Advent Goodness

What a busy time of year! I want to start by writing about something fun that I did last night. Our church has a partnership with a public school. Odd sounding, isn't it? This is an urban school where over 80% of the students are at or below the poverty level. Mosaic believes in serving the community in Jesus' name with no strings attached. So last night, I went to a craft fair at a K-8 public school that was planned, funded, and staffed entirely by a church. I served free cups of hot cocoa for two hours to a diverse group of students and parents. It was SO MUCH FUN! It reminded me of what I loved about being a public educator. The people! Watching these folks come in from the bitter cold and enjoy themselves as a community was simply a huge blessing. The kids were able to make free, quality gifts for the adults in their lives while the same adults enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and tasty seasonal goodies. I look forward to the next event at the school and hope to take the entire family eventually.

In Bangsund-Land, we have enjoyed the beginning of Advent in so many ways. I began pulling out decorations the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Luke looked at me in surprise and said, "Is it Christmas?" I told him it was indeed Christmas time. His next question was, "Where is our tree?" We found our Christmas tree at a local u-cut tree farm the next day. The boys enjoyed the free mini candy canes and the big machine that wraps the trees. I enjoyed the $13.50 price. :-) The tree is precious and sweet standing in our living room. We also put up the Christmas train for the first time this year. I received this battery powered train as a gift my senior year in high school with much delight, but this train had not known love until it met Luke and Paul. They adore it. Paul is still a bit young, but Luke does an awesome job of realigning the wheels and getting it back on the track when needed. It's amazing to me the things he can do without help now. Time. It flies.

Looking toward Christmas morning, we are excited about focusing our celebration on the person and birth of Jesus Christ. There will be birthday cake and singing. Presents will be given. Just this morning during school time I was telling Luke the BSF story for the week from John 7. (We had to miss BSF today because Paul had a fever...he's doing better now.) Anyway, in John 7, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for a Feast and people everywhere are talking about Him. Some believe He is the Messiah. Others do not. There is LOTS of controversy. (Not unlike today, eh?) I shared with Luke that when people hear about the Lord Jesus, some believe He is the Christ and some do not. He processed this and said, "I know that Jesus is the Christ." I actually had to take a moment to appreciate childlike faith. Unable to say anything in reply, I silently thanked God for His Word and how clear these matters can be if we allow faith to blossom. That is what we will be celebrating this year. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, born in Bethlehem to save and redeem on Calvary.

Some pics of the peeps:

Luke checks out the tree and approves.

Paul supervises the cutting.

A Fat Rat

You might be thinking, "Gross!" Let me explain. Luke read his first book all by himself this week on Wednesday. It's title is A Fat Rat. He was SO thrilled! I was pretty excited myself. My favorite moment was on the page with the words "a fat mat" when Luke looked at the picture and said, "A fat piece of cheese." I burst out laughing and he joined in. We belly laughed for at least a minute before I explained the importance of looking at the words and not just the pictures. He finished the book and was ready to read it again. Erik was even able to come home from work in the middle of the day to have Luke read to him for the first time. Pretty special day.

In other news, I am at the beach right now. My friend Liza and I have run away from home for the weekend. We are watching movies, enjoying the amazing view from the windows of this beach front house (a huge thank you to neighbors John and Nancy for letting us stay here!), and scrapbooking. The weather is stormy and fun. There are some brave souls out on the beach at this moment. Liza and I are making cinnamon rolls, drinking coffee and wearing pajamas. I love it.
And now for the pictures!

Daddy and Luke made this rainbow using his cars last week. Super cute.

Luke helping Paul to "read" A Fat Rat. Adorable.

Other learning fun...we have been reading about levers in The Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science. On Thursday Luke looked at our long, black tube (used for zooming matchbox cars) and said, "Mommy, it's like a lever. I push here and it goes up on the other end." Nice application of learning, buddy!

Not what you would expect

It happened today! The Nordstrom's Holiday catalog arrived at our house. I immediately dropped everything and made this poster for my husband.

"Another 2 Reasons You Love Me: Neither the most expensive NOR the least expensive bags (nor anything in between) from the Nordstrom's Tossmas Catalog appeal to me! Happy Advent Conspiracy!!" Under the picture on the left: "$2695 = the cost of 28 farm animals that could save 10 families from starvation in the third world." On the right: "$450 would provide 9 families with tools, training, and seed to begin subsistence farming drought-resistant vegetables and grains."

