bye bye vera west

Bitter: I drove Vera West for the last time today.

Sweet: I drove my new 2006 Subaru Forester for the first time today!

I recall our drive back from CA. I was sweating and sticking to the seat, about cursing my car out because I hated her so bad. Hate is a strong word, but I meant it then. I really think Vera had cancer. Vera had a few good weeks when we got back, leading me to believe we might get along for a while. This week she took a turn for the worst. She got hit by an unknown vehicle in the parking lot. Knocking her back light out and scratching her up pretty bad. Then she started shaking at 15 mph. The air conditioning still doesn't work. Not good. So, Kevin and I got real serious-real fast about buying a car, and we found one our first night out!!

My mom stayed over last night after the fashion show, so she came with us in the hopes that we could heckle with them a little. No such luck. Nobody does that anymore. It takes all the fun out of buying a new car! I did manage to get them to give me $200 more for my trade in, a complete body restoration to repair even the smallest nicks, and they threw in a cover for the trunk of it. We feel really good about it and are excited to be in a small SUV that has been rated #1 for safety for the last 7 years!! Perfect for little Bergeson babies in a few years! Check it out!

THE DRESS!

I have been going crazy about this whole wedding dress thing. I've tried on over 200 dresses in the search for finding the dress! And I feel like I've been all over the Midwest on the search:

1. The Wedding Shoppe (3x)
2. Napier Bridal
3. David's Bridal (2x)
4. Our Shop (2x)
5. Raffine Bridal
6. The French Door
7. Interlude
8. The Bridal Gallery
9. Lasting Impressions
10. Jeanne's Boutique
11. Elegance Bridal
12. Storybook Bride
13. Jennie's Bridal
14. Mestad's
15. Pearls & Lace Bridal
16. The Wedding Outlet
17. Bridal Accents Couture
18. Lorraine Shop
19. Vowed in Elegance
20. The Bridal Gallery (2x)

25 visits to wedding shops! It has been one heck of a journey. All wedding planning has been on a hold until I get this not-so-small detail out of the way. Because school has been so hectic and my work schedule leaves no room for fun, I took an afternoon off from work to head over to Stillwater, MN with my friend Mollie in the hopes of finding the one. AND WE DID!!! It was the second one I tried on in the store. When I was standing in the dressing room, I remember calling out to her, "Brace yourself, Mollie, this one is sweet!" It's incredible. I can't describe it too much because nosey-Nellie Kevin will be on here trying to figure out what it looks like! What I can tell you is that it's raw silk, ivory, and absolutely stunning. Unlike anything I've ever photographed, and I look GOOD in it! :) Well, at least I feel good in it!

I was so pumped about it, I called my mom to see if she wanted to come up on Friday (the next day) and go to a mother of the bride fashion show, then to see me try it on. Talk about spur of the moment! She went to work super early and drove up 3 hours to come see it! What a mom!! She, Lynda, and I all went together, and had a blast. The fashion show was awesome. They both got to see some beautiful potentials for what they can wear next year. We ate a whole bunch of yummy treats! And, my mom won a door prize! A $30 gift certificate to a cleaner in Stillwater! That'll do her a lot of good in Worthington! :) She handed it off to me as a gift. The final prize of the night was a $300 gift certificate to Our Shop, the store hosting the fashion show. I had my fingers crossed that I'd win and knock $300 off my dress. I didn't. Shoot. After the show, we went over into the store, and I put on my dress. My mom LOVED it. She really did. It's so me, I can't even stand it! I even got to try on some jewelry and veils with it to see how I wanted to jazz it up! I didn't order it there, am hoping I can find it cheaper somewhere else, because it's WAY more than I wanted to spend. One day, right? I'll regret buying a cheap dress I don't love, when for a few hundred more could have the one that makes my heart flutter just thinking about it!!

It was awesome to have 3 people who I love see me in it. I sent out a mass e-mail to a bunch of ladies who I thought would enjoy seeing me in it. I can't post a picture on here, so if you want to see it, let me know. I'll share it with you!

We made our way back to Mendota Heights. Kevin picked up some tiramisu and some chocolate cake so we could celebrate my mom's birthday with her. She turned 50 last year, and I missed it while in CA, so we made up for it with some yummy treats! What a great day! And what a huge weight has been lifted. I found my dress! YIPPEE!!!

anxieTEA anyone?

