Nalaville Chronicles

Borrowed Clothing

2012-01-27T07:30:00.000-06:00

Gramma Juju (as Abigail affectionately calls her) gave us a pair of Nathaniel's old pajamas shortly after Abraham was born. I thought it would be fun to take pictures of the kiddos wearing Daddy's old jammies. Without further ado...the photos!

Abraham and Daddy

Abigail and Daddy

Evangeline and Daddy

My mom gave me the dress that I wore home from the hospital shortly after Abigail was born. I took more pictures! :-)

Abigail

Evangeline

I stuck the girlies in the sun! :-) Abigail was a summer baby so her sunny shot is all glowy and Evangeline's is all icey! They were both all blinky, but I liked the light.

I love my children. I love taking their pictures. I love remembering when they were little(er). I love seeing their adorable excitement now as they look at their baby pictures. That's why I do this...so I get to look at my cute children...over and over and over. *contented sigh*

Repurposed T-shirt

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I was able to transform a shirt I had been saving into the skirt I envisioned back when I sorted through clothing for our garage sale.

I don't know that it's the most technically correct sewing job, but it sure turned out cute! :-) Abigail is in a skirt-loving phase right now (yay! so fun!), so it was good motivation for me to sit down and figure it out.

I simply cut the bottom off of the shirt, leaving a few inches above the band. I measured an elastic piece to Abigail's waist and pinned it in just 4 spots (dividing in half as I added each pin) and sewed a zig-zag stitch around while the elastic was stretched to the length of the knit fabric. Then when I was done, the fabric evenly puckered around the waist. I think I might add a jersey flower or a coordinating ribbon around the waist. We'll see...

I'll try to get a picture of her in it when she wears it...but for now, this will have to suffice.

I'm Blessed ~ January 23, 2012

2012-01-23T14:19:00.001-06:00

I feel so grateful for the blessing of my baby's smiles! It's interesting that it takes 4-8 weeks before a baby can smile (for real) and that God gives us the practice smiles before babies smile on purpose. It does a lot for lifting my spirits to see an awkward little smile form on Evangeline's baby lips.

Miss Evangeline is growing out of or at least adjusting to the pain that occasionally comes with fully functioning intestines and bowels. She is finding much more opportunities to smile at us! She is a sweet, darling girl. I'm blessed!

This post is part of the "I'm Blessed" blog party hosted by Gretchen at He Sows, She Sews. Visit her blog to see more "I'm Blessed" posts and to join the party!

I'm Blessed - January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T07:36:00.006-06:00

I'm blessed to have not only married an amazing man, but to have married into his amazing family! :-) Today is my mother-in-law's birthday!

Grandma and goofy Abraham on the monorail at the zoo!

Happy birthday, Julie! I'm so grateful for you!

I appreciate my mother-in-law's relationship with Christ, her love for her family, her grandma skills, and her sense of humor. She is wonderful to talk with and be with. I praise God that she and my father-in-law raised their son to love God and serve him. It is a blessing to be your daughter-in-law! Thank you for welcoming me (and Ami and Allie!) with such open and loving arms!

This post is part of the "I'm Blessed" blog party hosted by Gretchen at He Sows, She Sews. Visit her blog to see more "I'm Blessed" posts and to join the party!

Celebrating Marriage

2012-01-14T08:11:00.001-06:00

Back in December, my Grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. We had a grand party for them between Christmas and the New Year. It was fun to honor their commitment to each other. Many extended relatives and friends of theirs from years gone by attended. It was so much fun to see all the pictures that my Aunt K printed out from their wedding. They were and are a pretty good looking couple! :-)

When Nathaniel and I were newly married, we rented my Grandparent's basement for a few months until our school semester was over and we had more time to look for a place and move (pretty posh arrangement...walk out basement on the lake)! That's just one example of their generosity and hospitality...two hallmarks of the home they created together.

My grandparents have always been good examples of what it is to have a healthy marriage and for that I am quite grateful. They encourage one another, they have fun with one another, they serve one another, they pursue Christ together. It is so fun to watch them interact and know that they love being with each other.

Last Christmas, they planned an activity for their married children and grandchildren. We all sang to our love! They sang first to help us to know the tune and then we all sang the second round...men sang the first verse and the women sang the second...this song:

I love you truly, truly dear,
Life with its sorrow, life with its tears
Fades into dreams when I feel you are near
For I love you truly, truly dear.

Ah! Love, 'tis something to feel your kind hand
Ah! Yes, 'tis something by your side to stand;
Gone is the sorrow, gone doubt and fear,
For you love me truly, truly dear.

I'm excited to follow in their footsteps with Nathaniel for many, many years to come...hopefully 60 or more! :-) I pray that God keeps us.

Happy anniversary, Grandpa and Grandma!

I'm Blessed - January 10, 2012

2012-01-10T10:50:00.003-06:00

I get excited when it snows like any good Minnesotan girl, but this winter's lack of snow and mild temps have been a big blessing to me!

With a newborn and two rambunctious preschoolers, Nathaniel's busyness with Q4 at work, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and general weariness, I'm very glad I haven't needed to navigate through snow drifts and find time (or Nathaniel have to find time) to shovel!

But what is a Minnesota winter without a little snow? Sad! So we've been making some of our own & taking advantage of the the ice, the little bit of snow we have, and the warmer temps to get outside and play! :-) It'll do for now, at least until I get a bit more sleep.

Snowflakes in the window

You know you're tired when you stay up until 2 am making Star Wars snowflakes for your husband's work desk

Learning to skate

Keeping each other warm

Angel Abraham in the snow

I'm blessed to serve the Creator of the world who has authority over the weather! P.S. I'm not praying for no snow, I'm just thankful that that's the kind of winter we've had!

²¹ "He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;"
Daniel 2:21

*******

1/15/12 Edit: I forgot to mention that this post is part of the "I'm Blessed" blog party hosted by Gretchen at He Sows, She Sews. Visit her blog to see more "I'm Blessed" posts and to join the party!

Standard French Braid

2012-01-08T16:52:00.000-06:00

I attempted two french braids on Friday. I discovered as I was playing with the kids on the floored couch cushions that working on a braid while either lying down or reclining, especially if my head is not touching the ground, that my arms don't get so tired and I last longer in my attempt.

The first one that I did, I didn't have a hair-tie nearby, as I started it on a whim. And Evangeline woke up before I was able to finish it past the top of my head. I ran and got her, found a hair-tie and did a quick messy bun. I wore it for the rest of the day then took a picture.

My second braid turned out a lot better, but I did it at 11:00 pm. I think I kept taking hair too far down the back of my head and so it was quite messy at the nape of my neck--the braid was no longer against my head but draped out, which I think is also partly because I was leaning back really far so my arms wouldn't get tired. I'll need to trouble-shoot that one...

I may try to braid my hair when it is wet next time because then it will stick together better as I learn to manage the different sections. Either that or I'll wait until it's greasy! :-) Another thing I think I want to achieve with a braid is taking smaller sections so there are more...sections. All-in-all, a pretty good attempt, if I do say so myself!

Childhood Toys, No. 1

2012-01-06T07:38:00.006-06:00

I was very intentional about saving my toys as I was growing up because "someday, my children will want to play with them!" :-) Yes, it's true, my lifelong dream of being a wife and mother is coming to pass as I type! What a blessing!

Back to my toys...I've given Abraham and Abigail a few of them to play with (I kind of saved a lot...) and while I'm not super attached to the toys now that they are being played with by the children of my dreams, I thought it would be fun to post pictures of them before they all get *clear throat* destroyed!

So, here is the first picture!

My prize winning Awana stock car is at the top of the picture. I won second place for speed! Oh yeah! That's how I drive too. Just kidding, just kidding, just kidding, just kidding...etc. (This leaves the way I really drive a secret...) I remember Dad helping me finish it in our garage in Prior Lake. Abraham and Abigail hardly pay it any notice, but boy did they love it the first day I gave it to them to play with! ;-)

At the bottom is a plate from my dishes set. It went in the garbage today after I snapped the picture...Abigail said, "I broked this!" (with a growl) and agreed that it needed to be trashed. I don't know when I got this, but it was kind of always around. I only have this one and I don't know what happened to the rest of the set. Right before we moved to Mexico, we got rid of my toy kitchen, but kept the dishes. Maybe that's what it is from.

Oh and in place of the kitchen (I got a replacement toy to help with the transition...), Dad and Mom got me a special doll to take on the move...Kimmy. But she'll show up later. And you'll jump she looks so creepy, as often happens with well-loved toys! This is going to be fun! Childhood toys...to be continued!

Twenty-Twelve!

2012-01-03T20:34:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd begin the year with a moment of silence on the blog. ;-) Truthfully, I was partying it up!

We had a great time welcoming 2012 with an all family (meaning the 5 of us, though we will be with extended family) overnight. We didn't have to travel too far, but with three kids who were without a doubt exhausted before 2012, we decided that if we were going to go anywhere, we'd spend the night.

We put them to bed at 9:00--they were cooperative and seemingly tired--they fell asleep closer to 11:00! So though they weren't sleeping, we still got to have some quality game playing time! I love games (Nertz!)!

We enjoyed some delicious food throughout the evening. Nathaniel made guacamole. Other highlights were the sour patch kids (sorry...sweet tooth), the single serve nacho chips, the hummus with veggies (I love hummus!) and a unique Danish treat called ebelskivers (think globe-like pancake).

Last year, my goals list was a less-specific version of the year before. Let's review:

1. Be in the Word
2. Be a good example by speaking and living the word
3. Prioritize to make nutritious meals available to my family
4. Use my time wisely
5. Random others: ~~work on the house/yard~~, ~~practice hospitality~~, ~~get a puppy,~~ practice Spanish, ~~have a baby,~~ ~~play my flute~~, ~~organize things~~, print my blog, drink more water, ~~stop eating cereal again~~, ~~take a lot of pictures~~, memorize hymns, ~~pray further out~~, breathe deeply, go to bed on time, ~~enjoy being at home~~, experiment with new recipes, ~~knit~~, take walks/run, ~~dream in contentment~~, ~~kill mice when applicable~~, ~~swim at every opportunity~~, ~~invest in my current relationships~~, ~~cherish my family~~, and ~~practice thankfulness~~--to name a few.

I am pleased with how my first 4 played out. I'm renewing them for this year as they are valuable for life in general and things I don't know that I'll ever arrive at (maybe number 3 will come more easily when I don't have an under 2 year old in the house...dinner prep is difficult when there are under 2's under foot).

I crossed off my random others that happened. I'd be into renewing most of those not crossed off for this year as well. I like how I had a goal to "organize things." I crossed that one off, but that one is also on the 2012 list. :-) As well as most of the others (not getting a dog...we need to wait on that one for a few years...).

I was trying to think of things to add and only thought of 2.

1.) Promote peace within my home: This no doubt came to mind as a result of the many sibling fights I break up each day, but it's more than that. Saying no to activities (super bad at this!) when we are low on energy, being less reactionary, communicating well, etc. It's a complex and needed element for well-lived family life.

2.) Learn to braid my hair: This comes from a deep-seated love of braids! :-) I've just never been one to enjoy holding my hands above my head for long periods of time attempting to learn how...until now! The difference--you tube. Now I feel I have a resource that will work better than pictures in a book. And when I say braids, people, I'm talking french braids, crown braids, waterfall braids, double, single, fish tail braids, maybe more. I'll try to post pictures and links to videos if I find success.

I'm thankful for God's hand in my life. Twenty-eleven was great and I'm certain that whatever happens throughout twenty-twelve will be great as well...because I'm not alone. God is guiding and growing me every step of the way. Merry new year!

Christmas Gifts

2011-12-29T07:56:00.002-06:00

We had fun picking up and making some of our Christmas presents this year. I enjoy reading Heavenly Homemakers and followed her steps to make pure vanilla extract.

In the beginning of July, I (pregnant belly and all) purchased a large quantity of vodka so that we could make this gift. We ordered the vanilla beans through Olive Nation. My children now have a very rosy view of vodka..."that's what they use to make vanilla, Mom!"

We sliced the beans lengthwise and put them into a gallon sized glass jug. Then we poured the vodka over the top and let them sit in our dark back closet until just a few days before Christmas.

We poured the vanilla extract into a coffee filter set in a strainer to remove all the chunks and vanilla particles.

We then funneled the vanilla into dark amber bottles that I purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs and added a label made from paper and tape! I drew a picture of a vanilla flower and two pods then used my copier to shrink it to the right size and duplicate the label.

The finished product!

We also took a trip to Mora to where my Mom's cousin runs Sapsucker Farms--a certified organic farm. We purchased Minnesota wild flower honey and organic maple syrup and put the three items together for a spiffy little Christmas gift.

Humbug Moment

2011-12-28T07:43:00.005-06:00

We had just one humbug moment this Christmas. Guess what it revolved around. If you guessed sweets, you're right!

Abraham and Daddy are sad that there aren't as many Oreo cookies in a package this year

Oreo changed the packaging of their Limited Edition Peppermint Oreo cookies to have 3 short rows instead of 3 long rows like the regular Oreos! Sad day, folks! I suppose we still recommend them...they're obviously tasty enough to grieve about the lessened quantity...and that's saying something.

I'm Blessed - December 26, 2011

2011-12-26T21:41:00.001-06:00

Today sure didn't feel like a Monday and I almost forgot to do my "I'm Blessed" post. Whew! Aren't you glad I remembered?! :-)

I was thinking about the meaning of what it is to be blessed and that's about as far as I got. I usually think of blessings as those things that we thank God for, but I'm interested in studying deeper into what a blessing was in the Bible and how it relates to my being blessed today.

Two blessings come to mind as I sit and type:

~I'm feeling the blessing of family. We spent day 4 of 4 in a row with extended family. It is wonderful to be part of a family with such a strong heritage of faith, on both sides of the family.

~Something that Pr. John mentioned in his sermon on Sunday was that God isn't "efficient"--that he doesn't have to be because he is BIG! That is a blessing--serving a big God. I really appreciated this thought because often, I attempt to push efficiency into a virtue. It is a blessing to be reminded that efficiency isn't necessarily something to strive for...in life, in my faith, in my marriage, my child-rearing. God can and is working through non-efficient means in my life for his glory.

"I'm Blessed" is part of the blog carnival hosted by He Sows, She Sews. Read more "I'm Blessed" posts linked up at Gretchen's blog.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:34:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas 2011!

Abigail, Evangeline, and Abraham

Philippians 2:6-8 "[Christ Jesus] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Romans 5:19 "For as by one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

John 6:40 "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

What an amazing God we serve.

What a great gift we have in Jesus.

What a joy to know Him and celebrate his birth.

And someday, we'll be with him.

Emmanuel, God with us.

Glory to God in the Highest!

Snow Pants

2011-12-22T06:48:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week we set out to purchase snow pants for Abraham and Abigail. After I got them, I checked the weather forecast thinking that for sure, we'd get snow in the next 10 days. It's the end of December, right? Not a flake predicted. I was pretty relieved I bought them so large for so cheap. Would it be possible to have a winter here with no snow?

For the rest of the day Abraham and Abigail played in their thrifty snow pants (and rain boots--they were a good deal!). Abigail even slept with them under her bed.

Taking a break from their play to pose for a snow pants photo op for Mommy! ;-)

Yesterday morning, Abraham was still asking about snow and really wanted to go outside. Everything worked out for us to be able to bundle up and head out of doors. My sweet children are so fun to watch when their excited! I brought my camera to prove it!

Abraham (cape around his neck)

Abigail (sorry about the jelly cheeks babe!)

Evangeline (sporting her new hat knitted by Mommy)

Abraham practiced his super hero flying. Abigail dizzied herself around the clothesline pole.Miss Evangeline snoozed in the fresh air.

