End of summer....

Hello ladies! Well, our poor, little blog was feeling neglected and lonely so I thought I'd do a little post to get the momentum going again. Not that I have anything really exciting to add--I know some of you are doing things like moving, building houses and having babies and I'd much rather hear from you!

Our summer has been really nice! I finished up the first round of summer classes and we spent a week in Washington visiting students, co-workers, old friends. It was really nice to be back (the mountain was out every day Scanders!!!) but I don't think I'd ever want to live in Tacoma again. We did get to spend a night in Eugene, OR with Jesse and Ian and that was FABULOUS! I would totally live there.

Otherwise we've been doing the class/low-key summer thang. We'll be moving off campus in 2 weeks and this will mark my 7th move in 6 years...how pathetic is that! But, it'll be a cheaper, quieter, much larger space to live so we're excited. And the potential of getting a DOG is there too! We'll be living with another Luther student so I'm excited to have people around too.

My computer has been in the shop for a MONTH now, so I don't have any fun picture to share yet. Hope you hear from you all soon!

Elizabeth

yikes

Hey dudes-

  I am completely exhausted, but wanted to say this small thing...   we may have bought a home today!!  :)  Our offer was accepted with a few contingencies, and if they all pan out, we will move into a brand new currently being constructed home that we can pick out all of the insides in August.  I am pumped and overwhelmed, but excited.  I also went bowling today with 350 middle schoolers, and then watched Marley and Me during which I cried my eyes out along with the rest of the previously hyper and crazy middle schoolers.  It has been a weird day.  

Love you ladies.  how are all of you?  any news on the festival?  

Jealous of you people who are done with your school year,

  Mandola

freedom, O freedom!

Happy end of the school year! Today I took my last final and my piano students had their recital so I am a VERY free woman! This whole week is filled with lunch/walks/coffe/brunch dates...just the way I like it. I've started spring cleaning (which I actually enjoy) and took 8 bags of stuff to the thrift store today, I find that unbelievable and embarrassing considering that I purged much of our earthly belongings before coming to Luther (just 10 months ago!!). But at least 5 of the bags were stuffed animals, baby books and clothes...so I don't feel so bad :)

Other news: my Dad sold his house in EGF! Its not totally final, but very close. This is great news for him, but it means I need to figure out what to do with the other things I have their--mostly this means my piano. Anyone want to hold on to a baby grand for a few years? I am considering moving it into my living room--which would mean I would have to committ being in this apartment for the next two years (i've been contemplating moving to a pet apartment so we could get a dog)...decisions, decisions. But if I had to decide between a piano or a dog I would definatly chose the one that doesn't shed, bark or poop.

Other news: My Dad's younger brother, my Uncle Joe, is dying of cancer. My dad has been very invovled in the Hospice figuring and all that business--Joe has 4 sons, 2 are older and fairly estranged from him. 2 are at home with his last wife and they are 11 and 8...its been such a rough year in this way for my extended family (and I guess my immediate family too) and I'm so thankful that we're all down in the Cities to lend a hand when needed.

Micaela is doing well, a little uncertain of all the changes happening right now. Our good friend, Rachel, is leaving for the summer so we said good-bye to her last night and Micaela didn't appreciate that at all! I haven't told her yet that a few other Seminary pals (Scanders included) will be gone soon and then Matthew and Anna will move to Louisville, KY so he can go to seminary. We are sad about all of this--why do we have all these faithful people in our lives that just follow God's call to far away places?!?!

Alright, I hope this finds you all with schedules slowing down and some sunshine fun in your futures. Lots of love to you all!

Hey ladies-

   I'll try my best to make it to whichever weekend is decided upon.  I can't promise anything, but you know how much I love to see all of you, so of course I'll do my best!  We'll already be in MN the 2nd weekend.  

   Today I made an appointment with a Mortgage banker.   What?  We are going to look into what kind of shape we are in to buy a house.  A house!  I am excited and scared... and hoping we find out something good.  :)

    Lauren it HUGE (see photo above) and Julia is still a chatterbox.  That is all that is new with us. :)  Oh yeah, I GET TO TEACH ELEMENTARY MUSIC AGAIN NEXT YEAR!   I am pumped if you can't tell.  :)  I'll be 84%, which is a bump up from my 70% this year.  I am a little conflicted about the extra time, but very excited to be back with the little kiddos.  I enjoyed the middle schoolers, but I'm not sure how much they enjoyed me. he he

    We are having beautiful weather and are going to grill for the first time this spring tonight!  Brat burgers.  Yum.  Sauerkraut. Yum.  Mustard.  Yum.  

Love you all!

  p.s.  Sarah, nice narration of the hospital visit!  You are so funny.  

2nd weekend in June

I'm up for most anything the second weekend in June. Of course I'm agreeable to the Cities, but whatever works best for people, I'm flexible.

Festival

LOVE the post about going to the hospital...Elizabeth did have to tell me which parts of the story were true and which were a bit fabricated. I was glad to hear that the hot doctor was true and that he actually said the stuff about putting his hands on your body...how wonderful.

Well, last week Elizabeth and Micaela visited...super fun. But, we were talking about the festival... We think that maybe we should keep it the same weekend as usual (2nd weekend in June), but since Mandy could possibly be around Sunday, maybe we should do it that day. For people without plans the rest of the weekend, we could work up something else, but have the main festivity on Sunday. Thoughts??? As far as a place, it does seem that the cities is the most central location for everyone. Thoughts??

Happy Sunday! Share your thoughts!

My second trip to the ER

Some people find good fortune in their lives. One of mine is that I've only been to the Emergency Room twice and incidentally, they've both been with our beloved Elizabeth. A few weeks ago I received a call from our dear Elizabeth who sounded less than perky on the other end of the phone. "What's up?" I inquired. "Can you take me to the doctor?" I knew it was serious since it was a Sunday afternoon. Upon my arrival to the Damico apartment I found Elizabeth barely able to move because of tremendous pain she was experiencing. While we waited for her dad to arrive (we were both level-headed enough to realize Micaela shouldn't be left alone) we searched for a clinic/hospital to go to. We had enough time to discover which facility ranked well in terms of bedside service, food, and treatment. After weighing all the factors we drove to Fairview Riverside Hospital; I was glad to finally have a legimate reason to use the police lights that I previously purchased when they were selling of Chips memorabilia.



Since Elizabeth was born at Fairview Riverside they had all her information on file but that didn't mean she was excused from giving her symptoms and medical history at least 10 times to the professionals. Later when I reviewed the rankings of the hospitals, I discovered Fairview ranked low on efficiency of files - oh well.



