I've been tagged :)

Lindsey tagged me and since I'm a sucker for blogging, I'm gonna do it :) and of course pass on the tag!

Rule #1: the tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any question they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.


Rule #2: tag 4 people to do this quiz; they cannot refuse (ok, so nothing bad will happen if you don’t participate but I would love to see your answers). The tag-ee must state who tagged them.

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family?
Well, I am sort of on the fence about this one... I think pets are great and they really do become like part of the family, but there is a fine line between a pet lover and crazy people! (I don't know how to explain what I'm trying to say!)

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?
To speak fluent Japanese! and be a stay at home mom :)

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?
hmmm... a billion dollars is A LOT of money!
I'd love to help our families out and pay everything off for everyone so that they could all live without money worries, Help out some of my friends in Uganda, buy a log cabin for my parents, put some money away for future kids' college funds, help out families who want to adopt but can't afford it, support close missionary friends and their ministries, somehow invest in an airline so that we could have an unlimited supply of plane tickets anywhere in the world (especially to and from Japan and NS!), a getaway cabin on the lake and a home somewhere by the water... and I'm sure this could go on and on, but I'll stop there!

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?
Well, to be honest, I tend to get stuck in bad moods and it's hard for me to get happy again quickly but... snuggling up on the couch with Bobby (or a nice long hug), bubble baths, Heartland, being with kids... and chocolate are all pretty good places to start!

5. What is your bedtime routine, with your kids?
No kids for us yet, but the tow of us have a bedtime routine that's pretty much the same every night... we usually watch tv or playing games together in the evenings, then we do some kind of reading together in bed (usually it's a devotional reading), turn on our piano worship music and drift into sleep!

6. If you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your significant other?
We met in Japan... 2 years ago on Feb 13th! :) (I love our story!)

7. What kind of books do you read?
Right now, all I'm reading is text books and my Bible! :( But, when I have time, I really like to read 'inspirational' books. Oh yeah, Bobby and I are reading The Book of Awesome slowly but surely and loving it!

8. How do you see yourself in 10 years?
Well, the obvious answer is 34 years old (almost 35!). I assume we'll be in Japan and hopefully I'll have moved from full time language study into full time ministry! I also assume our family will be a little bigger than it is now... we want to have kids, but of course only God knows how that dream will unfold!

9. What’s your fear?
That I'll lose a loved one sooner than I'm ready to... or ending up as a widow. I also sometimes wonder/worry about having kids/not being able to have kids because I think it's something a lot of people take for granted.

10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space?
Actually, space fascinates me... so I might just do it! As long as junk food all around me would be eliminated because the temptation would be cruel!! But... space is kind of scary... and I do LOVE junk food! so I guess I don't know!

11. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Do the math to figure out how much longer I can hit snooze to sleep a little longer!

12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be?
First of all, I think it's sort of mean to have this question on here... and second, even though many will roll their eyes and say it's because I'm a 'newlywed' but really, I am so blessed with such a wonderful husband and I really don't want to change anything about him!

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
I absolutely love my name! There are names that I like, and would consider naming future daughters, but I don't like any of them enough to be make it mine!

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose?
Probably the sun... I do love the rain, but 6 months is a long time for rain and I think I'd miss the sun

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?
again, 6 months is a long time... but I don't think I'll ever get sick of bread or cheese!

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?
I like to think of it as a creative outlet! I love posting pictures and having people comment on my posts. I like being able to keep up with people this way since I don't have a Facebook account anymore.

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?
Depends on my mood, but usually sweet wins!

18. What items are in your purse right now?
wallet, lotion, hand sanitizer, 'girl stuff', chapstick, a reusable shopping bag, pens, Tylenol... and lots of other odds and ends too I'm sure!

19. If you had to choose between vacationing at the beach or in the mountains where would you go?
That's always been a tough one! I actually had to make that decision last year in Japan when my teammates and I went camping... they let me decide and I ended up picking the beach and was happy with my decision! There's just something about the water that I find so peaceful and relaxing!

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn’t?
Well, I am usually pretty intentional about the shows that I watch/don't watch, but I do occasionally watch Grey's Anatomy.

