Hope everyone is enjoying the weather or at least hoping for nicer weather if you are far away...spring will be here soon :)

mommy and me...

2007-02-16T16:27:00.000-06:00

Here is my little angel face...isn't he juicy???

Last Saturday Zekey got his first TOOTH!!! It was a momentous occasion, we laughed and cheered and Ezekiel thought we were crazy and continued eating his cheerios...ahh the life of a baby...

ode to my love...

2007-02-15T21:30:00.000-06:00

Four years ago today, Shiloh & I went to Niagara Falls for a romantic afternoon. We went out for lunch and then for a chilly walk along the falls. This is where Shiloh proposed to me!! And i said "YES!" (obviously). Here are a few pics of my love...it has been a wonderful journey my husband my best friend...

He has a heart for missions (and worshiping God) ...

He is a hard worker...

a gentle and patient daddy...

and of course a crazy funny dancer...(crunk new years partttty)

I love you babe...you encourage me when i'm down and make me smile. you are an amazing father and leader in our home. You love & respect me. You are the most peaceful man I know. I love & appreciate you everyday. To many more years....love you monkey :)

tea party update...new curtains...and of course, my little helper

2007-02-14T13:32:00.000-06:00

We had a lovely time Monday night with our Ladies Tea. There were 12 ladies that came and we had a wonderful time, eating yummy snacks, "sharing" (as Latrice put it) testimonies, and of course drinking lots of tea. I forgot to take pics during so you can still see some of the party remains. Thanks friends..it was a blast!

my little valentine

new kitchen curtains
tea leftovers

ladies tea gift boxes

Hope you all have a wonderful (maybe even exciting for those of you who are married- hehe) Valentine's Day! Love you all!

tea please...

2007-02-11T15:44:00.000-06:00

Tommorrow is the Ladies Tea for all the Rock Solid lady sponsers!

It will be starting at 6:30pm at my house and i'm very excited! So far i have 9 ladies for sure coming and a few more maybies. It will be fun to get to know all the other sponsers a bit better and to welcome some of the new ones. We will be having some snacks and drinking lots of tea. I have several flavors of tea: Spiced Chai (my fav!), Cinnamon Apple, Orange Spice, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Indian Chai, Japenese Green and of course regualr tea and reg decaf tea. Hopefully that is enough flavors to choose from. We are also doing a recipe exchange which should be interesting. I still need to decided which recipe to choose...maybe my mom's apple crisp recipe. I love entertaining so i'm really looking forward to it! I'll tell you how it goes...

dinner & a movie...

2007-02-10T23:19:00.000-06:00

Shiloh & I went out for dinner and a movie with our good friends Jeff & Ciana tonight. We saw "Children of Men". It was a very interesting movie showing a very bleak future. We were talking afterward that most futuristic movie are very depressing and show a very sad picture of the world (other than Back to the Future Part II). Anyways, it was a wonderful night to get out of the house, eat and have entertainment! Auntie Ariann watched Zekey for us!!

a fun day at MOPs...

2007-02-09T23:26:00.000-06:00

Today was a wonderful day! I am part of a group call MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) and we just had a great morning. We had yummy food, lots of time for discussion and made a cute craft (a bunny made out of a washcloth). Ezekiel played well in the nursery and had lots of fun with Anna. Anna's Mom (Chris) & I went out for lunch afterwards (take-out-eat in car) while the kids slept peacefully in the back seat. We then went shopping at Target! It was such a fun relaxing day and soooooo good to get out of the house! Hope everyone has a great week-end. I will post some more pics soon...i need more batteries for the camera!

prison break....season one

2007-02-03T15:41:00.000-06:00

OK, soooo...i gave Shiloh Season One of the show Prison Break for Christmas and it has been amazing!!! We just finished it up last night and we are both dying to watch the second season which has been going since the fall. It is THE BEST show i've ever seen (other than FRIENDS - not really the same category though) and i would highly reccomend getting attched to it!! Is anyone else addicted to this wonderful show??

i escaped mommy again...

2007-01-29T09:49:00.000-06:00

Hello again...sorry i have not posted for awhile but we have been busy selling our house!! Yeah it is over and done with...i can move on with my life!!