I think I'll keep the sign up for awhile. It's a great reminder for me and those I love. We will celebrate differently. This is our new tradition. Catalogs will be tossed. Gifts will be relational. The ones who need it the most will get the food, water, shelter, clothing, medical supplies, and education for Christmas. I'm so excited to teach my boys the story of Jesus' birth again this year. And I can't wait to live it for them through sacrificial giving. What will you teach? What will you give?

New Birth

One of my closest friends on the planet gave birth Sunday morning to a beautiful baby boy. It was my honor and privilege to care for her other children during this time. God timed the birth perfectly so that Erik was home with our boys and I could head over to their house at 2am. :-) Visiting her at the birth center later that day, I was astounded again by the newness of birth. The soft skin. The sleepiness of a newborn. I held a baby who was four hours old and introduced myself, telling him how much I love his family and that we are bonded not by a blood relationship, but through the blood of Jesus Christ. I prayed over him, that he would trust in the Lord with all his heart and lean not on his own understanding; that in all his ways He would acknowledge God and He would make his path straight. (Proverbs 3:5,6) Pretty amazing moment.

My boys are good. Erik has been at a business meeting since Monday, so we are all looking forward to his return this afternoon. I realize I haven't blogged since Halloween...it didn't go down like I thought it would. The boys tried on their costumes and decided they didn't want to wear them. At the same time, the Oregon vs. USC game started at 5pm and I really didn't have a desire to take the boys out. So we all stayed in and watched the Ducks TROUNCE the Trojans. It was a good night. :-) Here's a pic of the Ducks fans.

Thanks for the t-shirts, Grandma! The boys wore them to BSF on Wednesday and were a big hit, even with the Beaver fans. :-)

Luke and Paul with Luke's lion costume. Sorry, folks.

Sorting Beans, Doing Dishes and Answered Prayer

Does God answer prayer? Shortly after getting him up this morning, I discovered that Paul had a low-grade fever. His mild fussiness confirmed the fact that he's not feeling well. To make matters more interesting, I mistakenly took my vitamins on an empty stomach. Have I ever wanted to throw up more? Nope. So, it's time for our school day to start. Paul has escalated the fussiness to downright irritable. My stomach hates me. And Luke has decided this is the day he wants to dictate how school happens. The script ran something like this.

Luke: I wanna do my Feel Box first. I'm gonna do my Feel Box first.
(Note: The Feel Box has an item hidden inside that begins with the letter we are learning which Luke must discern using only his hands. I use it about halfway through our school time to keep him interested.)
Me: (Setting up our school table to begin the day) We can start with our letter time and do the Feel Box early today. (I'm trying to be flexible, while still getting in the "hard" learning and using the fun stuff as the carrot.)
Luke: I'M GONNA DO MY FEEL BOX FIRST!!
Me: Mommy needs to pray right now. (Getting down on my knees right by our school table) Dear Jesus, I'm so tired and I don't feel well. I'm broken and empty. I need your help today. A lot. Amen.

I got up and told Luke that Mommy is the teacher and she decides what we do first. I had absolutely NO conviction that Luke would buy this line, but I proceeded to sit down and start our day like normal. He followed along. Jesus answers prayer. After school time was over we moved almost immediately to snack time, during which I remembered how much Luke loves helping me sort beans. The menu for tonight is a black bean recipe and I knew that I needed to get the beans soaking. I grabbed a couple bowls and Luke proceeded to amiably help me sort through them while Paul sat contently in his booster seat. Jesus answers prayer. After snack, Paul asked if he could do the dishes. I'm totally serious. It's his excuse to stand on a chair and play in the sink. Glancing at the oatmeal-encrusted breakfast dishes and the yogurt covered snack bowls, I agreed. The boys stood on chairs together at the sink and rinsed every last bit of oatmeal and yogurt from those bowls. Jesus answers prayer above and beyond our expectations. The boys spent the rest of the morning playing quietly together. The love has continued on into the afternoon. They are in the playroom right now as I finish this post. Paul still has a low-grade fever. My stomach, while feeling better, has not fully recovered from my blunder. But Jesus answers prayer and I'm so very thankful to Him.

