Oops!

In case you didn't know...this is partly why I haven't been blogging much:














He's due at the end of October so he's much bigger than these pics show...as am I.

Cheers!

c for p the z

Spring Break: Part 3

Okay, I pretty much stink at this. So, without further ado...the rest of the story.

After our adventures in South Dakota, we moved on to northern Minnesota. D had never been before, so I had to make sure to show him the two things that are the highlight of Bemidji for me (aside from my wonderful and hilarious grandparents, that is). Paul Bunyan and Babe the big, blue ox! Yay! So these first two are a continuation of the "where's Phyllis" series of photographs. If you look closely, you can see her hiding in the pictures.




This pic shows D and some kind of weird sculpture in the park near Babe and Paul. We aren't entirely sure what it is. Some sort of tall, pointy thing. I'm sure there's some kind of meaning there, but we'll leave that to smarter folk than us.

After a super fun couple of days hanging out with the grandparents and touring the town, it was time to head west to Cody, Wyoming for the jazz festival D's group was singing in. Since it's taken so long for me to write this you may or may not remember what was occurring weather-wise during those last few weeks of March.

Fargo was having record-breaking melting and flooding, a huge blizzard had followed us across South Dakota and had finally landed in North Dakota, and we had no idea what the conditions would be if we could actually make it to Wyoming. Our original plan had been to drive across North Dakota, but since the river in Fargo was just about to bust out all over and a big chunk of interstate in North Dakota was closed due to ice, we had to go to plan b...then c...then d...then back to b.

We finally ended up driving through South Dakota via a secret back Minnesotan way to the highway. We actually had good roads and weather during that day for the most part and stayed in Wall. And here is Cody the dog enjoying her second driving lesson.

The next day we drove through the Black Hills to Wyoming which was not so nice. Very blowy-snowy, but blue skies. Which was weird. We stopped at taco bell because for certain reasons I kept craving their bean burritos. No other bean burrito would do. You can see how much snow they had gotten there previously in this beautiful photo of the taco bell sign.

By the time we got past the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming, the weather was gorgeous and we were able to make up time. What a gorgeous and non-populated drive that is. Cody is right on the edge of Yellowstone if that tells you how far north and west in the state we were going. We got to the hotel just in the nick of time for the sound check only to find out that no dogs were allowed.

So, D went off to the gig and Cody and I set off to find Taco Bell and a place we could eat together. After the gig, Dave helped me sneak Cody into the hotel covered in a blanket. Poor thing...it was freezing out there in the car. At one point I drover her around town with the heater on full-blast just to warm her up a bit.
And here is what my view consisted of for much of the trip. Usually her head was up a little higher to block my view completely. Cute.

So that's it. The rest of the story. Sorry it took so long. :)

c for d, c the d, and p the z

Spring Break: Part 2

So, am I creating enough tension for you by not adding the rest of the pictures for weeks at a time? Yeah, I thought so. I combined two of our stops into one swell post so as to keep this thing moving along. Have to get to other details sometime this decade.

Our first big stop (after the Lusk rest stop, of course) was Mount Rushmore. D had never been before and I think he was pleasantly under-impressed. They really did look bigger when I was younger. They had a bunch of new stuff since I was last there: the walk of flags, an outdoor ampitheater, and a big building with a cafe and the history of Rushmore. It was pretty interesting. I think D was more impressed with Jellystone Park and other such kid-friendly, touristy places nearby. All of it closed, of course. That's our travelling theme this year: go when stuff is closed...it's cheaper that way. Huh.

After hanging out for a while...and leaving the dog to whine in the car...we headed east through South Dakota. SD is surprisingly pretty for a western/prairie state. Much preferable to ND or other such states of grass-o-plenty. Our next stop was Wall Drug. Anyone who's been through this area knows what I'm talking about when I say: Neat. They're famous for ice water. This is another place I hadn't been since I was 14 or so. And, most of it was also closed. But Phyllis did get a couple of photo ops with the sign and the "doctor" who you put quarters into and he does something. We didn't have quarters. Yeah, too bad.

So that's the exciting mid-west travelogue for today, kids. Stay tuned for the next episode of Spring Break: Part 3 aka Phyllis meets Paul Bunyan and Babe the big, blue ox.

c for p the z

Spring Break: Part 1

So this is way late and a million dollars short, but too bad. This year for spring break we took a road trip to see my grandparents in Minnesota. Dave hadn't met them before or had the pleasure of a road trip across South Dakota. So we nixed the idea of warm breezes and sandy beaches and headed up nort'. (You can see here how nervous Cody was to let us take her anywhere in a car unless she got to drive.)

Our first stop was Wyoming. We learned all kinds of fun facts at the Lusk rest area in Wyoming. Did you know, for instance, that this rest area featured the first flush toilets? I'm hoping that they meant "the first flush toilets at a rest area", but the sign doesn't say that so I'm not really sure.

