Clog (Caroline's Blog)

Diaper Giveaway!!

2011-02-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

Check out the giveaway by Granola Mommy of 2!! It is for a custom made Doodly Dype ( http://http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Doodle-Dypes/264758218226 ). Link to the Granola Mommy blog is http://granolamommyof2.blogspot.com/2011/01/doodle-dypes-review-and-giveaway.html. I just ordered a custom Star Wars diaper by Doodle Dypes as Paul is such a Star Wars fan. I have heard nothing but good things about these diapers. Check out the links!!

Too busy to write!

2010-02-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

Not sure if anybody even reads my blog anymore, I so seldom write anything new. 2009 was a good year. We had a lot going on, in Feb we moved back to Ohio. In March Paul started at Suarez, in April I started work at Safe-N-Sound Security. We enjoyed hanging out with friends & family more again. In October we took an amazing family vacation to The Outer Banks, NC with both sets of familes. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary also in October in OBX. Enjoyed a Thanksgiving day with family from both sides. Then came Christmas........

On Christmas Eve I took a pregnancy test (having some symptoms). To my suprise it was an immediate big huge POSITIVE! I had to work 3 hours that day and those hours went by so slow & in a daze. I tried to think of the neatest way to tell Paul, but didn't have much time as we had to leave as soon as I got home for Christmas Eve at his grandparents. So I stopped by Walgreens & looked for inspiration. I found a cute little moose wearing a Christmas hat, a baby bottle, and a red decorative bag. I put the positive test in the bottle, the bottle in the moose's arms & all of it in the bag. I couldn't wait to give it to Paul so I did the minute I walked in the house. I told him he had to open one more present before leaving home! He pulled out the moose first, look at it weird (I don't normally buy him stuffed animals!). Then the bottle, I told him to look at the test when he looked at me weird again. He did & boy was he suprised. I never cry really but for some reason started to. We were in shock all the trip up to his parents. I had seen my parents before Christmas, but didn't want to wait till I saw them again so I text them a pic of the test and wrote "Merry Christmas, Grandpa & Grandma!" They were so excited!!

We also got a card saying the same type thing for Paul's parents. They were suprised & excited as well.

We had a great New Years. Dan (bro-in-law) rented a SUV Limo, got some friends together & went to Wasabi in Montrose. Fun night.

On January 2nd we looked at three houses with a friends parents who are realtors. The third house we loved, it was what we were looking for in regards to size, condition and best of all price!

On January 3rd there was an open house at the house & both sets of parents came to look it over & give their opinions. Everyone loved it!

On January 4th we placed a bid on the house, a little lower then asking price, the next day we heard back with a counter offer. We countered back & our bid was accepted!

We plan to close on the house February 25th!

Our new home on Colonial Blvd.

On January 28th I had my second OB appt. We were estatic to hear our babies heartbeat for the first time! How amazing & wonderful it was! :)

Ciao,

Caroline

There is one in all of us

2009-10-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

So we watched "Where The Wild Things Are" last night. I unlike a lot of people, had never read the book growing up. But our friends Josh & Emily were with us last night & Josh read us the book while we waited for our dinner at A1 Sushi. The book was cute, I enjoyed the pictures a lot.

The movie was good as well, although I don't think I would recommend it for little kids. It was rather sad & just in my mind would be better for children 8-10 or above. I do recommend for adults though, it was not the "Kid" movie that I was prepared for.

It got me to think though and I like how Josh put it after the movie. It reminded him of being a kid and sometimes either doing something bad (disobeying, being mean to other kids, etc) and just the way that made you feel (I hope it put it right Josh). Also even as an adult how we can sometimes take things to far, such as joking, sarcasm, etc. I think in the movie for sure Max went to far when he got lonely, sad & upset. Such as destroying things in his sister Claire's room after her & her friends messed up his igloo in the snow outside, or when he got mad at his mom & started screaming, kicking & bit her. Or even further in when he ran away and lived among "The Wild Things" and started to create issues among them, while pretending to be king.

He defiantly left home under bad circumstances, but thankfully made things right after messing them up with "The Wild Things".

Anyhow, after watching it, then discussing the movie I really got to thinking Biblical perialls. How we "kick & scream" sometimes when God wants us to do something or to change something in our lives. How we sometimes take out our anger on others & seak revenge. How we rebell against him sometimes & run from what he has for us. We think in our minds (which are small & do not know all) that we can do things better on our own, so we take flight, go out on our own & pretend to be king of our lives. But even though things may go well for a bit, in time we realize what we should have all along, that we do need God and that we are just making even more of a mess of things on our own. So we run back to God, and God welcomes us back, he forgives us & gives his support to us & doesn't rub in our faces our sin or how we ran away, but gives us a second chance. He always looks out for us, and is happy when we realize how much we need him in our lives. In the end of the movie the mother of Max does the same for him. She welcomes him home with a warm hug, tears & prepares a meal for him. She, I am sure was saddened by what we had done (just as God is when we turn our backs on him), but is willing to forgive. It just reminded me how much God does for me, and how little I am able to do on my own. I need to fully surrender to God daily. This may be a little deep for what was meant to be a youthful movie, but just thought I'd share.