My life these days revolve around a little monkey named Zeke who no longer likes to wear clothes! Once i get his diaper on, he decides it is time to flip over and escape in any direction he can. He finds this pretty funny as you can tell from the pictures...

He has also decided that sitting up is not for him and he prefers to lounge like this!! We call him the lounge lizard. It is especially fun when there is a pile of clothes on the floor! I thought these pics were pretty funny and really describes what Zekey is really like! He is working on getting a tooth so he has been up in the night again, but thankfully baby oragel has come to my rescue. It feels bumpy on his bottom gum and looks white so i think the tooth is close to coming in, we'll see!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the cold of winter. Don't worry, those hot summer days are right around the corner. Are people reading these blogs, i'm not getting any juicy comments!?!?!?!?!

Love you & miss you all!

our canadian christmas & new years

2007-01-18T20:55:00.001-06:00

Here are a few of my favorite pics from our trip to Ontario...starting with Ezekiel crawling like a monkey towards Grandma for his bath!

Grandpa & his peanut

Kalya, Mike & Zeke

Bryan & Jordan

Zekey in his favorite toy

"Crunk Dance Party - New Years Eve.... all i can say is ... wow

My girls that love my bros

Happy New Year 2007!

Ringing in the New Year with my love

Zekey in Mikey's old tux sleeper

Mommy & Zeke had a wonderful & relaxing time

My friends & their families & new babies!!

Kimmy & me

more cousins..Natalie & new baby Isaiah & Sarah (at her house!)

Ezekiel learned to crawl on January 4th, 2007!

That's it for now, hope you enjoyed the pics. There were so many more and we had a wonderful time. Thanks Mom & Dad ...we'll see you in April!

back home...

2007-01-16T20:37:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone...we have all made it back home! I thought i would post some pics of Ezekiel's first Christmas. These are mostly from Grandma & Grandpa Menters. I will post the ones from my family's Christmas once i put on the pics from my camera.

Zeke's 1st Stocking Mommy's helping open Zeke's gifts

ahhhh...the bow

Christmas Day

That's all for now...Rocks Won't Cry drama team starts up tommorrow, i'm excited!!

our first snowfall...

2007-01-09T13:31:00.000-06:00

hello everyone!!! Greetings from my home country!! hehehe We have been having a wonderful visit so far here in Ilderton, Ontario. Shiloh had to return home Sunday to go back to work, but Zeke and I are still hanging with Gramps & Gran Tompkins.

Today it snowed!!! Yeah it was Ezekiel's first experience with snow...he made a few snow angels, licked a snowball, tried to crawl in the snow in his big snowsuit, then did a face plant and got to feel the cold on his face....and fianlly helped mommy throw a snowball at Uncle Bryan!!

Also...Ezekiel started crawling on January 4th!! He is a monkey and a fast mover...mommy's job is a LOT more challenging now!

Merry Christmas...

2006-12-24T13:37:00.000-06:00

Thank you Lord that we can celebrate the birth of our glorious Saviour. Thank you for redeeming our lives and covering us with your grace!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We love you all and will see a lot of you very soon!

more b-day wishes...

2006-12-18T22:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Ashley!!! You are now as old as me...27!!! My loved friend who also fell into the trap and married an american!! hehehe Crazzzzzzzzy i miss you and can't wait to see you in 2 weeks....all my love and have a wonderful day!

birthday wishes...

2006-12-15T15:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Kimbits!! (she is the one on the far left) Love you and see you soon...and Sarah too!!

Happy Birthday Maeghan (yesterday!) Love you! See you soon (these pics were from last winter - i was 4 months pregnant!)

House warming/Christmas party...

2006-12-14T14:23:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone, we just wanted to invite you all to our Christmas Party/House warming party we are having next Thrusday, December 21st from 6-9pm. We will have some Christmas munchies, music and just time to visit, so we hope you can all stop by! Give us a call if you need directions!

P.S. no gifts please!

splish splash...i was taking a bath...

