Sheldonville

The transformation: Do blonds have more fun?

2009-04-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

In late march, Stephanie and I decided to be girly and dye each other's hair. Stephanie went with a redish brown color and I decide that with spring about here to lighten things up and put chunking highlights in my hair. I received a kit from another friend and held just for a special occasion just like this. To make a long story short, my hair ended up looking somewhat stunk like. Here is a pic of me the day after getting ready for work.

Eric was not a fan of this new look and thought that is would be cool to dye my hair completely blond. After a little convincing, Eric went to the store bought a bleaching kit for dark hair and later that night for our date, he began striping my hair. Here is a pic of me during my three hour wait to rinse my hair with a bag over my head and looking chipper.

Three hours later, after much whining and complaining that my scalp it burning. I hopped into the shower and then went to bed. I Got up the next day, which was April Fool's and got ready for work. Here's the result of our hair striping date. I am excited to see and hear the reactions for everyone I come in contact with.
So what do you think?

No April Fools Joke

2009-04-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you have seen already, I have recently joined the Facebook cult. And as expected, I am already addicted which is hard to believe as I rarely become addicted to anything (okay so that bit about addiction is a bit of an April Fools joke). I can already tell that I will be spending more time on Facebook and less time updating our blog site. However, Aimee and I will still continue to update our blog site from time to time when we have the urge to write about something in more detail than what is considered kosher on Facebook. I just thought I would let all of you, our faithful and dearly beloved readers, know so that you have time to mourn over this tragic loss!

Good Times near Gull Lake

2009-03-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, Aimee and I drove up to our church's (Autumn Ridge) annual marriage retreat up near Brainerd, Minnesota, at Cragun's Resort after Aimee got off work. Because Aimee was unable to get off from work early, we ended up missing Friday night's sessions. I didn't like feeling like we were missing out on anything, so I tried to get us up there as quickly as possible. However, the traffic was ridiculous on 494 and 94; and I was about to lose my mind (I actually passed a car on the shoulder of the road). Aimee asked if I had time to do my devotions on Friday. I said "no," and she said that she could tell due to my horrendous driving. My morning devotions are literally my daily medication to keep me centered. However, once we got on to highway 10 at Clearwater-Clear Lake, it was much smoother sailing.

I have to admit that for the past four years when Aimee and I have gone up to the marriage retreat, I generally do not feel like digging deep to examine our marriage and to work on our issues. I also must admit that this year was even worse than in years past in that regard. The only thing that I can think of that may have led to me feeling this way this year is that since we have been actively participating in marriage counseling every week on Thursday nights for the past seven months and have been having more frequent deep discussions about our relationship during the week, I really just wanted to "escape" for a weekend, relax, and not put our marriage under the microscope for a couple of days. I will say that we did garner a good amount of helpful tips and tools and godly wisdom from the sessions led by Dr. George Kenworthy and his wife, and we were also led in great worship by Autumn Ridge's high school pastor, Reggie Nichols and his wife Karlee. During our free time, we spent some time hanging out with Travis and Allison Vail and Karl and Beth Bristol, two couples from our small group who were able to join us for the marriage retreat. In the picture below, we are getting ready to break out some Phase 10 on Friday night.

The retreat was two weeks later than normal this year, and so Aimee and I also spent some time checking the NCAA tourney scores and brackets in our room on our laptop (I am so glad we were able to get a laptop almost a year ago).

On Saturday after the morning sessions from 8 a.m. to noon (way too early for me), we had the rest of the day free. Aimee and I decided to use the sports centre at the resort this year which was a lot of fun. I ran on the indoor track while she and Beth biked in the fitness room. Then Aimee and I played some indoor volleyball with some of the other couples at the retreat. We then took on Nick and Korrie Johnson in a game of indoor carpeted doubles tennis, and I am proud to say that we won 7-5. Nick then kicked my butt in singles tennis beating me 6-0. After that, we all got cleaned up and went out to supper together at Grizzly's in Baxter. Pictured below are Jake and Hannah Calhoun, Karl and Beth Bristol, us, and Nick and Korrie Johnson. Good conversation and fellowship were had by all.

After supper, we went back to Cragun's and played some SkipBo, Nerts, and some more Phase 10. On Sunday, we finished up with two more sessions and then headed back to Rochester. All in all, I felt like it was a good weekend (even though it was too short); and I think we both needed to just get away for a couple of days. Looking at our calendar right now, we will be getting away every weekend in April, so I am pretty sure we will have plenty to blog about in the coming weeks.

A Tragic Story & An Electric Atmosphere

2009-03-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am, have always been, and will always be an Iowa Hawkeye fan. In fact, anyone who has grown up in the state of Iowa is generally a Hawkeye fan, that is, unless they have been brainwashed by the other non-mid-major university in the state (the Cyclones of Iowa State University). I kid you not. My brother Chris grew up learning what is right and good (to always cheer for the Hawkeyes); but then, like Judas Iscariot, he abandoned what he knew to be right and good, crossed over to the dark side, and attended Iowa State University. After his first visit back home from college around Thanksgiving of 1994 during his freshman year, I could tell something had changed within him. After a lot of intense research on my part, I later discovered that Iowa State mandates that every freshman take a class during their first semester titled "BW101: How to Become a Cyclone Fan: Ignoring the Deepest Roots of Your Truest Self." It took me a long time to uncover this as Iowa State does not list the class on any student's transcript. However, I did discover that it is a six-credit class that meets in various anonymous locations in Ames throughout the entire semester. It is a scary ordeal this underground brainwashing class. Hundreds of thousands of innocent young students have already given up hope and have been exposed to this class. This has literally divided my family. I ask that you do not take forceful action as this will only reinforce what this awful class is teaching these young minds (that Hawkeye fans are bad). Rather, I have found it to be best to simply pray over all of these students daily and hope that they will someday see the light again. I know that I am still praying for my brother Chris and now his wife and kids as well as he has passed what he learned in that class on to them.

This past Saturday, Aimee and I attended an Iowa Hawkeye men's basketball game and discovered all over again what is right and good. Iowa has struggled this year with a lot of injuries, and they are a young team. Because tickets were not selling so well this year, we got pretty good seats (row 6) at a great price. Here they are warming up below with the Penn State players warming up at the opposite end.

Pictured below is Iowa's bench with Coach Lickliter (Chris calls him Lintlicker...oh my, pray, pray, pray) standing up in the white shirt talking to one of his assistant coaches.

It was a close game throughout as most of Iowa's games have been this year. It was nice to see Iowa use their big guys, Cole and Tate, in tandem. Pictured below is Fuller and Bawinkel of the Hawkeyes and Cornley and Battle of the Nittany Lions.

The atmosphere at Carver Hawkeye Arena was electric especially towards the end of the game when it went into overtime and then into double overtime. However, as noted on the scoreboard and by the cheerleaders dancing in the picture below, the Hawkeyes won!

Even though we had to get back to Rochester so that I could work a few hours that night, we stayed after the game so that Aimee could shake a few of the players' hands and to get a picture of us.

Chris, if you have read this and if you are feeling things inside that you cannot explain, please give me a call or send me an e-mail. I would love to talk with you to help you discover your true self again and to help you see that you do indeed bleed BLACK AND GOLD!

Club 31...Book #5

2009-03-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Society tends to look down upon deep thinking or pass it off as it is only for the strange. Our culture tries to brainwash us through different forms of media and tries to imprient their opinions. But did you know that you already believe in something. And your belief affects the way you live, think and act. Have you ever wonder or have you ever been asked by someone else, What is life all about? Is there only one way to God or do all roads lead to him? And if there is a God and he is good, why do bad things happen? Why is there suffering? How can we know about God? And is there inate moriality in each of us? How would you respond to someone who was asking the "hard" questions and searching for the truth? What would you tell yourself?

The book that we had to read for March, was called How to be your own selfish Pig...and other ways you've been brainwashed, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.

This book is a complation of the "hard" questions of life. Short stories of real life people who walked in and out the doors of the L'Abri house. L'Abri is a place where people can come to get away from their everyday rountines and look for answers to the "hard" questions they are asking themselves. You can find L'Abri houses all over the world...Switzerland, Holland, England, Massachusetts and Minnesota. Thats right, I said Minnesota. There is a L'Abri House right here in Rochester, Minnesota.