Caroline

Summertime

2009-08-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

So this summer has really been flying by! It is sad as summer is one of my favorite times, but I look forward also to fall in Ohio & the fact that our vacation is coming! We are taking a multi family vacation to Salvo, NC (Part of the Outer Banks) in October for a week. My parents & sister are going, Paul's parents, sister & brother, Paul's Grandma Dixie is also coming. It should be really fun! We rented a big pink house with 7 bedrooms & 5 bathrooms. I think there will be enough room :)

Work has been going well for me, it has also been going well for Paul. We are both very happy being back home. We spent a lot of time this summer looking for a house to buy, nothing yet but I am sure we will continue in our search (if not now, then in a few months). Our realtor has been very understanding & helpful and of that I am thankful! It is a hard process, lots of decisions.

A few months back I had an MRI of my brain and tissues. Everything came back okay, thank God! I still get little bouts of lightheadedness or a feeling of "fullness" in my head, but more days then not anymore I have been feeling good. Another Thank you GOD!!!

Not much more on the news front. I will try not to go so many months between posts next time.

Tax day blues......

2009-04-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is so hard not to be discouraged. I mean how could I not be, on this Tax day 2009 after finding out we owe in $1500.00. I was so excited that after our move & the first few paychecks at Paul's new job that we were starting to get back on track. Money was starting to go into the savings, rather then out. We were about to get back onto our budgetting system. Monday I started working a part time job at a place I used to work a few years ago, things were looking up. I was pulling the info one how much we owe on our car, which is low & we were looking to get another one. I feel like we've been obedient to God with tithing (not to brag, it is hard) and it really threw me today to hear about having to pay in on taxes. I am ashamed to admit but I question how wise it is to tithe in times like these, but God has promised to provide, He has in the past, even while tithing & I just need to keep trusting & obeying him. But it is still hard at times. Times like these. I just thank God it wasn't more that we owed. I know He will be with us & help us get it all paid off but I just pray that things start to look up as the discouragement is setting in once more.
Oh and to top it all off our tax guy had kind of gone MIA on us from February (when he got our info) till just today when he told us we owed. NICE.
Well I think I will end this post before I complain anymore.
Ciao,

Caroline

2009-04-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

After another long silence a blog post from Caroline! I have been meaning to update but then either get too busy or get too lazy. Paul and I are very happy in our new place back in Ohio. It feels so good to be home, finally! Looking back at our time in Virginia it just feels like a long trip away from home. Not so much a vacation, because it wasn't all sand & sun, but a lot of work, stress & missing family & friends. Not that there weren't good times, there were. Not that there weren't friendships built & cultivated, there were. But it is nice to be home regardless!

I have been happy to be getting back in touch with people here, doing some lunches with the girls, dinner parties at our place, going to dinner at friends homes & spending time with our families. Paul is loving his new job at Suarez. He is allowed much more creativity then at CBN so that is making him happy. He is planning on taking on some freelance or part time work for the evenings/weekends to make a little extra cash. Our goal is to be debt free. The cost of living has gone down for us, well except for gas prices so the goal of being debt free is getting closer. I am still searching for employment but have some very good oportunities in front of me. I am training right at the moment to be a server at Bravo, and so far that is going well although it is a lot of information to take in. We are still looking for a church to call home, but have visited a one that we did enjoy. I have been doing a lot of cooking in my new big kitchen here at our apartment. Below is a picture & recipe for a margharita pizza that is absolutly amazing!

The Margheritan Pizza - Grilled

1 grilled pizza crust *

1 tablespoon Herbed Grill Oil **

1 tomato

1 ball (8 ounces) fresh mozzerella

Garnish - 2 tablespoons basil leaves

1: Brush the grilled side of the pizza crust with the Herbed Grill oil. Lay on fresh tomato slices and fresh mozzerella slices as desired.

2: Grill pizza. Garnish with the basil leaves before serving.

* Pizza dough, you can either use a mix or make your own. Roll out on a floured surface in a size that is good for your grill & serving dishes. I don't have an outdoor grill so I use a large cast iron electric griddle set at 400 degrees. After pizza dough is rolled out, put in griddle & grill each side about 2 minutes or until "grill marks" apear. Take out of griddle. After toppings are put on place back in the griddle for about 8 minutes. Take out & place on broil pan, broil for about a minute or two.

