Celebrating three years together...

On Saturday we went out to Dos Rios, the fanciest Mexican "Cantina" in Des Moines, to celebrate the three years that have passed since our first date. Over a beautiful and delicious meal of calamari, pollo con mole, and steak molcajete, we reminisced and remembered some of the most special events of the last three years, including our summers apart, family weddings, our own wedding and graduation, and romantic events sprinkled through the last 1096 days that we have been a couple. Then we dreamed about the next few thousands of days, thinking about where we will be in three, six, and sixty years. It was fun to celebrate the love that God has given us. We're so thankful for the years we've had and look forward to the years ahead. 

Dos Rios' famous guacamole in a molcajete

The POWER of prayer

Well, we now know why it is nice to have a landlord! Last night at about 8:15, we were getting ready to leave to workout, when we were surprised by a loud knock on the door. A neighbor had been driving by and had noticed water gushing down our driveway. We bundled up to go out and trudge through the snow and ice to take a look at the geyser that had erupted in our yard. Water was bubbling up out of the ground and through our driveway, down the street. Because of the frigid temperatures, that water was quickly turning to ice, and our street was becoming a home-made ice rink. We frantically called our landlord(who didn't answer), the city of Des Moines sewer people (who said because it's private property they are powerless), and about five other random numbers of people we thought might somehow help. Since it was after-hours, no one was in their offices and we were getting more and more worried. We were worried that it was our fault (although we had done nothing wrong and our own water was working just fine.) We were worried that the water under our trailer would create problems to the foundation (and I was worried that our trailer was going to float away during the night...) Basically, we were getting really worried. As we stood out in the freezing snow, neighbor after neighbor stopped by to remark on what a mess it was (but all with no real help or advice).

Finally, after an hour-and-a-half of frantic phone calls and doorbell ringing, we went inside to warm up and to resort to the only thing we could think to do, and that was to pray. Feeling completely powerless, we laid our fears and worries down at  His feet and were prepared to wait for His answer. We didn't have to wait long, though, because as Aaron was finishing up his prayer, we heard boots crunching through the snow outside. We jumped up to see who was there, and it was our landlord himself! He gave us the good news that it wasn't our fault, we wouldn't float away in the night, and that first thing in the morning he would have a crew out there digging it up and fixing the broken main. As soon as we got back inside I (Andrea) burst into tears of thanksgiving and we both called our worried parents (who we had frantically called just moments before for advice). Everyone was super-thankful and exhausted at this point, so we just went to bed.

This morning when I woke up, I was glad to see the crew was there as promised! A little digger-machine and our landlord greeted me at 8 AM, and by the time we left for work, they were already hard at work on the hole and the mess of an iceflow that was our street. We'll see what progress they've made by the time we get home. So today, we are so thankful for a God who answers prayer, a landlord who fixes broken mains, and a place to go to get away from the horrible racket and mess they're making in our yard!

Here are some pictures from this morning:

Our landlord, Roger and the little digger machine.

The source of the mess. In the middle of that frozen lake somewhere is the bubbling geyser. 

My adventure as a mechanic

Today was "learn to be a mechanic day" for me. We rebuilt part of the body of the trunk of my car in order to be able to put in new shocks and struts. 

Here is Kent trying to make a hole in the steel piece to attach the struts to. After ruining two drill bits and one of his fancy hole-cutters, he decided to use the blow-torch. It was (finally) effective. 

This is the cool hat I got to wear while we were welding. I really liked it a lot and wanted to wear it the whole time. 

Finally Dan showed up just to help us put the last set of shocks on. 

Look at my shiny new shocks! Pretty blue to replace the rusty, broken, red ones!

Snowman day at AWANA

The Fruit of my Labor

I finally got my house clean!

(Sorry about the picture quality. Our house is really dark and my phone doesn't have flash)

Proof that there actually was a kitchen table underneath all that junk

The two green chairs have been unavailable since Christmas... It's nice to finally have a place for both of us to sit at the same time!

The new desk we brought over and put in place of the recliner. Looks a little cluttered but actually just needs a few final touches - including the desktop computer my boss is giving us.

The fruits of my labor - 7 boxes and 2 bags ready to go to Goodwill

Cleaning the bathroom mostly involved a little bleach, but I did pull out this cabinet and hang it all by myself! It's nice to get all my makeup and junk off the sink.

This is the new sitting area I made in the bedroom, with all our favorite books and pictures within arm's reach.

Since the bed is in the corner there is a lot more space and the room feels a lot bigger! Also, it's nice to have some more light in the bedroom.