After limited time in the waiting room across from a young girl who had her nose clothespinned shut, we were escorted to a room where Elizabeth was asked to lie in the bed that was directly in the center of the room - a true ER moment which would allow all staff to come rushing in at a moment's notice and get at every angle of her body. Fortunately such drastic measures were not required and the only person who came in was a good-looking resident, Dr. Galvez. After his intial leaving, Elizabeth turned to me and said, "Of course I would get the hot Latino doctor." Contrary to my first ER visit with Elizabeth, the doctors and nurses who assisted us did not provide as many funny comments. However, Dr. Galvez did say, "I'm putting my hands in hot water so that you will like my hands. Hopefully that will make it better." I had all I could do to not keep from busting my own gut in the corner, and fortunately Elizabeth and I could not make eye contact.



By now you may be wondering what kind of symptoms Elizabeth displayed. After describing what had been happening all afternoon and the location of her pain, they were convinced it was her gallbladder. Dr. Galvez said that sometimes he sees sludge - gross! Who wants to know they have sludge in their body?



After another period of waiting the long-haired, straight-talking (and almost equally attractive) doctor burst through the door saying he was the one actually in charge. "So you had one of those good weekend breakfasts and now you're in pain. Did you at least go somewhere good?" he asked. Elizabeth responded, "I went to the Dinkytowner." "So you went somewhere bad? That's not even worth it. If you woulda had coffee that would've taken care of it - try that next time." His comments may sound unsympathetic, but honestly he was funny and seemed to enjoy his job - especially when two funny ladies came in on a Sunday afternoon.



At this point in our ER visit it was determined necessary for an ultrasound to performed on Elizabeth. No, don't go there - Elizabeth was not having a pregnancy ultrasound! Hospital policy seemed to be that transportation of patients was either by bed or an extra wide wheelchair to the ultrasound area. Elizabeth chose the wheelchair option, and as we were escorted to the ultrasound area I'm pretty sure we were being escorted into a danger zone in order to be abandoned. Walking down a windy, unlevel, sterile white hallway past signs which read"Danger, do not enter" I wondered where we were going. The hallways were abandoned; the wheelchair driver said he didn't know where he was going. At this point I was suspicious that we were being led into a place beyond return and began to drop bread crumbs just in case we needed to escape and find our way back on our own.



In the ultrasound waiting room I found the perfect souvenir for Micaela - a Mickey Mouse and gang surgical mask. Hopefully she still has it because with this recent outbreak of the swine flu she may need it. I know the seventh commandment says you shouldn't steal, but in such instances I think it is okay.



After the ultrasound we were instructed to wait in the abandoned hallway for another wheelchair driver. I was glad that I did leave the bread crumbs because it took forever for someone to come and find us - I thought we were maybe left to fend for ourselves.



I must be honest and say at this point I was becoming a little antsy so that when we returned to our room for further waiting I turned on the TV. Since I do not have a TV I thought we could find something good using the hospital cable. I should have known better and when Dr. Galvez came back to report that the ultrasound was clear I couldn't figure out how to the turn the TV. When such a things happens to you, it is best to turn the volume down and pretend like everything is normal. When nurse Nancy arrived I confessed my inability to turn the TV off. Clearly it was a neglected apparatus because it refused to be turned off.

We left the hospital with a painkilling narcotic prescription and headed home. As I commented earlier, this ER visit wasn't nearly as funny as the first one. Maybe it was the absence of Many which made all the difference, or the fact that Elizabeth wasn't nearly as ill as the first experience. Regardless, I'm glad that my ER visits are not frequent and that when I get to go, I get to go with Elizabeth.

June availability

I'm available all weekends in June, except Jun 19-21 - it's family weekend with the extended Andersons and since I organized the weekend it would be poor form if I didn't show up.

June?

Hello friends-first of all, I would just like to say there has been a pathetic showing on the blog. I know people have babies, internships, new jobs, and just life in general to share...come on!

Second, I'm wondering about June. What weekends work for people? I have the same schedule every weekend in June with class until 3pm on Friday and church on Sunday (although maybe I could get a weekend off). The only weekend that will not work for me is June 26-28, but I think that's much later than we would look into.

So--cast your vote! What weekend are we getting together?!?!?!?!?! Even if you just post your available dates and nothing else, that would be good...it will take you 30 seconds...ready....GO! Love you all!

Catching up...

Wow, when you only go on-line like, once every 3 weeks, you miss a lot. I loved reading all the posts (Elizabeth, I know that only you are sophisticated and dignified enough to pull off the "toddler pee on the skirt" look). And, congratulations, Breanna! You have an extremely beautiful little girl! I hope you're enjoying motherhood! It's a wonderful, crazy adventure.

Things are very busy for us here. Addyson is keeping us busy and keeping us laughing. She's just starting to walk, so I've been doing some extra baby-proofing. Baby number 2 is also keeping me on my toes already. I was on a couple of days of bed-rest last week because of some pre-mature contractions, but after a couple of days of rest everything returned to normal.

My family is thankful the flooding in Fargo is under control. My dad was at work for 48 hours at a time during the height of the flood fight. He oversaw quite a few of the dike building projects. Ryan also spent a lot of time sandbagging; his work closed for the week so all employees could sandbag and he spent every day in Fargo or Moorhead for 9-10 hour shifts. The hospital and nursing home I work at took in evacuees from Eventide and MeritCare, so we were very busy as well. Finally, my whole family worked very hard to save my Uncle Jim's home; he lives on highway 75 south of Moorhead, and had water right up to the top of his sandbag dike, which was built to 42 feet. Things went well, though, and he only ended up with a little bit of water in his basement.

Well, I'm off to bed. We've been sleeping an average of 2 hours a night at our house for the past week, because Addy is getting 4 molars at one time. So, I'm going to take advantage of the quiet time while I can. Take care, everyone!

true story.

and now for another episode from "How the hell did I get here?"

Its 10:55am on Palm Sunday and I am doing the quick transfer of Micaela from Sunday School to the family she was going to sit with during worship. Micaela begins doing a sassy dance with her hips (which I proudly think is the start of her salsa career) when she yelps, "Mommy I have to go potty RIGHT NOW!" I pick her up, hussle in the bathroom and get her on the toilet in an impressive 38 seconds. I squat down in front of her to help hold her up and she sends her stream straight out at me! Now, the front of my denim skirt is covered in toddler pee! I yell, "Micaela!" nearly drop her in the toilet while trying to get out of the way and all while scare my poor, sensitive child. Then she chuckles quietly, "I peed on you."

I now have 3 minutes before church starts (we've sacrificed the prelude at this point) and begin the fun work of trying to get the stink out of my skirt and try to not look I just peed myself before walking across the front of the sanctuary to the piano. Luckily the wash of my skirt hid the wet pretty well, but not totally. Nobody said anything...they are all so nice.

a new class

Yesterday I started a new class entitled Worship and Ethics: Political Ethics which will have the overarching question of wondering what about the relationship between citizenship in Christ and citizenship in a nation state. Already I can tell it is going to be good, but the content is going to be powerful that I think I will feel the need to blog about it occasionally. Bear with me.

