To buy or not to buy?

John & I have been faced with the issue of buying a house earlier than expected. Right now we rent a house in a great neighborhood with a backyard for our dogs. Our lease is up in Sept. but the owners of the home told us last week they want to put the house on the market in "early spring." They currently live in PA & rent to us through a local property management place. We rented knowing the owners couldn't sell before they had to move to PA, but wanted to rent for several years or so. That has changed.

So, we're at the crossroads of looking for another place to rent or buying our own home. Right now we're leaning towards buying. For starters John hates renting b/c we're just "throwing our money away" and not investing in anything. Also, the market is great for buyers right now especially if the bill for 1st time home owners to get around $7,500 passes. The down side is obvious....we buy here, we stay here. Not forever, but for possibly longer than we originally had in our "plan." The funny thing is we really don't have a "plan," but I know buying a house here was never really part of it. :) We moved to Rochester without any big plans...just to test out the area & hopefully find jobs we enjoy. I knew going into it that I could do anything for a year or two...even if I hated the job we moved here for. However, I don't hate my job. Will I retire here?...no, but I really like what I'm doing right now. Buying is an investment with money and time so it's a big decision. That's where your prayers will be greatly appreciated!!

We tooled around Sat. and got flyers in neighborhoods we liked, viewed a few with open houses & broke into a couple vacant new ones :) It was pretty fun, but stressful at the same time. Some were better than expected and others disappointing.

However, our "hunt" will be on hold for about 3 weeks. John is training in Minneapolis for 2 weeks (he left this morning). He will come back on Sat. to take his series 66 test then back to the cities Monday. I am leaving Wed. for a conference in Chicago, but I'll be back on Saturday. THEN, we both leave Aug. 9th for Colorado!! I'm working a normal week & he's tagging along. Even though I work all day, we'll be able to get a nice bite to eat at night and do some touring. John found a big cat refuge place for us to visit!!!! They rescue tigers, lions etc.! He knows me pretty good, huh!?

Also, my dad left for Japan Saturday...again. He'll be gone for 6 weeks as usual. My family is so thankful that he has a job, but the traveling is getting old for everyone. My dad is tired of the constant travel & my mom is tired of being alone. He's been gone more this year than he's been home. I'd love for him to find a job he loves that doesn't require so much travel!

Sorry this has gotten so long. Please pray for our decision & that if we are going to buy that everything will fall into place with the Lord's help. Also keep my parents in your prayers. I hate that my mom is all alone & I'm so far away. Of course, we'll need some prayer on Sat. for John's final test & safe travels all around.

Maybe I should change this post's title to PRAYER! :)

River house 2008!

I started a post about some of my wonderful friends, but just recently realized I didn't post it! So, I'm changing it up a bit and posting it now.

I can't begin to describe my relationship with some close girlfriends. If it wasn't for my experience at college or with DZT for that matter I doubt I would have the group of girls to rely on that I do. I thank God everyday that they are in my life! Our friendships are so different that it's virtually impossible to even explain, but somehow it works. I don't know how it works and really don't care to figure it out b/c all that matters is that we're there for each other. Each girl makes me a better person and challenges me in different ways. I have no doubt in my mind that the Lord knows how and why I need each of them.

Isn't that how it should be? Shouldn't every person in our life somehow make us better, stronger, happier!? Each person in my life has helped me grow in some way & continues to be a place of strength for me. I'm grateful for each friendship I have....some new, many old & try my hardest to appreciate that friendship for what it is. I hope my friends have days where they rely on me the way I often rely on them.

One of the hardest parts to friendships is making the time....making that extra effort. We made a vow in college to try and see each other at least once a year on "family vacations" & I'm so proud of us for actually doing it! Of course out of 10 girls not everyone can come every year, but we honestly give it our best shot. Some may think it's totally impractical to get such a big group together every year. If you are one of those people...you are absolutely right! BUT somehow it works & that's why it's so great. It's impractical and will continue to get more that way once we're all married and start families...imagine the numbers. haha. Even though it's crazy & impossible at times, it's still totally worth it. It's worth the time & minor stress of it all b/c we are only promised today!! We can only do with the time we have this very moment so a little inconvenience & extra effort doesn't come close to affecting our memories we get from being together. We give our friendships 100%....no regrets!

So, here we are on our second annual vacation. Last time it was Myrtle Beach SC....this time it's Elkton MD on the Chesapeake bay. We stayed at Cameron & Brad's family river house full of warmth and charm. It's been in their family since the 1930's & was absolutely perfect for our family of 10+! This weekend to me was heaven. It was so great to relax on the beach, play in the water and talk talk talk! Being so far away from all of these girls makes it even more special when we get a chance to recharge our batteries together.

These are a few of the girls that make me smile everyday. Thanks ladies for all that you add to my life! I'll try & add a few more pictures soon.

Lake Okoboji Iowa

A few weekends ago John and I joined two couples from our small group for a little retreat. Between weddings & holidays we don't have much PTO or money left over (dern plane tickets), so we didn't plan on taking a vacation this summer. However, this was the perfect little get-a-way...not too far away or too much money & we couldn't resist the chance to play board games!!