Super A!

Practicing flight and circling around

Abigail can fly too!

Being motherly to little sister

Good day for a swing

As we were playing outside, I got a call from my Grandma, who with my Grandpa, had just picked up my cousin and his wife and baby up from the airport and were heading our way. We met for lunch nearby and had a lovely time visiting. Pete, Jess and Oliver joined us as well. It was a great day for it as a spur of the moment lunch with 3 children to ready for the elements (and dressed for that matter) takes a long time these days!

After Abigail was down for her nap, Abraham was off playing with his toys and I looked out the window. It was snowing! I called Abraham to the window and he was so excited!

Yay! Snow!

We'll let Abraham tackle this shoveling job!

That's about the extent of the snow we got--just enough to make today actually feel a bit wintery. Not really enough to necessitate snow pants, but I'm glad we got them nonetheless. I really don't think we ever could go a whole winter without getting some snow pant worthy snow.

Tantrums, Caribou, and Sleep

2011-12-20T15:59:00.000-06:00

Not going to mention any names, but it is so challenging to deal with tantrums and the accompanying anger (both on my part and on my child's part). Pressing on in patience is my prayer for this season. I know that the more patient I am, the better I'll be able to reach my child's heart in it all. Eventually the irrationality of it all will will come to light. So that's what I'm praying for today: patience, in the moment and in the season.

While out doing Christmas shopping, I remembered about the giveaway post! :-) Buying things for other people at Christmas is lots of fun, especially if you think/know that the other person really will love it or need it. And everyone needs coffee, unfortunately, I can't buy coffee for everyone. I was able to splurge enough to purchase two Caribou gift cards for the guessers on either side of Evangeline's birthday, October 28: Lynda for the 29th, and Amy for the 27th. Incidentally, those were the first two guesses! Keep your eyes on the post ladies!

Sleep is something that I want for Christmas. It doesn't even need to be wrapped. Nuff said. ;-)

I'm Blessed

2011-12-19T15:21:00.001-06:00

I want to keep up on my blogging and I've decided that participating in the the "I'm Blessed" blog party hosted by Gretchen at He Sows, She Sews is a good way to focus my posts and get at least one written per week.

I'm blessed to have three children filled with excitement, wonder, and curiosity surrounding me at Christmas.

I'm blessed to have the privilege to teach them the true meaning of Christmas~Christ's coming to Earth as a baby to live without sin and give his life, the greatest gift ever, as a sacrifice to pay the punishment that my sin incurred.

I'm blessed to know Jesus, to be in Christ, and to be granted forgiveness because in Christ, my debt is paid.

I'm blessed to pray and to teach my children to pray for those who do not yet know this truth, who have not yet received the greatest gift offered.

Thank you Lord Jesus for your many blessings!

I'm Blessed

2011-12-14T23:37:00.003-06:00

Tonight, I'm linking up to He Sows, She Sews and her I'm Blessed post. Hop over there to check out other blessed ones! God is so good!

I'm blessed...

~to have insurance.
~to have medical care.
~to be in a caring church where I'm supported in prayer
~with God's good timing in offering encouragement through a fellow believer
~to have friend(s) that text/call when I put melancholy status updates on facebook.
~with my husband who takes such good care of his family
~with my children who miss me when I'm not feeling well
~with my Mom who helps me brainstorm solutions to every day dramas
~with my comfy bed and rest
~with my home sweet home

If you can't tell from my post, I'm dealing with some health stuff right now. Most predominantly a very painful case of impetigo on my mouth/chin/lips. It is difficult to trust and follow through with a good attitude in a hard situation, especially when I'm short on sleep. I'm choosing to focus on the blessings in all of it and praying that God would continually use the difficult situations he puts me in to refine me. I want to do a better job of not just posting/talking about God's goodness, but follow through with patience and trust as I look on the blessings. Through it all I do feel so blessed and I'm grateful to God.

Here and Now (with a little of back then...)

2011-11-18T23:54:00.001-06:00

Without a doubt, there is less time to sit at the computer and think up fantastic verbiage to communicate the really normal things that happen here every day. I'm happy to announce to the blog world that normal is coming along swimmingly!

Nathaniel is back at work now and pretty swamped (partly from being out and partly because of the season). I am so glad that he was able to take the time off and now, I'm praying extra hard for him to be able to manage all that comes with having been out of the office for baby's birth--and that I will have a good attitude when he has work extra long to catch up a bit.

Abraham is learning to sound out words. Tonight in the car on the way to Uncle Pete and Aunt Jess's house, he sounded out the word bat. He just wanted to...there was no bat to be seen.

Abigail's most-frequently-spoken-saying award goes to, "Ya. Sure." If I ask her to get a diaper, the nuk, wash her hands, come to me, read a book with me, lay down in her bed, eat her lunch, or anything (almost) she says quickly, "Ya. Sure."

Evangeline has been a crab this week and I'm chalking it up to the fact that she's right between 2 and 3 weeks (actually 3 today!) and right about now, according to the books, it's expected that she's in a growth spurt and her calorie supplier is slightly back-ordered, you might say. She maintains a level of cuteness that totally makes up for it. I'm loving having a newborn again! :-)

I expect more of the same regarding the amount of time that I have to blog (minimal), especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching. I did, however, pull out my old laptop from college and am thinking that if I can stick the computer up on the mantel in our living room or someplace near where we play, maybe I can blog as I go about my day with a minute or two here and there.

And since I'm on my old laptop and I really appreciate blog posts with pictures, here is a photo from my college band trip to Japan. Goodnight!

Evangeline Grace's Graceful Arrival

2011-11-11T22:16:00.001-06:00

Baby's coming! (for some reason, I love this picture!)

Evangeline is now two weeks old. She's fitting in to the family quite nicely! :-) Though we had no doubts that this would be the case.

I typed out the detailed version of her birth story in a Word document and it turned out to be 3 single spaced pages. I'm glad to have done it, but it doesn't seem to fit well into a blog post. So, I'm going with an adapted bullets version, which seems to be my favorite these days.

Me and my hubby, the best doula :-)

Timeline:

Monday (10/24) -- regular OB appointment, non-stress test and biophysical profile: no practice breathing on the BPP, slightly elevated blood pressure, trace proteins in my urine, blood work done (normal result), 24-hour urine collection ordered

Tuesday (10/25) -- begin 24-hour urine collection

Wednesday (10/26) -- drop off my "sample" at the doctor's office right after hauling it to my eye appointment in a large cooler (yuck!)

Thursday (10/27) -- [afternoon] regular non-stress test with good results, slightly elevated blood pressure (130/70 or something), results for urine test are in, but the nurse can't tell them to me

[6:00 pm] received a call my from doctor with an explanation of test result and the suggestion that I come right then to the hospital to be induced

[7:30 pm] arrived at the hospital thinking baby would be born on the 27th :-)

[11:00 pm] nursing shift change, IV is finally hooked up with everything except Pitocin; insulin/sugar water lines are getting adjusted

Friday (10/28) -- [12:00 am] I'm dilated to 3 from my own contractions! Pitocin is started. We go to sleep (interrupted with blood pressure checks and blood sugar checks, but sleep none-the-less). Contractions were felt, but not painful.

[4:00 am] the nurse checks me and says I'm at a 5 and that it is a good time to break my water. I debated waiting until daylight, but in passing, the nurse mentioned the shift change at 7:00 am. I decided to stick with the same people who had been assisting me all night and had her go ahead and break my water. The first contraction post-water-breaking was painful.

[5:00 am] I requested fentanyl for pain, not know how much longer I may or may not be in labor.

[5:40 ish am] the doctor arrived on the scene as baby was coming!

[5:59 am] Evangeline Grace was born!

Evangeline Grace

Stats:

~Evangeline weighed 6 lbs. 9.5 oz., was 18.5 inches long, had a head circumference of 13.5 inches. Born 5:59 am on Friday, October 28, 2011.

~I pushed through about 3 contractions then she was born!

~We were in the hospital beginning Thursday night through our discharge on Saturday at 11:30 am.

~I was pregnant for the longest with Evangeline, 39 weeks and 2 days! (Abraham was 39 weeks and 1 day, Abigail was 38 weeks and 5 days)

~Today, at Evangeline's 2 week check-up, she weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and has grown half an inch!

Proud Daddy and his Sweetie Pie

The name: We discovered Evangeline sometime around late August/early September. I don't specifically remember where. Evangeline (ee VAN jeh leen) means "bearer of good news." We paired that with her middle name, Grace, because that is the good news--God's grace through Jesus! Grace also follows the theme for the middle names of the girls in our little family (Joy, Faith, and now Grace). We pray that Evangeline would come to know God's great gift of grace to her through Jesus and bear it to all whom she encounters.

So that's the short version! ;-) Aren't you glad I didn't put the whole thing up!

And now we are five!!!

P.S. Fun fact for the road--my favorite quote from the labor and delivery tape: Lisa to doctor in the break before the contraction from whence cometh Evangeline: "Oh. And this is going to hurt so bad, isn't it, huh?"

We have a winner!

2011-11-02T20:00:00.000-05:00

Now announcing the winner of the "Guess Sweetie Pie's Birthday" contest:

Drumroll please!

Sweetie Pie herself!! Evangeline arrived on Friday, October 28! No one guessed correctly, so we're taking her to Caribou! ;-)

I've not been out too much so I don't know if it's possible, but I'll try to hook up Amy (guessed Oct. 27) and Lynda (guessed Oct. 29) with a gift card for $2.50 since you two were the closest. :-)

I'm writing out the details of how everything transpired with Evangeline's birth, as time allows, and will post again when it's done.

Thanks for all the congrats and prayers. We praise God for the safe arrival of our healthy baby girl!

Waiting for Baby!

2011-10-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

When baby's arrival is so immenient, it can be difficult to focus on other things!! I'm grateful for such a network of support that lifts us up in prayer. I've gone from alternating between anxious and stressed, to pretty much just excited. I still wonder when, but without the anxiety. It feels good to be resting in the Lord.

I negotiated with my doctor to not induce me yesterday, though she would have if I had agreed. I was 39 weeks yesterday. See...

I've been intentionally making my days kid-focused (when I'm not stuck at doctor's appointment and getting testing done for 4 hours at a time). We've made leaf windows with wax paper, we've been singing our memory verses, we've been to the play area at the mall, we've been reading and coloring, and having an all-around nice time.

Another fun activity that has necessitated itself in preparation for Sweetie Pie's arrival is transferring our home movies to the computer, which means we get to watch them! The kids have been loving seeing themselves as "little babies" (they are still little at 2 and 4!!). I'm hoping that it will help in the transition for them to know that they were once the baby too. :-)

On the side, I've also been "nesting." I've now fully completed all three knitting projects that I had planned out for the three kids (WOW--THREE KIDS!). See...

George is filling in for Sweetie Pie until she can take her proper place in the family kid picture.

In more of the same news (waiting...), I'm scheduled to be induced on November 2 (sorry Jess...no gift card!). I go in for a NST today and hear the results of a 24 hour urine collection (TMI?). My blood pressure has been slightly high the past two visits and some protein was detected in my urine, which are signs that I could be pre-pre-eclamptic (I made up that term, but that's what I understand everything to mean...). I'm praying that I go into labor on my own...that would be nice. :o)

We'll be keeping all our peeps posted as to further news. Now for some lunch!

Bullets (3 of 3)

2011-10-21T10:30:00.000-05:00

21. I love reading with the kids.
22. Thanksgiving and Christmas already have me excited!
23. I love my family.
24. I love my extended family.
25. I’m looking forward to homeschooling the kids…and thus repeating grade school…I’m going to learn so much!
26. I would love to practice and review the Spanish that I learned in high school…and learn more than that if possible. It would come in so handy!
27. Abraham is about to go to the dentist for the second time…second week in November. Pray that he opens his mouth this time! ;-)
28. My toenails are pretty thanks to my sis-in-law, Anna’s, color options and nail stickers.
29. Paper plates are my friends!
30. Time to be done! Good day to ya’ll! ;-)

Bullets (2 of 3)

2011-10-20T10:21:00.010-05:00

11. Abraham and Abigail have started Sunday school and are going to childcare at church while I’m at MOMS and it is fun to see how they both react and interact to/in their classes. Abraham is learning his verses much quicker this year and it is motivating to me to memorize them with him. Abigail is learning Romans 3:23 and it sounds like this: “Sinned. Short. God. Romans 3:23” She keyed in on the reference for some reason…pretty cute. She sure likes her 1 word communication method.12. Fall is my favorite season.
13. Today, Abraham asked, “Mommy, can we go to Mt. Ararat? And can I bring my super friends?”
14. I’m bringing a written “birth plan” to the hospital this time around. We’ll see if it meets my expectations. ;-)
15. I never know what to say when the nurse that I see twice a week calls my name and then says, “I’m Carol.” For the longest time, I would say, “I’m Lisa.” And chuckle foolishly and say, “Ha-ha, but you already know that…” Now, I’m just quiet and that feels awkward.
16. I’ve purchased and used a Neti-pot about 5 times now. I think it is doing what it is supposed to (clear out the sinuses and relieve nasal/sinus pressure/headaches), though it is what I imagine when I hear the term water-boarding.
17. Secular holidays like Halloween are difficult for me to process/decide upon regarding how to relate to them with kids.
18. Pinterest is something I wish I had more time for, but don’t utilize well.
19. The meat delivery boy dance scene on “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” has made me laugh out loud numerous times since seeing it the first time last week.
20. The library is so useful!

Bullets (1 of 3)

2011-10-19T22:21:00.000-05:00

Each day, my brain is quite occupied thinking about meeting this little baby girl growing inside of me.
I alternate between anxious and totally chill regarding labor and delivery the third time around. I’m praying that God will give me peace in my anxious times and he has gifted me as the time approaches.
Abraham and Abigail are such a blessing to Nathaniel and I. We love their company and their sillies. We are challenged by their defiance to draw near to God and follow harder after Him.
I’ve been enjoying knitting in this colder weather…nesting has morphed into me being determined to finish a few projects before Sweetie Pie comes.
Our small group had a bit of a growth spurt (in numbers) and we’re excited to see how God will use the new dynamic to grow us spiritually.
I am 38 weeks pregnant today. I’ve never been pregnant in September or October before and I don’t know that I prefer it to the summer months, the verdict is still out.
I love our home!
Fall candles are my favorite.
I have been constantly munching on ice and I’m most looking forward to the hospital stay because of their amazing ice.
God has given me many dear friends and I’m so grateful. This week alone I’ve been privileged to visit with two of my college roommates who live out of town.

Hiking and Garage Sale

2011-10-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

We accomplished two fun things in the past week that I thought were worth chronicling: a daytime hike at a local state park and a 3-day garage sale!

On Wednesday morning, I realized that the weather was absolutely beautiful and that the next 3 days would require us to be outside, but very much near the garage. So I quickly packed some lunches and we took off to our hiking destination.

Who goes there? Friend or foe!?!

Abraham and Abigail loved the hike and climbing and exploring. They did really well keeping close by and it wasn't too busy or dangerous so they had some room to run. We saw 2 garter snakes, a fuzzy caterpillar, lots of chickadees and 3 monarch butterflies.

Abigail's turn!

Lunch

Thursday, we got started bright and early at 8:00 am. We did the sale with two of my sisters-in-law (which includes 3 cousins of Abe and Abbey's). I enjoyed chatting and playing store as well as clearing out some of our no-longer-needed items for a bit of cash. Of the three or four sales I've either hosted or participated in in my married years, this was the most successful one of all!! :-)

Sugar water anyone?