Tonight was the second wave of approval dinners for seniors to attend and get some information about the coming months and what to expect. I've had the joy of studying and growing with my fellow seniors for three years now. How crazy to think we'll be serving in so many different places in less than a year. Krista Lind (from the Contextual Leadership Initiative office) gave us oodles of information. I walked out of the room and said, "was that supposed to help? I think my blood pressure just rose 100 points!" What a crazy thing: this trusting the Spirit. It's easy to say, but when it comes down to it, f-r-e-a-k-y! Perhaps that's why seminarians have to go through this process. Then we can say we know what it feels like to live according to the power of the Spirit. I even took to coffee drinking tonight as a means of stress relief. (I hate coffee). Go away anxiety! I'm praying for all my peers as we begin to discern where God is calling us to go.

person of peace

Are you a person of peace?

This isn't a common phrase we use around here. What is a person of peace? It's someone whom you meet, and within moments, you recognize they are someone who you share common energy with. I recently passed a guy in the parking lot at Rosedale Center, and after he greeted me with a friendly, "Hello!" I turned to Kevin and said, "He must be a person of peace to someone." Are you a person of peace to someone? Do you have someone who you know, connect with, and love for unexplainable reasons? Do you bring joy to someones life after long absences? You are a person of peace. Can we be people of peace to all people? There are a few grumps here at seminary. People who walk around and ignore the friendly greetings of others, people who gossip, people who hold grudges. It's hard to find peace with certain people. Here's my suggestion: try being a person of peace for a day. Watch the way the Spirit works through you and produces good fruit in your day. We cannot be all things to all people. Persons of peace included. But we can be transformed through the power of the Spirit and do things our nasty human nature wouldn't dream up. I can't wait to see how the Spirit brings forth people of peace this year. If you're looking for someone to exercise your peaceness on, PICK ME! Here's a photo of two of my people of peace. For all the obvious reasons, they're the best!

thankathon

Tonight I had the privilege to speak to 300 donors to Luther Seminary at the annual fall Heritage Society event. I brought my surfboard to show them the names of people who I have been a blessing to, and that they could use that board as a way of imagining the waves and waves of blessings they've produced through their generous gifts. I joked about feeling "called to surf" rather than "called to serve." They loved it. I felt like I was up preaching again. I haven't preached since I got home from Torrance, so it was fun to get up and do some public speaking again! If you go to http://www.luthersem.edu/ you can see a photo of me and a few other important people at the event. Kevin even came to show some support for his thankathon dove. I'm so proud to be a part of the Luther Seminary community and to be asked to participate in awesome events like this!

wedding vomit

Last night Kevin and I had the thrill of celebrating with our friend Braden & Rebecca as they wed each other at the U of M. We threw on our favorite black outfits, took a few shots in the garden at Luther and headed over to the wedding. A night time ceremony, candles, small, wow, it was awesome. Makes me wish we were having a little wedding at night! The couple was aglow with love for each other, many good friends (who we just don't see enough of) filled the room, and the live band rocked the night away! We had a blast!

Then, 6:00 a.m. wake up call! We had to be in Worthington for the 30th Annual Turkey Day 10K by 10:30. We arrived just on time, and barely got our time chips when the race started. It was HOT! 80 degrees, and no water until mile 3. Ridiculous! By the time we got to the end of the race, and this happens every time I run a race, the excitement and nerves got the better of me, so I threw up all over the place in the last 3 blocks of the race. You can see my brown breakfast on my shirt. GROSS! I have to get over this nasty 'tradition' by marathon time or else! Kevin was a trooper and helped me finish and got me water. My mom of course was worried sick when she saw me white as a ghost and vomiting like mad! Ok, just realized, too much information. Sorry.

As soon as the race was over, I was fine. I had a blister the size of a silver dollar on my heel, but we did it. The turkey races, and parade were a blast. Kevin and I walked with Holly and the troops with the Sanford Regional Hospital float handing out freeze pops to all the parade goers! What a rush to see so many wonderful folks in 30 minutes! WE LOVED IT! Then I got to help my mom work in the Taco Wagon for a few hours. Kevin came up with the idea to make elephant tails instead of elephant ears, so I rolled up little baby dough tails and cooked them up! DELICIOUS! I never really did watch the parade. I saw just as many people selling tacos as I would've at the parade. It was Kevin's first Turkey Day celebration in Worthington! He's truly a member of the family now!! :) We had to head back up to the cities for church in the morning. Nothing like spending 6 hours on the road for 6 hours with the family. Time back home is never long enough!

