Be the change...

"Be the change you want to see in the world"-Gandhi

A simple, frequently quoted piece of wisdom. Unfortunately, there's a lot of wrong in this world. Poverty, racism, abuse, and hatred among other things. If you want to see positive change then the best way to go about it is to be a part of that change, either actively, financially, prayerfully, or being an example of love to this world.

Awhile ago I talked to Brand about wanting to write some blog posts about the many charities, causes, and ministries that are active in Spokane and beyond that we are compassionate about. I felt that maybe it will spark something inside of you to get involved somewhere or maybe it will get you thinking about what is going on in the world outside of our own miniscule lives. It's easy to get wrapped up in bills, work, every day duties, etc..but once you've been touched by the hate of this world and the love trying to defeat the hate...it's not very easy to forget those that live it every day.  So I'll be highlighting some awesome organizations that have chosen to not lie down but to be the change they want to see in the world. I'll be keeping all the information in short-hand form here so take a look as it develops!

So I thought I'd start off with the one nearest and dearest to my heart: 

Meals on Wheels, Spokane
In case you don't know why it is so near and dear to my heart, its because I work here.

Meals on Wheels, Spokane serves the homebound and disabled adults in Spokane. We strive to promote independent and healthy living in one's home and an overall better quality of life. A lot of seniors are  prematurely moved to nursing homes and assisted living. Many decline rapidly after such a move and the truth is, most do much better in their own home. A simple, hot lunch meal once a day can make a huge difference in the lives of the seniors and their families. However, some do not have families or people involved in their life. Some do not have anyone checking on them everyday except for that smiling volunteer. That's kind of where I come in. I visit every one of our seniors at least two times a year. I make sure they are getting all the help they need either with transportation, shopping, bathing, cleaning, and companionship, whatever it may be. Meals on Wheels, Spokane is the connection from their isolation to the services that may help them. Meals on Wheels, Spokane is the only home-delivered meal service in the county that provides this extra service. Because usually, lack of basic nutrition is just the tip of the iceberg. Our volunteers have saved lives, and I've had many seniors tell me that without a home-delivered meal and a smile from a volunteer, they would probably be in a nursing home.  We also provide meals for the weekends, nutritional supplements for our malnourished seniors, and even pet food twice a month for their pets. (This has become my "pet" project. We serve over 300 animals a month. This way the seniors won't feed them their own food so that everyone in the family gets the proper nutrition).

We also have an awesome senior center. We serve the lowest income seniors and many of our seniors are homeless (we are located in downtown Spokane). At the senior center we serve breakfast and lunch. Lunch is absolutely free and breakfast is as low as $1 for members (to be a member you pay $12 a year). We also do haircuts, Wii games (Rose is the best Wii bowler!), birthday parties, Bingo, exercise group, art classes, visits to baseball games, fairs, parks, and fishing trips! So how do we fund all this? Strictly through private donations and grants. We receive ZERO government funding. If you want to help continue the important work visit our website at www.mowspokane.org . If you want to find out about a home-delivery site in your area visit mowaa.org. The elderly are often the most forgotten people in our society. They fought our wars, they raised our leaders, they've lived through the depression and civil rights, and they worked so hard their bodies are paying for it. They've lost most of their family and almost all of their friends. They do not deserve to be forgotten. 

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgements, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." Zechariah 7:9-10

Happy Father's Day!

I won't go on forever and ever about the awesomeness of the fathers in my life. Mainly because two of them just had a birthday and I bragged about my dad and my brother in their respective birthday bragging blogs :)

I know how incredibly blessed I am to have the father that I do. My dad works very hard for his family. Even now that he is not financially responsible for the four of us, he continues to do a job that is not his passion and that is becoming physically more difficult for him. My dad, as educated as he is, took whatever job he could to make sure we had food on the table. But he more than just provided food. He sacrificed so we could do sports, theater, and be kids.
But what I owe my dad more than anything is a big thank you for the spiritual role he has played in my life. My dad is someone I can always count on to pray for me even before I ask him. I was in church today thinking about my dad and how if it weren't for him I'm not sure I would have the spiritual life that I do or even the life that I do. Shortly after Brand and I got engaged, Brand told me of the day he asked for my dad's blessing to propose to his little girl. After my dad gave his blessing he said something to Brand that resonated with me. He told Brand: "I have prayed for you since the moment I first held her". That's the kind of dad he is. The moment I arrived he started praying for my future (my parents never knew the sex of their children until we were born, otherwise I bet he would've started praying about my future husband even sooner!). My dad continues to ask me what he can pray for and also tells me what we can pray about for him. I have learned so much from my dad and still have so much to learn from him.

