The Blessing of Modern Technology

I'm sitting on my couch in Torrance, California watching the One Thing Conference. The only thing better than this is acutally being there. Being so far away from KC and really anyone (other than Sean) who is interested in talking about God has been a little bit more of a challenge than I expected. I'm so thankful for God TV and for IHOP.

Judah! Don't Eat the Stocking!!

Don't worry people! I stopped her before she could take the first bite.

American Car Rental Company

Yesterday Sean asked me if I would run an errand with him. He had a 6:30 meeting at an office in LAX. Something about a rental car company. At first I thought what a great time I would have with the house to myself. I could clean. I could watch whatever I wanted on tv. I could do nothing at all in complete silence! But he asked if I would go, along so along I went.

When we get to PCH there was a bit more traffic than we expected, so we were running a bit behind. We finally get there and park at terminal one by baggage claim. Have you ever seen a rental car office in terminal one at LAX? Anyone??

We run all around terminal one...no office. He calls the lady he's supposed to meet with and I hear someone behind me answer "American Car Rental Company".

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky! Did you know that Christina Ortega worked for American Car Rental Company? Me neither.



It was such a wonderful suprise! I got to pick Christina up from the airport, have dinner with her and take her to her family in Orange County. I am SOOO happy that I got to see her and spend a little bit of time with her! I love you Tina!

Happy Birthday Ava!!

Ava is the big #1! Happy Birthday Baby!

The Bestest Friends in the Whole World!

If you aren't me you should be jealous... I have the best friends known to man. They aren't all in this picture, but have you ever seen one photo with so many wonderful friends in it??


I got to see Jocelyn this past weekend. I've gotta get my Jo Jo time in before she heads to Germany!!

Welcome Aboard the Oosterdam

Sean and I just got back from our honeymoon in Mexico. It was great fun! The first day we spent at sea on the way to Cabo. The ship was beautiful, the food was excellent, the weather was great and the company was perfect!

Cabo San Lucas was my least favorite stop. Every ten minutes someone asks you if you want to buy the same silver necklace. I got tired of saying no thank you, no thank you, no thank you.

The next day we arrived at Mazatlan. I loved Mazatlan. Lots of colorful houses, lots of beautiful scenery, great beaches and best of all the Pacifico Brewery. We went on a tour of the Pacifico brewery and drank our hearts content of Corona and Pacifico beer. After that we went to a local beach and I went para sailing.




My favorite stop was Puerto Vallarta. We went on quite an adventure. First we took a speedboat accross Puerto Vallarta to a residential beach. Then we rode up the side of a mountain in an the back of a Unimog. Then it was a 20 minute mule ride, a 20 minute hike and then zip lines all the way back! We got the best views and had way too much fun. We got back to the beach early, so while we waited I had fish tacos from a local kitchen that made Wahoo's look like McDonalds.


The last two days were spent at sea as we headed back to San Diego. We got back yesterday afternoon, but I could swear that we are still on a boat. Whenever I sit down I feel like the house is rocking.

I'm Getting Married in the Morning

Well...it was really an evening, and it was also two weeks ago. :) I am so happy to be married! I love my husband, I loved my wedding, I love my family, and I love that it's all over.

Liquid, Gas or Solid?

Right now Israel and Judah are dancing an interpretation to liquid, solid or gas. This means that one of them yells LIQUID (in a funny little voice) and then they dance around the room showing Sean and I what liquid on the loose should look like. Next, someone yells out out GAS...look out it's about to get crazy!!

Zoe and I are Best Friends!

I got to go spend time with some of my dearest friends in the strangest place in the world, and.........I got to squeeze little Savanah Zoe Bohlender! Well let me tell you all about her legs. Her legs are skinny. Little little baby legs. There's not much squish at all, but at the rate she guzzles her bottle the squish will conquor those legs! Every bit of her is little bitty. When she pulls those little legs up next to her tummy there's not a whole lot of baby girl there! I don't know how she is going to handle all of the love everyone already has for her.




