Snow. Lots of snow.

We got a lot of snow on Sunday. Nothing like my poor family and friends have been getting in Denver, but it was enough to make my wish I had a snow blower. The funny thing is that everyone was freaking out about it, as if this is not a normal thing in MN. In fact, if it had not been such a mild winter, people would not even think twice about it. Now we are supposed to get another major snow tomorrow. I don’t mid all the snow, but it would have been nice to space it out more.

I was not going to post anything about football until next fall, but I have to write a memorial. Damien Nash, the Broncos third or fourth string running back, died of heart failure last Saturday at age 24. There was not any alcohol, drugs, or foul play involved. Evidently he had an unknown heart condition that caused his heart to stop working. He was with his wife and 7 month old daughter at his St. Louis home when he collapsed. Doctors could not revive him. From all that I have heard, he was a decent kid who loved football. He is now the 2nd Broncos player to die since the first of the year. Did coach Shanahan make some kind of deal with the devil? (Satan, not Al Davis) What the heck is going on?

A balmy February day in Minnesota

Yesterday it was a balmy 46 degrees in Minneapolis, so Heidi and I took a walk around Lake Calhoun. First we visited Jamba Juice so that we would have enough energy to make it around. The east side of the lake was a little cold with the wind whipping across the ice, but we enjoyed being out in nature. I love walking and talking with my Sweet Baboo.

Upon finishing our walk, we headed to Trader Joe’s to pick up a couple items. We ended up bringing some sushi home for dinner. It was tasty. During our excursion we felt like we were trendy Uptown residents. Every once in a while it is interesting to see how trendy people with money live, but that is not who we are or want to be.

Did anyone watch Lost last night? Heidi and I felt that it was a boring episode. There was a promise of mysteries being revealed, but what were they? The meaning of Jack’s tattoos? Who cares? I am not ready to give up on Lost yet, but they need to pick it up a little. It is moving too slowly for my taste.

I sure do love my sweetums.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tonight for supper I made heart shaped garlic-cheddar biscuits and heart shaped cupcakes with pink frosting and v-day sprinkles to be served on conversation heart valentine plates. (In addition to a meat, starch, and veggie of course!) Super cute. And I have heart shaped Gobstoppers on the table as a classy appetizer. Wow, I spoil Tim, you might be thinking. Well, I am sad to disappoint, but this is not for him. While he deserves the world for what an amazing husband he is to me :) , this is mostly for Kate, a friend who is coming over for dinner tonight to hear about Senegal. Wanted to bless her with a fun V-day since she's an available women :) - (Hope that's ok to say!!)

If we're still here next Vday we can invite some more of our single friends over for heart-shaped treats!!! Start the sign up sheet.

Some other friends of ours are still trying to find a way to "celebrate" be-headings today to honor ST. Valentine, who was martyred for his faith on this day.

Tim did give me flowers and candy. I just love Good 'N' Plenty's!!! Just wanted to give you a taste of our Valentine's Day!

Little Miss Sunshine: the new Napoleon Dynamite?

Heidi and I heard several times about this great new little indie movie, Little Miss Sunshine. When we found it in the Redbox, we figured it might be worth a dollar. In many ways, this movie is like Napoleon Dynamite, another indie movie that hit the big time. The similarities are many. Both movies feature quirky families with a grandparent that does not act their age. Both movies feature out of date houses and vans that almost serve as characters. (My first car had a problem with the horn similar to the VW bus.) Both movies feature a climactic dance sequence. Finally, both movies featured unique camera work, catchy lines, solid acting and redemption. However, there is one significant difference between the two movies. While Napoleon was PG rated and clean, LMS is dirty. Really dirty.

There were three problems I had with LMS. The first was that they used the F-word early and often. I had to check to make sure we were not watching a Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee movie. Seriously, did copious amounts of swearing add to the plot? The second was the “gee, isn’t porn funny?” scenes. No, pornography is not funny. The final thing absolutely destroyed the movie for me. The climatic scene of the movie features a 7 year old girl doing a striptease as her talent at the pageant. That is not okay. Even though she was dressed the entire time and it was played for laughs, it was not okay. That is never okay.

For all the things that the filmmakers did right with LMS, there was just too much that was wrong about it. It feels to me like a waste.

It's getting cold out here, so put on all your clothes. . .

We were spoiled this winter with some pretty mild weather, at least by Minnesota standards. That came to an end last week. Now we have been having weather that only exists in a Floridian’s worst nightmare. Yesterday it was -17 degrees when I (Tim) drove to work. Today the high will probably be somewhere around 7 degrees and by the weekend we may have highs around 14 degrees. To top it all off, there is hardly any snow. It has been a strange winter in Minnesota.

My favorite Super Bowl commercial was the Taco Bells lions. Number 2 has to be David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey watching the game together for CBS. Good stuff. Did anyone else have a favorite?

Yesterday we had a training meeting with Paul McVety, our M:MM contact and the Herzbergs. After our meeting with Paul we headed to Chipotle (yum) with Joe and Cara and talked for a long time. It was fun to get to know them and just enjoy some fellowship. They are good people.

Our support raising continues to go well. We feel blessed.

