Hi mom

I'm in love with this guy! (photo by martin)

Oh and if you want to see a really cool tattoo (with an even cooler meaning), click on my friend Katie's blog titled "The Kolbs"

Friends and their Families

Fall in Northern Michigan is hard to beat. And What I'm loving the most is that states below us are getting snowed on like crazy and all I've seen up here is a couple little sleet-like rain drops that were gone in about 5 min. LOVE THAT. I really love that.

So, with most of our friends having children now, it's been a great time to get outside and enjoy the crisp weather, leaves, sideways sunlight, and take photos. I've got at least two more families to try and squeeze in before the bitter cold arrives...that might not work but I'm hopeful.

I've been cooking so much more now that I'm not working. I didn't plan on it but have remembered that I really enjoy cooking. So far, Martin isn't complaining about the hot meals, apple crisp, and banana bread that have been showing up. It used to be a stressful time of the evening when we both got home from work and were trying to get each other to figure out what we were doing for dinner. I really think that home-cooked meals do something to a house that makes it instantly cozy and comfortable. And what I think I love the most is that when friends drop by (and they do almost nightly, which is another thing I love about living in town), I have some sort of home cooked something to offer them. It instantly puts them in a relaxed, calm mood. There's a lot of stressful things going on in all our lives that it makes me really happy to see people sit, relax, talk, and eat something tasty.

Happy Fall everyone.

Going a different Direction

I'm finally done working at Eye Health of Charlevoix. While, I was very thankful to have a job, especially in Michigan. And especially while we have been trying to aggressively pay student loans off, I'm more thankful that we are at a place where I can move on to things that will give me more freedom and self fulfillment.

I'm currently working on a course to train me in Medical Transcription. This is the freedom part of the previous statement. When I finish the course (hopefully in late January), I'll have a job that will let me work from home. (did you notice the South Africa tab on the site? Yeah, I did too.)

I'm also in Petoskey now which is great. All our friends and dealings are here in town and I hardly know the people here. I could tell you every family in Charlevoix but that's not where my life is. I can go to the functions here that I used to miss because I was out of town. I can now meet friends for lunch, I've been taking photos of our friends and their little children which is nothing but pure fun.

So yeah. I'm perfectly content with not working there anymore. It feels good when you know without a doubt that you made the right decision.

That hardly happens with me.

Took some photos of my sister's family when they came up for a visit. I think they wanted to kill me after making them climb up the sand dune, but they'll get over it. Love those sand dunes at Petoskey State Park.

Goodbye Neon

My 1st car, the little blue Neon, came to a violent and quick end. On my way to work, I turned left crossing what I thought to be two very open lanes of traffic. Apparently, there was a van in the outside lane (hidden by a large truck in the other lane, trying to turn left at the same time) that ran right into the passenger side of my car, spinning me completely the other direction. It's the most violent wreck I've been in.

Some guy who saw the whole thing was talking to me through my widow asking if I was alright and telling me that he was calling 911. At this point, I'm still processing where I was and if I'm alive. Once I determined that I was alive and wasn't bleeding out of my ears or anything, I decide to get out of the car. This involves me crawling over the driver seat to exit out the bent up passenger door. (I would've been stepping out onto oncoming traffic if I would've opened my door.)

As soon as I get out, I meet the driver of the van. He's from some other state, up here visiting. He immediately tells me that he was just trying to get to the "harbor" (no one up here calls the lake shore the harbor) to enjoy a day on the boat. "Well, gosh. I'm so sorry to have held you up, "I think. The very next thing he tells me is that he was in that lane the whole time and was "almost completely stopped" before hitting me. Seriously?? I'm just getting my head cleared after him totaling my car and I have to listen to him talk to me like this? Not to mention that I'm pretty sure if he were "almost stopped" he wouldn't have spun me around the other direction and practically tore my tire right off the axle.

I don't know what to say to him. I know what I want to say to him. But I somehow manage to use higher reasoning, and after glancing over to his perfectly drivable van, just walk away.

Not a good Monday. After a few days and many pain-killers and muscle relaxers, I'm starting to get back into the normal life. I'm still pretty down about not having a car.

A Thought

Read this today and it's stuck in my head:

"There's a difference between something that makes you happy and something that doesn't make you unhappy"

That could be a good conversation.

Okay, I can do better than that.

I'm not satisfied with my last post. I always do that; I want to say what's on my mind then back out because I think of all the angles people might be able to take on what I say. You know what, I'm just gonna do it.

I have this really cool little book. It's actually a christian book. And I don't think christian books are cool. I mean, come on. they just aren't. They might have good points in them and be very "good for you" but they aren't cool. I've never understood why Christians have to sacrifice good writing for what they want to say. It's been one of my biggest struggles in reading christian literature. It's just not well written.

