Whew!

I've survived Christmas! It was a close one this year-and I'm glad to have a couple of quiet days to regroup. For some reason it was harder to work on during the Holiday-probably because Micaela is old enough to be excited about it and I didn't want to miss fun activities like cookie decorating....oh, well!

So, I'm really sad to not be seeing any of you this Holiday season and I've been thinking about some alternative ideas....let me know what you think about this thoughts:

1. We get a couple of extended stay rooms in the Twin Cities for a weekend in Feb-March. Its easy to have kids there and more room than your average hotel room. My Dad and I did this for an Oct. wedding and it was affordable and really nice (full kitchen, pool). I bet with advance planning we could find a weekend that would work!

2. Do Bible camps rent out cabins/rooms during the winter? Would Luther Crest or GLBC (?) have some options for us? Maybe alumns could pull some strings?

3. You all trek up to EGF to stay at the Damico family resort :)

Lindsey and I are traveling to WI in a couple weeks to see Mandy :) maybe that could be a 4th option for anyone that wants to join us (if that's okay with Mandy....guess I shouldn't invite a party to someone else's house....he he he)

Well, I'm going to knit and watch a movie tonight---another hot Friday night! :) Love you all!

Elizabeth

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone....
Well, we were going to get together on Saturday night/ Sunday morning. However, that is probably not going to work for people. So, maybe we should just call it off for now and wait until all people can get together.
What do you think?
Elizabeth has to work on Sunday and I haven't heard from Mandy yet.
Let me know.
Love,
Breanna

I would be available any of those days. Christmas with the Becthold family has been scheduled for the 23rd, which is when we will be in Walker, so that weekend is free. I also got a Christmas card from my grandma that says "Have your friends decided if they are meeting here? Fine with me :)"
How cute is she. I would like to see her anyway since we are not going to be able to make it to Osakis for Christmas this year :(.
Or, anyplace would work for me. Just let me know so I check on availability of Grandma's house, etc. I would love to see you all.
Happy almost Christmas!

I swear that deep down I am a Grinch

Hello all -

Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa (or whatever might be your taste) Greetings to ALL! I was just chatting with Seth about the last weekend in December (we unfortunately/fortunately have family Xmas' stuff going on until then), and we determined that we are probably going to be around the Twin Cities area for that weekend! If anyone else is around/available, I have a family Christmas in Fairmont on Saturday the 29th, but would be available Sunday to get together for at least a little while somewhere around Minneapolis driving distance. Unfortunately (and I really mean UNFORTUNATELY) other than that I am completely unavailable for the next few weeks/weekends due to both family things and WORK. Yay for Corporate America once again. (I just had this conversation with Scanders earlier this evening!) This is by far our busiest time of the year, so even THINKING about asking for time off would be rather ridiculous. The thing is, sometimes I just think that seriously, honestly, from the bottom of my HEART, deep down I am truly a Grinch. Well, maybe not a GRINCH, but I am not a big Christmas person. I just get tired of the whole "I deserve this! I want THIS!" or the pressure to buy certain gifts for people (namely me!). I just think the whole concept is rather ridiculous. I would rather that people spend their money on things that are FAR more important than me, especially those people who are spending too much money around this time of year anyway. It's just not really my thing. Ok, I am done venting about how I truly feel about Christmas...I hope I haven't been too much of a Debbie-Downer for the evening.
Let me know what y'all think about the last weekend in December (which other people have mentioned as well! :)) and we'll try and get something planned!!

Love and hugs,
Sarah

I saw this on a man's shirt

Chess:

Proof that one woman can do

more damage than 13 men...

and two horses

Maybe you should stay home

Yikes. Maybe you should stay home for awhile, Sarah. Sounds like a bummer of a day! :) I think things will get better.
Being around after the 27th will be tough for me. Possible, but tough. David and I are planning on driving back to WI on New Year's Eve morning so we have one full day of "recovery" at home before we have to go back to work on the 2nd. The 28th, 29th, and 30th could work, but I will be in Iowa with that part of my family for the weekend. I could leave them to come and see you, and I might even get the "go ahead, you deserve it!" card, so if that works out, I'm there. :) Anything after that will not work for me, though.
Does this help? As for Breanna's suggestion about a weekend later, we could try that, too, although I'm POSITIVE I'll have to bring Julia with because David has a recital and series of concerts coming up for the next two months, and I KNOW that getting away just to pee will be a challenge. :) Fun times.
There's my two cents!

Love you lovely ladies!!
Fa la la la la la la la la.

Mandola

A 2nd option

Hello friends,

Yikes-stress, sadness and car troubles...we really need to get together so we can spread peace, joy and of course, Mandy will fix any car troubles you have! :)

So, if option one isn't working out...what about Dec. 29th or 30th or New Year's eve? Mandy, are you still around? I could take that Sunday off (the 30th) and be pretty available that weekend, I think!

Elizabeth

short end of the stick

Do you know anyone who always seems to have some sort of drama happening to them, either self-incured or not? Well, the last week and a half, I feel like I have had some mini-drama taking place. Here's the scoop:
Okay, so yes, I was hit on Thanksgiving on the interstate and thankful for that, but it has made me a bit more cautious in driving, especially in construction zones. Well, the day after Thanksgiving I had some work done on my car that ended up costing me quite a bit more than I expected. One of the maintenance repairs was balancing my tires, which was needed badly. A week later, I was driving on the interstate and there was a crash that had just taken place and the cars were on the shoulder. Well, when I realized what was going on, there was no time to swerve into the other lanes because they were full and I had to drive over a bunch of glass. Along comes Monday night when I had to pick up someone from the airport and lo and behold I've got a flat tire. The tire got changed last night, and of course the spare was low, but I hobbled to the repair shop this morning. Thankfully I didn't need a new tire and the expense was minimal. However, upon going to my car in the lot, I did not notice a metal piece sticking out of the car next to me. So my thigh met the metal and ripped a favorite pair of my jeans and cut my leg. Lastly, as I was driving home, it occured to me that the steering wheel was not centered so I'm thinking I'll have to get my tires balanced once again. Short end of the stick. Thanks for reading about my drama. :)

Howdy

How are we all doing today? Well, I know that the holidays can be a crazy busy time. Should we do a gathering some other time on a weekend when we can all be there? I mean, honestly, I would love to see all of you, but I am already stressed out about the traveling and stuff that are involved with the holidays. However, if the few of us that can get together want to, that is fine too.
Just a thought.
I love the new blog. I think it is very pretty and feminine.
Talk later.

Hello Girlies!

Hello, hello! I do have to admit that it's been a little while since I checked the blog (I am unable to access it at work and we've just gotten everything set up and worked out with our cable/internet provider in Cottonwood) and I was quite aghast at the new design! (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA In a GOOD way, of course!!!) I seriously think it's VERY cool - it just threw me off when I first got into it - I thought I had maybe made a mistake or something! Anyway, first of all, please know that I am alive and well, and although these past few months have been very difficult for me, also know that I still love each and every one of you. For those of you who don't know, Seth and I went through a very, very, VERY rough time this summer/fall. It's a very long story to tell it all, but to update you all, we are doing much, much better. It FINALLY feels like we are back to normal and back to "us," if that makes any sense! :) I also want to apologize to all of you for not staying in touch..for some reason that still doesn't QUITE make sense to me: through all of the difficult times, I didn't want to talk to ANYONE. It was so strange for me because as you all know I very much am an open book when it comes to my emotions. Anyway, for some reason, the things we were going through were too difficult for me to talk to anyone about. And I truly mean that: anyone. Please do not think that I care less about any of you or that any of you seems somehow to mean less to me: that's not it AT ALL. I don't really know how to explain it - I just hope you can all try to understand and still love me! :) Ok, so beyond that: Seth and I are now living in Cottonwood and really enjoying it. The snow this weekend was an awesome excuse to stay in our house all day on Saturday and do absolutely NOTHING! :) HOW FUN! (Sometimes it's just necessary for me to have an excuse to do nothing!) Other than that, there has not really been a whole lot new here...life goes on day by day..I got another promotion at the bank so I am now a Service Manager 2 (one step higher than I was before). That was a fun and unexpected surprise! Ok, stop blabbing, Sarah..the last week in December is, of course, one of our busiest weeks at the bank - I work that whole week (besides the 25th) and will be unavailable until that weekend (meaning Friday evening). Let me know what final plans are and I will see what I can do, ok? I hope you're all doing well. I am so incredibly thankful for all of you. There isn't a single day that goes by that I don't think of each of you!!!! I LOVE YOU!!! SBooms

a quick note

Regrettably, I will be unable to meet during that week in December. I'm going to be in St. Louis from the 22-29ish, having fun hanging out with Katherine. Oh, and Matt and Sarah. Sorry.