2nd Anniversary

Tim and I were SO blessed to be able to get away for our second anniversary this month (Jan. 15th) and headed to an amazing B&B in Red Wing for 2 nights. (We have this credit card where we get money back for every purchase so the weekend was totally free! - I definately recommend that!) It's called the Round Barn Farm B&B and we had a fantastic time. It was wonderful to rest, watch movies, sit in the jacuzzi in our room and just enjoy one another. A perfect weekend for a perfect anniversary. God is good!

Christmas presents

This is one of my favorite Christmas presents. My maternal grandma and grandpa gave us money for a nativity set since we don't have one. I love it! Probably won't come to Senegal with us, but I'm still very excited about it. I love baby Jesus! It's funny b/c I'm not really into the Willow Tree stuff b/c I don't collect things, but I love the nativity.

Christmas party

It's been a while since I posted pictures, but here they are!

We had a Christmas party with our small group and went to sing Christmas carols at an old folks home. Very fun.

This is Emily's Christmas sweater. What a find! A thrift store bargain.

Tim's 2006 movie awards

The Academy Award nominations are out and, as usual, I have not seen most of the films. As usual, I do not care to see most of them. Since most of the movies that I have enjoyed this past year are “popular” and “money making” they are not up for an Oscar. (In fairness, Heidi and I plan to see The Pursuit of Happyness, The Last King of Scotland, and The Blood Diamond, since we have heard that they are good.) In my humble opinion, the best movies this year were Pirates 2, Lady in the Water, X3, and Mission Impossible 3. My favorite indie film was The Second Chance. My vote for best movie of the year is United 93. Worst movie of the year is Friends With Money. Two decent movies that could have been better were Nacho Libre and Invincible. In the category of comedies that were not actually funny are The Break Up and You, Me, and Dupree. The movie with the most potential and least payoff was Flags of Our Fathers. The movie that entertained me far more than I expected was Rocky Balboa. In 2006 there were no films like Lord of the Rings or Narnia that became instant classics, but there were some good ones.

Please add comments on your favorites and least favorites of 2006.

Update time

We got an $8,000 donation this week. That is somewhere around a quarter of the money we need to get to Africa. I had been a little down about the huge task of fundraising and feeling like it will take forever to get to Africa when this money suddenly came in. Lord, forgive me for having such small faith. Praise God for gifts from unexpected sources.

Heidi and I watched American Idol on Wednesday night for almost two hours. It was like a train wreck. We could not stop watching. The show was a parade of people, devoid of talent and style, making idiots of themselves on national television. I weep for our society. Heidi and I are now dumber for having watched it.

After dumbing ourselves down with American Idol, we braved the cold and headed out for a fundraising appointment. Our next couple hours were spent with Pat and Jane Khanke. Pat is the pastor that married us and he and Jane are great people. We were encouraged by their resilience in a hard time and the cool things that are happening in their church and in their own lives. I am still tired from going to bed after midnight that night, but it was worth it.

Tomorrow we are going sledding with the Lost N Found group at church. Should be fun. I love sledding. But not as much as I love Heidi.

The great, the awful, and the decent

On our weekend away, Heidi and I rented three movies. We each got to choose one and then we found one that we both wanted to see. The results were great, awful, and decent.

The movie I chose was the Fantastic Four. It was a decent, big budget, comic book movie. Neither great nor terrible, it was what we thought it would be.

Heidi chose Friends With Money. It was billed as a comedy/chick flick starring Jennifer Aniston. As a comedy, it was the anti-funny. (That means that not only was it not funny, it sucked the joy out of us.) We both hated this movie with a passion. Please trust us that this is one of the worst films ever made. Please do not be like a former roommate of mine that, after hearing how awful The Thin Red Line was, went out and rented it. Unless you like amoral rich women giving obscenity laced speeches about how lousy their lives are, do not rent this movie.

The movie that we chose together was United 93. I cannot heap enough praise on this movie and both Heidi and I agreed that it is a “must see” film. (There are only a few “must see” films. Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan are examples.) The movie focused on two hours of September 11, in real time. It was neither political nor sensational and it was respectful and gripping. This is not a movie for children, but should be seen by everyone else. This is an important and powerful movie.

i washed my hair

After 4 1/2 months of not washing my hair, I finally broke down and washed it this morning. I couldn't take it anymore! Sorry, Runions. I tried. I has still revolutionized how I care for my hair though. I am definately not going back to washing it every other day. Maybe every 4th or 5th day....we'll see. Tim should be happy now that it smells yummy again!

Amazing story

A while back my friend Bill Honsberger sent me this link. I had heard about this father and son team, but this blew me away. The story is written by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated fame, but I do not know who made the video. Here it is: http://cjcphoto.com/can/

long entry, bear with me!

It has been a while since I (Heidi) have posted except for pics. My folks are planning to check our blog tonight so I wanted to post for them. Hi Mom, hi Dad! Thanks for stopping by!

Anyway, things are pretty good, as Tim said, our holidays were good and very busy. I was happy to have xmas eve and xmas day off from work - was good to chill with the fam. As usual, Mom and Dad spoiled us with too many presents, but it was very fun to hang out, play with new "toys," try on new clothes, and wear fuzzy slippers all day :) My brother bought his fiance a sweet keyboard so she dazzled us with wonderful songs all day.

