I've been tagged!

My girlie Rach tagged me on her blog- I love doing these questions

1. At what age do/did you (wish to) have children?
-I didn't really have a plan on what age I'd have children, I just wanted to see where we were at in life. It ended up being 27 was the age we had Eliana.

2. What color do you like most?
-Is Black a color?? That's my fav

3. If you can have a superpower, what would it be?
-To be able to travel anywhere for free!!

4. If you can travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
-Greece!!

5. Which part of you do you hate the most?
-My need for being in control

6. When you get sad, what do you do?
-Get quiet and distance myself

7. What book are you reading now?
-Sex god by Rob Bell...it's a good read, we are reading it in our couple's group

8. If you win $1 million, what would you do with the money?
-Travel, missions work, college for E, buy some horses

9. What did you love the most about last year (2007)?
-Having a happy and healthy family

10. How did you get your name?
-My parents had a name book and liked the name Nicole

11. What is the moment you regret most?
-hmmm....luckily I REALLY have to think about this one...probably not traveling abroad in college.

12. What type of person do you hate the most?
-I would say Hate is a strong word. I get bugged when people are late, inconsistent and not dependable

13. What is your greatest asset?
-My caring heart

14. If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
-For my dad's movie to be #1 at the box office :)

15. How did you celebrate the New Year?
-I don't remember! I need to go back and look at my calendar...so sad

16. Name the one body part your hubby or significant other tells you (s)he adores.
-My little nose

17. It’s 2008. What are you looking forward to this year?
-Spending more time with people I love

18. Anything in your life that you wish weren’t so awful?
-Nope! God is good :)

19. What’s the shallowest thing you intend to do this year?
-I have to agree with Rach, I'm a sucker for celebrity gossip and I'll be reading my US Weekly, yup, I know...it's pretty shallow

20. What’s the meaning of life?
-For me? It's to serve the Lord and bring his message of life and hope to others. Life is about loving others well.

I would love to hear what you guys think...copy and paste this in a message and send it out. Sorry, I don't know how to tag people yet on my blog! Cheers!

Halloween 2008

So, who does Frankenstein take to the prom?

His ghoul friend!

This was Eliana's first time trick or treating! She was running from house to house yelling "trick or treat!!" at the top of her lungs. We spent the night at my gramma Maxyne's house- their neighborhood goes all out for Halloween, lot's of decorations and festivities. Grandma Ann, Grandpa Tim, Lexi,Tiffany, Michael, Ingrid and Milo all joined in the for the party!

Eliana's First Ascent

The Eliana Wall

October 30th, 2008 Newswire

Eliana Will made the first ascent of her new line she called "Eliana" on the Eliana Wall at the WonderWill bouldering cave in Chanhassen. She was hanging out in the garage with her dad when she walked up to the wall and started climbing- and she didn't stop until she got to the top! There are no pictures of this first ascent as her dad was too busy spotting her to get a camera out. Proportionately, it would be like an adult free climbing a 20' tall wall (the Eliana Wall is 7' tall and 4' wide.)

Since there are no photos of the first ascent, a second ascent is planned for the near future with a full photo and video crew to document the ascent.

Eliana's dad has had a permanent smile since his daughters first ascent. He said in a recent interview "I knew she could always do it, I just didn't think she would on-site the route as quickly as she did! My little girl has got skills, mad skills! I am so proud of her!"

Shortly after helping his daughter return to flat ground, Eliana's dad smiled and shed a single tear.

Stay tuned as more photos and videos are posted from the next historic ascent.

Constructing the WonderWill Bouldering Cave

Who says power tools and toddlers don't mix? Eliana removing old holds so the panel can be painted.

Foliage- just a fun word to say

The first annual C4C MN Chapter Fall Foliage Family Fun Hike was a great success. Six people participated in the pleasant 3.5 mile hike through the rolling St. Croix River valley in Afton State Park. It was also the first C4C event for the newly married Eckers family. Congratulations to Gabe and Michelle! They have a great story about their relationship- I encourage everyone to ask them about it some time.

The prior evening's weather check called for clear skies but my windshield wipers were intermittently oscillating across my windshield during most of my drive to Afton due to a light drizzle that followed the newly arrived cold front.

Just as we have hope in things unseen, I knew the drizzle would fizzle as the sun got higher and we would have a great hike.

The hiking path was well maintained and allowed us to enjoy the conversation and sights along the way. We spent most of our time getting to know each other, telling stories and enjoying the excitement of a toddler in the woods. The trees were not quite in full color yet but you could tell they were on the verge of a color explosion. Eliana (22 months old) hiked up the biggest hill of her life, all while singing parts of the ABCs, "happy birthday", and "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart".

At the peak height of the trail, the park service had cut and burned about 10 acres of prairie grass that surrounded the hiking path, leaving the ground blackened and barren. Sporadic trees were left standing. They looked lonely. It reminded me about the photos I have seen from Haiti and we talked about life in Gentilhomme, what it is like, how God brought C4C there, and what is happening now (read about it here).

We stopped for lunch when we reached the banks of the St. Croix River. There was a large log laying high on the bank that served as both our chairs and table. It was an especially great experience for me; eating lunch with my daughter while sitting on a massive log next to a river that will ultimately flow it's waters into the Gulf of Mexico- thousands of miles away.

We took time to smell the leaves, touch pine needles, skip rocks in the river and watch leaves float down a creek to the St. Croix. I would say we are all better friends and that the MN Chapter has started a great annual tradition with the Fall Foliage Family Fun hike!

Hunting Widow...

