November happenings.

November

- My friend and roommate, Lindsay came home from Benin where she has been serving with Mercy Ships for the past 6 months. We met her at the airport with a sign, hugs and love. It has been fun hearing about her time as she prepares to serve with them next year as well. And, I am reminded how much I LOVE having a roommate.

- Chris finished his thesis; he defends it in December. =) That was a happy day.


- We celebrated Chris' birthday. With friends, family and together. A party with good food and games, a nice dinner at Victorias and tiramisu cake and another nice dinner at Newts and a quiet evening at the house with the dog.

- I raked and rakes leaves and brought them to the compost pile. Doing the fall stuff seemed easier this year ... maybe because I learned from last year and also probably because of the milder weather.

- Books. I am currenlty reading The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian, a shower gift from a family friend. Also reading Grace Walk by Steve McVey on the bus ride on the way to and from work. We are talking about it at Salt and Light and I am enjoying the book. And Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, a recommendation from my dear friend Chinwe. There have been varying opinions about Gilead but I like it.

- Wedding stuff. The invitations were sent out! Many other details finalized too. I have been praying for a balance between preparing for the wedding and preparing for the marriage and I think that we have been doing a good job of not letting the wedding "take over." While I have enjoyed our engagement and we have grown closer, I CAN'T WAIT to be married.



- Let it rain! Three showers this month. The first was a baby shower for Jackie, a friend from childhood who now lives in Rochester (fun!!!). Her baby is due in December and I am excited to meet that little one.


The ladies in Rochester threw me a fun shower, complete with a Dairy Queen cake that one of the girls picked up in Zumbrota. We played a (non-bridal shower) game and we laughed a lot. Then, over Thanksgiving weekend, my aunts had a lovely shower for me in Oshkosh with both sides of my family. It was special to have both sides of the family there and both my grandmas. It was a really nice time and the food was wonderful, as usual. In the words of my brother "I don't think there is anything they would make that I wouldn't like."

- Over the course of Thanksgiving weekend, I saw all of my family within driving distance and also spent time with people who will (officially) be family soon. The food was good and the company was fun. It was lovely to have some time off of work (especially to keep a normal day-time schedule) and to get out of town for a while.

It has been a busy and fun month. =)