Boo.

Beth is my friend.
She's also my partner in crime, kindred spirit, and my sister.

Everyone call Beth, Lizzy.

But she has always loved the name "Beth."
So, being the wonderful sister I am.... and knowing how awful it is not to have ANY nick-names (Helen cannot be shortened. Don't try!), I started calling her Beth.
I also call her Boo....
Sometimes Pooker.
Often, Stinker.
Every now and then, Poo.
A few times, Bertha.
Mostly, Beth.

She is pretty awesome!

I've known her for.... forever!

We happen to get along pretty great. Which is a good thing since the majority of our lives were spent with the other at our side.

Beth is married.
This tragedy occurred almost two years ago.... wow, time flies.
*It wasn't really a tragedy.

Her husband is this dude.

*He's cool*

Actually.... he's pretty awesome!

He makes her smile/laugh!

They had the most incredible wedding.... ever!

Jeffrey wrote a bunch of the music.... because he just happens to be able to do that.
He sang Beth a song he wrote while she walked down the aisle.
Dad did the service.
God was totally glorified!

Jeffrey brings out the best in Beth and vice-versa.....
I didn't think Beth could get any better.... but he really does make her shine even brighter!
It gets blinding.

They (More specifically, she...) had this baby.

Isn't she cute?!?!?!?!
I think she is..... and I say that from a totally un-biased point of view.
Well... never mind.

Beth is the PERFECT little wife and mom!
She makes homemaking look like a breeze.

I don't think being married means that you have to be all serious and boring....

 If it does, Beth failed.

They have their own wittle family!!!!

I miss Beth.
I see her at least twice a week... talk to her almost every day.
But I miss her.

I wish I could say Beth and I are alike...
But it would be a lie.
Beth is perfect... at least as perfect as is allowed.

Although two years older than me and WAY taller .... I beat Beth up when we were kids!

You have to understand my side of the story.....
Imagine growing up with an angel as your sister.
It rubs your "naughtiness" in your face.
Bad excuse?
I know....
I still feel bad about my bullying!

I look like a nice kid in this picture..... it's fake.
We have a video to prove it....

BUT.... I grew up!
After I turned twelve... my vicious side toned down.
I don't pinch people anymore!
Now I just put salt in their coffee... etc.
*Just kidding!

She loved me through my "bullying."
We became buddies/friends and did some crazy stunts throughout the years.

I have a great sense of humor....
Not everybody appreciates or understands it.... but it really is great!

I have a few sides of my humor.
I have the humor that only my brothers "get."
It is usually the more gruesome side.

I have the humor that my parents understand.
It usually includes songs like "Taylor the Latte Boy."

And then I have this insane side.
This crazy, psychotic sense of humor that NO-ONE gets....
No-one but Beth!

She has that same sense of crazed humor.

I miss sharing those crazy moments

Even though she is old and married.... she still has that craziness.

A while back we took Marian to her AWANA games...

It was pretty fun.
We drove mom's car... (Goodness, drag racing is fun! *JUST KIDDING!!!!*)
Went to Chai....
I held Em....
I made Em cry...

We ate sour Skittles...

We laughed...

We talked...

It was awesome.

Last week, Jo, Beth, and I went walking downtown...
It was awesome.
We walked.
Talked.
Ate.
Drank.
Were merry.

A couple days ago.... I ordered some boots from Macys.
By the way.... I never EVER shop at Macys.
But they had this great sale.
And I got a REALLY good deal because I chatted with an associate.
I felt SO accomplished, until....The next day I looked at my bank account and saw that they had charged me TWICE for the boots....

I was scared.
I thought I got scammed.

I frantically started calling every number possible.

EVERYTHING was automated.
I was frustrated at this point.

Beth came over, heard what happened, and started helping me.
We were both frustrated.

"Macys is taking my money!!!!!!!! Ah!"

We finally decided to write them an email.....
SO we did.
At this point, we were really mad.
You can understand..... they were stealing my hard-earned money!
Being a Barista isn't as easy as it looks.
Okay, okay, maybe it is.

Our email was a joint effort....
Beth and I are nice people.
But remember.... they were stealing my money!
It wasn't mean.
It was "clear."
We tend to feed off each other..... and we wanted to make sure they took us seriously.