In our first class we watched a 2005 PBS documentary entitled The Question of Torture. Whoa! Talk about a powerful, disturbing, make your stomach sick and your heart hurt film. The film gave many interviews of people who were in charge of rewriting law that gave the President unprecedented power in times of war as well as exposing Rumsfeld's insistence to get information from 'terrorists' by any means necessary and Alberto Gonzales saying terrorism is an illegitimate act and terrorists shouldn't be guaranteed the rights from the Geneva Conventions Act.

As a person of faith, this is beyond troubling. It even goes beyond disturbing. Yet, how do we convince people that such heinous activities are simply not permissible and certainly not tolerable?

In a 2006 Christianity Today article, David Gushee gives five reasons why torture is always wrong.

1. "Torture violates the dignity of the human being"- Here he cites that all are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:28), and that bodily integrity has been an agreed upon right of all humans.
2. "Torture mistreats the vulnerable and violates the demands of justice"- injustice comes when we dominate the powerless (i.e. prisoners/detainees)
3. "Authorizing torture trusts government too much"-
4. "Torture dehumanizes the torturer"- I find this a highly provocative - in high stress situations does everyone finally have a breaking point?
5. "Torture erodes the character of the nation that tortures"- Here he says that nations have certain things which they can claim as their identity. Some things come and go (certain causes or threats) but one lasting impression is what can be said about the moral identity of a nation. What can be said about the U.S. which has allowed such actions to take place?

So there you have it. A few thoughts. If you want to read the articles that I read this week, here are the sites- neither one of them is very long.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=38136

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301303.html

photojournaling the weekend

Sarah came to visit Elizabeth and I this weekend which was really fun, and I decided that with all the recent picture activity on the blog we should also add to the excitement. Breanna, Karley is so damn cute! I showed the pictures to my mom today, and you can imagine how excited she was. She loves seeing all the pictures of the friends' children.

Anyway, on Friday night, after Sarah was arrived an hour later than expected due to road delays, we drank some red wine which I found to be quite good. It was Beauzeaux {bō-zō}, in case anyone is interested; it's a blend of five different grapes I believe.

Saturday morning came quickly as Sarah S. actually woke up at 7:30 AM! We had to get ready because we decided to go to the Mall of America to see the Easter Bunny, partake in face painting, the petting zoo, and general fun. Daniel, Katie, Isaiah, Matt and Anna joined us as well. While eating lunch our group got bigger because lo and behold Steve and Casey came because they were celebrating the birthday of one of Dustin and Emily Wirths' kids.

After an afternoon of relaxation and viewal of Knotting Hill, we started to think about how we were going to 'live-up' our Saturday night. While deciding where to go, Sarah made a spinach dip which all enjoyed (Note picture of Sarah and I enjoying the dip.)

A trip to Uptown was the answer to our Saturday night destination, and I decided that three glasses of wine before dinner would be a good idea. (Tip: If you know you're going out and don't want to drive, drink enough beforehand so that you are mildly inebriated and don't have to drive. That wasn't my original intent, but it worked:)

The authentic Pancho Villa restaurant was our destination and all who attended (Katie, Elizabeth, Sarah and myself) tried our hand at some Spanish. I tried to convince the waitress that it was supposed to be 2-for-1 margaritas, but she would not oblige. Needless to say we still had a good time. (Note picture below with Elizabeth and Katie having a good time)

Herkimer Pub and Brewery was our next stop in Uptown. Had Breanna been along we definitely would have gone to the Country Bar that was a few doors down, but we decided on the microbrewery. Elizabeth drank her white Russian like she was just coming out of being in the desert for weeks. She noted that drinking quickly through a straw is a good way to become intoxicated quickly. We thanked her for the reminder. I had a medium ale that was way too bitter which resulted in me not completely finishing my beer. (I know, Breanna, that's alcohol abuse.) Nonetheless, we had fun hanging out. (Note all of us having fun hanging out)

Future Roommates?

Breanna- 

  We are all so glad that everything turned out okay.  That must have been scary!  I'm sure your milk will come in soon and everything will get on track.  Karley is soooo cute!  Wow.   We'll be thinking of you as you get used to being a mom.  Its so great, isn't it?  Yet there is also a lot of weird body stuff that nobody ever talks about... :)  Hang in there!! :) 

   I thought it was funny when I saw your pictures today because Lauren has the same brown patterned onesie and of course, the same awesome hat.  So, I thought a posting of Karley's future roommate might be in order. :)

   I hope that everyone else is doing well.  Its hard not to think about Fargo/Moorhead, isn't it?  Annie decided to head home on Thursday night; after all that hard work of sandbaging, she got sort of freaked out by everything.  Turns out they closed campus shortly after she left anyway.  I hope it all holds together up there!  

    Anyway, have a nice weekend everyone!  

Life according to Breanna

Hi again,
So, we knew we were going to be induced on Monday, but we didn't tell anyone until we were on our way to the hospital on Monday morning. By the afternoon, we thought we would have a baby. WRONG! Instead, at about 4p.m. the doctor broke my water, and only then did the actual LABOR start. I was going to tough it out and go without drugs, but when I was checked at about 8p.m. and was told that I was still only dilated to 4, I got upset and felt like this was never going to end. The doctor said it could easily go into all hours of the night and that we should rest. Well, at about 9:30 or so, I decided I would never be able to rest unless I had some drugs. And, I thought as long as I was having drugs, I may as well get the good stuff. So, I had an epidural and it was FABULOUS...within minutes, I felt a lot better. I couldn't feel anything below my waist...weird. Then, since I was more comfortable, it was easier to rest. But, after only about an hour of having the epidural in, the nurse came to check and said...SURPRISE, it is time to push! I couldn't believe it. I had gone from 4-10 in like an hour. CRAZY. After only 40 minutes of pushing, we had our pretty little girl.

But...about a half hour after she was born, I started to feel terrible and the doctor started saying things like, "Get her some oxygen," "Call the blood bank," etc. I had no idea what was going on, but Chris had to take Karley and sit in the corner while all the docs and nurses paid attention to me and not them. It turns out that I had hemorraged...lost lots and lots of blood in a short time. But, they did not have to give me any extra blood, my blood pressure came back up shortly, and things turned out to be just fine. I am sure it was much scarier for Chris than it was for me. The downside of all of this, is that it just makes recovery a little longer since I need to heal myself before I can take care of a baby. So, my milk has not come in yet, which is frustrating.

Otherwise, Chris has been amazing. He hardly left my side while we were at the hospital. I had to make him go get food...he did not want to leave us...cute. He has also been SUPER helpful since he has to help me supplement feedings and stuff he has had to be up each time I get up. Plus, yesterday, he gave me lots of nap time because I needed it!

Overall...life is good. This is a crazy transition, but it is well worth it!
Here are a few new pictures...

Love,
Breanna

It's a GIRL!

