We Have Moved!
After about 48 grueling hours, Josh and I have completely moved into our new home.  I am so excited to write about it but we are currently without internet and will be for the next couple days. So I am resorting to hurriedly typing a little note as I sit at the bar of a nearby Bread Co. Although I should just leave it be and not write anything until I have the time to make it substantial, I am much too excited so I leave you with this and a promise to write more soon!

Joplin, MO. 5-22-11
Sunday night, a massive tornado destroyed the town of Joplin..  It was the most destructive tornado in 60 years.  The damage is unbelievable & completely devastating.  Our hearts go out to the victims & their families.

Golden
After 22 years of waiting, I finally got to celebrate my golden birthday! For some reason, as a little girl, I thought a golden birthday was so cool and was jealous of my brothers and sister whose birthdays fell on 3's and 12's.  I think I was just a liiitle more excited about it 10 years ago than now, but it's fun to remember my little girl anticipation. My siblings and I all had our respective birthday traditions: My brothers, whose birthday fell on July 3, always had a 4th of July celebration. Aliza, whose birthday is the 12th of January, usually celebrated a little early so we could have a New Years party for her-always complete with either homemade pizza or her favorite, shrimp.  And for my big day, we always had a barbecue.  I love those days at home on our farm: playing football in the backyard with the smell of the grill and the feel of grass between bare toes.  This year was a little different without my annual tradition but it was special in a new way; my first birthday with a husband to celebrate with!  Here's a snapshot of our fun weekend:

• Homemade Pizza + Monster Cookies+Wine+Harry Potter= Perfect Rainy Friday Night In 
• Hours spent at City Museum+Chava's+Pirates of the Caribbean at the Drive-In=Incredibly Fun Day/Night Out
• Mickey Mouse Pancakes made by Josh+New Church that we like+Katie's Pizza+Spending Time Together=Relaxing Day to Regenerate our Spirits & Connect With Each Other & God

 So needless to say, it was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of love, LOTS of laughing, and lots of time spent hanging out with my best friend. Thank you for a wonderful golden birthday, Josh. Love you.

Killer Monster Cookies

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup M&M's
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Mix the eggs and sugars. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the M&M's, chocolate chips, raisins, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Dear Beautiful Dress, One day you will be mine.

A Dress.
Do you know Shabby Apple?
Be prepared to fall in love.
I am not one to fawn over clothing.
In fact, I do not even enjoy shopping.
But who doesn't love a good dress?
There is something about a dress
That makes you feel so wonderfully
Beautiful & Feminine.
These are my 
                           favorites. 

 Congratulations 

Little Sister!

My baby sister, Aliza is now a high school graduate! She has worked so hard these past four years and has grown so much; I couldn't be more proud of her! It doesn't seem that long ago that we dropped her off for her first day of high school on the way to moving me into the dorms for my first year of college.  And now she's the one who will be moving onto campus as a freshman Husker.  I am so excited for her and this new stage of life.  I completely loved college and it is so exciting that she will soon get to experience the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Even though I know she is feeling the sting of leaving high school, I also know that as the new era of college student begins, that nostalgia will quickly be replaced.  

The Covering House

Over the past couple months I have been so blessed as I have been welcomed in helping with an organization called The Covering House.  This is a developing home designed as a safe haven for girls under the age of 18 who are victims of sex trafficking and exploitation.  In the short time I have been here, I have learned so much about the evils and prevalence of this trade, and among the most disturbing is the void of knowledge about its existence in our country.  But the fact of the matter is that we have been tricked by the façade that human trafficking isn't a real problem here and all the while, something very dark has been silently growing in our own backyards.  

I know it is difficult, disturbing, & heartbreaking to think about but I ask that you take a couple minutes to read some things I have learned & view the documentary trailers I have attached below.

Human trafficking is a $32 billion industry globally. (United Nations)

Human trafficking generates an estimated $9.5 billion in annual revenue in the United States.(Federal Bureau of Investigation)

There are estimated to be 300,000 (growing daily) child prostitutes in the U.S.  (Federal Bureau of Investigation) 

The average age of entry into prostitution is THIRTEEN YEARS OLD. (U.S. Department of Justice)

The average victim may be forced to have sex up to 20 TIMES A DAY. (The A21 Campaign)

Right now, there are fewer than 100 beds available in the U.S. for these victims once rescued.(Federal Bureau of Investigation)  

So you can see there is a huge evil at work here, and those random facts are just the tip of the iceberg.  The horrors and tortures these children endure are sickening and unimaginable; a far cry from the childhood I would imagine many of us experienced.  A childhood where, instead of dressing up for your first dance, you get to dress up in whatever your pimp decides you should wear as you are sent to have sex with yet another stranger for money that you do not get to keep, but with which your pimp fattens his wallet and may or may not decide to use for a little food to keep you alive in a life you do not get to live.  A life in which, even if you should be rescued, you will most likely be placed in a juvenile system since there are only 100 beds available in our country to accommodate the rescue of 300,000 child prostitutes.

The Covering House needs awareness and support so that we can purchase a home to add to that number and begin rebuilding the lives of these young girls.  I urge you so strongly to spread the awareness of this awful inhumanity that is growing more each day.  It is intolerable.  

http://www.gems-girls.org/get-involved/very-young-girls 

Trailer of the documentary "Very Young Girls" based on NYC organization GEMS founded by Rachel Lloyd in 1998. The full documentary is also available on Netflix. 

http://www.playgroundproject.com/

 Trailer of the documentary "The Playground" produced by George Clooney and directed by Libby Spears as an effort to bring awareness

100 days choco-tastic-dump cake!