This was the first time I met Zoe.



This was just before I checked the squish on her leg.


This is when Zoe met Sean.



This is Zoe showing me how cute she is.


This is Zoe showing me how tired she is from all the hard work she's been doing.


This is Zoe showing me her Dad's soul patch.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's Baby Time!!!


I'm so happy for you friends! Welcome to the world Zoe. We love you!

Girl Goes Mop Crazy

Today Sean and I went to Target to get a Swiffer. Within an hour of the purchase the kitchen and bathroom floor are shinning! Yay!

How Do I Look?

This was the question Judah asked me this morning. Yesterday was the first day of school. The night before she picked out her cloths, practiced her "entrance" and made sure we all thought she was as cute as humanly possible.

This morning was a little bit different. Judah did ask if I thought she looked cute. She really did look cute. She ALWAYS looks cute. The only problem was that she had been in the cloths for less than an hour and they were already dirty. When I told her this she just said, "No one notices that stuff anyway, like if they are clean. They just notice if they are cute."

UHAUL Makes Moving Easier

Saturday, August 20, 2006
8:00 Go to Gym with Sean
9:00 Go get Coffee with Sean
10:30 Look at House with Sean and Girls
12:00 Shopping for Pants for Sean (You wouldn't believe how interesting this part really was)
3:00 Rock Climbing with the Famo
6:00 Good Movie and Good Dinner at Home

Sunday, August 21, 2006
8:30 Head to Church with Sean
3:00 Head to UHAUL with Sean and Jason
3:30 Jason's Seat Belt doesn't work
4:00 Is Something Burning? Do You Smell That?
4:15 Breaks? What Breaks? Who Needs Breaks?
4:30 You're Sending a Mechanic??
5:00 Hang out with Sean and Jason in a Parking Lot while the wonder mechanic does his magic.
6:30 Should be heading out in half an hour
7:15 Just a few more minutes
8:00 Almost done
8:20 Head to Three Arch Bay to get furniture!!
8:45 Let the Loading Begin
2am Unload the last piece of furniture and CRASH!

For only $29.99 you can rent a 17 foot smooth riding truck. I bet the truck you rent won't have a crack smoking Statue of Liberty on the side of it like ours!

Wowie Zowie

I can't believe that it's been so long since I last posted! So here's what I've been up to...

1. Pack my stuff up and pack it in the a closet at Mark and Angela's (thanks guys!!).

2. Lots of baby squishing.


3.Reds vs Dodgers with Paul. Dodgers won.


4. Hopping a plane to LA just in time to miss all of the luggage hastles.

5. Spend some super fun family time at the LA Farmers Market.




6. Got a job as an Office Manager at Taylor Family Chiropractic. I started yesterday.

7. Great food at Doug and Renee's (Sean's folks).




8. Oh and I can't forget toe tickling with the girls! Fun fun fun!

Girl Gets Ring

Well, I have some big news. I went to California last week to see Sean. He asked me to marry him and I said yes!

Okay, now let me back up a bit. When I was living in California last year Sean and I dated for about 6 months until I left to come back to Cincinnati. When I left I expected my feelings for him would die down, but they didn't. For six months I thought and prayed for God's guidance.

While in Kansas City he and the girls (he has an 11 year old Israel and an 8 year old Judah) came to visit. I knew it would be hard and a bit confusing to see him. I knew I would have a lot of fun with all of them. When they got there I was happier than I expected to be with them. When they left it was harder than I expected to say goodbye and go back to Cincinnati. I talked to a friend about how I was feeling and she pointed out that I hadn't told him how I was feeling. So, the next day I called and told him. A few days later he called and asked me to come to California so we could get some objective council. Next thing I know I'm on a plane to Orange County.

One evening he said something that made me think he might ask me to marry him while I was there. I was totally surprised. I called my mom the next day to see what she thought. She didn't seem too surprised! That evening he asked and I said yes! You can read more of his story here.

