Cookout, Supper, Sewing

Friday night, I went to a 'secret sis' cookout. I may be married, but I still enjoy getting together with those girls. :)

the evening included a hay-rack ride :)

Amber hosted it at their lake. It was beautiful.

Sunday night, we finally had Nathan's family over. 
I was a little nervous. I've never cooked for so many people before (13!) but I think it went well.

I made lasagna, a salad, some garlic bread, and cut up a watermelon. Nathan's mom brought cake to celebrate Emily and Anna's birthdays.
They all seemed to like the lasagna and nearly polished off the two 9x13s. Poor Nathan, not very many leftovers for him. :) tehe. 

After supper, we sang, ate cake, drank some fresh cider, and sat around chatting. 

It wasn't very stressful at all. In fact, the only mishap was me dumping bacon bits all over me and the floor. sigh. 

I've been pretty lazy so far this week.  We're pretty much settled in here and I don't have much to do. Tuesday I went to World Relief sewing. Which is always great fun. I knotted two comforters and got to hear all the latest news. :)

Yesterday, I read a book. :) 

I think my job is coming at the perfect time.

In Christ
~Michelle

Cousins' Night

Thursday night, we invited our cousins over for the evening.  Almost everyone showed up so we had nearly 20 people in our little apartment. We sang, ate and played games. It was great. :)

hanging with Cecily and the 'phant :)

Tate reading Cecily a book

we did a bit of singing

Cecily joined the guys out on the porch

games and food :)

Nathan taught Tate and Kyle one of his many games.

It was a really fun evening hanging out with my cousins.  I feel like we're all starting to get into the same stage and it's so much fun to spend time with them.  I hope that this was the first of many cousins' nights. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

Apple Cider

This year we finally got around to making apple cider.  
Nathan and I and Matt and Lena went over to the farm one evening last week to make it.  

Nathan and Lena bonding over apples

the cider machine 

even gussy likes apples :)

the apple washing station 

Fresh cider :)

And...when you have apple cider you might as well make apple cider doughnuts. :) Jenny gave me the recipe so, I thought I'd try it. 

:) they turned out really good...mmm

So, now we have fresh apple cider to drink and lovely doughnuts to eat. :)  
Nathan and I sat out on the deck one evening drinking hot apple cider and it finally felt like fall. I love summer but I also love fall. The leaves, cool crisp air, harvest, pumpkin pie, apple cider, campfires etc. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

Child Welfare Specialist

I have a job. :) 

Today, I accepted a position as a Child Welfare Specialist at the Children's Home in Peoria.
I'm nervous but, looking forward to the opportunity to serve. 

Once again, God has provided.

In Christ
~Michelle

Honesty

Last week, my mom and I drove around Peoria returning extra/duplicate wedding gifts. 

the very full back of the van

When we got to BBB we unloaded the air mattress.  We had gotten two of them shipped from the same sender. In other words- we got two for the price of one. So, we took it in and explained to them that we didn't need any money back for it.  They looked kind of shocked and said "give them full price back in store credit for their honesty."

We made their day. They continued to thank us and smile at us the rest of the time we were in the store. 

I was very shocked as well and it made my day too. I had fun finally getting a few bigger things for the apartment. :)  But, it kind of made me sad. What is this world coming to when such a simple act of honesty is such a big deal?

My mom and I had a great rest of the day. Thanks to all of you who unknowingly gave us a duplicate gift. :) They bought us, will buy us, some much needed things we couldn't really register for.

In Christ
~Michelle

Kansas City- Scott + Joy's Wedding

Last weekend was my cousin Scott and Joy's Wedding. 

So, Nathan and I drove out to Kansas City Friday morning, to be able to relax a bit once we got there.  
We stopped at Union Station and the WWI Liberty Memorial on the way. 

Union Station 

Liberty Memorial

 Nathan's uncle and aunt, Don and Eileen, who we stayed with for the weekend, took us out to eat at Jack Stack that evening. Jack Stack has the best baked beans I've ever had and they have awesome BBQ besides. :) It was great. 

Saturday morning we had time to kill so,  Don took us to the Steamboat Arabia Museum for the morning.  It was pretty cool.  The Arabia sank on the Missouri River in 1856 and sank deep in the mud, preserving everything inside. It was carrying cargo to sell to 16 general stores out west. The river changed course so, the diggers found it 40 feet down in the middle of a corn field. 

one of the wheels

some of the china they found inside

hat pins, buttons, pen tips...

jars of food

they found 4,000 pairs of shoes

the only death- a donkey they named Lawrence. 

tehe...Lawrence of the Arabia :)

a painting of what the Arabia would have looked like. 

Then we finally made it to the wedding.

Scott was always one of the "big boys" in the Wyss family and as a girl I really looked up to him.  He was always nicer than the other "big boys" and if any of us "little girls" wanted something from the boys we'd go to him first.  As we grew up, no longer little, Scott became a friend rather than just a cousin.  Us cousins took many trips to KC to visit and they came out to the farm. There were plenty of late nights sitting around the farm house table talking, playing games, laughing, and generally just having a grand old time. 
Now we're both all grown up and married. :)

sadly, the only picture I got of Scott and Joy

cousins :)

us... and Matt looking dapper in his suit

Scotty chilling with the cousins

Clayton preparing the birdseed :)

 

After the wedding the whole family crashed at Karen and Randy's.  It was great. I love just sitting and listening to the conversations being thrown about the room. And, It's been a really long time since so many of us were all in one place. :)

Sunday, we went to church in KC. We helped Don and Eileen serve lunch. After church, we changed back at Karen and Randy's and hit the road.  Nathan and I had the pleasure of driving Grandpa and Grandma home. It was wonderful to spend the time with them listening to their funny stories and great wisdom. :)

It was a really busy, but nice weekend. There's not much better than spending time with family. :) And, Congratulations Scott and Joy. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

Projects

Recently I've been taking on a few projects.  They've been a lot of fun.

We needed more space in our kitchen for storing stuff.  So, I purchased a dresser at Goodwill and went to work. Sadly I wan't smart enough to take a before picture. But, believe me it was rather ugly and dirty before and had some very 80s style drawer pulls.

:) I think it turned out well...if you don't look very close.

And now that the kitchen is presentable... here's a picture :)

My mom served lunch on Sunday and asked me to bake cinnamon rolls.

dough

ready to go in the ovan

maple glaze :)

5 doz. cinnamon rolls... yum! :)

And, then the other day I decided to tackle the piano bench.  It wasn't the worst piano bench that I've seen but, it was old and stained.  So, I started by taking the floral upholstery off.  I quickly discovered that the floral was covering up yet another cushion that was liberally stapled down to the bench.

the original bench

layer #2

ah yes...lovely gold and burnt-orange 

The cushion was stapled directly to the top of the bench so, I took it over to the farm for the final stages of reconstruction.  After my dad pulled out the rest of the staples, I sanded it, re-stained it, and varnished it, I'm quite pleased with the results.

:) It looks so much better. 

Nathan and I were eyeing a bookcase from IKEA for a while when we learned that Matt and Lena were planning on going there last weekend.  So, we managed to buy it with very little shipping charge.  :)

We put it together Tuesday night. 

And if you think we need more books...don't worry this is overflow from our last purchase.

book case #1 :)

pay no attention to the mess surrounding it...

And then, because I enjoy using my amazing amounts of counter top space, I made cookies. :)

mhmm :)

On Wednesday, I had a job interview. I think it went well.  We shall see if I get an offer. :)

In Christ

~Michelle