a very merry christmas sing-a-long

when i was little, we always had a crowd at our house on christmas night. after all the presents were unwrapped and the dishes were cleared it was time for the music to begin. we had stacks of song books, lots of singers, a piano, and some trumpets. it was a good time. a few years ago we decided to start recreating this great tradition. i brushed up on my accordion skills, my cousin monte very wisely decided to marry a professional musician, and my uncle mick was put in charge of the percussion...

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special delivery

if you’ve been checking your mailbox in anxious anticipation of my christmas card, i’m sorry to say you may be disappointed. i’m breaking tradition and blogging my card this year, so here it is for you to enjoy. this season i’ve been especially mindful of the realities of life; people who are hurting in the midst of a time of celebration and joy. even though holidays are especially difficult for some, i think these hard times actually make the birth of our savior that much sweeter. the other...

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an idealistic dreamer

remember those great conversations in college, where you would sit around for hours talking to these interesting and wonderful people you were lucky enough to call friends? the topics could be anything...life, love, theology, the future, changing the world, and of course brainstorming for the next great prank. time was never a factor. these convos could happen at any hour of the day and last an infinite amount of time [because conversations such as these were often much more important than going...

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why i love my friend

it is kim's birthday today and she's three decades old. there are lots of things i love about her, here are thirty of them in random order. i love kim because…she is a great teachershe loves the lazy rivershe is really good at fake laughingshe is very passionate about the jayhawksshe screams a lotshe is an avid gamblershe gets very hyper about winter weathershe loves to help peopleshe is digging herself out of the holeshe is extremely generousshe smiles a lotshe experienced new life ranch with...

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how i spent $0.86 on black friday

i've been working the walgreens circuit for a few years now and i've recently decided to delve into the world of cvs-ing. and yes, that is a verb. there's this whole sort of cult following on the web where you can find tips and info on how to get the best deals by combining coupons with store specials. i won't bore you with the details but i do have to brag a bit. the black friday sales presented my biggest challenge yet and with my mom as my sidekick, i went, and i conquered! i purchased all...

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francis howell viking football

i have a new favorite football player [though i probably didn't have one to begin with]. matthew is a freshman at my high school this year and decided to play football. monday was the one and only game i'll get to see this year, so i had to pack a lot of spirit into that hour and a half!! i'm sure he was really pleased, and not at all embarrassed, by my artistic sign and the fact that i was frantically waving it around while screaming "go 43", and "good job 43" for the entire game. i didn't earn...

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i want to go back to the beach

this was the extent of my to-do list for the past week: float in pool play in ocean look for shells eat lots of snow crab my mom and i spent the past week in pensacola beach, florida with friends from church that we've known forever. this was our second year to go on vacation together and it was quite fun. matthew . john . joanie . chris . kim . marilyn shelly . jacob . gracie jacob and i on jet ski day in the bay one night we drove into pensacola to eat at maguire's, they are...

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the story of stuff

over the past few months i have become a bit of a tree hugger. no, i haven't started a compost pile in the backyard [though i did get a "keep it clean, keep it green" t-shirt for my birthday], but i am more aware of how much, and what, i throw away. the fascinating thing that i quickly discovered is that my insane frugality happens to go hand in hand with being kind to the earth. the less stuff you buy, the less stuff you have, the less stuff that gets thrown away. the less you drive, the less...

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what constitutes a purposeful life

i've been thinking a lot lately...lots of ideas and ponderings floating around in my brain. even though i knew these thoughts were all connected, i was having trouble making sense of them. thoughts about our purpose on this journey of life. i had tried to articulate a few of these thoughts to friends, but didn't really get anywhere. then wednesday night at bible study i had a breakthrough of sorts...i finally found a question that encompasses a large quantity of these thoughts: what constitutes...

