and the two became one!!

This is going to be a fantastic and LONG post.  lots of pictures. lots of stories. Basically the best kind of blog update. after a HUGE break.  But honestly, being on vacation takes priority over blogging. 

Anyway, here goes. 

 At Denver...seeing this sign got me really excited.  couldn't wait to go home! 

 But almost as soon as I got there, I realized how much I miss my sweet Sierra.  Look how beautiful she is! 

 She stayed with my sister-in-laws parents on their farm in Iowa.  I knew she'd love it.  They have three other dogs and lots of room to run in.  In fact, when I did actually get an update phone call, i was informed that I should purchase some acreage for her.  Poor puppy won't want to come back and be a city dog!  just kidding. she loves the city =) 

 FINALLY HOME!  i love my mom's front yard. so many beautiful flowers.  

They just re-did their back yard too.  and it looks fantastic.  such a relaxing place

Look at that gorgeous pomegranate tree!  Just ate dinner with my parents and brother on the porch tonight.  It is such a relaxing place to be.   *sigh*

Got to drive this as my transportation while at home.  

#beastmode

lucky me. 

THEN WE WENT TO MEXICO! 

My cousin, Jonathan got married to sweet Kali in Magdalena. 

Aren't they just so adorable?  Seriously.   

I am going to apologize in advance for how few pictures I actually have of them in their wedding attire. or me in mine.  But I was a little busy all weekend being one of 9 bridesmaids down south of the border in one of my favorite places. 

Now here's just some fun pics from the weekend.

 Girls from Kali's house.  Me and Karla below.

on the couch is Yaneli, me, Jaqui and Tania

This day, we had just gotten ready for pictures, and we see this HUGE fire that had started on the other side of the highway, but ended up jumping it and coming straight for the CVE campus.  we were standing there, mostly helpless because we were dressed in our wedding attire.  It was scary...and if the wind had been blowing in JUST the right directionage, it would have burned parts of CVE property.  As it was, it got waay close, and burned some of the powerline poles and cut off phone/internet for a while.  it took a fair amount of time for the fire department of the fair town of Magdalena to get there.  But the amazing guys at CVE got out there and did some volunteer firefighting!  it was great! 

 Getting ready for pictures.  Leah and Katie are just too much fun! 

 Sarah, Katie and I at the rehearsal dinner.  Yummy papas and tacos at Momo's.  If you've never had a papa at Momo's, you're missing out. it's a baked potato with cheese and carne asada served with tortillas.  then you add avocado, salsa, cabbage, onions, jalapenos, cucumbers.. and it is DELISH.  it was funny, all those add-ons are at a little bar in the middle of the restaurant.  Someone new asked if it was a salad bar.  but it was quickly re-dubbed "The Yummies Bar."
fitly named, I'd say.

 Making 90 scones on saturday for the reception. 
In case you didn't know, a scone is a good mixture of biscuit and cookie. just heard that description this weekend and decided it fit perfectly.  She makes these almost every day for her coffee shop.

Katie May is amazing, there's just no way around it.
 

 aaaand...she's my friend =)  so blessed am I to have one such as her. 

 Silly brother+awesome cousin=fantastic afternoon.  we went grocery shopping in town with Katie for some coffee-shop supplies (I think we bought 60-some things of milk? I think she keeps the milk guys in business) Joe whistled at a dog in the parking lot and some girls thought he was whistling at them.  apparently no one whistles at dogs in Mexico. only girls.

 What's a mexico trip without fish tacos from Las Chicas.  

with all your friends.

 I have the coolest cousins/brother ever. such manly men who can wear the girliest aprons and be ok with it.  love them a lot. 

 cute girls!

 Katie loves her little blueberry yogurt dots. she's so much fun. like a barrel of monkeys, i tell you.

 see? point proven.  even Jon and Kali love her!

 my beautiful cousin, Bethy.  Idk how she does it, but she always looks like she stepped out of a magazine. 

 Getting ready for the wedding!  lots of hair-do's being did.  

 I think this particular hair-do got did at least three times! 

 

Klotzle Cousins!  casual, then a little more spiffy at the wedding!  