Mary admires the boys' entrepreneurial spirit

Saturday morning lull

The boys did a lemonade/tropical punch stand and made about a dollar each by the end of the sale. I love seeing the cousins play and interact. It reminds me of the fun I had with my brothers and cousins growing up. Family is such a blessing!

Here comes baby: a giveaway post!

2011-09-22T10:22:00.001-05:00

Well, not quite, but soon!

Here is my 34 week belly picture:

As I was laying in bed last night, I thought it would be fun to see who could guess what day the baby is coming. I can't guess...but if you want to give it a try, and you guess the day, I'll send you a $5.00 Caribou Coffee Gift Card!

I'm only allowing one guess per person and only one guess per date. If the date you wanted is taken, you'll have to pick another...cause I'm only buying one gift card prize! ;-)

I'll only send it to the mainland USA...are there Caribou's anywhere else?

And now here are some bits and pieces that may or may not sway your answer (they shed no light on the subject for me!):

~Abraham came 6 days before his due date.

~Abraham weighed 8 lbs. 5.5 oz.

~Abigail came 9 days before her due date.

~Abigail weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz.

~Sweetie Pie is currently (as of Monday) 4 lbs. 1 oz.

~She is in the 26th percentile for her gestation.

~She is due November 2.

Leave a comment with your guess-timated birthday for Sweetie Pie to enter the giveaway (and contact info if it doesn't make you provide that to leave your comment...I'll need to be able to get in touch with you if you win.) Allow 3-4 weeks post-win for your prize to be mailed...I'll be a tad busy. :-) Happy guessing!

Hermit and Tomatoes

2011-09-21T17:10:00.002-05:00

I mentioned that we got a hermit crab named Hermit. He likes to be a hermit. He is still alive. I thought a picture would be nice. He currently lives in the non-Batman white shell in the front corner of the tank/cage. Abraham hopes that very soon, he will outgrow his white shell and take up residence in the Batman shell.

We also had a garden this summer. Here it is in all its glory...or not. We only planted tomatoes and actually, our crop produced pretty good yield. I'm sure that the soil isn't the most conducive to healthy gardening, what with all the car parts and bricks. At least that's what I'm blaming it on...

Book Review: Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley

2011-09-21T16:54:00.000-05:00

Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley turned out to be a great read. I say "turned out" because it took me a while to get into it. :-)

Andy Stanley discusses the four root causes of sin in our hearts, those being anger, greed, guilt and jealousy. His descriptions of each of the four emotions and the ways that they manifest themselves in our interactions with others were interesting, revealing that they don't always looks like we'd expect them to look.

He organizes the discussion of each root sin around the concept of debt...anger is a feeling of "you owe me," greed is a feeling of "I owe me," guilt is a feeling of "I owe you," and jealousy is a feeling of "God owes me." I think that theme definitely works as a way to understand the sinful emotions, but it may vary slightly from situation to situation. Then again, they are really so intertwined that it was nice to see it organized so succinctly.

To sum up his method for confronting these heart emotions, he gives a list of habits that we should develop. As we do, we'll find that they replace anger, greed, guilt and jealousy in our hearts. For anger, cultivate the habit of forgiveness. For greed, cultivate the habit of generosity. For guilt, cultivate the habit of confession to those you've wronged. And for jealousy, cultivate the habit of celebration of what God has given to others.

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program through WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Go here to learn more info about the program.

Reassuring Results

2011-09-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

Second week into my weekly testing yielded a "reassuring results" comment from my doctor on MyChart. Praise God for baby girl's health. A second praise is that she is currently "in vertex presentation" as opposed to the "breech presentation" she had maintained for the past month and a half. We truly are grateful for God's hand in knitting together and sustaining of our baby inside my womb. What a blessing!

Do you want to see a photo? :-) They give me the photos on a CD now so it's easy to get them on the blog.

Face shot: Chin at left, forehead at right

I'm far from an expert at looking at ultrasound pictures, but I see similarities in her features to Abraham and Abigail. We're excited to meet her!

Speaking of Abraham and Abigail, I'll update a bit about them as well.

I've been working on getting Abigail used to head bands because they are oh so cute. She's getting the hang of wearing them, but once someone mentions that she "looks pretty" she'll reach for it and end up taking it off 9 times out of 10. I tried to snap a picture of her wearing her pink headband after church one Sunday, but she was totally on to me and went to take it off.

Her vocabulary is bursting forth with lots of fun words! She and Abraham have been singing that "i like to move it, move it" song since they heard it at the bird show with Grandma Julie. Abigail's version is: "move it-a, move it-a, move it-a, move it-a" repeated quickly until the song ends. She surprised Grandma Mona and Grandpa Stan when at a restaurant, she proclaimed discomfort due to a "wedgie." I need to write down some more of her vocabulary and mannerisms because it is so much fun and changing so rapidly. Seriously, in the last 2 days she has gone from communicating with mostly one word and a facial expression that leaves no doubt as to what she is saying to using 3 or 4 words in sentences.

Abraham had a blast on Labor day helping at Uncle Pete and Aunt Jess's house. He and Uncle Eric were hauling concrete from an old sidewalk from the front yard to the back yard. They took a short break to make a baking soda volcano in a pile of sand...right up this boys alley!

Abraham is in church with us now and is doing quite well. I remember being 12 and having a difficult time sitting through a full church service without feeling desperate for the ability to move freely. I'm glad that I remember that for Abraham's sake.

Abraham is so imaginative and really enjoys stories. He wants to have a story happening all the time. He has been on a "tell me a story" kick lately and so I'm pulling out the "when I was little..." stories that I remember. Nathaniel is a great story-teller and Abraham wants a Daddy story every night. It's so much fun!

We attempted a serious "mine workers" type photo, but Dad is so happy to be with family and Abraham is so happy to be goofy and Lisa is so bad at hiding her emotions (wait...that's me...) that it just made for a goofy picture all around.

It was fun, as always, to have Uncle Eric in town for the long holiday weekend.

The swing set continues to be a smashing success. I attempted to capture the sheer joy that was being experienced by all as Nathaniel played with the kids on the swings. Believe me, there was joy! :-)

We added a "pet", if you can call it that, to our household last Friday--a hermit crab, dubbed "Hermit" by Abraham. I found the cage and supplies for a mere $4 at a garage sale and Hermit himself was only $5. We thought he was dead yesterday and happily found he was not just moments before hopping in the car to return him/get a refund. I desperately want to be a pet family, but we are really bad at having pets. Maybe we'll get better as we practice with this little crustacean!

So that's us in a nutshell. I feel like I'm lacking inspiration for what to blog about because day to day, not much ~~interesting~~ happens...and as of late, I'm not feeling proficient enough at writing down what's going on in my head, so I end up deleting any post drafts that would shed any light on my brain. Perhaps that's best. (wink, wink)

And so it begins...

2011-09-07T21:23:00.002-05:00

1st non-stress test for baby #3

From now until Sweetie Pie makes her appearance, I'll be visiting the doctor's office twice weekly, at a minimum. Check my reading page as I'll have some premium, focused reading time for about 2 months here!

Nathaniel is on-call and it has been a busy week for computers to do bogus things that need human attention at ungodly hours.

Pr. Sam's sermon on Sunday was quite encouraging for me. The passage was 1 Peter 2:18-25. I'll link it here if it goes up online.

Nesting is in full swing for this preggo mama. I have a garage sale all set up in my garage I just need to find a time to open the door and sit out there for a couple days! Abraham has been my biggest customer so far. ;-)

I rescued a two-step stool from the neighbors garbage; tonight it is getting a bath and tomorrow a new coat of paint. My kids have been standing on the toilet or edge of the bathtub to wash their hands for about 2 years now. It's a little precarious and the toilet seat lid is getting loose, so I'm glad to have a step stool for them to use.

I am in the mood to play Scrabble in real life with wooden tiles and spend money. I'm hoping that September-future holds a Scrabble game or two. I may get to indulge a little with the whole spending thing as my birthday is this month.

I'm going to wash a stool and make my dishes cupboard-ready now. Wish me luck!

State Fair 2011

2011-08-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

On Monday, Nathaniel took the day off so we could have a date to the fair. We decided due to the crowds to go this one as a date instead of bringing the kids, so we dropped them off with Grandma Julie and she spent the day with them, including a long trip to the zoo. Thanks, Grandma! We had a blast hanging out with Chet and Rachel, friends from college.

Here are some photos:

Here Nathaniel and I stand just inside the main gate in front of the Creative Activities building. We stopped in that building before anything else to witness firsthand...

...Abraham's Christmas stocking that I cross-stitched for him. I won Second Premium (which means $6.00 + plus fame of course!! $2 of the prize money go to my wheeling-dealing son who wouldn't let me enter it into the fair until I promised him a pecuniary reward). This was the first time I have ever entered anything into a fair, so I was pretty excited to win something! :-)

Rachel and Chet in front of the crazy Chia horses and the Creative Activities building. Speaking of horses, we took in a horse show for a mid-day break from walking. Enjoyable and such a different world from my every day life.

The corn on the cob was my favorite selection this year...and I don't even know if I'll get a caramel apple sundae (previous first place pick) next year...the corn was SOOOOO good!

Deep fried cookie dough...2 of 3 dough balls consumed by Nathaniel...and I spat out my one taste of the third...I had to give it a go though! I don't even eat normal cookie dough though--I wouldn't want anyone to think that Nathaniel has bad taste or anything...it was just not my thing. Plus, everyone got a pretty good laugh when I couldn't even keep it in my mouth!

We saw a massive pumpkin and pondered it's fate at the closing of the fair.

In the Agriculture building, we also enjoyed the honey display including a honey sample and asking many questions to a very eager answer-giving honey enthusiast. We saw the largest sunflower head and lots and lots of other stupendous vegetables that weren't quite so large.

The crowds made navigating the fair a bit...slower. Though we still ran into two families we know! We also looked up stats and discovered that the MN State Fair is 3rd largest in the nation and 1st for average daily attendance. Go Midwest! :-)

Our second to last stop, prior to parting ways was the swine barn. We stopped a friendly soul and requested a picture in front of a random cut-of-pork diagram. We were sad to see that the largest pig had left the fair early, but we picked up some pig ears for Abraham and Abigail and watched a bit of the youngest division of swine herders...for which there must be a better name. Amusing though to watch 5 year old kids being judged, along with their pigs, as they try to keep their pigs in the middle of the ring and hold eye-contact with the judges.

By the end of the day, we had sore feet and full tummies. We enjoyed the Deep fried Minneapple pie with cinnamon and vanilla ice cream, cheese curds (x2), the San Felipe Carnitas Asian Fusion taco, caramel apple sundae with ice cream and peanuts, roasted corn on the cob, french fries, deep fried breaded cookie dough (enjoy in that it was good to try and never again!), Sweet Martha's cookies, and all you can drink milk as well as two fresh squeezed lemonade stops. All in all, a delicious day spent in wonderful company. :-)

Swing Set

2011-08-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday dreams came true for Abraham and Abigail. Nathaniel and his dad, Bob, constructed a swing set for the kids in the back yard. Here they are post-hardware store trip getting started.

Abraham was living it up working with the guys and would say things like, "Abigail, just the boys are going to lift this part up." He's my little man!

He was a good little helper (as was Abigail ;-) ) and even got to try his hand at using the real drill to put in some screws.

He really loved using his tools to help build the swing set.

And took it all very seriously. :-)

Abraham and Abigail were forced into stopping a moment for a picture with Daddy and Grandpa.

We acquired the slide almost 2 years ago from our neighbors across the alley. It has been used that whole time, but it was just resting on the edge of the fence. Earlier this spring they gave us 4 swings and so we decided it was time to build a swing set. Abraham and Abigail are loving it...and my arms are getting a good work out from pushing them!

Health and Wellness Here Abouts

2011-08-21T15:57:00.000-05:00

Abraham and I both had doctor visits this past week. I saw my OB and had an ultrasound on Wednesday to check Sweetie Pie's growth. She's a little thing!! Her measurements put her in the 34th percentile considering the 29 weeks and 0 days gestation. My doctor is not the least bit concerned at this point, even though Abraham and Abigail were on the completely opposite side of the charts. Maybe this little girl won't come early like our first two.

Regarding the "why" of her little-ness, two possibilities were put forth: since I'm now on an insulin pump for my diabetes, I'm achieving much tighter control and she's not gaining as quickly (good!!) or since I've been diabetic longer, there is a placental insufficiency and she is not getting proper nourishment leading to intrauterine growth restriction. She is also in breech position, which she's likely to flip from in the coming weeks. Pray with us that Sweetie Pie continues to grow well and that all other factors (heart rate, movement, head to body ratios, etc.) all accurately reflect her health.

Next week I see my endocrinologist and then 2 weeks after that, I begin my twice-weekly doctor visits, which include two NST's per week, and one BPP per week, with an OB visit every other week on the NST/BPP day.

Scheduling those today was really comical. I had a headache and I was so confused...even though it's the same thing I did with Abraham and Abigail's pregnancies, I had so much more brain power back then to keep things straight!

Abraham had his 4 year well-child checkup on Thursday morning. I know that he doesn't like shots, and doctor equals shots, so I didn't tell him where we were going...at first. After he asked "Where are we going?" for the 40th time, I caved and told him. He was apprehensive, but not readily anxious.

He did super great following all the directions the nurse gave him, getting on the scale, checking height against the wall, having a blood pressure check, a hearing check and a vision screening. I was happy that he was so cooperative as he sometimes gets very nervous to do things like that he's never done before.

He was a goof ball when our doctor came in, but that's always the case. We really appreciate our doctor's bedside manner with the kids--he's great.

Abraham also made me proud when the doctor asked him what his favorite vegetable was and he couldn't decide between zucchini, carrots or broccoli! :-)

He's a tall skinny guy coming out at 97% height-for-age, 84% weight-for-age, and 34% weight-for-height.

He did end up getting shots (I really, truly thought he wasn't going to get any this time...poor guy) and though he screamed quite loudly, he was very brave and scored not one, but two, stickers (plus one for his sister!). He had a low-grade fever and limped around for 2 days following his shots, but is now back to full capacity!

And now, Abraham and Abigail are both done at the doctor (as patients anyway...Lord willing) until July! Yay!

Happy 2nd Birthday Abigail!!

2011-08-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

July 30 marked Abigail's 2 year birthday! We love being Abigail's parents and are constantly praising God for our little girl. She's such a sweet, fun-loving girl.

July 31, 2009--the day after she was born

1 year old Abigail...at her time of birth...9:03 pm

We had a party for Abraham and Abigail, as well as their cousin, James (who turned 5 this July), in the evening on the day. It was very warm, but the kids that came had a blast!!! We had the party at our favorite park in the area--it has two play areas as well as a wading pool and the ever-important bathroom! :-)

Here are some pictures from the party (not much from earlier in the day as Abigail is pretty much oblivious to the fact that it is her birthday and I was doing lots of preparatory work).

The July Birthday Trio -- youngest to oldest--the best I could get!

Families of the honored guests

Happy Birthday dear Abigail!

Abraham's turn!

I made Spiderman cupcakes for Abraham and girlie flower cupcakes for Abigail

Party food!! This girl knows how to eat!

Abigail playing balloon toss with her friend Isabelle

Noah, Abraham, James and Nathaniel cooling off in the wading pool.

I think she likes us! :-)

With Grandma and Grandpa Melling...the kids were a bit partied out...

Attempting a "time of birth" picture...she wasn't too thrilled

Happy birthday to our dear, sweet daughter. We pray that you live your life for Jesus in all that you do and come to know Him soon!

Baby Update - 26 Weeks and 1 day

2011-07-28T22:59:00.000-05:00

Self Belly Portrait

Here you go, Rachel!! :-) You asked for it...you got it!

