the hardest goodbyes...

Today was the day I've been dreading for months now. Saying goodbye to the little ones who have all stolen my heart. I think that out of everyone we have to say goodbye to, they are for sure the hardest because I'll most likely never see them again. All I could do this morning was beg God to fill my heart with His joy and peace and comfort. And I repeated that earnest prayer throughout the day, especially through the tears.

Working at the daycare has been the most amazing experience - I've learned patience and unconditional love (not that I've mastered them by any means!!) and I've been reminded of childlike joy and not stressing over the little things. I never thought I could love so much, and I've always considered myself a fairly loving person to begin with!

Oh, and if you are all wondering (and as if it isn't obvious from this blog so far) the answer to the most pressing question, "So does working there make you want to have kids or not?", it is a wholehearted "Yes! And I want a lot of them!" Of course, that doesn't mean we are near ready for kids AT ALL!! It just means I'm super super excited to have some of our own SOME DAY in the DISTANT FUTURE! Did I get the point across??

Enough of the rambling... here are some pics from the day.

Alden Family Christmas

Hands down, we have the best nephews in the entire world. That's right! Not that we haven't always believed that, it's just that we needed a reminder! We loved getting to spend the afternoon and evening with them (oh, and Natalie and Daniel and Johnie and Dee); playing with Titus and holding Mace. Mace is just so sweet and such an easy, happy baby, and Titus is just adorable and so incredibly well-mannered! We're so blessed to have such great nephews to spoil!

Ketner Family Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at my mom and dad's. We had a blast experimenting with my new food processor and making oreo truffles, exchanging gifts, eating good food, and taking way too many sibling pictures!!

A few more pics...

Here are a few more pics I've been meaning to post.

These are the girls at our Sunday School class Christmas Party:

And the men:

And here we all are at our class' Halloween party:


We always have the best times with this group!

Texas Roadtrip Pictures

Here is a link to our album of pics from our roadtrip to Texas. There are way too many pictures on it, but I didn't feel like going through and deleting most of them, so I figured you could just sort through them if you wanted.

http://picasaweb.google.com/AldenAdventures/TexasRoadtrip?feat=directlink

We had such a great time with our friends and were just so thankful to have a weekend getaway with them before moving!

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween has been the best that I can remember, due mostly to all the kids at my work. It was so much fun to see them all dressed up yesterday for all of our own Halloween festivities, and the excitement continued today. Though the days were chaotic and exhausting, there were so many special moments in them that made it all so very worth it! My kids dressed up as spiderman (two boys did!), cinderella, a fairie princess, a lion, buzz lightyear, a monster, a witch, a ballerina, a cowboy, a boxer, and a kitty cat; they were all so adorable! And I dressed up as a bumble bee, which they all loved as well!

Tonight was our church's fall festival, and our Sunday School class was in charge of hosting a game in our room. We ended up doing the candy walk, which is similar to the cake walk, only with candy. It was pretty funny because the game was completely rigged to where we'd just try to call out whatever color square a kid was on that hadn't gotten candy yet, etc. A lot of parents could tell what we were doing, and they just grinned. I think there was a pretty good turnout, and we had fun with the kids and with our class.

Here are a couple pics from the night:



Hope you all had a wonderful evening as well!!

Fall Fun

Tonight we had Adam and Jennifer over to carve pumpkins and make some oreo dessert balls. We are going to take the pumpkins to our church's fall festival that we're helping out with this Friday, so we're glad they came out alright!!

Here Adam and Brad are hard at work


Our pumpkin nearly complete and the seeds drying out


Both pumpkins comleted, and yes, we agree that their's turned out better! But, just so you know, they used a template and we free-handed it!




Here are our oreo dessert balls... or whatever you want to call them. It's just one whole package of oreos crushed finely and mixed with a whole package of cream cheese. So delicious and non-nutritious!! :)

Acceptance down... Housing to go...

Just wanted to give a quick update...

Wednesday evening I was accepted into the Masters of Public Health program at MU!! My emphasis is officially "Health Promotion and Disease Prevention." It was such a relief to finally get accepted, and now I'm much more excited about Columbia.

We really only need one more piece to fall into place before we can breathe a sigh of relief, and that's housing. Dee and I found out the hard way on Monday that there really aren't any options available to us for January. Thankfully, though, one pretty amazing option did open up and Brad and I are now frantically trying to get the paperwork together and faxed in today so we can get it before anybody else.

We'll keep you all updated, and hopefully we'll have some good news here within a few days!

Another Weekend Down

Another great weekend in Springfield is coming to a close. Only 14 weekends left before we start yet another new chapter in our lives... maybe when that times comes we'll actually be ready!