** Herbed Grill oil -

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Makes 1/2 cup

Place all of the ingredients in a small bowl or glass jar, mix well, and refrigerate. If it solidifies, take it out a few minutes early or microwave it at 5-second intervals until it starts to liquify.

ENJOY!!

The second time I made this pizza, instead of using tomato slices on it I made Chunky Tomato Basil Sauce and did everything else with the pizza the same, just used the sauce instead of tomato slices.

Chunky Tomato Basil Sauce

2 small cloves garlic

8 large fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 pounds (about 3 medium) rip tomatoes, cored & quartered (or use canned, diced, well drained tomatoes)

2 tablespoons tomato paste (or more)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 Place garlic & basil leaves in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the tomatoes and pulse briefly (unless canned tomatoes are used, then I didn't put those in the processor). Do not puree the tomatoes, as the sauce is meant to be chunky. Or chop all by hand.

2 Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and sugar until mixed well. If the sauce looks watery, add more tomato paste until you see no more juice.

3 Refridgerate the sauce for an hour to accentuate the flavors.

Happy pizza eating!

Ciao, Caroline

Moving back to Ohio

2009-02-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

"If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be too cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.”
Annie Dillard

There are people who would say "Why are you moving back to Ohio, a place where it is cold & snowy, where the economy is poor." Trust me we have thought of those things.
But since living in Virginia, we have greatly missed our families. We wanted for a while now to move closer to them & friends. The quote I started this post with encourages me. We need to take chances in live, even if at times it is easier not to, to stay where we are & not where we want to be. We've been praying for months that God open & close doors, guide us & direct us. He has answered our prayers. Paul is taking a job at a company in Canton, OH doing video editing. The company has been in business for 26 years & going strong. We will live halfway between my parents & my in-laws. It is has been wonderful for us this first year of our marriage to be together in a new place & have to lean on each other more than maybe we would have had to if we'd never lived far away from family. I feel like it was good for us. Now as we enter our second year of marriage & look toward the future with our desires to own a home & have a family it makes sense for us to move back to Ohio. The cost of living is so much better, the area much more the setting in which we'd like to do those things.
Life is an adventure, not always easy, often challenging & it gets hard to know what choices to make. But to grow & learn sometimes we need to "Jump off cliffs" and "Build our wings".

Friendship

2009-01-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about the subject of friendship for a while now. I think the subject came up in my mind about the time I saw Sex and the City (the movie) and was talking with someone about why that movie is so popular & why we love it so much. Today I watched The Sisterhood of Traveling pants 2. I never cry watching movies, or shall I say very seldom do I, but today I did. I know it sounds lame to cry during a movie such as that (don't call me sappy, I am not!) but parts of it touched me. I got up from watching the movie & was just moved by the friendships the girls portrayed in it had. I think for me there is a certain longing that comes up when watching such movies as I long for a group to be a part of like in the movie.... where if there is sadness I can go to them, decision making help needed, joyous times to share with them. I had a group that was very similar once & while the four of us our still friends, life has changed & the closeness & contact with eachother is not there. Then I had a close friend that I did everything with for about a year & some of the elements came back again of having a group of friends like that. I may be rambling, but I think so much of why girls love movies & shows such as the two mentioned, Lipstick Jungle, The City, The Hills, etc. is for the closeness of friendships portrayed. The knowledge that someone going through the same things is there and just a phone call away. Someone that you can share it all with, without worry of judgement but knowing that they will give you sound advice. The day to day life they share with eachother, the separate lives they have but that they talk about weekly over coffee. In The Hills there have been rifts in close friendships, in my life as well there have been rifts. But even though the rifts happen, in the show they eventually try to move past them.... something that I also try to do in my life.

I think though in part why all these shows are so popular is because it portrays things we are longing for in our lives. Close friends. All of this to say, hold on to the friendships that you make! Try to mend differences, hurt feelings & move closer together. Friends are an integeral part of our lives. Try to open up & let close friendship develop, even if like me you have been burned by them in the past. Maybe once again we can find the close friendships we've been missing.

A little about being a Mennonite:

2009-01-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

When I was 3 my parents joined a Mennonite church, Beachy Amish Mennonite that is. We were members of the church until I was 12 or so. I just was thinking about it the other day when the subject of church background came up in our church. I found a description of some of the beliefs of the church online as follows:

The Beachy Amish Mennonites are an evangelical, fundamentalist Christian group with an Anabaptist heritage and a conservative practice. Some distinctive beliefs include:
-Baptism only upon confession of Jesus Christ by a person who has reached an age of accountability.
-Nonresistance, that is, returning good for evil and not resisting a persecutor. This includes non-involvement in combat, though alternative service is acceptable.
-Emphasis on the essential role of church community as a supporting organism for individual spiritual growth and fellowship.
-An extent of practical everyday separation from mainstream society, especially in areas of social and recreational activities, personal adornment, amusement, speech, gender roles, and schooling.
-A covering for women in obedience to 1 Cor. 11:1-16.

