Living the Dream

Really?! It's About Time.

2010-08-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

So here we are.... a year later. I'm finally getting back around to keeping the few of you updated. Not much has changed in the past year. It's hard to think that it's only been a year since Asheville. It feels likes so much more time has passed. I can't believe that last year at this time we were absolutely devastated to realize our dream of Asheville wasn't going to happen. Perhaps this is part of the mourning process....in the beginning time goes so slowly and then life happens and you have to move on full speed ahead.

This past year has been filled with stress, frustration, joy, excitement, new life, growing friendships, parting of ways and so many other emotions. I finished my student teaching in November of 2009 and graduated in December. My parents, brother and best friend were able to come out for graduation. I finally made it! In January I received my teaching license and was very blessed to get a long term sub position from February to June. As of now, I'm still looking for a contracted position and I hope to hear some good news soon! Graham has been with Wells Fargo as a temp employee for the past year and a half. He has interviewed for different positions over the past year and we finally got good news! He was chosen for a permanent position that stats on the 16th of August. This new job has taken a lot of the stress and worry away and replaced it with excitement and joy!

At the beginning of the year my brother and his now wife had a baby girl. I've only met her a few times, but the stories I hear from my mom are hilarious! In March, there was a super fun wedding...performed by the Reverend Graham Peterson.

We're excited for this next part of our lives and hopefully I'll be better about keeping the internet aware of what's going on.

Shaking off the Dust

2009-07-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hi All.

Many of you know that Graham, myself, Justin and Angie Rimbo, and our other friends Jay and Tia Gamelin have been praying and feeling called to start a church together. We felt a call to Asheville, North Carolina. After a year and a half of praying together, we decided it was time to visit and talk to local ELCA churches to try to find support to begin this adventure.

North Carolina was absolutely beautiful! We had a blast all living in community together. Justin and Angie have a 1 year old boy and Jay and Tia have a 5 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old...all boys! Staying in the same house was sooo much fun!

During our time together in NC we had meetings with two pastors of local Lutheran churches. We shared our vision and desires with them and were hoping to get emphatic support so that we would have our "burning bush." After our meeting with these pastors, our new friend Ernie, the ELCA missions director for NC met with them. Unfortunately, the support we longed for was not there. When we heard the news on Thursday we were crushed. Our dream for Asheville had died.

That night Ernie came to our "mountain house" for dinner. Afterward, we were able to worship and pray together. During this time we also were able to process and debrief our visit. Ernie is completely behind us, 100%. He believes in our vision and knows there is a need for it somewhere. Asheville is just not the city. After talking with Ernie for a couple hours we all seemed to feel better. We know our call is real and that this will happen. For now, we are grieving the death of our hopes for Asheville. Now we go back to listening and realizing that God is the one in control of the entire adventure. Please pray for us as we try to discern what God is really calling us to.

During our talk with Ernie, he reminded us of the time Jesus sent the disciples out by twos. He told them to extend peace to a person in town. If that person accepted and returned the peace, the disciples were to stay in that person's house. If the peace was not accepted and returned, the disciples were to shake the dust off of their feet and move on. We are shaking the Asheville dust off of our feet. Ernie also told us the three things that will have to happen when we find our person of peace. First, this person will have to trust our vision. This includes knowing that our vision does not come with a concrete plan. Second, our person of peace will need to trust our team and our abilities. Finally, the person of peace will have to make this a priority in whatever city he/she is in. With limited resources, our vision will need to be moved to the top of the list of things to do.

Please pray for these things for and along with us.

Watch Out For The Knives

2009-07-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

When we got married we got fancy, new, sharp knives. About a month or so after the wedding I was washing dishes and had put the large butcher knife in the soapy water. I forgot about it and stuck my right hand in the water. My pinky finger paid the price. I really should have gone to the hospital to get a couple stitches, but I decided against it. It took over a month for my finger to heal. I had learned my lesson and now I never leave the knives in the soapy water.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was making salsa to take to a surprise party for my friend Molly. It was around 9:30 in the morning. I had a busy day ahead of me, get my hair cut, pick up cupcakes, go to the Andersons' and party. As I was cutting the green onions for the salsa, my left thumb ended up under the sharp knife. The cut was similar to what happened to my pinky finger. I applied pressure and finished making the salsa one handed. I rushed around the house getting dressed and gathering my things for the day, I wouldn't have time to come back home until after the party! I drove to urgent care and got all signed in. At urgent care, when you get called to triage, they take your blood pressure and such then usually send you back to the waiting room. When your finger is covered in blood and you have a cut, they still take your blood pressure and such, but then they take you straight back to a room to see the doctor!

