welcome to the neighborhood

What a lovely neighborhood we live in...

Police seize marijuana, arrest 2

mamma mia!

I went to see Mamma Mia! with mom and Brigitte at noon today. It's a great girl date. It was a very fun and entertaining movie. It's not something I would buy or even want to see again in the next 6 months, but I really enjoyed it. I laughed, grimaced at Pierce Brosnan's awkward singing voice (I don't expect him to be Justin Timberlake- after all, he's James Bond), teared up at the touching or seemingly sad moments (it doesn't take much to tear me up), and left the theater feeling like I wanted to be in a musical. I also left with a jukebox-full of ABBA songs stuck in my head. But all in all, I left with a smile. And any movie that leaves me smiling and singing is worth a viewing.

good morning, romania

David called me this morning- for the first time in almost a week- as soon as he was near a phone! Unfortunately, that was 4am PST. I heard my phone making noise and I was trying desperately to turn it off because I thought it was an alarm. Before I turned it off, somehow I woke up enough to figure out it was my phone and my husband calling. I answered it (I think) and he said he loved me (I think) and I said something back (I think). It's all a little blurry. But I do remembering him telling me he'd call when I was awake for the day. He called around 9 or so and I got to talk to him while coherent. It was wonderful. Next time he leaves for a 2 week trip to another country without me where he has no ability to contact me for a week, I am going to... hold on a sec... I am going to go with him!

That is a photo of a tired, smiley husband who got to talk to his wife today- and a Romanian mustache that will be gone before he returns. : )

seven brides for seven brothers for one heidi

Yesterday I was walking around the house with songs from Hello, Dolly stuck in my head- not from watching Helly, Dolly, but from watching Wall.E. (If you haven't seen it- do. It's very entertaining although half the movie has no talking. And you'll love the exaggerated view of our society.) Anyway- I had those songs in my head and then realized how much I love songs from musicals- and what would it be like to be able to clean the house to the music of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or Meet Me in St. Louis? I'm thinking it will be incredibly motivating and I will now be able to find out as iTunes and I made a deal, and I'm now in possession of the said movies. I listened to Seven Brides all the way through yesterday and it is fabulous, just as I expected. There are outtake tracks, rehearsal tracks, and demo recordings on top of the tracks from the movie. There are full versions of "Sobbin' Women" and "Goin' Co'tin'" sung by Johnny Mercer that are a kick. I don't usually call anything a kick, but these songs are. Heck- the whole album's a KICK.

dear friend

On Friday I got to see my dear friend, Tara and her fabulous new haircut! I always love when we are able to catch up and actually see each other. Don't mind my hair- it's gone with the wind.

the mittelstadt girls take l.a.

This past Wednesday, Brig, mom, and I loaded up the Volvo and headed to Santa Clarita. Brigitte was in a wedding on Friday and had a Short family showeron Sunday in Visalia, so we decided to make a trip of it.

• Shopping... we frequented GAP, Ann Taylor's Loft, and Banana Republic numerous times each day. It's a sickness. And we, of course, had to go to The Grove- Anthropologie, J.Crew, and Nordstrom's.
  
• Food... I introduced my dear sister and mother to TJ's Veggie Chips and Pirate's Booty- we splurged on JoJo's (TJ's version of Oreo's)- meals at Panera and Johnny Rocket's
  
• Movies... we learned that Definitely, Maybe is a pointless movie, Mad Money is funny, and already knew we loved 27 Dresses

• Wildlife... we found an itty-bitty lizard and a kitten- score!
• Music... all of my random CD's from years past made their way out during the 7 hour drive-- Runaway Bride Soundtrack, The Best of DC Talk, 50's Compilations, Steven Curtis Chapman galore, and more
• Laughs... take 3 tired random women, put them alone in a small house for the first time in a couple years, and you have us> ridiculous jokes and acting, loud singing, craziness, and much-needed laughter
• Fun... yes- we had fun- lots of fun- ridiculous, silly, girly fun 

shop till we drop

The morning that David left for Romania, I decided to join Brig, mom, and Aunt Gisela on their trip to the Jelly Belly Factory and Vacaville Outlets. We shopped, ate lunch at BJ's, shopped some more, had dinner at Chevy's and made it home a little past midnight. We shopped till we dropped- seriously. My one personal purchase for the day were the skinny brown cords from J.Crew pictured above- $6. No, Brig and I didn't buy matching outfits- we just tried them on- and then bought the same pants. For $6, can you blame us?

hubby in romania

The story behind David's Romania trip: A few months ago David received a call from a guy who said he was referred to David by David's best friend's dad. (A mouthful, I know) He was calling to see if David was interested in going on a missions trip to Romania with a group compiled of people from a few nearby churches. He was referred to David because the group was in need of a guy to teach the boys at the summer camp they are putting on. It was a random call to get and when David told me about it I was not very excited about the idea. He mentioned that I could go too, but when I realized I'd be getting back a week and a half before my sister's wedding, that idea was quickly dismissed. The day before David had to commit to the trip, I was still dead set against it and had basically been praying that he wouldn't go. I talked to David on the phone and work and found out he was of the mindset that he was going while I was not. It was then that I realized if God wanted him to go, I didn't want to hold him back, so for the first time- I prayed that the Lord would give me peace about the trip if it was His will. Much to my disappointment, only minutes later, I felt a complete peace replace my panic and I knew David would be going.