So, that's my big news. I am in Cincinnati right now, but I'll be moving back to California in a few weeks so that I can be closer until we get married. That will give us more time for the girls to adjust to me being around. My days are about to get quite a bit more interesting/exciting. I don't think a more wonderful thing could have happened to me.

Die Phone Die

What you don't see in this photo is my croaking phone. It's not like I jumped in and had instant remorse. No, I swam for a good long while before realizing that I had drown my phone. But doesn't it look like we are having so much fun! Ava loves the water.

A new phone should arrive at my house around sometime today. I still probably won't be able to recover all the phone numbers, so if you want to talk to me or you want me to be able to call you then you should email me your phone number.

False Alarm

I thought it was working. I make a few calls and sent a few text messages. Shortly after that it died again.

Good news. If you ever jump in the pool with your phone you can put it in a bag with silica jell packets. It will take the water out of your phone. It may take about 48 hours, but it should do the trick. :)

I forgot to mention-when the phone died so did all of the numbers. Can you email me your phone number?

A Great and Terrible Day

Yesterday was great in that it was spent by a pool with Angela and Ava. It was terrible in that when I got in the pool I still had my cell phone on me. So...if you need to get a hold of me then you can email me and I'll give you my home phone number. :)

Home Again

My last week in Kansas City was a very exciting one. I got to spend time with Christina and hear about her travel journeys. I am glad she went, but I am SO glad that she is home.

A few days after Christina arrived Sean, Israel, Judah and Jason came to town. We hung out at the Bohlender's, had great conversations, ate REALLY good food (thank you Chef Henry!) and had way too much fun. All of the kids were outside one night when Israel ran in to announce that there were fireflies outside! She and Judah had never seen them before. Judah never came in to tell us about them because she was too busy chasing them. The night before they left we went to Shiloh Gardens (where no one would think of spraying for bugs) and chased the fireflies there. We saw more lightning bugs and got more chigger bites than any of us had before.

Wednesday morning I had to say goodbye to everyone. After having spent such a great month with such wonderful little boys and amazing friends I was a bit sad to say farewell.

Now I'm back in Cincinnati. It feels good to be home. Angela and I have hung out a lot in the past two days. I didn't realize how much I missed my sister. Ava is bigger than I expected. She is sitting up on her own and getting on her hands and knees to rock back and forth. Pretty soon she'll be crawling. When I see it I'll be sure to push her down.

Oh Happy Day

On Saturday one of my favorite persons in the whole world came home! Christina has been serving the nations with Jesus, but He has finally sent her back to us. I have missed Christina a lot in the past six months, so I am VERY happy to have her back. She's living with Katchen right now and I think that is completely unfair and wonderful at the same time. Two of the greatest women I know will be under one roof! What a lucky roof.

Welcome home Christina!

Does Jesus Give You Heartburn?

Well...more like does He make your heart burn. (Luke 24) This thought has been running through my mind ever since I had a conversation with Randy about decaffeinated Jesus. I think about Jesus. I talk about Jesus. But when it comes down to it, does the time that I spend with Him leave me saying, "When He spoke to me, my heart burned within me."

This thought came up again today. I was with Noella again. We were talking about the fun that we've had gallivanting about glorious Kansas City. It has been terribly entertaining, but at the end of the day it leaves you feeling a bit empty. I am not suggesting that we only stay at home to pray and read our Bibles or spend every moment at the House of Prayer. One of my favorite things to do is to get out and see the city that I have spent so many hours praying for. I actually enjoy Kansas City! But the truth remains that my heart is not full when my social calendar is. I need to spend time in the presence of God. It is something that I crave. I need to feel Him love me, and I need to return that love. I need to feel that love burn in my heart.