100 Days! 

Dear Josh, Can you believe we have been married for 100 days? I can't! It feels like a weird combination of seeming like it was yesterday, and yet seeming like forever ago.  This has been the best 100 days of my life and so I want to make one of my ever-favorite-lists of   things I want to remember about these past 100 days! (I may add more as I remember more things)

1. Our Honeymoon in the Mountains
2. Making Your Apartment Our Apartment Together
3. The Best Meal Ever on The Hill @ Zia's
4. Our Living Room Picnic 
5. Tearing the Feather Pillow Apart and Realizing How Many Feathers Are Inside Those Things!
6. Learning to Make Sushi Together
7. Our Date to BARcelona, even though I was sick
8. Spending 3 Hours at The Melting Pot with Chocolate, Wine, and Lots of Talking
9. Going to Crown Candy Kitchen: Best Malts EVER! 
10.  Our Whipped Cream Food Fight (where you smashed a handful into my hair!)
11.  Having the Best BBQ EVER at Pappy's Smokehouse On Your Birthday
12.  Lunch Dates With You During the Week
13.  Our First NHL game
14.  Debating Whose HighSchool Job (Lifeguarding or City Worker) Was More Important in Saving Lives; This Lasted Several Hours & Included LOTS of Laughing Over Martinis at the Ice Kitchen
15.  Hanging Pictures & Our Clock; The First Things We Did in Our Home
16. Teaching Me To Play Tennis & Run Football Plays
17. Giving You a Piano Lesson
18. Homemade Popcorn & Movie Nights
19. "Man" Nights: Pizza, Beer, & Sports or a Manly Movie :D 
20. Earwig... Yahm.
21. Finding a Church We Like Together
22. Spending Approximately One Hour Making Fart Noises With Our Mouths And Laughing As Much as Little Kids Would 
23. Nurf Gun Wars
24. Playing UNO
25. Walking Around Creve Coeur Lake
26. Having 'Bunch' After Church
27. Having Supper On Our Balcony
28. Opening Tons Of Presents & Opening All Of Our Cards
29. Playing 'Shablamablams' aka Banangrams 
30. Spending Multiple Hours Looking Through Our Wedding Pictures
31. Roadtrips Back To Nebraska to Open Presents, See Aliza's Play, Celebrate Easter & The Boys' Confirmation; The Journey Back is So Much More Fun With You!
32. Celebrating Ben's Graduation From Basic Training in Chicago
33. Being Able To Fall Asleep & Wake Up Together 
34.  Discovering the World's Best Blueberry Pancakes at 'The Dolce Via' 
35. Playing Hide-And-Seek in The Dark in Our Apartment
36. Buying Our Fish, "Mr. & Mrs. Belvadiere (Stanley and STELLA)
37. Our Wedding Cake Food Fight
38. Cooking Together
39. Playing Football at the Lake
40. Going On A Picnic at the Lake
41. Shopping For Our First "Married Couple" Thing: Pillows 
42. Watching the Multiple Storms Roll In On Our Balcony
43. Attempting to Smoke Your Pipe 
44. Leaving "Stanford" (& Stanford the Lady Version) On Our Bed To Surprise You
45. Hiding In The Closet And Scaring You When You Come Home From Work
46. Earth Day Festival at Forest Park 
47. Learning to Make Our Own Bread 
48. Getting Accustomed To The Ways of St. Louis With My Very First White Castle White-y (blegh!)
49. Being Able To See You Everyday For The First Time Ever!
50. How Much You Helped Me During Rough Days
51. Wrestling Matches
52.  Making Smoothies
53. Going to the film screening for The Covering House
54.  Listening to this song!
55. Rereading All The Old Love Notes We Sent Each Other
56. Painting Together

Making Our Top Ten Favorite Movies Of All Time List
Thank you for the most wonderful 100 days. I love you, Josh.

Choco-tastic-Dump Cake

• Favorite Homemade Chocolate Cake Recipe
• Hershey's Fudge Topping
• 6 crushed Oreo's
• White Chocolate Chips
• Favorite Homemade Chocolate Frosting Recipe
  Bake cake like you normally would. Mix fudge and crushed Oreo's. Spread on top of Cake #1. Put Cake #2 on top. Spread with frosting and top with White Chocolate Chips. Devour. Don't worry, it has Zero Calories. :P 

Don't forget, this wasn't just the death of a symbol but the death of a human, a broken man who needed grace in the same way I do -Author Unknown




Today marks a strange day in U.S. history. Osama bin Laden was killed early this morning during a raid by U.S. Navy Seals.  It has been almost 10 years now since that awful morning of September 11, 2001 and I remember it so clearly, although I don't think my 7th-grade mind understood the implications held by that fateful day. But now, after almost 10 years, for so many of the lives that have been shattered and ripped apart by the burning of those two towers, justice has been served.  However, something is unsettling to me.  I see the numerous facebook statuses reading phrases such as:

"All of my Middle Eastern friends are celebrating the death of Osama" 
"So, what will they do with his body now? Stuff it? Put it on display?"
"If you are not happy about that then there is a problem" 



After an entire morning of debating how I feel about this joyful, celebratory attitude that seems to be so present, I must say that I disagree with it.  Do not misunderstand me.  He was evil and I am glad he is gone.  I believe Satan comes in all forms and that Osama bin Laden made a very comfortable home for the Enemy to take up residence.  I am relieved and thankful that he will no longer be able to hurt anyone, for the potential disbanding of al Qaeda because of his death, and for one less evil in our world.  However, I cannot celebrate the death of a human being, especially one whom I can fairly confidently assume is not spending eternity with our Father. For lack of ability to properly to express what I feel, I will turn it over to more adequate writers: 

Proverbs 24:17
"Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he is overthrown.

Ezekiel 18:23 

"

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

Ezekiel 33:11 

 "Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live."