Elizabeth- I received some good advice when I felt on the fence about MA or MDiv. Go for the MDiv from the beginning as it is easier to switch tracks later on. Of course that might not be quite the same for MSM, but I can still see some validity. I'd love to talk more about it with you - I'll try to call soon.

On another note - does anybody like the different look? There has been no response so I'm inclined to think you're just wimpy and not willing to share your thoughts, or you're indifferent. Take care!

Yay!

Ms. Severtson-do I get extra credit for responding early and doing my homework on the weekend? The proposal sounds PERFECT-I can make it any of those nights, if I had to choose I first pick I'd say Thursday the 27th would be the best for me. I'm so glad you all said after Christmas, because I work everyday between now and Dec. 25th @ noon. Then I'm free as a bird!

Scanders-seriously I am so thankful you are alright, this might be the first time we're all thankful you follow the speed limit. :)

I went to the Concordia concert on Friday night with a group from my church-it was surreal to be back there and seeing everything. I cut through the music building on my hike from the car and got to see Dr. Clausen...then I watch the flurry of the robes and black dresses in the cabinent room for a second. The smell of Memorial alone brought back so many great memories. Then I walked past our house-which is painted an ugly color, but it looks in better shape than it did 2 years ago. Mandy-do you remember how much time you spent sitting in front of the mirror taking out your nose ring for the recorded concert? Ouch.

So, these past 2 weeks have been filled with confusing thoughts for me! I've had a few important people in my life encourage me to consider the MDiv program at Seminary (so I can be more like Scanders!). I have thought about ordained ministry since Concordia and am wondering if I should change courses. The Sacred music program is still very appealing to me, but something isn't sitting right...and whenI think about the big picture of my life, I think that ordination might be in the future. Wow. So-this week I will begin moving on these thoughts and see what happens. I'd appreciate any prayers because thinking about all of this and moving and being Micaela's mom and being single and divorced...its a lot to think about.

We have our first blizzard over the weekend and I'm not even crabby about it. I think it was nice of God to give us a whole month off from winter, no snow until December is pretty crazy! So, I'm welcoming it so far...give me a week and I'm sure I'll be crabby about it.

I'm excited to see you all soon! :)

Elizabeth

A Christmas Gathering?

Hi ladies! Happy last week of December! Ahhh, the week of CRAZY rehearsals in Memorial Auditorium. Fun times. For real. :)
I don't have a lot of time, but I must express my complete thankfulness that you are okay after the car-accident, Sarah!! That must have been scary. I know that we are all said a prayer of thanks that it wasn't something way worse. We love you! :)
Breanna and I talked on the phone tonight (I feel so lucky!), and we were discussing some get-together things. Being married teachers with family far away, we came up with this: The days we have open are basically the Wed, Thurs, or Friday after Christmas. The Friday would be pushing it for me, but I could maybe pull it off. :) Breanna's grandma is up for hosting a partay at her place in Osakis if that would be a good central spot for everyone! It could be an over-night slumber party, a lunch and lazy afternoon, or whatever it is that works for people so we could see each other for ANY amount of time. :)
So, it is now your assignment to respond to this as soon as you can. :) 10% of your grade will be docked for each day late after Monday. he he
I hope that we can come up with something!!

Love you all!!
Mandola

absence

Has the new look frightened everyone off from posting? I know you all have plenty to say - let's hear it.

a little extra thanks

Yesterday our family shared in a little extra thanks as my grandpa and I entered my aunt's house for Thanksgiving. We were driving on I-94 and before we knew it, another car side-swiped us. I'm sure we were going at least 60 mph, because that's at least what I drive on that road. But the impact was not significant enough to injure anyone, just enough to damage the side of my mom's car. As we were waiting for the state trooper to arrive and then later for the police report, the words of my mom popped into my head, "Always go to the bathroom before you leave home." The funny thing is that I thought of carrying out that action before I left to pick up my grandpa, but I figured I would be fine on the drive down to his house and then up to my aunt's. Needless to say, that was the first thing I did when we finally got to our destination.

How was Thanksgiving for everyone else? Any out-of-the-ordinary foods and/or experiences?

Fair Trade

For one of our weekly forums, I arranged for a speaker to come from Equal Exchange to discuss the topic of Fair Trade in our world. I did this in anticipation of a Fair Trade Fair I'm arranging on campus which will be the week after Thanksgiving. I'm excited for the things I ordered and also for what other vendors are bringing. That aside, I found the information our speaker shared to be highly insightful. And as a consumer, I find an inner debate constantly taking place in the products I buy. Yes, I want to buy products that are fairly traded because then it means the workers might actually be receiving a living wages, it supports local business/farmers, and hopefully allows for stronger economies to be built in suffering countries. But what I discovered today, is that is not necessarily what is happening.

At the store a person can find 'Fair Trade' products many places. But what does that really mean? Do Starbucks and Wal-Mart really carry Fair Trade products? What do you think? Well, the answer is yes, both large, multi-million dollars industries carry Fair Trade. Great, right? Not exactly. What this means is that a small percentage of the products (sometimes as little as 1%) are purchased fairly traded so they are able to put on a good face for the consumer. The reason they are willing to buy Fair Trade, which is not as profitable, is due to the fact that they're using subsidies from their other products to fund the Fair Trade ones.

I think this is a real problem. One possible solution our presenter shared was having some sort of percentage mandate on much of a companies sales are Fair Trade if they really want to present themselves as ethical companies paying living wages to farmers. Another suggestion: since Fair Trade products are generally more expensive, thus excluded part of the population, grocers should raise prices of all their products. Before you're quick to negate that option, hear me out. The low prices that we pay for groceries barely pays for the workers that are harvesting, packing, producing, and transporting our food. Most of the money is in the hands of the brokers. So, if grocers charged a higher price, they would thus be saying they care about the farmer and their living wage. A follow-up concern to this of course is, "I can no longer afford to buy groceries because they're expensive." Perhaps this would force us to take a look at another pressing issue: a liveable wage. If people aren't able to pay for their groceries, then there's something to be said about how the society isn't supporting them? Or, perhaps we're importing too many of our products. I understand that MN is not sustainable in growing bananas and other common foods we like to have, like coffee. However, why can't a bulk of our produce come from small, local agricultural communities? If this happened, it would also cut down on fuel cost/CO2 emission from shipping products across the globe as well. All of these things, rest on the fact that some large companies would actually take the time to think about people and what might be best for communities. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's and upward climb from where we're at.

Hi Amanda!

Manda, Okay, you promised pictures of all the beautiful girls-I'm excited to see them!

Breanna and Scanders-I would love to spend time with you in Dec. 6-7 but I don't think I can make it down to the Cities anytime soon-since I'll be down there after Christmas and again in January for Luther stuff. Lindsey and I are going to try and get together that weekend if you feel like traveling north :)

So-just in case we don't make a gathering possible before Christmas...here is a question. What about a New Year's Eve bash? Probably in the Cities since that's maybe the most central....although Breanna's grandma's place is a nice location too (if that's an option). What does everyone think about that?