Do you feel sorry for me?? :) I'll be a hunting widow 4 weekends this fall. Isaac decided to join the Mahoney boys in WI for some good old fashion deer hunting with a bow and arrow. Last weekend was the first adventure...needless to say it was unsuccessful. I secretly think Isaac just likes the excuse to sit in the woods all weekend!
I was blessed with some good mommy/daughter time. We hung out all weekend together, running errands, visiting friends and seeing family. I miss Isaac though when he is gone :( We got so excited for him to come back.
This weekend I'm heading to Denver with the fam to see my beautiful cousin get married to the man of her dreams. I can't wait!! It's funny because when Isaac and I vacationed in Denver last summer we met her for lunch and she talked about how she met this guy the other day and "there's something different and so great" about him. Yup! He's the one she was talking about!!!

Firsts!

This weekend we had our first taste of Philippino food...it was delicious. Our good friends R and D made Pancit (I think that's what it was called), or called Celebration Noodles. Eliana couldn't get enough, she was even eating off of D's plate it was so cute. We can't wait until the two E's can play together!! They are adopting E from the Philippines :)

Another first this weekend was biking 20 miles in the rain!! For all of you bike riders out there, check out the Cannon Falls Trail. It's a gorgeous bike trail that take you all the way from Cannon Falls to Red Wing along the river. The leaves and the scenery are awesome. We went with another couple, T and D. Eliana was such a trooper. She actually slept for half of the trip. The last half hour all we could talked about was what we were going to order for lunch at the local bar and grill. A burger never tasted so good!

From Cannon River Trail 2008 with the Brunn's

From Cannon River Trail 2008 with the Brunn's

Getting back into it...

It seems overwhelming on where to begin when we haven't been the best at keeping our blog updated! Oops! For starters, this summer has been fun and busy- a great combination.

Isaac and I both took a couple weeks off this summer to be with Eliana. We went camping, played outside, finished house projects, went to the zoo, and spent a lot of time at Grandma Ann's and Grandpa Tim's pool. Eliana is not scared of water at all and in fact jumped off the diving board last weekend- no fear!

This summer has also been full of beautiful weddings and blessings of baby showers and wedding showers. I think we are in a time of life where our friends are getting hitched or having babies! It's so fun. One of Isaac's climbing buddies got married outside at a beautiful farm- they couldn't have asked for more perfect wedding. It was actually the same day of our wedding anniversary so Isaac and I reminisced about our wedding day- it was a great way to spend and celebrate an anniversary. Isaac and I celebrated 6 wonderful years :)

My college roommate will be getting married in October. A couple of weekends ago about 25 girls celebrated with her. We went out on Lake Minnetonka from 10-4:30 pm for a day in the sun with cocktails and music, I think most of us spent the day catching up with each other. Then we cleaned up for a night out in Hopkins. Skip going downtown ladies, a night out at Mainstreets was a BLAST!! The live band was awesome- we danced the night away and felt like we were in college again. It's fun to relive the good ole days :)

One of the best things I did this summer was go to the Beth Moore conference in July. I went with all of the ladies in my family- mom, Molly, Ingrid, Auntie Jill, Mikaela, and my adopted auntie T. If you haven't been to hear her speak, please make time too! She is inspired and will challenge you. That was a highlight. So much in fact that all the ladies in my family will be doing her bible study together this fall. I can't wait!!

A couple of exciting house projects are underway as we speak. My hubby is in the garage with his buddies building a climbing wall- yes, you heard me correctly :) It's quite the structure. He's assured me that it won't interrupt my parking or storage. I decided that I'm picking my battles on this one- he's really excited about it and I don't need to make a stink of it! I'm sure Eliana will be climbing by the time she is 2, which will be in 2 months!!

Another fun project we did this summer was complete the back patio and add some landscaping features. We also tore up the front- removed all of the rock, added landscaping pavers, and put up 2 gorgeous iron window boxes on the two front big windows. I know, I should have pictures but Isaac will have to add them as I'm not that computer savvy. So my next hobby I will be undertaking is gardening. Right now I'm just asking people lots of questions, checking out EVERY ONE'S yard work, and taking lots of pictures. I think next spring will be the big planting.

Every year we go to the State Fair with my parents in honor of their anniversary. Eliana, like every kid, loves the animals and the good food. It was Milo's first time at the fair, it was my favorite just to watch him with his "firsts" at the fair. Eliana and Milo love to be together- they play, laugh and kiss each other all the time, it's so cute. I'm thinking next year we might get a sitter and leave the kiddies at home, as much as I love having her there it's really hard to see everything with a little one in tow.

We also celebrated two wonderful events this summer as well. My sister in law Sara celebrated the big 3-0 and Tiffany graduated from College!! I love these ladies so much. We had so much fun!! Sara had a fiesta themed party with the works- gourmet food, a pinata, margarita's and salsa music. Tiffany had a Hawaiian themed party with fresh fruit and kabobs, amazing pies, and good drinks. I always learn so much from Ann and the girls about how to throw a good party. I swear- they should all go into business together- a party planning and executing business. They'd be awesome.

One of the best things that happened this summer is that my closest friend and high school girlfriend, Katie Mc, moved back to MN from Denver with her family. I can't tell you the peace and joy I get just knowing that I can hug her or see her whenever I want!! She is the most loving person, she just gets me and is a great listener. She is also the best hair stylist I've ever met too :) She'll be working at Juut in Edina- for any of you that need a hair cut!!

I think that wraps up our summer. I'll have Isaac posts some pics!! Let us know what you've been up to this summer!