After a few more phone calls.... I started jabbing all the numbers that were not listed.
After a few, "This number is not available...." it rang and an actual voice picked up!
I can never be rude to an actual person.... so I calmly stated that they were trying to steal my money and I wanted it back.
The nice associate on the other side, in an even calmer voice explained that that was actually just a hold on my account.... it wasn't taking my money.
*Insert blushing, stammering, glaring at Beth.*
"OK.... Thanks!"

Oops!

Then there was yesterday.....
I was having a Monday, on a Tuesday.
I was all emotional and sang "I had a Bad Day," a few too many times.
Beth called, pointed me to Christ, talked, processed ... it's all better.

Times like those are dear to my heart.
They remind me that even though Beth is all married and stuff..... she's still my sister!
We still can have crazy times.

Sisters are a wonderful thing....
You have a bond that holds you together through all the different stages of life!
We went through the rough parts of life, as well as the highlights together.
From the terrible twos, to the dramatic teens.... she was always there for me!

Even though she has entered this totally new time in life, we still share that relationship.
A relationship that means the world to me....
Beth has made my life so much brighter.

She is everything a woman is supposed to be, loves the Lord so much, and has pointed me to Him SO many times!


I am SO very blessed to have her in my life.....

I love her!!!!!!

Our own Band.... :)

I love you, Boo!

LOVE!

Yesterday and today are my parents anniversary! We are not sure which day they actually got married. Both days are marked on the calendar.

Instead of writing a post about how wonderful they are (You can read their birthday blog here.), because they really are wonderful, I decided to post a "journal entry" that dad wrote to Johanna when she was born. He has a journal for each of us that he has kept up-dated throughout our lives.
Dad gave me permission to blog this... I promise.

 "We met in Bandon, Oregon. Your mother left her career as a social worker, working in a child protection agency in Penticton, to attend a small Bible school where I was a teacher. Under the surface we were immediately attracted to each other. Our feelings grew as we shared common interests. We attended the same church, we shared much time together on the campus, we ministered together door-to-door sharing the gospel (with only little 4 year old Drew Davidson as a chaperon), plus, we went for lunches and coffee together. I remember long beautiful walks on the gorgeous Oregon beach with the waves crashing continuously under perfect moonlight where we discussed at great length our vision for raising a family. And all this occurred before we even admitted that we were attracted to each other.


When we acknowledged our mutual flame of affection it was already a blazing inferno of heat.
We knew that God had brought us together. That He had purposed that we become one and that we should demonstrate what a godly marriage could be. We had no question but that joining each other we were doing God's will. And more - we believed that having a family and raising it in the Lord was our mission. To give you a healthy environment and to instill in you an understanding of God's purpose for your life. We have embraced this concept from the beginning so you can appreciate the joyful anticipation we felt when we first knew that you were in your mother's womb."

Aw... so sweet! *sniff*
Mom and dad got married at a Justice of the Peace. No, nothing was wrong... mom wasn't into planning a wedding.
It is pretty ironic that now "planning weddings" has become a ministry God has used her with.

Mom wore a red dress... she still can't figure out why she wore that ugly thing.

Cool thing is.... 24 years later and my parents really love each other.
Oh... and 24 years later they have 7 kids that love the Lord and think they are the BEST!
Mom and dad, You really did give us a "healthy environment... to instill in you an understanding of God's purpose for (our) life."

Thank you, dad and mom!

I can't resist an opportunity to

 have a Michael Buble Song... :)

A "Vunderful" Time Was Had by All!

Whew! That was a fun weekend!

Have I ever mentioned that I love Christmas?

It was a great Christmas....
Click here for pictures.
I was completely spoiled!
One of my favorite gifts..

Peter made it for  me.
It is a flamingo.
He had asked me what my favorite animal was... I said flamingos.
It's true.
I'm not an animal person (Besides my dog...).
Flamingos are so cool.

They  are pink.
They are super unique.
They're pretty!!!!
They are not everyone's favorite animal.
They are flat out cool.
It is a special gift because it was special (Make sense?).... I love it!

We got a new game called "Settlers of Catan."
Don't ever play a game with Jeffrey!
He is SO competitive!
I mean... winning is not everything.
OK... it is the point of playing, but...

The truth be told.
Jeffrey makes my competitive side come out.
I usually try to hide it.... but with him, I just can't!

My Oma and Grandpa John came....
Oma is the Dutch name for Grandma.... my Oma is very dutch!
When I was a kid, I wanted SO badly to just be able to say "grandma," like all the other cool kids!
Now, I think I am the cool one... I have an awesome "Oma." Not all kids can say that!