I was sad to miss a few friends that were here in the cities for the holidays, but hopefully my sadness with dissipate. :P

On a serious note, I wanted to share something that God has been speaking to me over the course of the last month. It started when we were in CO for a conference in early December. We had the privilege of meeting some amazing people with tremendous stories of God's faithfulness, care, and provision on the field. After we returned home, I continued to ponder some of these stories and they began to really affect me. One story in particular spoke powerfully to the provision of God in the midst of hard - really hard - circumstances. Thinking about this family and all that God carried them through brought me to thinking about other friends who have been dealing with hard trials lately, as well as what God has been taking Tim and I through in preparation for missions, as well as my personal trial of these headaches. I found myself asking the question: God, who are you? Who is this God that is SO good, so very, very good, yet allows his people to struggle so profoundly. I can't explain it, but the question lingered in my mind, Lord, who are you? As I have prayed about this over that past fews week, I am increasingly filled with awe as I consider how great my God is and how faithful He is.

During the worship time at church yesterday the word of the Lord came to me to answer this question. I was having a particularly difficult time entering in due to the pain, but as I worshiped God and thanked Him for the blessings in my life, He answered my question and said: I am the God who sustains his people.

Maybe that doesn't seem very powerful to you, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Obviously, the Word says that very thing over and over again, but to hear it for myself from my Father in answer to my prayer during a very painful day was heavy. And to think of his answer in regard to friends who I know are struggling on a daily basis to remain faithful in the face of great trial was overwhelming. He is the God who sustains his people. I can tell you that He is the one who is sustaining me. And just when I think I cannot bear this trial anymore He gives me grace and fills my with strength b/c I hope in Him.

super gross

someone pooped on the floor in the men's bathroom at my Starbucks the other day. gross. i am glad i wasn't there to have to clean it up....poor Stacie.

Team Wolof

This pic went out with our newsletter but here is 80% of our team! They rock!

Here is the same 8 eight people and then a couple from the team in
the South of Senegal - they also rock!

Sad

This will be my final football blog until next fall. My Broncos pulled the worst choke job I have seen since the 1996 playoff debacle against Jacksonville. Losing in overtime to San Francisco at home in a game the Broncos absolutely had to have was demoralizing. However, something happened that makes football so unimportant. Darrant Williams, one of the Broncos bright young defensive players, was killed in a drive by shooting hours after the game. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, at a nightclub at 2 a.m. in downtown Denver. It is so sad to see a young life snuffed out. Sadder still that I do not think he knew the Lord. We live in a fallen, sinful world.

quirky neighbors!

We said we live next to a professional clown and here he is. Meet Bobbles the Clown :)

Christmas

Heidi and I kicked off our Christmas weekend on Saturday night. We met up with Kent and Sally (my sister) and the boys at Maplewood Mall. After some pseudo-Asian food in the food court, we rode the Carousel. Chase and I sat in a Tilt-A-Whirl type of seat and spun in rapid circles the entire ride. Afterward I felt awful, but he had a good time. We made our way to Savers where we played with the toys and Heidi and I scored a half-price steamer trunk.

After saying our goodbyes to them, we headed to Rogers for 48 hours with my in-laws, the Battens. Heidi’s brother, Dan, was in town from law school in Spokane, WA, so got some quality time with him and his fiancé, Ellen. Lyn made us some great food and I enjoyed watching football with Don. I am blessed to enjoy spending time with my in-laws.

In other news, the Broncos got an early Christmas present when the Bengals missed the extra point to tie the game at the end. I guess it is better to be lucky than good. The Broncos indeed got lucky. They must be living right. Everyone who follows football knows that the Bengals are not.

I still love Heidi more than I love football.

Here we go a caroling. . .

Last Thursday Heidi and I went with the Lost and Found (young adults) group at church to go Christmas caroling. What a blast. There were ten of us that sang at a nursing home in St. Paul. A few of the residents seemed to really enjoy our singing and the staff assured us that the others did as well. After we finished at the nursing home we headed over to sing for Paul and Cara who were sick and could not join us. They gave us candy. We finished the evening at Emily, Brenda, and Candace’s apt with refreshments and a White Elephant gift exchange. Heidi and I scored the two best gifts. It was a great evening.

The Broncos finally won a game on Sunday. They put a butt kicking on the Arizona Cardinals. With that win and losses by the Bengals and Jaguars, the Broncos are back in the playoff mix. If the Broncos can win the next two games, both in Denver, they are in the playoffs. In related news, I failed to make the playoffs in all four fantasy football leagues.

I have been to the Mall of America three times since Thanksgiving. What a crazy place. MOA is great for people watching and walking around, terrible for anything else. The sheer volume of people is astounding.

My Sweet Baboo will be on a silent prayer retreat the next two nights. That means I will be back to living the Bachelor life for 48 hours. She made me a pan of lasagna so I do not either starve to death or spend all my money at Wendy’s. I will miss my sweetie while she is there, but I am glad she gets this experience.