As Clean As It's Going to Get

Boxes are packed.  Random things have been found.  Piles have been formed.  Let's just say that life will be a bit unorganized for the next couple of weeks. 

In case you never had the opportunity to visit us on East Willow Street, below are some glimpses into our apartment decorated for Christmas.  I actually have a video tour as well, but I can't seem to get it to load (grr!).  If I ever get the video tour to work out, I'll post it in here later :).

View from the doorway walking in:

 We loved our big windows!

That door leads into the bedroom and bathroom.

Clay's office area; he is definitely a good sport about his lack of defined office space and office furniture!

I'm not sure why I took this picture with the closet doors open as opposed to closed, but there you have it..our little closet.

Christmas Cards! 

We hope you enjoyed your virtual tour from wherever you are! 

Little Trip to the Big Apple

I got the opportunity to take a little trip to the Big Apple..and I have to say it looks just like the pictures.  If you know me, you know I love cornfields and wide open spaces.  Knowing that, do you think NYC is going to be a big hit with me?  However, I appreciated the chance to go and see the little bit of the city I saw, and I would like to go back and see places other than Times Square.  But, I don't think I'll ever have the desire to move anywhere near New York City (watch that be the next place God sends us..).

Below are just a handful of pictures from the three-day trip.  I had meetings during part of the day and a couple dinners (one of which was a dance..slightly strange) during the evening. 

As soon as walking out of the hotel, this was my view:

Radio City..Kelly Clarkson was coming!

 Some giant ornaments near Rockefeller Center..I liked these :)

Ice skating and part of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center:

That's all for pictures from New York City.  And now, just to add a little smile.. Clay and I hadn't been out to eat at a sit-down resaurant in a while so we decided to head to Texas Roadhouse.  We had a few mishaps with our order but overall had a really good time (and good food!).  Our little table got really crowded when I got not one, but two steaks placed in front of me!  What is a girl to do with all that meat?!



Loveland Drive

Welllll...we're moving!  We close on January 30th.  I guess its time to say goodbye to our cute little apartment of two years!

We're pretty much doubling our living space which makes me both excited and overwhelmed.  Pinterest means that I have A LOT of good ideas but the follow through can be a bit difficult. 

I have to be honest: buying this house is bittersweet.  We are both excited to have this step in our life together..more responsibility, the opportunity to learn new skills around the house, the challenge of stretching our dollars, the fun of decorating and turning the house into a home...but we're still in Syracuse.  The Lord is so good and has clearly placed us here for the time being.  We are both being given the opportunity to share Christ with people around us, and I can't think of much else that brings God more glory.  As much as I sometimes struggle with being so far from family and close friends, I speak for both of us when I say we want to be where the Lord wants us..and we want this house to be used for God's glory and honoring Jesus Christ.

With that being said, I can't believe we are going to own this place (Lord willing!) in just a few short weeks!!  I am so so so excited to find some great deals at auctions or estate sales or thrift stores.  Clay on the other hand is thrilled at the thought that he won't bump into the wall as he tries to get his clothes out (our bedroom is teensy tiny right now).  We have also both set our hopes high for what we will be able to do ourselves!

And..if you are ever in the area, we can now offer you your own bedroom and bathroom--no more one-room sleepovers in the Lindner house :).

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's!!!  We'll revisit those holidays at a later date!

Patch of Pumpkins

Our first trip to a real pumpkin patch!  The field was huge and what I thought would be an easy task (picking out one pumpkin to take home) was not at all easy.  I tend to have a hard time making a decision when 7 different options are placed in front of me so how in the world was I supposed to decide when 1,782 options are placed in front of me?!?!

However, we did eventually walk away with not just one pumpkin, but three!  And, Clay even washed them all for me in the bathtub when we got home :). 

Hope you all have enjoyed Fall as much as we have up here! 

Un-hitch the Trailer!

Dear Dad,

I'm still making you proud.  I may not be in the top-ten for doubles anymore, but still trying to do my best.

Enjoy :)

Love,

Kristi (Rain Delay)

oh the memories..

Snapshots of Summer

Here comes another long post of pictures: it's our summer in review!  I have to admit I was hesitant to want to do this post because pictures can take so long to load...but then all the memories came back and I'm excited to share them!

So here it is..our snapshots of summer!


