Happy New Year's!!

Jay & I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year's celebration! We hope that 2008 brings wonderful things for everyone! A lot of great things happened this past year in our lives and we are very grateful!



We are looking forward optimistically as to what 2008 has in store for us! Could be a BIG year! :)

A couple birthday wishes are due...

First, we would like to wish our friend Scott a Happy 30th Birthday on New Year's Day!
Second, we wish Andrea a Happy Birthday on Jan. 2nd!

And in case I don't post again in the next week or so...

Happy 9th Birthday to Gabe (a.k.a. "Harry Potter") on January 5th!!

Until next year...stay safe and warm!! :)

Christmas at the Gerhardts

I realized I had posted pictures from the Gerving family Christmas celebration on the Gerving blog site but here are some pictures from Christmas Eve with the Gerhardts...

Grandma & Me

Riley getting into some gifts!

Gabe with his Vikings PJ's

Micaela with some new running gear

Congrats to Bridget!

We recevied a Christmas card from our friend Bridget the other day and attached was a post-it note with some good news...

Bridget is pregnant and due June 3rd!

We wish you the best on your adventure with your new little one!

Congratulations!

Christmas Memories & Traditions

Tonight at dinner my sister-in-law Candace asked us to share some of our favorite Christmas memories. She also recorded us - and I am curious to see what happens with those recordings!

Anyway, we all shared a couple stories. It got me thinking of how all the little bits and pieces of our memories turn into traditions we try to hold on to throughout our lives. Sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing from what I think I remember from what I remember by looking at old pictures. I wish I could remember more. I couldn't think of one particular Christmas that stood out. But Tom brought up what was my favorite part about Christmas - the times we would gather at Grandma Gerhardt's house in Bismarck and the times we went up the Grand Forks to Grandpa and Grandma Ebert's house. Neither had a large house, but that was part of the beauty of it - all of us gathered under one roof to eat together, share stories, open gifts, play games...

Some of the traditions I loved were helping Grandma Gerhardt decorate her tree and set up her nativity scene, picking out a real tree each year with my parents and decorating while listening to Christmas music, wrapping presents, driving around to look at Christmas lights around town, and going to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve...just to name a few.

When we drove out to our lot last week, Jay commented on how being out in the country with the snow cover and the all the stars visible made it "feel like Christmas" to him - because it brought back memories of Christmas on the farm. I hope that when and if we do move out onto a house on that lot, that it makes it feel more like Christmas for him for years to come. I hope we find a way to make all our Christmases from here on out memorable, meaningful and filled with old and new traditions which we may hopefully pass on to our children someday...

I hope this post will help stir up wonderful memories from your past...and if you want to share any, feel free! (There's a "comment" section for that).

Merry Christmas from the Gervings!

"Gift Baskets Are Welcome"

I don't have any pictures (which Jay will appreciate)...but Jay survived ACL surgery yesterday. It wasn't a pretty recovery, but he is home resting now, beginning the long road to healing up that knee...

I really don't know what I expected, but since Jay had so gracefully recovered from his tonsillectomy last year, I was expecting a couple hour recovery at the hospital and then I could take him home. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I showed up at 2:00 p.m. in the post-op recovery room to find him slumped over in a recliner, head in his hands, eyes shut. This is how he would remain for most of the rest of the evening - dizzy and light-headed at the slightest of movements or from even talking followed by nausea and (at least for the first few hours) puking. Apparently morphine and/or the anesthesia did not agree with him. We did not plan on staying the night but there was no way I was taking him home in that condition! So we spent a romantic night at the hospital together.

Top quotes of the night included:
4. "It's just a damn cracker." (Jay talking to his stomach because he would start hiccuping and feeling like he'd puke every time he'd try to eat even one cracker).
3. "Tell them gift baskets are welcome." (Whenever I would text someone we know about his condition and that he was staying overnight in the hospital).
2. "When's the last time you and I were awake at 3:00 a.m.?" (After watching one of several episodes of Fresh Prince of Bel Air last night).
1. "Is this a Class A basketball game?" (After I told him the score of the Duke/Pitt b-ball game about halfway through the 2nd half). (Keep in mind I went to a Class A school and am a Duke fan) .

He started feeling a little better in the middle of the night - I believe he ate what he described as a "delicious" hot ham and cheese sandwich at about 2:30 a.m. This morning was even better. He got released shortly before lunchtime today and is currently at home resting with the beagles.

It wasn't fun but he was a trooper through the ordeal. The physician's assistant said the operation on the knee itself went really well. Jay will go for his post-op visit on Dec. 31 and then will start physical therapy. In the meantime, I will happily be his chauffeur around town.

In other news, we have officially paid off our lot! Now, let the house planning begin!!

We head to GU tomorrow for the Gerving Christmas celebration. Looks like God is gracing us with a white Christmas as it is lightly snowing as a type this. We wish everyone safe travels and a Merry Christmas!

Almost Christmas

Well the Christmas season has really kicked in for us. Friday evening Micaela & Gabe had a choir concert (Dakota Children's Choir) which was excellent and definitely got us in the Christmas mood.