There were a lot of rules; No pants for women, long hair worn up with a headcovering at a young age, no make-up, no ankle socks, no printed fabrics, caped dresses, strings on headcoverings that also have x amount of pleats. Men must wear plain clothes as well, no prints, no graphic tee shirts, hair must be parted in the center, no shaved faces.

In church acapella music only, separate seating for men & women, two cups for communion (one for men, one for women).

But amist all the rules there were really good things about growing up Mennonite. We spent a lot of time together as a family, involved in church & Bible studies. We grew up listening well in church & sunday school. I felt like I got a good knowledge of the Bible & Christian life through the services. We weren't confused as to right & wrong by tv, radio or secular media. My parents chose to homeschool us but if you did go to school it was to the private Mennonite school. Most graduated at 8th grade, some did go on through 12th.

This is just a little bit that I thought I would put on my blog for anyone who is interested.

2009-01-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

I realize I am a horrible blogger and to anyone who may actually read my blog, I am sorry! Life has been rather insane the past few months & I am still trying to make sense of things, unwind & figure out what updates to put on here. I was working for a periodontal office, where for whatever reason the office manager started to have it out for me. She would make promises to me about which offices (they had 3) I would work in, what days I would travel to other offices, what days I would have off etc. But she was forever regenging on the promises she was making. When I started to see a pattern of that I started asking for agreements we made in writing. She was the kind of manager to never want things in writing or a paper trail of what she was doing. She would always tell me how I had no experience in dental (kind of as if I didn't have a right to the same treatment as others) and that it was an ever changing practice. Well the last straw for me was when she last minute tried to schedule me to help out on my day off in another office and when I said I had a doctors appt & couldn't she fired me. Needless to say this all caused a ton of stress & my last day there my blood pressure spiked to 170/100 and I ended up in the emergency room. This has been the first I can even write all of this without it wanting to go up! I have been now trying to get un-employment but the office seems to be fighting that too so we have a hearing over the phone Jan 23rd. It is all been so stressful but God is bringing us through! It is crazy to me but the firing happened a few weeks after I felt God strongly calling me to join Paul in prayer daily to pray about getting out of our debt.
It is harder to do now with only one income & it doesn't make sense but I know God's plans are bigger then ours. I will be starting to waitress soon at a bbq type restaurant & that is a blessing & answer to prayers.

Christmas was fantastic & a great blessing to go back to Ohio and spend time with friends & family! We got into Berlin on the 20th & spent till the 24th at Jake & Ivy's B&B. We were about 7 miles from my parents & spent those days with them & Hannah (my sister) who came in from NYC. We had a great time, spent time with family, saw some friends & went to several local places that I hadn't been to in a long time.... Natures Food Market, Lehman Hardware, Kauffman Bakery & Heini's Cheese. I felt like the tourist I used to make fun of! Enjoying the quiet, the snow & even seeing buggies on the road.
I felt like a lot of my friends have had babies this past year & I got to hold Leah's baby boy Taylor & Monica's daugher Lara which was fun!
On the 24th we headed up to my in-law's and spent the 24-28th with the Janssens. We had Christmas eve at Grandpa & Grandma Janssen's, which was fun. Christmas day was a relaxed day around the Janssen house. Day after Chuck, Shelley, Paul & I headed up to Middleburg Heights to see a long time friend of my families, Sam Bender. He was one of the first baseball chaplains. He & Paul got to know eachother at our wedding as did Chuck & Shelley. Paul was able to produce the first story to ever honor Sam this summer with CBN.

We had a great time with Sam. On Saturday I put on a birthday party for Paul's 30th at Max Doogan's in Chardon, OH & about 20 some people came out which was very nice.
We decided to squeeze in one more day and stayed through Sunday. All in all it was a wonderful trip & Christmas time!

Life back in VA has been busy with me trying to get a job, etc. But good. I have been having some really long days at home alone but am thankful for the time to relax & get back to normal. I have finally been sleeping really well which is fantastic.
I hope all of my friends & family have had a wonderful Christmas & New Years as well.