Brad and Adam (his friend that is in PT school) went for a hike and then out for BBQ Friday night... they got in some good "man" time! Then Saturday morning Brad and Michael went golfing and Brad shot his best round of golf ever - a 75! The best part for Brad happened to be who they were paired up to play with... you'll have to ask him about it because it's a pretty cool story (but too long for the blog!).

While they were out golfing, I was home cleaning and baking monster cookies. They came out really well... actually too well because Brad and I can't keep our hands off them! :) Then yesterday afternoon we went and saw the movie Fireproof with friends from class. Our church had set up a special showing of the movie at a theatre, and they ended up using 3 or so rooms to accommodate everyone who came out to see it! Once you got past some subpar acting (though Kirk Cameron was good) and overused cliches, the movie was actually really good and had a great message.

After the movie I headed to Leslie's for girls night to watch Made of Honor and eat cookies, and Brad went out with the guys to a par 3 course for another 9 holes of golf.

Today has been a great lazy Sunday... naps, football, and well that's about it! Actually Brad is out cleaning out and gasing up the vehicles, and I'm going to write my essay. Dee, I'm really sticking by that Oct 1 deadline... that means I WILL have my essay done when you and Johnie are here Wednesday!

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Weekend Trip to New York City

Before we post any new pictures, I feel the need to update you all first! Here are the pictures from our trip to New York City. We had the chance to meet up with our good friends Cory and Kelly out there, and of course we took it!

We flew out there Friday, August 15, arriving at La Guardia at noon. From there we went to the Empire State Building, then Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park, Chinatown, and Little Italy. We then trekked back uptown to our hotel near Times Square just in time to watch Michael Phelps win his 7th gold medal (in the race that he was very, very, very close to losing).

Saturday morning we checked out of our hotel, walked to and around Times Square and then headed to Rockefeller Center, where we met Cory and Kelly. After walking around there for awhile, we walked up to Central Park and got lunch at one of the hotdog stands, then walked around and through to the other side of the park which was 5th Avenue. We took 5th Avenue back downtown, stopping into ridiculous stores like Tiffany's and FAO Schwartz ($10,000 stuffed animal, anyone?!). Then we hopped on the subway and went down to Lower Manhattan, where we walked to Ground Zero and then down Wall Street to Battery Park. There we saw the Statue of Liberty and had front row seats to some purse vendors get arrested. After all that excitement, we caught another subway back to Times Square, had dinner at the ESPN Zone, then said good-bye to Cory and Kelly. We strolled around Times Square for awhile longer, then walked back to Rockefeller Center to sit and relax, and at about 11 pm we caught another Subway to our bus stop in Harlem, then caught the bus there back to La Guardia to sleep in the airport for the night before our Sunday am flight.

It was a great vacation and we really loved the city. We were definitely tired at the end of it, as were our legs!!, but we had such a blast and made the best of our short window of time there with our friends.

Here's a slideshow of some of the pictures.

WE'RE BAAACK!

Well, people have been on us long enough to start updating our blog, and it is about time. I can't believe we haven't posted anything since April!

The past 5 months have been pretty great. We've both graduated, I've started a new job that I LOVE!, we've built many great memories with our friends and family, and we've welcomed another nephew into our lives! And that, of course, is only the short of it.

Thanks for not giving up on our blog; we're happy to be back and will try to update faithfully!

Springtime in Springfield

I can't get enough of spring; of the new leaves on trees, of the tulips and irises, of the sunny skies and warm weather, or of the beautiful blossoming trees. Every time I step outside I can't help but feel a childlike giddiness and a sense of wonder and awe at God's beautiful creations.

Here are some pics of what I am so blessed to be able to view every day through the windows at work:


and as I'm walking to and from campus:

And the winner is....

It was close. We went through 3 full rounds of some pretty intense boxing, as you saw, and the decision went to the judges. After a few seconds of anticipation, Kayla's hand was raised in victory!

So based on your votes and comments, that's no surprise to you. But you'd be surprised how close it was. I just about lost it for myself... I was punching so fast that the sensor wasn't picking everything up!!

Oh, and just so you know... we had no idea that Brian and Devon were capturing it on film! We're glad they did, though - it was pretty funny to see!

Adventures in Conflict Resolution

Saturday night we went out with Devon and Brian, and then went back to their place to play Nintendo Wii. Here is a clip of us boxing. It's quite entertaining! You tell us who you think won the match, and then after you all weigh in, we'll let you know who was declared the champ!