Girl Puts Down Game

I would have to say that the Omega Intensive has been the most fun event I have ever planned. It was fun to be in KC with such wonderful friends. It has been wonderful to work with Randy again. I have enjoyed Kansas City (tonight Noella, Deloris and I went to see Henry V in the park!). I have also really enjoyed being in the House of Prayer. I don't always love being in the Prayer Room. There have been times when I had a lot of grace to spend long hours there. More often than not it is a choice to go.

I think overall it went pretty well. I am relieved that it is over, and I will get to go home in a week or so. At the same time I am a bit sad that it is over and I will have to head back to Cincinnati where there is quite a bit of uncertainty for me. Uncertainty is not an option in anyone's life, but as a planner it is a bit of a challenge for me. I'm constantly trying to straighten out the rubix cube of my future, but sometimes it just can't be done. I have to take my hands away from the puzzle. Even though I really desire to continue to work at it until I can figure it out. I turn to God and ask Him to help me. I know that He has a plan. I know that He is a better planner than me.

Ava Thinks She's Big, But She's Not!

Look at that smile. She is so proud of herself to be sitting up. So what if she is about to eat carpet, she's acting big and she likes it! I miss Ava!

The Omega Intensive began yesterday. I love planning events like this. I especially enjoy meeting the people who I've been exchanging emails with over the past few weeks. There are around 100 people in attendance. Believe me...you wish you could be there.

Today Noella and I hit the town. First we went to Liberty to Martinali's Cafe. It's an adorable little place, with delicious food and wonderful prices. It's in the same building as a great furniture store and a little quilting shop. If you have the opportunity to check it out you should. High tea is only $12.50! Just make sure you call in advance for it.

Next it was off to Parkville to the Jazz, Blues and Arts Riverjam. I had never been to Parkville, but I will definitely go back. They had the cutest little shops, wonderful trails along the Missouri River, good pizza and the best chocolate truffle I think I've ever had. The music wasn't very good, but the art...especially the jewelry was beautiful.

While we were looking at art we met a guy named Eric, who was selling his paintings. He was definitely trying to communicate something with his art (which isn't all that common at festivals like this), but I'm not the most discerning person when it comes to art, so we both began to ask him questions about what he was trying to say. He told us that he believed that all knowledge was shared in the universe-it was only a matter of tapping into it. This statement was the beginning of a long conversation about his spiritual beliefs. We talked to him for quite a while about absolutes, can there really be a gray area, God's love, etc etc etc. Both Noella and I were praying that the Holy Spirit would show up...but He didn't. At least it seemed to both of us that He didn't. We both knew that it didn't matter what we said to Eric...unless God showed up nothing was going to happen. We left hoping that some sort of deposit of God's light had happened. We prayed for him...and that's it. I'm never sure how to resolve these situations in my heart. I hope that this situation was a divine set-up. I hope that it planted seeds of God's love in Eric's heart. I wish that there had been at least a hint of something going on inside of him...but there wasn't. This is situation definitely gives me motivation to pray.

Kansas City...A Beautiful Place To Spend Your Summer

For some reason I always forget how hot summer is going to be in the Midwest. I decided to go on a walk this morning thinking that if I went before 8am it wouldn't be too hot. By 8am it was almost 90 degrees! I went anyway.
Being in Kansas City has so many benefits, but one that it is lacking is Norwood's Gold's Gym. If I'm going to sweat for the sake of exercise I like it to be in an air conditioned room. There is a Gold's downtown, but that gym is almost a joke. I have been spoiled by only driving 4 minutes to a 6am spin class. If I didn't feel like making it to the 6am I could always go to the 9:30 or noon class. That's not happening in Kansas City. Not unless I want to pay $643 to go to this place. Hmmm...no thank you. I guess I'm stuck sweatin it out outdoors. Oh well.

Boy Catches 85 Pound Fish

Here's a little bit of what I missed out on...



What do you think that hand hanging out the window means? I'll tell you what it means. It means my mom is taking a photo...and has already take six! Dad and Patrick are READY to go. Thanks for taking it anyway Mom!