If you find yourself questioning life and traveling is not an option, pick up this book. Read and ponder and determine your worldview.

Guess who just turned about 40ish?

2009-03-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

I'll give you three guesses. Nope, nope, and nope. Give up? Okay, it is Gato, Othello, and Rita. Today, March 2nd, is our kitties' 5th birthday. They were part of a litter of six with another calico kitty, another all-black-colored kitty, and an all beige-colored kitty. Here they are enjoying their birthday dinner of ocean whitefish...yum, yum!
*F.Y.I...Hey, did you know that a cat ages about 17 years in their first year and then about 6 years for every birthday after that up to their 9th birthday? After that, it tends to slow to about 2 years for every year after that...amazing, I know! Happy birthday pretty kitties!

The Friendship Challenge

2009-02-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

Pictured above is Jen, Nicole, and Allison (with me laying behind them, of course).

The friendship challenge is a challenge of whether your friendship will withstand this ten-day process of making bread. How it works is you receive a starter bag of goo on day 1. One might think to oneself, "Hey, this doesn't seem so tough."

On days two to five, you mush the goo and maybe even burp the goo. Once again you might think to yourself, "Alright, this is taking a little bit of a commitment, but so does being friends with Aimee...I think I can handle it."

Now day six is here. You read in the instructions that you are supposed to add 1 cup of flour, sugar, and milk. This seems okay so you go to the frig, pull out the milk, measure it, and pour it in. Next is the flour and sugar. You open the canisters and start measuring and come to find that you only have 3/4 of a cup of flour and a 1/2 cup of sugar. This is where you start questioning your friendship with the person that pawned this challenge off on you. So you get in the car and make an extra trip to the store to buy more flour and sugar. Now you begin to think that on the one hand this might be a little bit more work than you signed on for; but on the other hand, you think that anything in life takes a little work and usually in the end it is well worth it. So you decide to plow forward.

Day seven comes and you read mush the goo. The Hallelujah Chorus is playing over in your head. Day eight comes and goes. Day nine comes and goes. Day ten comes and goes and day eleven the same.

On day twelve, you open the cupboard and realize that you forgot all about your goo; and you throw the bag in the trash. You think, "Crap, all this work for nothing. I am so disappointed in myself." You curse Aimee for conning you into taking this challenge and in essence making you feel bad about yourself. You then call Aimee, your so-called friend who was supposed to call and hold you accountable in the bread-making process, to let her know that you had failed. She picks up her phone; and as you begin to tell her your story and how you failed in your attempts in the bread challenge, she laughs and says there is no need to be in despair. She says take your bag of goo out of the garbage and pick up where you left off. A few extra days of fermenting won't hurt a thing. You go to the garbage only to see that for the first time in your husband's life during marriage he listened to you and took out the garbage. Your heart sinks. You shrug your shoulders and think better luck next time and go about the rest of your day.

The story I just retold is based on some true events but was dramatized for desired effect.

In all actuality, the goo is called friendship bread because it gets passed on from friend to friend like a chain letter. But unlike a pesky chain letter, you can enjoy the end product.

Here I am doing just that. Mmm, mmm, good.

In all seriousness, there are some real life applications that you can take from the experience of making friendship bread in case you couldn't pick them out in the dramatized story from above. In life, you can find yourself in situations or experiences either by your choosing or by the choices made by others. At times, things can be tough; and you doubt if you want to continue in this course. You find yourself questioning things. At this point, you find yourself at a crossroads. You can either turn away/run from this course, or you can stay the course and let these "challenges" burn and refine you to be better than you ever thought was possible. Mistakes happen. That's just life. However, we need to be able to learn from them, not let them define us, and let God do His handy work and transform them into a precious treasure. God is at work in all of us, and He uses life to accomplish His mighty work.

Who's 2?

2009-02-24T17:12:00.000-08:00

Two years ago yesterday on February 23, 2007, a miracle took place in Henderson, Minnesota. Penelope was born to Kahlua (a black pug) and Wilbur (a fawn pug). It is amazing how time flies and how we have been blessed by the excitable and loving personality of our pug dog Penelope.

In the picture above, we are singing "Happy Birthday" to Penelope, and she is cocking her head in enjoyment of the song (or simply trying to understand what we are singing).

Pictured above is Penelope playing with her new friend, Buddy, a post Valentine's Day super discount present for her birthday. She loves Buddy!

Club 31...Book #4

2009-02-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered if there is really a difference between Catholicism and Biblical Christianity? Why Mormonism's founder, Mr. Smith, believed what he believed. And what ever happened to him? And what's the deal with Wicca and Hinduism? Are they really religions? Can Biblical Christians practice yoga/meditation? The next book on the list to read was called "What's the Big Deal About Other Religions?" When I read the title of this book, I must admit that I was a little nervous that this might be a little over my head; but to my surprise, it was a real easy read. I found myself really enjoying learning about all these other religions. The book started out seeming to paint an unbias view of these religions compared to Christianity; but the further I read, I found that this is not the case. But all in all, it is a good easy read if you are interested in learning about other religions, their founders, and where they stand on the seven major core beliefs of Christianity.

Scapbooking Weekend

2009-02-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

At the end of January, my mom and I got together for the weekend. We spent all day Saturday with about 144 some women scrapbooking at a local church in North Branch. To be honest, I was unsure about how much I would like spending 12 hours scrapbooking without getting bored. But to my surprise, I found that I enjoyed myself very much. I had a wonderful time hanging out with my mom, talking and catching up on life, as well as getting caught up on my long overdue scrapbooking.

Here we are about 11 hours into it. Bright eyed and bushy tailed and still going strong. I got my Capitol scrapbook all caught up and my Everyday Life scrapebook caught up to my birthday. It's amazing what you can get done when you just commit a little bit of time and creativity to something.But it was not all hard work without any fun and games. We were able to take some time out of our busy scrapbooking schedule and make some fun of the fact that my mom lost one of her front bottom teeth and how she now looks...well, a little back woodsy.

When the weekend was all said and done, we had a wonderful time and are planning on doing this again.

Othello Wants a Pretty Kitty Smile

2009-02-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, so most of you know that we are crazy cat people. Our cats love the bathroom sink and the magical waterfall that comes out of the faucet. Every time we get ready in the morning and when we brush our teeth before going to bed, all three cats frantically scurry into the bathroom and jump up onto the sink to get some water. Over Christmas, Aimee and I got new pulsating toothbrushes from Aimee's parents. Well, one night while getting ready for bed, Othello stretched out his left paw (yes, even Othello is left-pawed) to grab Aimee's toothbrush and began brushing his own teeth, gums, and tongue!

Cheering on the Underdog

2009-02-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

Aimee and I both generally cheer for the underdog when it comes to most sporting events unless the Vikings or the Hawkeyes happen to be the favorite (which does not happen that often). That was the case for this year's Super Bowl...we were both cheering for the Cardinals especially since Pittsburgh had just won the Super Bowl three years ago. We enjoyed the party (even though the Steelers won) at Tom and Candace Gommels' house with about 15 or so other couples from our church. They have three TVs, and many of the husbands watched the game on the big-screen TV in the heated garage.

Aimee and I along with some friends from our immediate small group watched the game on the TV in the living room.

Many of the wives watched the game on the TV in the family room with the comfortable leather couches.

There was a ton of great food (lots of desserts...heaven for me), and it was good to catch up with some of the friends we do not see as often these days.

The Ratte Christmas

2009-01-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

This is not a Christmas for the less fortunate. It is actually quite the opposite. Those who participate in this Christmas have a few things in common. One of the things that they have in common is that they are either a Ratte or are married to a Ratte. Ratte is my maiden name and my mom's maiden name (if you think about that, that is not very common). Another thing that they have in common is that they are very rich in life experiences. I can remember as a little girl going over to my uncle Jim and auntie Joan's house in Stillwater and celebrating Christmas with them and their family. We did this because by the age of 21 my mom lost both of her parents, and she was just learning to balance life without them with the new responsibility of raising a child (me). Uncle Jim kind of took us under his wings and gave us support that transcends all understanding. He would send my mom money every year to help give me a Christmas. And as I grew up, he would tell me stories of my grandpa. He would paint pictures in my mind of what kind of man he was, how I would be his little princess, and how he would have loved to take me fishing and share his love for sports with me. He helped to show me what it would be like to have a grandpa. I am truly blessed to have these fond ideas of this wonderful man that is my grandpa. It helps fill the void that I have. Below is a picture of my uncle Jim and my auntie Joan.Thank you for all the love and support throughout the years and thank you for the fond images that you have given me of my grandpa.