Let me tell you, I have a pretty great extended family.  This wasn't even all of us cousins...but no matter where we are, and how long it's been since we last saw each other, we can pick up where we left off. love them so much. 

Overall it was an amazing wedding!  Simple, beautiful, attended by a close group of family and friends.  The way a wedding should be.  Everyone did their part to make the day run smoothly... and it did!  Jon and Kali are a beautiful couple who love each other so much...but more importantly, they love God first.  it was such a Christ-centered weekend (which, ironically, was also pentecost!)  There was so much worship, praise and glory given to the One who has so obviously had His hand on the whole thing.  

As I head back to Minnesota, I will cherish these memories in my heart.  When I get lonely and miss home, I can go back to these times when I felt so close to those I love and especially to God.  

nations or swine?

It is a gorgeous Saturday.  Because of days like this, I am reminded again how much God loves me.  How could you experience weather like this and not notice...not want to praise.  

I have written about some of this stuff before.  Thank you for letting me talk through it.  I have been struggling with it more lately...and maybe you have some insight.  if not, then you can just read my musings about it.  

So as any Christian knows, there is this little excerpt in the Bible that we have labeled "The Great Commission."

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “ All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”"

[matthew 28:18-20]

So as a follower of Christ and His teachings/commands, this is something that I will do, right?  The definition of "All Nations" has been debated.  Some people think it means you  must leave the United States.  Others (myself included) realizes that we are indeed a nation too...also in great need of Jesus.  So my personal mission field is here.  (Not to say that overseas missions are irrelevant.  they are vitally important, and I am amazed at the people willing to take it on)

 I get this excited urge to go share this with people.  I've been given an unimaginable gift and there are millions of people who have the same gift available to them, but keep turning it down.  It's like they just got an email that says they are the Grand Prize Winner...CALL NOW!  

and they just click delete.  

But then there is this other thing that Jesus said.  And honestly, it's starting to feel like THIS is the position I'm in.  

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

 [or as another translation says]

“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. "

[matthew 7:6]

Basically what Jesus just got done telling these people is not to judge.  Take the log out of your own eye before you look at the speck in the other guys'.   Then he says this.  

A commentary I read on it says that Jesus is saying that there are those people that are obviously hostile toward God and want nothing to do with him.  And you're not supposed to give what is holy to them.  Because all they'll do is trample it then turn and attack you.  

oh my. 

That's honestly what it feels like sometimes.  I present what is holy, sacred and so special to me to these people that want nothing to do with any of it.  And not only do they shoot down, trample and try to refute everything i say...they attack ME.  

Last night at work, I had a "friendly debate" with some coworkers about Obama's latest decision to support gay marriage.  Whew. they asked me what I thought about that, about gay marriage and then proposed a lot of scenarios, asking if i would change my mind if THAT were the case.  

I can have a friendly debate, no problem.  But in articulating what I believe and sharing what the Bible says and Jesus teaches, am I throwing my pearls before swine or am I going into all the world and preaching the gospel?  

how do i discern which is which?  at what point do i just not engage with these people?  is it ever fair to give up on telling them, because i never know what will prompt change...?

I am really not sure what the answer to that is. I apologize for not having a blog with answers to all of these questions...they are just my thoughts as of late.  
(disclaimer: if any of my non-Christian friends are reading this...No, I don't think you're pigs or whatever...and I have a LOT of respectful, non-Christian friends.  But I will not apologize for being honest and sharing my heart or my beliefs.  I struggle with these things because I care about you AND your heart/life/soul.  If I didn't believe in the cause of Christ 100% or love Jesus and you this much, I'm sad to say, you probably wouldn't even know I'm a Christian...) 

now on to the rest of the blog.       

 

Baby brother is so adorable.  He makes the craziest faces.  And on top of that, he's actually starting to SMILE!  

I LOVE IT. 

   

 SO CUTE! 

 I took Big Sister to the mall and we tried on little hair accessories at Claire's.  She is not one for head-decor, so it came off shortly thereafter.  

 But it was way cute while it lasted.  

 She loves the Carousel.  I know it doesn't look like it, but she really does.  She is just in awe of the lights and music.  And every once in a while, she'll break a faint grin and go, "Oooo."

  

 Sierra likes to snooze in the front seat while I drive.  