Micaela & Gabe after the concert

After the concert we drove up Northview Lane which is famous (around here) for having the entire block lit up with Christmas lights and decorations. There is a house on top of the hill this year that even has lights that flash in time with music. You can tune into an FM station to listen to while you watch the lights. The kids loved it!

Here are a couple pictures I "borrowed" from other websites of Northview Lane.

Saturday we mailed our Christmas cards out (finally!) and finished up Christmas shopping. Gifts are wrapped & under the tree! Jay's parents stopped by in the afternoon to visit for a bit. We had Jay's work Christmas party Saturday night at Roby's Steakhouse. The food was good and it was a lot of fun.

Other than that, the rest of the weekend was pretty low-key. We did drive around (Jay & I) this evening and looked at some more Christmas lights. We also drove out by our lot. We're hoping we may be in a house out there on our lot next year at this time - we can't wait!

Jay has knee (ACL) surgery on Thursday of this week so it may be a rough holiday weekend for him. We'll try to get him around as best we can! We will be spending time in GU this weekend to celebrate Christmas with the Gervings. Then we'll be back in Bismarck to celebrate Christmas Eve with the Gerhardts on Monday.

We are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas with our families and to the beginning of a new year!

Happy Birthday Raumi!

Just wanted to start off wishing our friend Raumi a Happy Birthday from the Gervings!! Also I'm looking forward to playing volleyball with Raumi starting in January - it should be fun plus I'll get to see her way more often than I do now!

Not much going on with Jay & me. We finally got our Christmas decorations and tree up on Sunday. And yes, the tree takes up a good portion of the living room, so we had to rearrange. Hopefully next year at this time we'll be putting up Christmas decorations and our tree up in an actual HOUSE!! We're getting very anxious (at least I am) to move on from the trailer!!

On another note, I FINALLY was beaten at a game - the game of LIFE of all things. Yes, Lyndsey beat me this weekend at LIFE when we were over at their place Saturday night. I am chalking it up to questionable accounting on her part! ;) Jay and I did manage to squeak out a victory in "Cranium" though. Yes, that was our crazy Saturday night! It was fun and I'm sorry there are no pictures (or video) because it got a little out of hand toward the end (in a good, funny way)! Anyway thanks to Lyns and Nick for having us over!

We're looking forward to this weekend (yes I realize it's only Tuesday) and the big Sioux/Gophers hockey rivalry Friday and Saturday. Go Sioux! The next weekend kicks off the Christmas party season for us and then it's going to be the holidays already!! Time is flying by!

We hope everyone is having a great week!

Chasing Your Own Tail

Do you ever feel like you're getting nowhere - like you're chasing your own tail? Well our beagle Jersey can relate!

If you wondered why I love dogs so much - after watching this video, wonder no more!! This kind of entertainment is priceless. The best part is Jerz stumbling away after she's done!

Just click on the "play" button and enjoy!





Have a great weekend everyone!!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2007

Well sadly our long holiday weekend is almost over. However, we did have a great time with family this weekend so we can't complain!

On Thursday morning Tom & I ran in the Turkey Trot. It went well for the most part but I sure was sore after "trotting" 3.1 miles. Then we all went to my parents' house for turkey & all the fixings. After eating too much we got into some epic games of Uno.

Gabe & Riley doing some serious strategizing...

Micaela & Kassidy
Even Jay & my mom got into the Uno action later on...(There's an ongoing battle between those two ever since my mom almost took Jay's head off with a line drive in wiffleball game a few years back).
We also got outside for a bit to play some football. Gabe scored about 25 touchdowns on me & Tom - he's tough to defend against!

Gabe & Papa Ron setting up their play.

Gabe laying out for the catch!

On Saturday we took off for Glen Ullin to spend time with Jay's family. We of course ate too much again - but that's OK. Diet can always start on Monday! We also got into some game playing while the guys were out hunting and also later on that night. We also helped a bit with Christmas decorations.

McKenzie, Michaela, Sydney & Payton hanging out.

Kids playing Blokus

Grandpa playing some Dora Dominoes with the girls.

Sandy & Val involved in our Golf game. (By the way in case you forgot Lyns I won at Golf & at Hearts!) :)

Me & Payton just hanging out.

All in all it was a great weekend. We are just sad it's over. We know we will do it all over again on Christmas which is not very far away!

We hope everyone had as great of a Thanksgiving as we did!

Family and Friends

On Halloween last week, we had just a handful of trick-or-treaters, but they were in the VIP trick-or-treaters category. First, Tom stopped by with his kids. Micaela was a "firework", Gabe was Harry Potter, and Riley was the Spiderman in the black suit.

Then, Chris and Val stopped over with the girls - Payton was a Care Bear and Sydney was a cowgirl.

Lyndsey and Nick also stopped over and visited for a few hours that evening. They weren't dressed up but they did leave a "trick" on our front porch in the form of a jack-o-lantern with something not very nice about UND on there!! We let them in anyways! ;)

My friend Aimee (law school friend who lives in Denver now) came to Bismarck on Sunday. She came over to our place for supper and then she and I went to the Ground Roud to visit. She will be in North Dakota until the 12th. We get her in Bismarck for a couple/few nights! It's been great hanging with her again!! I keep trying to convince her to come live and work in ND again, but no such luck!