2006-12-09T22:30:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone...this is me in my bath tub! As you can see i'm very modest with my legs crossed!! I really enjoy my tubby because i can kick my legs as hard as i can and splash water EVERYWHERE!! Since my legs are so active Mommy & Daddy now put my tubby in their big tub so i can splish splash as much as my heart desires! My favorite toys in the bath are the ring attached to the side, my octy (octopus), my toes, and this other thing that i'm looking at in the 2nd picture! What IS that thing!!!

The best part about getting all clean is that i smell soooooooo good after and everyone wants to cuddle me even more, but i just get sooooo tired and want to sleep through the whole night. Well, time for bed, hope you all had your saturday night tubby before church!

Love you! Zekester

good morning sunshine...

2006-12-07T12:14:00.000-06:00

Here is Ezekiel first thing in the morning! Daddy likes to bring him in to cuddle Mommy and try to wake her up! This morning Zekey was especially cute as i made the bed with him in it! He just laughed and popped his head back up. Yesterday we worked and got the rest of the Christmas decorations up and got everything onto the tree. Zekey rolled under the tree (i think he was trying to be a present!) and was trying to pull some of the needles off.

Last night we went to youth group and were very excited to see our friend Brittany Tovado who has been gone for the last 3 years in Australia at the Hillsongs school. We haven't seen her for 2 years and this was the first time she got to meet Zeke! We love you Brittany and can't wait to spend some time with you before you head back to Aussieland.

Well i think that's it for today...stay tuned i have some cute bath pics (of Ezekiel) coming soon...until next time...

our washer has arrived...

2006-12-06T09:58:00.000-06:00

ahhhh... the smell of clean clothes can fill our house again as we have recieved our new washer!! I had a picture of it, but the blogger won't let me upload any pictures right now! Just wanted to tell everyone we are still alive, but busy trying to get our house organized still and put up our Christmas decorations! So i will post some new pics soon. I love Christmas time!!

daddy & me

2006-11-30T12:04:00.000-06:00

This is my daddy! We dressed alike one Sunday to go to church and boy did we look cute! I love my daddy sooooooo much! My favorite things to do with him are cuddle him when he gets home from work, play steal the pacifier, eat sweet potato puffs with him, roll on the carpet, laugh at his funny faces and sleep on his tummy while watching football. Thanks for loving me daddy!! i love you too, Zekey

we are moved...

2006-11-28T11:49:00.000-06:00

Yes, we are moved!!! I'm still under a pile of boxes trying to find my way out, but thought i would share something from my "mommy dreams" book:

"So much of our success in life, after all, is measured by how well we are able to get through the times that aren't so good--the times when we are too tired, when we are frightened, when we fail. If we are not around to serve as examples for our children, for how to get through those times and emerge victorious, then how will they learn the lesson? Few of us really are 'born' for the job of mothering....It means being willing to confront the worst in ourselves and being brave enough not to run away from it."

"I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 63:2-7

our new home...

2006-11-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

living room

kitchen

hallway

Ezekiel's room

bathroom (pink!)

Our bedroom

Our closets!

deck

deck

Here are the pics of our house. I'ms till learning how to use this blogger thing so hopefully the pics turn out ok on here! I wanted my parents to see the finished product before we move all our stuff in!! Well if i don't write a post for a couple of days, it is b/c our internet is not hooked up yet! Next time i write will be in the new house!! Blessings to you all!! Love, S, J & E :)

happy thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T23:42:00.000-06:00

Hello all, we just returned from our wonderful turkey dinner at Grandma & Grandpa Menters. We had such a great relaxing day! We had lunch around 1:00pm and then when for a walk over to the new house. I will attach pictures of it in my new blog. So we will be packing up last minute things and getting ready to move!!! ahhhhhhhhh i have been stressed, but i know it will be great once everything is moved in!! Here is the picture of Zeke and i today while he watched Joel & Jesse's Robosapin!

my little helper...

2006-11-20T14:31:00.000-06:00

Today we began packing up more of the house. I finished the bedroom last week, so today we worked on packing up the living room including all the pretty fragile things and the dvd's. Zeke decided to climb in a box as part of helping me out...(hehe just kidding i put him in there!) As you can tell he is leaning to one side as he is still learning to sit up, but he thought i was pretty funny to put him in there. These are the things I do to entertain him (and myself) during the day!

