Me, Melanie, God, and Snow

It all started in 2001 when Melanie and I were working as Resident Counselors at a group home in California. When you live at the group home with your clients it is difficult to get time off...because even on the holidays someone needs to be at the house with your clients. So when I got to fly to MN just after Thanksgiving, I was excited. I was only going to be there for a long weekend though, and that just didn't seem like a long enough time. So Melanie and I decided that we would pray for a snow storm so I could be with my family longer. I told my family about our plan, and they agreed it would be great...but I don't think they actually believed it would happen. Then the day before I was scheduled to fly back to California it started to snow....and snow....and snow....in fact it snowed 29.9 inches over night! The crazy thing was it was only in Willmar. If you went 10-20 miles out of Willmar they got about 12 inches. I remember watching the "Today Show" and hearing them mention Willmar by name. It was crazy! Needless to say, I got was stranded for a couple of more days. It was fantastic.

Next it was Melanie's turn to go home to Michigan. She was going to get to be home for Christmas but would only be there for a few days. Once again we prayed that there would be a snow storm which would allow her to have more time with her family. I know it seems crazy...but it worked! On the day of her return flight all planes were grounded due to snow and ice, so she got to stay an extra day.

After these occasions we would often joke with others about how if they have a weather related issue they would like prayer about they should come to us. So when Mark and I decided on an outdoor wedding in the middle of August we prayed for no rain, and for cooler than average temperatures....and once again it worked!

Now some people would could say that we could have just been lucky those three times, but I don't think so because just last weekend I had yet another prayer answered in the form of a snow storm. You see, last week Melanie was in Michigan for her job and she purposefully got a 2 hour lay over in Minneapolis so that we could see each other (it is worth it even if I we can only hang out at the airport). So when the storm came in I was sad because I knew that there wasbe a chance I wouldn't get to see her. Then the night before she was suppose to come Melanie found out her flight was cancelled. They found her another flight but the lay over in Minneapolis was only going to be 40 minutes so I wouldn't get to see her. I was bummed. So I prayed. Then the next morning she called me and told me she just landed in Minneapolis and they informed her that her next flight was cancelled and she would now have a 7 hour layover. This not only meant that i would get to see her, but it gave us enough time so she could hang out at our house (which she hadn't seen yet). Granted it was difficult getting out of our parking lot to pick her up from the airport, and we got stuck multiple times in our parking lot after we dropped her off...but it was all worth it. It was so fun to see her again. So once again I find myself saying....Thank You, God!

Welcome to my Subconscious

At the beginning of February Mark and I joined a fitness club. We have known for sometime that we need to be more proactive in living a healthy lifestyle (get more exercise, eat smaller portions, eat less processed foods, etc.) and so we have slowly been making some changes. I've been feeling pretty good about how we have been doing so far but I have noticed a strange thing happening ever since we started going to the gym to work out.

You see, after the first night we worked out I came home and went to sleep and dreamt that I (along with members of Bluer's all-star band) was going all around the twin cities in the search for the perfect donut. During the course of the dream we would go to different bakeries and I (and I alone) would take a bite or two out of random donuts.Then after discovering it was not all I had hoped it would be I would get in the car and go to the next place. Through out the dream the task at hand (finding the perfect donut) was of the utmost importance. Every one involved in the search understood the seriousness of the matter.

Now, if that dream was not strange enough for you...the story gets better. Last night Mark and I went and worked out again. Then when I went to sleep I found myself having a very similar dream. This time it involved Mark and I on a search for the greatest chocolate malt in the metro-area. Once again we would go place to place, sampling their chocolate malt. Then we would move on, when it didn't meet our standards of excellence.

Coincidence...I think not. If I had to guess, I would think that the next time we work out in the evening I will be having a dream about the quest for the perfect piece of cake...no, I take the back the perfect french silk pie....no, no, no the perfect chai ...or maybe creme brulee...mmmm cheese cake...

Turtle Time

The public libraries in the twin cities have started to do a really cool thing and have passes to local museums and/places of interest that you can "check out". My friend Anne made the most of this opportunity and got tickets to the Minnesota Zoo. So this morning I got to go with her and her daughter to look at all the different animals. I haven't been to the Minnesota Zoo since I was in grade school, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. One would think that it wouldn't be too impressive since it is winter (which means many closed outdoor exhibits) but I was very impressed by the indoor exhibits (the Tropic Trail & Discovery Bay) . They had tons of beautiful fish, cool monkeys, and a bunch really strange animals that I had never even heard of. I am definitely going back again in the summer to check out the whole zoo.

The picture you see above is of Anne's daughter, Emma, next to a turtle statue (which she loved). I told her to smile and at first she just did a fake smile with no teeth, so Anne told her to show her teeth and this was the result. I think it is hilarious.