Try This

That's weird that you guys can't get it to work... Brad and I both can without signing in at all. Anyways, try clicking on or copying and pasting this link into your address bar.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=763683&id=557925823&l=33be5

This should take you to the first picture of our vacation. Hope it works! Let us know!

Spring Break Vacation

For spring break we went to Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, LA, and Death Valley. It was a very busy and fun 7 days! Since there are so many pics from the trip, we thought it would just be easiest to post a link on here that will take you to the pics that I've posted on my facebook acc0unt. Please let us know if you are having trouble getting to the link (if you can't just click on it, you'll have to copy and paste it into your address bar).

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33222&l=33be5&id=557925823

A Weekend with our Nephew...

A Day in the Park

Or at, least, an hour or so. Thought we'd take our homework out to the park nearby and enjoy the weather, but it was still a bit chilly in the wind so we didn't last long!

Well, as many of you may have heard in the last couple days, Springfield has been preparing for a major snow storm. Early computer models from three days ago indicated 16-20 inches but later predictions backed off of that total and told us to expect 6-12". However, as the storm drew nearer, they continued to push the heavy snowband further and further away from us and when we went to bed last night, they were predicting 1-3 inches. We were pretty sad because we got excited just to be let down once again. Furthermore, the snow was supposed to begin at 9pm but when I went to bed at 12:30am, there wasn't a single flake falling. Sometime during the night, however, some band of snow popped up out of nowhere and this is what we woke up too...

That's almost 7 1/2 inches! We've never seen anything like this down here! This morning was so reminiscent of snow days from my childhood because Kayla woke me up this morning to tell me that I could go back to sleep because school was cancelled. It was so awesome. Kayla didn't have to go to work either so we slept in till about 9am. Once we woke up, though, we were just too excited to stay inside so we bundled up and headed out into the snow. We decided it was time for us to make our first snowman as a married couple so we grabbed a bag of coal, found a couple large branches in our yard and thus a snowman was born...

We were pretty proud of it. It took quite a bit of work. Here is a picture of me posing with our creation...

Alright, so maybe it is a little smaller then we were originally planning but the snow was way too fluffy to get anything to stick together and this little guy actually took quite a while to make. Next, Kayla decided to make a snow angel but I thought it would be more fun if I buried her. You can tell she's pretty thrilled about it.

We finally got too cold and headed back inside. Mom, does this picture look familiar?

Now I think we're going to make hot chocolate and cookies. Snow days are the greatest. Here are a couple more pictures of the snow just because we thought it looked pretty cool.

Outdoor Adventures

Well Brad and I couldn't wait to take advantage of this beautiful weather! Yesterday we went on a three mile hike with Daniel and Rachel at Busick State Park just north of Branson. Probably the most noteworthy event of the hike was when we heard something rustling around in the brush about 30 feet away... it finally revealed itself to be an armadillo! We had only ever seen them on the side of the road down here, and never alive! Such a weird looking creature! I didn't want to take my camera on the hike, so I'm sorry that I don't have any pics to post.

After getting our taxes done today (our masters accounting program here does them for free- great deal!) we decided to hit a trail that goes through Springfield. It was hard to decide which one to even do... as we started looking in to them we learned that our city has many different well kept trails that go around the city. We decided on a trail that was 7 miles round trip. We walked the first half, then once we got to the turning point we took off jogging. We made it 2 miles before slowing to a walk for a half mile, then ran the last mile. It killed us but we felt so good at the same time! We were joking, though, that one side of our body got more sun than the other- the first half of the trip we walked south the entire time so the right side of our bodies got a lot of sun exposure, but then the on the way back, when the sun was on our left side, we jogged nearly the whole thing. My face looks pretty funny with one side pink but oh well! It was worth it!

Hope you all were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather as well!

Sorry ladies, but I've snagged the most amazing man...

So, as you all know, I'm married to a pretty amazing man. No surprise there, but I must sadly admit that at times I overlook just how amazing he is. And then he reminds me.

Yesterday when I got home after taking my fourth test of the week (ugh) I walked in to find a beautiful vase of six pink roses with five sweet notes in the bouquet. It was such a wonderful surprise!

Also, I meant to post about what we did for Valentine's day quite awhile ago. He took me to a very authentic Italian restaurant right down the street from us, then we went and ate ice cream, and for the finale he took me to see Casablanca at an older, ornate theater in downtown Springfield. It was so cool!!! We got there early and listened to a barbershop quartet-type group sing at the entrance of the theater. I wish I had taken pics of inside the theater, becuase it truly was so beautiful! We sat right in the front of the balcony on the upper level. Neither Brad nor myself had ever seen Casablanca so we really didn't know what to expect, but it was such an amazing movie and it really lived up to its name and fame!!! It was such a great night!

