Holiday Happenings Part II

Well our Christmas was white! That's right, as I am from So Cal, this was my first white Christmas. The snowflakes had been sporadic over the last weeks but when Eric woke up on Christmas morning and told me to take a look outside I was speechless...our whole yard and street was covered with powdery white snow! It was beautiful!

Adam came for a brief visit on the 14th-18th (if memory serves correctly) so we got to have an early Christmas with him as a family. Unforturnately those pics are too big file size to post and if you wait for me to resize photos then you will never see any =-)

The real start to the holidays for Eric and I was on the evening of the 23rd, Eric lit up the fire pit we had been given as a gift for our wedding and we sat out in the 20 degree weather drinking Bailey's and cofee. Please note when you look at the slide show how our back yard transforms from fall to winter, it's so cool!

Christmas Eve we had the Guddat fam over for a Mexican feast and Eric made his wildly popular carne asada and I ventured into making my first flan!

Christmas Day as I mentioned we woke up to the white stuff and after our breakfast and devotions headed up Kingsbury Grade to see Lake Tahoe. At first there was no lake to see as the sky was white with continuing snowfall but after we a had a quick lunch at the Tahoe Biltmore and started heading back the sun broke through. I literally took dozens of pictures!

Friday was back to work but then we had a great weekend again with an outing to Cabela's to buy snow boots and a dutch oven. Eric is excited about using this for camping in the future as well! Saturday night we had UFC 92 night at Jeff and Harmony's house....again with a Mexican feast and Eric's carne was a hit. Sunday after church we had a young lady's fellowship at Eric's parents' that Alicia organized. We had Fran's home made pizza which is pretty much better than anything else you are going to get. We had a good time and I think a lot of us of got to interact and get know each other better. We also got our customized Christmas gift from Eric's parents...a wood rack! No more multiple trips outside (at least for DH) to get the wood we need to keep the house warm!

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=132833845

Holiday Happenings Part One

Merry Christmas Everyone! I know I am one day late but I hope the day was one of relaxation, time spent with family and contemplating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. I have been a bit behind with updating our happenings as you can see so I will try to do my best to catch you all up.

Thanksgiving weekend we drove down to Southern California to spend the holiday with my dad, Anne, Grandma Ida, Mike, Zabrina, Mike' mom Doreen and the kids (although Jaymie is not really a kid anymore). We had a full house and it was great! The day before Thanksgiving Eric and I spent all day cleaning and prepping the condo in Riverside for our new tenant. Having a tenant is definitely something to be very thankful for! We had been praying hard for an income in that area so we are so grateful! It was nice after a hard day of all that work on the condo to spend the next with family and eating great food. Anne did a fantastic job as always with the cuisine. The afternoon was spent playing Nintendo Wii which the kids definitely schooled Eric and I in. The kids still think Eric is a pretty cool uncle as he is so accommodating with whatever they want to play. We spent a couple more days with my dad, Anne and grandma and basically just watched old movies with A Christmas Story thrown in for good measure.

Eric and Carsyn play "Spies"

Further on in the weekend we drove down to the San Diego and spent a couple days with my mom, Kurt and brother Jeremy. My mom had Thanksgiving on Saturday night and my Grandma and Grandpa Dykstra came over. My mom went non-traditional and had ham which Eric loved as it is his favorite. Mmmh, I don't have pics of that meal as Kurt took them but it was a good time. Oh, we also showed the fam wedding pics and lots of them! More movies, family time and we got a ride in my brother's VW Beetle convertible. Come Monday morning it was time to make the long trip back but we decided that the new Tahoe beats out my little Honda for comfort on the long distance drive.


The day after we got back Eric flew out to Portland to update his OSHA trainer certifications and was gone for the week. We have decided that we do not like the whole being apart business. Fortunately my sister-in-law Alicia came over and stayed with me for the week. She was a great help and I enjoyed her company. She helped me put up our Christmas tree (compliments of Grandma Ida) and the decorations so that the house could be all cheery when Eric came home. The other big accomplishment prior to Christmas is that we got the garage (with Alicia's help, are you seeing a recurring trend here?) cleared out enough to get the Honda in it. Ingenious though I know, a car in the garage.

Thankful....