The State of Things

My house is a disaster. This is not, I may point out, because I haven't had time to clean it. I find that the more time I have, the less useful my time becomes. Today, for example, I woke up late in the afternoon when my sister-in-law called to see if I wanted to hang out with my oh-so-adorable niece. I don't pass up a chance to hang out with cute 4-year-olds, so, of course, I said yes. Therefore, another day has gone by with my resolution to get our house totally organized put off once again. Yesterday I worked for about 4 hours and barely got the kitchen table cleaned off, so clearly, things are bad! 

Piles of boxes ready to go to Goodwill

My goal is to get everything put in its proper place and all of the 16 boxes we inherited from Aaron's parents gone through by the time I have to go back to school. This involves sorting through ancient baseball cards and Aaron's old trophies and yearbooks. Things that may not have intrinsic value, but might or might not have sentimental value to my husband. Of course, once he does find something he wants to keep, whenever I ask him where he wants to put it or what he wants to do with it, he responds "Just put it in a box and send it back to storage."

Well, this tugs at one of my basic convictions: a complete disregard for the idea of "STORAGE". In my opinion, if you don't use it, don't keep it! I would like to believe I live a simple life, but my overly cluttered house tells a different story. The truth is, I like for my life, and my house, to be full, but not trashed with stuff you don't need and never use. I've told Aaron multiple times, there is no reason we should ever rent a storage space. If we don't have immediate use for something (unless of course we're saving it for posterity) we should just get rid of it. The only things that belong in storage are seasonal clothing and Christmas decorations. Period.

Our culture is obsessed with junk, and by that I mean buying more and more stuff to fill up all the space we have. I am a victim of this ideology. I like for space to be full. However, I also really like small spaces. Today I told Kent and Diana that our next house should be smaller than the one I have, and they couldn't understand why on earth I would think so. Two bedrooms is too much for me. If I'm not living in one of the bedrooms, it just becomes a space for junk to pile up, and that's both annoying, dirty, and a big job to clean out. Also, I no longer see the need for a kitchen table. Just like we got rid of our coffee table because junk was piling up on it, we also need to get rid of the kitchen table. We NEVER eat there. In fact, on the rare occasion we do eat a meal together, at home, we generally watch one of our tv shows or the stack of movies I bring home from the library.

 Exhibit A for why I want to get rid of our kitchen table

So this is my declaration for what my dream house would have:

- a tiny kitchen just big enough for just me - with a small refrigerator and small stove, but definitely a dishwasher to get all those plates out of sight and out of mind.
- no dining room and no breakfast nook - as much as I would love to entertain, I don't think it's ever going to happen, we enjoy going out and socializing with friends over a meal at Applebee's or Olive Garden
- a small bedroom with a nice bed and blackout curtains, but a huge, organized walk-in closet with a wall of mirrors
- a beautiful, well-lit living room with wall-to-wall bookshelves, two or three extremely comfortable chairs and no big couch
- a small, relaxing bathroom with a whirlpool tub
- a separate laundry room to keep all the mess away from the rest of the house

I don't think anyone makes a house like that, lol. But that's the state of things. Maybe tomorrow I will be motivated to clean my house and get it closer to my ideal dream home.

Proof that I need a dishwasher - see how cluttered my house is!

Updates

Finally, here are some quick photo updates of last semester, for your perusing pleasure!

My 21st Birthday - September 17

My very first cocktail! At Court Ave Brewery with Maffy and Ben, who came to visit me for the weekend! Best present ever!

Mommy's visit - October 2 - 5

Visiting with her, taking her to my work and to see Aaron at McDonalds, shopping and cooking together for old time's sake! Loved having her here and visiting together. 

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson! 10/10/10 at 10:10am

It was so special to be present for Aaron's sister Maggie's wedding to Robbie! The kids LOVE their new step-dad! 

Iowa vs. Northwestern - November 13

A cold, sad, but exciting game. Wishing Iowa would have won, but glad we got to go! 

Weekend in Wheaton

After the game at Northwestern, Aaron left me in Wheaton to hang out with Lauren and Matthew. I had a great time and was so glad to be able to see dear friends and catch up with everyone! Also, got to visit with Dr. Kepner and get more direction about my plans for next year. So glad to have her godly council!

Mary Poppins - November 28

My first broadway show ever! Aaron got me tickets for my birthday, and although I wasn't too excited about it at first, we both had a great time at the actual showing! Aaron had never seen Mary Poppins, but he really liked the show. He says he can see how that and other movies like the Sound of Music and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang have influenced my life and my outlook a lot. Of course, we weren't allowed to take pictures at the show, but this is what it looked like.