dedicated to the Dads & Grads

After ending our church choir season with an amazing service put on by mom & Dr. von Kampen, the ladies of the choir are now singing a few SSAA songs for Father's day, this Sunday...
While I was singing one of our pieces, "A Clare Benediction"
I couldn't help but think about how many people that I want to share these words with.

Here are the words to "A Clare Benediction". Here is a youtube link of it too-if you want to listen to it: http://youtu.be/UFyNvOdKPRM

May the Lord show his mercy upon you;

may the light of his presence be your guide:

May he guard you and uphold you;

may his spirit be ever by your side.

When you sleep may his angels watch over you;

when you wake may he fill you with his grace:

May you love him and serve him all your days

Then in heaven may you see his face.

May the Lord's loving kindness surround you;

keep you safe as you journey on your way:

May he lead you and inspire you

as he grants you the gift of each new day.

May he bless all your loved ones and cherish them;

Every friend, every stranger at your door:

In the name of his Son our Savior Christ

May God bless you now and evermore.

• My older sister, Jen. She is moving to Michigan to teach Jr. High at a Lutheran school and is becoming an official grown-up! ;) Going to such a new & far away place...
  and before I know it, I'll only get to see her as little as I get to see Jon :'(



us 4 kids

• 3 of my bestest friends graduating High School this week- Scott, Ryan & Austin. You guys are starting a new chapter in your lives & I am so excited for you!!

Anna, Amy & Scott

Jake, Amy, Ryan & Anna

Scott & Pops...future Irvine buds :)

Anna, Austin & Amy

• I think of my dear friend, and mentor, Maureen as she is now retired & gets to rejoice in spending more time with her family...also a new chapter in her life.



Papa Jim, Amy, Maureen & Anna

• Sarah Fink who will be joining Anna and I next year at Concordia University- Nebraska!! Sarah- you are going to absolutely love it! Can't wait to bump into you in the dorm and see you every day!!

Sarah, Ryan, Mrs. Fink, Amy & Anna

• My mom & dad, will be officially "empty nesters" once August comes around. They keep telling us kids they only had about 2 years together before Jon came along, but other than that they've always had children as a constant in their daily lives. It'll be new & different... but I know they are going to embrace their freedom... and who knows... maybe they'll visit Anna and I more! :)

Mom & Pops at the CUI Gala....looking great! (If I do say so myself!)

• I think of all the recent CUNE graduates (and all graduates) as they begin their new lives as well... be it at the workplace or in graduate school.
• My cousins Tim & Melina and Matt, Katie, & CJ. They are all moving to new places and starting new jobs & I pray that they will be at peace through it all and be blessed by their new communites..... (btw-when is the next reunion?!) :) 
• My cousin, Karen who is also heading into her freshman year of college. You are going to love every minuet! Have fun shopping for your dorm room & we're here if you have any questions about what to pack :) Can't wait to see you at Christmas & hear how your first semester went!!

Jon, Anna, Dan, Tim, Matt, Jen, Katie, & Amy

Jen, Amy, Tim, Melina & Anna

CJ & Great Uncle Gary :)

Talk to you later, everyone!

And here's to the best dad ever!! Happy Father's day, Pops! 

Pops, Amy, Jon, Anna & Jen

Home Sweet Home

Our first night back home I slept for 12 hours... it was amazing. It hasn't been difficult adjusting back to the California lifestyle, but we do miss our dorm air conditioning units. Let's just say it's a bit warmer than 64 degrees every night we go to bed... it's gonna take awhile to get use to sleeping without a comforter. It is nice to eat out on the patio (no bugs!) and run outside. And of course, the pooch... It's good to be with Jess again. She's such a sweetie pie... when I wake up and see her lying right next to my bed I can't help but smile.

 It's been really nice catching up with friends, swapping stories, and spending time together again. Most of our college friends finished school last week or will be done this week, but H.S. and below probably won't be done until the second week of June. We spent a beautiful Mother's Day with the Ruizs, spent at day at Disney's CA Adventure, saw "The Avengers" with Eric (incredible film!), and The Bachelorette has started up again, which means late Monday nights with the girls!!
Amy and I are working at Concordia University, Irvine. Amy's an assistant in Administration and I am a data inputer/aid for Financial Aid Office. My job is kind of tedious and lots of time just busy work, but a job's a job. (And as Amy likes to remind me, "our time is worth more out here!" It's nice that minimum wage is a dollar more than in Nebraska.)

Just when we were all settled in and had a week's worth of work under our belts, we got a wonderful visit from our friend Amanda. She came out to visit friends in Temecula and then stayed with us for a few days... we had a blast together. I felt so comfortable having her here, she's like part of the family now. On Saturday we went to Bethany's Fun Day, on Sunday we went to church, had brunch with Theo, and went to Chloe and Jake's recital. Then on Monday and Tuesday we went to the beach, celebrated our bday with the family at Fish Co, shopped at the Rainbow Sandals Outlet, more shopping, out to eat, and just got to hang, talk, and watch movies together - like old times :) The minute Amanda left, I got a yucky feeling in my stomach... when we said goodbye to everyone at school we knew we'd get to see Amanda in a couple weeks, but now... we won't see our Concordia friends until August. :/ But, we have many things to look forward to this summer: Sister trip to Vegas to see Brother Jon (this weekend), Memorial Day BBQ with friends, Mission Alaska Trip (end of June), Caribbean Cruise (end of July), and who knows what else might come up. Lots of time with friends and family, that's for sure. :) Oh, and Jen's moving (far away) soon :( I don't know if that's something "to look forward to," but we are definitely excited and happy for her to begin this new journey!