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mixin' it up in macon

last weekend i headed to the south for some good 'ole family time with the broomes. i got to spend time with a wonderful friend and her cute kids [and fred]. joshua and anna bell made me feel very loved. we had an extra fun treat when connie, another sbu friend, drove down from south carolina with her mom and sweet little josiah to spend a day with us. it had been a long time since i'd seen her, so i really appreciated her making the drive! connie . lindsey . shelly aside from connie's...

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take me out to the ball game

i'm a little ashamed to say that until tonight, i had not yet been to the new busch stadium. i know, i know...how can i even call myself a st. louisan? but lucky for me my fabulous aunt and uncle came to the rescue this weekend with free seats in the best buy suite, courtesy of the casino queen. the cards weren't able to pull out a win, but they are still my favorite anyway. me and uncle mick me and my mom inside the suite uncle mick . aunt linda . mom . m...

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28 things you always wanted to know

where do you shop the most: hyvee what kind of shampoo do you use: whatever i get free at walgreens what sport do you dislike the most: the fantasy kind what are you most scared of: spiders, snakes and mice favorite restaurant: kathy’s pasta in bolivar favorite fast food: white castle favorite tv show: past – the cosby show; current – the office rolling stones or beatles: duh…beatles best bed sheets as a child: they are white with a map of the hundred acre woods...

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kids camp 2008

i've spent the past week at one of my all time favorite places...camp! i was at kids camp with calvary using my mad assistant nurse skills. i really enjoy getting to spend time with calvary people during the week, especially since i don't see them very often. i've been support staff at camp for the past couple years [as opposed to a counselor] so i get some extra adult time to chat with the pastors and leaders that are there. let me tell you, they are some seriously fun people, and they can...

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the meinhardt clan

i have the best family. i love my family. i just got back from a weekend of family fun. every two years my mom's family gets together for a little vacation at the fabulous lake of the ozarks. we spend a few days eating, listening to the stories of the elder members [also known as the 'super delegates' during the family meeting] and then we eat some more. i made a few fun treats to surprise everyone with when they arrived, including these fun water bottles. we have these old family...

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don't know much about history

...but i do now! i recently watched two movies that greatly increased my historical knowledge. the first is charlie wilsons war, which is based on a true story. it is set during the cold war...which i now know is when the soviets invaded afghanistan because they wanted to take over the world [shelly's paraphrase]. it also gives a glimpse of how afghanistan became the kind of country it is today. i had to pause this movie a few times to get some explanations and to look at maps so i could...

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there's no place like home

after a busy couple months of travel and such, i'm glad to be home for a long stretch [well, long for me]. i love getting to visit and spend time with far away friends, but sometimes there's just no place like home. this past saturday it was so great to sleep in and lounge around the house...doesn't that just feel nice? here's a picture of home, and one of my favorite things about being at home [that would be kim] another great thing is having time at home is getting to do...

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california dreamin'

i spent the last week with some of my favorite friends. tara and i met my freshman year at sbu on the croatia mission trip and we've been friends ever since. so naturally when she and matt got hitched, he had to be my friend too! i really can't say enough how much i love this family...tara and i are like twins separated at birth [if you think i'm cheap and overly organized, just imagine me times two] and even though matt is outnumbered when i visit, i think he actually gets more excited than anyone...

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hello tahoe

a little update from the west coast. first off...i love this family. we have such a great time together. lots of fun and silliness, and lots of good convo. and these girls love their aunt shay-shay [that's me!] when i come to visit we always go on an arden family adventure and this time we went up to lake tahoe for the day while sophia stayed with grandma and grandpa in reno. our family photo [tori, shelly, matt and tara] tara and i on our hike to eagle lake sophia playing...

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tonight's top ten list

today i started reading this book from the library about debt-free living [these are the kind of books i read for enjoyment...weird, i know] and early on the author asked this question: what contributes to the quality of your life and brings you satisfaction? she suggested i stop reading and make a list of ten things that define the quality of my life, which i decided was a good idea, so i did.  my top ten in random order: living life with my friends traveling feeling...