Daddy's girl :)

I am also proud to say that I am the sister of the best new father ever. He's been a dad for 3 and a half years and man is he good! He loves that little boy more than anything in the world and it definitely shows. And Ollie also definitely admires his dad. I love seeing those two interact. It's really neat to see fatherhood in action in the years that I don't remember. In fact I'm kind of sad that I don't remember being a really little kid with my dad because I bet it was a lot of fun! I think you can really see how good a parent is in the tough times. I've seen Josh have to discipline Ollie. He's so loving and gentle with him yet stern. I can't wait to see Josh teach him how to ride a bike, teach him how to ski, and teach him how to be a good person. All this is amazing because Ollie's dirty diaper was the first diaper Josh had ever changed. So he went from a complete newb to stellar dad in a matter of seconds. I also have to say that seeing your sibling take on this all new important role is incredibly strange and awesome. Looking at the guy that once endlessly tease me be so gentle with his baby is very surreal...but I love it :) Oh and Josh here are my two cents..I really think Ollie needs another sibling because more kids need to be raised by you (and Rheanne of course) because they are sure to turn out world-changers.

Josh meets his son :)

And to my father-in-law. I could not have asked for a better father-in-law. He is an incredibly smart and thoughtful man. He opened his arms to me the minute he met me. And every time we see them I feel closer and closer to him. He is caring and I know I owe him a lot for raising such a respectable and smart man for me to marry. (I also can't wait to see him as a grandpa because it'll be great to see this man turn into a big old softie like he does with his grand-dog).

My new family

Basically I'm blessed. I know there are a lot of crappy dads out there and the fact that I have three wonderful ones in my life is amazing.
Thank you dads! I love you all!

Random Thoughts

Sometimes I have so many random thoughts that Facebook and all my Facebook friends fall victim to a pathetic string of closely published Facebook statuses. So instead, I'd thought I'd write a blog post to get them all out.

1.) I think it's sad when people with beautiful accents have to play American characters in movies or TV. Making Hugh Laurie talk like any run-of-the-mill drug-addicted Jersey doctor (without a Jersey accent) should be a crime. That being said, that's just me being selfish longing to hear beautiful accents.

2.) I really love marshmallows.

3.) We have this little girl named Kelly that lives across the street. She is so adorable and symbolizes innocence perfectly. The other day she was lying on the grass looking at the clouds but looked up at me and smiled as I drove away. She's also had a tea party with stuffed animals in our driveway. She is very smart. And I have this small feeling that her parents don't appreciate just how awesome she is.

4.) I'm cold, it's June 16th and I'm wanting hot cocoa and tomato basil soup.

5.) I visited one of my favorite couples today. They've been married for 62 years and obviously still love each other. They also have perfect comedic timing and I laughed a lot just watching them interact. Here's an example:
Husband: (trying to catch his breath from answering the door for me) Sorry, I have to catch my breath.
Wife: He always thinks he has to breathe! (big smile)
AND
Husband: We don't do much running around these days.
Wife: When was the last time we ran? I mean besides to the bathroom.

They were seriously so much fun. Interesting fact about him: he fought in the battle of Iwo Jima and has a well-deserved plaque to honor his service.

6.) My sister and mom are currently hanging out in Europe and have been to Florence and Rome and are currently in Innsbruck, Austria and are about to leave for the Czech Republic. Since they left I keep having dreams of traveling. Last night I went to Russia!

7.) I've been doing things in my sleep again and it makes me exhausted the next day! I wish I did more productive things in my sleep like clean..instead I just get angry at imaginary bugs.

8.) Frances McDormand is my favorite actress. She's awesome.