I am writing this because I see an abundant lack of thankfulness and gratitude in the people around me these days. Perhaps I am just more acutely aware of it because of the recent economic status and political environment. This is especially alarming to me when I notice this in people who profess Christ. They claim to have the hope of heaven yet their outlook on life is decidedly negative at times. A couple months ago I referred to these people as Doug and Wendy Whiner type Christians after the old SNL skit. These are the people that a simple “How are you doing?” turns into a sigh and a list of all the complaints with their life. They do not like their job. Their boss or coworkers are annoying. They do not like going to school. Life is boring. Their husband or wife expects too much from them or is insensitive. Their children are unruly and disrespectful. They want a boyfriend or girlfriend because then they won’t be lonely anymore. They do not have enough money. Life is difficult. Take your pick. No one can truly understand their problems. Now, I am all for keeping it “real” in that we need to genuinely share concerns with our brethren but we also have a personal responsibility and a call to live a life of joy and gratitude. So I am going to focus on my own thankfulness, those things which I think on during the days and weeks to keep a spirit of joy and gratitude in my life. If you know someone who may need this, feel free to pass it on.

I am thankful for the hope of heaven. This truth alone makes a lot of things irrelevant when we truly have an eternal perspective. We see trials and tribulations as the perfectors of our faith rather than detriments. My resident director in college always said, “No matter what you are going through, it’s not the crucifixion.” In other words, perhaps in light of the knowledge of what a glorious Savior did in taking on your sin, it would be wise to rethink what a bad day looks like.

I am thankful to be loved by family and friends. I am thankful to be loved by my husband who encourages me to see Christ as more beautiful everyday. I am thankful to have people to love in return. Human relationships are so vital. So many people will be alone during this holiday season.

I am thankful for my all of my physical freedoms and comforts. I worship freely and without fear. I speak without fear of retribution. As an American I must admit I am very much “rights” oriented at times. I pray I never take that for granted. I have plenty of food to eat and plenty of clean water to drink. I have clean clothes to wear every day. I live in a home with electricity and running water. I have a vehicle that serves as reliable transportation. I have a job. I have the physical capacity to do my job most everyday and be paid for it. I can pay my bills. I actually have medical and dental insurance. I have a cell phone. I have so many other amenities that are not necessary for life and body that when I think about it, it’s quite embarrassing. Maybe you have some of these things in common with me.

It amazes me that so few people seem to realize how their attitude affects their circumstances. How is it that a very sick person can be so happy? A poor person content with so little? Because it is about their perspective, they are focused on what they do have rather than on what they don’t have. I feel badly for those who always make mountains out of molehills because they are their own worst enemy. I for one am going to choose to have a spirit of thanksgiving which naturally flows into joy.

"That my soul may sing praises to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever." Psalm 30:12 NAS

Fighting the Happy Holiday Fat =-)

For weeks Eric and I have been saying that we should start going to the gym regularly now that we have settled more into a routine. It took a bit but we have started! Eric signed me up with his membership so that with the cold weather really lurking around the corner I can still get some work outs in. We both have been in good shape at different times of our lives so now it is time to get back there once again. With holiday cookies and breads soon to tempting all of us at every turn, I am determined to be a little proactive.

By the way, the pumpkin we prepared turned into really good pumpkin bread. I also made my first loaf of apple bread this last week. So I guess I am my own worst enemy but if I get my humming bird metabolism back it won't be quite an issue, right? Alas, the days of having the 20 mile runs and knowing a milk shake was not going to do a thing to my thighs =-)

Driving in Finter

Well it's not winter but I got to experience my first real drive through snow. It is the winter experience in fall so I call it finter.  I had to drive through the Carson Pass, south of Tahoe, to Napa for a work conference. I drove nice and slow and told myself all the driving tips that Eric keeps trying to instill in me because he wants me to be safe. I was the granny driver that kept pulling over in the turn outs to let other cars pass. I am attending the LEA/CIWMB Partnership Conference. I am the LEA counterpart of the conference. LEA stands for Local Enforcement Agency and I act as the solid waste enforcement agency for Mono County. At this conference I am listening to sessions on solid waste regulations from state integrated waste management specialists, industry representatives, and other LEA's that have relevant experience. I only say all that because a lot of people do not understand what I do.  I have a lot of different roles but I act as the solid waste program coordinator for my county. It's a great networking experience but I don't like being separated from my hubby. I really miss him. =-( Hopefully driving back the pass will be clear and I can make it back to Eric this Thursday night quickly!

Red Lake near Carson Pass

Driving very slow and taking a "no look" pic of the beautiful trees

Wood Cutting....

The last two weekends Eric and I have ventured into the mountains to go wood cutting with his family. Yep, as in falling trees, splitting them and stockpiling wood for the winter. People still do that here in NV in things called wood stoves rather than using natural gas and spending a fortune on utility bills. So my brother upon finding out that I was involved in this was highly amused because growing up in Southern CA, wood cutting is not a normal activity for us. I joked around that I am officially trading in my flatlander status and perhaps I am real mountain girl now.