2008-09-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Not much new going on but I thought I'd just post a little note to bring my blog readers up to speed on any developments in my life. I am still working at the periodontics office in Chesapeake. Paul & I still live in our little one bedroom apartment, we are longing to own a home someday. The first year of our marriage has just flown by... I am amazed it has been that long already, even though a year really isn't that long. I love Paul more today than ever, marriage is great if you're with the one you are to be with! He has to travel on occasion for work and when he does I miss him tons. Healthwise I still have yet to figure out why I get dizziness from time to time. I have had a lot of tests, one more to re-do in a few weeks. I keep hoping & praying it all gets better! I was able to start taking only half of my blood pressure meds per day and it seems like I have been feeling better since doing that, so I really hope that is all it was. I have been trying to re-learn how to sew and am working on making a dress. If I ever get time to get it done I'll post pictures up here! Well, that is about it for now, I am just trying to get to be a better blogger & put more up here!

Story of us Part 6.

2008-09-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

After a few months of dating we grew closer & more in love with eachother. We both felt that God had put us together & we were happy! We got engaged July 8th, 2007. Paul had a big party up at his parents house. Over 100 people were there to celebrate the One year anniversary of his accident. It was a great day. I kept thinking all day he was going to ask me to marry him at the party, he didn't. There had been many times all that weekend I thought the proposal was coming, and when we were headed back down to Wooster for him to take me home, I figured it was going to happen some other weekend. We got down to my place around 11. Paul planned to sleep down there since it was so late and so I got my things ready for Mondays work & prepared to go to bed. I got done getting ready & went out to the living room to say goodnight. Paul had opened to bottles of Labatt Blue beer and was just kinda standing there smirking a little. I was suprised as I was tired & ready to go to bed, but thought if he wanted to have a drink we could stay up a bit later. He hugged me first & asked me if I had a good day. I said I had, he then said he figured he could do one thing to make a good day even better, and he pulled out the ring box & asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes! (after I asked "are you serious? yes!). He said he wanted it to be more romantic with champagne, but the beer was all we had at my place. But I think it was a cute proposal & I did say yes, didn't I!!!

A few weeks after we got engaged Paul moved to Virginia to work for CBN. Paul's parents & I helped him move down. The next few months apart were lonely & sometimes hard, but I was very busy with wedding planning. We set a date for early October. I was busy picking out cakes, lining up the venue, deciding on food, tables, etc. I was making decorations. It was a bit stressful on the budget that we had, but we did it! We had our rehearsal at Coccia House restaurant the night before. It was fun & a great evening before our big day!

October 6th, 2007 Paul Charles Janssen & Caroline Ann Kempf were married. We had a decent sized bridal party. Maid of Honor - Hannah Kempf. Bridesmaids - Helena Falk, Kristin Hershberger, Jenna Janssen, Sonia Spires. Best Man - Dan Janssen. Groomsmen - Matt Brazofsky, Joshua Booth, Chad Kohler, Justin Harris. Our ringbearer was Alex Mast and our flowergirl Kayla Willoughby. We had Natalie Kohler do the guestbook. Musicians Ryan Conrad & Richard Jordan. Paul's father Charles Janssen officiated & my father Greg Kempf walked me down the aisle. Our mothers Shelley Janssen & Catherine Kempf light the unity candles. It was a beautiful day. We had our wedding at a friend David Kearns-Preston's church in Orrville, Ohio. Our wedding reception was at the Carlisle Village Inn, Walnut Creek, Ohio. The bridal party rode their by limo, drinking champaign all the way!
We spent our first night as husband & wife in a beautiful room at the Inn. We then flew the next day to Norfolk, VA, got in our car & drove to First Colonial Inn, Nags Head, NC. for our honeymoon. We had a great time!
In a week & a half we will have been married one year! It is hard to believe how fast the time has flown. I love Paul so much, he is a great husband & love of my life!

Story of us part 5..

2008-09-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Continued....

I have been a horrible blogger, but here is another installment of the story of Paul & I. So the winter weekend drew to a close. Paul & I had talked and gotten to know eachother a lot by the end of it. We ended up sitting together on the long bus ride home & talked even more. He ended up grabbing my hand and holding it (he also snuck a kiss when no one was looking). I knew then he really did have interest in me. He also hooked me up with his phone number & took mine. I wasn't really sure when he would call or if this was just for the weekend kind of romance on his part, but I wanted to take the risk. When we got back to the church he needed to leave soon as his family was waiting for him. He asked me to walk back in the church with him & while there said a prayer for me & I prayed for him. I swear his eyes looked teary saying goodbye. Then since we had a prior silly conversation about stuffed animals he reached into his bag & pulled out a really cute stuffed lion. He told me that he was one of his from when he was in the hospital and thought he'd share. I got home, Ashley came home with me & spent the night. We caught up on the events of the trip. In the morning when taking her home by car broke down. Dad & I spent a taxing day of trying to get it fixed. When we were just finishing up I got a call from Paul! I was so happy & also a bit suprised. I beleive after that phone call we talked every day but one! It was shocking to me as usually guys I had dated in the past never called much. It seemed he couldn't get enough of me or me of him. We emailed, texted, spoke on the phone daily. A few weeks after getting home I was about to get a promotion at work and told Paul of it. The next day I got a delivery of 12 red roses! I had never gotten many flowers & was so surprised!