I'm just getting over the flu, which was awful. Of course I got it Fri-Sat-Sun..the days Micaela doesn't go to daycare, so I feel guilty she had a very boring weekend of books and movies while I laid on the couch (or ran to the bathroom every 10 min)...blah. Now I'm at work and lacking the motivation to get anything done. Oh well! This weekend the Youth Choirs I direct are doing a Cantata of the "Tale of the Three Trees" I'm so nervous. There is a lot to be done between now and Sunday!

Its been great to read every one's post...I love checking this thing! Take care all!

e

Hello all!

Hi! Welcome Amanda!!! It is fun to hear about life on the "farm"! Lindsey...CONGRATS! How exciting. Others.....hi.
Well. I vote Dec. 7th ish. I will be in the Cities with Sarah attending the Concordia Christmas concert on Thursday of that week and took Friday off, so I could just stick around. Let me know what is up with that. On Nov. 16th ish, I will be going to watch my little sister (who has a boyfriend...weird) play Peter Pan! FUN!
Ok, all is well here.
Love you!

Cock-a Doodle!

How exiciting is this? Thank you Sarah B for introducing me to this blogging business...I have this cousin, love her to death, but she's always talking about this thing called 'blog' and I kinda figured it was some sort of teenager weird thing, but it turns out it's not! And thank you Sarah A for inviting me and getting me hooked up. This could be a little fun!
So, I just got in from picking eggs. It's about 9:30 pm and silly Kevin forgot to pick eggs today. So, I'm out there with my flashlight and the goose (yeah, there's a goose too) freaked out on me and the other goose (yeah, there are two geese) honked so loud I about had a heart attack and so did the duck, have a heart attack, (yeah, there's a stinking duck too). But the two geese, Hank and Johnny as in Jr. and Cash are moving out tomorrow and they're taking Loretta, as in Lynn, with them! Wahoo! Those are some messy creatures! So, I'm picking eggs after dark...aah the life of a hobby farmer wanna be! It's been our family project. A few years ago, Kevin and I decided it would be fun to raise chickens and our own eggs. I seriously go through roughly 70 dozen eggs a year doing cakes, maybe even more and with egg prices these days we're saving thousands! :) So, after much debating, we finally took the plunge. Kevin built a chicken coop. It's not just any chicken coop - it cost our entire tax return and then some, with better windows than my house and a roof that will last much longer than the roof over my head. Kevin never does ANYTHING at less than 100% when it comes to stuff like this. My neighbors have nicknamed it the Taj-maCoop. It's been wonderful though, and the whole project has brought our family closer together. It's something that we do together each day - feed the chickens, pick the eggs and give them their daily petting. Kevin even named one Mandy. I think she's hooking up with Sven, the rooster, so she doesn't care too much about us these days! So, if you're in the area, bring the kids by the petting zoo for a little fun!
If you're looking for Halloween fun next year, come to Pelican Rapids! My husbands employer throws a "boo bash" for school age and younger kids. They basically turn the entire warehouse into a giant Halloween party with games, hot dogs, those big blowy upy things that kids can climb on and everyone dresses up. Kevin said they had nearly 1000 kids there this year! They get to do a little "trick or treating" and end up with like 5 tootsies in a bag. They give them other fun things instead, like stickers and tatoos, (press on of course) and spider rings and stuff like that. Anyway - just a hoot of fun! Or perhaps a cock-a-doodle of fun! :)
All the kids are well! Grace is growing up too fast and so are the other too. Time seems to be moving faster than ever! I'll get pictures on here next time!
So, this is so great! I'm going to be writing more soon - but for now - Lindsay congratulations! Mandy good luck! Sarah, come back! :) I miss you already! Thanks again for the great visit! Hope everyone is well and we'll talk more soon!

Love -
Amanda

The Stranger from De Pere

Hi everyone! I am finally sitting down and writing to you all. It is a miracle, I know. I know I've been a slacker, but I promise it is not that I'm lazy. :) We finally got a new computer, and every freakin' time I sit down at it, I feel like a big fat moron. We got a Mac, and it is beautiful, but its been awhile since I've run one, and there are definitely a lot of differences. Anyway, it took me about a week just to figure out how to get our pictures onto a website. So, I did the grandparent blog first, as they've been desperately wanting pictures of their darling. :) And I finally have time now to get to my favorite peeps. :)
First of all, Congrats Lindsey on your baby girl!!! How fun!! Elizabeth is right...sort of weird that we're all on the girl train here. There will be a new generation of Hoyum 7's! Wow! Its like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants--the mom's were friends, and then the daughters become friends. How sentimental. Ha. :) And it is fun to hear that things are going well for the rest of you. Moving...seeing babies...all very exciting.
Well, as you may have seen by the pictures on the "other" blog, we have had a whirlwind month here. Julia has been keeping us busy. She is soooo talkative now that it is sort of weird. She had her 2 year check-up on Friday, and the Doc was like, "Oh my gosh!" She says words like, "actually," and phrases like "This morning I sang a Raffi song!" It sort of freaks me out. She just listens to absolutely EVERYTHING she hears, and had some sort of alienish brain to remember it all. Today I made the mistake of saying "I don't care, Julia, you need to clean up your toys." And then I got "I don't care, Mommy," about 16 times. Stupid mommy! Other than the weird talking, she seems to be normal. She loves to laugh, play, and lately, she is really singing a lot.
David has been very busy lately, which is good for him, but sort of hard on me. He was gone basically all weekend. That means that Julia and I are home together all the time, and I tend to get a little stir crazy. Hopefully his schedule will calm down a little bit. He is doing great things, and I am proud of him, but it is still hard to be the little woman at home. Not a role I'm used to or am particularly fond of.
A few weeks ago we went to Door county with our friends Micah and Pete who came out to visit. Door county was fun in the summer, but man, it is soooo beautiful in the fall. It was actually breath-taking. We had a fun day driving around and seeing the sights. I also made the trip to Granite Falls a few weeks ago, during our "MEA" break. I actually took one of the days to go to a music convention in Madison, and then drove like a lunatic to arrive in GF at 12:30 am on Friday. It was great to be there for two days anyway. It is hard to be so far away from family and friends. I got to see my sis play volleyball which was really fun. Her team made it to the section finals last night, where they were sooooo close to winning against a 6-time-in-a-row State Tournament Team. The match went to 5 games, and all games were close. I was just itching to be there. Bummer dude.
My job seems to be getting better. We end the quarter on Wednesday, so we'll see how many of my kids drop choir. :) I think I'm starting to know them better, and they're starting to get me. :) I think anyway. It's still hard, but I'm getting used to it and actually enjoy it some days.
I don't have much exciting news to share. I did take a pregnancy test about a month ago and it said it was positive, and I was so excited until a week later I got my period. I had to go to the doctor, only to feel like a moron...to make a long story short, the pregnancy tests today are very sensitive, and I was "pregnant" but the doctor thinks that the egg never implanted. So, I was pregnant enough to pass a test and make my period a week late, but that was it. So, more of the fun times to come. :) I'll let you know when/if the big + sign appears again, but I'll probably wait awhile in case this happens again. It kind of sucked, but life goes on. :)
I am all about getting together! We will be in MN for a majority of Christmas break, so that is the time that works best for me. it is a little hard to get to MN for a weekend, but if it were in the Cities, I could possibly make it. Northern MN would be a no-go for a short time-frame. Sorry...
Well, I'm getting a little droopy, so I'm going to go. I miss all of you so much and just revel in reading this blog. Keep the posts coming!!

Love,
MJ

p.s. Elizabeth-- I was not going to get a costume for Julia, either, until her daycare announced that they were going to be having a big party, and everyone should be dressed up! Julia was a little freaked out...I think she had fun a daycare, but the trick-or-treating thing was kind of weird. And do I want her to eat all of that candy? No! Don't let anyone feel like you're a bad mom. I think you're great. :)

Look at all that action!

Wow-I didn't check the blog for a few days and look what happened! (Its like when you go to the bathroom at a restaurant and when you come back your food has magically appeared)

Lindsey-thank God you're having a girl! I think we have enough specimen's for a investigation of Hoyum 7...what did they do to us?

