our time at home...

Well I am finally posting about our trip home over spring break! We were very busy during that week, and I have a lot of pictures I want to post, but I will try and only post one for each thing we did, so this doesn't end up being 500 pages long :). Our main goal over spring break was to find a place to live when we move home in a month and a half! God definitely provided, and when it looked like nothing was going to work out (and Kellie was getting very stressed), He came through. I should never have worried in the first place. But we did find an awesome house, in a great location. It is in the Riverside neighborhood, and when we look out our front door we look at the Sim Park golf course, so we have a great view!! AND, a great park to walk our new dog at!! It has a large fenced in back yard, which we are very excited about. We are renting this place, and our lease is a year, so in that year we are going to be looking around to buy a house, which we are very excited about! So these are a few pictures of the house!


So finding our house was definitely the most exciting thing that happened over spring break (besides picking out a puppy, of course:). We got to spend a lot of time with friends and family which was awesome. We can't believe how fast our time here in Indiana has gone, and we will be moving home in just a month and a half!! We are very excited. Jeremy's graduation is on May 19th (yes, on my birthday), and then we are driving back on May 21st. Not wasting any time!! :) I have gotten my job back at Wesley. It is the same exact position and shift and everything! That has been a huge blessing, to know we won't have to worry about that. Jeremy is not sure what he is doing for a job at this time. So here are a few more pics of our time at home.....



This is me and our niece Amber. She is getting so big!!
She will be 7 this April.









Me and my most wonderful sister!!! This was during our,
"its my last day here, so we are going to take a whole bunch
of pictures together" phase :)






Me and Hillary! She came into town and stayed with us on
Wednesday night....we had a blast. So this was right before
me and Jeremy got our butts kicked playing basketball, against
her and Erin...not a good idea on our part :)






Me, Erin and Hill after popping our stove-top Jiffy Pop
popcorn, which we were all very impressed with...as you can tell :)






Me, Melisa and Dianne, painting away on Melisa's new house!!
She closed on her house the week we were home, so we got to
see the whole Birkey family....minus Jodi :(






Erin and I got to go to Exploration Place with Sophie and
Michele!! She has gotten so big!!







Me and Tessia at her birthday party at Sumo's








Me and Erin painting Melisa's bedroom. I have to say, we did
a pretty good job :). And yes, I did do more than what mom
captured in this picture!






The Birkessen children....minus jodi...we missed her!

Emmett

Jeremy and I are finally back in Kansas!! We are very excited to be back for a little while, with our friends and family. Just wanted to update everyone on one of the things we have done since we have been back. I guess us finding a place to live is pretty important, but almost more importantely was getting our puppy!! (Ha, ha). One of dad's teachers at East has a litter of beagle puppies that she is selling for a great price!! So we went out to her house yesterday and we picked our puppy out. It is a male, and his name is Emmett (Jeremy picked that out. I told him he could pick the name, and that I wouldn't say anything. So I am still getting used to that). They are just four weeks old right now, and will be ready to go to homes around the 20th of April. Unfortunately, we won't have moved back yet, and our apartment in Indiana doesn't allow pets, so someone is going to keep him for us for the first month. I wish we could have him for that first month, but that is how it has to be! I am very excited...and Jeremy is getting used to the idea :). He seems like a very mellow puppy, and the owner says that he is the laziest one they have!! So that is what we wanted :). I think I really bonded with him, for the 20 minutes he slept on my chest. Jeremy has never had a dog before, so this will be a new experience for him! These are a few pictures of Emmett, and then one of his whole litter. He is what you call a Blue Tick Beagle, so they have the grey coloring in with the white fur. It makes their coat very soft. They also own the mom and the dad dog, and we got to meet them. I was really impressed with how well mannered they are. They were really sweet dogs, and loved having people around.
We will update on here when we find where we are going to live. There is one house that is very promising right now. We have gone to look at it, and we both really like it, so hopefully there will soon be some pictures up of it also!!

fyi...

Just an fyi, about my previous post. Evidently that sweet old man I talked with, forgot that they had already rented the house out to someone else. He called today, and told us that. I think his wife had promised it to someone, and hadn't told him yet. So, I guess that wasn't the house for us. Melisa still has her appointment tomorrow morning to look at the other option for us. So we are praying that that goes well. If anyone, knows people who rent houses, or if you see anything you think we might be interested in we are definitely open to whatever!! We would love it, if you see something to let us know! Thanks.

houses and more houses....