I'm feeling well and baby is doing great according to modern medicine and all that that implies. I have more energy, but my sleep is something that is not too reliable...I could be exhausted and stay awake in bed for hours, or feel not a drop sleepy and sleep like a rock. Dangerous! As is coffee...

Sweetie Pie, according to Baby Center is the size of an English Hothouse Cucumber...I bet she feels like that in this hot and humid weather we've been having. :-)

Sweetie Pie's out-of-utero name has not been decided upon, but we just may end up with a whole lot of A's in this family, though I never wanted to try for such a thing.

Nathaniel has been able to feel her move a lot more. She's a force to be reckoned with and will do well with a big brother like Abraham and a big sister like Abigail, though as we've seen, personality is something unique to each individual child. We're getting so excited to meet her and know her. We praise God for my and her health up to this point and pray that it would continue.

So that's us...baby-story wise. :-)

Happy 4th Birthday Abraham!!

2011-07-26T23:47:00.000-05:00

Abraham at zero...more like one week...resting with Daddy

At exactly 1 year old!

My smiley boy...almost 2!

Cake on his 3rd birthday

He is FOUR!!!

Our boy, Abraham, turned four on July 22nd! He is such a blessing! We love him to pieces!

I really truly cannot believe that I'm the mother of a 4 year old. It causes one to step back and reflect on the brevity of childhood and life (I remember 4 like it was yesterday!) and how much we need and should be focusing our attentions to life after this one. I pray every day for Abraham to love Jesus more than anything. I need to pray more. Join me?

I'm up right now making cupcakes for the kids birthday party that will be happening on Saturday. My sleep these days is so wonky it's not even funny. So why lay in bed and try to sleep when I can work on cupcakes!?! :-)

Here are some pictures that will make you smile...

Last night as a three year old

Breakfast of blueberry pancakes

Visit to the Children's Museum wouldn't be complete without getting to play mail man!

A special treat...because it's your birthday!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Abraham!

Making the boy smile at approximately 8:49 pm...time of birth!

With Grandpa and Grandma Andersen

With Grandma Melling (we missed you Grandpa!)


The whole family...awwww...

Dream Job

2011-06-22T21:09:00.000-05:00

I have this dream of one day, escaping for a summer with our family (when the kids are elementary-aged or a little older) and manning a lighthouse.

Photo Source

Nathaniel could work remotely since most of it is on the computer. We'd bring all kind of great books, our Bibles, music, games, puzzles and journals and soak in time together with family in God's beautiful creation. We could get up early and watch the sunrise or sleep in late, relaxing with the sound of ocean waves.

We could have fires along the shore after it got cool and dark and cozy up with blankets and coffee. We'd bring our bikes and use that as our mode of transportation because of course there would be a quaint little town nearby with a market and a little cafe.

And think of a storm from a lighthouse! It'd be adventurous and exhilarating! I like storms so it seems that way anyhow. ;-)

Oh and I guess there would be the manning of the lighthouse responsibility too. I'm not even sure what that entails or if it's a dream that could come true, but doesn't it sound lovely?!

Book Review: Departures by Robin Jones Gunn

2011-06-16T15:12:00.000-05:00

Departures is a double feature that includes two novellas. The first, titled Now Boarding at Gate 10, is about Christy Miller's summer vacation just after her graduation from high school. The second, In the Event of a Water Landing, is a summer vacation story of 15-year old Sierra Jensen.

I enjoyed reading the Christy Miller section because I read the series when I was younger. It was just the way I remember the books--entertaining, Christy-centric, and fluffy. In this particular novella, she joins her family on a trip to her old home town in Wisconsin to celebrate her grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. She crosses paths with people (and a boy, go figure) from her past and knows herself better at the end of the trip.

Reading the Sierra Jensen section made me want to read the Sierra Jensen series...almost. :-) She's a spunky 15-year old who takes a trip with her friend and friend's family to the family's cabin. She encounters the typical clashing with her friend as they find themselves in closer proximity than normal. They find that their perspective on things (cough, boys/boyfriends/dating, cough) differs, but Sierra decides that she's great with holding off on the dating scene until future notice and maturely enjoys the rest of her trip.

If you have any connection to either series, I'd say you might as well read the book--it's fun and easy reading. If you're thinking of starting on either of the series, I'd just go right to the series then read this once you're done. If you fit in neither of the above listed categories, skip it. Both girl's are Christians and that's good. I like the incorporation of Sierra's faith in the book better than in the Christy story. If you're looking for a good option for non-secular fluff fiction for a pre-teen/teen girl, this is it!

This book is part of the Blogging for Books program. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for an unbiased review.

We're having a...

2011-06-09T12:21:00.000-05:00

Baby's Profile - Circle below chin is cross-section of arm

Sweet...

Little...

Baby...

Girl!!! :-)

Abraham says the we should call her "Sweetie", which is her official in-utero name until we pick her name. Girl names are more difficult than boy names so it could be a while.

In addition to finding out Sweetie's gender, we found out that by every indication, she is perfectly healthy and growing well for her projected due date of November 2. We praise God and pray for continued health for the newest member of our family!

This one's for May!

2011-05-30T12:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Memorial Day!

Not to be redundant or anything, but time moves so quickly! (I'm pretty sure I say this all the time...hmmm...)

Here's a family update for May since I was too busy doing other things to post:

Baby

~Doing well, pumping blood, and moving.
~Inciting lengthy name conversations.
~Baby is causing excitement among the ranks regarding his or her (to be clarified early June at level 2 ultrasound) arrival.
~Being greeted regularly by Daddy, brother and sister.

Abigail

~Never to be outdone by her older brother, she recklessly engages in her play.
~She is nearly completely healed from scratches resulting from two falls off of moving yard toys that occurred within 3 days of each other this month.
~She can talk. She can duplicate nearly any word and adding a few new words to her vocabulary every day. Even without all the words she communicates very clearly.
~She is in the beginning stages of potty training as every time she wets her diaper, she requests a change...it's getting to be expensive.

Abraham

~Loves to be outside. As in can't be outside enough. Eagerly awaiting camping this summer.
~He has started a more regular chore routine for an allowance...we're still ironing out some kinks in the system.
~Loves to read. Requests to be read to all day long. He also enjoys writing letters (the correspondence kind) and drawing pictures and is quite prolific. I need to figure out a better paper sorting system and how much to keep.
~He is our little planner:
"Where are we going today, Mom? Maybe we could go to the Children's Museum and eat lunch there." "Sure, Abraham, sounds like a plan."

Nathaniel

~He is enjoying his job and engaging well with the challenges that come with it.
~He is playing Frisbee occasionally with guys from work.
~He is handling his wife's crazy pregnancy emotions with gentleness and patience. He's impressing his wife.
~He's super studly.

Lisa

~Feeling better, but not completely nausea-free. Sleep is still massively important to a good day...like in the realm of 11 - 12 hours in a 24 hour period.
~Managing diabetes, by God's grace, extremely well...and as a result having the least Pregnancy & Diabetes Clinic appointments in the history of my pregnancies.
~Machine quilted Abraham's jeans quilt this weekend using my dad's upholstery machine.
~Enjoying being Mommy to these adorable kids and continually amused with their antics.
~Loving the blessing of Nathaniel as my husband and praising God for his goodness in making us a family.

That's kind of incomplete as each day is so unique with it's own challenges and joys. I've been taking some pictures, so maybe I can put some of those up in the next week or so. I also completed another blogging for books read so I'll be reviewing that soon. Tootles!

Friday ~ Oh what a day!

2011-04-30T22:55:00.000-05:00

I woke up at 3:30 am on Friday morning--without an alarm. It happens a lot of mornings...my blood sugar seems to get low around then or I'm thirsty or have to use the loo or I'm burning hot or some other random event awakes me. This last Friday, I didn't try too hard to get back to sleep before I packed myself up in the 'ole VW and headed to Mom and Dad's. :-) And they didn't know I was coming.

I knocked once, but I didn't want to do more than that because 5:00 ish am is really early to be knocking on doors in a condo building. So, I just used my key. I think I scared my parents a little, but they're fun-loving people and welcomed me in. Why did I go to my parents, you wonder...? Well, it's a lot more fun to watch a royal wedding with one's Mom than alone at one's computer and because they have a TV that actually gets TV...we should look into that some day. :-)

The happy couple. Photo: Tom Stoddart / Getty Images

My Mom treated me like royalty and made me a little breakfast complete with Earl Gray tea. We enjoyed watching the wedding festivities and commenting on the hats, music, pomp and circumstance. I was thoroughly impressed with the message given by the Bishop of London. Here is a link to the text or you can google it and try to find the video of it (hint, hint: 3rd one down)...then it comes with the super duper accents. :-)

I got home in time to help get the kids to the car and drive Nathaniel to work. The kids and I then came home and had more breakfast before heading to the park for the morning.

When we got back from the park, I gave the kids a snack of raisins. Abigail was sitting on my lap. At one point, she put a raisin on her upper lip and smeared it in the run of her runny nose. I said, "Ishy" and gently pulled her hand away as I asked Abraham to go and grab me a tissue for Abigail's nose. By the time I was done asking the question and Abraham had retrieved said tissue, I had let go of Abigail's hand. I went to wipe her runny nose, but she was slightly panicked as she had inserted the raisin into her nose!!

Abigail having a less eventful snack

I ~~freaked out~~ tried to stay calm and looked for a tweezers as I could see the raisin just out of reach. I couldn't find one, so I tried having her blow her nose. Even when it's just snot, half the time she breaths in before blowing out, so it was a risk and, indeed, the raisin was sucked further up her nose. Then I got really worried imagining this raisin stuck way up in her sinuses and swelling to the size of a grape!

I called Nathaniel and he suggested the baby snot sucker. We hung up with one another and I went to find the bulb dealy. I found it, but I only tried it once before I realized that it wasn't going to be a strong enough suction for the raisin and I didn't want to push it further up (though it was out of sight since she had sucked it in...). I called my parents and we reviewed possible solutions with nothing successful. Then Nathaniel called back referencing an article he had found online suggesting that I blow into her mouth and it would get the raisin out. To me, that sounded like Internet rubbish, so I said, "I'm taking her to the emergency room."

I was so tired from having gotten up so early that I made it into much more of an emergency than it was. I was crying and laughing then crying again. Abraham came to the rescue to lighten the mood. Right before we walked out the door of our house, Abraham said, "De de de de de de de...Busytown Action News: Abigail has a raisin in her nose!!" I nearly wet my pants laughing.

We had a wonderful 3 hour long visit to the ER. Thankfully my Mom came to help occupy Abraham (and bring me my house keys, which I thought I had locked inside the house only to find in my purse after she was already on her way).

In the end, the PA that was helping us verbally coached me through the very process that Nathaniel had described from the online article. I had to do it twice...the first time, only snot came out (all over my face) and with a second blow into my bewildered little girl's mouth, the raisin shot out at me! It was quite gross! Relatively anit-climactic for my very first visit to the ER as a parent!

After the raisin came out, Abigail perked right up (she had been very pensive, afraid of the doctors/nurses/other patients, and cuddly up until then). She even did a little happy dance! Priceless! Which brings up a thought, you could save yourself a lot of money and trouble if you just remember that little trick for removing foreign objects from the nose of a child who is unable to give a strong blow to their own nose! :-)

So, I began my day with a royal wedding and ended my day by blowing a snotty raisin out of my daughter's nose...quite the contrast!

Quotable Quote from Abraham

2011-04-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

Today as we were driving past a fire truck in the grocery store parking lot, Abraham said,

"Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to have a lot of jackets and a lot of trucks."

Book Review: God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren

2011-04-25T20:44:00.000-05:00

I've got this thing for books. We're busting at the seams with them, but I keep acquiring more. When they're free, I can't resist! :-) I stumbled upon another publisher that gives free books in exchange for an honest review on a blog. I signed up with Blogging for Books through WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers and requested the book God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren, illustrated by Laura J. Bryant.

This is a story of bedtime where an inquisitive little polar bear questions where she came from and with every answer given by her mother, questions further as young children are known to do. It always comes back to the reason "God gave us you!"

The book is beautifully illustrated. It is a cuddly, tuck-in-bed book. My favorite line is, "Every night I prayed for you, my special child. I prayed that your bones would be straight and your heart would be strong. But most of all, I prayed that someday you would love God." Makes me teary as this is my greatest desire for my children.

As I mentioned above, this book is part of the Blogging for Books program. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for an unbiased review.

Dreaming

2011-04-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

Currently, Abraham is up in his bed, snoozing away. Thanks to his conversation with Dad just prior to dozing off, we know what he's dreaming about too:

"Dad, make sure you tell Mom about how we're going to build a treehouse and I'm going to dream about it!" --Abraham in his adorable 3.75 year old excitment-induced stuttering voice

I had to run some errands at a store that closes early, so I headed out before the kids were in bed. Nathaniel tucked them in and told me this story when I got back.

Abraham's imagination is running these days! He spends long (LONG) periods of time playing with his toys (I remember a time when I didn't think he'd ever like toys...), making them act out scenes of daring adventure. It is a ton of fun eaves-dropping. I love my little man! I hope we can fulfill his dreams of a tree house...or a fort considering the lack of tree hosue trees in our yard.

Okay, here goes!

2011-04-15T22:51:00.000-05:00

Today, I am 11 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I said in my last post that I'd rant and rave about this pregnancy, but very quickly after I wrote that (as in when I inserted the "not really") I realized how very much I am thankful for this pregnancy and baby and all the trials that go with it.

I've prayed and cried with three families who have lost babies in the last 2 months (people who I know, but mostly follow via the Internet). I would never want to sound flippant about trials in a pregnancy that they would gladly be experiencing. I think losing a baby no matter the age or gestation would be the hardest thing to come to terms with.

In addition to the normal need to tighten up control of my diabetes during pregnancy (and the tweaking of pump settings and scary lows and frustrating highs that go along with achieving that), the biggest thing that is making this pregnancy difficult and different from the last two is that what was "morning sickness" for the last two is more like "sickness" this time around. Up until I saw my doctor and received a prescription for anti-nausea medication, I was tied to the couch. If I moved too much, I had to make sure a container was near (I actually only threw up once, but the nausea was intense!).

I'm figuring out how to make the medicine work for me and I've been feeling a lot better the past two weeks, with a couple of off days thrown in to keep things interesting. I've also been extremely tired, but not sleeping well.

IMPRESSION:

1. Singleton, viable, intrauterine pregnancy.

2. Ultrasound EDD is 11/2/2011 with a gestational age of 9 weeks 0 days.

3. Left corpus luteum cyst.

(These were the notes the doctor posted regarding the ultrasound, which I thought were cool and interesting, thus they appear here on my blog.)

Another element that was creating a bit of stress was that in one test performed by my endocrinologist, my thyroid was shown to be slightly under active. I was retested two weeks after the initial number and thankfully, my thyroid has appeared to normalize. It wouldn't have been terrible to have to be on thyroid hormone supplements, but it would have been an additional thing on my plate.

More attention to my diabetes management, perpetual morning sickness, tiredness, random possible problems and keeping track of Abraham and Abigail have made this the most eventful pregnancy to date. :-)

I've been to the doctor 3 times for this pregnancy already and all looks healthy for baby. Praise God!! If you happen to think of it, pray that I would retain good control of my blood sugars and that I'd come out of this nausea as I exit the first trimester.

We are thankful to God for blessing us with another child. We are excited to find out if we're having a boy or a girl (in June). It seems to make the actual due date (November 2, 2011) more approachable. Nine months seems like a long time to wait, but then again, so much happens in those nine months, that it isn't that surprising. And I'm glad that it's not 22 months like elephants. Seems that I diverge a lot these days...I need to be done. :-)

It's been days...