Hello friends!
I will just share our exciting news quickly...we had a beautiful baby girl with a ton of hair at 12:31 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24th! Her name is Karley LouAnn (mixture of Glenda and my mom's middle names). We love her a lot and are having fun getting to know her. We just got home today, but I will put up some pictures later. I actually don't have many pictures yet. She was 8 lbs. 2 ounces and 21 inches long. There were some complications after delivery with me, but I am ok now. Fill you in more later.
Love you all!
Breanna

Bummer

I was already to post on one of our member's exciting news until I read Elizabeth's post and said it's not our news to share. Bummer! I guess I can wait until the member is able to share and I won't spill the beans. I guess it gives me all the more time to come up with something good in response to her post.

Unlike Elizabeth, I don't have such exciting news to report. School, school, school. Although in a couple weeks I will find out where my internship will be next year. The group is deciding this week and I've been really antsy to find out. I simply hope I get one of my top three selections in which case I will welcome visitors to either NH, CO, or AZ.

In other news, my mom was awarded a study seminar to Cambridge, England this summer to study the American Civil Rights Movement. I'm really proud of her as it was a competitive program and to be awarded is highly admirable. She thinks I should come over either before or after her seminar to travel with her, so I am heavily considering that.

Alright, I've got to be to work shortly and I'm not even ready. I'm looking forward to Sarah Schreier going to visit this weekend! Yippee!!

stupid red river...

Hello bloggers! Well, I'm frequently checking the EGF newspaper site and the river levels...all I need is incredibly sore muscles and I feel like its 1997 (or 2001) all over again! I can't help but worry about my Dad's house and my beautiful piano that is sitting in it. 1997 flood took the grand piano (Steinway 1924) that my mom left me, and my dad replaced it with the piano that is in his house now. It would be tragic to have that damn river destroy 2 pianos. We'll see! The Grand cities are in much better shape than our beloved F-M area...but this blizzard is not helping things!

On a positive note--MICAELA IS POTTY TRAINING! It started Sunday night with great success, yesterday and today she's been accident free!!!! She was a little late blooming on this development and I started to think it would never happen! But, our recent trip up north and a few too many leaky diapers made us both ready to really commit to it. And I'm glad I didn't push it (too much!) before because its really been no big deal. She even said tonight, "I'm going to go by myself and close the door...because its a private thing" she may have heard that from me :) Micaela also got a hair cut tonight (see picture)

2 other pieces of news--1) April 8th I will become a Damico again! Assuming the judge is nice and grants this...so remember us in your prayers that day! 2) I've decided to attempt to add the Master of Sacred Music onto my studies here! I've been thinking about it all year, and there is a window of opportunity so I'm going to jump through it. I still have to audition and they could turn me down...so its no for sure thing, but it makes me pretty damn excited about next year. Just in case you're wondering-it means being on Luther's campus for the next 2 years, and then I would go to internship.

I'm so thrilled about the newest addition to our clan...however, its not my news to share, so I won't, but I can't not mention it because I'm REALLY EXCITED :)

Ok-I have a 10 minute oral report to prepare for...which is due in 13 hours, which I haven't started. I'm such a good student! Hugs to you all! :)

Awesome video!

I love the video! It made me smile. And, holy cow, does Lauren look like her big sister! It's so hard to believe she's that big already!

I also just wanted to say that even though I don't "blog" very often, I love catching up on what's going on in everyone's lives. It really makes me smile to read what everyone posts, and thank you, everyone for that!

Those of you who are on facebook, I just posted pictures of Addyson's 1st birthday. It's so hard to believe that she's 1 already. It's been the most tiring, exciting, and amazing year of my life!

Have a good night, everyone!

look at this!

beward the ides of March...

Who can name the source of that quote? (Breanna should probably be disqualified from this question). Mid-March--how did THAT happen? We're doing well here, just sticking to the routine and surviving the semester is the goal...so far, so good. I'm heading to Grand Forks next weekend to preach at Calvary, I'm excited to get away and to see my friends up there. We'll also spend a night w/ Daniel and gang in Fargo--I haven't seen Isaiah since December! So, I'll be sure to posts new pics of the kiddos. Micaela is excited because she says "I won't be sad anymore if we go to Isaiah's house and then I won't dream" apparently Isaiah has been in Micaela's dreams a lot. Micaela is also experimenting with funny sayings, these 2 are just from this morning

#1:(as I help her down from a snow bank): Thanks for saving my life Mom. You really saved my life.
#2: (I took her hand as we crossed an icy patch): I really appreciate that Mom, since I've been slipping on the ice all day. I really appreciate that.

Here is something you can all be jealous about! Miss Lindsey is flying into the Twin Cities tonight, so I get to pick her up and then we'll come home to Micaela and Scanders! :) I love a good mini-festival whenever we can make one happen.

So today I was able to share with my Dad about CSAs--Community Supported Agriculture. You probably all know all about this, but I heard about it for the first time while in Mexico. Its a great way to get seasonal produce from LOCAL farmers and support your community. You then also take yourself out of the business for shipping produce all around the world for a lot of $$ and supporting mega-producers that treat employees and the LAND poorly. Here is a great website to check out for more info--no, its not cheap, but everyone I know that is a part of one HIGHLY recommends it, apparently the quality of the produce is hard to compare with what we get at the grocery store. www.localharvest.org

Ok, I'm trying to fight off a little sore throat...so I'm going to crash before the girl wakes up. Breanna-I hope you go into labor soon! :) Hang in there! Eat spicy food and have lots of sex...it didn't actually make Micaela come any sooner, but makes the time go by faster :)

I did it at the right time

So, today I began teaching "Dancing Queen" to my 7th grade choir.  Yes.  They bug me every day about doing music from Mama Mia.  I found Dancing Queen in our files of music, and began teaching it today.    I admit that I really only skimmed through this music before handing it out to the kids, due to lack of time and feeling pretty comfortable with the song.  Lo and behold, as we are jamming this morning, the much loved piano part came up, and UNLIKE in our blog video, I played the "cool" part JUST RIGHT!  :)  I wanted to shout for joy and dance, but my students already think I'm a pretty big dork, so I refrained.  It was fun, though! :)

   

So....the 13th.  Would be super fun!  If I could maybe fit something in on that Sunday??  David and I have already committed to doing the music for Eric, my good friend from camp's wedding, which is on that Saturday.  (I realize the grammar in that sentence is horrid...I don't care) The good news is that it is at camp, so I will be in MN, and possibly able to make it somewhere on Sunday.  Otherwise, I may have to miss the Festival this year! :(  I knew when I told Eric we could play that this was probably going to infringe on the sacred weekend, but he really is one of my best friends from camp--we were PD's together that summer after we graduated, and I couldn't say no.  I'm sorry.  :(   I'm hopeful something will work out!  

Breanna, I have been thinking about you lots!  I hope that you're hanging in there.  It is so weird to know what is coming, isn't it?  I thought that the waiting at the end was the worst!  Although, I must say that it was a little worse the second time because I knew what I was getting into.  The first time you're blissfully unaware and everything is new and exciting, even if it hurts. The epidural saved me this time. :)  It will all be worth it though!! :)  You'll see.  And you'll be a great mom! 