The doctor came in, and for those of you who watch 30 Rock, sounded like and had the same type of mannerisms as Dr. Spaceman. He was hilarious! He numbed up my entire thumb because it was safer than trying to put the novacaine close to the wound. Having the novacaine put in my thumb hurt a million times worse than almost cutting the tip off. As my thumb was becoming super numb and swollen, I soaked it in warm soapy water to clean it off. The doctor came back in and started to stitch me up. I was fascinated with the entire process! I couldn't feel a thing, but saw him put a needle and thread through my skin. Crazy. Now I have two stitches in my thumb. I'm glad I opted for the doctor route this time. My thumb will be healed in a week, as opposed to my pinky that took over a month! Here are some pictures I took with my phone in urgent care.

My thumb, pre-novacaine and cleaning.

Soaking in soapy water to clean it.

All stitched up!

My stitches!

What Happens in Vegas? (Part 2)

2009-04-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, after the Quake was over, we all went out to lunch at Hafbrauhaus, a German restaurant. It was such a fun lunch. Graham's parents and Aunt Zoe joined us for the fun! It was so great to be able to see so many family members during this trip!

The day before this lunch was Angie's birthday. We told someone that is was her birthday and the musician decided to sing to Angie in a special way.

After lunch the Fuller Still family stopped at the Hard Rock Casino to donate more money to the cause. Gail and I were sitting next to each other at machines. Gail put in $5.00 and got a bonus and went up $.48. Josh was there and got super excited and told Gail to cash out while she was ahead. Here are the Brechts with their winnings!

There are many more pictures, but this is all I will post for now!

What Happens in Vegas?

2009-04-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

The Fuller Still family (minus Elijah and Owen) took a trip to Las Vegas this past weekend. Fuller Still was the band at a Youth Encounter Quake and Josh was the speaker. The week before the event, I went to Arizona to finally meet my new niece Jessica. I was a horrible aunt and didn't take any pictures of Jessica. I'll have to wait for copies from my mom before I can post them here. I had a blast in Arizona, though. It was such a nice relaxing trip!

On the Friday of the event, my parents and I drove up to Vegas. Fuller Still had flown in the night before. After we got to the hotel and after Fuller Still had sound checked, my parents, Graham, myself, and Justin and Angie went out to dinner. We walked about two miles to the Flamingo and ate at the buffet there. It was an okay buffet. We had lots of seafood and meat. I took pictures just for our friend Theresa!

After dinner we all stopped in the casino and donated some money to the cause. It was a great night with great people!

Sweet Suite

2009-03-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

For Graham's birthday this year we went to the AMC Theaters' Best Picture Showcase. For those of you who don't know about this event, I'll explain. The day before the Oscars, AMC shows all five best picture nominated movies. Yep, five movies in one day. This year, Graham and I both finally had this Saturday off and decided to celebrate his birthday by going. We went with our friends Kate, Angie, Justin and Theresa. During the breaks between the movies there were raffle drawings and movie trivia and give-aways. It was a super fun time! After the second movie, which I think was the least favorite of all five of us, Justin and Angie left. They had already seen the next movie and were going to get a seat at California Pizza Kitchen and order our dinner. (We had a limited amount of time between each movie.) So, right after they leave, the manager draws the next winner in the raffle. Justin Rimbo. Since you had to be present to claim the prize, Graham jumped into action! He took a moment right after Justin's name was read to think about it, then ran down the steps to claim his prize. He even got to be Justin and give a thumbs-up in the picture with the manager and other winners! The prize was a free rental of a private suite. The suite seats 17 people, has leather seats that recline, and allows you to watch a movie with only welcome interruptions. Oh, and you normally have to pay about $100 or so to rent it, plus the cost of the movie ticket. So, Justin decided he wanted to use it to see Watchmen. We went last night, and were only slightly disappointed that there were only three people in the regular theater. It kind of took some of the fun away, but not all of it. This suite reminded Graham and me of the VIP theater at the Mall of America, awesome seats and no silly kids. Since any of us hardly know 17 people, there were only 8 of us. Justin, Angie, Josh, Gail, Derek, Kate, Graham and me!

Spring?

2009-02-27T10:47:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, February 26, at 9:00 am

Noon, right after the snow started.

