Penguin Style!

     For those of you who don't know. I heart penguins, they are rather rad little (and sometimes not so little) creatures. Last night i opted to bust out some penguin moves at volleyball. The penguin belly slide was the big hit, and if you're wondering, yes, I am a bit sore haha. Today in service we all rocked service penguin style. Everything was covered in what seemed to be more slipperier then average ice and an abundance of black ice! We waddled a lot today. I'm pleased to inform you however that none of us went down. Not even yours truly ; ) "Baby steps to the car."
     So if you haven't figured, I'm back where i ought to be after my ventures a little bit of everywhere. Twas most excellent. So fortunate to be able to squeeze a lot of my favs and ever so loved ones into on trip. Sorry to those I didn't quite get to this time....next time ; ) Crazy thing happened. Are you ready for it? Even though I was having a most excellent time with fantastic company, by the end of it I was ready to come back. If you've known me for any period of time I'm never ready to come back. Telling ya, some weird stuff is going on here. How could it ever be that Kylah and I are just where we want to be? Since when does that ever happen?? Who knows! I'll take it though : ) Let that be a lesson to you all, thinking of reaching out? Don't you ever hesitate. You have no idea what fantastic things and people and experiences await you.
     So I guess Kylah and I are to slowly become a bit more hippie-ish......meaning we have a plethora of documentaries to watch on everything from bottled water to Nicaraguan banana pickers. We will be filled with random environmental facts of jibberish and what not. Looking forward to it. Also apparently we are crocheting tomorrow night? Ummm if there's good snacks involved I'm looking forward to that as well haha.
     So when I got back to town yesterday I napped briefly and then Kylah returned with a bonus.....Jayme and Mackenzie : ) Such sweet girls, we love them! They stayed with us and were brave enough to spend the day in service with us, good times. I woke up to "I'm entirely on the floor." That made me giggle haha. the joys of a flat air mattress.
     Memo to self: drop off cd at coffee house in boulder junction. Make them love you.   : P
Sooooo it's looking like Kylah will be set with a job soon, rock on! Me on the other hand....well haha just keep us in your prayers please. It'll all be good, no doubt about it. Oh in an upcoming post you'll get to read all about the adventures of Kylah home alone. Let's just say I almost didn't have a house to come home to.....on that note, I'm gonna catch some z's. Sorry I'm kinda all over the place on this post, think I'm still a bit tired...go figure.But I leave you with a deep question: Do you feel we are most likely to a) be attacked by a bear? b) take up ice fishing c) end up living in a van down by the LAKE (ha! you thought I was gonna say river didn't you?? There's way more lakes then rivers here so yeah) or d) decide to purchase only purple food for awhile?? and why do you answer so??          Nothing but love for you guys.

All by myself

Well, here I am. All by myself. My partner in crime is off to sunnier parts. Hope fully warmer too. It was -26 this morning here. And my car hasn't started all week because of the cold! I either need to build myself a garage or get a better car ;) Oooor I could just keep moochin off of the Shmollers like I have been. They are seriously the most generous people ever. I love them so much.

I'll bring you guys to speed on how my week has been. Tuesday we did business and there is this really awesome indoors mall but inside of it, it looks like a mini town! I don't know if that makes sense but it is SO cute! And Amber and I got two really nice ladies. One of them I wouldn't mind going back to. She was so sweet and seemed really appreciative of what we were doing. That was great.
And Wednesday I had an awesome day in service too. I got to work with a sister I haven't had a chance to yet and she is just so sweet. We all had really encouraging conversation all morning - even though it was freezing outside, our hearts stayed warm :) I honestly don't think I've had a bad day in service yet! And so far, it seems like that might be impossible around here.
People have been having really amazing calls too. Within one day, 4 different Bible studies were either started or resumed. This field definitely has a lot of diamonds, you just have to search for them. I can't wait to find one :)

I've been keeping myself busy by doing job interviews the past two days. Seriously, the power of prayer is incredible. And I am seeing Jehovah provide in a way I've never personally experienced before. Okay, lemme just tell you what I'm talking about. I've been looking for a job, even before I moved I applied at a bunch of places and I never heard back. And then this week - within two days - I've had FOUR job offers and interviews! So I definitely am being taken care of.  Now all I have to do is figure out which one will be the best for me. So maybe you guys can help me pray for that now. But don't forget to keep praying for Abby to find a job that will be perfect for her too!