What is David doing? The group he is with is called Romania: Building the Next Generation. The couple heading it up have visited Romania numerous times in the last years and own a house in the village that serves as the housing for each missions team. They are ministering to the sick and poor of the area, and are simply spending time with the youth and sharing the Lord with the people. The middle of the 2-week trip is a youth camp in the mountains. Each day they split the girls and guys up for separate teachings (where David is the speaker for the guys), they play games, have small groups, hang out together, and then the combined group is together for a night teaching which David is also doing. The group may get to do a little bit of sight-seeing, but if a ministry opportunity comes up instead- that's what the trip is about. When David gets back, I am sure he will have much more to say and may even correct some of the things I've written. : )

Back at Home: David left for Romania on July 7th and will be returning the 21st. I'm smack dab in the middle of my lonely two weeks, but it has been a blessed time staying with my parents and soon-to-be-married sister. The group is at the youth camp right now and David has no means of communication in the mountains so I last talked to him on Saturday and will get to talk to him again on Friday. He is doing great although he is tired, and he has already had the opportunity to visit people in the area and show off his soccer skills to the kids. They love it. : )

Prayer Requests: David and I appreciate your prayers. Please pray for the safety and health of the group. Also pray for David as he teaches- with an interpreter. Pray that the Lord softens the hearts of the youth and people in the area and that they understand the freedom that can be found in Christ.

pre-romania date 7.5.08

As David was leaving for Romania 3 days after High School Camp ended, we decided we needed to have a date day before he left. We packed a Mittelstadt-style picnic of salami, butter, muenster cheese, dark rye bread, pickles, and Izzies to take to the beach. When we got there, it was a struggle walking against the wind. We ended up parking with a view of the ocean and ate inside the car which was messy, but still fun. After our picnic, we braved the wind and walked along the beach a bit. We felt very out of style without a dog. Apparently it was dogs at the beach day. Our beach adventure was short-lived and we ended the evening by going to see Wall.E. The day is never long enough when your husband is leaving for a 2-week Romania missions trip after the weekend, but the day was just what we needed in the middle of summer madness.

high school summer camp 2008

Who: CCModesto, CCPetaluma, CCSan Jose, CCHealdsburg, CCSebastopol, and a bunch of other churches

What: lack of sleep, fellowship with other churches and old friends, heat, amazing speakers, loud but blessed worship, sports, paintball, first-time zipline adventures, warm showers, a secretive field trip to Screamin' Mimi's, a million foosball tournaments, the amazingly fun game of communist church, a horrible bloody murder screaming prank in the middle of the night, painted toenails, lots of dust, late-night snacks, fear of raccoons, ear plugs to sleep, lazy free times, inside jokes, lots of water, priceless time to get to know each other better and see the hearts of the sweet young ladies in the youth group

Where: Mt. Gilead in Sebastopol

When: June 30- July 4

Why/Theme: Heroes of the Bible

jr. high summer camp 2008

Who: Jr. High groups from CCSebastopol, CCPetaluma, CCHealdsburg, Cornerstone Napa

What: camping in tents next to the beach, crazy games, amazing food, late nights, shared teaching by all youth pastors, sunburns, too much available caffeine, sandy tents, warm days, windy nights, lots of blankets and layered clothing, hilarious skits, too many renditions of Breaking Free from High School Musical by the high school boy counselors, sweet memories

Where: Dillon Beach

When: June 19-23

Why/Theme: GROW-- in love, knowledge, & grace

catch-up

I've been MIA for a while now. That's what happens to David and I during the summer. A few days before the stretch of camps, we drop off the face of the planet. But I'm going to see if I can catch you up on the last month. I'll have to skimp on details, but that's just how catching up goes. Referring back to Summer Madness, the following things have come true so far:

[x] It will be blessed

[x] We will be tired

[  ] David and I will get sick

[x] Injury

[x] More freckles

[x] Crazy memories

[  ] Vehicle breaking down

[x] Learned which kids can be trusted or can't

[x] Laughing fits

[x] Deep breaths to cope

[x] Tons of water

[x] More love

[x] Lots of prayer

The score is pretty good so far! There are still a few weeks to prove me wrong. I hope they do.