Everyone else, I hope you are well!!  We are surviving here in Green Bay.  We've been trying not to get wrapped up in the drama at our work--both of us.   Long story that I hope will be wrapped up in the next few weeks.  Lauren is growing so fast...you'll have to check our severtsons blog to see her.  She is HUGE.  Tonight at Julia's pre-school-screening appointment, someone (who is around kids a lot!) guessed she was 5 or 6 months old.  Or 3 months.  Close.  :) She is a little chunky, just like her sister was.   :)  Other than being exhausted and wishing I had more time to myself, things are a lot easier now that we have Lauren figured out a little more.  She is a very happy baby when she is fed, which makes life pretty easy.  I still hate going to the grocery store with them both, but I suppose I'll live. :)

Here's to WARMER WEATHER!! :)

Love you guys,

  M.

Good question

Is this when people are going to come to Mankato/Lake Crystal to frolick with some of their friends? There would be beverages offered (both alcoholic and non...), we could grill out on the deck, take a walk around the farms, or check out Minneopa State Park. It sounds like fun to me.

I can't promise anything yet. Between Chris and I we are in two weddings, so depending on when bachelor/bachelorette parties are, we may not be available. But, hopefully we will find these things out soon!

Hope all is good. Hey, I will have a baby by June 13. I will probably have a baby within the next two weeks. CRAZY!

June 13,2009

Can anyone guess why I entitled this post with a specific date? Put your thinking caps on and take a stab at reading my mind! Don't forget to post your guesses. (Sorry Elizabeth, you can't answer because you already know the answer, but creative entries are encouraged.)

aren't you jealous?

Elizabeth and I are sitting next to one another at the library being very studious. Aren't the rest of you jealous? I'm reading about the feminist critique of Genesis 34 (the rape of Dinah) and she's reading about the hymn, "What Wondrous Love is This."

How are the rest of you keeping your brains engaged so they do not turn to mush?

Speechless

I've got nothing for a caption for that picture, and I have looked at it a few times trying to think of something clever. What really was happening? Did you find out some terrible news? Was there something really gross on tv that you couldn't keep your eyes away from?

How is everyone doing? I am doing fine. I just had another shower yesterday in St. James. It was fun. We got a lot more stuff! I still don't feel ready. Looking at some of the stuff made me even more nervous because I don't know what to do with some of the items... I guess I have a few weeks to figure that out.

That is about all around here....how about where you are?

Caption Contest!

I have this funny, great picture from Mandy's house and would like to invite you all to come up with the best caption for it! :)

Thank you Breanna for being the peace-keeper in our midst. Clearly, we need you for playing air piano as well.

Thank you Mandy for putting wieners and my bday greeting all in the same post, it really touched my heart.

he he he :)

Ah yes...back to school

Today it really hit home that I was back at school.  This afternoon, while teaching two kindergarten classes whom my long-term sub obviously let run the show, a young man told me, "Mrs. S! When my brother and I are being sassy, we pull on each other's wieners!"

Enough said.

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!  :)

The Peacekeeper...

Yes, I will play the role of the peacekeeper, especially since Elizabeth is arguing with Sarah...otherwise, I may find myself arguing against Sarah just because it is fun :). I have to agree with Sarah that the snow the other day was nothing of accumulation, therefore, it was not "a lot of snow" as stated by Ms. Damico. However, I do also agree that it is a matter of interpretation, especially if one is not a fan of February snow.

Sarah, you just may see some more snow today/tonight. So, enjoy. Elizabeth, I am sorry for the news about snow.

Life is good here....I am getting rather large. But, I guess this happens.
Enjoy the weekend!
Love,
Breanna

Treatise on the freedom of exaggeration.

"continued efforts to speak the truth"
"as in my nature, I seek to report what is accurate"

As I am sure my fellow Lighthouse occupiers will concur, the above statements are heresy! We know the true nature of Sarah C. Anderson, and while you do truthfully communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ through words and deeds, that is where the truth ends. Our years of co-habitation in the Lighthouse yield countless accounts of lies, fibs, story-telling coming from Sarah, a.k.a, Scanders. The way in which one may measure the amount of snow outside, is a matter of interpretation. I would describe the snow as "a lot of snow" by its mere existence alone, no matter how small the amount. I would like spring to come and therefore, would like all of the snow to go to hell. I do appreciate the art of exaggeration in the spoken word and will continue to use it freely, however, I do not allow this creative gift to muddle my message or truth-telling, but simply enhance my foundational point. Here I stand, I can do none other, God help me.

Let me clarify

I would like to challenge Elizabeth on her statement that we received a lot of snow today. Put frankly, that is simply not true. The exaggeration bug has gotten to Elizabeth, and it needs to be exposed. There is barely enough snow to cover the ground and my wish has NOT come true because there is NOT enough for me to go skiing. In my continued efforts to speak the truth, I wanted to bring to your attention the differing opinions and what is meant by "lots of snow." However, I do agree that the wind continues to blow mightily and make my cheeks hurt when I walk home from the library. Let it not be confused that I am disgruntled with Elizabeth and her weather accounts. But, as is in my nature, I seek to report what is accurate.

winter, again?

I'm sitting here with Micaela in my lap to write hello to you all.

E: Micaela, what would you like to say to our friends?

M: that we want to spend time with you and have music with you and sing and then Hi to them and have dancing music and we have a treat for you! Can we watch the "Julia Show" again (which is what Micaela calls the dancing queen video)

E: No, we're writing to our friends, silly!

Anyways, Sarah got what she wished for...there is lots of snow today and LOTS of wind to go with it, its not very fun to walk around campus today. We are also feeling the busy-ness of a new semester. I have an extra class this time around, so I have to be really disciplined with my time (we all know how good at THAT I am). Otherwise, we're doing ok. Micaela is re-adjusting to full time daycare, so with that comes the full time guilt of being a mom. yuck. The next few months look pretty boring and full of routine--work/school/mommy/work/school/mommy...until May that will be our story. I did decide to just take classes this summer instead of doing the CPE (practical educational piece of the program). So, I'm kind of looking forward to being on campus this summer again and hopefully having lots of weekends away camping/travelling/visiting you fun folk.

Here are 2 pictures...one from Micaela's first skating experience and another from a very early morning with the girls (hence, my beautiful look) at Mandy's house. I was covered in precious pink.

E: Micaela, would you like to say good-bye to our friends?

M: Good-bye to our friends!

E: Do you want to say anything else?

M: No! That's all I get.

We love you all! Hugs!

I want more snow

I want more snow so that I can go cross-country skiing once again. With the recent high temperatures all the good stuff has melted and what is left is greenish-brown grass surrounded by sheets of ice. However, if the snow doesn't fall, I won't be that disappointed because I'm not sure I'll have the time to ski anyway. Second semester started last week with a bang! In addition to getting a feel for all the new classes and I had a couple of interviews for internship and will have three more this week.

