Sunday, June 29, 2008

Exciting weekend

Our exciting weekend started out with a fun game night with our Sunday school class on Friday night. Lots of ice cream and games, it was a good time. Next we had a wedding to go to in Fort Wayne on Saturday afternoon, so we went up there early afternoon and got into town in time for... what else... more ice cream. The wedding was very pretty, fun to see old friends too. The pic above is the grounds around where they had the reception, it was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect. Here are a couple more pics from the reception.
So Steve had to play for worship team the next morning (today) so we wanted to make sure we didn't get home too late. We started heading home around 7pm for our 2.5 hr drive. We started finding our way back to the highway when we heard this strange sound. Steve turned down the radio and thought it sounded like our tire. He pulled off into a subdivision before getting onto the highway and this is what we found! Perfect! This is our new car and of course we hadn't even checked to see what kind of spare we had in the back. Fortunately there was one, and Steve got to work changing the tire, dress suit and all. I am sooo unbelievably thankful that he was with me. I know how to change a tire in theory, but I would have been in tears if I'd been alone. I took a video of him doing it. It sounded so funny. I cut the video right before he looked at me and said "are you enjoying this?" I was laughing but just because the situation was so funny. Us in our wedding outfits, in a nice neighborhood changing a flat with this noise:




So now we realize that we probably shouldn't attempt to drive all the way home on a doughnut (max speed like 45mph) but it's 7:30 on a Saturday night! We ended up calling Steve's mom and she looked up several places near us that we could try, and we asked a few places near where we were. We ended up at a Walmart almost an hour after the service shop had closed, but there were still 3 or 4 people hanging around. We begged and pleaded and they reopened for us to fix our tire. We were so grateful and it only ended up costing us $9.50! The best possible outcome for sure! Oh, and the problem was that the little plug where you fill your tire, well that had broken. So even if we had a tire fix kit with us, we couldn't have fixed the tire ourselves. Yet another reason to be incredibly thankful that we found someone to fix it.

So now we're resting up for a very big week. We're getting ready for Joe and Lara to come visit for a night (Steve's bro and his wife) and then we're all driving up together to see Steve's mom's side of the family for an extended 4th of July weekend. Hope you all enjoy your holiday too!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

5 years

Us then:






Us now:
We were in West Virginia this past weekend, and this is right before the show that TitusJustus played. It was a fun weekend, and I got us these fun shirts to wear in honor of our 5th anniversary. Mine says "my husband rocks" and his says MWR on the front logo, and "my wife rocks" on the back shoulder. We got several comments throughout the show :)

And then today, our actual anniversary we had church, then we went to see the Incredible Hulk movie and to Cici's pizza for dinner. We're pretty low-key when it comes to celebrations like this, but I thoroughly enjoyed the pizza and especially the cinnamon rolls! The movie was alright. And here is a slightly bad pic from dinner.
If we look slightly glazed over, it's because it was a long (but fun) weekend. We've had a good time reflecting on the past 5 years together. It's been such a fun journey, and I'm excited for all that God has in store for our next 5.

Monday, June 16, 2008

What's your experience?

This was kind of funny, but I think it's sometimes true. We were out at a local sports bar/wings place on Friday night. Steve had a craving for wings :) So we get there and it isn't really busy, but there are two large groups or so keeping the waiting staff running around. We order and then sit down at a table that's still dirty. I let Steve know that I'll catch someone and ask if they'll wash our table down. During the more than 30 minutes that we wait for our food I tried several times to catch a few of the girls' eyes that walk by our booth. I actually was sticking my head out of our booth at one point saying "excuse me maam..." as she walked briskly by. I wasn't too pushy, they were busy and I knew that eventually the person who brought out our food could be asked, but I tried a few more times to catch someone's eye who wasn't carrying hot food. Then as one guy walked by, he looked right at me and I pounced. He was quick to bring out a wash rag and wipe down our table. We were appreciative.

I noted to Steve that it was kind of funny that I couldn't get this one girl's attention during several tries, but I was able to catch a guy. Then, after a few more minutes we noticed that some people who sat down after us got their food, so Steve caught the previously unattentive girl and asked her if she could check on our wait time. She said she would, and asked him if he would like a refill on his soda. My half empty water glass went unnoticed. Coincidence? I'm just saying... she didn't ask me if I wanted my glass filled. I thought it was funny. Anyone else notice these types of things?