In addition to Uncle Jim and Auntie Joan, my mom's brother Steve and his wife Jackie along with their youngest daughter Joy, her husband Phil, and their two daughters came down from Duluth for the Ratte Christmas. It is always wonderful to see them and to catch up on pretty much a year's worth of events. Below is a picture of my uncle Steve with one of his granddaughters, and the other picture is my auntie Jackie with another one of her granddaughters.

These little girls bring so much laughter to the day. What makes one rich is not the material things in life but things that shape us and makes us who we are. Family is definitely one of those things. Merry Christmas!

The One With Aimee's Surprise 30th Birthday Party

2009-01-14T07:19:00.001-08:00

For about two months now, I have been planning a surprise weekend for Aimee's 30th birthday; and this past weekend was the weekend it all went down (Aimee's birthday was yesterday, January 13). On Friday night before we went to bed, I told Aimee that we would need to be up and ready to leave the house by 9:30 a.m. I had her drive since I had mapped everything out and would need to be the one giving directions so that all events would remain a surprise. We first went to get her Aztec washed and then headed north on 52 before arriving at the Minnesota State Capitol Building. This is something we had been wanting to tour for quite some time; and over the weekend, we made it the 11th State Capitol Building we have visited. Below is a picture of what I thought was the Minnesota State Capitol Building while growing up in Iowa and learned that it is not...rather, it is the Cathedral of Saint Paul!

Below is the real Minnesota State Capitol Building! It was probably one of the nicer Capitol Buildings we have toured with Madison, Wisconsin, being the exception.

After touring the Capitol Building, I then had Aimee drive us from downtown St. Paul over to downtown Minneapolis. She was quite surprised when I asked her to pull over at the Hotel Ivy and use their valet parking (this was the first time either of us had used valet parking...I even looked up appropriate tipping on this). We then walked a couple of blocks to our next destination which was The Melting Pot. Neither of us had eaten there before, but I knew Aimee had been wanting to try it out for some time now. The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant and can be quite pricey, but it was well worth it. We ordered the four-course meal for two which started with a cheese fondue with bread, apples, and veggies; followed by our salads; followed by the main fondue with lobster tails, salmon, shrimp, chicken, steak, pork, and potatoes; followed by the chocolate and peanut butter fondue with cheesecake, pound cake, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, and oreo-covered marshmallows. It was all very delicious, and we were both very full by the end of the meal!

Aimee thanking her drink for coming to the meal! She ordered a Pomegranate Cosmo.

Me thanking my drink for coming to the meal! I ordered a Blueberry Bop that tasted nasty, and the waiter kindly offered to get me a different drink.

Our waiter was great and explained every part of the meal to us in great detail which was very helpful. He even offered to take a picture of us together as we enjoyed our chocolate and peanut butter fondue.

After the meal, I knew we would not want to be driving right away again, so I walked with Aimee back to the Hotel Ivy where I had made an appointment for her to have a one-hour signature facial at the Ivy Spa Club.

After Aimee's facial, I then had her drive us back to Rochester and over to Chateau Theaters in time to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. We both enjoyed the movie and said we had never seen anything like it before. I thought it was slow moving in a few parts in the middle; but we both left the theater with a tear in our eyes.

After walking to the Aztec after the movie was over, I had Aimee get in the passenger seat and told her to tie a towel around her head like a blindfold for the next surprise. She asked if I was kidding, and I said no. I then drove around northeast Rochester for a few minutes before making my way to Kevin and Nicole Youel's house where 15 or so of our in-town friends were waiting to scream "SURPRISE!" when Aimee walked through their front door. In the picture below, Allison Vail is peaking out the front window as I lead Aimee up to the front door.

Aimee removing the towel from her head and discovering her final surprise.

After mingling for a little while and eating supper, I put the letter candles on the two ice cream cakes I had purchased from Cold Stone Creamery (although I broke one of the P's while trying to stick it in, so it ended up being "HAPY BIRTHDAY!"). Aimee then made her 30th birthday wish and blew them all out with one breath.

After that, it was time for Aimee to open up her presents from everyone. In the picture below, she is opening up her gift of strawberry champagne from Cassie Khotmanivong. She also got a couple of coloring books and crayons, some scrapbooking items, and an adult-sized pair of full-body pajamas like you used to wear when you were little.

Before some of us started in on a 500 tournament and before some people had to leave, we got a picture of everyone who helped celebrate Aimee's 30th birthday (from left to right): Korrie Johnson, Erin Jimenez, Cassie Khotmanivong (brought Penelope over to the Youel's house for us), Allison Vail, Chris Walston, Aimee, Chad Fisher, John White, Stephanie Fisher, Beth Bristol, me, Nick Johnson, Nicole Youel, Kevin Youel, John Jimenez (took many of the pictures at the party), and Karl Bristol.

The 500 tournament ended prematurely as Chad and Steph had to leave so that they could get up and sing in choir at church the next morning. Those of us who were spending the night at the Youels then went upstairs and shared bathroom stories and other assorted scary and humorous stories. At about 4 a.m., we all decided to call it a night. As Nick and Korrie had not planned on spending the night, we lent them some of our extra pajamas to sleep in and let them share our toothpaste, mouthwash, and a contact container and solution. The next morning, we got a picture of Aimee wearing her full-body pajamas from Allison Vail holding Allison's daughter Ashley in her full-body pajamas.

The whole weekend was awesome, and I couldn't have pulled it all off without the help of many who were invited and especially the Youels for working tirelessly on their newly remodeled home (with a few finishing touches yet to be completed)!

Club 31 Book # 3

2009-01-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

In the book unchristian, it points out that Christianity has a image problem and how this problem is shaping our culture. The next generation, 16-29 yrs. olds, is a skeptical bunch, not trusting the motives of individuals, always thinking that they have alternative motives. We have to identify where we as individuals have contributed to the unchristian mentality and then allow Christ to change our ways and mold us to His likeness. Among the items listed, Hypocritical, Too focused on getting converts, Antihomosexual, Sheltered, Too political and Judgemental, which are you/have you been or in what ways have you personally contributed to the unchristian mentality? How will you change?
The third book on our list was called Unchristian. In all honesty, this has been one of the most humbling, life/attitude changing books I have ever read. I was truly convicted in many ways when reading this book. I found my thoughts and attitudes being transformed right before my eyes, becoming more like Christ-accepting and loving people where they are at, reserving judgement for the one who has not sinned.
My goal for myself after reading this book is to be authentic and real with others, not to be judgemental and accept and love others where they are at.
God commissioned us to spread the Good News to all nations. In order to be Christ's hands and feet, we need to try to understand those around us where they are coming from and why they can be so skeptical of the Christians they meet. If this is your heart, then Unchristian is a good book for you to read.

Bringin' in the New Year with the Rhodes Family

2009-01-06T17:58:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve night, my entire family met up in Owatonna to visit our long-time family friends, the Rhodes family. My parents and Lonnie and Sue Rhodes all attended college together at Minnesota Bible College (now Crossroads College) and have remained good friends since. Our two families all got together at least once or twice a year for as long as I can remember growing up. There are many memories my family shares with the Rhodes family with the most memorable for me being sinking a motor boat with all ten of us in it in the middle of Long Lake up near Park Rapids while my dad and Lonnie got stung dozens of times by bees that had built a hive in the front of the boat and had apparently became aggravated midway through our boat trip.

