World Vision's 30 Hour Famine

Saturday, February 27th to Sunday, February 28th, 2010, Dan and I helped with the 30 Hour Famine at our church. Both the junior and senior high participated in this special event. From 8:00 a.m. on Saturday to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday we went without food and without caffeine!

To get the day going we went over to MorningStar Mission to sort food for a couple of hours. I thought that I would be hungry working with food but it wasn't too bad. We had a nice juice break once we got back to church.

The students played some really fun Tribe games and had some great discussions. Oh... and of course there were the hyped up games of spoons! Dan didn't lose a single game!

Will [the youth pastor] ended up getting sick, so Dan and I were left to run the show. Everything went well and I actually got some sleep! The students weren't hard to wake up in the morning and they got the church all clean before others started arriving.

In between running A/V, Dan and I also taught Sunday School for the youth and got them ready for their Missions Moment presentation during the worship service. I studied the final two Tribe games while I ran A/V and had everything ready to go, on time!

I had to work at 2:00 p.m. so I had a quick bite to eat before I left the church... it was amazing! I was really ready to eat too. I had developed a bad headache and tried to drink lots and lots of water to make up for not eating. It helped, but once I ate I felt a lot better.

Work was very busy, so time went by fast! I was grateful.

It was a long and busy weekend, but it was a good one!

Free Date Night

As Dan and I prepare for his return to school in the fall, we have been careful about what we spend our money on. We also know that this summer is going to be busy with weddings, parties, and maybe even a little traveling, so we are trying to save our pennies now... while we still can.

Friday is typically our "Date Night" and this past Friday we were able to have a fun, full weekend without breaking the bank!

Thanks to my parents and their Valentine's Day gift, we used a gift card to Applebee's to have a nice dinner. Applebee's 2 for $20 deal made for the perfect meal. Afterwords, we went to Walmart to rent some Redbox movies. Thanks to the application on Dan's new phone (the Droid) we got coupon codes that made all of our movies free!

Want to get some FREE Redbox movies? Try these codes:

DVDONME
THEBREAKROOM

They're only good once, per account and over time they no longer work... so act fast!

I'm always on the hunt for a good coupon or special discount. If I come across any other date-friendly deals I will be sure to pass them along. Every couple needs a night out once in a while - if not, every week!

A/V Booth Construction

On Monday, February 15, 2010, Gordon and Floyd started construction on our brand new, custom-made Audio/Visual Booth! I couldn't be more excited! This booth will house our A/V equipment in a more safe, secure, and organized fashion.They are scheduled to have the outside done by tomorrow (Friday). We'll be up and running on the inside as we temporarily set up shop on tables as we wait for our upcoming counter and cabinets

Below are some photos that I've taken during construction.

As I type, the construction continues! I am anxious to get everything up and running in there. This booth is going to be extremely helpful.

A special thank you goes out to Gordon and Floyd for taking the time to build this fabulous booth... and to my parents for donating a significant amount of funds to this special project! May God continue to bless the ministries of Parker Road!

Earthquake!

At 4:00 a.m. this morning I woke up to the startling sound of our bedroom door rattling rather loudly. Instantly I started to pat Dan on his back to wake him up. Finally, he did.

"What?" he moaned, in a weak and tired voice.

"The door!" I exclaimed. "It's rattling!"

"It's probably just the wind," he replied.

"No, it's too loud."

At last, once Dan got a good listen at the loud noise he got up and checked the door. By then it had stopped rattling. He went out into the living room and looked around. He peeked outside and saw nothing that would explain our bedroom door's strange behavior.

Dan got back into bed and assured me that it was probably just the wind. He then fell back to sleep. I laid there for a little while longer... a bit creeped out by what had happened. I didn't believe that it was the wind but I had no other exclamiation at the time.

At 6:00 a.m. Dan got up to go to the gym and then on to work.

Just after 7:00 a.m. Dan called me and woke me up. He heard on the radio that there was an earthquake at 4:00 a.m. I was surprised by the news, but at the same time I was pleased to learn that the door's rattling wasn't just the wind - just as I had thought.

I've slept through a couple of minor earthquakes before. This was the first time I was awake for one. Truthfully, I don't remember actually feeling the earthquake... I just remember the loud rattling. We live on the third floor of our apartment, so I wonder what it was like on the first floor.

It has been reported to be a 3.8-magnitude quake and it was felt from Wisconsin to Tennessee. Thankfully, there are no reports of serious damage or injuries.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know that this update is long overdue, but better late then never... right?

First and foremost, Kathleen got engaged to her boyfriend [Brad] on Wednesday, December 23rd in the Signature Lounge in Chicago! At last, I will finally have a brother! Their engagement along with mine and Dan's first Christmas as a married couple made this holiday season extra special! We have a lot of blessings this Christmas... God has been so good to our family!

Since the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season gave me a lot of work hours, it felt like Dan and I weren't seeing much of each other throughout the months of November and December. Plus, Dan started going out to Iowa for work in December. So by the time Christmas Eve rolled around the corner we were both ready to relax and visit with our families.