2011-04-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

...and I've had the same song stuck in my head the whole time. I don't mind it at all. Abraham said tonight as I was getting dinner ready: "I really like it when you sing that bonnie banks part." I'm treasuring these days with my kids and their unaffected admiration of my singing! :-)

Any guesses as to the song?

No? Okay, I'll tell. It's called Loch Lomond.

I'm having quite the time trying to find a good link to include to direct my readers to the song. I've settled on the hulu movie where I originally heard the song and I'm just attempting to find the time to select. Here we go: 34:50. So follow this link and then you'll probably have to watch a couple commercials to select that far (35:50) into the movie without watching it. Or you could be a dork like me and watch the whole movie.

Lastly, I'm planning on purchasing the song from iTunes, but I can't decide on which version I want since there are so many. I'm sure this version isn't too authentic with it's rock music background. I think I'll end up getting the pub version. :-) It's fun and peppy.

So that's my story for the week. Someday, I'm going to rant and rave (not really) about how crazy this pregnancy is compared to being pregnant the last two times. Nite!

Ramblings

2011-03-27T23:46:00.000-05:00

Our Internet has been sketchy over the past month because of water in our line, but now, the issue has been thoroughly resolved and hopefully I'll get back to posting with some regularity.

Nathaniel and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary at the beginning of March with a grand 2 day getaway. We stayed in a bed and breakfast, went skiing, had fondue, and spent a solid chunk of time together just enjoying the company. :-) We are very blessed and so very much in love!

We found out just prior to our anniversary trip that we are expecting baby numero 3 sometime late October/early November. It is just as exciting the third time around!! :-) I've been feeling the most nauseous of all three pregnancies so far. Hopefully it will resolve quickly!

Abraham and Abigail occasionally play together quietly together upstairs. I know that they play with their toys sometimes, but I just found out tonight, as I uploaded the pictures from my camera, that that is not all they do. Here are two pictures of Abigail, compliments of Abraham:

Whoa!!! Good thing Abigail is a good climber! Did I really let that happen?!!? I promise you she did not get hurt. I've spotted her doing this too many times apparently. But really, why would we even think she'd get into predicaments like that when she is soooo sweet and cuddly, as seen below:

That girlie pie loves her daddy. I love how she's mushing her cheek into Nathaniel's shoulder.

Abraham and Daddy are learning how to play Super Mario Bros. on the Wii. Abraham is grateful that he's able to put Mario (he prefers Mario and Daddy is Luigi) into a bubble and pass any level with Daddy's help.

We lost a dear sister in Christ and small group member this past week. Bridget bravely battled her third recurrance of cancer, but passed away last Sunday after the cancer took an aggressive turn. We attended her funeral on Saturday and were blessed to hear her testimony of faith retold by so many who knew her. She was such a caring and energetic woman who is now in the presence of her Maker and completely well. Praise God!

I guess I don't really know if there is much else to update. I'm pretty wiped out from the nausea and tiredness these days so our excursions have been minimal (and usually mandatory). In a certain way, I feel bad for Abraham and Abigail when I'm not feeling well enough to venture out, but I know too that it is good for them to exercise their creative muscles and enjoy playing with the many toys, games and books they have been blessed with, not to mention one another! I'm excited to see them playing together more and more.

I'm headed to my first OB appointment bright and early tomorrow, so I think that will do for an update.

Adventures in Booga Booga Land Vol. 1 by Richard Milner

2011-03-27T22:44:00.001-05:00

No, I'm not trying out a new name for our blog. Adventures in Booga Booga Land: Vol. 1 by Richard Milner is a DVD published by Tommy Nelson and we received a complimentary copy from the publisher through BookSneeze in exchange for an unbiased review! Check out the link if you’re interested.

Adventures in Booga Booga Land: Vol. 1 is a collection of three parables of Jesus acted out by Gerard the giraffe and Marty the monkey for young children. We meet Gerard and Marty in “So this is Booga”, a retelling of the parable of the workers in the vineyard from Matthew 20:1-16. We see right off the bat that Gerard and Marty make a goofy pair. Upon arriving in Booga, Gerard and Marty meet up incidentally and decide to pair up as they pursue jobs in their new town.

The second story on the DVD, “Marty’s Sandcastle”, is a retelling of the parable of the wise and foolish builders from Matthew 7:24-27. In this episode, Gerard and Marty decide that they need a place to stay in Booga and opt to build their houses. After taking a woodworking class from Mr. Goodsaw, they each build a house, but only one house is solid enough to survive the elements.

The final episode, “No Light in the Lighthouse”, is a retelling of the parable of the lamp under the bowl from Matthew 5:14-16. Gerard and Marty take on the responsibility of building a lighthouse for Booga Bay and witness the consequences of their irresponsibility of letting their light go out.

We enjoyed this DVD’s catchy music (which you can hear if you visit Booga Booga Land online) and goofy characters, but overall this was not a great selection for us. The animation was a bit choppy, which fits well with the slap-stick nature of Gerard and Marty’s antics, but isn’t enjoyable for us to watch.

Most importantly, I felt that the stories, though they did depict the parables, lacked the explanation of the parables that Jesus himself provided in the referenced passages . This is a good, neutral option for a funny children’s DVD, but I wouldn’t say that it teaches any moral or biblical lessons due to its lack of clarity in relating directly to the Bible passages it sets out to teach. So, I probably wouldn’t recommend it as there are already a lot of neutral selections available for young children.

update from the phone

2011-03-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

our internet has been out for about a week now so i've not done too much online...too hard to type accurately.

nathaniel and i had a nice getaway, but we were very excited to reunite with our youngins on saturday.

we are expecting baby number three sometime end of october and it is completely not a secret.

so this is not working too well...my alt and caps keys are not working. i guess that is all i get to update for now.

i have trouble following what i am writing when i do not capitalize my sentences. smiley face

more on the fifteenth...when our usi wireless appt happens.

A Week in Review with Pictures

2011-02-27T23:05:00.000-06:00

Abraham made his first loaf of bread.

We played outside. I discovered that using Abigail's blanket as a scarf for her increases her endurance for being out in the cold.

Abraham hosted a friend for a whole day and overnight. End result: "Mom, I miss Asher."

Meet the newest member of our small group: Levi Andrew

Welcome!

Partial small group shot

"Just give me the camera."

Happy Birthday Nathaniel!!

2011-02-20T22:10:00.000-06:00

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Nathaniel! Happy birthday to you!!"

"Many happy returns on the day of thy birth, may sunshine and gladness be given. And may the dear Father prepare thee on earth for a beautiful birthday in heaven!!"

(Such is the way our "happy birthday" song is concluded...since I can remember. The tradition comes from my Dad's side of the family, but I couldn't find who originally wrote the poem when I looked online.)

Here is my dear husband on his birthday watching "learn the harmonica" youtube videos with his excited son. He is such a good daddy. I'm grateful for him!

I baked this cake and it turned out to be delicious if I do say so myself!

As of yesterday, Nathaniel and I are the same age again! :-) He says that I robbed the cradle, but really, the cradle robbed me. I'm down with that.

Abraham, Abigail and I had a lovely week planning how we'd celebrate Daddy. We decided on Tuesday that we'd buy him a fishing pole and did on Thursday. Daddy had to work late on Tuesday and he got home just as I was leaving the bedroom from tucking in the kids. He went in and gave them kisses and hugs and prayed with them. When he came down, he knew what he was getting for his birthday! One of the first things Abraham whispered to him was, "We bought you a fishing reel!"

On Saturday, we let Daddy sleep in, but we had hid his wrapped fishing pole, gummy worms, fishing hooks, bobbers, and beef jerky under the bed. When he woke up, we asked him if his bed felt bumpy and told him that he should go and check under his bed. Abraham made him about 6 birthday cards!

We spent the early afternoon picking up the house and the late afternoon helping my parents move furniture out of the condo. We all, us, Mom, Dad, Pete, Jess and Oliver, had dinner at a pizza place and then came back to the house for some lime bars. We also worked on a puzzle and played Go!

Today was more relaxed. After church, we planned to have Nathaniel's parents over to watch the kids, then sing and partake of the cake, but because of the snow storm, they were unable to come up. :-( We saved you a piece!! We still were able to take our date thanks to Jason and Ami.

I love my man! Happy Birthday Nathaniel!

Puddle Jumping

2011-02-16T13:23:00.000-06:00

Today, the temps soared and we decided, despite hacking coughs and schnoogery noses, that we would get out and enjoy the warm and sun. Let's see, weather.com says that the temp is 46 degrees. We'll take it!

As a result of our playground, puddle-jumping adventure, Abigail is currently catching some zzzzzzz about an hour earlier than normal. Abraham is here at the computer helping me with the blog post.

Here are some pictures of the rest of our adventure:

We are very excited for the "snow to dry up", as Abraham says. Side story: nearly every night, Abraham prays, "please God give me patience until you dry up all the snow." So we patiently wait for Spring to come and we thank God for giving us glimpses and relatively warm weather until it truly arrives.

I felt a little bad for letting the kids get all wet in the puddles, but that was because the kids at the school, where we found the puddles, were not allowed to go in them. I don't know that I'd want my child to get wet without a change of clothing readily at hand though, so I understand the logic behind rule from the teachers.

Well, Abraham is just finishing his house drawing and now we're going to read. So, tootles for now! :-)

I like him!

2011-02-14T23:07:00.000-06:00

I love him!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Photos by Rebecca Lynn Photography

Yo Tengo Pelo Corto

2011-02-08T21:12:00.001-06:00

I knew that if I used that 50% off coupon and fulfilled my 10 year longing to have pink hair that it would come with some ~~pretty serious~~ implications. Those implications can be seen below. I chopped my hair yesterday...more accurately, I chopped my hair on Sunday night and went in to have it professionally chopped on Monday. :-) I guess I'm living out all my random teeny-bopper hair escapades here in my late 20's. So now, the goal is to grow it out. Having short hair is a lot of work!

I had said that I was going to grow it out before this whole hair cut deal, but as you can see...

...the pink is fading. By getting it cut short, I'm able to better hide the parts of the ~~pink~~ orange/blond that are horribly faded. But I can also put it half up and it looks pretty fun from the front. :-) Also, look! My hair is already grown out about 1 inch! And it hasn't even been 2 months since I dyed it. This is good news people!

Abraham got a hold of my camera earlier today and took this picture. I like it! This is currently his favorite shirt. He makes sure that he wears this shirt at the same time as he wears his red Thomas undies. (Sorry bud! We have to remember these stories for your wedding reception someday!)

He had a fever today, which was pretty sad. He was so very much not himself. At one point, just prior to taking his temp and giving Tylenol, he was lying on the rug in the dining room just moaning that he didn't feel well. He was already perking up by the end of the day, but I sure do hope we can shake these colds!

Abigail is my growing-up-way-to-fast girlie-pie. I took advantage of her daytime bath to capture some cuteness burrito!

Smile Abigail!!

Okay, now I'll take another...smile!!

And if only mommy could correctly aim the camera, let's just do one more together with really big smiles!! :o)

Then I plopped her on the couch to dress her and she thought that was loads of fun. "Mom! You're so crazy!"

Time moves quickly. Quirky picture taking days help to chronicle the blessed craziness that each day holds. I'm glad that I've not become addicted to dying my hair. I'm happy that Abraham enjoys being methodical and that he is feeling better. I'm happy that Abigail is growing well and that she is so much fun...even if she's more of a toddler than a baby burrito these days. Goodnight!

He's Still Around...

2011-02-05T16:38:00.002-06:00

...And building his wardrobe! As usually happens when I work on craft projects for the kids (most of which are still in progress), Abraham informs me that George needs "one" too--in this case, a sweater.

Since the items that I make for George are of a different quality standard, they take a lot less time and well, they actually get finished! George got a new sweater today.

It is made from a lovely merino extra fine wool, viscose, angora rabbit hair blend. :-) There is some zig-zag green stitching around the neck that make for a nice "george-ifying" accent.

Here is the sweater in it's former life (and a young looking, awkward picture of Nathaniel and I):

I asked Abraham if he wanted me to say anything about the sweater and he said, "It's FOR George."

Site Change

2011-02-04T16:00:00.000-06:00

Alternate Titles:

"Can I use my life line?"

"Doing drugs"

Every three days (when I'm following doctor's orders), I change the infusion site for my insulin pump. It goes something like this:

1. Gather my supplies including (clockwise from the top) my pump, insulin vial, infusion set, iv prep wipe, and reservoir.

2. Remove old/empty-ish reservoir and trash it. Rewind the pump...

3. Waiting for confirmation that the pump isn't still attached to my body...nope...ACT!

4. Ready, go! Pump is rewinding.

5. Fill the new reservoir...tap out air bubbles...attach to tubing.

6. Insert reservoir into pump. Prime...fill the tubing with insulin before it is attached to my body.

7. Insert infusion site: wipe skin with prep wipe, insert needle into stomach flab (abundantly available ;-)).

8. Inserted infusion site.

9. Remove needle leaving the cannula in the skin. The infusion site has a sticky back that keeps it on my skin and is now ready to be connected to the pump by the tubing.

10. Connect the tubing and do a fixed prime, which fills the cannula with insulin.

11. Carry on.

:-)

More info can be found at:

Medtronic

Decorative stripes available from:

Skinit

10 Little Tidbits

2011-02-02T16:12:00.003-06:00

1. When your basement floods and the sewer line cleaner guy says, "I can't use the clean out at the bottom of the stack (see above picture), but if you find the main clean out, I can do it," naturally, you look for the main clean out. Sledge hammer and I got on swimmingly and made this nice sized hole in our basement floor (see picture below). We found the sewer line, but the main clean out is probably just under that wall you see on the left side of the picture.

Enter top-rated Angie's List SOS Sewer Cleaning, who found no problem with the bends encountered in the sewer line by going in through the clean out at the bottom of the stack. I'm glad to have a dry basement and I'm okay with the hole as I learned a lot!

2. When putting the kids to bed, sometimes, this happens:

3. I've been enjoying (aka laughing my head off) at Leave it to Beaver season 1 disc 1 rented from Netflix.

4. I've been listening to a lot of Michael Card lately and it floods my memory with images of Denfeld high school and all the concerts that my family attended there when my Mom worked for KDNW. It's weird to remember back to junior high/high school...almost makes one shudder! (not that it was all bad, just so much has changed since then...)

5. If I make a garbled, "surprised" sound, I can get Abigail to belly laugh--SO MUCH FUN!! I know that being crazy in this way will not be appreciated by my children forever, so I'm taking full advantage of it. ;-)

6. I'm trying to finish Abraham's sweater and using www.knittinghelp.com to remember things that I don't remember but need to!

7. Abraham and I are reading The Lighthouse Mystery, a Boxcar Children Mystery. He enjoys it. He's super into letters these days...it's fun to see his own initiation of learning the sounds the letters make.

8. We've been sick and Nathaniel's been on-call, which means that I did the shoveling that was required after this last snow fall. I'm sore all over and I've been pouring tea with honey and lemon down my throat. I sure do appreciate not having that on my regular list of things to do. Thanks deary!

9. Today was bright and sunny and I needed something at Walgreen's so we bundled up and took a walk. I am SO excited for the sun to become a bit more of a fixture. (Abigail in her lobster claws--Abraham and George)

10. I praise God for giving me contentment from day to day and helping me to enjoy the little things in life. He's teaching me that life doesn't always have to be big and grand and exciting for me to have joy. Not that it can't be big, grand and exciting, but occasionally, I fall into thinking that it has to be that way and it doesn't.