We just wanted to update everyone on our housing opportunities for when we move back to Kansas, and ask for some prayers. Jeremy and I have really been looking for a house to rent, versus an apartment, and this past week I have been calling around on a few that I found at the Wichita Eagle online. We are mainly looking to rent in the Riverside, or College Hill area. So as I am calling around on some houses, this one in riverside comes up and I call on it. It seems like an amazing deal, with all of the features we are wanting in a house. It even has a fenced in back yard for the puppy we are going to be getting!! So as I am talking to this renter, she keeps telling me how she just loves to rent this house to young couples, because it is just such a cute nice and fixed up home. So I just continue to get more and more excited....while totally getting my hopes up. It seems like a wonderful answer to our prayers. The renter was acting like she thought this house might be gone by the time we come back to look over spring break, so I set up an appointment for our good friend Melisa to go and look at it for us and take some pictures. Once I call the lady back to confirm the time, she says, well I just want to let you know that I have a man looking at the house tomorrow for the second time, and he is really interested. So she is not sure if it will last until Melisa's appointment with her. Now all my hopes and dreams are crushed. Meanwhile, I am supposed to wait to hear back from her on that option. Jeremy and I have been praying about our living situation a lot, and last night, we prayed for a while before we went to bed, that if this is not the house for us then that we might find something even better. All while I am really trying to have a good attitude, that this house could possibly not be the right house for us (I just couldn't imagine it).

Well.....to make a long story short....today we found one even better. And it is not confirmed, and no one has gone to look at it yet, but it really seems like a God thing. Mom just happened to be driving through riverside looking for some rentals for us, and saw this one. Which has been kept up much better on the outside, than the previous house. So she gives me the number and I called on it. This very nice older man answered the phone and gave me a lot of information about it. I continued to ask him if he allowed pets, and he said, oh of course! You can have as many as you want! Ha, ha. I think one puppy for now will be good. But he said that they have a fenced in back yard, with a kennel, that we could keep the dog in overnight if we wanted. So I asked what he would charge for a pet deposit, and he said, oh well I won't charge you anything. What?!? I have never heard of someone not charging a pet deposit. So I continued to ask what kind of a lease he would require, and he said, that we could do month to month, 6 month or a year. He didn't care. He said we are not going to make you stay here, if you are un-satisfied! Which is a huge answer to prayer, because we wanted to possibly do a shorter lease, because we are planning on looking to buy (but if this house worked out, we might be there longer than we think). So by this point, I am pretty much in love with this very sweet man. Well....I said I was going to try to make this short, so much for that. He asked again for my last name, and we ended up figuring out that he goes to Asbury (where Jeremy and I go to church in Wichita), and he knows Jeremy parents really well from when they went there! And there is more....his next door neighbor for years, is my mom's uncle Bob and aunt Wilma. We just kept making all of these connections, and we talked for quite a while. So...mom and dad are going to look at the house on Sunday afternoon for us, and take some pictures. He said that once they got there, if it something we are really intersted in, that they could put down a deposit, and he would hold it for us until May (which has been a problem with some other rentals). His exact words were "with a name like Fredin, I would be glad to hold it for the two of you!". I got a good laugh out of that one. He even said that we would pick out the paint colors, and then they would paint the inside for us! So...it kind of seems like too good to be true, but I feel so blessed that God would give us two wonderful opportunities within two days. We just wanted to ask everyone to pray for us as we are trying to make this decision. And if this is the house for us, that the doors would just keep opening. Sorry, this ended up being longer than I expected!! We are coming back home a week from this Friday and we can't wait!!! We are so excited to see everyone!!

new hair-cuts...