I can't think of anything else to tell you guys at the moment. Sorry to bore you with my blabbering. Thanks for still reading :) You guys are awesome. I love  you all so much and I hope we can see you soon :) Later gators!

Hey here's some stuff

        Freezing outside but letter writing/phone witnessing with warm friends made for a successful service day  despite the horrid cold.....and the bribe of muffins and cookies to all who joined us may have helped make for a successful day as well ; )

The person who lives here apparently repairs dolls and dummies and then poses them in creepy fashions in their windows for all to see.....not weird at all....

                                                 Awwww look how diligently we all work

                                                     ......and how easily we all tire out

                                                 Even Kylah, whose typically abounding with energy.
     So I dont know about everywhere else, but it's stinkin cold here!! Yesterday and today as well. So we were rather impressed that at one point we had 8 people at the hall letter writing/phone witnessing! Rock on Woodruff! However it did start to takes its toll on some of us who did it all day....in the tiny back room haha. At one point we were all just making the weirdest and most obnoxious sounds me could, until of course someone said they were dialing in which case we quieted down of course. Also ColtEn (pioneer brother) and I started to play the hat toss game. I got it on his one and he threw it back to me and as I weaved to get it to land on my head I nailed the back of my head on the wall resulting in an uproar of laughter from all who saw.
     Sadly I wasn't the only one to take a shot to the head last night : / While playing volleyball I managed to clock not one, but two of my teammates...yes teammates in the face with the ball. First up was (and don't hate me for this, it was a major accident) Kylah. It was a low serve that none of us was able to legitimately get so I kicked the ball to just get it back to the server. Instead it v-lined with massive force straight to Kylah's face. I think all of us were expecting blood and tears to come gushing out because it was a really bad hit! Somehow though she was totally fine! Despite my laughter I did and still do feel terrible about that! But it was kinda hilarious. Next up was poor Ben who got there late and had only been playing for like 5 minutes before he was my next victim. I don't know what happened exactly but I do know that I ended up giving him his third bloody nose of his life. Yikes.
     So I gotta get packing an hit the road for the next week or so, however, so ensure Kylah still posts while I'm gone (cuz she wasn't planning on it) she had a very nice call in service yesterday and is to call back tonight. I'm sure we all want to know what happens so Kylah, you best post and tell us all about it ; ) Alright you crazy kids, stay warm!

**UPDATE**

Soooo....I guess you guys couldn't leave comments unless you had a login thing...and that's totally my fault.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS! I fixed it so NOW let's hear from ya'll!! :) Love you bunches!

...we're at a loss of words because we're waiting for yours

"Better than Ohio"

                                                     Look! An orange! haha Typical.
     So it turns out that Kylah is a most excellent hostess!! We had some of the friends over last night for dinner and it was a smashing success! There's been a lot of talk of Indian/Thai food as of lately and where to get the best. Turns out the best is right here in the wonderful world of Woodruff, well with Kylah in the kitchen at least ; ) Twas described as better then Ohio, and that says a lot coming from someone who formerly claimed the best Indian/Thai food was there. Nicely done roomie! It was a team effort with contributions to a lovely dinner also coming from Amy who whipped up some delightful spring rolls, Amber who served up a refreshingly fruity mango drink, and uh I made rice.....really good rice : P
     Dinner was great but the company was even better. Thursday when we were officially welcomed to the Woodruff congregation we also made it to the closing prayer, specifically that the congregation absorbs us and makes it as if we were here all along. Everyone's been doing such an amazing job, thank you kindly for that. I've been here exactly two weeks now and Kylah one and it seems like our norm or ordinary. And we have been ever so busy! Constantly on the go! Who'd a thought the northwoods would keep such social butterflies as ourselves not only very occupied but also content. That's right folks, its a rarity, but i said it. Content. This coming from the girl with a killer flight instinct and a constant need to be somewhere else. Its oddly refreshing.
     It's supposed to be like -25 tomorrow with windchill. Ew.
     Today we did service in the morning, which was a struggle. So early and so cold! We aren't officially assigned to a service group yet so we get to go wherever we want! Kylah had plans with Tatum so we went to the halls group to find only two other more vintage sisters out. Tatum's kiddo got sick so she couldn't make it, no worries, we'll catch you next time ; ) So we made a group of four and ended having a rather productive morning despite the fact we totally weren't awake. The rest of the day has been uber lazy filled with naps, movies, and studying. I think we're both totally okay with that. Needed to recoup a little.
     FYI we love your kind comments : ) So be sure to leave em and let us know you're all out there somewhere.   Be seeing some of you soon. Stay warm! And get some sleep, you most likely deserve it.