When the alarm initially goes off on Saturday morning at what is normally a weekday wake up time, the body wants to just continue to sleep. Eric and I both need a little time to get going in the morning (one of us more than the other =-) but once we are driving up the 88 and into Hope Valley, the tiredness is long forgotten and it is so enjoyable just taking in the beauty of the fall colors and the mountains. It's great just to be outside. It is a very gratifying experience to work with your hands and bring home the fruits of your labor and to know that it will benefit your home. There is a big sense of accomplishment in it. And despite the sore muscles that follow in a couple of days, it is a lot of fun. As a family we just had a good time together.

So the first weekend we got a skinnier tree that fell really, really easily right a long the road and then went back to finish loading up a tree that Eric's family had already fell the previous week. The next week we got a thicker spruce that was a lot more work for Brent and Eric to get down-it took 12 wedges! To top it off it got hung up in the adjoining trees but within 10 minutes its own mass made it come crashing down. So both of our families are set for winter!

Fall Fun and Brent and Fran's 30th Anniversary

Well fall is definitely here. I am greeted by ice each morning at work and we had our first real snowfall this last weekend. It's so weird getting all bundled up in the morning and then still having these afternoons that are so sunny and warm. It really is gorgeous here though. I just love the mountains and the way the aspens turn the different colors. So I am incredibly grateful for the woodstove in our house that keeps us toasty warm. It is absolutely amazing to me how quickly it heats it up...even too much! Sometimes we are actually sweating inside the house and have to crack open a window =-) We are planning on woodcutting this weekend to stock up on some much needed fire wood for winter.

We also spent several hours over the weekend cutting, peeling, boiling and pureeing a pumpkin (we still have one to complete from the garden) so that we can make some seasonal treats. So our freezer is filled with containers of pumpkin all ready to go. I cannot wait to make home made pumpkin soup. Yum.

Eric and I hosted our first dinner party! It was for a very special occasion as well. His parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on October 14th. Congratulations! Since I don't get home from work until after 6:00 p.m., my hubby took over most of the cooking duties and he did a fabulous job. He is quite the grill master and everyone loves his cedar plank salmon. He also made au gratin potatoes, steamed asparagus, garlic bread and a garden salad. We were stuffed! We had a favorite chocolate cake from Scolari's for dessert. So I think it was a success. Everyone went home very full =-)

Our house is also looking a lot more like a home. It was nice having Columbus Day off to do some cleaning and organizing. Eventually it will get there. At least we now have a living room and functional dining room to entertain people with. Yay!

Wedding Pictures

For those of you have not seen the wedding picture slideshow from our awesome photographer Bobby Earle, please check it out:


http://bobbyearle.blogspot.com/2008/09/joleen-eric-full-post.html


It really was a beautiful day. We will continue to post pics as we see them!

Half of Eric and Our New Vehicle on the News!!!

Well in preparation for winter, we have been looking at vehicles for Joleen to drive for her commute to Walker, CA. Eric's 1987 Chevy Blazer has seen better days, for all that is run in the ground, it has 240,000 miles and is ready for retirement. In Eric's opinion it is just broke in. Joleen's 2000 Honda Accord can handle snow with appropriate tires and 310lbs in the driver side. Heck it could probably even climb Mt. Hood if it wanted to with me in it. (Thats right, I, Eric am bashing myself. =) But alas neither one of these seemed like good options and if you know Eric, you know he wants his Sunshine to be safe.  He would put her in a tank if we could afford it but that's not an option either. (Eric typing again, I looked at one that was for sale here with the Douglas County Auction that was used for the S.W.A.T. but it needed a new cat engine and I could not find one that could do 0-60 in 3 sec. so I opted for the new Chevy Tahoe. Back to Joleen) So if you are following our stream of consciousness blog here...that's right, we bought a new Chevy Tahoe. "What!? Are you crazy you say? Isn't that thing a gas guzzler?" Well, not really because it has a FlexFuel selective cylinder engine which means it goes from V8 to V4 while cruising. It can also utilize ethanol. We looked at trucks and long story short, the Lord made it clear He wanted us to buy this vehicle. We had a great buying experience and even got to witness to our finance manager. How cool is that? So Eric is thrilled. He has new toy with all the bells and whistles...seriously loaded with all kinds of cool stuff. This will keep him entertained for a while. I am not sure if I am going to be able to get it back once the snow comes =-) So one of Eric's companies (he is a corporate safety manager for Bently), Bently Biofuels, opened up their fueling station as of yesterday. Eric got to use our new vehicle as a model for a flex fuel vehicle. Yes, that is the hubby's Cabela's shirt on the television. (Eric here again, I just wanted to fill you in that my agent said they were not going to pay enough for a face shot so I opted for the lower pay check with three commas instead of the usual four. Back to you Joleen) Enjoy the link everyone!