Junk Toy Day

2011-01-28T15:44:00.000-06:00

Today is junk toy day at our house:

What you see is the kids playing with our junk toy collection, which is basically every fast food toy, trinket from a fair, my old troll collection, my old fast food toy collection, toys from Daddy's work, and odd ball small toy that I don't know what else to do with that we've ever gotten. I keep them in a huge re-usable shopping bag and occasionally, when the rest of the house is picked up, we take them out and the kids are amused with them for a good hour! :-)

When the hour passes, this is what we have:

And that's why it only happens when the rest of the house is picked up! :-) Then I have the kids help me toss as many as they can gather up back into the shopping bag, stick it back out of reach, and continue to pick up the toys for the next few days. Then, after they've completely forgotten that they exist, we have another junk toy day. I say it's the next best recommendation for fast food toys next to pitching them! :-)

January half way over!

2011-01-18T20:40:00.001-06:00

I should have ended yesterday's post with a question like, "What did you do to commemorate the day?" Maybe next time...

MOMS started up again after a significant break for Christmas. I love MOMS. Today was about organizing our homes. Most of the concepts were familiar to me and some I put to practice, but best of all, the speaker was funny! If there is anything that needs a good dose of humor it's the constant mess that meanders around our house.

I've adapted my devotion plan for the year and I'm feeling quite blessed by the time that I've been able to spend in my Bible. I am using the (wait for it...wait for it...) THREE year Bible study plan in the back of my NASB Inductive Study Bible (Nathaniel's wedding gift to me). The pace is just right, which makes staying on track easier and makes me look forward to reading each day. Praise God!

I'm not probably going to stick with the Women of the Bible devotional. I read through the first two women, Eve and Sarah, and though it was interesting, I felt that for my goal of being in the Word, it was too much extra-biblical reading for my devotion time. I'd like to read the book in the future, but probably just as a leisure reading selection.

I've also been meditating on the Fighter Verses, and that has been quite refreshing. I don't know if I've memorized them, but even just having a focus verse for the week has been good for my brain. I have a track in my brain that I run laps on all day long, so I might as well be running a verse around it instead of some petty thing like the difficulties of grocery shopping with young children in tow and how to avoid it. (They sure are cute though! I love 'em to pieces!)

In all of this staying on trackness, I'm finding that I'm not making as much time for things like keeping track of my phone all day and checking facebook and e-mail repeatedly. All in all, I think that is a good thing. It's always good to break away from those things if they start to become to predominant in my days.

I think I'm coming out of the fog that has been thick and low over my mind for the past few months. I'm starting to see that a lot of what was keeping me there was sin that I had to deal with and have been able to by God's grace. I'm praying for continued refinement as I press on in the roles to which God has called me.

And there you have a genuine update. I'm going to go and pull some turkey meat off of it's carcas and strain some stock now. Nothing like home cooked food to make you talk about a carcas!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2011-01-17T21:52:00.000-06:00

Happy MLK, Jr. Day!

Abraham and I have been doing more "pre-school" type activites while Abigail is napping these days. That's better than him watching the tube the whole time or begging me to let him while I try to do the dishes or some such nonsense. And he really likes it and it's variety for me in my day.

He has officially dubbed his "What Your Preschooler Needs to Know" book "the singin' book" because we mostly sing the songs and maybe read the three little pigs or other fairy tale.

I flipped through today and was pleased to see a whole section about Martin Luther King, Jr. So today, we read it. I don't know if he understood it, but he said the whole name and we practiced saying "I have a dream..." in a booming voice. He also learned what a speech was.

Then I took him to youtube and we watched portions of the Martin Luther King, Jr.'s actual speech. It's pretty amazing to be "homeschooling" in the time of youtube and on a whim be able to see a piece of history like that. Hopefully I won't just use it "on a whim" in the future. :-)

In-N-Out Inger

2011-01-08T09:23:00.001-06:00

(Photo Source, but with slight alteration)

I guess I don't know exactly how I get myself into these predicaments. All I know is that I'm okay and God is with me. We had a very fun week with Inger and now, she's back with her brother Linus (or maybe she's already been sold).

Can I blame it on the fact that as we were buying her the lady said like 8 times, "If you feel for any reason you need to bring her back...please do."?

Can I blame it on the fact that we bought Inger on a Monday night, the last day of a nearly two week vacation for Nathaniel, and I was coping with my disappointment in him going back to work?

Can I blame it on the fact that I had very little conception of the difference between raising a dog in the country and raising a dog in the city?

Sure all of that. But mostly, it just isn't the right time for us to have a dog. I really, really want a dog, even now, but I need to be at a point mentally and spiritually speaking, where my first thought after hearing that my friend with two little children is in the hospital for a burst appendix isn't if only that were me!!! If only I could sleep for 4 days straight and take pain meds!

I reread all of my new year's goals and realized that I was really on to something. My time needs to be devoted to the things that matter the most: God--meeting Him in prayer and in His word, Nathaniel--being a good helper and home keeper for my husband, the kids--being present, not just physically, and shepherding their hearts.

I thought that the puppy would be a good thing that we could all do together, but I quickly realized that my strong-headed 3 year old and my fearless 1 year old were a force to be reckoned with against this innocent little puppy and I was protecting her and yelling at the kids to be gentle a lot.

I knew pretty quickly that it probably wasn't the best decision, but I wanted to have her meet as many people as possible and publish about her on the blog because then maybe I'd have to keep her.

Then on Friday, I was at my wit's end. I was sad about the state of our house, about yelling at the kids, about losing a $100 check, about my headache, about the puppy accidents that were now too numerous to count, about my spiritual health and that I hadn't cracked my Bible open in 3 days, that I hadn't checked my blood sugar all week long, and that I was the person who had gotten this ball rolling and now I wasn't strong enough to keep it on course.

I met with Nathaniel after lunch and we chatted. I told him that I couldn't make the decision and so he did. I left his work and took the kids home to say goodbye to the puppy.

Abraham was very sad, but after being offered McDonald's and the chance to pick out a comic book at the library, he pretty much forgot what a puppy was...

We drove her back to her dog family and the woman who sold her to us was very gracious. She even already had someone lined up to come and see her. She'd have had a good life with us, but she'll do fine with someone else too. And she had a nice little vacation to Minneapolis for a week, so she can brag to her puppy brother about that.

We will, Lord willing, get a dog someday. And probably a beagle--she was so amiable. Oh ya...and we've got dibs on the name Inger. ;-)

Now going forward, I'm praying that God would give me the strength to look to him everyday and not try to make substitutions that might make me feel different in the moment, but are not fulfilling in the eternal scope of things. I know he will meet me as I seek him. I'm grateful that his mercies are new every morning. Praise God for his grace!!

And praise God that returning a dog really *isn't that different than returning a sweater that doesn't fit right...it just seems like it.

*12:05 pm update: Nathaniel read the post and mentioned that it is different that returning a sweater...I know that. We did have a window of time that the breeder said we could try her out. Our return fell within that window. I mentioned this point because it makes me feel like less of a failure, chump, indecisive city-slicker, etc. And to emphasize the point that my family matters more than the adjustment the puppy may have had to go through to be with us for a week then head back home.

Inger

2011-01-06T18:13:00.000-06:00

Meet Inger (Scandinavian and means hero's daughter)

Purebred Beagle

Born October 29, 2010

Weighing in at 9 pounds (probably between 20 and 25 when she's full grown)

She's found her favorite spot

We like her all right!

2011 Goals

2011-01-02T17:55:00.003-06:00

Welcome to 2011! To start off my post about goals for the new year, I thought I'd do another goal update about how last year's goals went.

~~1. Plant a vegetable garden~~ We planted two garden sections...popcorn in one spot and other veggies in another. It didn't turn out too good though. I think it had something to do with the ground up tree that I planted it over. We'll probably do some soil testing if we plant another garden. We enjoyed our CSA though! :-)
2. Read through the Bible: I didn't do it and stopped trying in March maybe.
3. ~~Run a 5k (probably 2): don't walk one step of it and better my time~~: I ended up running 2 5ks AND a half marathon...so check and double check.
4. Memorize Set E Fighter Verses (join us at the Kick-off): Didn't do it--worked on it through Matthew 5 then fizzled.
5. ~~Maintain healthy A1C~~: My last result was 6.4. Up from the previous result, but still within the doctor's desired range.
6. ~~Practice assuming the best~~: I've learned a lot this year and while I'm not considering this "complete" I've made great strides, by God's grace, and hope to continue learning this skill.
7. ~~Read more~~: I completed 13 books in 2010 as opposed to 0 in 2009.
8. Finish: This is another area in which I am learning a lot. It's not crossed off because it's on this year's list too.
9. ~~Blog at least 76 times (beating my 2008 PR of 75)~~: Total blog entries for 2010 (including the blog post that I started in 12/26/10 and published on 1/2/11) = 102

And now (drumroll please) the goals list for 2011:

1. Be in the Word: I mentioned in #2 above that I stopped trying to "read through the Bible" in March, but I continued to be in the Word, mostly by going over Abraham's Sunday school lessons with him, which I'll continue. I'm planning on using two resources to give structure to my devotions this year: a women of the Bible devotional and the fighter verses. The main goal is to spend time in the Bible every single day.

2. Be a good example by speaking and living the word: I pray that God will work through his Word and the Holy Spirit to make me like Jesus in my role as a wife and mother (and daughter and friend). I want to apply the things that I learn, not just learn more or learn things again.

3. Prioritize to make nutritious meals available to my family: I've been lacking motivation for pretty much everything including food related duties. I'm hoping to refresh my motivation to menu plan and shop so that I can provide well-rounded, healthy meals for our family at home.

4. Use my time wisely: This includes playing with the kids, reading together, adventuring and going outside, crafting, personal reading, exercising, and being with Nathaniel. This falls in line with the goal of "finish" from last year. Only take on what I can finish and make certain it's worth an investment of my time. And blog at least one time per month.

5. Random others: work on the house/yard, practice hospitality, get a puppy, practice Spanish, have a baby, play my flute, organize things, print my blog, drink more water, stop eating cereal again, take a lot of pictures, memorize hymns, pray further out, breathe deeply, go to bed on time, enjoy being at home, experiment with new recipes, knit, take walks/run, dream in contentment, kill mice when applicable, swim at every opportunity, invest in my current relationships, cherish my family, and practice thankfulness--to name a few.

I pray God teaches me a lot and keeps me and my family close to him as we go through all that he has in store for us this year.

Here goes nothing!

Christmas Letter 2010!

2010-12-26T16:18:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas! This year has been rapid! In ways, that's good, in other ways, I wish I could stop time.

We're doing great. We are learning more and more each day about what it is to live through the power of the Holy Spirit and to live trusting in Jesus. We are so grateful to God that he has given us Jesus and that is why we celebrate Christmas--because we recognize and praise God for Jesus.

Can you even imagine what it would look like to encounter a perfect human being? And that is what Jesus was (granted fully God as well)--the only human to never sin. It would have been pretty amazing to be alive when Jesus walked the earth in human form.

As a mom, I find myself contemplating Mary's role in Jesus's life more than in my pre-children days. It would have been so hard to be the imperfect parent of a perfect son. Yet, just as with each one of us, God gives grace enough to fulfill the roles and responsibilities to which he has called us.

I praise God for Jesus! I praise God for his Word, the Bible! I praise God that we may approach the throne of grace! God has been teaching me much about himself, especially as I have been less than energetic of late. I'm to trust and press on in faith, but it's not of my own strength, he's provided me with the means to honor and glorify his name! And in my victories to this end, I praise God!

Hebrews 4:14-16

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

(source NIV @ Bible Gateway)

And what would a Christmas letter be without a pictoral review of the months? So, I leave you with some pictures and captions of the copius fun activities we undertook during 2010:

January: Attended Rachel and Luke's wedding

January: Abraham, Yoseph and Abigail bonded for about a month

February: Attended Nate and Angela's wedding

February: Abraham and Daddy hang time

February: Abigail was dedicated

March: Uncle Eric visits

March: Abraham reads to George

March: Lisa and Abigail attended Amy and Ryan's wedding in CO

April: Lisa and Nathaniel overdress for a date to a Timberwolves game

May: Abraham grows his brain

May: Andersen Family Camping trip

June: Burley acquisition and urban exploring

June: Cousin acquisition...I mean Oliver's birthday!

July: Whittemore celebration in Glenwood

July: Abraham and Abigail turn 3 and 1, respectively

August: Jeremiah and Allie get married

August: Adventure to Duluth

August: Family Shot Adventure to Duluth

August: Attended Jake and Esther's Wedding

September: Attended Sam and Martha's wedding

September: Camping in Wisconsin

October: Nerd party!

November: Enjoying the warm fall weather while anticipating snow

November: Abraham reads Great-Grandpa a story

November: Snow arrives!

December: Abraham and Grandpa play Don't Spill the Beans after lefse making

December: Dyed my hair

December: Abraham helps Mommy decorate "gingerman bread" cookies

December: Halls decked = check

December: Women of the Melling Clan

December: Grandkids in their jammies

December: Wild Game date night

Winter Storm

2010-12-14T16:38:00.000-06:00

We've had a snowy winter thus far and last weekend's storm was icing on the cake! I'm just hoping it continues like through through the end of March when I'd like to snow to melt quickly and then flowers and warm weather can show up! Picky, picky, picky...

On Saturday, we bundled the kids up and went walking through the blizzard to have lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Afterall, what's a winter storm without a little adventure thrown in?

I love how people get all jolly and friendly when weather gets in the way of the fast pace that we would normally go about our day.

Once back home, we put the kids for naps and relaxed at home for the afternoon. Nathaniel shoveled on and off all day. We had leftovers for dinner and then made ginger bread man cookies.

I got to help Nathaniel shovel after we put the kids to bed. We dug out the drive way so that we could make it to church this morning. It was a good thing we did because in the morning it was much colder.

Reports say that the total snow fall for our area was 13 inches. After living in the not-so-city and now in the city, I would like to vouch for the fact that 13 inches in the city is much more difficult as there is no place to put all the snow.

And now, pictures:

We just need some snow ants and we'd have ourselves a mighty fine ant farm!!

One of three Ford Taurus wagons belonging to our neighbor almost completely burried in a drift (which they are just now uncovering as I type...good thing they have 3!).

This is the one picture I was able to capture of Abraham throughout the whole blizzard. I thought we were going to have a profile shot, but his hand was too fast!

Abigail is happy to be warming up inside.

Shoveling date night! :-)

We created a narrow pathway to the street.

Our whole house! Doesn't it look inviting?

2010 Christmas Cards

2010-12-12T17:14:00.002-06:00

I've tried to keep our Christmas photo cards and letters to about every other year or so (unless it's digital) just for my own sanity. This is technically my off year, BUT Shutterfly, who I have used for the kids' birthday invitations, is offering a promotion for Christmas cards that I can't pass up!! :o) I'm excited because my favorite Christmas cards to give (and to get) are the ones with pictures!

Shutterfly is a really easy site to navigate. They have a lot of options for layouts of cards and other projects. I've only ever made cards, but they also offer photo books, calendars, photo mugs, and more! I've got it in my mind to make some photo calendars for Nathaniel and myself, but shhhhh, it's a surprise! ;-)

Shutterfly offers a free membership that includes benefits like 50 free 4 x 6 prints when you sign up, unlimited picture storage, secure storage at full resolution, free personalized websites, 100% satisfaction guaranteed, and the ability to pick up your prints at Walgreens, CVS or Target in as little as one hour.

My favorite design in their 2010 Christmas Card Collection is the Family Wall in Red, but then again, there are so many designs and colors to choose from that I'll have to wait and see what pictures work best with what they offer.

Go to their website to find out more!

And for some of my readers, look forward to a photo Christmas card again this year! Thanks Shutterfly!

Tippin' the bottle...or jug rather.