She also likes snoozing on the floor.  

She does a lot of snoozing in general.  

"Show me your teeth, K!"

Bathtime with Big Sister is SO much fun.  She laughs, giggles and has so much fun! 

 This girl loves looking at herself in the mirror.  it's really cute.  

And that's that.  

doors.

Sometimes when I sit down to write a blog, I do so with little inspiration.  Today is one of those days.  it's 11:24...a little to early to go to sleep.  But my sweet Sierra is in her kennel snoozing quietly and I decided to just lay in my bed and write.  (while listening to my new playlist of music.)  And when I can't think of a title, it is a random word that I find. 

As a forewarning, this is going to be a picture-ridden post.  not like that is disappointing, i'm sure.  Everyone likes pictures. everyone.  =)

 these pictures are precious for two reasons.  1: Big Sister is wearing a headband...and actually keeping it in.  2: shows how expressive she is.  first pic is her worried, concerned, "ouchie", confused and disgruntled face.  pretty much fits everything. then she'll just grin a cheesy grin like pic #two.

 Sierra Enjoying a day outside at the park.  she's getting SO BIG!!

Alright so I have a tragic story for you.  The other night I ran to a friends house for a brief visit (two hours...which is relatively brief).  I had decided to leave Sierra home in the bathroom, because I wasn't going to be gone super long and it was near bedtime anyway.  Well my bathroom door is a sliding barn-door type with no lock.  So I have to put a weight down to hold it shut. Apparently it's not enough weight, because she got out.  And ate/ruined my new work shoes (only been worn two shifts) and gnawed on my new hairdryer (bought it two days before), peed on the floor and destroyed an entire roll of toilet paper.  needless to say, (and yet I'll say it anyway)...I was livid.  She has made messes before, but never destroyed things that cost me money and I had JUST bought.

You may wonder why I don't have pics of the mess. it's because I go into cleaning mode as soon as I get home and find a Sierra mess...and don't think about documenting til too late.  

Anyway, in my frustration, I forgot my building key when I took Sierra out to pee.  It was close to 1 am and there was no one going in or out.  the intercom is still connected to Krissa's phone, so I can't let myself in that way. and she was sleeping.  So I sat on the floor and waited... and prayed for patience.  

 Here we are.  Sierra fell asleep...thankfully. 

 and then would glance at me with these woeful eyes every once in a while.  *sigh* it was a rough night to say the least.  

after 45 minutes, I was finally let in by a guy who lives on the floor above me and was just getting home from work. I had never met him, and he asked me a few questions to make sure I actually lived there and wasn't a puppy-owning bum.  

 Here's a few quick pics of where I work.  I tried to get more, but the timing was a little off.

 This is the front...we have some outside seating and it's along a busy street, so we get a lot of people walking by on their way to the hotels, the shows/theater and other attractions. 

This is where I spend my days...working... it is called "the bar" but that is only because it isn't the "dining room".  It's more of a lounge/casual seating.  No reservations are needed and it tends to attract a less formal crowd, which I like better...

This is the break room.  fancy, huh.  

Here is a representation of my time with Baby Brother.  He's such a sweetie, and gaining a cute little personality!  In the top picture, it shows how strong his neck is. he likes laying on people's chest and supporting his own neck and looking around. such an alert fellow.

Here we have Big Sister getting ready to help make gf pancakes!  she was pretty excited. she loves anything you can put syrup on.  =)

CINCO DE MAYO!  

went to a parade in St. Paul and took Big Sister with us.  she loved it. 

There are a surprising amount of mexicans here. They all came out of the woodwork for the parade. it made me feel like I was back in CA. 

Happy smiles. And some lady was handing out kids' tooth brushes. and big sister LOVES tooth brushes.  it made her so happy. til she dropped it in the dirt. twice. 

Overall it was a really fun day.  These are the girls I went with (l-r): Tanya, me, Big Sister, Alissa, Ashley and Andria.  Such sweet and dear friends they are.  and Big Sister loved them too! 



Well it's 12:34...I had a few minor distractions along the way.  and now I'm getting drowsy and falling asleep at the helm.  er...the keyboard.  anyway.  time for bed. thanks for reading and looking at my pictures! 
au revoir.