1:00 pm

2:00 pm

4:00 pm

Six inches of snow in four hours. I love spring.

2009 is Great!

2009-02-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

On Friday, February 13, the McLuens had a scary movie party at their house. Gail and Elijah came for awhile. They didn't stay for the movie part. After they left we watched the movie Prom Night, and made fun of how predictable it was. Our friend Elizabeth Hunnicutt was there, and she was very focused on the movie. At one suspenseful point in the movie, I touched her shoulder, she screamed, then Chiva (the McLuens' dog) jumped onto the couch and got right in Elizabeth's face. It was a great time!

Here's Chiva. She's huge and still a puppy. When she would come up to Elijah, he would lean forward and open his mouth, trying to give her a kiss.

Elijah has started to smile for the camera, as evidenced above.

Here I am making Elijah a vampire. I've been watching too much Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He didn't put up much of a fight.

Here we are, Elijah the vampire and me, his sire.

Smiling again. He's too cute. I can't believe he's almost one!

On Sunday, the 15, the Rimbos, Petersons, and Swansons (Derek and Michelle) gathered at the Rimbos' house in Monticello. We are meeting once a month to discuss some major life changing decisions.

Justin pretended he was Alton Brown and made us all french toast for breakfast. It was delicious!

While Justin was cooking I was taking pictures. Owen and his god-father spent some time together. Later that day, Graham changed his first baby diaper ever! Owen went easy on him, and Graham did a great job!

Michelle loved playing with Owen. Right after this picture, though, Owen spit up on her. She didn't really care because he's so cute. I have to agree!

I had a little photo shoot with Owen and I really like how this one ended up.

Owen has a fascination with his socks. Last Thursday when I was watching him he pulled his sock off and put it in his mouth. It stayed in his mouth for about 5 minutes!

We Love Renting

2009-01-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

This morning when I first woke up, I rode with Graham to work. I did this because his car was in the shop getting fixed. After Graham got to work I came back home and went to sleep again.

The second time I woke up, I walked in the kitchen and my socks got wet. I didn't think anything of it. I thought water may have gotten on the floor during the dish cleaning the night before. Later, I went into the kitchen and there was a small amount of water on the counter by the stove. I just wiped it up and thought nothing of it. Water gets on counters. As I was making my lunch I thought I saw something fall, like a drop of water, out of the corner of my eye. I looked again and didn't see anything else. This happened twice, oh man. Then, as I was reaching to get a pot holder, a drop of water fell on my sleeve. This time I looked at the ceiling and waited. That's when I noticed three distinct spots that were slowly dripping.

My first reaction was to walk upstairs and make sure there was no water on the bathroom floor, since the bathroom is directly above the kitchen. There was no water to be seen on the floor. My next action was to call the office to get the maintenance men to come investigate. The two maintenance men came around 2:30. One man looked at the ceiling in the kitchen and said, "Looks like the toilet." The two went upstairs and were back downstairs within a minute or so. The verdict was in, a cracked toilet base means leaking kitchen ceiling.

The two men left and came back with a brand new toilet! They installed the new toilet and left just in time for me to leave to get Graham from work. I picked up Graham and took him to the dealership to get his car and we went our separate ways, Wednesdays are busy for Graham. Graham said it perfectly, "I'm glad we rent, so we don't have to pay for it!" I have to say, I totally agree with my husband!

Jessica Part Two

2009-01-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

As promised...here are the pictures my mom took yesterday just 20 minutes after Jessica was born.

Jessica Marie, the Marie is after her cool Aunt Haley.

Jay's finger and Jessica's hand.

The new family of four, Jessica, Cassie, Hailey and Jay.

Hailey seeing Jessica for the first time!

I can't wait to meet her!

Jessica Marie Shintaku!

2009-01-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

Here's the first official picture of our new niece...Jessica Marie Shintaku!

Momma Cassie and Daddy Jay are doing well and big sister Hailey loves her!

She was born on the coolest day in history, today! She is 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 20 inches long!

As you can tell...I am very excited to be Aunt Haley (again). Don't worry...more pictures are coming.

Engagement Pictures

2009-01-14T08:33:00.001-08:00

I have a wonderful friend in Arizona named Sunny. She took awesome engagement photos for Graham and me. Here are my favorites! I've put them here because I just like to look at them!

For those of you who don't know, a friend of mine has a brother-in-law who is fighting for his life in the ICU. Here is a web site you can visit to get updates from his family: www.caringbridge.org/visit/jonschroeder
Please keep Jon and his family in your prayers! Thanks!