While our parents still get together at least once or twice a year, the entire families had only gotten together once since us kids left for college; and that was exactly four years ago. Lonnie and Sue's oldest, Philip, in now 35 years old and is married to Brynn; and they have three kids (Maya 10, Xander 4, and David 2) and have recently moved to Owatonna and are living in Lonnie and Sue's old house. Lonnie and Sue's middle child, Kirsten, is now 30 years old and has just recently moved in with them after living out in California. Lonnie and Sue's youngest, Peter, is now 27 years old and is married to Nicole; and they live in Owatonna as well. With all of them living in Owatonna and having three houses, they were able to host our family overnight. It was really good to catch up, reminisce, and play games against each other. There was even talk about having family t-shirts and a traveling trophy in the years to come for the family who will win the most points in all of the games that will be played. In the picture below, Brynn is waiting for the women to get a clue in Catch Phrase (actually, I think the women beat the men in Catch Phrase two games to one).

After many games were played and after bringing in the New Year, Aimee and I rode with Peter, Nicole, and Kirsten back to Peter and Nicole's house. We stayed up another hour or so talking some more but mostly watching Penelope play with their dog Piper. Penelope had a good time trying to get Piper to play tug of war with her, but Piper was not so fond of Penelope taking her toys out of their bin and spreading them out all over the place. All of Piper's toys have names, and the toy Penelope is playing with in the picture below is named Big Nuts (a squirrel).

On New Year's morning, Sue had reserved the gym at the bank where she works in Owatonna; and all of us except my brother Brad and my dad (they went to Phil and Brynn's house and watched Iowa win the Outback Bowl...GO HAWKS!) went and played some floor hockey followed by some 4-on-4 basketball and then Lightning. In the picture below, Aimee is facing off against Maya in the center with Brynn and I behind them near the windows, my brother Chris to the right of us near the windows, Kirsten as the goalie, Nicole to the right of her, and Lonnie facing the center.

In the picture below, Lauren (Maya's friend) is dribbling while Nicole and Lonnie are guarding her. Peter is barely visible in the white shirt behind Nicole, Chris is also barely visible in the green shirt behind Nicole, Mom is in the yellow shirt, Philip is in the gray shirt, and Brynn is in the maroon shirt waiting for a pass as she was wide open.

After the games at the gym, we headed back to Lonnie and Sue's house for more fun, food, and games before everyone headed back to their homes on New Year's night.

Christmas with the Sheldons

2008-12-25T23:59:00.000-08:00

Whenever we pull the suitcases out to go on vacation, our cats begin the process of working through anxiety attacks. As soon as the luggage comes out, all three cats either try to jump in the suitcases or just plop themselves down on top of the suitcases. In the picture below, they decided to be less aggressive and just lay beside one of my bags before we left to visit Aimee's family up in North Branch, MN, and then my family in Mason City, IA.

We very much enjoyed spending Christmas at my parents' house. Both Mom and Dad still do most of the meal preparation while us kids help with setting the table and loading the dishwasher. Behind Mom in the picture below are the tupperware containers filled with all sorts of Christmas goodies that she and Dad had made before we all arrived.

My sister-in-law Di has continued her tradition of making her delicious cinnamon rolls for all of us. My niece Hannah and nephew Caleb are helping her pound the dough in the picture below.

One of the many things I enjoy about when the whole family gets together is eating every lunch and supper together. The dining room we are eating in used to be the dining room and the kitchen before my parents added a new larger kitchen and a spare bedroom onto their house several years ago. Also of note, I can't help but talk about the man praying in the picture above Aimee. As I was growing up, I thought this guy's name was Grace Enstrom. However, I learned sometime when I was in high school or college that the name of the picture is called "Grace" and that it was painted by someone with the last name of Enstrom. Yes, I am a bit of a slow learner!

As many of you know, games are a part of every Sheldon family get together; and Christmas is definitely not an exception. I think my Dad, my brother Chris, my brother Brad, and I were playing pinochle in the picture below (although it looks like Chris may need to go back to the "special" kids' home!).

Hannah and Caleb have also tried their hand at playing cards, and I'm sure it will only be a couple of more years before they are taught how to play pinochle.

Before we open presents every year, we read through the Christmas story found in Luke. We each read one paragraph and pass the Bible to the next person. After that, we sang Mom's favorite Christmas carol (Silent Night) this year and then began handing out the stockings and then opening presents.

I think Hannah is looking for gold in her stocking in the picture below!

Since I was the youngest in the family growing up, I was always the one who got picked to play Santa (dig the presents out from under the tree and hand them to each person). My family opens presents in rounds. After each person has a present to unwrap, everyone unwraps at once and then we go around and show everyone what we received. And this continues one round at a time until all of the presents are unwrapped. This year, Hannah and Caleb helped me pass out the presents. You may have to look closely in the picture below as Caleb is digging under the tree for some presents all of the way back against the wall.

My Dad and his brothers and sisters had one gag gift that got passed from one person to the next every year at Christmas. That tradition has now carried over to our family in the form of a green clay mouse that my Dad made in elementary school. He was going to try to give the mouse to me this year, but my brother Brad caught wind of this and had been planning since last Christmas (when he gave the mouse to Dad) to make Dad get the mouse two years in a row. So, once he found out that Dad was going to give me the mouse again, we unwrapped it on Christmas Eve after he had gone to bed and rewrapped it and addressed it to him for him to open on Christmas morning. As you can see in the picture below, he got quite a kick out of it!

Chris and Di's youngest, Elijah, enjoyed his first Christmas and is opening his present from Aimee and me in the picture below.

Aimee and I enjoyed spending Christmas with both families again this year, and we hope that you and your families had memorable Christmases as well!

Christmas with the Rohns

2008-12-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had a good time at home with my family. We ate plenty of good food and treats and got fat, fat, fat-even Penelope. She became brave this year and started to climb up to the table and get into food on the table instead of relying on her good looks and her begging abilities.

We were blessed this year with tons of little snow storms that took place pretty much every other day. So Eric and I along with Zach and Leon went out and shoveled the driveway. After a little work, we had to have a little fun and had a snow fight. Memories! We also watched White Christmas which is a must every year with my mom.

At church, we were reminded that Christmas is not all about what is under the tree. The real meaning of Christmas is about love and mercy-God's love for his creation that he sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we can be reconciled to Him. Christmas is about obedience and repentance-The obedience of Christ, Joseph, and Mary. Without their obedience to God's will, God's plan for redemption would have been lost.

Later that night, my mom, Eric, and I went to a concert at her church that featured Bob Kilpatrick (writer of Be Glorified and many other Christian worship songs) and Randy Stonehill. It was a very enjoyable evening much to my surprise. It was very moving being led in a Christmas sing-a-long with such inspired men. We pray within the hustle and bustle of this holiday season that you may take the time to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas.

Fantasy Football Update

2008-12-22T15:31:00.000-08:00

For all those who have been watching our blog for new posts, I have an update on how fantasy football has been going for the Sheldons of Rochester. Eric participated in three leagues this year. One league that he is in is with friends from church where he came in last place and won the Toilet Bowl Trophy (a toilet seat with his name engraved on it). Another league that he is in is with his two older brothers and friends from his oldest brother Brad's church in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In this league, he found himself in the middle of the pack for most of the season but now finds himself in the playoffs. The third league that he is in is our family league where Eric just missed out on the playoffs.

Now for me. Being that this is my first time trying out fantasy football, I thought that it would be a good idea to participate in two leagues at once. I participated in our family league where I was playing for bragging rights within the family. I am now facing off with my mother-in-law for first place in this league. The other league that I am in is called Fantasy Wives. This league is pretty much made up of wives that have husbands that are in other fantasy football leagues. In this league, I found myself fighting for a position near the bottom of the league throughout the first part of the season. As the season progressed, I began winning some key games and found myself competing in the championship game. Though I lost the in the championship game (congratulations to Beth Bristol), I ended up taking second place and won some money back. Yay me! Beginner's luck? We'll find out next year.