3 brides!

I definitely just saw three brides in two days. Yesterday I shot my best wedding ever (by standards of photography). The bride wore a gold dress, and they first saw each other at the groom's family apple orchard in Worthington. What a stunning day, bride, and great chance to see a whole bunch of Worthington folks. They're all getting so old! :) I even lucked out and stopped by at Randy & Amy's house and got a chance to see the whole Shirbroun crew together! What a blast!

Today I had a bride in Lake Okabena, in her wedding dress!! She was a blast. Then another bride went out into the country with me and let me get some awesome woodsy photos of her! Great photos lately! What a joy! Now, I'm back up in the cities and ready for week two! Let the fun begin!

my home sweet home

Well, just like that the first week of school is over. Thanks to Labor Day, I didn't have my 8 hours of classes on Monday...NICE! I got a taste for the rest of them though. Looks to be a great semester. A few highlights from the week:

1. I got a job in Seminary Relations working with Jenny (the head philanthropic advisor). She is a joy to work with so far, and I can't wait to learn about donors and endowment funds!

2. My apartment is finally taking shape. I have most everything in order and I love it. Here are a few pictures so you can get an idea of what it looks like! The first photo shows what you see when you walk in. My bedroom is on the right, the living space is on the left! Visitors are welcomed!

It's crazy how busy it's been. When I'm not in class, I'm working, editing pictures, reading, and writing papers. Back to the grind of school! I'll talk to you all in May when it's all over! :(

last first day

Senior year has arrived. All the students are back on campus, chapel was full this morning as we watched the faculty parade around in their academic gowns, and parking spaces are few. Back to school with 2/3 strangers! I'm determined to keep a positive attitude about this!

Great news: I found out I get to blog for Luther Seminary (and get paid for it), so if you want to read more about my day to day happenings, check out http://lifeatluther.blogspot.com/! Sorry to say this blog may suffer a bit as a result. Imagine all the money I could've made last year with my over 200 posts! AH!

I had my first class of my senior year: contemporary and alternative worship. Maybe I'll have some good stuff to share following such a cont/alt internship experience.

Mollie, Kate, Hannah, and I went out for our reunion meal at Applebee's. I accidentally squirted Mollie in the eye with my lemon wedge. Oops...Sorry! It was great to catch up and talk about the hopes and anxieties of the coming year! We can do it!! Oh, I saw a deer twice today. The same one. Two hours apart. Sweet, huh?

family times

Rather than blogging for two days straight in Okoboji, I am just going to include a few highlight photos for your enjoyment. It was the greatest family vacation in the history of our family. Beautiful weather, lots and lots of laughter, funnel cakes made by Grandma Sue, Madison getting her foot caught in a mini-golf hole, freezy pops with Presley, awards by Kevin, surprise fireworks followed by awesome moon-lit photos, Kevin and I being the champs of ladder golf :), pizza and cherry pies over the fire, not bringing towels to the outdoor pool on a freezing day, beating mom in mini golf, watching Presley throw a frisbee and ride her bike, wiffle ball, spontaneously taking family portraits for a woman in passing, and just some quality time as a family. A huge thanks to Mom and Paul for making the weekend possible for the rest of us!

song birds

We missed a whole day at the lake for a wedding. :( Luckily, it was a fun one. I got to take candids of Amber (the bride), in the morning, and then followed the group around and watched the photographer they hired do his thing. It's always interesting to me to see other photographers work. No offense to this guy, ok, maybe a little, he was kinda nuts if you ask me. Unorganized, indecisive, and he talked down to his wife who assisted him. Not my kind of photographer. Not to mention some of the completely bizarre things he had the couple do (face directly into the sun to the point where their eyes were watering!). Anybody with a clue knows not to do that. Bad for make-up, bad for squinting, bad for lighting. Oh well, not my gig, I guess. It didn't matter, Amber was stunning, and the wedding party was tons of fun! I even picked up a quick family photo shoot with the Matron of Honor and her husband and child before I was back on to do candids that night. I love little surprise shoots like that!

There were TONS of Worthington people at the wedding. Lots of people I hadn't seen for years, so it was a little intimidating to get up and sing in front of them. Not to mention cantor a Catholic Mass. The first time I've been able to raise my arm during song since I got back. I'd probably get kicked out of seminary if I did it during chapel. Such a shame.