Well upon the request of both of our parents we are posting some pictures of the hair-cuts we recently got. I know most of you don't care what our new hair cuts look like, but it is quite the event which Jeremy decides to cut his hair. If you have seen recent pictures of him, this is quite a change. Jeremy really likes his, which is saying a lot, because he is more picky about his hair than I am about mine. And I decided to have her cut bangs in my hair, which is the first time I have had them in many many years. So right now, they are very annoying.

visit with grandma and grandpa

Well, Jeremy and I had another wonderful weekend! Grandma and grandpa, came in on Thursday evening, and then we got to eat dinner with Liz and Judy in Indianapolis at Liz's house. She made us vegetable beef soup, and chili!! It was a perfect meal for the cold night that it was. So we got to spend some time with them before we drove back to Huntington with grandma and grandpa. They got to stay with us all day on Friday and Saturday. We had a great time with them! They could not get over how much snow we have! Grandpa would keep saying, "just look at all that snow piled up!" He didn't go outside much, because it was too cold :). They actually came on days where they got in two good days of sunshine! It was still cold, but the sun was actually out! Saturday it snowed a few more inches which gives us close to two feet. But it is warming up this week and is going to be in the 40's, so hopefully some of the snow will melt!

So Friday evening we went into Ft. Wayne to go out to dinner for Jeremy's birthday. We ate at a restaraunt called Flat Top Grill. It is really similar to a BD's Mongolian Barbeque. You pile up everything you want stir-fried in a bowl, and then hand it to the cook, and they cook it up for you and bring it to your table. It was a lot of fun! We came back that evening, and played a game of Yahtzee, which grandpa ended up winning. Not sure how he did that, since we all pretty much played the game for him ;)!! He got lucky, and ended up getting a yahtzee, on his last roll! I am a little bitter, because I would have won, if it weren't for that :).

Saturday, was a nice relaxing day. We sat inside most of the day and watched the snow. We watched a couple of movies and I worked on making dinner. I made lasagna, salad, bread and spice cake for dessert. Everyone seemed to like that ok, and grandpa loved the spice cake! Grandma had to tell him to back off a little bit :). After dinner we got to listen to Erin, and Hillary's basketball game online, where they won the conference championship!! I am so glad that we are able to listen online, since we can't be there. The girls we sooo excited, and they got to cut down the net, then I think they all took a little swim in the pool :). After we listened to their game, Jeremy and I talked grandma and grandpa into making their characters on our Nintendo Wii, so that they could play. I think they were glad that they did! We had so much fun!! We played I think 4 bowling games with them, and they both started getting really good!! Grandma actually beat Jeremy one time! They said that they were excited we are bringing in home over spring break, so they could play again. Grandpa joked that they might have one by then :).


Sunday we got around and headed back to Indianapolis. We stopped on the way to eat at Cracker Barrel for breakfast/lunch. Then we went back to Liz's to spend some time with her that afternoon before uncle Gail flew in from Casper. He happened to be in Indy this weekend because of a meeting, so we all got to eat dinner Sunday night at his hotel! It was so nice to see him, we hadn't seen him since the wedding. Grandma and grandpa hadn't either. We had a good time eating, the best food we have ever had! Grandma and I decided that it was the best steak we had ever had, which is saying a lot! The food was quite amazing. The company was even better. It was good to just get to chat for a couple of hours. So, overall it was an amazing weekend!! And we miss everyone so much already!! But we are coming home in a little less than a month for Jeremy's spring break. Hopefully we will be able to find a place to live in that week! Everyone, feel free to keep your eye out for any possiblities!

Blizzardy

Well northeast Indiana is officially having the worst winter they have had in 10 years (according to the weather man)!! I figure, of course the one winter, I live here! Oh well! It has been extremely cold, with the highs barely getting above zero, and on Tuesday we had ourselves a little blizzard! It started Tuesday morning when I left work. It was snowing like crazy, and the wind was really blowing. I am glad I went to the grocery store that morning, because I would not have been able to get out any later than that! The security guard at work says he has been there 20 years, and they have never been in a blizzard warning, and Huntington University cancelled school for the first time in 13 years. They get big snows up here like this, but they usually do not have the wind. So I just wanted to show everyone what it looks like up here now. We have about 20 inches of snow on the ground, but they do surprisingly well at getting the roads cleared off! We are supposed to get another few inches tomorrow, so I'm sure we will have about 2 feet! It was kind of fun at first, but now, I am ready for it to be gone! It doesn't snow and then melt like it does in Kansas. It stays.....forever. It never gets warm enough for any of it to melt, so this just might still be on the ground come the end of March! I never thought I would say this, but I am ready for it to not be snowing anymore, and, I am actually looking forward to seeing the sun for a little bit! Grandma and grandpa are up here right now visiting us. It has been great having them here!! I will update in a couple days with pictures of their trip, but they just can't get over how cold it is here! And grandpa can't get over how much snow there is! He said that if Kansas had snow like this that they would be stuck for a few days, because no one would know what to do. The one thing I do want to take advantage of with the snow, is to go to the state park around here, and have Jeremy and I ride a Toboggon. Enjoy the pictures!