Glendale Glitters

2009-01-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

When I was in Arizona in December, my mom and I took these lovely ladies to Glendale Glitters in Downtown Glendale. Sunny and David met us there and walked around with us. I was so grateful for David, he pulled the wagon with all 4 girls around all night!

I was watching Tatum, Shea, and Finley for the weekend while their parents were in the hospital with the new baby. We had Hailey with us to give my brother and his lady friend a date night before Baby Jessica arrives.

This picture was at the end of the night on the way back to the car. I am surprised we got a picture with everyone looking, they were all cold and tired!

We spoiled the girls and got them their own hot chocolates. They were the perfect temperature when we got them...I was so excited! After a few minutes this is what Finley looked like, notice the hot chocolate around her mouth and down the front of her coat.

Sweet little Shea is 5 and sometimes this is how a 5 year old smiles. Look at how big that cup is! I think they were 16 oz. cups.

Hailey usually doesn't like to have her picture taken, but she had a different attitude with her new friends around! Hailey and Finley are the same age and became quick friends. Hailey's wearing the hat that Uncle Graham and I gave her for Christmas.

Tatum has a much better 5 year old smile. Again, look at how huge that cup is!

Mom and I had a great time with the girls! We decided that it should be a yearly event. We even talked about having Jessica and Sedona with us next year...we'll see what happens!

My Minnesota Men...

2009-01-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

Here's the story of the men in my life. I'll introduce them in the order I met them...so as not to offend anyone! Of course I met Graham first...but I didn't have a picture to use for this. I love him though!

After Graham I met Alan. I worked with Alan at Fraser, now I PCA for him. He insists that my name is Molly. Here's a typical conversation:
A- "Molly!"
H-"No, it's Haley!"
A-"Molly..."
H-"No, Haley."
A-"Molly?"
H-"Haley."
A-"Molly!"
H-"Alan!"
A-"A nose!"
(touching my nose as he says this!)

The next man I met was Cole. I also met him through Fraser and have been his PCA for two years now! My recent favorite moment with him happened about a week ago. For the past month he had been refusing to go with me on Fridays. I was sad, but tried to remind myself that is was his Autism and not me. Finally, last week he wanted to go to the Children's Museum, so we went. We were walking upstairs and Cole was ahead of me. We got separated by a slow moving group, so I kept my eyes on him. When he got to the top of the stairs, he turned around to see where I was and then he waited for me! For him this was huge! I was so proud of him!

The next man is Elijah. He is the first Fuller Still baby. In this photo we had a modeling session at one of Fuller Still's events. Elijah is modeling the black skull cap. I think he is awesome! He has cheeks that won't quit and a great laugh!

In early summer I met a friend of a friend who was having a baby and needed help with her two boys. Dexter and Jaxon (or Batman) are super fun three year olds! I played with them twice a week for a few months while mom did errands, laundry or just took a nap! My favorite memory of Jax and Dex is sitting on the kitchen floor putting a puzzle together and listening to the boys break into song. The song was usually "I am Ironman...", "Transformers, robots in disguise...", or "Batman, Superman, Spiderman...are friends!"

Finally, in the middle of July, I met Fuller Still baby number two, Mr. Owen. Here he is getting love from his Godfather! My favorite thing about Owen is his wonderful smile! He loves me and I can tell because he smiles every time he sees me!

As you can see, my Minnesota men are entertaining and handsome! I love them all!

Funny Photos

2009-01-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago Theresa showed me this website that lets you put your face into a yearbook photo from different decades. I messed around and with it and this is what I came up with. The picture of Graham cracked me up! Theresa became addicted to this website and decided to make a Team Discovery Channel yearbook. All of the pictures are hilarious!

For Christmas, we got my parents a picture frame with places for two pictures. I put these pictures in there because it was funny. When my mom opened the present she almost threw away the pictures because she thought they were picture frame people!

We're Cool!

2008-12-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

So, pretty much everyone we know has one of these cool blogs. Today I thought, "Hey, Petersons are cool too. I'll start a blog."

Today you get to read a short story about Christmas. Graham and I spent our first Christmas as married people in Minneapolis. We opened presents before Graham went to work Christmas morning and we both bought each other the Back to the Future Trilogy. When I opened mine, I was amazed that we did that. I shouldn't be, stuff like that happens more often than not. It just reminded me that I married the perfect man for me...even if he is just a temp from St. Louis Park.