When I was little my Dad woke me up REALLY early one morning to go fishing in a tournament. We went out to Tom Steed Lake and fished all morning. I caught 237 fish, give or take. Later in the afternoon we went and weighed in. I caught more fish than any other man out there that day! Well...other than my Dad. I'm glad that Patrick gets to fish with him now. What I really should have titled this post is, "85 Pound Boy Catches Fish".

Girl Gets Lost in Grandview

You'd think I would know my way around Terrace Lakes by now. I've driven that neighborhood hundreds of times. I feel like I have hundreds of friends who live back there, but it never fails...I almost always get turned around (insert slight scowl). Tonight I was on Jackson north of Red Bridge. Somehow I got turned around. It's a straight shot! I should not have gotten turned around. Somehow I ended up driving right by Marci's house before figuring out where the heck I was. Marci lives on the south side of Red Bridge. I can navigate my way across the country and back. I've done it several times! Why can't I master Terrace Lakes?!?

Apparently Ava is doing just fine without me. She's such a rock star. Look at those glasses! I heard she made it to the pool with her "big sister" aka Leah, her cousin. Leah insists that Ava is her little sister, so for Christmas Angela got her a shirt that says Big Sister.

Girl Misses Her Mom

Well, I didn't make it to Tennessee. I sat in the airport for two day and couldn't get on a single flight out of Kansas City. What's up with that? Mom didn't get to go either. She's in North Carolina, I'm in Missouri and everyone else is in Tennessee. I am sad that I don't get to be there, but more than that I realize how glad I am that we all like each other so much! I have the greatest family in the whole world. They are the kindest, smartest, funniest, caring people that I know.

This a photo from the trip that Mom and I took across the country. We hit up Zion National Park, Grand Canyon and Brice Canyon all in a day and a half. That was way too much beauty for that amount of time. By the end of it I had used up all of my adjectives. If you haven't seen that part of the country I highly recommend it. If you can go with your mom, even better. If you can go with my mom...well you'll probably never be that lucky.

p.s. Thanks to my wonderful Kansas City family I am having a great time, even if I'm not with my sisters. I got to hold Arwen, hop with Aiden, eat ice cream with Kelsey, have morning coffee at the Bohlender's kitchen table and then eat half a donut.

Dorothy Gets Stuck in Kansas

What is wrong with this photo? Cute baby...Wonderful Grama?? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT IS WRONG! I AM NOT IN THIS PHOTO! Right now I should be in Cincinnati. I got bumped off of not one, but three flight today.
I wouldn't actually be in Cincinnati for more than just a few hours before heading south to Laura's house, but that is irrelevant. I SHOULD BE HOLDING THAT BABY! NOT GRAMA! I know Grama needs her time to squish Ava also, but right now it's my turn! What happens when Dorothy wants out of Kansas?

P.S. Thank you for the photo Ang. It made me feel 39% better.

Girl in Kansas City is Humbled...Again

Yup...the mercy of God has been extended to me yet again. I just spent a few minutes with Bryany in the lobby of IHOP. She has been preparing for a missions trip to India and then to England. She told me about feeling the need to have a pure heart. Listening to her talk about this desire was enough to begin to stir that desire in my heart again. I want to be able to come near to God (Psalm 24)! I need to have clean hands and a pure heart. Conversations like this one remind me that there is a part of my heart that will do anything to be near Him. Hopefully that place is growing. It is His mercy that He reminds me of that desire. He must want me to come near.

Beautiful Day Had By All In Kansas City

Did I mention that I'm in Kansas City? Maybe that is just obvious. Well anyway...It was a lovely day. It all began with a shot of wheatgrass. :) Gotta love that stuff. Katchen and I decided it tastes like the liquid that would come off of the side of your lawn mower. I got to meet up with an old friend and chat for a while. Then it was baby city. I saw Marci's kiddos. I squished Arwen and said "ABC" with Aiden. ABC is as far as we got, but it was stated VERY clearly! After that it was off to see Izzy. Katchen let me have the night with the Is. Oh great fun!
In just a few days I'll get to squish my Ava! That will be even more fun!