I feel kind of sad packing everything up, but I'm very excited to move into our new house! Hopefully we can get a buyer for our home this week. Tomorrow we will go back to selling our house by owner again.

Well I just got the baby back to sleep again, so i think i had better keep packing! Hope you all have a great day...i would like to hear some comments to know if people are reading my blog!! Love you all!!

a free night...what does THAT feel like...

2006-11-17T16:16:00.000-06:00

Tonight Shiloh & I are going to the Rock Solid leadership retreat!! Yeah, i'm very excited since we will be dropping Ezekiel off at Grandma & Grandpa Menters overnight! This will be a nice chance for Zekey to spend time with them and a great time for Shiloh & I to spend together. We are meeting everyone for dinner at Vincenzo's downtown and then staying the night at Staybridge Suites (which is right across the street from our new house!), so it shall be a fun night. I will be taking my bathing suit to go swimming which i'm even more excited about, plus almost all my friends will be there as well which will be a blast!

Hope everyone has a great week-end! Love you!

the train...

2006-11-16T12:04:00.000-06:00

Here is a pic of the worship team (guys) doing an acoustic set last week at Rock Solid. It was "Take Your Pick" month so the students can choose to stay upstairs for an extended time of worship or go down to the gym to play dodgeball. It is kind of a dark picture, but you can still see (from left): Jeff, Mike, Byron, Pitcu, Jon and Shiloh. Shiloh is very excited as the worship team has been asked to play for Sr. High Camp this summer. It is the beginning of June so it should be interesting. I've always wanted to go and see how it compares to Braeside Camp!!

We have had a great year so far at RS and i'm looking forward to starting up "Rocks Won't Cry" drama team in January. I'm so thankful for what the Lord is doing in students and their hunger for Him. This is Shiloh & my 4th year now as sponsers and it has been an amazing ministry to be involved in. I have enjoyed watching many students grow from middle school into high school. I'm thankful that students are willing to open up and share with us and allow us to make a positive impact in their lives. Thanks to Pastor Bruce for sharing his passion for youth and getting us on the "train" We Love Ya!!

Today I will be packing again hoping to get the bedroom closer to finished. Oh and ...if anyone will be around thanksgiving week-end on the saturday to help us move that would be great. I will be sending out an email with details later on next week.

my little friend...anna

2006-11-15T13:59:00.000-06:00

Today my friend Anna Mollo came over to play. She is only 2 weeks older than me. She has learned to sit up on her own already so I have lots to learn from her!! We had fun playing with my toys and I am learning to share. Our moms chatted about what it's like to be stay-at-home moms and how nice it is to have another adult to talk to during the day! Miss Chris also brought over lunch for Mommy..such a nice treat!

Well I'm off for my nap as i'm getting crappy and need to get rested up for my big night at Rock Solid (youth group). Hope to hear from some of you soon!

Also, Happy 27th Birthday to my cousin Sarah! We love you!

Family Pics

2006-11-14T15:34:00.000-06:00

Our family dressed and ready to watch the HUSKERS play! GO HUSKERS!

Here are a few pics of Zeke. One with his giraffe and the other with him playing in his boppy pillow.

Ezekiel is now laughing quite a bit, he thinks mommy's peek-a-boo is pretty funny and when daddy is being silly, but his favorite is still a big "HI!" in his face!!! Well I am off to start packing...Shiloh brought home some boxes last night so i guess i had better start!

we are here

2006-11-13T11:05:00.000-06:00

Well here is my first post! I finally decided to start blogging since it seems like a great way to keep in contact with our friends around the world! It will also be great to start posting pictures of Ezekiel as he changes and grows (which is pretty much much everyday!)

Today I choose joy... i choose this title because i love the beginning of the Max Lucado devotional that lists the fruits of the spirit and shows examples of how to live that out everyday..here are a few:

i choose joy...

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for the moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new challenges, I will face them with joy and courage. I will invite God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God. I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live. Today I will love God and what God loves... i choose joy

We love you all and look forward to sharing about our life...stay tuned...