2010-12-04T11:20:00.000-06:00

A near nightly routine in our household involves Mommy taking Abigail upstairs to go to bed & Abraham and Daddy watching Good Eats online. It's a great show that is a mix of science and food.

One recent episode was about ginger. It featured a recipe for ginger ale that Abraham and Nathaniel decided would be a good one to try!

Here they are finely grating the ginger root:

The finished product (and a camera-stubborn Abraham--note red face in the bottom left-hand corner):

Abigail, however, isn't reluctant to have her picture taken...especially if she can sit on the table and hold a huge jug of homemade ginger ale at the same time:

Abigail, still on the table, enjoyed testing her strength in picking up the heavy bottle approximately 1 inch off of the table. And there is my handsome son ("Mom I'm not cute! I'm handsome!").

:-)

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-03T14:38:00.000-06:00

We had a lovely and packed Thanksgiving this year. We started on Wednesday night with pizza at Jer and Allie's place. Thanksgiving morning I made my contributions to the table--2 pies and a wild rice cranberry pecan dish. I took a picture of the pies. They turned out quite nicely even though I was using a crust recipe I hadn't used before. I had forgotten to get shortening and so I perfected my butter pie crust recipe, which was so good! I think I keep using it because it tasted so much better. The pie on the left is squash and the pie on the right is "mystery" pecan pie. Want to hear the mystery? It has cream cheese in it...as if pecan pie weren't bad enough for you all ready, let's pack it with cream cheese!! :-) So yummy!

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Pete and Jess's and so, as the man of the house, Pete carved the turkey. Here he goes: carve, carve, smile, carve...

Our colorful and festive spread. Indeed, we have so much to be thankful for!

I didn't take a ton of pictures because I wasn't in the mood...whatever that means. But here is a cute one of the daddies with the kiddos. I believe there was some tossing going on just prior to the picture.

Friday we took a my side family picture and then most of us headed up north. Unfortunately, for most of the time, my camera and battery were separated. They patched things up during the drive south and though I was still not in a picture taking mood, I got one shot of lefse making, the tradtional Saturday-after-Thanksgiving activity for Nathaniel's side. Here are Abe, Noah and Grandpa wrapping up the rolling.

Random interesting lefse facts that I learned from Jason & Ami's Norwegian exchange student guest of coolness:

~Many (most?) people in Norway buy their lefse in the store (this was J&ANesgoc's first time making homemade lefse)
~Potato lefse, as opposed to hard tack lefse (which the Andersen's make) is used not for sweet things like butter, sugar and cinnamon, but savory options. It is the "bun" of choice for hot dogs and they sometimes each it with sour cream.
~Norwegians know how to roll lefse even if they've never done it before. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Knitted Purse

2010-11-23T10:06:00.000-06:00

I received this yarn at our "green" themed Christmas gift exchange last year from Jeremiah and Allie. I started it in January, but didn't get too far until this fall when it was cool enough (weather-wise) to start knitting again. I made the pattern up, but it's pretty simple. Here is the purse all pinned out to be steam blocked.

Abraham took a picture of me while I was stitching the strap to the body.

The finished product. I'm pleased with it, though I may end up lining the inside of the strap as it stretches way more than I thought it would--even though I made it short, it still ends up too long.

I followed this really great tutorial to make the lining. And Future Girl's tutorial for attaching it to the bag as well. Both were quite helpful.

Oh, and I guess I still have to make a loop to pull the button through, but that's mostly for looks anyway. I'm counting this as done!

Belated Post of Trick-or-Treat at Daddy's Work

2010-11-21T14:32:00.000-06:00

Nathaniel's work has trick-or-treat for the kids of employees on or near Halloween each year. Abraham was a fireman and Abigail was a lady bug. It's always a good way to stock up on some candy for the month of Novemver. On Halloween, we dressed the kids up again. We ate dinner at McDonald's with Gmpa and Gma Andersen and had dessert and coffee at our house with Gmpa and Gma Melling and Pete, Jess & Oliver. Oliver came as Super Man! He was super cute! He was all bulked up because they put his costume on over his coat! Nathaniel and Abraham also visited a couple neighbors on our block that we know. All in all, a fun evening...and who doesn't love candy?!?! :-)

Protected

2010-11-17T13:29:00.000-06:00

Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Proverbs 30:5

My mind is battling to focus on what is true rather than what is false. I'm finding victory and am thanking and praising God for the above verse. I'm feeling protected--joyfully safe in Him.

Cuteness in Jammies

2010-11-03T14:51:00.000-05:00

The Funk...elaboration.

2010-11-03T06:17:00.000-05:00

I ran across a phrase on a blog yesterday that I’m going to borrow to elaborate on my current funk. It describes very well what I'm experiencing right now--"in the weeds." I love the imagery of trucking along and then all of a sudden...not.
Off the path. Stuck in the muck. On the wrong side of the draw bridge. Or the classic...the bog of discouragement from our beloved Pilgrim's Progress. That's where I feel like I am. Different from my previous experience with depression, which was largely circumstantial and related to a misunderstanding/misapplication of God's grace in my life, this seems to have little identifiable/tangible reasoning behind it. And perhaps "it" as I'm speaking of it now is not fully "depression", but feeling markedly down.
And that's the catch, it isn't because of ANYTHING specifically!!! When I think about my days, they're good. Here are a couple of things that frustrate me to no end:
~I'm emotional.
~I'm way too honest...and feel I have to give an answer that exactly describes my mood when asked, "how are you?" (and here I am blogging about all this rigmarole--a term that makes me smile and think of Katie M.)
~When I say that response, I cry 50% of the time.
~FOR NO REASON! (Okay...probably not NO reason, but nothing I can change right this minute.)
I know in my head and in my heart that I am loved by God. That God is good. I know that Jesus saved me. I know that my family loves me. I know that I have friends. I know and love the fact that I am called to be home with my kiddos and point them to Christ. I know that this life is short and time should be used wisely. I know that I am in this season of life for only a short time. I know that my kids are growing fast and I should enjoy every minute with their precious little faces. I know all of these things.
But the past month/month and a half...the days have been dragging...the adventures are slightly monotonous...the sleep is never long enough...the daylight is leaving us...it's getting cold...ugh. I’m just down. And that makes me feel a little guilty.
I've also been getting these monstrous headaches nearly every day and if someone asks me how I'm doing and it happens to be one of those times (50% remember...) when I have to be so brutally honest that it brings me to tears, the headache can turn migraine-y really fast. And then there have been a couple of times where it's just migraine-y for no good reason.
I guess another facet of this slump I’m in is that it bothers me that I am this way. I dislike the fact that I can’t be one of those “always happy” people that supposedly exist. That’s where I end up writhing with frustration that I went and did it again and told people exactly how I was feeling and all they said was, “how are you?” My mom went to a funeral the other day and she said that no one was crying and that it was a little strange, but the daughter of the elderly woman who died was like that…just never really cried much. WHY CAN’T THAT BE ME!!!??!!
Okay. This might confuse you. There are the people who tell me as I’m sobbing uncontrollably, swelling up my eyes all while trying to catch the river of schnooger that pours from my nose, “I love that you cry.” Well I DON’T LIKE IT!!
So now I’m going to try to be a little less sarcastic. I know that people just care about me. And I don’t blame people for not knowing what to say. I know… I know…
I know it all, can’t you tell (woops…that’s a mite sarcastic)?
Which brings me to the point of this post: please pray for me. God is working in my life to make me more like him and this struggle is part of that refinement. I want my satisfaction and happiness in life to come completely from Him. I want to know him more. Pray that this season of “down” wouldn’t be wasted…that I wouldn’t just find myself “up” without having sought the true source of joy.

I thank God for those who reached out to me today…specifically Rachel N., Christine H., Beth D., and Janette T. God is so good to give us community in the body of believers. Thanks for praying. I’ll be back soon with some fun kid posts.

The Funk.

2010-10-27T14:15:00.001-05:00

I've been in a funk recently. I dislike myself and the way my brain works, especially in connection with how I act on my thoughts. As in I know the thing I should do and do not do it. I also dislike my inability to not contain my thoughts, which is why I haven't been blogging and why I'm now done. I'm sorry to those negatively impacted by my wake.

Hiking, Hiking, Hiking, Hiking...

2010-10-13T21:27:00.001-05:00

This song was completely and totally Abraham's composition. In the video when he asks me to sing with him, I'm singing it back just as he did the first time around, before I had gotten the camera out. I cannot tell you how grateful that I am that I got this clip!! It captures Abraham's energy and creativity and imagination perfectly!

This occurred while we were on a family hiking trip at Tettegouche State Park. We got the password...but don't ask us, we won't tell you! :-)

Our hiking trip was right after our delightful camping trip to Holmen, WI, where we camped with our college friends, Rachel and Chet. We've seen them about once a year since we all graduated and though we'd love to hang with them more often, we have a great time at our annual get-together!

Oh and our camping trip/trip to Duluth was at the front end of Nathaniel's 7 day holiday from work!! He took it for my birthday! Not really, but I like to tell myself that.

Okay, so here is how it's been...since I can...

Sept. 13 ~ My last blog post
Sept. 15 ~ Playdate with Cara and kiddos
Sept. 16 ~ Garage sale at Jason and Ami's all day
Sept. 17 ~ Nathaniel begins vacation and we head to Wisconsin
*Sept. 18 ~ Tour around random places in Wisconsin and buy CHEESE!! :-)
*Sept. 19 ~ Hike at Tettegouche, Hang with Dad and Mom & Dinner at the Swamp Sisters prepared by Chef Micah Newman
Sept. 20 ~ Playdate with old friend and her girlies and coffee with a friend from highschool (an appointment from God!!) (oh and my birthday...)
Sept. 21 ~ Dad's birthday and my first time singing on the MOMS Worship Team! :-)
Sept. 22 ~ Nathaniel is still off from work!! Score!
Sept. 23 ~ Eye appointment and the worst/longest lasting eye-dilation I have ever had & small group
Sept. 24 ~ Became members of the MN Children's Museum and went as a family
*Sept. 25 ~ My birthday party!! Apple picking, pie/crisp baking, eating of dinner, eating of pie and watching Little Women
Sept. 26 ~ Host Noah and James for a sleepover with Abraham--whoa!
Sept. 27 ~ Nathaniel's last day of vacation and a day at home
Sept. 28 ~ Toddler Tuesday
Sept. 29 ~ We went to 3 parks
Oct. 1 ~ Abigail's appointment...she had a bug
Oct. 2 ~ Watch Lev
Oct. 3 ~ Church, migraine headache and missing Lauren's baby girl shower!! :-(
*Oct. 4 ~ Lunch with Julie and a trip to a park and Michael's to construct my first autumn wreath & Watching Oliver (our nephew)
Oct. 5 ~ MOMS--I love MOMS!!
Oct. 6 ~ Accidentially run to Nathaniel's work and take the train home with Abraham
Oct. 8 ~ Dinner guests!
Oct. 9 ~ Rake leaves with Anna and hang at home
*Oct. 10 ~ My cousin Aaron's birthday party and a NERD party at my friend Jane's house!! (10.10.10)
Oct. 11 ~ Nathaniel enduring a horrible on-call shift and working until...after 8 pm...one of those days...
Oct. 12 ~ Toddler Tuesday, Caribou (coffee for me and cocoa for Abraham), and the purchase of Abraham's winter coat
*Oct. 13 ~ Adventure with Jess and Oliver in which we journey to Inver Grove Heights in search of pumpkins and find ourselves in Rosemount looking at yarn and playing at a park...but eventually finding the pumpkins we sought & the Adventure Girls Prayer Partner Night (this is my third year of being a prayer partner for a girl and I love doing it!)

And so, that's what's been up. And that's why I haven't been on the computer. I haven't really been reading blogs either. It's a little strange and altogether delightful at the same time. Oh and if there is a *star* by a date above, there is a corresponding picture (or several) below (in chronological order):

Pleased to overwhelm you. Have a great day! Tootles!

Pictorial Update

2010-09-13T16:41:00.000-05:00

Wow! Summer is pretty much gone. I'm excited! I like summer, but I LOVE fall!! In the last burst of summer we kept active:

~Attending Sam (Nathaniel's cousin) and Martha's Wedding up North

~Reaquainting ourselves with family (above and below)

~Visiting Nathaniel's Aunt and Uncle's Organic Dairy farm

~Watching them milk the cows (if you drink Organic Valley Milk, these cows may have moistened your cereal at some point!)

~Assisting with bottle feeding two calves (above and below)

~Letting Abigail scream her head off while sitting on top of an organic dairy cow with Great Uncle Dave so Mommy could take a picture that didn't even show that Abigail was sitting on a cow!!

~Riding on Great Grandpa's tractor and visiting with him

~Relaxing and exploring at Glendalough State Park

~Lunching with David and Melissa and family

~Knitting

~Entertaining dinner guests

~Reading (taking many trips to the library)

~Running

~Keeping house

~Thinking

~Planning the pre-holiday season fall acitivities, including, but not limited to, my birthday party (Nathaniel did the planning I just looked on and smiled about it...)

~Doctoring for Lisa (diabetes'll do that to ya...)

~Starting a study of 1 Peter with small group

~Preparing for another garage sale, this time not at my house (whew!)

~Meeting our new (first!!) niece, Mary Lynn - What a sweetie pie!!

So there you have it. As if I needed to assure you that I do other things when I'm not keeping up on my blog, ha! :-)

A Dream Come True...almost.

2010-09-01T07:45:00.002-05:00

I'm a big fan of amusement park rides. I'll ride anything no matter how high or fast or scary or wet or long or short or...well you get the picture.

For National Night Out, we attended a party in the alley. It was a nice, relaxed time with some neighbors over a bowl of chips and salsa. Just before we left, they said, "Now time for the prizes!" I was curious so we stayed. It turned out that each family got 8 Mystery Tickets to the Mall of America theme park.

Score!

I took Abraham and Abigail during a random weekday and met up with my Mom and my sister-in-law, Jess. We went on a couple of rides, using about half of the tickets. Each ticket had the option of being worth one ride, a day's worth of rides, or a year's worth of rides.

Each one we used that day was worth one ride. I saved the rest because I wanted to share with Nathaniel the enjoyment of seeing los ninos on the rides.

We ~~waited~~ were forced to wait until the day they expired due to our crazy, busy schedule. We really packed it in under the wire, arriving at the park at about 8:30 pm, with my solid conviction of this "only taking a few minutes...".

So on August 25, 2010, we used ticket number 5, for one ride...(more like 2 because we were going on the kiddie rides)...

Ticket number 6 for a couple more rides...

Ticket number 7 for a one more ride as a family...

Ticket number 8 for a whole day's worth of rides..."WAIT!!! There are 93 points left on that ticket?" "Yeah. Have fun using those up in the next 50 minutes...huh-huh."

So I did what any reasonable, responsible mother of a three year old & a one year old and wife of a husband who couldn't care less about amusement park rides (and who was on-call) would do on a Wednesday evening at 9:10 pm...

"FAST!! Let's use these points up! Nathaniel, do you want to get in line with Abraham at the bumper cars and I'll take the ticket and go on the Pepsi Orange Streak and then we'll meet back here and we can go the kiddie roller coaster like four more times..." And on and on...

My dear husband is so gracious. He indulged his insane wife with rides until 10 minutes after the park had closed. We left the park with 66 points left on the ticket, never to be redeemed.

Having one of the mystery tickets be worth a day's worth of rides was a dream come true...almost!

Brain Dump ~ Enjoy!

2010-08-31T21:55:00.002-05:00

~Reading is something that has me really excited right now. Maybe I'll participate in the Fall Into Reading Challenge again at Callapidder Days. Check out the books tab for my most recent reads.