So back to the book. Philip Yancey wrote a book called "What's so amazing about grace?". And after he wrote it, somehow an artist or maybe a publisher, or an agent, (I have no idea) read it and thought it was actually good. He must have been afraid to come out and admit it at first; I would've been. But he somehow got Philip to agree to let the book be used to make a visual edition of the same name. The result is really cool. And I'm not saying cool for a christian book. I'm just sayin' plain and simple cool. Here's a link to the book. Philip says in the intro on the visual edition that he secretly hopes this book will inspire people to go out and read the full length book because he has so much more to say.

I didn't.

I didn't need to. The book stands alone. There's a page that has a prayer written over and over again in it like something you'd see a child writing on a blackboard for some sort of school punishment. It says: "Dear God, please make the bad people good, and the good people nice." I really want to pray that prayer whenever anyone asks me to say a prayer. Martin says I'm just asking for trouble if I do. And he's almost always wiser than me on social issues so I listen. But for the first time in a long time, that's a prayer that sounds right.

Summer (I guess)

Alright. I've got to have something worth talking about.....

Summer in Petoskey has been beautiful and cool. Not, I repeat not beautifully cool. Martin told me the other day that he was at a business lunch and the men around the table were saying how much they've loved the summer because they haven't been sweating and it hasn't been too hot. Am I in some other world? Summer used to mean something. Like weather that made ice-cream instantly melt, and ice tea glasses sweat. You get none of that up here. And I just keep shaking my head when I think: "I'm a northerner". Maybe I only thought I was. This is just silly.

We have had lots of rain lately which has made the trees, lawns, and flowers stunning. I love summer wildflowers. We played a round of golf today at a new course and I couldn't stop saying how beautiful everything looked. I'm thankful to have a husband that understands my need to verbalize those thoughts. He agrees every time and never gets tired of me saying it.

Despite the weather, we've managed to have some fun outdoor activities with friends,, and have had several out-of-town friends and family stay with us. We love to host people for their vacation to Petoskey.

I turned 30. And for my bday, we went to Chicago (of course). Always a good time there.

More babies have been born and conceived. I'm convinced my friends are aiming for doubling the population of this town in 5 years. Which, is fine with me. I think this town could use more people in it. Year-round.

Turns out I don't have much to talk about. It's nice to sit for a minute and collect thoughts though.

Some things I've thought/felt the last few weeks

(photo: friends who moved away came up about a week ago. had fun w/rock band)

I miss my nieces and nephews; all 11 (12 in about a week or two) of them.

I want my grams to keep an alert mind and it seems like she's not. It's sad to realize.

Having 4 sets of stairs in our place is wonderful forced exercise. Especially for someone who forgets things in other rooms on a daily basis.

Michigan is in a heck of a lot of trouble. People are fleeing and those that aren't are beaten and frustrated.

I love tulips.

Doing a good job at work isn't always enough to keep you from being reprimanded.

I'm so ready for a new job.

I'm just starting to accept being 30 next month.

Not having children is separating us from our dear friends.

Rollerblading is scary for me. But I have a lot of fun doing it.

Mountain biking is a blast.

Dining room chairs would be so nice.

And if spring ever gets here, I was ready for it 2 months ago.

Venice Island, Fl

Had a great week off from the relentless cold in northern Michigan. We drove with Danielle and Cheyenne (CJ) to Venice Island, Fl. Took 24 hours of driving but it was worth it. 85 and sunny does wonderful things to the soul after a winter up here. I lost count of how many times Martin said he wasn't going to get in the car to go back. But he did, and we're getting warmer and warmer days here. We've started our yearly conversations of "I'm remembering why we live here now" and "look at all the people who live up here with us!" (you don't see many people in the winter up here. It's not that big of a town and -25 tends to keep sane humans inside)

My email doesn't know me

Refund. Ha.

Leaving

We're going to Florida for a week. So, hopefully I'll have lots 'o photos when I return.

Bye.

Piano

Well, It's obviously not a real piano. But it's good enough for me. We got this about a month ago actually and family/friends have been asking about it. Plus, I don't think I told Brandy about it.

I'm pretty stinking excited about it. I took piano lessons for probably 6 or so years just like so many other people did when they were kids. My sister, Brandy was the real player. She was so good. I'd listen to her practice daily from my bedroom. We were never allowed to sit by her and watch her. She wouldn't allow it. Anyway, all of that to say that I grew up with beautiful piano music playing in the house. And I miss it. I miss playing it too. So, I'm going to learn again. I don't want to do anything with it except teach myself enough to pull out a hymnal or Christmas book and play.

And of course a side note on how messy the dining room is. Seriously, it usually isn't that bad mom. I promise. it's very tidy right now as I'm typing this.

Chocolates

Martin and I made some chocolates for our friends. This was the trial run. So, technically, we haven't yet made the friend's chocolate yet. My mom used to do this with us kids when we were little and the last time we were at their place, Martin somehow saw the molds and said he wanted to try it. So, we made some. My mom was very excited when I called her to have her remind me how to do it. She made me promise that I'd take pictures and show them to her. So Brandy, make sure you show these to mom. :)

I was smiling when I saw Brandy had put her name on some of them. We'll get 'em back to you , don't worry. Martin painted the fries and cokes and burgers. I like how he made the burgers medium rare. He also had a little "incident" with the bottle and chocolate went everywhere. But that just made it more fun. (and somehow made it where I finished filling the mold for him...) I made some chocolate covered oreos. I need a little work on my painting.