9.) I downloaded 500 90's songs (50 from each year) for Mollie's 25th birthday party. I've been listening to them every chance I get and it's been awesome. Brand and I have now danced to The Saga Begins (weird Al), rapped to Beastie Boys (whatcha want!), and I've told him how I feel with songs like : Can You Feel the Love Tonight?, All That She Wants is Another Baby, and 2 Become 1 (Spice up your life! Girl power!). 

The End.

10 Things I'm Excited About This Summer

Summer's here which means awesome things are happening! Here are a few things I'm excited about: (in no particular order)
1.)Mollie's birthday!
2.)Dani's birthday! (both parties are going to rock)
3.)Ashley and James' wedding (it will be epic, beautiful, and I will be present to the cutest couple in the world getting married..seriously cutest couple in the world)
4.) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2..this is actually bittersweet but it will be awesome
5.) 4th of July weekend with my family! Huge fireworks show at the park, BBQ with the family, kickball with the friends...doesn't get much better than that :)
6.) Reading books outside
7.) Camping
8.) Brand and I have decided to buy an elliptical. A lot of people are selling new ones for cheap on Craigslist because they buy them and then don't use them haha. I'm really excited to get my cardio on without having to put myself through the intense nerve-itch that happens when I run without an elliptical.
9.)  $1 Large Cokes at McDonald's...I take advantage of this as often as possible. Just ask my practicum student who has to tag along with me to whichever McDonald's is closest to our home visits. She's a trooper...I'm gonna miss her when she graduates this week!
Now drumroll please....
10.)Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance concert in Seattle with my better half and my little brother!!! It's the Thursday before our anniversary so it'll be a great way to kick off the 2 year anniversary weekend : ) So we won't be going to Catalina but this will be far better. Blink 182 is Brand's all-time favorite band and it's a lifetime goal to see them in concert. My Chem happens to be my little brother's favorite band and he believes it'll be their last tour. So we shelled out the big bucks (not as big as I thought they would be) to get right in front of the stage standing tickets! We are so going to rock out and I'm going to see two of my favorite guys in the world be in the presence of their favorite bands. (Steve's seen My Chem before but Brand's never seen Blink and I know what its like to see your favorite band in concert...it is UH-MAZE-ING!!!)

So there's a little sneak peek at what is in store for me this summer. Be jealous folks :)

Also, if you can remember...pray for my mom and sister as they head out to Europe for a couple weeks. Lets hope no volcanoes blow-up and ruin things :) Have fun ladies!

Ohana

Memorial day did not disappoint! Even though Josh and Rheanne were out of town Quatchin it up at the Gorge...we still had a great time with everyone else (and we'll see them 4th of July weekend!)
I had a blast with the sweetest, smartest little boy in the world! Ollie has grown up so much and it makes me hate living so far away from him even more. He is so smart and hilarious. I got to push him on the swing, chase him around playing superheroes, push him on the skateboard, and listen to his hilarious observations.
I had great quality time with my mom, dad, grandma, and aunt. I think my favorite part of the weekend was talking to my grandma about my grandpa. We got to go with her to put flowers on his grave (which she's been doing for 40 years now). We also went to her parents and her brother's grave and put flowers on those. She talked about the time she went to Normandy and how she felt when she knew she was walking on the same beach my grandpa had walked on. She couldn't stop talking about him and recounted the day of his funeral. Now, 40 years after his death and she is still in love with him (my dad told me that she had a full-ride scholarship to U of I but didn't tell my grandpa because she knew he would want her to get an education instead of getting married but she wanted to marry him so badly that she didn't tell him until years later!). She also talked to me more about my Irish heritage (when we came over someone robbed my family and only stole the coat of arms and papers to our castle!).I could've talked to her all day and it made me miss home even more.
Going to Boise never feels like taking a weekend off or going on vacation. It feels like going home. I almost forget that we have to go back to Spokane. I pray someday Brand and I can move back to Boise. Until then..we'll be here doing whatever it is we're supposed to be doing here (currently we'll be saving up for another trip to Ireland next year..just us :) )