Cookie Exchange 2008

2008-12-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again when I take part in the annual Mulvilhill Cookie Exchange. This is a tradition that I have looked forward to every year for the last five years. It's a wonderful time to fellowship with women from all stages of life. It's great to share in one another's lives and the traditions that we like to instill in our families. Similar to the previous years, we talked about the cookies that we brought with us and why we made them. This year I would like to share with you the cookies that I brought. For two weeks prior to the exchange I had been keeping my eyes and ears open for a cookie that would be the "perfect" cookie to bring to such an event. I finally decided on a new low-calorie cookie that I had never made before. I know what you are thinking, but I am all about finding and trying new low-calorie items. And this cookie was the one. So the Wednesday before the cookie exchange, I stayed up to make four dozen cookies. When all was said and done, I ended up making over 100 cookies. This should have tipped me off that something was not right about my cookies, but I just thought there would be more low-calorie cookies for me. The day of the cookie exchange, I tried one of the low-calorie treats anticipating a mouthful of yummy goodness; but instead, I ended up chewing on a mouthful of rubber. In my mind, I thought they were not too bad for only 25 calories a cookie. As the day went on, I started to get concerned about what others might think about my low-calorie cookie. What if others get upset because they brought these beautiful, delicious cookies and in exchange they get a pile of low-calorie rubber from me in exchange. Once I couldn't take the anxiety of it all anymore, I ran to Walmart after work; and with one hour to spare before the cookie exchange, I decided to make the thin mint cookie that I made the week prior with Beth. I was really impressed with my timeliness because I made four dozen thin mints and was only 15 minutes late. I also brought my low-calorie cookies along just in case anyone wanted to try a rubbery snack.

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!

2008-12-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of December, Beth invited me to join her, her sister-in-law Kathie, and her friend Nicole in a day of cookie fun. We started out enjoying a nice bowl of creamy broccoli chicken and rice soup along with bread and salad. Then we began to tackle our laundry list of holiday cookies. It was a list of four cookies. The first cookie on the list to tackle was the traditional sugar cookie.
While the dough for the sugar cookie was chillin, we decided to take on the no-bake holly wreath cookie. This was an experience!

After the no-bake holly wreath, we began to crush up the oreos and mashed in the cream cheese for the ever-yummy oreo truffles. Here is the yummy end product.

While the truffle filling was hardening, we decided to decorate the sugar cookies.

By the time we were finishing up decorating the cookies, all of our creativity was zapped (or at least mine was); and by the end, the cookies that I decorated just ended up being covered with tons of frosting. Here is a picture of my finished product of cookies.

Aren't they just beautiful!?! I am soooooooooo proud! Once we finished up decorating the sugar cookies, the last cookie that we decided to tackle was our version of the thin mint cookie. This cookie took a little bit of a steady hand and lots of patience, which by this time we were all running thin on (or at least I was).

But I must say that this was one of the easist cookies to make and one of the yummiest.

Impulse Purchase? I Think Not!

2008-12-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

A new Shopko opened in North Branch, Minnesota, where Aimee's family lives; and so, when we were there over Thanksgiving, Aimee and I decided to check it out. We went in thinking we were just going to look at clothes and purses for Aimee and walked out with two new leather rocker recliners (along with a new purse for Aimee). Although this may seem like an impulse purchase, our current chairs have been driving me nuts for over a year as they were uncomfortable, cheaply made, and each have something broken on them. The new chairs are extremely comfortable (Othello is enjoying said comfort in one of the chairs in the picture above), have stood up to the test of the cats' back claws so far, do not allow cat hair to stick to them, and were 60% off! I couldn't pass up that deal, and so we loaded them into Aimee's car, although we had to take them out of the boxes to get them to fit into Aimee's car with our luggage from our trip.

O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

Wow! The month of November really flew by...so much so that we have not taken the time to update our blog in quite some time. As many of you know, I would love to have the Christmas decorations/atmosphere in our house all year round. However, my wife (Mrs. Scrooge...just kidding!) is not of this school of thought. So, we have compromised and put our tree up sometime shortly before Thanksgiving each year. We are both big fans of the prelit fake Christmas trees (less mess) and decorate ours each year with only snowman ornaments. As I was fluffing the tree, Sandi Patty's O Holy Night spread goosebumps over my skin and brought a tear to my eye. So far, the cats have done a good job of not climbing up the tree; and hopefully that will stay the same.

Harry Potter and the Sleepover at Bristols

2008-11-22T07:57:00.000-08:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Karl and Beth Bristol, Anthony and Kathie Zoellner, and Aimee and I enjoyed a sleepover at the Bristols' house. This was the weekend the sixth Harry Potter was due out in theaters, so we had planned to watch the other five Harry Potter movies and then go and see the sixth after that. However, it was announced in August that the sixth Harry Potter would not be out in theaters until July 17, 2009. Though this was a tragic turn of events, we still managed to pick up the pieces of our lives and enjoy the weekend regardless!

Karl surprised all of us with how much thought and preparation he had put into the evening. We all received invitations created by Karl to the Hogwarts Invitational All Night Event that were similar to the mail received in the movies. Karl also sewed together four banners with the emblems of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ironed on to each respectively (pictured above). He also baked and labeled a full spread of Harry Potter themed snacks and drinks that were all delicious (also pictured above). If you are ever thinking of throwing a party, please do not hesitate to call Karl as I do not believe his creativity has an end!

We played a fun new game that Anthony and Kathie brought over (of which I cannot remember the name) that has some similarities to Apples to Apples. We ended up watching only the first two movies and then decided to call it a night at around 2 a.m. I would like to state for the record that I was the only one who made it all of the way until 2 a.m. without falling asleep (Anthony and Karl were close). It was great to sleep next to Karl and Beth's Christmas tree in their living room...God bless the Christmas season! We all woke up around 8 a.m. the next morning, and Beth whipped up a delicious breakfast for all of us. Good times were had by all!

Club 31...Book #2

2008-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

Has there ever been a time that you or your family reached out to someone in need and it in turn impacted you in a tremendous way? The Lord calls us to be His hands and feet. Remember in September how I joined a book club at church? Well we just finished discussing our second book. The book/magazine that we were assigned to read was Christian History. This issue's focus was on William and Catherine Booth. Just in case you don't know who they are, they are the founders of The Salvation Army. Did you know that The Salvation Army helps more than 2,500,000 families each year through 10,000 centers worldwide. That The Army can be found in 91 countries. Amazing!
In this addition of Christian History we learned a lot about the works and passion of the Booth family. One could say that Catherine Booth was a pioneer in women roles in the ministry. She believed that women should be able to exercise their spiritual gifts and it infuriated her when they were unable to do so. William Booth was a great social reformer. He had a heart for the poor people of London. And this is a passion of The Salvation Army even today. The Army run several programs today that serves as an outreach to its communities less fortunate. Anything from a Medical Clinic to an Adult Day Care to a Food Shelf to Transitional Housing & Counseling.
The Army is one of the few organizations that fines a way to use everything that is donated to them. The Salvation Army is one of the few organizations that keeps the money that they receive and gives back to the community that supports them. Unlike other organizations generally gives the money to their head quarters and they disperse the money how they see fit. So this Thanksgiving season, as you think about giving back/helping out or even what you are thankful for, think about The Salvation Army and what they are doing for your community. What a great example of being the hands and feet of the Lord. Maybe it's time to implement some sort of service attitude in your family traditions this holiday season. God Bless You this holiday season.

Halloween in Sheldonville 08

2008-11-02T15:01:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrap pages

Penelope's New Friend

2008-10-20T19:37:00.001-07:00

On Saturday after church, Eric, Penelope, and I went over to Eric's cousin John's house in Oronoco for a little card action. Penelope became very acquainted with her "cousin" Ty. They played all night. They played tag. They played keep away with the bone. They also played tug-o-war (not hug-o-war) with each other. They seemed to have a blast. I don't know about Ty, but Penelope did not move until Sunday night!

My Three Brothers

2008-10-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Over MEA weekend (actually Thursday and Friday), 3 out of my soon-to-be 4 brothers came down to Rochester to visit me. Well actually, I was not the sole reason for their visit to Rochester. They were down here for a youth conference. So by day and late night, they were learning about God; and by mid afternoon/early evening, they were spending time with me and even agreed to play Phase 10.

Growing up as an only child until the age of 14, I always wanted to be a part of a big family. Now that I am married and have my own family (a husband, 3 cats, and a dog), I finally get to be a part of one. Over that last 5 years, my parents have adopted 2 kids (Bekka and Tim) and are in the process of adopting 2 more (Leon and Zack).