Other than that, I have gotten into organizing pictures for some photo albums lately. Maybe it's the weather that makes me want to start a fun indoor project. The "early days" of Jay and me being together are a little sparse on pictures. However, the ones we do have are fun to go through. It always brings back good memories!! Kind of in that nostaligic mood, I guess...

We also have both our grandma's birthdays at the beginning of November. I attached a picture of us with our grandmas at the wedding! (One of my favorite pictures from that day)!

Pound Puppy

One year ago today we went and rescued Bailey from the pound. This is a picture from that first week after we got her.

We're not really sure how old she is, since she was picked up as a stray. She was likely abused & abandoned and when we first brought her home her behavior showed this, especially when we'd pick up a broom or vacuum. She trusted me more than Jay at first and to this day still is more scared of men than women or kids at first. However, she has come such a long ways from a year ago and is now just as high maintenance and spoiled as Jerz. We are happy that we have been able to give her a good home & a new life.

We've also managed to fatten her up in a year, as the following pictures show. She was a little squirt when we first got her but now she's more like a little tank. We went to the vet on Wednesday and apparently she's gained 6 pounds in one year. Ooops!

Bailey with her namesake's football jersey (Champ Bailey of the Denver Broncos). And yes, we realize it's a "Bailey Jersey"!


Bailey doing what she does best - relaxin!

It's a quiet Saturday night at the Gerving household. We both had to go into work today so we're going to just relax for the evening. We'll probably watch some World Series action and college football.

Other than that, not much happening! Have a great week!

Busy Weekend!

We headed off to Dickinson this weekend for Jay's cousin Cordell's wedding. But not before I got to spend some time Friday evening with a few good (make that great) friends. Val, Missy, Andrea and I (and Morgan via a printed off picture of her) met at our favorite meeting place (Ground Round) and made it just in time for the free food! We chatted for hours and Andrea had all sorts of pictures of her grandson. It was really nice - it seems harder & harder to get together with friends as we get more & more involved in family lives & careers. I'm glad we met & I had a lot of fun!

Me & Val - All Smiles

Missy (Morgan) and Andrea

Next up was the wedding on Saturday. We did manage to make it in time to see the end of the NDSU/Minnesota football game with Lyns & Nick before the wedding began. Since I'm usually all about UND, you probably won't catch me saying this much but I'm glad NDSU won. Any team that beats the Gophers, you know...

The wedding was really nice & the entire Gerving clan was there in full force. Below are some pictures from the reception/dance.

First up is Nick who easily won "best dancer" of the evening giving us all a dancing lesson. He obviously was the center of attention!



Pic of Jay & me - he looks so happy!

The "sisters" out on the dance floor!! Hmmm..we seem to be missing Julie. I think at the time she was with the kids...We'll have to photoshop her in there!

The bride & groom - Kelcie & Cordell - dancing with kids!!

Some pictures of some of the kiddos...

Michaela & Taylor
Jay, Mason & Nick (yes we'll include Jay & Nick with the "kids")

McKenzie thoroughly enjoying her salad

Payton

And Sydney
We did manage to get some house and yard work done today. Right now we are winding down the weekend by watching the Broncos take on the Steelers. (By the way it was pretty cool when they did the player introductions at the beginning of the game to hear "Chris Kuper" - University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux"!!) It's halftime and Broncos are up 21-7!! It's looking to be another hectic work week for us. But for now we'll just enjoy the football game!!

Go Broncos!
Carrie and I talked about setting up a Gerving family (and extended family) type blog...so hopefully we'll get that going soon!

Have a great week everyone!!

5 Years!

Well today is officially Jersey's 5th birthday! Jay & I hadn't even been dating a year when we decided to "take the plunge" and get a puppy together. We decided on a beagle because, well, I love beagles and had one growing up. Chris sent us a link for beagle puppies on bismanonline.com. The puppies were at a farm near Upham, ND (NE of Minot). So, off I went when Jerz was two weeks old to pick her out of the litter. We went and got her the night before Thanksgiving that year. We've gotten our money's worth and then some over the years with Jerz!

There really isn't anything else new going on as of right now...We're doing well though and keeping busy with work and other things. We're looking forward to Jay's cousin's wedding this weekend - should be a great time!!

Getting through October...

Jay made the comment the other day that we need to get me through the month of October without "collecting" another beagle. As you know, we have two beagles, Jersey & Bailey and apparently the only two Octobers I've been living in Bismarck since Jay & I have been together I have "collected" a beagle. I'll try not to this month...we are enjoying the two we have for now!! I'm a sucker for them though!

Happy Birthday!

I'd like to wish my friend Aimee out in Denver, CO a Happy Birthday today!! We miss you and can't wait for you to come home and visit -- or even better for us to come visit you out there!! Hope you have a wonderful birthday -- wish we were there with ya!

Happy Anniversary

Also happy anniversary to Chris and Val!

Since everyone we know is blogging...

Jay & I are doing well. We've noticed quite a few people we know have started these blog sites, so we thought, why not? We don't have any news to report as of now. We will report in if we do!!