Mandy-I also just checked out your blog. Wow-that's the cutest witch I've ever seen! Micaela was nothing for Halloween, she doesn't even know it happened and that doesn't make me a bad mom, it just makes me a mom that works late on Wednesdays! (sorry-that rage is not directed at you, but at the countless disappointed reactions I get when people ask me what M was for Halloween...seriously people, its not like I missed the birth of Jesus).

A gathering? Really? How about Nov 16-17? I know that's soon, but that's what I got. Or December 7-8 (we could celebrate a certain lovely lady's Bday).

Life up here is funky-that's the best word I could find. We've moved into my Dad's place, which was an undertaking I was SO unprepared for. I'm still not unpacked or feeling very settled. Work is okay...feeling a little unmotivated these days honestly.

Micaela is doing fine, sorta of used to the new place. Although to prolong bedtime or get what she wants she's now using the tactic "Talk to papa" as in "let me go upstairs and ask Papa and he'll give me whatever I want." Really fun.

Okay, I'll stop posting now because apparently I'm crabby. But I really do hope a Gathering happens soon. Shall we begin the voting? My ballot is cast above.

Some new news...

Hey, ladies! I love reading about what's been going on in everyone's lives. Sarah B., congrats on the move! Sarah A., congrats on the niece! Breanna, I was very sad to read about your student; it is so tragic when someone dies so young. Mandy, I recal a Friends episode where VapoRub was used to spice things up. :) Sorry I haven't posted in a while; we live in the land of no high speed internet, and apparently my employer has decided this should be a "blocked site", so I haven't been able to catch up lately. As far as a gathering, yes! We should do that! And I would definitely love to volunteer my house, if people don't mind driving to Lake Park. However, I would be equally happy to travel anywhere else as well.

Ryan and I had our first ultrasound yesterday. Our baby is a healthy, normally developing little girl! I kind of had a feeling she would be a girl, but I'm super excited to know for sure.

Hope all is well with everyone. Take care!
Lindsey

Help!

Hello dears!

I am writing to request your assistance! I am sitting as we speak at Amanda Backstrom's home, east of Erhard, MN, and we were just discussing the fun details of the blog. Our dear friend, however, does not have access to our wonderful blog, and I am COMPLETELY unfamiliar with how to get someone else added as a user/author. Is there someone out there who may be able to help us in this matter??? Please? PRETTY please?! :) Manda is VERY excited about the idea of joining and I know we would all LOVE to have her join us! Her email address is akbackstrom@yahoo.com, if that helps at all.

Ok, we are heading out to Robbie's birthday party (remember freshman year, Scanders or Elizabeth?!)...so either email Manda or let me know what I can do to help! Thanks so much, lovely ladies!

Love you!
SB
P.S. Grace is BEAUTIFUL! :) (just like her mom and big sisters!) :):):)

Grandma Vonnie

Yes, that is right. The world's coolest Grandma has given me permission to use her house sometime to have a get together. I think this area is a good location. Let me know your thoughts!

November

Do you know that last November there were several days above 60 and even one above 70. I can't help but feel that this year will be the same. While I don't want to complain about this because when I walk around campus I enjoy not having a bulky coat, I can't help but think of global warming. How can any one deny what is happening to our environment?
This weekend my dad is turning 60 so I'm coing to Alexandria. Sometimes I think it's strange to think of my parents growing older - especially now that they're grandparents. Here's a photo of when Katherine was here a couple of weeks ago.

sad day

Hello everyone,
I am sorry, but I am going to use this as a place to vent my frustrations and sadness today. I know that it will be good to get my thoughts out and also I know I have some wonderful friends who love me and for that I am sooooo happy.
On Friday night, a student from St. James was killed in a car accident. He was a junior who moved here last year. So, he wasn't known by everyone, but it is a small school. He had a big group of friends who are devestated. They are not the popular kids, they are not the kids who are overly involved in school, but they are sweet kids who have been good to each other because they don't have the strongest families. In a time of immense hurt, the one place they have to look towards for guidance has let them down- the school.
Although the school had counselors and pastors available to them, they did nothing else. They did not dismiss school for the funeral today. It was at 2:00. This did not make it easy for anyone to attend. I never had Jake as a student, but I have had all of these grieving teenagers who need a support system more than anything right now. I could not believe that they did not dismiss school this afternoon. This meant that unless most of our class was going to be gone for the funeral, we were not encouraged to go. I do not think that is right. I think those kids needed to know that people care about them and care that their friend died. So, I found my own substitutes and went to the funeral.
I don't care what the circumstances are, if a student dies, it is traumatic. I had 8th graders who had no idea who Jake was, but who need help dealing with this. However, we were told to keep things as normal as possible in our classrooms. Are you kidding me?
You can't tell me that if this were a student who grew up in St. James and lived here their whole life that they wouldn't deal with it differently. The way that they have approached this has made me feel like an insensitive person when these kids really need to see that teachers are having a hard time with this too. I am sooooooo frustrated and sooooooooooo sad.
Today was a hard day.

I miss mi amigas!

Hello my sassy sistahs,

So, I've had the privilege of chatting with a few of you and I'm hearing a theme of "We need a get together!!" So, I'm starting the conversation...

What about a gathering sometime in November? The first or second weekend? And then there is location-but maybe we can wait and see who is interested to find good spot.

I could also start a Christmas time festival chat....but I'm too tired, so feel free to comment on that too if you'd like.

Scanders those shoes are hot!

e

mis zapatos nuevos

El fin de semana pasado yo compre zapatos nuevos. Necesite los nuevos mucho. Pero el tiempo pasado no satisfice con los zapatos a Kohl's o Sportmart o una otra tienda. Entonces, mi mama me dijo que debo a ir la tienda, New Balance. Yo fui, pero los zapatos tan expensivos pero compre y tenia este zapatos por mas que un ano. Pero ahora los no funcianada, entonces yo fui a a la tienda otra vez. A New Balance, no hay muchos zapatas tenis. Trate mucho parajes y decidi en un paraje para mujeres viejas. Cuando yo lleve los zapatas para la primera vez hoy, me senti un poco foolish.



So I bought a new pair of shoes this past weekend. I'm been disappointed with the previous pairs bought at Kohls or some other store and my mom suggested New Balance. The shoes are good, but they're expensive. Over a year ago a put out the dough for some good shoes and they've lasted all this time. When working at World Market I would wear them everytime and they worked well on the concrete floors. Well, I decided to go back this weekend for another pair. At New Balance, there is not a lot of selection and I tried on several pairs, looking for some that are somewhat stylish, but highly comfortable as well.

I was at the store at closing time and finally decided to make a decision, because I did not want to be 'that person' who stays late and make the poor employees have to wait to go home on a Saturday evening. (I've been on that side of the counter plenty.) The best shoe I tried on looks straight out of pair that you would envision elderly women wearing. All white, thick soled shoes are what I put on today to take a walk. I felt a little foolish because I felt like I was saying to the world, "LOOK AT ME, I BOUGHT NEW SHOES!" And while they don't have fancy colors and aren't stylish in the least, they are comfortable. Perhaps I will start a trend of wearing comfort over style. (Yes, I know comfort can also be stylish, but since I'm cheap, I want shoes that will be comfortable for at least another year.) And just so you can see my shoes, I've included a photo for you. I know, I know, I might as well put 'SAS' on the side and get myself a pair of gray polyester, elastic-waist pants and a nice 'blouse' to go with them. Take care, friends!

(Please note: the English is not a direct translation from the Spanish text. You'll have to figure that out on your own. Have fun!)

Katherine's getting ready for Halloween

I'm an auntie

Hello all!