We went to a place called "Cutty's," which is like a camp ground for campers or tents, but they also have some rooms you can stay in like a hotel. We stayed up late playing Quelf, Taboo, Catch Phrase, a great dice game, Compatible & hear me out. We swam, laid out & played ridiculous games I would come up with that involved passing a football. It was great!

For food we grilled out or went to local restaurants. My favorite was a little Mexican place we found the last night. We also went to a small amusement park on the lake & rode golf carts!
Did I mention we played games? Not just inside, but at Cutty's there is free mini-golf & other outdoor games. The girls took on the guys betting back rubs and ended up in the hole 30 minutes at the end. Dang us for doing "double or nothing." We played several rounds of mini golf, horse shoes & shuffle board. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend & I'm so glad we went!

Checking out the lake.

Andi brought a ton of magazines for lazing by the pool!

Possibly my favorite game....Quelf. The game of randomness...that's all I can say.

No, we didn't buy them...yes, I regret it.

The girls at my new favorite Mexican restaurant!

The ladies won this one!

We were sooooo close!

putt-putt anyone?

We got the loft

No, this isn't Jamacia, just Okoboji

Yay for go-carts!

Look who's 30!

Andi and Karen planned a great surprise 30th birthday party for Kendall and Chris at Sonte's! It was great, complete with a wedding...I mean birthday cake & slideshow. The food was amazing! Great party ladies!!

Kendall & Chris beside their birthday cake...yum!!

SURPRISE!!! The birthday boys

Andi so pleased with her food :)

Our Best Surprise face!


















Small group gals

The birthday couples!

Yay, John!!!!

John passed his series 7 this morning!!! I'm so proud of him & it's such a huge relief to both of us! He should be so proud since 60% of people that take this test don't pass it the first time. He devoted a lot of time to studying & as you all know, studying isn't really John's forte! :)


The series 7 is a financial test that is 6 hrs. long and contains 260 questions. It is a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) test, which covers a broad range of investments including stocks, bonds, options, limited partnerships, and investment company products. This means he now his has his "General Securities Licence." I still don't have my MN drivers licence so I think he's got me beat here! In two weeks he'll take his series 66, which will allow him to be an agent of a broker-dealer & investment advisor representative in each state. Don't ask....I have no idea.


Thank You to all of our friends and family that have been praying for him! It really paid off. Today is a good day for us! We've been laughing all day that John studied more for this test then all 5 years of college!!!

Happy 4th!!!

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July. John, Matt and I went with Kendall & Andi to "The Taste of MN." Basically the best vendors in the state come together for a week long celebration of the 4th. We ate ourselves sick! First we started with fried cheese curds, which might possibly be my favorite thing about MN! They were delicious! Then we had "dinner" which consisted of roasted corn on the cob, a corn dog and bratwurst. Next was the "spiral spuds." It's a whole potatoe that they cut in a very thin spiral, deep fry (of course), and top with seasoning etc. For dessert I got a waffle cone of ice cream and John had a bag of mini-doughnuts. I was hoping to squeeze in deep fried cheesecake, but my stomach just couldn't handle it.

Our plan went off perfectly. We arrived at the "fair" in St. Paul around 4:00 and staked out a place to sit near the stage that had live bands & faced our chairs over the city skyline where the fireworks would be. By night fall the place was PACKED. The fireworks were great and corresponded with the music in the background. I couldn't help but think of all the different type of people around that were watching the fireworks together. The different economic classes & family dynamics that sat together and focused on our country as patriotic songs played in the background and fireworks lit up the sky.

Now, I'm not and don't claim to be someone "in the know" about politics. I don't have near the passion for them as many close to me do, but I have to say this particular year has enough drama to capture every one's attention. I thought about this upcoming presidential election and the direction America will go as I watched the fireworks. I have to admit this is the first time I've not really been thrilled with any of the candidates. I was still filled with that overwhelming pride to be an American that gets a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about our candidates. I was thinking about the future of our nation & for the first 4th of July in my life I had concern for our future. I wasn't overwhelmed with this invincible American high like nothing could ever happen to our nation. I think it was a little of everything...the oil prices and economic issues combined with the fact that we are at war with a presidential election around the corner. This 4th was heaver than before....another wonderful part about adulthood I guess! :) I'll just say this and shut up.....I laughed out loud at all the Obama shirts I saw. Let's just say they were not your typical Presidential t-shirts. My favorite was an all black one with Obama's face in silver metallic & the words Hope & Change written in graffiti font. It reminded me of a 2-pac shirt I've seen before. I'm not going to get on a soap box here, but it's amazing to me how far he's gotten with the words "change & hope." Apparently that's all you need to become a candidate for the most powerful nation in the world. Calm down...I'm done.

Overall this has been a great weekend & the highlight was by far our trip to St. Paul. It's been an amazing summer and I have no complaints about the weather! I'm looking forward to more cook outs and fun times with friends. I hope summer never ends!!!



I have a firework setting on my new camera!

Yum! More fatty food!

The whole gang ready to claim our spot!