And now I tag:

Melissa- http://bmtaylor.blogspot.com/

Bobby- http://hiraoandbeyond.blogspot.com/

Cher- http://stephenandcher.blogspot.com/

Alyssa- http://notestoself35.blogspot.com/ (I know you're not at home right now, but if you have time you can do it!)

best friends are awesome...

I just have to say that today, I am very thankful for the gift of a best friend! I am blessed to have more than one person I get to call best friend, but today, I am particularly thankful for my "oldest" best friend, Angela. We've know each other since grade 4 (16 years!) and as you can see, we love to have fun and be crazy together!

Angela lives in Saskatchewan so we don't get to see each other very often, but our friendship is still thriving! Today we were able to have an absolutely wonderful phone conversation and I couldn't be more grateful for her. We shared some good laughs and even some tears, but best of all, we got to pray for one another.

God has certainly blessed me with an amazing friend and I love her SO much! Today I wanted the world to know just how thankful I am!

I love you Ang! :)

proud Auntie-to-be...

I just have to say once again that my sister's having a baby... and I couldn't be more excited!!
I think Melissa looks beautiful :) I sure can't wait to meet this little one!!!

we like snow! :)

We've had quite a snowy winter so far... and we quite enjoy it! The other day we went on a walk and had some fun...

Here's a picture of the stop sign at the end of our street... (it's really piled up because it drifts pretty bad on this corner so this is the aftermath of the plow)

We ventured down to the river to walk across it and go down the path to the school through the woods but were a little surprised to find out the snow was REALLY deep!! We were laughing so hard I couldn't move!

It was literally up to our thighs!

I tried to follow behind in Bobby's footsteps, but I sank a little deeper than him! (Bobby got a kick out of the expression on my face in this one!)

We had a great time enjoying the snow and definitely burned a lot of calories from all the snow tromping (and laughing!) We like snow! :)

We love having company!

One of the things I love the most about having an apartment to call our own is having people over! Just as the semester was finishing before Christmas, I decided we should throw a little post exam celebration party... so we did! I had plans to play games, eat and watch Elf, but we ended up just eating and visiting... and playing Monopoly Deal! (our favorite game!)

Although it was a little smaller than I was originally planning, we still had a blast with the two couples that ended up coming (a couple that I know from school and Siloam and our neighbours)

Here's Brendan and Erin plotting their win...
Team Baden also scheming....

and Mark and Steph figuring the game out!

Aren't they so cute?!

We had a really fun night and really enjoyed getting to know both of these couples a little better!

We also enjoy having friends and family over "just because"! Mom and Dad came over for lunch and games a couple Saturdays ago and we had a lot of fun with them too!

It's become a tradition (for our guestbook) to take a group photo at the end of our "gathering" to capture the memory of the visit....

Here's the one we took at the end of our evening with our Brazillian neighbours...

They have twin 4 year old girls that are SO cute!

We are so thankful for the wonderful home God has blessed us with! and we're thankful for the wonderful friends and family He's given us to enjoy it with!

Wanna come for a visit?? We'd love to have you!

Catching up...

I don't think I really did post about our Christmas so I thought I'd do a quick catch up today just for fun...

We had a great time in SK with Mom and Dad and Melissa and Brad... lots of laughs and lots of fun! It was neat to be together as a family of 6! (and particularly exciting to think about how we'll be a family of 7 by next Christmas!!)

The day after we got home (the 28th), we got up and had our own little Christmas morning together :) We had fun just enjoying our first Christmas together and enjoying the few surprise gifts we had gotten each other.

This is us, just after we got up and before we opened our gifts :) (sporting my new flannel pj's Bobby gave me while we were in SK)

Here's my stocking... I'm excited, can you tell??

Bobby opening the book of family traditions I got him...

He designed this picture with our wedding vows written on it and got a nice frame for it :)

and he got me Season 2 of Heartland... my favorite show!!

When Mom and Dad came over for a visit sometime after New Year's, we got a good picture infront of our lovely tree :)

and of course, had to have a little bit of fun too...

We had a great first Christmas and had fun merging our family traditions and creating our own :) Who knows what next Christmas will be like!