michigan a-go-go

I am finally getting a chance to update about our weekend trip to Michigan. On Friday evening we left after Jeremy's classes to go up to Grand Rapids and spend some time with Tom and Kristy. They are moving back to Wichita on March 1st, so we wanted to get to hang out again before they move back! Due to the below zero temperatures here, we almost were unable to go because when I left work Friday morning my car didn't start. Thank goodness it was only the battery, and we got he car jumped, and to Wal-Mart. They installed a new battery for us, and it has run fine since then! They car guy at wal-mart, kind of laughed at me, when I asked if I needed a new battery. I think he was wondering how it had ran as long as it had. So then around seven o'clock we headed for Grand Rapids. That evening we went to Red Robin, with Tom, Kristy and Ryan Beebe. The guys went to a coffee shop later that night until about 3am so Kristy and I took over her and Tom's king size bed, and now Jeremy is regretting that because I want a king size bed....and I keep reminding him of that :).
Saturday we had an awesome day with everyone! Tom, Kristy, Jeremy and I drove up to Grand Haven, MI on the coast of Lake Michigan. Grand Rapids had a ton of snow, but this town had way more!! Probably at least 3-4 feet! The goal was to go to the beach, and walk out on the pier over the lake. So we got there, and it was possibly the coolest and strangest thing I have ever seen! The beach had huge piles of sand on it, that were covered with snow, and then once we walked off the beach, and onto the lake, as far as you could see, Lake Michigan was totally frozen over! We ended up walking out quite a ways onto the lake. The way the water froze, looked really strange, almost like the waves froze in their place...which I'm sure they didn't. But that is what it looked like. I am going to attach quite a few pictures and you can see what I am talking about. After we were done hiking on the lake we went to a cute little coffee shop in town, to warm up. Then we drove back to Grand Rapids, for a very eventful evening. Due to the huge amounts of snow that they have, I wanted to play in the snow. So we went sledding....off Tom, and Kristy's roof :). They have a low hanging part of their roof, and the guys put snow piled up underneath that. Then we crawled out of one of the upstairs bedroom windows onto the roof, and sledded off. It was about a 3-4 foot drop..not bad. So needless to say that was a blast! I am going to try to put a couple videos on here of me and Jeremy sledding, but we will see if it works.
Sunday, we went to church with them at Mars Hill. That is the church that Rob Bell leads. Unfortunately he wasn't speaking that sunday, but it was still an awesome experience. We loved the way that they set up their service, and lead their worship. They set up there worship stage in a circle, with a big wooden cross in the middle. All the worship leaders are facing in towards the cross, and not out at the crowd like a big concert. And then when the preacher gets up, the cross is always between him and the people he is teaching. Jeremy and I just thought it was a neat concept. It was a very laid back service....no flashy lights, and it was totally about Jesus, not about the way the church looked, or the way everything was set up. It was humbling to see such a huge and world-wide known church, with a world wide known preacher, and it was just all about Jesus. Anyways....we liked it :)
Well below are pictures of our weekend. Today is Jeremy's birthday and we are stuck inside because of the blizzard outside. We are supposed to get 12-18 inches of snow, and it is blowing like crazy! So we couldn't really get anywhere if we tried. Hopefully it is all cleared off by Thursday, because grandma and grandpa Butch are flying up to see us!

This is Kristy standing beside a fence
that divides the parking from the beach.






Overlooking the beach and the lake








This is what looks like waves!







Overlooking the lake at the pier.










Tom and Kristy










This is Lake Michigan at sunset.











Me and Jeremy









Lake Michigan with the sun setting









Me and Kristy approximately 4 feet
down in the lake :)








Kristy and I again, in the crevase we found.












This was where we went sledding












Jeremy sledding (he snapped that saucer on that run)












Me sledding...do I look scared??











Tom going head first!









Jeremy going head first!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWD0xcDEFg0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpMYsMqzhL4

These are the links to watch our videos of sledding. The top one is Jeremy's, and the bottom one is mine :)