I was still kind of keeping things about Paul & I quiet, less to deal with if it ended. But I had talked with the girls at work & they were all so happy for me. I took the flowers home to enjoy. That Sunday after church I had a few friends over, Chad saw the flowers and asked me about them. I just said that Paul sent them as a congratulatory thing for a new position at my work. Chad reminded me that a dozen red roses doesn't say congrats typically. I knew that deep down!
To be continued...............

The story of us part 4...

2008-07-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Continued.......

So the day of the Four 14 Smokey Mountain Hike trip came, I arrived at the church to see Paul there. I wasn't sure whether to go up to him & start talking or to play it cool. So I went and stood by a friend (who was standing near Paul), casually said hi to him and made a tiny bit of small talk. I wanted so badly to sit with him on the bus ride down, but when we got on one of the guys (Keith) wanted Paul to sit back with him, so I ended up with Sonia a few rows ahead. A little ways into the trip I heard someone call my name. Turned around & Paul was holding up a bag of sour gummy worms. We had talked about them in e-mails & he knew I love them. He said "I have some gummy worms if you want some". I told him I would in a little bit, my plan being to go on back to where he was and get them & hopefully talk a little. I kept thinking if we didn't talk on the first day it may get awkward and we may not end up talking at all. So I did go back in a bit & sit in the empty seat nearby and have some gummy worms. I guess Keith was telling Paul that he better be careful letting me have any as I love them & may eat all of them. Paul told Keith that would be fine, as he brought them for me. Guess it suprised Keith a little. By this point Sonia had known we were emailing, but no one else really did. (I guess my bible study girls & girls at work, but not many from church). Keith fell asleep in the seat next to Paul & Sonia was sleeping as well, so I sat back by Paul & we talked for hours. We spent all the time we could on the hike together & talked all weekend. There are so many little moments & things that happened where I wondered if he had feelings for me as well, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.

To be continued.........

The story of us..part 3

2008-07-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

Continued.......

So I end up at the same New Years eve party as Paul Janssen. We all play some games together, starting with Apples to Apples. I think he is still very cute, so I help him by picking his card whenever I could without being obvious (yes I cheated). I also didn't play the "coma" card. There was a card that said coma on it and in interest of not hurting his feelings or bringing up his accident I exchanged it for a different card. Later to find out he would have thought it was funny! After playing some games we drank some wine & watched the new year come in. People started leaving, some started watching a movie. Sonia & I started talking more with Paul Janssen. Somehow it morphed from several of us talking to Paul & I talking. I thought he'd pull away soon & watch the movie, but he told me he didn't like it much (Nacho Libre) and we kept talking. I found out he was going on the Four 14 winter hike in two weeks in NC, which made me more excited to go on the trip. Later after Sonia & I got back to my apartment (she was staying overnight) we tried to watch another movie, but I kept thinking of Paul. New Years day I woke up with the thought that I wished I could email him or something (I knew he had a Myspace account). But that this time I wanted the guy to make the first move (and I didn't have internet available to use on a holiday). But in a few hours I checked my email via my cell phone & saw that I had a Myspace message from Paul! He told me that it was nice meeting me, to have another single person to talk to on New Years, that he has been "Myspace" friends with several other Four 14 people and that is how he found me (yeah right, he searched for me!). Anyways, keeping it to ourselves, Paul & I emailed back & forth until 2 weeks later when we went on the winter hike..........

To be continued.....

Story of us part 2.

2008-07-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

continued......

So a few months and a few bad dates later found me still single around New Years. My friend Kristin had come home for a visit from FL & we spent the time between Christmas & New Years hanging out. Hanging out & hoping to meet new guys that would be the ones for us. Yes, we had pretty strong ideas of what we were looking to do in two weeks time. We had a talk late on night about how we were getting very tired of always trying to be what the guys we dated wanted us to be. You see I tried very hard to mantain my values, but would try to be what I thought the guys I was interested in would want, often not really being myself. We decided that would would be real from the get-go and if the next guys we dated didn't like us, then whatever, we wouldn't care or change. They could go. On New Years eve we'd planned to go to a thing at Four 14 for a little, then to Kohlers New Years eve party, then to a club & dance the New Year in. Then New Years Eve day came & Kristin was in great pain from having had her wisdom teeth taken out a few days prior (they had been better & got worse). Anyhow, so that left me trying to figure out my evening. I sent messages to a few friends, none where available. So I decided to stay longer at Four 14 & go to the party at Kohlers. I was rather sad about not going out to the club with Kristin. Kept thinking if I always go the same places I will never meet anyone ( even though I knew I really didn't want to meet a guy at a club). So I get to church and after a bit see Paul Janssen walking around with Natalie & Chad. I had heard he was out of the hospital but didn't expect him to be there on New Years Eve. I was suddenly feeling more hopeful about the evening & even more hopeful when Kohlers asked me to sit with them & I found out Paul was going to their party.