Quote

I bought this little bargain book at borders about 2 months ago. A simple but powerful book of Mother Teresa’s words on love throughout her life. I’ve kept the book open to this page since I bought it. Can’t get myself away from it.

Sickness

I've told a little bit of what's been going on, on my facebook page. Which I think most people who stop by here, read. But facebook always feels shallow to me. This place gives me more comfort to really write my thoughts. So, here's more.

Martin's grandmother (noni) passed away last week. I had the pleasure of getting to know her a little during our marriage. She cared so much for her grandchildren. She came to our wedding in Michigan--In February. She came up for martin's law school graduation. She sent cards on our birthdays and anniversaries. And I can tell that she was a huge part of martin's up-bringing. One day when we were visiting San Antonio, we were at the market shopping and she bought me a bracelet. She said it was just because she could tell that I like jewelry and she did too. I wore it the day Martin told me she had died. And several people complimented me on it.

He tried to make it down for the funeral but several events caused him to determine it wasn't meant to be. I know it was hard for him to stay here while his family gathered to celebrate her life. Some things I'll never understand.

So, in the meantime, back here in Michigan my grams (my only grandparent who took an interest in my life) went to the hospital for care and got a MRSA infection. Which is the "super bug" that people talk of. You know, the infections that are completely resistant to bacteria. So, she's had an IV going directly into one of the veins in her heart for the past 3 weeks and has about 3 more weeks of it. She has advanced rheumatoid arthritis so her immune system is shot. I worry about what will happen when she's done with the anti-biotic. And on top of her situation, when she gets out, she can't go back to her apartment. She has to go into some government full time care thing. I just hate that for her.

Through all of this, I tell myself that I'm in the stage of my life where grandparents aren't as healthy as they used to be. So, it helps. Somehow it goes along with the process of life. And while it is sad, it's easier to accept.

And then I find out today that my dad went to the emergency room. He spent the night there and has had about every test possible or known to mankind done to him. They don't know what's wrong. Something with his heart.

Sickness is all around me. And I know we're supposed to tell ourselves that all things work together for good. But sometimes I don't believe it. And telling me that I might not ever know the good that comes out of a situation, doesn't really do anything for me. And I can tell that this is all affecting Martin because he told me he dreamt about me dying all last night. He said he leaned over to me and made sure I was breathing before he could go back to sleep.

I'm looking forward to a span of time with no news of sickness.

Babies!

It's still winter. And very cold. Martin was calculating today that the bay has been frozen a month earlier than last year. I keep saying that I just hope it thaws sooner too.

We bought bookshelves for the study. We bought a new computer. It's pink. I'll talk more about the reason for this in a few months. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch type of thing.

We've planned a spring break trip to Florida in April. I'm very excited about this. It's literally been years since I've been to florida. I think I was probably 15 or 16 the last time I was there. Our neighbors' grandfather owns a small condo type thing right on the beach in Venice. Apparantly, you open the back door and are on the beach. I can live with that for a week. April in Michigan is still pretty chilly. And I'm guessing April in Florida will be quite warm. So it's a no brainer really. Just getting the time off will be the most challenging part of the whole thing.

Five babies have been born since December 12th. That's been fun. Four of them are the first children of the families so it's extra fun to see people change and adjust to new family members. Babies are amazing. As I hold them, I just stare at them in wonder. Tiny human beings with a blank canvas. It's pretty exciting. I'm including photos of all the new little ones.

First Photo: Kaylin Saymn Born January 19th

Second Photo: Laney Kratky Born January 13th

Third Photo: Makija Howard Born December 25th

Fourth Photo: Jack and Grifin Frentz Born December 12th

Whew! I'm so proud of all of them!

Texas and Back

We spent the Christmas holiday in Texas. It was so nice to spend time with Martin's family. I love sitting around hearing Martin and his family interact since I really haven't had too many opportunities to watch him around his family. It's fun to see how they all relate to each other. And it's fun to be a part of it too.

Martin's sister Melanie has two completely lovely girls with a third to be born any day now. We were hoping she'd go into labor a little early so we could meet Kratky girl #3 (as far as I know, they haven't decided on a name yet. Martin was pushing for Martina but I don't think they were going for it)

And after getting back for a couple days, my best friend jess came to spend new years with us. It was her first visit to our new place here so it was fun to actually have a guest room for her to stay in. Although, can you believe she actually said that she kind of missed the little place we had before. I told her she was crazy. Here are photos from Martin's mom and Jess of the holidays.

Jessica always does a great job of documenting our times together. She got a really funny video of me trying to dis-prove the idea that it's impossible to swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon. Hopefully, I'll be able to share it soon.