seasons

Today as I was driving home I noticed that some of the trees are changing colors already which is a sure sign of fall coming upon us quickly. As I looked at them I realized that I had not noticed them slowly changing which made me think of how change is in our lives. Isn’t it the same way? Change doesn’t just hit us straight in the chest. It’s something that comes on slowly and naturally(at least most of the time). We don’t even seem to notice it happening! I am most definitely not the same person I was a year ago or for sure not two years ago! You graduate from high school, friends get married, you start college, you get a job, friends start having children, you quit college, you start working again, you make new friends, more friends get married, your sister graduates from high school, your baby sister turns 3. Crazy. And that is life. Life happens and we don’t even notice it most of the time. I’m a person who likes to think about the future. I don’t necessarily fret about it, but I think about how I will react when certain situations arise. It’s crazy because I mentally prepare myself for these situations, but what I’m not prepared for is when they come, and then they completely catch me off guard and I react completely different than what I think I would have reacted, most of the time it’s better than what I thought I would have reacted. That’s where I feel God’s grace most. Some situations I dreaded, some I anticipated, but all have not and are not happening like I imagined and that’s how life is. It throws you some loops you weren’t expecting, but you know what, I love that. I love that God knows what He’s doing. I love that I don’t know when God is going to throw something in my path, because I grow so much by not knowing the future. My dependence on him grows more and more as things don’t go the way I planned. Now you might be expecting me to announce some big change in my life when in fact my life is not too exciting as of the moment. The biggest changes in my life currently is a new co-worker, a friend getting married and moving to Oregon, changing friendships, and most recently a blog revamp(seemed an appropriate time to do so. Haha) I’m just kidding, the blog really isn’t that life changing to me. But I have considered discontinuing my blog, but as I mentioned it to several friends they discouraged me. I do have quite a few friends from all over who I really don’t see often so you people are the ones who have made me decide to keep my blog. I can’t promise a lot of posts though. About my new co-worker. I really feel embarrassed to even write about this, but I can’t pretend  I always have it all together right? It’s really not a big deal, but recently one of my other co-workers was offered a job out in Speer, which is closer to her house, so she took it. We are going to really miss her Peoria! So they hired a new girl, who seems super sweet and friendly, and I’m sure she will do great. This is her first week at the bank. She is probably only several years older than me and that’s what intimidates me most. I’ve been at the bank for 2 years now(Crazy it’s been that long already!) and I’ve been the youngest one there by 20 years. Big age gap, but I like it that way. My co-workers think I’m the funny one, the one who dresses so cute, the one who gets teased the most. You get it, it’s like having a whole bunch of older sisters. So now there is a new girl, and I am afraid my co-workers will like her better, and the customers will like her better. Is it my pride? Absolutely. Am I getting replaced? Absolutely not. I’ve really had to pray for an attitude change towards her. So all these crazy thoughts were coming to me, and then there she was on Monday, and you know what? It’s going to be fine. It feels more natural than what I expected. That’s how life works. And so that’s my soap box for the month. But since this post is obviously on changes and seasons, let my proclaim my love for fall(I do this every year right?) Anyways I do love fall. Best season of the year by far, and of course it never is long enough. One of my favorite parts of fall is harvest. I get all giddy, which is quite hilarious. Today was the first day for many farmers I think, because there was a lot more corn and beans down when I got home today than when I left this morning. As I was driving home, I had my windows down, so I could smell the freshly picked corn and hear the whirring of the combines and I may have done a slight happy dance in the drivers seat. I was quite disappointed when my dad came in at 8 tonight, because I was not able to go out and ride with him. Oh well, there are more days to come I suppose. One of my favorite parts of harvest is watching my dad. Harvest time is when my dad is in his prime. I mean, seriously, talk about being on cloud nine. He’s absolutely hilarious all the time during harvest, and he is always, always happy. It’s so funny. It just makes the rest of us all happy and excited. I love that my little sisters want to ride with Grandpa or Dad! Another favorite part of fall is the clothes. I love layers. You can layer everything! And fall is the perfect time for snuggling (since when did I become a snuggler?) Everything pumpkin is another plus about fall. I was getting in the pumpkin mood at about the middle of August. Of course my birthday is in fall, and we all know I still get really excited about my birthday. When people ask my age I tell them, “Well, I’m almost 21” My birthday’s still over a month away, but I get all excited about being another year older, I don’t know why. You know, I don’t even care if I don’t get anything for my birthday (Ok I might be a little disappointed) it’s just the thought this is a day that is special to just you. No one else. We are hosting the first wiener roast of the season this Sunday. I’m so excited for it and I think everyone else is too! It’s an invite a friend(s) wiener roast and it’s going to be a huge turn out. We are planning for over 60 which is crazy! And then we have a wiener roast approximately every weekend in October. I seriously can’t get over how busy our Young Group is this fall, it’s absolutely nuts! This past weekend, we were in Goodfield for an invite, and then next weekend I’ll be in Bradford for a Endress family and Hartman family get together, the next weekend is Brice and Alisha’s wedding in Princeville(thank goodness I’ll be in Princeville one Sunday), the next weekend I’m going to Morris North for an invite, and the next Sunday I am going to Belvedere for Charity’s baptisms. That’s just October’s schedule, who knows what November will be like. So if I am absent from the blogging world for awhile, you will know why. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Apparently the activities I’ve been doing haven’t been picture worthy. 