     Oh and Kita, if you're reading this, Kylah may need that living with Abz survival sheet sooner then later, poor girl, close living quarters : P

Home sweet home

    Okay, so first of all, here's a picture of our humble abode as promised.  I love it.  It's cute and simple and I think there's a lake in our backyard. I'm not sure cuz it's always dark when I get around to looking outside.

We've been so busy!  Yesterday we finally took the morning off to sleep in which was well deserved. And then we went on Amy's study with June.  June is deaf and Amy has been teaching her the truth in ASL and they've been studying for 5 years and June is going over the questions for baptism! It is so cool. There are like 8 people here that are learning ASL to help in the area. They sign at every meeting. It's really cool to watch (sometimes distracting to be honest ;) and Abby and I are picking up a little which is fun.

    A few things happened at the meeting.  Besides meeting more amazing people of course. They made an announcement from the platform welcoming us to their congregation! It was so incredibly sweet! It really touched me. Oh and then this really awesome sister, Tatum, she just got baptized this fall and she is AMAZING! For real.  Anywho, she was the one interviewed to share the experience she had about how the congregation reached out and really showed how much they cared about her. It was so sincere and sweet. And afterwards, (Woodruff apparently never claps for demos or interviews or things so we're told) so Abby started the clap and it totally caught on. She was proud of herself for that :)  One more thing - apparently I'm awesome at embarrassing myself. Especially here. And we were sitting in the front row and for some stupid reason I decide to take my necklace off over my head. Well, it got stuck in my hair. Really bad. And I fumbled to get it out for what seemed like an eternity. And Abby didn't help because she was too busy cracking up.

    Service was fun today of course! Abby only placed one book. She has probably placed 80 since she's been here. For real. That woman just has mad skills. I'm hoping to glean some of those. THEN we saw a coyote! It ran right in front of us! It was crazy! I swear I'm gonna be eaten up here. I'm hoping it'll be by a bear tho and not a coyote. Also in service we had fun with Amber of course as proven evident here: 

And then we had some people over for dinner. That was fun but I'll let Abby talk about that tomorrow.

Later my people!

DANGER!!

     First things first. People up here will do anything to get away from witnesses! Take the dude in the picture for instance, a brother gets out of the car to talk to him and he hops on his 4 wheeler and hightails it to the not totally frozen lake. Brilliant. We got a good laugh outta it at least. Who has more fun then us? ;)
     So never ever in my 20 some years have I fallen in service. Even as a wee toddler on unsteady legs I'm pretty sure I've always managed to stay vertical at the door. Well today that all came crashing to an end, quite literally. In my defense our entire territory up here at the moment is seriously ice, like EVERYTHING. I was walking to the door with a brother and before I knew it I was on the ground with a poof of snow settling around me. I start laughing as Ben (the poor brother with me) looked at me on the ground dumbfounded. I quickly get up to look back at the rest of the group dying of laughter in the car. So I brush off some snow and take a bow and proceed to the door. That's how we roll in the northwoods haha. Oh and if you're wondering, the group rated the fall itself about an 8, but overall style a 10. Booyah!
     I'm not the only one to suffer injury up here. Poor Kylah has an ever growing massive bruise on her wrist from volleyball the other night. No idea how that happened! I think we might be investing in wrist guards for her.
     So back to reality for me today. It was looking quite promising I might get a job at a little music shop. Perfect right? Schedule was gonna be sweet and I'd be surrounded my instruments all day! Dream come true. Well no. I stopped by today and was informed they've actually gotten way slow so there goes that for the time being. Who was I kidding? Come up here and get a fun job with a good schedule for pioneering right off the bat, ha! Memo to self: sometimes you got to fight. Not everything here is going to come easy. I know things will work out, it'll be fine. As long as we keep doing what we're doing, it's guaranteed :) No worries, I'll let you know how the story plays out and how we're taken care of.
     Most fantastic thing ever happened today.....are you ready?? ............WE FOUND SIXLETS!!!!! I HEART sixlets!! More then cheez-its actually. And better yet, we found em cheap!! Huzzah!! (FYI my most favorite things are berries, cherries, and raspberry jelly bellies, in case you're wondering) Speaking of food, Kylah's cooking up something right now...I dont remember what, but so far it's smelling good. We're having a couple of the friends over friday night and shes test  running the food tonight to make sure its all good for then. Oh, and we may or may not have gotten more orange food today, I dunno what our deal is. Well that's my out to go eat some cheese and crackers and juice....orange peach mango juice : ) Nothing but love for you all!