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happy birthday missy

as one of my very loyal blog readers, i wanted to wish you a happy day! and just for old times sake, here is a classic for your viewing pleasure: jen, shelly and missy @ salem church camp and this is what we look like now [well, when the babies were still in their bellies] missy, shelly and jen @ baby jonah's shower happy birthday my life-long friend...

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farewell fair oxford

this trip to oxford has been pretty laid back, which i've really enjoyed. since i've been here before, i didn't have to go full force the whole time trying to visit all the "must see" sites. i still saw some fun things, but it was great to rider bikes to the store, make dinner, go to church, and just feel a bit like a local. i was on my own for awhile yesterday and today while jackie had some meetings, and i had some interesting adventures. both days i went bike riding on some paths and ended...

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yep, that's snow

we woke up this morning to a delightful sight...lots and lots of snow! it was a very pretty and some of the students in the house were up bright and early to enjoy every minute of it, especially the ones from california. the backyard being the devoted church-goers that we are, jackie and i biked through the snow to church and then shopped around oxford a bit. we had lunch at the lamb & flag pub, and are now back at the vines [which is the name of the house they live in] to enjoy...

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our day in london

jackie and i took the train to london yesterday [i love being able to say that] for a little sight seeing. the weather was beautiful, especially for england. one of our first stops was the british library. now, i'm not usually very fond of museum-type attractions, but this was really cool. there is a room filled with old books and writings on different subjects, all kept under glass. they have some of jane austen's writings [these are originals mind you] and the codex sinaitcius, which is the...

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adventures in amsterdam

jackie and i are back in oxford after our little adventure to amsterdam. it is a pretty cool city. we walked around a lot [which did make our feet quite tired] and discovered that amsterdam has one of the largest bicycle populations on the planet. i really liked exploring all the little streets and canals, they were super charming. a few of the highlights were the anne frank house, where anne's family and four other jews hid from the nazi's; the keukenhof park [basically a botanical garden created...

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my funny old friends

you never know what's going to happen when you're spending time with my funny old friends. this conversation occurred today over lunch: frances: did you see the tv today? me: no, why? frances: i won a big prize. me: you did!?!? what did you win? frances: a cadillac convertible me: wow...that's a really big prize, what are you going to do with a car? frances: give it to my son. me: what color is the car? frances: white me: did you win it on a game show? frances:...

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purim party time

in honor of the fact that we just finished studying esther, and because it's actually the right time on the jewish calendar, the bible study girls and i decided to throw a purim party. for those that need a little history refresher, purim is the festival the jews throw to remember and celebrate the time that God spared their lives from the plot of the evil haman. [as described in the book of esther] there are four main components to a purim celebration... a public reading of esther [costumes...

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a cherished friend

sometimes there is just nothing like seeing a friend in person. this weekend val was in town from boston and i had the great privilege of spending time with her on her visit. she led a discipleship group i was in at sbu and has always been someone i greatly respect. even though i am always glad for her friendship, seeing her in person just reminded me how fabulous she is! we had some QUALITY conversation, which i pretty much monopolized discussing the search for my passions in life, but as always,...

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bomo or bust

last night i jumped in the car for a quick trip down to bolivar...the happiest place on earth. i spent the evening chatting with jason, graziella, and angela [this picture was taken in the morning during breakfast, so forgive the rumpled-ness]. i so enjoy quality time with quality friends. then then i spent the day playing cards and laughing with my 'adopted' grandma, pauline. she is just about the sweetest lady on planet earth. this is a picture of her with her husband lee, who passed away...

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i was the object of an undercover investigation

here's what went down...last night about 10:20pm my friend casey calls to tell me she just saw me on the news. why? apparently a local tv news station decided to send an undercover couple to different tax preparers around the city to find out who is most accurate and how the fees compare. little did i know, i had been the unsuspecting tax associate who had these clients at h&r block. they came into the office packing a hidden camera, and all of a sudden...i'm famous. mind you, my face is blurred...

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