Friday, June 13, 2008

So proud :)

Read the original here!
(Oh, and in case you don't know, Jay Bottum is my "little" brother)


Introducing Jay Bottum

Jay Bottum, 25, is the “Ambassador of Welcome” at the Madren Center here at Clemson. As well as being a devoted worker, he is a charming gentleman. The fact that he has autism may limit some of the abilities we would normally value, but enhances those skills that we either take for granted or don’t even acknowledge it until they’re seen in someone else.

“You can have the worst day in the world, but after three minutes with him, everything is back to normal,” Jim Bottum commented about his son. Jay started working at the Madren Center in August of 2006. In addition to being given the title of “Ambassador of Welcome” by Jeff Martin, director of the conference center, Jay also assists with maintenance and grounds keeping. Some of Jay’s tasks include washing windows, setting up and taking down chairs and tables in the conference rooms and pavilion, and taking out trash. He said during an interview that his favorite part of the day was “hanging out with Tarver and taking out the trash.”

Jonathon Tarver, operations manager at the Madren Center, works closely with Jay every day, making sure he remains on task and doesn’t get distracted. “I was nervous when I first met Jay because I wasn’t sure how he was going to react to such a different environment and someone else giving him orders,” Tarver said about his relationship with Jay, “but I love it. I wish all my employees worked as hard as Jay does. He never complains. He just loves his job. If you tell him not to do one of his tasks that day, you better have a good reason as to why not, because he needs his routine.”

Jay Bottum (left) and Jonathon Tarver (right)When asked about the responses of visitors and other employees regarding Jay, his father didn’t miss a beat, remarking that everyone can’t help but smile when they see Jay. “He never meets a stranger,” Bottum went on to say. “Jay treats someone like family the second he meets them,” Tarver added. “He’ll remember your name forever, too.”

Tarver also described some of the experiences between Jay and other employees. “Jay loves everyone the same; he doesn’t dislike anyone. If only we could all be that accepting.”

Autism can be a debilitating condition, but Jay has succeeded in developing skills that no average person could. He swims 30 laps every day after work, remembers names from years in the past, recites numbers and dates and their relevance, maintains a routine to the tee, establishes relationships with people that last and even loves to make brownies. “He’s also fastidious in his organization. It’s like seeing an intelligence that you can’t connect with,” said Bottum about his son. He marveled at Jay’s abilities with memorizing, and told stories about his exuberant encounters with familiar faces; the endearment in his eyes mirrored his emotions toward his son.

Jobs that Jay has had in the past include working at a nursing home, putting movies away at Blockbuster and filing medical records at a hospital. Both Martin and Tarver expressed their humility in working with a man like Jay. His limitations only enhance his other abilities. Anyone visiting the Madren Center needs to keep an open eye for Jay. He’ll put a smile on your face and a warm spot in your heart.

Published by Erin Knapper
Pictured: Jay Bottum (left) and Jonathon Tarver (right)
June 12, 2008

Saturday, June 7, 2008

changes in our lives

So things are changing at the Mellema household. First off - our entry way! I finally bought a picture and a plant to make our entry way a bit more homey and less bare. I have been keeping my eye out for furniture, etc to put there so when I came across a huge sale at Tuesday Morning I bought a few things. Here's the picture...


And here's the fake plant. These are my favorite types of plants, ones that I can't kill :)
Next up - we sold our fishtank! We're happy that it's with friends, and they're sure to take much better care of it than we've been lately. So here's a pic of the move in progress...

And here's the new space it left in our living room. Now we're gonna have to decide what to do here. Last up - do you notice how many cars we now have in our garage??? That's right, we are now officially a 2 car family. We spent the last 5 years sharing a car, and that era is over. Today we bought a 2001 Accord. Now we just have to decide who drives which one :)

Friday, June 6, 2008

commercials that make me smile




My favorite Klondike commercial is with the wife that tells a really rambling story and after several minutes the guy pipes up and say "their son went to school in Baltimore?" or something like that. It makes me laugh because I tell stories like that all the time and feel sorry for Steve trying to follow the rambling. I can't find it on youtube, so here's my 2nd favorite Klondike commercial.