Tonight at 6:10 p.m. Sarah delivered a little girl who weighs 7 lbs 10 oz and is 20 inches long. They gave her the name of Katherine Lucille. She has to spend tonight in some special care unit because her skin isn't pink enough and her oxygen saturation level isn't where it should be, but in talking to Matt tonight, he didn't seem too concerned. I'm really excited. Matt said he was going to try and send out pictures tonight so I'm going to wait up for awhile and see if they appear in my inbox. For now, I'll envision her as this cooky looky cartoon character. I wish they lived closer so I could go see her, but they will be visiting right after MEA, so I look forward to seeing them at that time.

sorry

I apologize. I should not have only offered such priceless pieces of literature to Mandy. Anyone can use some spice in your life.
Happy ALMOST Friday!

agreed...

Mandy lou you are the funniest person I know. I agree with Breanna a little spice might be all ya need (I don't think I've ever felt the way you currently do...)

Boerboom-that was just cruel...got my hopes all up. Do you have any pics of the Backstrom clan?

Love to all the ladies :)

TMI....yep

Wow. That was a little much Mandy.
But, I could borrow you some books that illustrate new and different ways to enjoy the task.

The Blaahs in De Pere

Hi all!
I agree that it is fun to see so many entries! :) I am gulity of being a lazy dude and not posting for reasons of pure exhaustion at the end of the day. But I still love to read the postings! I guess I can't have it both ways. :)
Bre- My phone number is 920-264-4307 David's is the same, but -4764 at the end in case you ever want to call him. he he.
Things here are okay. My job is okay. Definitely not exciting like elementary school is. I don't think I'm meant to be a middle school teacher, but that's okay. I just need to learn how to have fun and not feel sad that I can't sing "You Are My Sunshine" every day or dance around and have it be totally joyful and not embarrassing. :) Whatever.
Julia turns 2 on Friday. Holy crap. She is getting so big. Sentences are coming out of her mouth, as well as the ABC's and counting to 10. She also knows how to push every button that we have, and has learned how to throw her head back and look way up into the tops of her eyes when David or I are getting after her. nice. MOST of the time, though, she's really fun. :)
In other news (perhaps this is TMI, but I don't care, I need to "vent"), we are trying to have another baby, and I am sooooo sick of having sex, I could vomit. :) One should never say that, but David feels the same way. :) I guess next time we'll think twice before we feel deprived. :) Okay, I feel better. Please block that from your mind if you need to.
Not much else to report from here. I'd love to hear more about your rock star hymnody class, Lutherites. :) Sounds like a blast. :) Could it even be as fun as Music History or Counterpoint?
Okay, I need to go relax. I seriously felt sort of like I might have a stress attack today--I think I need to start thinking positive thoughts. :)

Miss all of you very much,
Love ya,
Mandola

Hi again!

How are all of you? I am doing well. I took Monday off of school to enjoy a really stuffy nose and allergies like you wouldn't believe. Today, I barely have a voice, but it is all good.
Mandy, what is your phone number? I was going to call you awhile ago, but didn't have your number.
Sarah, woo hoo. It is FUN to move. It is even more fun to have more space than just an apartment.
Updates from the rest of you?
Love you!
Breanna

News for the Boerbooms!

Greetings all! I am writing to tell of some exciting news for the Boerbooms...Seth and I are......






HAHA...did I get ya?! (See, Sarah, TWO can play at this game!) NO NO NO, we are NOT pregnant. We are, though, moving to Cottonwood! Ok, so not a single one of you (other than Miss Mandy) probably even has a CLUE about where Cottonwood is, so I shall explain it to you. Cottonwood is a small town (about the size of Minneota) approximately 12 miles from Marshall, located right on Hwy 23. We have decided to give up our rental townhouse for a rental HOUSE. I can't begin to tell you how exciting this is for the two of us, who have only lived in rentals since we got married 2.5 years ago. Not that rentals are a bad thing..it's just that we're both ready to move into a place where we're not sharing walls with neighbors or waking up to garage doors opening below our bedroom at 600am on a Monday morning. On top of this, the rent is MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper ($175 less, to be exact!!!!) than what we're paying right now, so that is very exciting. We're hoping to use the extra money to save up to PURCHASE a house...sometime in the near future anyway. Other than that, my life is much the same...work is stressful..I dream of better jobs and better days...Seth is doing well with the insurance thing, which of course I knew he would...and we're just kinda doin' our thing down here in Marshall. I think of all of you often...I do have to admit that it is fun to sign on here and see postings from EVERYONE! :)

Well, that's what's new in my life..nothing obviously as exciting as the classes that Sarah and Lizabeth are taking (hahaha), but exciting for us SW Minnesotans anyway! :)

Love you all!
SarahB

The autumn leaves....

Sarah, do you really think threatening your friends is the way to get what you want? Well, it worked...so maybe there's something to it! I agree-this hymnody class leaves something to be desired, and a few Luther alum have told me how lucky I am not to be taking it on campus...ha ha ha!! :)

We've entered the fall schedule here-and while I'm enjoying everything, it is a serious bump up in the intensity of my days. Church is good, we're doing a "Why Church?" series that has been wonderful!

Micaela and I are taking swimming lessons! It is so fun! She loves it (except when the teacher touches her feet, she freaks out), there are a few things she can't do because of the tubes in her ears...but we're kicking, jumping, splashing...and its nice to talk with some other young moms. We are approaching the "2s" for sure! Temper tantrums come more often that I would like...especially at 3:30am when "APPLE JUICE" is yelled for 10 minutes straight. I'm praying this too shall pass...quickly.

I think that's all I know-I miss you all! It was this time last year we had our Homecoming bash...maybe we should figure out a weekend we could spend a day together?

Much love to all the ladies! :)

Hello everyone. Sarah, it is not nice to lie to your friends. How is everyone doing? It is Homecoming here this week and as always, that is CRAZY! Especially when you are one of the Student Council advisors. Yikes. I can't wait until the dance is over tonight so I can sleep and relax. Other than that. Not much is new around here.

Where's the excitement?

I look at the blog daily and am disappointed that the posting is sparce. Lack of posting makes me less likely to post myself. Therefore I'm making an executive decision to pull the blog. That way I will not be tempted to check it multiple times a day.




Okay, I really wasn't thinking that I would banish the blog from the internet. But did it get a reaction out of you? Hopefully it wasn't the sort of reaction that made you curse my name; that wouldn't be good.
School is well into the second week. I have five classes and four of them are good. My ecumenical hymnody class, which Elizabeth is also taking, is a poor. However, there are only five more times left and tomorrow we get to see the rare book collection which is bound to be exciting. All right, back to reading, which is bound to put me to sleep, so that's good. Take care, friends!

More cleaning, more findings

I write to you from my new place of residence for this upcoming academic year. I successfully procrasinated and orientation starts tomorrow, and I'm not completely moved in yet. But, luckily for me, my former landlord is understanding.

My room is spacious and I have a bay window which directly faces the president's house. There are several big trees that shade my room when sun beats in. Hopefully soon I will take pictures and post them for you to see.
What I really wanted to share was a poem written on September 17, 2002 by someone who lived in the Lighthouse that year. I found it when I was going through old boxes of Concordia stuff. It is written in my handwriting, but I'm not sure if I can take full accountability for the well-versed poem, or if others assisted as well. Enjoy!

Ode to the Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is a place where six females live,
And have hearts always willing to give. (except Mandy)
There are always many jokes flying around,
Especially when prairie dogs are found. (in Breanna’s room!)
The Lighthouse is a busy place,
And filled with lots of girlie things like lace. (especially in Sarah’s room)
Many holiday such as “talk like a pirrrate for a day” are celebrated,
And many men dated are top rated. (right Edam?)
The women at the house are buff and fit,
They could beat any sort of Viking hit. (especially Jesse)
The brains at the place are to be desired,
In fact we could get any Concordia prof fired! (especially Lerohl)
So there you have it, the great gals from 1101,
Always willing to have fun!

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm especially curious to hear about those first days of school for Mandy and Breanna. Take care!

Fabulous!