third time's a charm

Cheez-It update:
Abby got some.
All is good in the hood.

Today was another great day in service.  We got a bunch of territory done which is GREAT because that's our job :) And then we finally got a p.o. box which was a bit of a challenge. So if you wanna send us a gift ask us for the address.  However, we request that whatever you send, it must be LARGER than 3x5 so that we can bother the post office lady again who is quite smitten with us.  Must be our charm.  

Oh!  And one of the highlights of my day was this amazing sister (whom I hope is reading this right now) told us how genuinely happy she is to have us here.  It was really sweet and just what I felt like I needed to hear. I mean, I don't feel like we made a bad decision in coming here at all.  And no one has made me feel that way.  I guess it was just really nice to have that little confirmation that they want us here.  It meant a lot to me.  

Anyway, she's pretty awesome and I can't wait for you guys to come meet her soon.  Tomorrow she's taking us to the booming metropolis of Rhinelander to grocery shop which is not as easy at it sounds.  Here's why:
Kylah likes: anything but meat.
Abby likes: meat. and not much else.
So basically the only food we both like is mac n cheese.  So cooking is fun :)

Alright.  We both have writer's block.  I have no idea what else to tell you guys except that we still love it here. A lot.  And Abby can't write a song. We'll try to put up more pictures of our life soon. SOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo on that note - 

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned kids.

An epic second post

So today was cold. So cold in fact that Kylah's water froze and ice got stuck in her straw, a straw that she proceeded to take out and accidentally blow the ice chunk from the straw and nail Amber (pioneer sister here) in the head....in service. HI-larious!! Everyone keeps saying they're so happy we're here but if we keep shooting people in the heads with ice chunks and what not I'm just not so sure how long that feeling is going to last.
     Yesterday I was jamming and I set my tea on my amp and it splashed over and spilled all over. In a panic (not really) I asked Kylah to help. Right away she hands me a paper towel....filled with orange peel. So now I'm failing at wiping up the tea and leaving orange peels on my gear.  We're off to a good start haha.
     It's been almost a week and a half for me here but it feels like so much longer, but in a good way. Know that we are doing very well here. The congregation has been amazing, and for some crazy reason so far very accepting of us and our...lets say rather quirky selves ; ) We're happy here. We miss and love you all....wwwweeeeellllllll most of you j/k! But it's where we should be. I can't tell you what an awesome feeling that is knowing that. That's all for now. just played volleyball for awhile and it was awesome! But now i have some tea to drink (nowhere near my amp, no worries) and movie to watch. Ta-ta for now. Take care of yourselves and eachother.

Best first post ever.

"But I don't wanna be reasoned with! I just want more Cheez-its!"

Day 2 is coming to a close and we have yet to get to the store.  Apparently we've unanaimously decided to eat only orange foods; i.e. Cheez-it, carrots, mac n cheese....oranges.

Well, things are pretty exciting up here in the northwoods.  So exciting in fact, we just can't reveal any further information. We just may blow your mind. On that note - good night.