~One read that's been pretty exciting is The Well-Trained Mind. Fall makes me think of starting up school again and I'm a little sad that I'm not in school...so I'm going to think about when I get to school the kids, starting in only a couple short years. This book is a wealth of information. I'm still processing through a lot of what we'll be doing for homeschool, from this and other resources, but I'm glad that I picked up this book.

~Trips to the library are not always as crazy as the one I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. :-) We had a lovely time at el biblioteca today.

~Fall is my favorite season. I love the weather, the colors, school, the smells, and of course, my birthday. :-) I'm nearly 26...is it okay to still LOVE my birthday! I tried to tell Nathaniel that I didn't need a birthday party this year, but let one quick comment from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law convince me that celebrating my birthday with the traditional apple picking/pie-baking festivities should definitly happen.

~Blogs are strange. Women are emotional. Sometimes, I want to be a famous blogger. Sometimes I never want to blog again (doesn't last long as I love writing and blogging is a great outlet for that...). Mostly and most often, I am blogging to chronicle the events of our lives because it's so enjoyable to look back and remember. I have no idea what kind of blog this is, but I've read some strange/negative remarks about "mom blogs" lately. Strange. 'Nuf said. I'm over it.

~Nathaniel has more than a week off in the middle of September. We're taking full advantage of this opportunity. We will be taking a camping trip to Wisconsin with some college friends. We will be dining at the Swamp Sisters (a place my family thought was a witch shop for a LONG time...it was a fun joke...now we've been there and know differently). We will be enjoying fall. We will be TOGETHER!! Woo-hoo!! I love my family!

*This post is part of the Moms' 30-minute blog challenge at Steady Mom*

Pickles and CSA

2010-08-27T12:32:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law, Jessica, and I split a CSA share this summer, alternating weeks to have the full box. A couple of weeks ago, the bonus item was pickling cucumbers and dill. I was later in picking up the box than usual, and so when I got there and saw how many cucumbers were left, I was able to grab a bunch! I also got the recipe from our CSA.

Here's the recipe:

Kosher Dill Pickles

Ingredients:

2 quarts water

3 tablespoons coarse kosher white salt

8-10 pickling cucumbers

5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon pickling spice (see below)

3 bay leaves

¼ cup fresh dill weed

After you've prepared your pickling jars, heat the two quarts of water in a stockpot on the stove. Add the salt and mix it until it is all dissolved. Remove the brine from the heat.

Wash the cucumbers. Slice them into uniform wedges and then cram them into the pickling jars, packing them closely. Add the garlic, pickling spices, bay leaves and fresh dill. Distribute the flavorings evenly between your jars of cucumber slices. Pour brine into each of the pickling jars, on top of the cucumbers and the spices.

Seal up the jars and allow them to sit on the counter for three to six days. When the pickles taste the way you like them, refrigerate them.

Kosher Pickling Spice (you can also buy this at the store)

Ingredients:

½ teaspoon black peppercorns, coarsely crushed

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon allspice berries

¼ teaspoon ground mace

½ teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon

2 bay leaves, crumbled

½ teaspoon whole cloves, broken up

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Heat mustard seeds, coriander seeds, allspice berries and cloves in a small skillet over low heat until you can smell the sweet aroma. Stir the spices occasionally so they do not burn. Mix all of the spices listed above together and use for pickling.

+ + +

I hadn't ever made pickles by myself, so this was fun to try and surprisingly easy. I substituted some ground spices when it called for whole in the recipe, mostly because I was in a hurry, and it actually turned out. We think that they taste quite cinnamon-y, probably because of the ground vs. whole factor.

Do you like my jars? :-) I have an obsessive tendency to save glass jars--just ask Nathaniel! These particular jars are from my favorite kind of peanut butter...Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut butter...and also happen to be my favorite jar. We have about 16 of the jars in our cupboard and use them as our drinking glasses. And yes, I ate most of that peanut butter, but alas, I diverge.

We've really enjoyed our CSA for a number of reasons:

Makes us eat our veggies: you pay up front and receive a TON of vegetables. Once the veggies are paid for and in my fridge, it makes it much easier to consume them!
Exposure to different foods I wouldn't normally buy: kohlrabi, edamame, Swiss chard, different colors of carrots and beans, green garlic, patty pan squash, etc. have all graced our table for the first time this summer.
Fresh and Organic: I don't strictly purchase organic, but I love fresh produce and the fact that it is organic is a nice perk.
Local: It's not actually that local, but it's Midwestern and who doesn't love the Midwest, ya know?

Kohlrabi: isn't God creative?!?!

Have you ever made pickles or other canned/jarred item? Do you have a CSA? What is your favorite vegetable?

Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

2010-08-23T23:14:00.004-05:00

Venom and Song is the second book in the Berinfell Prophecies series, a fantasy series with Christian themes. This is a solid good versus evil tale of seven teenaged Elven lords that were raised human fulfilling their calling to lead their people to freedom from the oppression of the Spider King. Through a series of trials and with the help of their Elven mentors they come to realize the true source of their powers and ultimately, their purpose for being.

I’m generally not a fantasy fan. I’ve not even made it through the Chronicles of Narnia, which is pretty mild, if even at all, fantasy. Once I got into the story of Venom and Song (and gave up trying to find the exact pronunciation of the names and places), however, I really did enjoy the book.

I appreciated the interactions of the teenagers with each other and with their “mentors” the most. Details and battles scenes were quite extensive and I occasionally got bogged down with those sections, almost wanting to just skip over them.

Regarding the spiritual/faith element of the book, it was straightforward and aligned well with my theology. Here is a quote that flushed it out pretty well:

“From the distant stars…to the roots of the mountains, and beyond, to the very heart of this world—it is all a testament to Ellos. He created, he sustains, and he renews. And why? For his good pleasure. You, too, young Elves, are his pleasure.” (p. 124)

It doesn’t give a gospel message, but isn’t a mystical, witchy, magical book that would tempt a reader to dabble in the occult as some of the popular books for this age bracket are speculated to do.

I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a fantasy book without the mysticism of secular options in the same genre. I’m sure that Abraham will love to read it someday! ;-)

*Note: Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Join BookSneeze to participate!*

The Best Kind of Dirty Diaper

2010-08-23T16:44:00.003-05:00

My little Abigail is a daring girl. She's determined to keep up with her brother--with or without her clothing!!

*This post is part of the Moms' 30-minute blog challenge at Steady Mom*

Minneapolis 13.1 Marathon Race Review

2010-08-23T00:07:00.000-05:00

Wahoo!!! I'm done!! I ran a half marathon!!!

And now you know the end of the story. I did indeed finish the race...which matters because not finishing was one of the reasons I was so nervous.

Team World Vision had a pep rally near the start line at 6:15 am this morning. I arrived a little bit late, stayed for part of the rally, then got in the porta-potty line. Oh man...there were SO many people needing to relieve themselves. Comical really...

I found my friend Jane and we headed over to get our picture taken with Team World Vision. The team we formed raised a total of $420 that will go toward World Vision's work in poor communities in Africa, providing clean water, nutritous food, and medical care.

We booked it across a section of the park to meet up with our World Vision Team for a photo opp!

Lori, Lisa, Amy, Jane, Anna

Nathaniel and the kids helped us get to the starting line where I picked the 2:30 finish time goal pace group to run with (mistake!!). Jane, though a MUCH stronger/faster runner than I am, said she'd stick with me. I was so happy she did. It really made it fun.

Sleepy kiddos

The race facilitators yelled some things that I can't remember through a loud speaker and we were all standing in a big mish-mash of people and suddenly, the race began. We slowly walked with the crowd until we crossed the official start line and then began to run.

The pacer for the 2:30 group, which we kept up with for the first 5 miles or so, had everyone do a cheer...

"We've gone 1 mile! How much we got left?!?!"

"12 miles!!"

"Who are we proud of?!?!"

"Us!"

I cheered a couple of times, but it used up too much air. :0) Around mile 4 (?) we saw Jane's mom, Nathaniel and the kids, and my parents.

Jane and Lisa

Who could ask for a better cheering section?

We kept on plugging away. Somewhere between mile 5 and 6 I needed a walk break and we lost the 2:30 pace group. It was a bit too ambitious of me to think I could keep up when I'd never run that fast in training runs, but I was thinking maybe my adrenline would make up for the difference. After 4 days of being naseous from my nerves, my stomach was pretty achey. There were a lot of hills. It was starting to get warm...you know how it goes.

We kept good humor throughout. We made fun comments about the recreational runners, as if they'd already been to the finish line and were now running back to the start...there and back again--a hobbit's tale. Jane read a sign at the bottom of a big hill that said, "Bohemian flats" that I hadn't seen and was confused, thinking that hobbits much be bohemian.

Up and down the hills by the river I had to walk a lot and we took a couple of stretch breaks. I also have no idea how to accurately judge whether I need more water or gatorade...and so I just kept on drinking, but later it was all sloshy in my stomach. Pretty sure there is something such as over-hydrating. :-)

At mile 9, I set a personal record of 1:55:30 for that distance. My previous 9 mile time was around 2:20 (running the whole time...yes. I can run slowly.) As I passed mile 9, I entered uncharted territory as that was my longest run in training. This was a bit rough mentally and I kept feeling the need to walk, which we did a fair bit, but it just seemed like so much longer than 4 miles to the end.

As we approached Lake Nokomis where the finish line was, we had to do an out and back stretch between miles 11 and 12. That was absolutely horrible! It was very bright in the sun. At one point, I suddenly started singing, out loud, "Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please...GO AWAY!" I made some people laugh. That's always good.

It was in the out and back that we also saw some familiar faces...a couple of girls from Northwestern, where Jane and I went to college, and bib #666...dun dun dun. He had been at the World Vision Training run the previous weekend. Jane and I had given him a map. More comic relief in the line of, "Oh no! We gave a map to the devil!" ensued. In the end, we did beat the devil. (wink, wink) Poor guy.

And then...we could see the end. My hip and knee that had been giving me trouble were completely fine, but the other knee and shin started to get really tight. We stopped for a stretch break and to walk just a little bit. We probably ran the last half mile. We saw Jane's mom cheering for us with about a 1/4 mile to go and it put some wind in our sails.

Just a few hundred feet from the finish I spotted my family! I tried to get Abraham to join me to cross the finish line, but he was a bit shy. We finished strong even though our over all time was pretty slow. 2:57:23 later, I finished my first ever half marathon. It was a lot of fun and I would totally do it again.

We got our medals and were corralled through the food tents. I took one of everything (notice my guilty grin)! :-)

We chatted, took pictures, stretched, and then parted ways. Thanks so much, Jane, for sticking with me!! I think I'd have walked from 9 to the end if you weren't with me!

Nathaniel, the kids, and I enjoyed a celebratory lunch at Chili's where I consumed an entire quesadilla explosion salad. It was delicious!

I'm grateful to God that he gave me the strength to press on through the training process and that I was able to finish the race. More than all of that, I'm grateful for the ways that God uses life to teach me more about himself. Praise Him!

Pre-Race Thoughts

2010-08-22T23:08:00.002-05:00

Time got away from me yesterday, so I didn't have time to finish off my pre-race thoughts post before heading to bed. Here they are anyway! Enjoy!

Pre-Race Thoughts

Tomorrow (8/22/10), I am running my first half-marathon! I'm quite nervous for numerous reasons:

~I've never done this before
~I took a 3 1/2 week break during training due to flu/sinus infection/cold
~I attempted to open a door with my knee and now it hurts! (smart...)
~13.1 miles is a long way

I am also super pumped for numerous reasons:

~I've never done this before
~I'm exercising and it feels great
~My team has raised $390 for World Vision's work among needy communities in Africa
~It's something I've wanted to do for a long time

I want to share some thoughts and things I've learned throughout the training process for this half-marathon. I'm so glad that God uses things like this to teach us. Without that element, I wouldn't really want to do it, though it would still be good exercise. :-)

Two key concepts that have been solidified for me while training for this race are discipline/self-control and endurance. They apply both to running and to faith. I had to keep disciplined and exercise self-control to keep up the training plan that I started when I signed up for the race. Elements such as the weather or schedules occasionally tempted me to forgo my assignment for the day, but (for the most part) sticking to the training plan will help me accomplish the end goal.

So it is with our faith except for one huge difference: with my relationship with God, it has eternal significance! I've been called. I am God's child. I am in Him. And in that position, I'm called to do/be/live a certain way. And it's not a rigid set of rules that I'm talking about. I'm not talking about checklists. I'm talking about basics of loving one another, controlling my temper, honoring and respecting my husband, putting others before myself. A heart and attitude that oozes things that are lovely, pure, true, gentle, noble, etc. As in training for a big race, I can't let "the elements" decide for me as to my actions and attitudes and heart condition.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

The second element is endurance. In the training plan that I followed, long runs were on Saturdays. I started with a long run of 4 miles and ended with a 9 mile long run (should've been 10, but I was sick...thus behind). I used to think that I understood what endurance was in the physical sense--I mean come on--I'd run 3 miles before. The half marathon distance of 13.1 miles takes it up to a whole new level. I played mind games with myself. I would talk and pray myself through side aches and lead legs. I learned about myself and how I think by training for this half marathon.

Endurance in relation to my faith is similar. It's not the 5k endurance; it's the half-marathon plus endurance. We are called to press on. We are called to run! And what is to be the source of our endurance? Is it me? Absolutely not! Looking to Jesus we can have the endurance that makes it to the end. He is our example. He is our help. When I'm feeling in my walk with God that I just don't have what it takes, I may as well throw in the towel and be angry, eat too much, be lazy, throw away my time, SIN, I am called to look to Jesus. He is my perfection. He did endure and so will we when he is the source of our endurance.

"Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12: 1-2

So...here goes nothing!!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Andersen!

2010-08-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

~Lighting the unity candle~

~Vows~

~Jeremiah ushering in his parents~

~Allie with her Dad~

~My handsome men~

~The boys with Auntie Anna~

~The family shot~

~We love~

Jeremiah and Allie got married last Saturday. We had a lovely time helping them tie the knot. Nathaniel was the best man; Abraham was the ring bearer. Abigail and I smiled a lot. :-)

My parents were so helpful as they watched Abigail during the ceremony and then took the kids home and put them to bed following the ceremony.

~Hanging in the church nursery~

Nathaniel and I headed to the reception and had a grand old time!

Welcome to the family Allie and congratulations to both of you. We pray that you will seek the Lord together and bring glory to the Lord through your marriage. We love you!

Saginaw

2010-08-16T11:15:00.000-05:00

August 7 - 9 we took a family trip to Saginaw! :-) We went down to Lake Superior on Saturday just to make sure it was still there. We spent some time out on Park Point. It made me think of my grad pictures! :0) The weather was very similar. We headed back to the cars just before it down poured.

On Sunday, I ran a 9 mile square around my parent's house. It was a completely different beast than running through the city. After church, we ate lunch at home and rested a bit. Abraham helped Grandpa mow the lawn (rather a portion of it). For dinner we all headed back down into Duluth and ate at Sir Ben's, which was delicious! If you're ever looking for a casual place to grab something and you're in Duluth, go to Sir Ben's. Following dinner, we spent some time over by Leif Erickson Park and down by the water.

Monday we partook of a leisurely breakfast together. Pete and Jess headed out shortly after breakfast. Mom and I watched the movie Saving Sarah Cain based on the Beverly Lewis book. It was fun and made me think back to the days when I wanted to be a missionary to the Amish! :-)

We helped get everything put back in order at the house and then we caravaned with Dad and Mom until about Hinckley when Nathaniel and I kept on driving to keep the kids asleep. They woke up about 3 blocks from our house. It was a great weekend and we had lovely weather. Even the storm was nice!