The night before Christmas Eve we drove up to Wisconsin to be with Dan's family. We had a long and productive Christmas Eve with Dan's family. We got to visit his grandmother in her assisted living home and even though her Alzheimer's prevented her from knowing who everyone was, she still played nice and was a super friendly host. We even braved the mall that day... which wasn't so bad.

That evening we gathered at Mandy's house for a full-spread dinner with a variety of red wines and amazing desserts! That evening we opened presents - which takes about 4 hours! It was a beautiful day... we had a very special time with Dan's family.

VERY late Christmas Eve night, Dan and I made our trip to my parents' house. When we got there we went downstairs and crawled right into bed.

Christmas morning the house was all a buzz! First we opened presents and then my dad made his breakfast specialty, Egg McMuffins! Yum! Later that afternoon we went over to the other Koval home to celebrate with Uncle Ron, Aunt Tamie, and our cousins - including our newest cousin-in-law, Andrew (Jessica's husband).

We drew names for Secret Santa over Thanksgiving (well, actually during our Early Bird Special) so today was the day to reveal who had who. It was a blast! Actually, I think that it was my first time ever doing a Secret Santa gift exchange.

Christmas day was a wonderful and special day. It felt good to relax and be with my family. I only wish the day hadn't gone by so soon.

For New Year's Eve, Dan and I went to The Abbington for a fabulous party! We went with Jason, Rachel, and Rachel's college friend, Neelar. It was a blast! The night included:

- 5 Course Gourmet Dinner Prepared by Executive Chef Robert Fabbri
- Hot and Cold Hors d' Oeuvres
- 5 Hour Premium Open Bar
- Unlimited California Merlot and Chardonnay Wine
- Party Favors, Balloon Drop, and Midnight Champagne Toast
- Late Night Buffet and Sweet Table
-Complimentary Coat Check and Valet Parking
- The Hiline Band
- Spin Productions D.J.
- Special Hotel Suite Accommodations and Transportation with: Embassy Suites Hotel Oak Brook/Lombard and Lisle/Naperville Hilton

We took advantage of the hotel specials and free transportation - which made the night even more easy-going and carefree.

The food was delicious and we all ate way too much! We didn't have much room left for the sweet table - which really bummed us out because everything looked amazing. The band was a blast and the D.J. played a ton of dance-friendly songs. We also made sure that we stood right under the balloons for the balloon drop at midnight! It was one wild and crazy-fun New Year's Eve!

Welcome 2010... I love the feeling of a new year!

All-Clad LTD2

I'm so excited! On December 9th I finally got my new pots and pans from Williams-Sonoma - with many thanks to our wedding and shower gift cards! I've had my eyes on these beautiful pots and pans since they first came out (about a year ago) and finally they are mine (and Dan's).

I chose the All-Clad LTD2 10-piece set. It was the perfect size for us. This is what we got in our set...

The 10-Piece Set Includes:
10" and 12" fry pans.
2-qt. and 4-qt. saucepans with lids.
4-qt. sauté pan with lid.
8-qt. stockpot with lid.

In case you noticed, there is one extra piece in the photo. I got a free All-Clad 10" Non-Stick Fry Pan a while ago, but since I never used it Dan added it to the other new pots and pans.

Early Bird Special and Thanksgiving 2009

I just realized that I never wrote about my family's Early Bird Special! Okay, allow me to explain... since Kathleen was planning to spend Thanksgiving in Minnesota with her boyfriend [Brad] and his family, we had an "Early Bird Special" when they came in for a visit two weeks before Thanksgiving (11/14/09). Brad was the one who gave our special turkey day the clever title. The whole day was just like Thanksgiving! Dinner was at my parents house and we had our usual Thanksgiving spread with my dad's side of the family. The only things that were missing were the parades on TV and the Black Friday sale ads - which we replaced with just plain sale ads.
Since it was such a beautiful day outside, the boys played bean bags... a lot! As long as there was daylight they played. By nightfall most of them were pretty sore from throwing bean bags all day.

Once it was too dark to play bean bags we all played What Were You Thinking - a Thanksgiving family tradition. It was a blast! We had a lot of good laughs and, as usual, some unusual answers.

Even though we had a full Thanksgiving spread on the 14th, we still celebrated Thanksgiving at the other Kovals home on Thanksgiving day. We had another glorious meal and afterwords we sat around the table with the real Black Friday ads - another family tradition.

Once Dan and I got home we started decorating our apartment for our first Christmas as husband and wife! It was tricky rearranging our living room to fit the Christmas tree, but we managed. Our apartment looks amazing! Very festive! Thank you to my parents for letting us use their extra tree and a lot of other extra Christmas decorations!

Dan and I didn't do too much Black Friday shopping, but we did get up at 6:30 a.m. to do a little early bird shopping. We got just about everything that we had on our lists. Later that day I did the Gollwitzer family photo shoot and then I had to work at Williams-Sonoma. It was a loooong day for me.