And here you can see Dave giving the Lusk rest area a hearty thumbs up! That's all for this installment. Stay tuned for more exciting road trip news!

Honeymoon in Germany: Phyllis' version

Me and the Frauenberg Castle. Tall.


















Me and German moss. Green.















Me at the Turmhotel. Comfy.















Me with the Ellgens in front of the Turmhotel. Love them.














With my peeps in the the plaza of Cochem. Quaint.



















View from the top of Cochem castle. Cool.
















Clock tower of Cochem castle. Purty.















And that's all I got to see. I got forgotten in the pocket for the rest of the trip. Nice.

The End.

P the Z

We Interrupt this Blog with...Bread?

That's right. Brown bread in a can.

We saw this in the store and felt compelled to try it.

Do they bake it right in the can?

It has those little can ridges so I'm not sure what to think. At least they give you little lines to make sure you're cutting it straight.

Is it just me or is it weird that the name of the bread is B & M? I guess it is fiber. Hmmm.

Although D is pulling out the stops on his acting ability, the taste was not nearly equal to his blissful expression.

C for D and P the Z

Year in Review

So, I haven't posted in a reaaaally long time. Since I needed to write a newsletter anyway, I figured I'd just post it on here, too. 2 birds... blah, blah. I also put up some more photos on Snapfish. Here's the links to the albums if you wanna take a gander: engagement photos, wedding photos, and honeymoon in Germany. Phyllis actually has a whole post to write on the trip to Germany...so a little something to look forward to.

This year we're planning some more travel to connect with friends and family who were not able to make it to our reception this past fall. We are planning on a trip to the Chicago area and to the town I grew up in and then to Minnesota to visit my grandparents over D’s spring break. Let us know if you’ll be in any of those places this spring and we’ll try to get together.

Now for the update:

Change!
2008 was a big year of change for us. Besides the wedding, there’s been new jobs, new living situations, my parents moving back to Colorado from North Carolina, and a new dog! A sad change for us was the loss of D’s sweet grandma in December. Her memorial is this month where we will honor the memory of a wonderful woman who loved Jesus.

D
This past July, after school was out, D packed up his apartment north of Denver and moved to the metro area to live with friends until the wedding. He said good-bye to his students and fellow teachers and started preparing for a new school situation closer to where we're living. We’ve been very impressed with how welcoming the school and the district music teachers have been. But, with a new place comes all kind of new challenges. He’s still in the process of figuring out all those subtle, unspoken rules and making new relationships with students and co-workers.

Carissa
The week before our wedding, I was given a new role at work. You may know that I was working as an Assistant Producer on a film project called The Enemy God. They no longer needed me for that, but the office as a whole needed a graphic designer/art director. So, I am now back to doing design and project management work. Because we had a backlog on some projects, I spent the first couple of months getting caught up on things like our catalog that had been on the back burner for a couple years. Hopefully, I’ll have more of a chance now to help with new projects and develop a marketing strategy for our products.

On a personal level, I’m so grateful for how God has provided for me and my family this year. It’s been rough at times with family members having surgeries and my folks moving “there and back again,” but God has blessed me by adding a wonderful husband to my life as well as his family. D is a dream come true...we have had so much fun these last few months. I love all the laughter and support and guidance he brings to my life.

The Enemy God
On another note, the film project that I had been involved in for the last couple of years is now available in our webstore: www.calebresources.org. We all are very pleased with the outcome but there is still some work to be done. Although it looks like the opportunity to sign a distribution deal is at hand, the film industry has been hit as hard as everyone else in this economy so companies are hunkering down and not spending much money on new acquisitions.

For those of you unfamiliar with this project I was working on, the film is a fictionalization of the story of a Yanomamo shaman in the Venezuelan jungle. It’s told from the perspective of the shaman as he comes into contact with a missionary family and then has to make a choice between the demons in his chest and the one he calls the Enemy God. Our hope is that this film will open people’s eyes to the spiritual and physical needs of tribal peoples in the world.

For more information go to: www.theenemygod.com. You’ll find trailers for the film, a behind the scenes video as well as some of the back story of the main character and the Yanomamo people.

2009
It seems like this year, more than most, we are reminded of how much every aspect of our lives is dependent upon God. He knows our needs and provides for them in ways that are often surprising in spite of our worry and doubt.

One need that we are trusting to God is for people to lift us before our Father as we navigate all of these big changes in our lives and seek to serve God in whatever we do. We would be honored if you would remember us in that way as well as to let us know how we can be praying for you.

We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and that 2009 will be a year of growing closer to God as you see his faithfulness. Deut. 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”

C for D & P the Z

Some Prayer Requests:
*We would continue to grow together in marriage.
*The Enemy God film would find successful distribution.
*Dave’s first year at the new school would bring new opportunities for growth.
* I would be able to think creatively in regards to my new role at work.
*We would discover ways in which God would have us serve together and as individuals.
*We would grow in knowledge of God and his word.