Wow, I am glad that we all had great summers and were able to see each other at the beginning of it before we all got busy (yeah, apparently some people got busy...Lindsey....congrats!). Sarah B., you are not the only one without a little one. There is Sarah A. (Oh yeah, and me too). However, it turns out that when boys get sick, they turn into GIANT babies. Funny.
Oh my, where did the summer go? I went to Duluth, went to New York, went to Walker twice and have spent a lot of time hanging out and painting, decorating, putting wedding gifts away, etc. Also, one week this summer Laryssa came to stay with us and it was great. I was a little nervous because she is sort of high maintenance, but we had a fabulous time. She was sad to leave and told us that she wanted to live with us. Chris's response: "You will need to start doing some chores. But, that would be OK." Funny guy. Laryssa does not like chores or working in general, so that maybe made leaving easier. She was so funny, she kept saying: "You have a dog, you cook, and you have a house? This is SO weird."
I started school on Monday and I am not moving too quickly.
It is GREAT to hear from you all.
Love you!!

I can't take credit for the pirate joke-its from the show I just did! That means it came from my Dad's sick-o brain.

These Prairie Dogs are from the Red River Valley Zoo where Micaela and I went with Daniel, Katie and Isaiah last week. I thought of you all and had to put up this pic.

Julia looks so GROWN UP! She has really changed in the last couple of months. Micaela hasn't gotten out of her crib, but tried to swing a leg over a couple of times. I'm looking into toddler beds for the very near future!

GREAT to hear from everyone!
e

Am I the only one LEFT?!

HaHaHaHaHa!! Ok, so SERIOUSLY, ladies..am I the ONLY ONE LEFT without any beautiful children?!?! Yes, yes, I know I am not the only one...but WHOA! How Exciting! Besides which, all of your children are FAR more beautiful than mine will EVER be...which also brings me to ONE more detail...Amanda Shulstad/Backstrom had her baby TODAY!!!! Let's all take the time to guess....Yep, that's right.....ANOTHER GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I can't even begin to tell you how much time I've spent giggling about this in the last few hours since I found out...WAY TOO MUCH!!!!! :):):):) Her name is Grace Esther..she was born at about 2pm this afternoon..weighed 8lbs1oz (if you'll remember, Amanda's due date wasn't actually until Sept. 9th, but her doctor recommended she be induced early because of the size of her last baby -- Marie was 10lbs2oz -- and so she was induced this morning and here we are!!!)...and was 21" long. I, on the other hand, still have no children and have no plans to have children any time soon!!

My summer has been very busy as well...Grease was one of the most amazing and fun things I've ever been a part of...it was SO MUCH FUN and I wouldn't trade the experiences I had for anything in the world. I made some new friends and realized how much I had truly missed being involved in music/theatre since I've been done with college. It was the BEST!!! (Yes, maybe the BESTEST part was kissing the 17-year old playing Danny Zuko...OR, it could have just been the show itself..!! HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!! :))

Anyway, other than that...not a whole lot new here..I must say, though, that I am truly grateful to be able to keep up with all of you on this wonderful blog..it is great to hear everything going on in everyone's lives!

Love you all!
SB

Hi ladies!
So good to see some more postings. I miss all of you! :)
Today I had my first "official" day of work. We were thrown a plethora of information that I will never remember; from 403b plans to what to do if you're sick. Fun times!! I did meet a few nice people, though, so that was fun. :)
Things here are fine otherwise. Julia is still keeping us busy. She figured out one day (in a fit of rage) that she could get out of her crib. Hmmm.. Fun times for us! So far she hasn't succeeded again, but I am constantly listening for her now when I'm sleeping. I'm fairly certain I woke up about 6 times last night. Nice. What if she falls on her head? It makes me too nervous. I need to relax. I know.
David is at his first day of school today too. I am hoping that he meets some fun, nice people. He's been driving me a little nuts. He's worried and doesn't know exactly how to get started, all of which I'm sure is normal, but its a little annoying after a few days. I think he just needs to get going to he can actually do something instead of just thinking about it. He is probably driving me nuts because I fear I'm exactly the same. Hard to admit, but true. :)
I wish I had some funny jokes like the other funny pre/current Lutherites. That pirate joke was a serious hit with me. Ha ha ha ha ha
So, I've nothing of interest to say. I miss you all terribly. If you're ever in the neighborhood (its only a quick 5 hours from the cities--I'd say that's in the neighborhood, right?:) we'd love to see you. Otherwise, I am thankful for this blog. I am so blog addicted that I set one up for our families about Julia. My Mom is especially sad about not being able to see Julia, so I try... I set it up at: severtsons@blogspot.com Lots of cute pics, and too much information about Julia, but that's what the grandparents want.
Okay, I'm blabbling. I would love to hear from more of you--Becca? Amy? Breanna?? (are you hooked up yet? Come on newlywed--we miss you!!) Anyone? Bueller?

Love
MJ

ha ha ha ha ha....

A pirate comes walking a bar with a steering wheel stuffed down his pants. Bartender looks at him and says,

"Excuse me mister pirate sir, why do you have a steering wheel stuffed down the front of your pants??"

The pirate says, “Aargh! It’s driven me nuts!!”

Welcome baby Laux! YAY! Any news on Manda's baby?

one more guest for the F'ing festival

Hi, ladies! I've really enjoyed the jokes and the recent pictures! Keep em coming!

Also, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm brining an extra guest to the F'ing festival next year. Ryan and I are having a baby! We are due March 10 (I think, I haven't been to the doctor yet). We're super excited (and nervous, anxious, scared and feeling a little crazy all at the same time!).

Take care, everyone!
Lindsey

Laugh with me

I've been doing a little bit of cleaning today and came across a few good jokes that I wanted to share with you.

1. Why do men like BMWs? They can spell it
2. What do you say to a hitchhiker with one leg? Hop in
3. Why was the tomato red? Because it saw the salad dressing.
4. Aardvark – Aardvark a million miles for one of your smiles (I tried that pick-up line the other night…it didn’t go so well ;)
5. Diploma – Diploma is here to fix the sink
6. Omelet – Omelet smarter than I look!

7. Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Isabel
Isabel not working

8. Knock knock
Who’s there?
Amos
Amos behavin’ – saving all my love for you

9. Dewey – Dewey have to do these jokes all night?

Which one is your favorite? Or, if you think you have anything better, please post.

One day left

Tomorrow is our last day of Greek. Right now I'm trying to finish the rest of our final, but am running out of steam. Perhaps if the sun decided to show itself that would make things a little easier. Don't get me wrong, the moisture is needed and I'm thankful it's not detrimental in my area, but if could wish, I would wish to have the rainy days a little more spread out and not concentrated into one week of summer.

There was a sense of giddyness and accomplishment at class today when our professor reminded us of the end being right around the corner and when a classmate handed out t-shirts that read: Behold, it's no longer Greek to me. Of course, it's written in Greek so that's extra sassy.

I spoke with Mandy and Julia (yes, she said Hi Sarah and bye which was pretty darn cute) and that was quite fun. It made me wish that I would have been able to visit you while you were in Maine...sounded like you had a good time.

Okay, I suppose I shouldn't put it off any longer. Afterall, if I want to enjoy happy hour at 9 pm tonight, it would be a lot happier with my final ready to turn in.

Leaks, Spills and Drainage

Hello everyone-I echo Mandy's sentiments. We've had a nice summer off, but its time to get blogging people!

I am very sad summer is coming to an end-I know its not totally gone, but still! What am I going to do with a very active child when winter comes? She is currently OBSESSED with Finding Nemo, so if we're in the house I hear "wanna watch? wanna watch" 800 times until I give in or we leave the house.

July was all consumed by the dinner theater production I did. I loved being on stage again and the cast and pit was so talented, it was very fun! However, paying for nightly babysitters was less than fun. I'll have to weigh my circumstances better next time.

August has been pretty chill-yay! We go for bike rides a lot, go to the park, or mall playland if its raining. Like I said, being at our house in not an option-so we've gotten creative. I'm going camping Labor Day weekend with some High School friends, and really looking forward to that.