The Brothers Bangsund at the sink

I love Sundays

We are attending the evening service at our church these days, and it makes Sundays very mellow. I slept until 8:22am this morning. That is definitely a record for me. The boys were already up and fed by that time. I picked clothes, Daddy dressed them, and we all headed to the park for the morning. The closest park is a little sketchy, but we went anyway. My boys can't read the graffiti yet, so it doesn't matter as much. I like this park because it has two play areas separated by long walking paths AND it is right next to an elementary school with an additional two play areas. It is perfect for the two-year old with very little attention span. We started in one area and eventually worked our way to the final "ultimate" play structure from which one can see the MAX trains as they pass by. Very cool. The boys had a great time and the parents were able to carry on conversations while pretending to ride on the MAX. Also very cool.
I almost forgot! I wanted to send a shout out to my fabulous father-in-law who is currently traveling in Europe and missing the opening games of NCAA college football. The Ducks thumped Cal yesterday 42-3!!!! Wish you were here. The boys are enjoying their football time each Saturday and we can hardly wait to have you and Grandma over. :-)
And now the pictures!

In completely unrelated events, Paul LOVES to wear his blanket around the house. It's actually pretty convenient for him. He came to me with it about a week ago, saying, "I wanna wear it." I decided the Pacific Islander look would be easiest.

Do you ever watch your kids do something and realize they are growing up?

Really angry Paul screaming NO because he doesn't want his picture taken. We think he looks like the MGM lion in this shot.

This is the MAX train. And the Daddy-Man sitting in the fake tire swing. That's right, folks. They don't use real tires anymore.

First Day of BSF

Today was our first class day for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). I rave about this organization often enough that y'all should know of which I speak, but if you're confused, just click. :-) Anyway, today was momentous because for the first time ever, all four members of our family were registered, attending members of BSF. Luke, Paul, and I headed out the door together for class this morning. The church our classes uses is only about ten minutes away, so I don't really worry about being late, but there was a moment this morning when I wasn't sure if I would make it. See below.
Let me explain what you are viewing. This picture was taken about five minutes before we needed to be in the car, leaving our house. Notice the shoes in a neat line just beside our back door. Notice the barefooted four-year-old who HAS to finish "reading" (reciting from memory) Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel before we leave. Also notice the completely despondent two-year-old, laying prone in the dining room. All I could was take this picture and pray. Luke finished his book and was happy to put on his shoes and socks. Paul screamed the entire time as I wrestled him into appropriate foot wear. Fortunately the garage door opener saved the day. Paul got to push the button to open the garage door. Then, of course, Luke wanted to push the button, so we closed the garage door and went through the process again, allowing Luke to perform this sacred duty. Who cares? It got us in the car. We will do it every Wednesday if it means driving away from the house with two happy boys! My neighbors have to think I'm insane.
This was the only moment of chaos. We got to the church, set up the chairs for my discussion group in the foyer, which has no less than four exits, during which time Paul sat happily in a chair and watched all the action. There's a LOT of action when around 300 women are all showing up for a Bible study at the same time! I took the boys down to the room where they get to play while I pray with the other leaders. Then it was GO time! Luke and Paul headed to their class and I headed to mine.
I forgot how much I love this! As a discussion leader, I get assigned a new group of 10-15 ladies each fall. Meeting them today was so much fun. We were able to share a little about ourselves and get to know each other and I feel so blessed to have these women in my life already. We are studying John this year. I can hardly wait to get going on my questions tomorrow morning!!! I shared with the group today that I get my study done by getting up early and that my programmable coffee pot is a HUGE incentive for me. I'm just guessing though, that the excitement of getting back into a hardcore Bible study is going to be plenty to get me out of bed tomorrow.
How goes the home schooling, you ask? Answer: Awesome! It is Luke's favorite part of each day. He has been dressing himself the last few mornings and eating breakfast rather quickly. I have a bell that I ring to begin our school day. (Former students will remember my bell fetish.) Luke literally RUNS to our school room when he hears the bell. It's adorable. He's got the schedule memorized and can be heard chanting parts of it to himself during transitions. My favorite version so far is, "Science on the couch. Science on the couch." No, this is not a lab science on the couch. It's Berenstain Bears science on the couch. Very fun. Here are a few pictures of this last Sunday when we did school because we could. :-)

Luke completing a visual memory activity. The items on the tray were removed one at a time and he had to color the picture of the missing item. Cake for this guy.

Luke is practicing the letter "L" on his rough work surface during visual review for "Go Phonics." He definitely struggles with the hand writing portion of this curriculum, but loves this fancy board that Grandpa made for him. We will continue with the handwriting, but I'm not being a stickler about anything at this point. He's four. :-)

Luke uses his Feel Box for the first time, trying to figure out what /l/ sound word is hidden inside. It took him a few guesses and some hints to discover it was a leaf. He was delighted! This week is /t/ and I'm open to suggestions!