Last weekend the community chorus, of which I am part of, gave their concerts in order to raise money for Compatible Technology International. With three concerts we raised $16,500 which will all go directly to the organization. I like this choir because it's a low-key commitment, the musical repertoire is good, the people are friendly, and the hospitality of the church we practice in is remarkable!

I don't have much else to say I guess - I just wanted to say hello to all my blogging friends. I hope you are all doing well.

I love playing the air piano

So, I just watched the video from DePere...how lovely that five wonderful girls got to dance together to a great song and ATTEMPT to play the air piano as well. Looks like fun!

All is going well on the baby front, I think I have a little person who likes to dance too, because it is moving A LOT lately! I hear this is a good thing, so I am happy, but it is getting to be a major pain in the ass as well. This baby is getting big and there is not a lot of room in my belly. In fact, I have to get another ultrasound next week to measure the rate of growth because I am measuring at 36 weeks instead of 34 like I should be. My mom just says, "My babies all cooked faster too...it is probably very normal." Wow, my mom the nurse talking about cooking babies...weird.

Also, my brain is not doing well. Numerous times this week I have forgotten passwords and codes that I normally know like the back of my hand...school login on the computer, cell phone voicemail code, etc. Wow. Scary.

But, we need to find something to eat at our house before we go to some more baby classes...fun, fun, fun.

Love you all!
Breanna

Dancing Queens

What fun!

Elizabeth and Micaela are on their way home from the frozen tundra of Green Bay, but they were here for the past two days and we had such a great time!!   It was wonderful to have someone else here to talk to.  And, I took a shower without any worries about what my girls were doing!  Nice! :)

We hope that you all are having a nice time in the "warm" weather!  Have a splendid weekend!

On Whining

So Mandy - I just read your post about Julia's new interest in whining, and I had to share a little advice. I'm NOT AN EXPERT - this sort of works for us thoug - it was actually super dad Kevin's idea....and so far so good. My Marie is the whiner in the family - and it's terribly ANNOYING! To the point where you want to hit your head against the wall....for fun.

Say she wants milk, and instead of asking "milk please mommy?" It's more like.....MMMIIILLLKKK!!!!!!! ...at the top of a whiny icky voice. Kevin started saying - Marie, stop whining and ask nicely. So she would start by just saying "please" - thinking that would do the trick. But he makes her ask word for word in a nice way. It used to take two or three tries to get her to ask nicely - bot now we've got it down to a look and maybe a "please don't whine". Then she composes her cute little self, holds the tears for just one second and nicely says "milk please, mommy?"

Like I said, I'm not an expert - this works for that one child. Who knows how it will go with Grace....they're all different - and it IS a phase! Ella did it - and now she's got "being nice to get what you want" down to a T!!! Good luck!!

P.S.S....No, I suck!

So the funniest little thing happened on Saturday. Schreier was at my house and she said "the other day I was reading the blog...." and I went - OMG! I seriously haven't checked this thing out for like 6 months - and I'm not sure why! I think I forgot about it completely - need to have my head examined! Yikes!

Anyhow - life in the Backstrom house is good. Kevin is keeping busy with his "truck building" - he's taking 4 junk pickups and making it into 1 junk pickup - yes, we live East of Erhard in Redneck Township! He enjoys getting greasy and can't wait to have a "custom" truck he can give to Ella when she's old enough to drive! He says she's already old enough to "rap the pipes", a good little pasttime they shared together last summer! I'm busy with work and homelife - sometimes wondering what exactly my purpose is besides work and cleaning this house. I'm ready to go on strike - hey, if your clothes don't quite make it to the hamper, they might not quite make it to the washer. Two can play this game!! : )

Ella, she is getting so big! She's proudle "five and one quarter" right now, in preschool and loving it! She loves art projects, she's a little mathmetician and the biggest drama queen I've met! It may have something to do with having two little sisters who only need to open they screamers to get what they want! I may be a little guilty! : )

Marie is the talker in the family - and the story teller! Two and a half years old now! The other day she told Kevin she lost a tooth and when he asked her where it was, she opened her mouth, pointed inside and told him she put it back. Today she told me a dog bit her - which I'm 900% sure didn't happen. (I actually was bit by a dog today - scary thing! My right arm is numb from the thumb to my elbow - a little weird feeling and i'm hoping it will be better by morn!! - it wasn't our dog "black dog Merle Mason backstrom" blackie for short - it was our friends dog.)

Ok, back on track....Gracie (1 1/2) - whoa - where did she come from! she's got this personality that I can't quite get a grip on. She's so funny - but the funniest thing about her is how funny she THINKS she is - and the way she laughs at herself. She's talking up a storm and can tell us all sorts of things with the 20 words she does say. She likes to scream at the top of her lungs to get her point across and when I give her "the look" she says .... "please?" Huh,.....

Anyway - I've attached some pictures of the girs - they were taken back in September - so they've changed just a bit since then!

but anyway - I'm glad I checked this out - I learned all sorts of things- like all the babies that are here and on the way! I'm so out of touch with everyone - and it's no-ones fault but my own! It sounds though like everyone is well, and for that I am glad! Things here are great too - may this greeting find you well and best wishes for a Fabulous February! WE SURVIVED JANUARY!!!!

Love you all - miss you too!!

Amanda

P.S. I suck

I'm sorry that I couldn't for the LIFE of me figure out how to get that link to post as a link!! I could post links 'til I'm blue in the face at work every day..but apparently not on here! Maybe it's just that by this time of the day, my brain has already shut off. :) So..sorry that you'll have to copy and paste my link (unlike Scanders, who is apparently WWWAAYYY smarter than me! ;) Love you.

Day by Day

Hi girls. I absolutely LOVE being able to jump on here and read everyone else's stories..it makes me jealous that I don't really have any to tell! :) My days are much the same..go to work (where at least I enjoy my job now - so THAT's a good thing!), come home, and try to find something to do with my "alone" time. I am in such a different place in my life than I was before..and sometimes that just brings me down. Not that things are bad..not at all..in all actuality, they're just fine...I just know that I can also tell you girls how I am TRULY feeling, and that even if that isn't always good, it's still ok because you all love me no matter what. That is a very nice feeling. I find myself trying to put on the strong face most of the time (and for the most part succeeding)..sometimes I just get tired of it and I just want to be sad. Not that I have any more right to be sad than anyone else..it is sometimes just therapeutic for me. Wow..this is turning out to be a really depressing post and I didn't mean for it to be that way at all!! Please know that I really am doing ok..I'm just lonely sometimes.