Reporters Caught in Crazy Rain Storm

Today Kelsey and I were on a mission to begin filming for a video we hope to have for the Omega Intensive. Well...to be honest...I just kind of stood there and smiled for support. Two people from IHOP did the filming and Kelsey did the talking, but really...I felt like I was on a mission.
We had to bail out after only twenty minutes of filming because the big storm hit. I was just waiting for a big house to crash down and a little girl and her dog to come prancing out of the house. "We're not in Kansas anymore." Big news Dorothy, this is Missouri!

Girl Falls in Love with Salad

I have a love...I have several actually, but it's not what you are thinking. My current passion(other than Jesus and the Scriptures) is fresh organic produce. Mmmm :) Even typing it makes me smile. It began a few years ago when I went on a fast from everything except for raw food. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Since then I have had some very wonderful and very interesting experiences with fresh organic produce. I even lived with raw foodists for a while. Man...could I tell you some stories.

The highlight of the day:
I walked to Sunfresh Market and found the most wonderful strawberries for $1.17 per pound!

What do you call your coffee?

I love to go into new coffee shops, because I can't wait to see what they will call their coffee. Is your frozen drink an IceCrea, a Frappicino or an IC Mocha? What size is your drink, Venti or large or do you have to order it according to the ounce? Is Venti even a real word? Do they really make the drinks where you buy your coffee or do they just push a button? The options are never ending.

I want some chocolate flavored coffee. I want it hot. I want the biggest one you have.

Blogs

I love reading other people's blogs. I can waste...I mean spend at least an hour just reading posts and hopping to the next blog. I never knew that I knew so many interesting people! Everyone has something clever to say. It's amazing.

Song of Solomon 2:11

For lo, the winter is past... Unfortuantely the rain has only begun, but who cares!
Spring has sprung. The grass is looking a bit green. I don't have to wear 13 layers of clothing anymore! Hurray! I think I'll go for a walk.

Does your skin crawl sometimes?

Do you ever have those times where you constantly feel uncomfortable? Your heart can't settle, your mind won't be at peace, your body aches and even your skin may crawl. It's not that dramatic all of the time, but you aren't ever very comfortable in any way. This can go on for weeks and weeks until you just begin to get used to not totally resting.

Well yay for me I think that I am coming out of this time. I had almost forgotten that I was not settled in my own skin because I was becoming so accustomed to it. I am thankful for those times. They help build character in me. Do I trust God in the midst of it or do I let my heart despair? Do I continue to be faithful to things I know I should be or do I bail on life? I definitely blow it...sometimes more often than not, but I think that God has been giving me opportunities to grow. Those times stink, but I think I may be learning to like them. They seem to make my life a bit like a rubics cube.

It is actually quite strange to me that I am feeling this way. I am at a place where I don't have much short term vision for my life, I'm still getting settled back into Cincinnati and I'm not quite sure what I will do or commit myself to in the near future.

All of this to say that I am so thankful that I am feeling comfortable in my own skin for a change.

Ch Ch Ch Changes

Well I'm getting settled back in Cincinnati pretty well. I've been gone from California for about a month and a week. I have moved several times in the past few years. You'd think that it would get easier, and maybe in some ways it does, but for some reason change is a bit painful for me. I don't like the feeling of unfamiliarity and resettling. I miss my apartment, I miss the beach, I miss the produce, I miss Spirit Seekers and Josh singing the girls choruses of songs, but most of all I miss my dearest friends. I miss my Tuesday night family, I miss Jocelyn, and I miss Sean!
But...now I have my family near, and right now that is more important to me. Little Ava is growing a little every day. My Grampa is home from the hospital. I love living with Mark and Angela. I love Cincinnati and really I am very happy about being back.... SO.... why can't I have the best of both worlds??