An uneventful update

Happy Birthday Johnie!

The last batch of bad weather really didn't affect us at all, which we didn't mind one bit! We just had a lot of sleet Thursday early morning and throughout the day, and just a little bit of freezing rain. The did cancel Thursday evening classes, though Brad and I saw no reason for it really. We were right back to class on Friday. Friday night we went over to Jason and Leslie's for dinner and ended up hanging out there for quite awhile. Then Saturday morning Brad went and helped another couple from our class move into their new home, while I went shopping for a gift for Rachel's bridal shower (Daniel's fiance). Her shower was this afternoon, and was a lot of fun! Then we had a couple over for dinner, which was also a blast because we don't host people over here very often. Tomorrow we have Sunday school, church, and then are going out to lunch with our class to celebrate February birthdays. Later in the afternoon we're heading to campus to work out, because Brad and I are finally motivated to start working out consistently. Busy weekend!!! It's all been really fun, but the bad part is that I really should've been studying all weekend long (which is what I really did plan on doing). I have 2 tests and 2 assignments due Tuesday, and then 2 tests on Friday. Three of the four of those tests are the first tests in my classes, which are always the scariest because you have no idea what to expect and no idea how much to study. So I'll probably be pretty stressed all week... your prayer are greatly appreciated!! :)

Natalie, hope you had a great time Friday night! I can't wait to hear about the show... sounds like something I would've loved!

Johnie and Dee, glad to hear your back home safe and had a good time! Can't wait to hear more about it, and see more pics! Our calendar is open for March 15-16. It'd be so great if you guys could make it down here or if not we'll just head up there... we had actually just talked about it a few days ago and thought that weekend was perfect for a trip back home! Dee, hope you can work quickly through all the papers tomorrow. I'm sure your kids will be so happy to have you back!!

Ice Storm

The freezing rain began sometime in the middle of the night late Sunday. Even though Brad and I are avid weather-checkers, we had no idea we were in for such a bad ice storm. I wouldn't have thought anything about it Monday morning when I woke up, but thankfully I heard my radio alarm announcing school closings. I went and checked Missouri State's homepage, and sure enough, there it said that they would announce by 6:30 am whether or not the university would be open. I checked every few seconds from 6:10 until it was finally announced... but at that time they only cancelled classes until noon, and would determine by 11 whether or not afternoon and night classes would be cancelled or not. At least I had the morning off... poor Brad had to go on in to work. I had a big test that afternoon, and didn't know if class would be cancelled or not, so I just had to sit there and study until 11, when they finally announced that the university would in fact be closed all day. HOORAY! I immediately turned on the tv and relaxed!!! It continued to rain pretty much all day. When Brad got home at 4 or so, he said that the roads were pretty awful. At 6 I decided to head over to the Pea Pod to hang out with Kelly- it was my first time outside all day, and I decided to walk over there. A walk that normally takes 5 minutes took me a little over 15!! The sidewalks and ground were just completely covered in such a thick sheet of ice!

Here are some pics I snapped along the way.

This pic was an attempt to really show the ground covered, but you can't really tell. It kinda looks like snow on the ground because it's so white, but no, there was no snow... it was just such thick ice!

Again, this was only after the first wave of freezing rain; the ice was already 3/4 inch thick!


When I was about half way on my long journey over to the pod, I heard a transformer blow a couple of times... I'll never forget that sound from the ice storm last year. I didn't really think anything about it, though, until Brad called a couple minutes later, asking where the flashlights were!! Thankfully, we were only without power for 3-4 hours. And Brad and I just got dinner at Panera around the corner... a special treat!

The freezing rain continued all Monday night as well, so we followed the same routine Tuesday morning: wake up at 6, check our homepage to see if classes are cancelled, wait until they finally post it at 6:30, then head back to bed, then check again at 11 to see if afternoon and evening classes are cancelled. It seemed pretty ridiculous... I mean, the roads and sidewalks were soooo bad, but of course our university wouldn't just make the call to cancel for the whole day, they had to make us keep checking back in to see if we had classes in the afternoon. Anyways, we got the whole day off again, and the best part was Brad got to stay home with me this time!!

Here's a pic of the playground in our "courtyard" that I took Tuesday.

I snapped these last pics from where I work on campus on Wednesday. Campus looked so beautiful!! Zoom in if you can!

We know we haven't had near the bad weather you guys have had up north, but this was still one of the most exciting things for us to blog about in awhile! So thanks for letting me ramble on about it and post way too many pictures of it!!!

P.S. Happy birthday Natalie and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!