Work itself is going well..if you check out this link, you can find an interview that the Argus Leader (Sioux Falls' newspaper) did with me recently..for some reason they picked ME of all people to feature on the front page of their Business section. Crazy!
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20090119/BUSINESS/901190304/1003/business
It was also very nerve-racking because I had to be prepped and coached before the interview about things I could say, things I couldn't talk about, etc. Ahh..corporate America. :)


Anywho...
EDam - I am so damn proud of you for changing your and Micaela's last name...and you know what? It's ok that you didn't do it during the divorce settlement - if you weren't ready, you weren't ready. And that's OK. Now you know for sure that you are and you won't have any regrets about it or wonder how things might have been if you'd kept his last name. Mandola - goodness gracious, you ARE a crazy lady..but such a WONDERFUL crazy lady..I admire you soo much for what you're doing with those girls. Thanks for making me laugh with your pee/puke stories! :) Breanna - I'm totally up for margaritas with you whenever you are!! Or, Elizabeth and I can babysit while YOU drink enough margaritas for all of us! And Scanders, I am expecting you to join in on the margarita drinking, even if you aren't using affect and effect correctly. lol Seriously that cracked me up.

Does anyone feel like heading to Sioux Falls anytime soon? Or having a visitor? I have a couple of busy weekends coming up, but would LOVE to be able to make some visits in the next few weekends following..let me know if you are available!!

I will talk to you all soon. Thanks so much for letting me vent on here and for letting me be honest about the way I am feeling. I love you all very much.

SS

activities

It's fun to hear about people's different activities...growing bellies, growing smells, growing ideas, etc. The last couple of days I've spent thinking about the choices we make in our lives and how that effects not only our lives but the lives of others. At this point I'm not ready to give you the particulars on what has made me be a bit more introspective in this manner, but it's been food for thought. On a generic level, how does my tone of voice affect my niece's response, how do my food choices affect my global neighbors, how does my vote in an election matter, how does sharing part of myself affect someone else, and the list could go on and on. Clearly Hollywood directors have capitalized on this similar notion and made it into best-selling movies like "Pay It Forward." However, I think Hollywood has some of the same downfalls as the Bible. People go to movies in order to enjoy themselves, escape reality, or something of the like but frequently leave knowing that the couple doesn't live happily ever after and that what they just saw on the screen is not applicable to their lives. Unfortunately people think of the Bible the same way. For instance, tomorrow's assigned reading for my class is 1 Corinthians 11 where Paul is speaking about the necessity of women being veiled and all these other rules which don't seem to apply today. In looking at the social context in the first century (when the letter was written) it makes more sense, but does it translate to 21st United States? I clarify by saying the United States because there are two students in my class from different countries in Africa and they add invaluable stories from their home countries which simply don't translate to the lives most of us experience. For instance, Barson works in several churches in Madagascar which are at least 25 miles apart and his mode of transportation are his legs. He doesn't have a car or a bike; he walks. If he were to expect a United States person to do the same thing, he would simply be met with strange looks. How do his choices affect him and the people around him?

Overall my month of January has been the least eventful of the latest posts. I've been to several movies (highly unusual for me), read some good and not-so-good books, hung out with Katherine, gone cross-country skiing, enjoyed some beer with a professor, started rehearsing with my new favorite choir (www.globalharmonychorus.org), and have enjoyed taking one class focusing on the apostle Paul.

Hopefully some of my ramblings have made sense - like the rest of the posts, it's a glimpse of what's going in our lives. And Breanna (or anyone else) if I have misused the word affect/effect, too bad! There was a string of days I was sick in the 5th grade and that probably when I missed that grammatical lesson, just like in the 8th grade when I missed the first day on clouds in science class and was confused since that day forward.

One more thing: I have a musical recommendation for all of you, it's MPR's Radio Heartland. Here's the website in order to listen online (free!)http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/radio_heartland/ Or if you have a digital radio you can go that route too, but I absolutely love this mix of music!

sorry Breanna, my pictures are not a true representation of the trip since we were only allowed to use our cameras during personal times (so to not exploit the people we were visiting). That was really the only fun drink I consumed on the trip, although there were a few cervezas fria had en la noche.

We did have an appointed photographer at each site, so I hope to get those pics soon to share with you. And then yes, I will hold your baby and tell you all about Mexico while you have a yummy drink! :) Hang in there dear!

Yummy margarita...

Why must you post pictures of such delicious, alcoholic beverages? That looks too tasty.
Maybe in a couple months we can talk more about Mexico over margaritas.

January...

We're back home! And so happy about that! When I signed up for the trip I thought 2 weeks was so short, but add to it travelling to a different country, 12 strangers, intense learning topics, 1 Mexico roommate that I would have like to leave in Mexico and 2 weeks begins to feel like a VERY long time! Micaela had a great time with Grandma Andrea and Grandpa Greggie in EGF. She refused to talk to me on the phone, which I understand, it maybe made it easier to just not even hear her voice. And Andrea emailed me lots of pictures and updates with what they were doing each day. Micaela even got to go to an UND Hockey game, and as you know, hockey isn't my favorite sport in the world (especially UND hockey) so I've endured listening to all sorts of stories about the game like, "Souix that don't listen go to the penalty box." We've had a lovely long weekend to get re-aquainted and do our favorite things at home like cook, read, play "I'm the mama and you're the honey (she means baby, but its too cute to correct).

I'm not totally ready to process what I learned and took from the time in Mexico-how its shaped the way I think about my personal path of ministry, how I view the role of the church, the role of government, how change is brought about....so I won't just yet :)

So, 3 weeks until school starts up again! I have a few projects to complete
1) Change mine and Micaela's last name to Damico. I've been thinking about it for awhile and took the first big step today. Its really $$, but I think its worth it. I'm such an idiot for not doing it in the divorce settlement, I just wasn't ready yet.
2) I'm looking into becoming a car-less household. Since the accident I haven't felt any peace about getting this new car. The seminary is on a bunch of great bus lines so I'm thinking of no car for the next year and a half. We'll see...
3) Setting up CPE (the pastoral care practical piece of seminary) to hopefully be done this summer.
And other random things like working out, planning ahead for church, maybe finding ways to spend more time with a very kind guitarist....:)

Today at Micaela's daycare they watched the swearing in of Obama and Biden (what a GREAT day!) and Micaela's interpretation was that Barack Obama is going to give us a present (then I explained he is going to BE President...she didn't like that translation as much).

I agree with Breanna-Mandy you must demand a break for coffee, shopping, pedicure...whatever! I often wonder how people with more than one do it, you are strong and amazing, even when you smell like puke and pee!

Much love to you all!

Elizabeth and Micaela

Big Belly...

Hello ladies!
Mandy...your post makes me nervous. But, I am glad to hear that things are starting to settle into normal life again. If I lived by you, I would bring you over a cup of hot chocolate (that is what I am drinking instead of coffee these days) and give you a little break. Or, I would ask David to let me steal you away for an hour or two to just hang out. You deserve a break.
Did the rest of you know how nice Mandy is??? She mailed me some maternity shirts that made my day, because now I don't have to wear the same outfits each week. I started to feel like Monday was always the black shirt with the wool-looking pants, Tuesday was the green shirt with black pants, you get the picture. So, I was VERY thankful!
School has been fine. Last week we did not have one normal day of school...one snow day, one too cold to survive day, and three late starts! Woo Hoo! That made me happy. However, this week it has been very hard to get up and get back to normal.
Happy Inauguration Day!
Love you all!
Breanna
p.s. Mandy wanted to see these pics...the rest of you have probably already seen them, but I suppose I can add them to the blog for posterity.