Clay and me at the Staff Appreciation Dinner in June.  Each summer my work hosts a staff appreciation dinner at some fancy schmancy restaurant.  It's fun to get dressed up and go out for free.  We also get a gift every year.  Last year it was multi-colored bud vases;  this year it was a little crystal flower from that Schwartzscoffy's place.  It's not that I'm ungrateful, but my flower is in the closet because I'm just not sure what to do with it...

 I think I'm cool because I put a braid in my hair.  We went up to the closest part of the Adirondacks for a day and found this nice water.

 I also think I'm cool because I wear this glowing tank.  It reminds me of those glow-worms from childhood (my tank doesn't actually glow).

Clay and Stu out golfing.  I think this is a sweet picture :)..one of those that will get printed and just sit out and eventually get worn because it gets picked up and looked at and brings back good memories.

 A sunset at Onondaga Lake Parkway..also what we refer to as our backyard since our real backyard is two interstates.  Clay and I had nothing to do one night so I put on my pistachio colored dress and we went to dinner and then got sherbert and raced to the park to watch the sunset.  It was romantic and fun and reminded me of college.

 Another view of the sunset..compliments of Clay's picture-taking skills.

 Our yam.  I was convinced I would one day cook the thing.  Sometimes I have a hard time throwing things away.  I know you're judging me right now but I don't care.  It started out as just a yam but then it would make us laugh when Clay would threaten to throw it away if I didn't use it and then buds started appearing and then sprouts and then longer sprouts and it basically became a bush in our kitchen.  It was a bit of a space-taker but I liked the memories it was making.  I finally threw it away in October (this picture was long before October).  This makes me smile just thinking about how absurd it is.

Clay on his birthday in July..isn't he just a cutie patootie?!  I think so!  He had 5 candles on his cake since he was turning 25 :)

 Stu found these t-shirts in a magazine to personalize with our name.  I think Clay is embarrassed to wear it in public but I wear mine with pride.  However, we are nervous about labeled clothes continuing..

 Us in Pennsylvania at a park near Pittsburgh.  We made it work out to visit with Kevin and Jenny on our way back from our trip in July to Illinois.  Oh the summer tans..how quickly it turns into pasty white as I type this in early November..

Finally, a video to cap it all off.  And this is how we probably spent the majority of summer:

We truly are blessed.  I know I often wonder why the Lord has us where He has us rather than elsewhere, but how can I not see the goodness of Him in our lives even in these few brief snapshots?  We have absolutely beautiful summers (my hair even stays straight up here), we have two great jobs that allow us to do fun things, we have families that take time, money, and energy to invest in us and visit us, and we have each other (just to mention a few).  God is so so good. 

Fireworks and Fish

I can't believe I haven't posted since July.  I don't even want to pretend like I'm writing this from the date when it actually all happened..which would be approximately 4 months ago (almost to the day).  Oh well..here we go! 

Clay and I traveled to Illinois for the 4th of July this year.  Let me just say: I LOVE the 4th of July.  It's probably just behind Christmas in the list of favorite holidays.  I love America, and I love fireworks.  It's just so fun and so many people and the epitomy of summer and summer celebrations!  We took the whole week off and spent it mostly in Dunlap with a day trip up to Chicago.  I'm going to keep the words on this entry brief but enjoy the pictures and commentary below!

Fireworks downtown in Peoria!

We all piled into the family van for our trip up to Chicago! 

A view of Chi-town.

Waiting in line for tickets to the Aquarium!  We didn't really have to stand in line in a single row, but I found it amusing.  Mom asked if she should get tickets ahead of time but I told her I didnt think it would be a big deal to walk in and get them at the door.  Little did we know...

Clay and me at the 3D show inside the aquarium!

Check out those moves!

..with Mom and Dad outside the aquarium :)

..with Mom in front of Buckingham Fountain :)

Clay's artsy picture of the Bean.

..at Navy Pier..

..another view from Navy Pier..goodbye Chicago!

And finally, a video of Clay's favorite family activity:

We had a great time visiting!  It's so fun to get to be a part of things just for a few days.  Even though we don't get to go very often, I'm so thankful we have a family to look forward to seeing.   Our next visit will be for Thanksgiving so our July trip had to last us for a while. 

The only downside of being gone so long?  Coming home to dead herbs...