If you don't know what a Dutch person acts or looks like... come see my Oma.
She even has an accent!
I love accents!
When a customer has an accent, I ask them lots of questions just so I can hear it!

Oma eats a TON!
When I say that... I'm not kidding!
Everyone in our family has a huge appetite.

If you come to our house and say you aren't hungry... my mom might start crying.
She can't stand it.
If you don't take seconds... you obviously don't like the food.

We went to an Awana event and they announced that there was a limit on how many hot dogs you could eat.
It was made because the year prior my brothers had eaten too many!

So believe me... we eat a lot!
When Oma comes to visit... she out-eats all of us.

We went to an all you can eat buffet.
We all ate until food was coming out of our ears.
When we were all done.... Oma ate for another twenty minutes.
When she finally finished her plate... she said, "I could still eat another plate!"
We all stared in disbelief.
The crazy thing is, she is extremely skinny!

Oma thinks we are all the greatest....
When we are cooking, she looks over our shoulder in amazment that we are such culinary geniuses!

She makes us laugh!
Dutch people have a strange sense of humor.
They enjoy laughing at each other... they also enjoy laughing at themselves.

My mom has this trait.
It is rather great.
When they make a mistake or do something crazy... they find it just as funny as the onlookers.

I have a story about Oma.
We were little.
Mom was in the store.
We were in the car with Oma.
We didn't know if Oma was saved... this really concerned me.
I had a sudden stroke of genius ... "Johnny... flow with me." (I don't think I actually used those words... but, I'm sure it was something similar.)
Then I started singing at the top of my lungs...
I sang about how Jesus died for us and we all needed to accept him into our hearts. Johnny joined me and together we sang and sang....
I laugh and blush at the memory.
Poor Oma.
At least we had good intentions.

Anyhow....
We went shopping yesterday (Tradition!), it was fun.
I didn't buy much... BUT, I convinced mom and Jo to buy lots!
This was a HUGE accomplishment! 
I employed myself as their "Personal Fashion Consultant."
"Jo... think, exotic!" Hehe... that didn't go over well.

I love clothes... hate spending money, therefore buy thing on extreme clearance or at "pre-washed stores." (Aka. Thrift stores)
Mom and Jo don't care all that much about clothing, hate to spend money on themselves, therefore don't get clothes.
I forced them to try thing on and they both found stuff they really like!
I'm so proud of them.


So now that you read all of my random ramblings... Have a "vunderful"  night!

Seven on Friday!

Ahhh.... Life is pretty good!
I love this time of year!!!!
It is wonderful!

I saw a post called  "Ten on Tuesday" on someone's blog.
They wrote ten random things on Tuesday.
It was cool....
But, it's Friday... and I can't think of ten...
So lets just call this "Seven on Friday!"


1. Something has been on my mind lately.
When I wake, it's there.
When I try to sleep, it's there.
While I'm making coffee, it's there.
You get the idea.

You may wonder, what could be SO special... that I absolutely cannot stop thinking about?

Well... here you go.

Your Life will never be the same!

"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do!"
This song plays on the radio around five times an hour.
By the time I get of work... I am truly convinced that a hippo is what I truly want for Christmas!
It's a great song... but once you hear it... you will not get it out of your head. Ever!

Dad heard me singing it the other day and started singing it... just because he loves me.
Slowly  everyone in our family is beginning to sing it....
As I wrote this... three different family members came in singing it.

So... Just in case you hadn't heard it...
I have now made your life that much better!

2. I spent 18 years of my life convinced that I hated egg-nog. This year, I tried it... it is wonderful!

3. I have an embarrassing laugh.
It is... well, kinda, crazy sounding.
I have tried changing it... you know, so it's soft and musical...
It didn't work!

My laugh, when I really laugh, is weird.
I absolutely cannot think of words to describe it... just believe me, it's ridiculous!

The other day Beth came over and I was attempting to do her hair.
I don't remember what happened... but we were laughing. Hard!
Suddenly I stopped and listened to her laughter.
It was ridiculous!
I started laughing at her...
My laugh was ridiculous!
They were the same!
I pointed it out.... we laughed harder!
It was a ridiculous chorus of "weird" laughter!
We are both convinced that the other's laugh is worse... but in truth, they are the same.
This made me very happy... my laugh is not mine.
It's Beth's (She's older!), somehow I caught it!
Ha. Ha. Haaaa.