Thoughts on being a mom of two kids

Well, I have been spending the past 7 weeks at home with my newly expanded family.  These weeks have by far been the most challenging and interesting of my life.  In some ways, the weeks have gone by rather quickly; sleep deprivation makes things go by in a fog. :)  In other ways, the weeks have gone very slowly.  I feel as if I am starting to come out of the abyss, however, which feels good!  Lauren is starting to have a sort of schedule, and finally is getting up only one and sometimes two times a night.  Just two weeks ago, she was greeting me and my boobs three times a night!  This makes for a crabby wife and mom, which made me feel sad!  :(

So, it turns out life is pretty easy with only one child, especially when they can feed themself, pee and poop on their own, and sleep through the night.  Adding a new child into this mix certainly makes things a lot more CRAZY!!!  Things that were previously easy, like bedtime, making meals, going to the grocery store, and dealing with tantrums are now 10 times more complicated.   For example, last week, I attempted to bring both girls on a shopping trip to Target and Joann Fabrics.  As we are getting ready to leave, Julia is mysteriously quiet, and as I find her, she is standing on the stairs, looking guilty, and standing in a puddle of pee.  (so, ignore previously stated claim that my child could pee on her own).  So, we head up the stairs to get cleaned up and changed.  Then, the carpet needs to be sprayed and cleaned up.  All while Lauren is hysterically crying because she is HUNGRY!  FEED ME!  After that mess, Lauren was fed, and I started the car (because it of course, is not going to get above zero on this day, but I NEED to get out of the house, so we're dealing).  As I am getting Lauren in her carseat, she decides to projectile spit-up all over me and herself and the carpet and her carseat.  Car is on, gas is wasting away... Okay.  I'm getting the hint that we should not leave the house.  After cleaning all of THAT up, and resigning myself to that fact that, yes, I will go out in public smelling like rotten milk and pee, without make-up and in the same sweats I wore yesterday because my jeans don't fit yet, we made it in the car.  After arriving at Target, I learn that it is not easy to have a toddler and a baby in an infant seat and a cart to push.  Fun little riding places hooked to carts for toddlers are great, but do not accommodate an infant seat.  So, we navigated Target with Julia where she usually sits, and Lauren in the cart, with the things we needed stuffed in every little cranny we could find.  At Joann Fabrics, the seating order is switched, with Julia in the cart, of course digging through and exploring every thing that is put into the cart, so that when we check out, some things are missing.  As in, they must have fallen out of the cart various places around the store.  At this point I don't care.  I'll go back another day BY MYSELF to get this job done.  Holy cow.

Today I attempted the grocery store with both kids, and got well designed cart with a car in the front, and the place for the infant seat my me.  Perfect.  EXCEPT ITS LIKE DRIVING A FREAKING SEMI!  It does not turn well, and I feel like I have to turn every corner extremely carefully as to not knock down the wonderfully placed wine displays the Piggly Wiggly seems to have all over.  

Okay, granted that these are the first trips of both kind that I've made, and things are bound to get better, but wow.  This is a bit more complex than I imagined.

On the fun side of things, Lauren is starting to smile!  If you go to our blog (severtsons.blogspot.com), you can watch a little video of her smiling.  It might not seem that great to you, but man, once that smile hits, this thing that has been taking up all of your sleep and making you feel like a greasy, saggy lady suddenly seems like a person that loves you!  It is miraculous and comes at a much needed time. :)  Julia is doing a great job being a big sister, but has unfortunately entered a very unattractive and extremely annoying whining phase.  It is really making us crazy.  Any ideas?  :)

I hope that all of you are doing well!!  I can't believe this is the first post of the new year on this wonderful little blog.  Where is everyone?  :)  Elizabeth, are you back??  We need to hear about your trip!!  How is Sioux Falls, Sarah?  Breanna, how is the belly?  Everyone else--how are you? 

Thanks for letting me vent my craziness to you all.  I do feel like I'm coming out of a funk, which I think is due to getting more sleep.  Thank God for that.  Literally. :)

I love you guys!!

If you get to see the Inagural Parade tomorrow, look for Scott K.'s band!  Yeah! :)

Love,

  The crazy lady Mandy

  

Bring in the new year!

Good-bye 2008, its been quite the year! I've been thinking back on 2008 all day and what I dream about for 2009...honestly, for the first time in a long time, I would like the coming year to resemble the year we're leaving! Here is my highlight list...

1)We had the big adventure of coming to Seminary, which has been a very insightful-God led-exhausting-inspiring adventure and I'd like to stay on it for awhile.

2)Micaela has been mostly healthy, except for the recent behavioral-pattern of arguing with EVERYTHING I say...that must be a virus, hope she gets over it quickly.

3)I've had lots of mini-adventures with my rock-star friends (camping, road-trips, train-trips, theatre, church music)

4) gained a really fantastic sister-in-law

5) Have 2 jobs that I really enjoy, one of which has brought us a new and loving church community and the other brings the funniest damn group of people I've ever (that's the music studio)

6) Through some very significant conversations and experiences at the seminary I've learned A LOT about myself and how to process my past experiences and hopefully stay on a healthy path for myself and my daughter

I don't really like just doing high-lights, because I don't think that's very sincere...so,

1) Lost 2 great-aunts who left quite the legacy of loving thier families

2) Lost an infant niece, Abigail, born too soon

3) Still have days when single-mother hood and the lonliness that comes with it is enough to make me want to jump out the window (don't worry, I live on the ground floor)

2009 is starting off with a grand adventure to mexico city! I leave Friday and will gone for 14 days. Right now I feel really nervous about leaving Micaela and not really sure what to expect once I'm in Mexico, but I know once I'm on the plane, I'll be excited. I'm praying for more self-discovery, another year of good health of all my loved ones, many many many more adventures and opportunities to see all of you! Much love and peace to us all in 2009!

Fun Day

Hello all!
I hope you all had great holiday celebrations with friends and family. I have had a pretty laid back break so far, which has been really nice. Today I had some visitors up here in Lake Crystal- Elizabeth, Micaela, and Sarah came to see me. We had some lunch, chatted, walked around outside for like 5 minutes, played with Play-Doh, and played some Yahtzee. We documented some of the days events with my new digital camera (a Christmas present from the in-laws). Enjoy!

Christmas

One week of vacation is already passed, but I find myself pleased without the amount of relaxation I've been able to maintain throughout the break. I spent all of Christmas with Katherine and the rest of my family. Even though she's gets in her fussy stages, she was a lot of fun to play with. I think I even taught her how to say the word, 'dog.' Here are some photos from Christmas Eve.