Mike and Zabrina's Wedding

Eric and I got to go on our first road trip together this last weekend. We drove down to So Cal for a family wedding. From Gardnerville, NV to Riverside, CA it is about a 7.5 hour drive which gave us plenty of time to talk, sing, goof off and just enjoy each other's company.

 

It was wonderful getting to see my family for the first time since after our wedding especially for such a happy event. For those who are not too filled in on my family life, Zabrina is my former sister-in-law who we are very blessed to have such a close and positive relationship with. Mike and Zabrina actually said their vows in April in Las Vegas. They wanted to have a ceremony for family and friends to witness as well as a celebration! The wedding was held at my dad and stepmom's home that they recently built in Hemet, CA. It really was a great day and wonderful to see how happy and whole this family now is. At the reception, Mike made an announcement and asked Jaymie, Zabrina's daughter, to become an Emerson like her mom. He wants to adopt Jaymie and gave her a necklace with engraved with her new name. It was so touching for me that I did not get photos of that moment. For those of you at our wedding, Jaymie was one of my bridesmaids. Eric just loves the idea and role of being an uncle now and I can tell the kids love him too.

We got the chance to have my Grandma Ida stay at the house with us too all weekend which was a lot of fun. She seemed to really enjoy herself. On Sunday we went to church at my former church, Reformed Baptist Church of Riverside. My grandma came with us and my younger brother Jeremy, a freshman at Cal Baptist University, also showed up. It's amazing to see my brother basically out on his own and maturing into his post-high school self. It makes me so excited to see the kind of man he is becoming. It was so great seeing so many of our close friends at church that were there at our wedding and had been so important and supportive of us during our whole courtship process. It was a quick weekend but we really enjoyed our time.

Setting Up the House...

This last weekend was incredibly productive for us in that we actually have what I consider a home now...not just a house with a myriad of half unpacked boxes. We managed to move in two couch/love seat combos which means we have furniture to sit on. People can come over! Eric's firefighting buddy Chad has a sweet Ford F-250 that we have now utilized twice with the moving process and we definitely appreciate it. With the truck and Eric's dad's trailer we can really move stuff. We were blessed to have been given the couches by family friends so they have been in storage just waiting to be picked up. Another topic of discussion between Eric and I has been sleeping arrangements...we were sleeping on Eric's queen sized bed. Now this worked just fine when Eric, the belly sleeper, was in the bed all by his lonesome. But Beef has acquired a wife and pretty much his $3.00 wins over my buck thirty five every single time. I have been hanging on to the edge of that bed in the fetal position every night. We were discussing the cost of a new Cal King and it was not within sight. Fortunately my husband was open to the idea of shopping via Craigslist and we were blessed to find a clean, hardly used Cal King mattress and box spring up in Tahoe. We hauled it back down the grade and that night put the old queen bed in our guest room and slept wonderfully on our "new to us" mattress. We are thrilled at God's provision. He truly has met our needs and more. We have been so blessed with the graciousness and generousity of family and friends...we can run to Target and use our gift cards for those items we don't have yet. So we now have two extra bedrooms which means we are ready for company! Please don't be shy, we truly look forward to having visitors!

We are Married!!!

Well it has already been over three months since yours truly (Joleen) packed all of her earthly belongings and headed to NV to start a new job and prepare for a new life with my then fiance Eric. Life has finally settled down a bit as Eric and I are finally man and wife. It's great having a normal routine everyday...as in what regular people do such as work, come home, make dinner and spend time with their loved ones. Let me tell you, I would never trade the beauty of my wedding day and how sacred it all felt but I was getting sick of planning! And Eric was too. That last week was hard as we were trying to wrap up work and finish wedding projects. I appreciated his help so much. He was awesome when it came to delegated tasks. Eric is also very artistic so I never felt like I was the bride just having to plan a wedding all on my own. It really was a partnership.

So in my three weeks of married life I will give my synopsis, in the words of my Grandma Gertie, "Newlywed life is just like heaven." Yep, I will give her that one. It's heaven because everything is soooo new and neither Eric nor I take it for granted. I remember on our wedding day just the joy I felt in seeing all things in our lives come together for that moment and knowing how worth it it was. God was smiling down on us. Our marriage was blessed. Everyday I get to go home and have dinner with my husband....how cool is that?! After being in a long distance relationship for so long, it makes us grateful for the time we now share. We are very blessed young people that have good jobs, can pay bills, have a nice house to live in, have amazing and supportive family and friends....how could it get better? That is why I say it's like heaven. And I think the mystery that everyone explained to me but it took until after I said "I do" to understand was that you love your spouse more all the time. I love Eric more today than on our honeymoon and I loved him more on our honeymoon than on our wedding day. And I think about if we are given the opportunity to serve and love each other for the next 50 years or so what that love could look like.