I've finished by Luther online class-whew! And, I've decided to attend Luther Seminary full time next fall! I'm SO EXCITED about this! I'm going to do through their Sacred Music program and live on campus-which means we'll be with Scanders for a whole year! I'm sad to leave my church-but that's about it. Being in GF has been healing, and easy...now I feel strong enough for another adventure! So, here we go. In order to save some serious $$ for our seminary years, I will live in my Dad's basement for 10 months before we move down to the cities. He is so gracious to offer, I'm a littler nervous, but I'm sure we'll all survive.

Here is a list of the spills, leaks or drainage that have happened today-after reading you'll all be jealous of my glamorous lifestyle-I know it.
1. Juice on love seat
2. Micaela's nose
3. Q-tips all over the bathroom.
4. Micaela was at work with me for a few hours and colored marker all over a table cloth in the choir room...yet to be cleaned.
5. I deliver groceries for an organization in town to people that need that service-I had a leaky carton of milk all over my car...down the apt. hallway...into this lady's kitchen!
6. Micaela's nose
7. Leaky diaper on love seat (even though I had JUST changed her)
8. As I'm changing her leaky diaper Micaela puked all over herself and my bed.
9. Micaela's nose (this was really an all week occurance).

come on peeps

Just got hooked up--have moved, unpacked more, done LOTS of stuff...no posts yet!! Where is everyone??

I'm baaaacckkk!

Hi dudes-
How is everyone doing? What a slow summer on the blog, my goodness!! I thought I'd really be missing out and here there wasn't much to read. Well, we better get back to business now, okay? So, seriously, HOW IS EVERYONE? :)

Jules and I flew back from Maine on Monday. After a holy mess of a plane trip out there, we had a wonderfully uneventful trip home. Julia did puke one time, but it wasn't so bad. :) David is driving home with our friend, Micah, and will be here around Sat. or Sun. And then, finally, we can figure out our new place!

Right now, we are still in Granite Falls with the 'rents. We're going to make the trip to Green Bay tomorrow, though. I hope that it goes okay... 7 hours in a car might be a little much for Julia. Maybe I should buy some ear plugs. Ha.

While getting ready to land in Minneapolis, we flew over the collapsed bridge. Man, what a mess. It was hard being away from tv and Internet when that happened. I'm glad to hear that you are okay, Sarah. What a freak accident! I hope that they find those missing people soon. What a sad thing to have to wait for!

Maine was so beautiful. You would all love it. If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend a trip to Acadia National Park. It is incredible. For those camping enthusiasts among you, a week or so hiking and camping there would be like chocolate for your soul. It is soooo beautiful. The coast is great, too. We got to visit a few really nice beaches, saw some great lighthouses, and also saw some cute towns. All in all, it was a fun place to be.

I think Julia is going to be a little mixed up for awhile about where her home is. Poor thing; she's been jostled around to three different homes this summer! Hopefully she'll be okay--I'm sure that we'll go through some adjustment tantrums... fun times. :)

I'm not sure when we'll be getting hooked up to the internet in DePere, but as soon as we have it I'll check back and I EXPECT to see lots of entries from you all!! Seriously!!! :)

Miss you all lots!

Mandy

I'm okay

I was working tonight when the bridge collapsed so I am thankful that I'm okay. Also, all of my family is accounted for. It's pretty surreal...I drive that road a couple times a week at least.

new home

Hi, everyone! Hope all is well. Ryan and I have some exciting news. We've just accepted a counter-offer on a home in Audubon, MN, and we will be closing August 15th. If you are not familiar with Audubon, it is a town of about 586 people about 7 miles west of Detroit Lakes. We bought a hobby farm with about 10 acres. The funny thing is -- our farm is in city limits! Once we get settled, everyone is welcome to come visit!

I've been working at St. Mary's hospital in Detroit Lakes for about 3 weeks now, and I really love my job. I did two things I've never done before this past week (a home health evaluation and a wound care treatment), so that was pretty exciting. I'm taking my physical therapy licensure exam on Monday, and I'm pretty nervous and anxious to be done with that. As soon as that test is done, I can join the rest of the world again instead of shutting myself in a closet to study every spare minute that I have.

Take care, everyone!
Lindsey

Mary Kay

Hey ladies...
Do any of you use Mark Kay? Just curious because I am thinking of being a consultant to make a little extra cash and first I need to see if I would have a good client base.
What??? Isn't life crazy!
Hope all is well!
Breanna

Kairte

I don't know how to download the greek fonts, but the title means greetings! (Incidentally, it also means goodbye among a host of other things.) I have successfully made it through the first week and a half of greek and the tests I took last week prove that I am on the right track. Not that I necessarily feel competent; our professor told us that we will always feel like we are treading water. Our comprehension won't get any better or worse. But thus far, I think it's kind of fun to be so anal about something; I'm glad that I'm usually particular about small details. I think it helps in learning this language.
Last weekend I went camping with all of my dad's family to Itasca State Park. It was a wonderful time filled with biking, fires, rain, volleyball, food, and card playing. Matt is here this week which is fun and Sarah will join us for the weekend when we go to my dad's wedding.
Well that's all you get for now..back to more translation and decoding!

Seriously!

Weak effort people! It has been a month since the last post...what is going on? I know y'll have lots to share, there are people starting school, moving, being a newlywed, making out with minors...come one!

The update from GF is: I'm on stage this year for my Dad's dinner theater, so every night Micaela and Isaiah (Daniel's son) stay with babysitters while we rehearse. The long days of kid-work-rehearse-kid are getting old. But 2 weeks and its all over. We perform July 23,24,25,26 if anyone is looking for a reason to drive really far north!

Micaela is doing well, repeating everything I say...which is actually pretty darn funny. She asks for popcorn (pronounced pah-key) 100 times a day. But she is really sweet with Isaiah (pronounced yah-yah) and we've been taking frequent bike rides early in the morning for some excercise and bonding time.

Latest adventure includes meeting Scanders in Buffalo to celebrate with Jesse and Ian...so great to see them! And then staying at the Anderson household for a night! Yahoo!

I'm avoiding Luther homework right now, so I must go and begin my reading so I'm not up all night.

I'm looking forward to your frequent, forth-coming posts!

Love,
Elizabeth

Still recovering...

Hello friends, it was so nice to see you all! So, whose planning next year? :) Mandy and I were chatting and next year we'll have some "kid free" time next year...doesn't that sound good?

We made it back to Grand Forks after our get-a-way to Chicago. The Arts conference was incredible, the hour-long commute to Jess' house was less than incredible. But, the Chicago traffic was really the only down side. Micaela was great, she spent 2 days playing with a woman and her 2 year old daughter (they are from Costa Rica) while I was at the conference. Then we just hung out with Jess, the days were long so we didn't do any sightseeing or crazying outings.

So, we're back and I'm feeling motivated and full of ideas for church! I haven't figured out if we're doing Jesse and Ian's party or Elizabeth's wedding...I'm thinking the wedding will be easier to get to. Other senior year ladies...what are your thoughts?

Okay, my Old testament homework is calling me!

Lata ladies!

Elizabeth

Thanks!!

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for a wonderfully fun weekend! You made me remember what awesome friends I have. Not that I forget that, but its nice to be in your presence to be reminded once in awhile. :)

I hope that you all are having a nice start to the week! Congrats on the last day of school, Sarah!! Breanna and Elizabeth, I hope that you have arrived safely in your trips around the US. Lindsey--have fun with your LAST weeks of school!!! :) Everyone else, have a great week, too. I love you all!!!

Mandola

How grand!

What a fun weekend in New London and Litchfield, MN! When I tell people I hung out with 8 college friends with six girls under the age of 4, they look at me like I was crazy. Perhaps that is the case, but it was a grand time. I particularily enjoyed watching the munchikins play in the kiddie pool. Thanks for a great time!

Ps. Today is the last day of school!!!! Yippee!!!!

forecast

In today's Star Tribune, the forecast for tomorrow says a high of 79, sunny, and "lakeworthy." This makes me very happy and glad that I talked with my meteorologist friends last week.