Anyway, after we sang and played (we did fantastic, in case you're wondering!) we skipped the receiving line and went to my mom's for a mini photo shoot. If you can't tell, I'm loving the outdoor wicker furniture, so we did it again.

A night at the dance, more candids, two cones from DQ, and we were back in Okoboji by 9:30 and ready for a great night!! We were all in bed by 10. :)

dress count: 150

We are restless when it comes to the dress if you cannot tell. My mom, Holly, Presley, Madison, even KEVIN went shopping today in Okoboji, IA. Ok, Kevin drove around with Madison while we looked at one place, but again, no luck. Some are really pretty, but just not it.

Madison and Presley got to try on a few too. Madison was adorable spinning around and dancing on the mini hardwood floor in one place. Presley found a pair of shoes she loves. My mom even tried on a dress.

After the dress let down, we went over to Village West and got to move into our Lake Okoboji side cabin for the weekend. It's awesome! We haven't done a family vacation for years, so it was a blast to see our digs for the next 3 nights. It's a lot of work hauling down coolers full of food, a grill, bikes, games, clothes, and a huge deep fat fryer (my mom is half carni-rat. She admits it). There are 3 pools, free indoor and outdoor mini golf, an arcade, not to mention a beautiful lake out our backyard, and docks of boats and jet skis to wander down! Madison had a blast getting her feet dunked in the water. She can count "One, Two." And then says, "gen" (again).

We took a walk up to the main lodge to scope things out. The girls had fun playing on the playground. Well, until Presley ran into a crossbar and whacked her head. What kind of idiot playground designer would put a bar there? C'mon!

We threw together an in water family photo even though it was getting late. Had to put that new lens to the test, and it worked out great. Then another photographer came along and offered us the use of his tripod, so we went out and got a great shot out on the dock! A bonfire, s'mores, and our night was complete!

Kevin and I are singing at a wedding tomorrow, so we are now back in Worthington sleeping here for the night and getting ready for the fun. My first Saturday in a long time where I get to enjoy the service. Well, kind of.

auntie & kevin daycare

So grateful to be able to spend time at home these last few months. Kevin and I flew to Worthington last night to take pictures of some twin babies and a five year old, then went out to H+J's for roast, potatoes, gravy, and corn off the cob. MMM! Holly even made scotcheroos for us! After lots of work with weddings, and church, I think it's finally time for a little abiding.

Today was a day of play and fun with the girls. We babysat and played, played, played! We had lunch at Panda House and got the feel for what it will be like to have children in a restaurant. The only thing: they were little angels. They ate all their food, said please and thank you, and were well behaved. We can only pray our kids will be this good! I took out my mom's wicker couch last night for the 5 year old photo shoot, so we busted it out again today when we shared huge lolli-pops with Presley & Madison. It was so cute watching them go to town on the sugar!

Jason took us for a ride in his '54 Chevy car. We're hoping to use this for our get-away wedding vehicle. Though we won't really be driving anywhere, it'll for sure make for a few cool photos. Plus, Holly and Jason used it for their wedding, so it's got some sentimental value for sure! We drove down to Lake Park. Presley and Madison were jumping all over the seats (taking full advantage of the fact the car had no seat belts). We stopped and got orange push-ups, saw my Uncle Lindsey, and made it back with Holly driving three on the tree. Thank you, God! :)

food fair

Kevin asked me in the middle of August if I'd want to go to the State Fair. I live close enough to the fair that I've heard it each night, including the Kid Rock concert last night, but I told him I didn't really want to go. All you do is eat. Anything on a stick, and everywhere you look...MORE FOOD VENDORS. But, after our run past the state fair a few days ago, I changed my mind. I needed a Pronto Pup! And it turned out to be a great trip. A few highlights of the day: We stopped by the MPR booth and got to have our photo taken. We made our signs and didn't get to see what each other had written until the next day. You can see who the sweeter one in our relationship is! :) We rode "Ye Old Mill" (probably the oldest ride on the face of the earth), ate Sweet Martha's Cookies and then walked down to the all you can drink milk stand ($1) to wash them down. Two pronto pups, a corn dog, chocolate milkshake, two roasted ears of corn, and we were wiped. I played one round of ski ball. The game at the state fair is rigged at an angle, so I didn't win even a small prize. We heard Randy Travis start singing his opening songs, learned the Heimlich, rode the gondola at night, and went into the miracle of birth center and saw and touched baby pigs. It was a great day! We didn't buy a spa, but it was still great!