This is my baby brother Adam. He is now 15 and in 10th grade. I could say that he once used to look up to me, but now the roles have reversed. He's huge! Besides spending time with his big sis, he was a jewel and downloaded music from my computer onto my phone so that now when I am at the gym I can use my phone as an mp3 player. I am so excited! Let's just say Merry Christmas to me! :)

Pictured above is Tim, short for Timathy. My parents adopted him this summer. He just turned 18. Tim has been with my parents' family off and on since he was about 11. It has been awesome to watch him grow into a young man. On Saturday, Tim and his brother got tattoos. Tim is a great kid and a wonderful addition to my parents' family. He just asked me to be his friend on facebook. I told him that I would have to think about it...NO, just kidding! We are now friends on facebook.

This is Leon. Leon is in 7th grade. He and his younger brother Zack are the newest additions to my parents' family. They moved into my parents' house in the middle of this summer. My parents are planning on adopting them as well. It was great getting to know Leon a little better. I have been told that when they get adopted they want to change their names. Leon would like to change his John Paul. Zack is planning on changing his name to Paul Thomas. They both would like to add Paul to their names in honor of my dad, Paul. Leon (John) really took a liking to Penelope. The whole time that he was with me on Friday, he spent playing with Penelope. By the time I dropped them off at the Civic Center, she was pooped and slept for the rest of the night.

It was truly a wonderful experience having my brothers with me for a few days!

Club 31

2008-10-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

This fall, I decided to step out of my confort zone and joined a book club. Yes, you heard me right, I said a book club. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a huge reader and here I am in a book club. The purpose of this club is to encourage the modern-day Proverbs 31 woman to live the life of a godly woman. We meet together once a month to fellowship, pray, and discuss with other women. Each month, I am going to try to write up a little ditty on the feature book for that month. If you are a glass-is-half-full kind of gal, this book is for you. The first book we read was called "Cold Tangerines" by Shauna Niequist. When I first heard of this book, I thought it was a very interesting and ambiguous title. I didn't have any expectations either way. When I opened the book and began to read, I discovered story after story the millions of ways God tries to break through our everyday lives and show us glimpses of His hope, peace, and grace. Shauna revealed her truest self to her readers. As a reader, I was able to relate to her imperfections, her struggles with life and God, and her joys and sadness. What I took away from this book is that I always need to be celebrating life and living it to the fullest and finding joy (in God) in the midst of imperfection, struggles, and sadness.

A Little Beauty For You and Me

2008-10-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I would like to share a little beauty with all of our family and friends today. I have now lived in Rochester for a little over 11 years. And for 11 years, every fall I come face to face with this tree. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. And today, I stopped for a moment to take in the beauty and celebrate God's masterpiece.

A Life Worth Emulating

2008-09-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa White recently passed away on September 22, 2008, just a few months shy of his 88th birthday and just a few months greater than three years after my Grandma White had passed away. They were closer to me than most grandparents would be to most grandchildren.

Just after I had turned 21, I lived with my Grandpa and Grandma White for the entire summer of 2000 when they were still living in Marshalltown, Iowa. I was completing my music ministry internship at New Hope Christian Church in Marshalltown that summer. I loved living with Grandpa and Grandma that summer, am glad I got to know them on a more personal level, and cherish the memories and the things I learned from them.

Here are just a few of the things I learned from them:
1. Arguing can sometimes bring humor into a marriage...if you allow it. This is taken from what I like to call the "Hot Pad Argument." One evening, Grandma was finishing preparing supper and called Grandpa and I into the dining room to help set the table. Now Grandpa and Grandma were both months away from their 80th birthdays at this time and so did not possess the same keen hearing abilities they had when they fell in love with each other nearly 60 years ago. As Grandma was bringing over a hot dish of some sort, she asked Grandpa to put a hot pad down on the table and to do it quickly. He apparently did not hear her, so she yelled it out loud and clear such that I was pretty sure one of the neighbors was going to bring a hot pad over and put it on the table! Grandpa was clearly upset that she had yelled at him and bellowed something back at her (of which I cannot remember now), and she countered with one of the funniest statements I had heard in some time, "You're a hot pad!" So, yes, my all-wise 80-year-old grandmother called my grandpa a hot pad. I immediately laughed out loud as I generally cannot hold in laughter even if it is during a tense moment. Both Grandpa and Grandma then let their guard down and had a chuckle themselves realizing how silly the argument had become. We then continued on with supper and our evening activities that night.

2. A little TLC (tender loving care) goes a long way. One afternoon that summer, I decided I was going to go rollerblading in one of the cemetaries in Marshalltown as it had nicely paved trails. It also has a few beautiful rolling hills. However, I was not (and still am not) a very experienced roller blader. As I was going down my first hill, I began to panic as I began going faster and faster. The trail also began to curve at the bottom which I could not see at the top of the hill. As my ankles began to shake from the speed, my legs finally gave out; and I toppled end over end on the pavement, then on the gravel on the side of the trail, and then finally landed in the grass (thankfully not on anyone's tombstone). As this was happening, the thought that flashed through my brain was, "I may die today. Right here and now, my life might end!" (You will see in just a few lines from where I get my dramatic side). Well, I laid in the grass for a few minutes thanking God that I still seemed to be alive. I then began to get up and assessed the damage. I had bloodied up both arms and legs pretty good and had deep gashes especially on my elbows, wrists, and knees. (I still have about a 5-cm crescent-moon-shaped scar on my right elbow as a reminder of this event.) I then felt pain as I tried to bend down and take off my roller blades. I realized the tumbling had ripped two large gaping holes over my butt in my overalls and in my underwear that I was wearing (for real, who roller blades in their overalls...or who even owns overalls?!) I had road rash and large bruises that covered both butt cheeks. So, I attempted to walk back to my car with one hand holding my roller blades and the other hand holding the rear of my overalls together so that I wouldn't be showing the world my rear end. I then drove back to Grandpa and Grandma's house and asked if they had any bandages. Grandma and Grandpa came to the entry way; and Grandma exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! You look awful! What in the world happened to you?!" (Grandma is one of the people from whom I get my dramatic side.) They brought me into the bathroom and helped me clean up my arms and legs and put gauze bandages over my wounds. We agreed that I would clean up the road rash on my butt by myself...WOW, did that ever sting! I remember still experiencing pain two weeks after the accident every time I would sit down. Grandma also sewed patches into my overalls so that I could still wear them without my butt hanging out. I still have these overalls and pulled them out to make sure I was telling the story accurately.

3. Listening to other people's stories assists in developing a strong connection between you and those people to whom you are listening. I absolutely loved going through old photo albums with Grandpa and Grandma and learning more about their early childhoods, extended family, war stories, etc.; and I could tell Grandpa and Grandma also loved sharing those stories. I witnessed this same active listening on many occasions at church when Grandpa and Grandma were talking with old friends or new visitors at the church.

4. Going to bed at 8:30 p.m. and waking up at 5 a.m. does not mean that naps are not welcome visitors!

5. When you wake up in the middle of the night for whatever reason and can't get back to sleep, that time is probably as good a time as any to let God speak to you through the Bible and to speak to Him through prayer. I remember a couple of times that summer I would come home late at night after hanging out with friends from church and would find either Grandpa or Grandma in the front entry way, where they kept one of their desks, either reading the Bible or a biblical commentary or praying. Grandpa and Grandma both lived purposeful structured lives spending time daily with God. Though we grew up two generations apart with many different experiences, spending time daily with God is something that is a common need for every one of us. I am just recently relearning the grand importance of this lesson all over again.

Grandpa had many favorite activities, but I would say three that would be near the top are playing pinochle, reading, or napping. Pictured below, Grandpa (furthest right) is partnered up with my cousin Daniel (second from the left) against my dad (furthest left) and my uncle Kevin (second from the right) in a game of pinochle at my uncle Kevin and aunt Bonnie's house here in Rochester this past Memorial Day. My uncle Ron is looking on.

Pictured below, my Grandpa is reading a Reader's Digest while my aunt Marsha (left-handed) is participating in a game of Scattergories this past December at Kevin and Bonnie's house.

Pictured below is Grandpa surrendering to the power of the nap and forgetting about all the worries of the world.

I would like to include Grandpa's eulogy using the pictures below.