This morning I saw lots of people out and about walking, biking, and such on my way to work. It made me wish that I had enough discipline to get up earlier and take advantage of the early morning hours outdoors. But, I did enjoy my sleep until 7.

See you tomorrow!

Mundane routine

There are days when I don't mind being part of a routine that isn't all that exciting. In fact, I often relish in the predictability of it all. I enjoy listening to the morning show on MPR with Jim Ed Poole and Dale Connelly. I also like having a cold lunch everyday with vegetables, a banana, and some sort of sandwich on nutty bread. But today was a today I wish hadn't been so predictable. I could predict that my ELL class wouldn't settle in and do their work and when given the opportunity to work in groups, would not use their time effectively. I also know that my 6th hour is often uncontrollable because of 8 students that are in there and many will fail because they're refusing to complete their work and won't respect assignment deadlines. When I went to World Market tonight I knew I would be putting away stock, having to deal with customer questions, and eating chocolate. All these I know, but I wish there was more. Of course I didn't know that today a girl in one of my classes would attack a boy, pinning up against the door with her hand around his neck saying her brother, who is in a gang, would beat up him up. I didn't know that a girl in 6th hour would yell so loudly and use such profanity that it could be heard all the way down the hall.

Right now, I look forward to the say when my routine isn't so predicable and the unpredictability comes when I decide that instead of cold lunch I will be taken out to lunch. (Which of course can never happen as a teacher.) Of course I know that unpredictability is part of the excitement and I will not always be in control. And perhaps I should enjoy my routine right now because there are a lot of changes about to take place in the next few months for me and my family...I'm helping Matt and Sarah move to MO, I'm starting seminary, my dad's getting married, and I will have a niece in Oct.

All right, enough ramblings...just like bad talk-show hosts I can go on and on without making any sense. Which could be another topic. Why are Dr. Phil, The View, and Montel Williams still on the air? Do people watch because they think they actually have something good to say, or only because they need comic relief?

See you Saturday!

Ps. Mandy, is this what your parent's lake lot looks like?

Festival Time!

Just 6 days until we're all in the same place, pretty unbelievable right?!? Well, I'm about to delve into theater camp for the next 5 days, so this is my night to get all the Festival details secured. Here is what you need to know...

We will meet at Holm Park (in honor of Amy's pre-married self) at 11am. It is located on the west side of the New London pond, if you go to mapquest and get directions to 100-114 Norwood Street, New London MN you should be able to find Holm Park. If you find yourself lost or confused, call my cell 218.230.5188. We'll have lunch here, bring something to share! We'll hit all the hot spots of New London :) before heading to Mandy's cabin.

The rest of the day is pretty much: chill at cabin and enjoy one another (that's the official itinerary). Dinner is taken care of...but if you have favorite snacks, drinks, campfire goodies you'd like to bring, please do!

Just a reminder: if you can bring some sleeping gear (pillows, sleeping bags), a towel if you'd like to shower, a swim suit, I think that's about it!

If you have any questions, email me. Phone is a little tricky this week...I'm spending my evenings choreographing (its almost like a Lighthouse dance party, minus the curling iron)!!!

Can't wait to see you all!

Elizabeth

A new countdown

I have had a countdown of the numbers of days left of school, but there are still too many, so I have made a better countdown. I now countdown the number of days (8) until the 2nd annual Festival commences. I'm pretty darn excited....I even purchased a couple alcoholic beverages...one that is particularily special to the west coast. Let's hope I don't get cared away and drink it prior to next weekend. I also spoke with Paul Douglas, Belinda Jensen, and Mike Fairbourne about good weather. They're pretty good friends of mine; I think they will try their hardest to ensure a perfect weekend for outdoor fun. Should I bring my croquet set?

SarahA

Running.....

Elizabeth, I would LOVE to run the half-marathon with you next year! Let's plan on it. Any one else care to join us? :)

Looking forward to seeing you all soon.....
Lindsey

All tubed up!

Hello friends! Both Micaela and I have survived two major-May-events! First, on May 20th my church had an end of the year celebration. Usually we worship at 5 different services on a Sunday, and we wanted to do one big worship...so we moved the "church" to downtown Grand Forks and worship in the Pavillion there. I headed up this beast of an event with worship, a BBQ and then service opportunities to the social agencies downtown. Everyone thought I was being overly opptimisitc to think 450 people would be there...we had 600+!!!! It was awesome to see the church get out of our cozy walls and serve the community....I love my job!

Secondly, Micaela had tubes put in her ears this morning. We were up at 5am and home by 9am! Crazy! She was great, the only hard moment was when she woke up she was PISSED! But, I guess that's normal. She's home and acting normal...I have noticed she hasn't stopped singing or talking all day...I wonder how much her hearing was effected by that damn fluid.

So, that's the latest from here...I'm looking forward to June, I'm directing the K-2 theatre camp again and getting ready for our 2 weeks of travel (which includes the F'n festival)!

Oh yeah! Lindsey isn't really the bragging type...so I'm going to do it for her: LINDSEY LAUX RAN THE FARGO MARATHON! Isn't she amazing?!?!? It makes me want to aim for the 1/2 marathon next year...maybe we can do that together Linds?

Just for Sarah, I'll consider myself a cowgirl (save a horse, ride a cowboy is my favorite song) he he he

Love to all!

Elizabeth

cowgirl?

Hey Homies....
Sarah, I think that is hilarious. I call my kids funny things all the times. Hosebeast is a term I like. He he he.
Just thought I should check in. I do not consider myself a cowgirl, if that is what you were implying Sarah. Although, Chris calls our house the farm. So, I might be a farm girl now. How weird.
Happy Memorial Day weekend!
Only 3 more days for me!!!!
See you so soon!
Love,
Breanna

Where have all the cowgirls gone?

Today I used the word "homies" in class. I'm not so sure that's too professional, or standard English, but it was said. Obviously the students looked at me like I was from a different planet. Yesterday we had to be in tornado-ready position for 30 minutes because of bad weather...that's always exciting.

Donde esta mis chicasvacas? (Where are my cowgirls?)

A few photos

Atop of Cerra de la Cruz (cross on the hill) overlooking the city of Antigua


La Iglesia Luterana - this church is run by the Missouri Synod church. When first built, it was also a hospital, but now it is only used as a church.


una camioneta (a bus) I rode a bus like this frequently to Alba's house. However, I took this picture when I was coming back from Lago Atitilan where we took a camioneta for 3.5 hours


This is a common site of how wood or other items would be transported. I couldn't get my camera out quick enough to get a front view, but this man is carrying this load by a band that is resting against his forehead. I can't imagine how heavy it would be.


La iglesia de San Fransico. This church was built by a priest, Hermano Pedro, in the 1500s. Of course he was from Spain, but felt the need to built a church and a school for the Guatemalans. Unfortunately, the school was destroyed in the 1700s by an earthquake. People still pray to Hermano Pedro and believe that he can help them with a variety of problems they might be experiencing.


There are literally of hundreds of photos I wish to share with you, but I know they don't mean quite as much to you as they do to me. Tonight when I was working on my Guatemala PowerPoint I wanted to go back. Basically, I was thinking I should move there. It's so beautiful and the people are wonderful. However, it would make it a lot harder to make it to the annual Festival, which I am extremely excited for and can't believe that it is coming up so quickly.

Tomorrow is Friday and I'm excited. Most of my students will be gone because they're going rollerskating. Oh, guess the latest scuttle-butt among the students today? A lot of students were upset because they say a 7th grade girl was poisoned by school food and now she has amensia. Her boyfriend was so mad that today he stormed into the cafeteria this morning, dumping all the silverware and food on the floor and charging the head lunch lady. He was hauled in handcuffs and the alleged amnesia girl continued her day. Where do they get these ideas? Clearly they are not from this planet and lack the ability to use basic logic. After all, what parent would send their child to school if they had amnesia? Oh, I can't wait until June 12th.
Okay, these are my random thoughts for tonight.