4.  Jesus is SO much smarter than me!!!!
I don't know why I worry and fear.... God is bigger!
There's a Veggie Tales song, "God is Bigger than the Boogie Man."
Ya...Silly.
I don't believe in the Boogie Man, but I have the things in my life that I have to remember to give to the Lord.
I have to remember that God is bigger.
He is bigger than my plans.
Bigger than my dreams.
Bigger than my fears.
Bigger than the future... that seems to loom so uncertainly before me.
God is biggest!

5. Marian and I have our future husbands named (Dad came up with the names...)... Mine is Francisco, her's is Henry.
Jo can't remember what her guy was named .
When other girls say,  "future husband" or "prince charming," I say, "Francisco."

No, this does not mean I will marry a guy just because his name happens to be Francisco, and no, that doesn't mean I have to marry a Mexican....
Goodness!


6.  One of my best friends  growing up had a baby last night.
This is crazy!!!
We were just kids!
What is happening!!!!!
I am super happy for her!!


7.  Tonight is our church's "Adult Christmas Party."
Year after year I have stayed home babysitting... while the girls, mom, and dad went to the party.

This year I am FINALLY an adult!
It took me long enough!

I am SO excited to go!!!!!
If it is dull and boring I will be very disappointed!

Thank You, Lord!

It is Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite holidays!

I have so very much to be thankful for this year!
God has been SO good to me!

I do not deserve all that He has given me!!!!

This year, I am especially thankful for:

1. My Family!

They really knock my socks off!

2. Dad.

It wasn't until recently that I really began to appreciate how precious the love of my dad is.
It has always been there... I never doubted it.
But in the last couple years I have come to appreciate it in a new way.
Maybe it is because I have seen the pain that comes when a girl misses out on that love.
There are so many young women who are searching for love.
Searching to be told that they are beautiful.
Searching to be accepted.
I have a precious gift!

3. Purpose and Direction

I am so thankful that God guides.
He really does have a plan!

4. Carrots! 

From the amount of carrots I ate growing up.... I should have amazing "night vision!"

Because they make my life better!
There is something wonderful about chomping down on a huge carrot!
Don't laugh at me!
I love them!

5. My New Brother
You know, Kuzco, from, "The Emperors New Groove."

That movie makes me laugh a ridiculous amount.

Well, that's Jeffrey!
Saves me from having to tell you about him.

I'm kidding!
Although there may be a slight resemblance..
That's what I called him before they got married.

He is awesome!
All of my life I wanted an older brother... now I have one!

You can see why I had my doubts! 

6. Emily

Cuteness Overload!

I LOVE being an aunt!
When I hold this cutie.... I struggle with pride!
I just can't get over how perfect she is!

7. God's Faithfulness!

God is SO faithful!

8. Idaho

I love this place!

9. My Job

I love my job at Java Bear!
I am super blessed!

10. Grajuation!

(Yes... I spelled that wrong on purpose!)
I LOVE being graduated!
It is awesome!

11. Crazy Memories

I'm so glad that the Lord gave us the ability to remember things...

12. Friends

*Insert your face here*

New and old.
Crazy and Sane.
They're awesome!

13. Coffee!

Because I never really appreciated it until this year!

14. The Ability to Grow and Change!

Philippians 1:6

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

"Thou art the Potter... I am the clay!"

15. Food

I think God was awfully nice to let us have taste-buds!
I recently have begun to LOVE cooking!
I finally can say I have a hobby.
It's like my own form of art... Because art and I never did get along.

My Home!
I am thankful that I have a home where Christmas (*we know you aren't suppose to until tomorrow... but do you know of any "Thanksgiving music?"*) music is playing, laughter is heard, dad is making me a special cup of coffee because someone poured mine out, and people love each other... a lot!

On that note... I think I will go enjoy it!

Thank you, Lord!


Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. I am thankful for the ability to laugh!

Teacher: Why did the turkey cross the road? 
Joey: It was the chicken's day off.

How many cooks does it take to stuff a turkey? 

One, but you really have to squeeze him in! 

What do you get after eating way too much turkey and dressing? 

Dessert, of course! 

Who is not hungry at Thanksgiving? 

The turkey, because he’s already stuffed! 

So Corny! I know!