To be continued........

The story of us................

2008-07-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, July 8th, 2008 was our one year anniversary of our engagement. They say the older you get the faster time goes by and I am starting to believe that.

I was reminising about our relationship the other day and got to thinking that I really want to write it down, so as time goes by & details become fuzzy I can look at it and be reminded of all the moments.

So the very beginning is where I will start. It is the best place to start a story anyways.

It was the spring of 2006, I was living in Wooster, attending Four 14 at Grace Brethren on Sunday nights. I was attending church at Wooster Bible Church on Sunday mornings. My friend Ruth & I would attend church, eat lunch & hunt for fun things to spend our weekends doing. This particular Sunday we ended up going for a drive in the country after church, taking some photos. In the evening we attended Four 14. Richard Jordan had come up from Columbus to lead worship, he is a wonderful singer/guitar player & a great encouraging friend so it was good to see him. A bunch of us decided to go out afterwards to Longhorn Steakhouse. We got to Longhorn and I noticed a "New Guy". He was with my good friends Natalie (former roommate) and her husband Chad. We ended up stitting close to eachother at the table. I was intrigued by him & we started talking about photography. He told me that he was planning on going on a mission trip to Russia later in the year & that was also of interst to me as I have wanted to go to Russia or Ukraine for years now. We seemed to hit it off pretty well, but when I mentioned to a friend after the evening was over that I thought he was cute & was interested she reminded me that he had just gone through a divorce and that while he may be a great guy I shouldn't make any moves towards him. I didn't, but the way things worked out I didn't have a choice. I went to a fourth of July party at a friends house a few months later. At that party Natalie & Chad shared a prayer request for their friend Paul Janssen (the guy from Longhorn). He had been a terrible car accident July 2nd they said. Chad spoke of going to see him at the hospital. Chad always kept our group informed of Paul & when a benefit concert was planned at the Beachland Ballroom they got a small group together to go. I went to this to help support him.

To be continued.............................

Tree of life.

2008-07-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Please pray for Paul & his family.

2008-07-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

Paul's grandfather Paul Adams passed away this morning. I ask that you pray that God comfort his wife & children & grandchildren in this time. I didn't get to know him that well, but the times I did get to talk to him I enjoyed. At Paul's one year anniversary of his accident party last summer (we got engaged that evening) I was kinda of sad as Paul was about to move to VA and of course I didn't know Paul was about to ask me to marry him. Anyhow all that to say is Paul's grandpa Adams came up to me and said something along the lines of "Even though Paul is moving, I am sure you'll still see a lot of him". He was so cute when he said that, and it gave me such encouragement. I thank the Lord that he knew Jesus and will be in heaven.

My summer indoors

2008-06-25T11:12:00.001-07:00

I am wishing to be outside, to lay by the pool, go to the beach, walk. But the area has had a lot of smoke. So we have been staying inside a lot. See below post for reason of the smoke. I just thank God we are far enough away for it not to affect us much except for the air.

Fires along the edge of VA & NC.

2008-06-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Thick smoke from two large fires in North Carolina and Virginia traveled up the East Coast in mid-June 2008, affecting air quality in numerous cities and towns, including the nation’s capital. The Evans Road Fire had burned over 41,000 acres of the Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge as of Sunday, June 15, while the South 1 Fire in the Great Dismal Swamp had burned about 1,500 acres.
This natural-color image of Virginia and North Carolina was captured by the MODIS on NASA's Aqua satellite on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. Smoke billows out over the sounds that separate mainland North Carolina from the islands known as the Outer Banks. (The large version of the image shows smoke spreading far up the eastern seaboard.) The washed-out appearance of the coastal waters is due to sunglint, the mirror-like reflection of sunlight into the sensor's "eye."
The Evans Road Fire was started by lightning on June 2, while the South 1 Fire appears to have been sparked by machines removing trees downed by Hurricane Isabel. According to local news reports, the fire in the Great Dismal Swamp is a great setback for refuge managers who were trying to clear and restore habitat for eastern white cedar trees. Historically, white cedars were abundant in the swamp, but they have been replaced by other species because of logging and other human land use impacts.
Both fires have the potential to generate lots of smoke because swamps have thick layers of peat—partially decayed vegetation that accumulates in soggy environments. When peat does dry out, it can fuel stubborn fires that smolder for months.

My Husband.