George William White was born December 2, 1920, in New Providence, Iowa, the son of Levi Wellington and Annie Laura (McCracken) White. He graduated from Whitten High School in 1939 and that fall enlisted in the Navy for six years. He served as a Hospital Corpsman during World War II and rose to Chief Pharmacist's Mate before discharge. George was united in marriage to Margaret Schwarck on June 28, 1942, in Waynesville, Missouri. He graduated from Logan Basic College of Chiropractic in 1954 with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. George and Marg eventually made their home in Marshalltown for over 40 years where he was a member of the New Hope Christian Church and served in many leadership positions. He had a passion for missions and youth serving on the board of the NE Iowa Christian Camp for over 20 years. George retired from Fisher Controls in 1983. For the last four years, George has lived in Mason City, Iowa, and has been a member of the Church of Christ there.

George is survived by his son Ronald (Karen) White of Stewartville, Minnesota (middle front sitting), his daughter Judith (Alan) Sheldon of Mason City, Iowa (second from the right; my mom), his son Larry (Marsha) White of Indianapolis, Indiana (furthest left), his son Kevin (Bonnie) White of Rochester, Minnesota (furthest right), his brother James (Helen) White of Loveland, Colorado (not pictured), his brother Levi White of Jefferson City, Missouri (middle back standing),

his eleven grandchildren (in order of age, back row: Doug White, Brad Sheldon, John White, Chris Sheldon, Daniel White, me; front row: Shane White, Scott White, Michelle White, Bryan White, and Andrew White),

his twelve great-grandchildren (back row: Kendall Dawson, Kahleigh Dawson, Jarod White, Faith White, Dharma White; front row: Jordan White, Caleb Sheldon, Ashley White, Elijah Sheldon, Hannah Sheldon, Benjamin White, and Gabriella White),

and numerous nieces and nephews. George was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, brother, Arthur Dale White, and his grandchildren, Craig White and Timothy White.

Pictured below is the entire family of George and Margaret White.

All of the grandkids sang "The Old Rugged Cross" (one of Grandpa's favorites); and my brothers, my dad, and I sang "Find Us Faithful." We had also sung at Grandma's funeral a few years back; but the words to "Find Us Faithful" seemed to be moving me more emotionally while we were singing, and it was pretty difficult to make it through the song.

At the grave site, all 11 grandkids carried the casket to the grave (I still can't believe how heavy the caskets are). The Honor Guard was present, and one member of the Honor Guard played "Taps" on a trumpet off in the distance. I had tears streaming down my face as they presented my mom with the perfectly folded American flag. All of this was very moving, and the whole day allowed for a lot of reflection and motivation for me over the past few weeks to begin to emulate the godly aspects of my grandpa's life.

The day before the funeral, my mom wanted my brothers and I to look through a few keepsake items of Grandpa's. I took one of his Bibles. I opened it a few days later and read something he had written on the very first page, "Never believe in never." Obviously, Grandpa wrote this as a motivational reminder to himself. I take this advice to heart as there are way too many times when I think I could never do something thinking it is out of my abilities or realm of comfort when really God may want to use that very thing I think I could never do to stretch and mold me and to help me grow closer to Him. I am 100% convinced that Grandpa will be smiling in Heaven as his family, friends, and those he did not even know in this life choose to never believe in never and allow themselves to continually be shaped by God.

If you would like to read another one of the grandkids' reflections on the life and death of our grandpa, please visit my cousin Shane's blog site at http://shanemwhite.blogspot.com/ and his posts dated September 26, 2008. As I read Shane's reflections, I finally let my emotions run free and let the grieving and growing process begin.

Weekend in Eau Claire, WI

2008-09-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Aimee and I took a trip up to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to visit our very good friends, Ed and Charlotte Hudgins. We were all friends at Crossroads College here in Rochester. They lived in Rochester after they graduated from college until about three years ago when they moved up to Eau Claire. They left such a void in our hearts that we must see them at least once or twice a year.

We spent Saturday morning and early afternoon at a farmer's market and then at an international festival in downtown Eau Claire. It was a beautiful day and fun to take in the festival. We then came back to Ed and Charlotte's house and watched the Hawkeyes lose a close football game to Pittsburgh. On Saturday evening, we went out for supper at Houligan's Pub in downtown Eau Claire (pictured above). The food was DEE-licious! I had honey-crusted pistachio chicken and have never tasted anything so extraordinarily yummy! By the way, for those of you who know Charlotte, she has lost 62 pounds via her committment to Weight Watchers...that is awesome!

Pictured above are the four of us inside Houligan's Pub smiling pretty after our scrumptious meals.

Ed and Charlotte now have a 9-year-old Bishon named Paige (pictured above just in case you were confused!) they inherited from Charlotte's aunt who passed away about two months ago. It was hilarious watching Paige outwit, outplay, and outlast Penelope who is about 50 doggy years younger than Paige! There were several times we thought we might need to get the puggy inhaler out for Penelope!

As per Sheldon-Hudgins tradition, it was a must that we play cards at some point over the course of the weekend. In the picture above, we are in the middle of a rousing game of Nerts. Aimee made us all pause while she took the picture so that she would not fall behind in this speed game. I am not sure why she needed us to pause as she won every game of Nerts we played over the weekend.

Nerts is usually our warm-up game to get our minds focused for the all-important Spades game which really determines whose marriage has been more successful since we last got together (just kidding)! For real, it is a mental battle to try to either defend or recapture the World Heavyweight Tag Team Champions of the Spades Universe trophy. As you can see in the picture above, Aimee and I defended our previous title and held onto the trophy. I should also note that out of the ten times that the trophy has been up for grabs Aimee and I have won it six times. That said, we are looking forward to Ed and Charlotte visiting us some time in the next few months and trying to recapture the trophy.

Welcome to Fantasy Football, Aimee!

2008-08-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

After being told year after year how much I should and would like fantasy football and being turned away due to no openings or because I am a girl, I finally joined a league...my league. Me and a couple of other ladies formed a fantasy football league called Fantasy Wives. Our group consists of ladies and only ladies. We don't know much, but we all are excited about learning and cheering on our players. This is a photo of some of the ladies on draft day. We did an online draft. It was pretty intense. I think that none of us wanted to let our husbands down. It was a lot of fun.

Check out my new glasses!

2008-08-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

After Penelope got a hold of my old glasses, I got a new pair at my last eye check-up. I also received some good news at this check-up. For the first time I can remember since I started wearing glasses, my eyes didn't change. I was way pumped about this. You can view them on me in this next photo. Penelope is a big fan!

Ladies Day in Clear Lake, IA

2008-08-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

(Top: Andrea, Amy, Stephanie, Kirsten, Beth

Lower: Me and Tabitha)

Just the girls. Stephanie, Beth, Tabitha and I hopped in the car and headed down to Clear Lake to visit our friend Amy before she had her baby one July morning. Kirsten and Andrea also met us in Clear Lake for a day of fun.

Our day consisted of playing games, eating, more games, and tons of laughter. We decided to take a break and hit the wild town of Clear lake. We stopped at a small

local coffee shop and walked down to the lake. It was a beautiful day.

Like a Gazelle

2008-08-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, August 23, 2008, I ran in the Rochester Half Marathon (13.1 miles). I had only run in one other competitive race post high school; and that was a 5K (3.1 miles) last summer, so this definitely challenged me. While I did not train as much as I should have, I did gradually increase my distance the last couple of months on the Douglas Trail. Below is a picture of me stretching in front of the Holiday Inn Downtown before the race.

There were 603 people who completed the half marathon. I am about half way back in the mob, so you cannot see me in the picture below. I thought it was freezing that day while I was waiting for the race to start (mid 50s). However, the weather turned out to be perfect once I started running.

The picture below made me laugh as everyone had stopwatches on their arms that they are starting as they cross the chip line. I had one in my pocket that I referenced at the four water stops.
About ten minutes after the half marathon had started, a 5K race began. Pictured below are two of Aimee and my friends from college, Jessie Garcia and Bonnie DePeel (both left-handed),

approaching the finish line.
My first goal was simply to complete the race. My second goal was to try to average under a 9-minute mile. My official time for the race was 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 20 seconds with an average mile time of 9 minutes and 2 seconds per mile, so I came very close to meeting both goals. That is me pictured below as I approached the finish line near the Mayo Civic Center.
I must admit that I have never experienced such tight muscles in my life as I did after the race. Even today, four days later, they are still a little tight. I did stretch after the race (pictured below). It was great to have Aimee and Penelope's support at the end of the race!
My sister-in-law, Dee, wants me to run in the Des Moines Marathon (26.2 miles) with her in October of 2009. Judging by how my legs felt after this race, I am going to need to train a little more seriously for that race if I want to have any hope of not being permanently wheelchair bound!