Labor Day 2014

Aaron Herrmann got baptized on August 17th, so that was a nice weekend. After the baptisms Sadie Teubel, Holly Funk, and I went to Alexander's Steakhouse for dinner. I ordered Salmon, which was quite delicious. Holly and Sadie ordered small steaks I believe. Afterwards we drove to Grandview Drive and took a walk which ended up being a hike because we found a nature center. Let's just say it wasn't the smartest idea in the apparel we were in.We then rewarded ourselves to Emack and Bolio's which is very delicious ice cream.

 Raspberry Sorbet. So yummy and refreshing!

 One of our chickens layed a blue egg!

 Part of a rainbow. It was super rainy in the mornings that past couple of weeks.

 Last Monday night, Holly and I decided to go to Starbucks and on the way there she got lost, which gave me about half an hour to read my book…

 Tessa turned 8 on Wednesday! She requested pizza and a turtle cake.

 This is the gift I gave her. She loved it!

 For Labor Day weekend, we were invited to Oakville, IA. Naturally I went up early(I've been accused of this). I drove up with Holly Funk, Wendi Roth, Rachel Kuenzi, and Tonya Martin. We dropped off Rachel and Tonya at Kory and Brooke Wagenbach's and then headed over to Erika Massner's to go creek stomping. I had never done such a thing before so it was an adventure. We ate our picnic lunches before going out. Basically you just wade in a creek. It was pretty deep. There are a few pictures below of it. Afterwards we just hung out at Erika's. Then we went to the fellowship hall for the supper and singing. Holly, Kendra Schmidgall, and I had been planning on staying at Erika's for a while now(we were all in Oregon together in July) and then Erika invited Wendi to stay also. She kept Rebecca Moser from Rockville also, so it was fun getting to know her. We had planned on Skyping Tressa when we got back. Tress texted me and seemed very eager to Skype. Little did we know what was coming….

 So we get onto Skype and we are talking to Tressa for a bit and then her brother Cameron comes on the camera. Now, I personally thought this was strange, because whenever I Skype Tressa, he never joins the conversation. Things just started getting really awkward. It was like no one knew what to say. Then Tressa asked if we were going to be sitting in the front row of church tomorrow and I was like yeah we always sit in the front row. And then she asked Erika if she was going to be concentrating, and Erika was like why don't you ask that kid(talking about Cameron). And then Cameron starts off, "Well if you guys don't know yet…" And that's when I knew. And it was in that moment that I started freaking out. Literally. "WHAAT? No. This is not happening. Is this really happening?" You get the idea. I got a little emotional too. Holly and Wendi are sitting on the bed completely clueless. They are like, "We don't know what's happening." So Cameron had to explain to them what was happening. There wasn't much of a reaction out of them. So I was a bit of a mess on Saturday night and Sunday. Very thankful they will have a long engagement(She is finishing school) so hopefully a lot of quality time with her in between then. I'm sad that I will have yet another close friend in Oregon. Why does it have to be so far away?

 It was hard to act normal in church on Sunday, because our whole row knew what what was happening. It was fun to see people's reactions though. Silverton was invited to Oakville also, so some of Cameron's cousins were there and not all of them knew. Not all of Erika's cousins knew either so it was hilarious to see their reactions. Lots of excitement and tears afterwards.

 This is the group who stayed with Erika on Saturday night. From L-R: Holly Funk, Wendi Roth, Kendra Schmidgall, Erika Massner, Me, and Rebecca Moser.

 Creek stomping with Wendi. Thankful she is in Illinois for 2 years for nursing school. Hope to see her a lot during that time!

 Obviously I missed that smiling memo...

Holly has wonderful photography skills….

On Sunday night, I stayed with Jenny Frank, which was fun! On Monday morning, we had breakfast at the fellowship hall and then headed home. Unfortunately I locked both sets of my keys in my truck so I had to ask some of the brothers to unlock my car for me. They did a good job and it didn't take that long! Pretty embarrassing, but oh well. What can you do about it? I started coming down with a bad cold yesterday. You know something's wrong when I go to bed at 8 o'clock… Today I stayed home from work, because I didn't want to freak out any of the customer. I don't sound the greatest. I'm feeling a bit better, but still sickish. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be feeling a lot better. And that is all. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Life has been slowing down so not a lot to document.