It was fun watching the Lakers with Jen again... for a while anyway. But after the Thunder won the series, I loved what Jake posted on Facebook: "Aw well bout' time to root for A.B.L.A.C. (Anybody But Lebron And Celtics)" 


All in all, it's good to be home... home sweet home. There's nothing like a hug from Dad, a good girls night with Jen, or lunch with Mom... 
Now, we just can't wait to see Jon... I think the last time I saw him was Christmastime! I love my family.


Well, it's 10:40pm and I have to get up at 5:15am...so I better get to bed!
We'll post again soon :)
Friends and family far away... we miss y'all! 
Love, Anna

What is dinner time like at your house?

Well, it is good to be home!!
Anna and I arrived back in SoCal on Friday, the 11th and have been soaking up the California sunshine ever since :)
That Friday night, while Anna and I were unpacking, I just started naming reasons why it is nice to be home & then Anna started chiming in too! It all started when I went down stairs to grab a drink from the fridge. I said "Reason #5 for why I love home... Endless stash of drinks!" and then Mom (with a smile) asked, "What are the top 4?" Which led to me and Anna (during our long long afternoon/night of unpacking) randomly blurting out reasons why we love to be at home...
Mom (so glad we got to be home for Mother's Day!!), Pops, Jen (and pretty soon Jon will be home too!), our pup-Jesse, comfortable beds, having your twin as your roommate, free laundry, leather couches (that recline!), endless drinks, being able to chill outside on the backyard patio & bar, Bethany Lutheran Church, good friends to catch up with, no need for shower shoes, minimum wage is higher here :), having a fire place, jacuzzi nights, having 5 different movie theaters within 15 minutes away home, having 2 malls and endless shopping centers close by, knowing where you are (direction wise... everywhere in NE looks North (or South... or East, or West?) haha), being able to go to the beach on our days off from work, and last, but not least, non-Janzow food.

Speaking of food... What is dinner time like at your house?
Typically, on Saturday nights, our family will BBQ outside. While Pops is grilling some sort of meat (my favorite is when he grills tri-tip or tenderloin) the rest of us will be finishing up the other dishes. We'll usually have green beans, multigrain sourdough bread, salad, and a tomato dish (either stuffed tomatoes or tomato casserole). Chicago will be playing in the background, and since it's summer time, we usually have little snacks and drinks while we are getting everything ready. Then we will set the table outside, on the patio, and serve dinner while watching the sunset. Then, when it starts to get dark we will turn on the Christmas lights that hang from the patio cover and just enjoy each other's company... we'll catch up on everything we have missed throughout the year, and simply talk about what has happened at work and what's the new in everybody's lives.

I hope y'all are getting time like this with your family, whatever style it may be :)
I know when I get homesick at school I will play Chicago on my iTunes and while it usually makes me a little more homesick, it sure brings a smile to my face, and before you know it, I am rocking out to "Old Days" and "Baby What a Big Surprise" :D

Miss you Nebraska friends!!
Looking forward to AMANDA coming to visit on SATURDAY!! T-minus 1 1/2 days!!!

Thanking the Author of Life for it all!
Love you guys!
Amy

Out of school, but still at school... 4 days to go

Yesterday, Amy and I turned 19! What started out as a very stressful morning (moving from David dorm to Esther dorm) turned out to be a wonderful day with our friends. After we were all moved in (Amy and I are sharing a room again) and put more things in storage, we took well deserved showers :), and then went to Dragon Palace for lunch with Jordan and Jillian. Then, we came back to campus, rested, and got ready to go out to dinner for our birthday. It's been really fun having Jill as our neighbor... we got ready together and she let us borrow her jewelry and hair flower. Then we headed to Granite City in Lincoln. We had such a good group...  Rachel, Brindie, Brittany, Trey, Katelyn, Jamie, Amanda, Sara, Mason, Jenna and Jillian. The friends we've made at Concordia have been such a blessing in our lives... we love you guys! After dinner, we drove back to Seward, talked with the family on the phone, stopped at Walmart to get snacks for the week, and then we rented a movie (birthday coupon from redbox-yeah yuh!) and watched it with the girls :) and, yes, it was a chick flick... what else?

Today I started my first day of RA training and Amy worked in the Admissions office. At the RA session we talked about our MBTI personality types. It was really interesting and I felt like my results really matched up well. I'm an ISTJ (Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judgement): "...like to write letters...loves to have a schedule...gets frustrated when there are no set plans...likes to stay organized...tends to be quiet...internalizes feelings..." Here's another interesting thing: out of the 50 RAs, I'm 1 of 4 who is an introvert. We also did a group activity and then looked through the RA handbook a little bit, but will do lots more training throughout the week. There is supposed to be games tonight, and then we'll start up again tomorrow at 2pm. The food in Janzow isn't great so far, but there were strawberries tonight :) And, there were some leftovers from the graduation lunch which were pretty good!

We are at that point where we are really ready to come home... just a few more days here, but I have a feeling it's going to be a long week :/ The best part in all of this though, is having free time with our friends... movies, conversations, hanging out, just enjoying the last days we have left together before we head home for the summer. 

The rest of the pictures are on facebook, so be sure to check them out!!

Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo

On Saturday Amy, Amanda, Brittany, and I met up with our friends Theo, Mason, Chuck, Duncan, JP, Ben, Alex, Landon, Justin, Glen, Devin, Colin, Geoff, and Aaron at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo... It was nice to do something different and it was a really fun day :) 

When the zoo closed, we all went out to dinner... the girls chose to eat at the Old Mattress Factory, good food, good girls, good memories.