Don't mess with Texas!

2008-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Aimee and I road tripped down to Midland, Texas, last week to seek counseling from a pastor and his wife in a church down there. We left on Friday, August 15, after Aimee got off work. I drove all the way to Emporia, Kansas, before I decided I needed to pull over and sleep (around 1:30 a.m., we had driven 8 hours by this time). We had taken the back seats out of the Aztec, put a couple of eggshell matresses down on the floor, moved our luggage into the front seats, and slept in our sleeping bags in the back of the Aztec in a Walmart parking lot in Emporia. I had even purchased battery-operated fans for noise and to help circulate the air while sleeping (unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures of this). Penelope traveled with us and woke us up around 5 a.m. Neither one of us was really able to get back to sleep after that, and we finally decided to get up and brush our teeth, etc., in a nearby gas station's bathroom. We got breakfast at McDonald's and continued on our way. We stopped in Oklahoma City on the way down and toured the Capitol Building grounds (pictures below).

We then drove the rest of the way to Midland (11 hours total on Saturday for a total of 19 hours). It was really fun to see the landscape change from lush green to more of a desert look (though not as desert-looking as parts of Arizona). When we arrived in Midland on Saturday evening, we drove by our hotel, drove by the church so we would know where to go on Sunday morning, checked in to the hotel, dropped off our luggage and Penelope in our room, and then went to eat at an Italian restuarant called Carino's (pictures below...keep in mind that we had not showered for almost 48 hours, so we look quite pretty).

On Sunday we went to first service at church at 8:30 a.m. and met the pastor and his wife with whom we would be seeking counseling. We also met with the professional counselor/pastor on staff at the church. We had the rest of Sunday to enjoy on our own but did have homework to work on in preparation for our counseling sessions on Monday. We worked on the homework all Sunday afternoon and then decided to just relax that evening. We went to Logan's Roadhouse for supper and then came back to the hotel, took Penelope for a walk around town, exercised in the fitness room at the hotel, and watched the Olympics. On Monday, we had counseling in the morning and afternoon. Our counseling couple took us out for lunch to a local mexican restaurant called Carambas. It was delicious (all the food at the all of the restaurants was great)! They also invited us over to their house for supper on Monday evening, and we enjoyed getting to know them better in their family setting and also enjoyed the scrumptous grilled meal they had cooked for us. On Tuesday, we met with our counseling couple for one last session in the morning and then headed back to Rochester after lunch. We stopped at the same Walmart in Emporia, Kansas, on the way back to sleep. On Wednesday, we stopped in Topeka, Kansas, to tour the Capitol Building grounds there (picture below).

We were upset that there was construction and that we weren't able to tour either of the Capitol Buildings on this trip, so we let Penelope poop on the Capitol grounds right near a "Keep off the Grass" sign. For those of you whose hearts may be racing at our blatant rebellion, I would like to let you know that we picked the poop up with a plastic bag and disposed of it properly.

Also at the Kansas Capitol, we found out that Penelope is not fond of Abe Lincoln. She ferociously growled and barked at him for several minutes while we were near his statue (picture below). As we walked back to the Aztec, she kept turning around to keep barking at him as if to let him know that he better not move. Isn't she just the best guard dog ever?!
We arrived safely back in Rochester Wednesday night, August 20. We praised God that He kept us safe the entire trip, that we had no car trouble, and that He spoke to our hearts through our counselors.

Chicago-The Whirlwind Tour

2008-07-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

In June, Eric and I, along with our friends Karl and Beth Bristol, went to Chicago to visit our friends Meghan and Trevor Rasmussen. Meghan and Trevor took us on a whirlwind tour of Chicago. Here are some of the highlights:

Eric and Beth standing in front of Meghan and Trevor's house. We left mid morning to head to our first destination which was Lincoln Park Zoo.

After the zoo, Meghan and Trevor dropped Eric, Karl, Beth, and I across the street from the Navy Pier so that they could find a parking spot near our final destination. While we waited for Meghan and Trevor to catch up with us, we walked along the Pier taking in the experience.

Once Meghan and Trevor caught up to us, we went on an hour-long boat tour on the Chicago River learning about the history and architecture of the buildings that were built along the river front. It was very interesting.

After the boat tour, we caught a cab where we experienced the craziest ride of our lives. I felt like I was on the knight bus for wizards (from Harry Potter). The driver zoomed in and out of traffic like he was in a virtual car game. He used his horn as an extension of his voice. All that we could do was pray and laugh. For dinner, we went to the House of Blues. While we ate dinner, we listened to live music. Great atmosphere, great company, and great food!

After dinner, we walked across the river again to the Oriental Theatre, our final destination, to see Wicked. It was excellent! It gave Eric goose bumps several times. Sheldon and Sheldon give this musical two thumbs up! We left the theatre around midnight and got back to Meghan and Trevor's place around 1 a.m. where we all pretty much crashed.

I See Your True Colors

2008-07-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

After living in our house for four years now, Aimee and I decided it was finally time to paint our walls with something better than the flaky-thin white "toothepaste" the builders had used to cover them. They are now covered with a much more durable semi-gloss. I must say that I enjoy painting quite a bit and would have enjoyed it even more if I didn't get interrupted every day by such a small thing as my job! I started painting the bathroom in late May and just finished our bedroom on July 3.

When I finished painting the living room, we realized we needed to purchase another lamp as the colors had darkened up the room quite a bit. The dark red wall color is deep garnet, and the light brown wall color is brown teepee.

The stairwell was the trickiest part to paint. Since I am not fond of heights (especially when ladders are involved), I graciously agreed to hold the ladder for Aimee so that she could paint the areas in the stairwell that I could not reach on the ground or on a chair. She did a great job and was very patient with my perfectionistic suggestions. The color of the wall that sticks out under the plant shelf is called belgian sweet.

Cassie Khotmanivong gave us the suggestion of having the deep garnet on the wall in the living room play off of the rapture (the brighter red) on the wall in the dining room and kitchen. Aimee and I both really like how it turned out.

By the time I got to painting the bedroom, I was pretty much a pro painter! Having Wimbledon (the actual tennis championships and not the movie with Kirsten Dunst) on while painting the bedroom made the time spent painting even more enjoyable.

Aimee and I found the bedding at a swapper's meet up in Annandale, Minnesota, while visiting our friends Steve and Mandy Rowland. I am proud to say we got the entire king-size bedding set for $35.00 (thanks to Steve's bargaining ability). We got the curtains at Linens-n-Things during their going-out-of-business sale.

The color of the two green walls is mount olive, and the color of the two brown walls is belgian sweet. After painting the first coat of the mount olive, I was not sure I was going to like it. However, similar to our reaction to the living room, we were both pleased with how well everything coordinates in the bedroom.

Thomas and Cassie Khotmanivong joined us at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and helped pick out the piece of artwork in the bathroom along with our new shower curtain, towels, and rugs. I also got rid of the towel rack that sat on the floor and installed five hooks for the towels. The color in the bathroom is slightly lighter than the brown teepee in the living room and is called pecan sandie.

Even though the bathroom was the smallest, it seemed to take the longest amount of time. This was probably due to the fact that I tried caulking for the first time in my life...and NEVER again! What a disaster that was! After trying to cover up my sloppy caulking job with self-adhesive caulk stripping, I decided that the caulk stripping looked terrible as well and ripped that off after a couple of weeks. I then bought caulk remover and removed all of the caulk. This left the areas of the walls where I had removed the caulk and caulk stripping in pretty sad shape. Thus, those areas had to be filled with spackling paste, sanded, and repainted. After that, I was happy with how the bathroom turned out!

Creating Sheldonville

2008-07-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog site! With the help of Karl and Beth Bristol, we were able to get this up and running. We have found blogspot to be a great way to share in the lives of our friends and would like to add our stories and events to your mix. Feel free to copy this internet address into your internet favorites and to check back regularly!