2008-06-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

I am missing Paul as he has been in Ohio all week. So I decided to do a whole post about him!

I am so proud of him. He is working for CBN here in VA and this week they flew him, Justin (A fellow editor/shooter) and Amy (a producer) up to Ohio to do three stories. One I am not sure what it was about, but the other one is about my Dad's dear friend Sam Bender. Sam got the sports chaplancy program started in the states. He is a wonderful, energetic, and faithful 83 year old man of God. He has never had any stories done about him, so it is a blessing for Paul to be doing one to honor Sam's work. The last Ohio story being worked on this week is Pauls. For updates on it check out Paul's blog at http://film8622.blogspot.com/. My husbands story is amazing and I am proud of him for all he has gone through & overcome and how he is a stronger man of God because of it. He is a great husband & I thank God for his love & support and all he is to me.

How do we view things?

2008-06-13T16:23:00.001-07:00

I watched the movie mona lisa smile today. I had seen it before, and didn't remember much about it. Today it seemed very thought inspiring to me. Maybe it was the point of the movie or maybe it was the mood I was in while watching it but here is what I got to thinking about during and after the movie:
There is a scene in the movie in which she shows her group of girls she is teaching (girls who think they've got it all, know it all and have nothing to learn) a painting she made for her mother as a child, a simple painting of a cow. She then said that it was art. Then she showed a picture of her mother, and said that too was art. The girls all disagreeded so she asked "If Ansel Adams had taken the picture, would you say it is art then?". This question got me thinking, who deems what art is? It kind of goes along with the phrase "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Who determines what beauty is? Who determines what we should view as valuable?

I think the point of the movie was to show that she got the girls to try and think for themselves. Even now in "real life" we have so many voices telling us how to think, how to live. Trying if you will to tell us what art is, what beauty is. Rather then encouraging us to create, to be confident, to learn to be ourselves. I love fashion, fashion magazines, cosmo and such magazines as much as the next girl, but we should never allow them to guide us in how to live, or make us feel less for not being "beautiful" in the sense that the people in them are. Everyone has beauty, just in different ways and we should learn to embrace that. I fail at that all the time, allowing media, movies, other girls to make me feel less. I want to try and be who God has created me to be and to learn to think for myself so to speak and not be so influenced by others. Just by God!

So next time you see a piece of art, rather then liking or disliking it by some standard out there, look at it with open eyes and judge it for yourself. Next time you look at yourself, don't go by others opinions..... remember God has made you and rejoice in it!

Tired

2008-06-06T03:12:00.000-07:00

I am very tired and not at all in the mood to work today, so I am dragging my feet with getting ready & adding some rambling to my blog. I think some of my tiredness today stems from my headache, aching back & legs. I pray God heals my back. But regardless of my aches & pains and general Friday tiredness, I am reminded of Gods promise in Isaiah to renew our strength. I guess the encouragement to me and that I want to share is that even though we grow tired & weary, God will lift us up & give us the strength & energy to do what we need to do & what he has for us to do. I was looking at a picture on my computer this morning that I took this past spring.....

and then even though those aren't real birds or even eagles, reminded of that verse. Take God's promises to heart, as I am trying to learn to do as well. Caroline

2008-06-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

My Family!

I feel as though I am a terrible blogger. I started this one in March, and look at how many great posts I have on it. I was inspired today though by other friends blogs and decided to try harder to make this a good blog. I was looking at the above photo the other day and overcome with how much I love my family & how great they all are. In the above photo Is right to left: My sister, Hannah, Dad, Mom, Great Aunt Esther & Edith.
Gr Aunt Esther and friend Edith came to visit my parents over Memorial Day as did my sister, who lives in Brookyln. Paul & I also came home for Memorial Day and stayed up at the Janssens. It was a fabulous trip home. Not only did we see my family, but also the guests visiting them. The E's (as lovingly referred to by friends & family) came in from England. Anyhow, back to how cool my family is, they just are amazing. Dad has done amazing art for years now and has recently been commissioned to do yet another amazing project. He was so excited telling me about the newest developments. Mom works in Customer Service related work, much like myself & deals with people and their various moods on a daily basis. But just seeing them reminded me that no matter what, through thick & thin, their neverending love for eachother & how much they enjoy their own company. Hannah is also a great person, phenomenal photographer....Paul & I get so jealous of her ability. She works at a coffee house, The Verb in a trendy NYC neighborhood. She travels a lot and inspires me in that & with her art. Well, enough said..... I have a fabulous family & Love them all very much.
For updates on my husband Paul (who I also adore & love) check out his blog....http://film8622.blogspot.com/,
Caroline

2008-03-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

I have never done a blog before. Can't promise it will always be intelligent, but I will try my best to make it interesting.