A Wicked Good Time

Wednesday, Brand fulfilled a promise to me when he took me to see Wicked. It was awesome! I've read the book and knew ahead of time that the play was a lot different than the book. Luckily, I'm one of those people that can love a book and a movie separately even if they are different.
Seeing Wicked made me miss the stage. I love theater! During the production I kept thinking about how chaotic it must be backstage and how much work went into the 2.5 hours that we witnessed. And they definitely kept us entertained. I laughed a lot and my hands hurt from clapping so hard. The choreography was fantastic and the costumes were magical. Anne Brummel as Elphaba was perfect. Natalie Daradich as Glinda was hilarious. Brand told me there were moments of spazzy Glinda that reminded him of me. :)
I'm so glad I got to share my love of theater with Brand. And he loved it too...which was a definite bonus. He laughed just as much and clapped just as hard. Next year I'm planning on going to Beauty and the Beast with the two ladies that had to endure and play along with my B&B obsession as a kid..my mom and sister, Julie. It'll be awesome. Until then, I hope we can go to some local shows this summer. Here's a little bit of our awesome date night at Wicked:

Before the show

My handsome at Twigs for apps and desserts :)

Yummy watermelon margarita

Elphaba and Glinda

Before the show starts!

With the playbill! Making some weird face...

Brand looking awesome

My awesome shoes I got for our fancy date :)

Happy Birthday Josh!!

I love other people's birthdays! It gives me a chance to honor the people I love and shower them with praises. Today is my big brother's THIRTIETH birthday. I had to put that in all caps in case he were to forget how incredibly old he is.
Let me begin with saying that Josh is one of my most favorite people in the world. He is hands down one of the funniest people I know (he happens to share my awesome sense of humor so sometimes we may be the only two laughing but that's only because no one really appreciates how awesome we are). He also happens to be one of the sweetest, kind-hearted men ever. He is a fantastic dad to little Ollie and he is half of my favorite couple in the entire world!

Josh, Rheanne, and Ollie on Rheanne's Grad day. What a good looking family!

We define cool.

But Josh and I weren't always the best of friends. He certainly did not appreciate my arrival two weeks before his 5th birthday. He was the baby and I was about to take his title (though not for long since Stephen was born less than two years later). To this day, Josh knows how to get under your skin (I just have thicker skin now and a better appreciation of his humor...oh and we have Darin to pick on now). He would be so mean to us! But that all changed when he fell in love with Rheanne (awwww!) Rheanne brought out the real Josh that I saw glimpses of as a kid. One time Josh heard me crying in bed one night when my mom was in the hospital. He came in, held me as I cried and told me that everything was going to be okay and mom would be home soon. Far different from the boy that would endlessly tease me but a true representation of the man he would become.

We're adorable.

Josh and I grew closer as we grew up and realized that we were the most alike out of all the Ekhoffs. Our bond was clearest the day I got married and Josh and Stephen gave the speech heard around the world when they left everyone in tears with their touching speech about what it was like being my brother and having to give me to someone else (I'm choking up just thinking about it!) We all knew Stephen would make us cry but when Josh cried...I lost it..it was unexpected and spoke loudly to what we developed since I graduated high school and moved away. It's because of my dad and my two brothers that I found such a great guy. I always knew I'd have to marry someone that could at least match the humor my brothers had (these guys are seriously funny and set the bar pretty high). Who knew I'd meet someone with a perfect mixture of Josh, Stephen, and my dad?

Stephen and Josh making everyone cry at my wedding.

The truth is...Josh is one of my heroes. He gave up school so his wife could finish and raise a child at the same time. Now that Rheanne has graduated, Josh gets to go back to school and I am so proud of him. Josh is one of the smartest people I know (just ask him..he'll tell you what his AP test scores were...Seanna knows too since he tends to rub it in her face). He's not just my hero. I know he's a hero to Stephen and to his little boy. Josh works so hard for his family and he tries his best to be the greatest husband, son, dad, and brother he can be.
I really wish I could be with Josh as he ages into another demographic (THIRTY!) but this little bloggy will have to do :)
Joshie..I love you and I promise never to throw cereal at you again as long as you promise not to make me eat it off the floor :)