God Moves Mountains

It was a crazy, busy weekend here! Erik and I swapped places with my mom on Friday. She arrived to spend the weekend with the boys and we drove to her place in Puyallup to be the moving crew. It was absolutely awesome the way our brothers and sisters in Christ loved and supported us, providing everything including Teriyaki lunch, much needed organizational skills, outstanding spatial awareness, strong arms, strong backs and everything in between. We started work on Saturday at about 10:30am and the truck was finished by 2pm, including the lunch break! Thank you to Brice, Dan, Cathy, and Mark for being servants like Jesus.
Erik and I hit the road and headed south. We arrived home a little after 5pm to MUCH excitement regarding the 16 foot moving truck that Daddy backed into our driveway. We locked it up and let it rest for the evening, enjoying an early bedtime ourselves.
Sunday dawned bright and glorious with Pacific Northwest January beauty: solid cloud cover and steady rain. Our work force for the day was comprised of Chelsea, a former student, and her boyfriend, Eli. Long story about why that was it. But I just gave my concerns to the Lord and knew that He would get the glory. And He did! We all drove to Canby and after about two hours we were 85% done. Yes, it rained a lot, but it felt so good after carrying stuff up the stairs to my mom's new place. We enjoyed a fabulous, homemade lunch courtesy of a fellow BSF leader who lives in Canby. We released the kids to go home and relax. Another worker arrived, a man we had never met and I only know because he is the boyfriend of another BSFer. He and Erik finished the last bits off the truck and from the mini-van. And the moving part of the move was over! The best part was that Erik and I had huge smiles on our faces the entire time. We are so excited to have my mom closer, and her new place is so sweet. I'm beyond thankful to God for providing so beautifully for her and us. It's pretty amazing.
Before the pictures, another shout out to Grandma and Grandpa. We love you!
And a wave to Ellen. She's recovering from surgery and currently has a recliner that is stronger than she is...strength will rise as we wait on the Lord, friend. Be encouraged! :-)
And now...the pics.

Last week the boys decided the vacuum cleaner attachments were excellent firefighter equipment. Check out the pockets.

Luke helped Paul get his gear into his pockets. Paul was delighted!

Sunny Day!

The weather here is simply lovely. Luke skipped nap, after waking up this morning at 5:45 am. I decided our four walls were closing in, and the weather would more than permit us to be reacquainted with our backyard. The boys enjoyed the play structure first. Paul discovered something rather delightful. See picture below. Next came the riding toys, followed closely by the digging toys. I smell baths coming.
Before the pictures, a few shout outs. Greetings to Grandma and Grandpa in Hong Kong. We got your update and the boys think the noodles look good. Extra special greetings to Ellen Sabie, a faithful Bangsund Blog Follower. You are in our prayers. We love you so much and know that Jesus is holding you close.
And now, the pics...

"Bright!" He's a mole, like his daddy.

There's something different about this...

I can reach the top now! Such a big boy.

Yes, I posed this shot. I couldn't resist the cuteness.

Happy Brothers

Happy New Year!

I didn't make any resolutions this year, but I can't help noticing that my blogging has significantly decreased this past year. Perhaps 2010 will see me blogging more and doing less of something else. What should I give up to blog more? How about folding laundry?

We celebrated the coming of the new year with our good friends and their two adorable children. Sadly the only pictures we took are still on my mom's camera, which is no longer here. I can tell you that the children all enjoyed playing together and when the hour came to count down (7:42pm PST), the only one left in the room was the youngest two-year-old. The four year olds wanted NOTHING to do with this particular brand of crazy. My two-year-old had already melted and been put to bed. Oh well. Maybe next year. I think I need to sell it more. "Look kids! Sparkly juice and noise makers! Let's count backward from ten to zero and yell Happy New Year!" Wow. That is a goofy tradition.

Since I don't have pictures of New Years, I'll share more snow pictures. The evening of the last post, Erik, Luke and I were able to get out and really enjoy the snow. It only lasted through the next day, so I was really glad we went out even though it was Luke's bedtime. He slept pretty well once we did get him in and warmed up. The adventure ended when I made a snow angel for Luke, unwittingly dropping my camera from my coat pocket into the snow. I realized my error while removing layers in our entryway. My mom, who had watched the snow angel insanity, gave me the idea that I should go look there. Yep. Buried under about three inches of snow. It still works. I was kinda hoping I broke it because it is an ancient machine, nearing five years of age, that has been dropped, kicked, stepped on and in all other ways abused. Apparently it has a few more drops left in it. If you see my camera in the driveway, LEAVE IT! Something tells me my Volvo can get the job done right. Here are the pics!

Building some snow people!

Luke helps out by throwing snow all around.

Standing with partially finished snow people, holding snow. Very happy boy.

We went for a short walk down the street before going inside. Luke brought this snow along and ate it while we walked. Cute.

Snow!

It wasn't in the weather forecast, but it's snowing anyway. Today right before naptime Luke asked me, "When is it going to snow?" I sadly told him that where we live, it doesn't snow every year. About a half hour before he woke up, it started to snow rather earnestly here. In the past hour we've accumulated probably an inch and a half of snow. It's beautiful. The weather man says it will all be gone by 8pm. I'm not sure that I believe him. Regardless, it's lovely and fun. The boys went out for a few minutes already. We live in a rather windy area, so they spent most of that time wiping snow out of their eyes. Perhaps if the stuff is still around in the morning, they can enjoy it again.

Looking out the playroom window at the snow.

Luke is ready to go. His clothes all clash, but he's warm.

No, I haven't gained sixty pounds. I'm bundled!

Paul attempting to catch a snowflake or two on his tongue instead of in his eyes.

"We like to eat this stuff."

More Christmas Cuteness

The last two days have been rather laid back, despite a minor plumbing incident that has rendered my dishwasher and garbage disposal inoperable for a time. That's not a fun story, so I will skip it. There will be a plumber here tomorrow hopefully. Back to the laid back part of these past two days...Yesterday I never managed to get out of my pajama pants. Today I put on jeans, but never changed out of my pajama top. Perhaps tomorrow I will manage to dress myself fully. I did finish Sense and Sensibility today. I've been on a bit of a Jane Austen kick since about May. It all started with Pride and Prejudice. Then came Emma and I figured I was through it, but then one of my former students told me that Mansfield Park was her personal favorite. It might be mine as well. I'm thinking that 2010 will need to include Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. I'm not sure why I often feel the need to read an author's entire canon, especially if s/he is dead. William Faulkner is the exception. I could go on, but that's not a particularly fun story either.
The boys have been spending time with their new train bits. They both received a new engine and new track accessories that include a coal chute and a magnetic crane. I thought I would share a few more pictures from the Christmas festivities and post holiday fun.

Luke and Paul opening Aunt Krista's present: miniature wooden replicas of London (for Luke) and Paris (for Paul). So fun!

The Daddy-Man has the entire week between Christmas and New Year's off. It's a gift from his employer, Takeda, every year. I love this company. And we love having Daddy home.

Trains. Trains. Trains. Trains. Trains.

And more trains. Such fun!

Merry Christmas!

What a great morning! We started with birthday cake and going around the table saying what is special about Jesus. Luke began by telling how Jesus turned water into wine. Paul was next. I asked him, "Paul, what makes Jesus special?" Paul replied, "Jesus baked waffle." So hard not to laugh. Erik jumped right in and reminded Paul how Jesus fed the five thousand. Not sure if that is what Paul meant, but he smiled and nodded.
After cake (and yogurt because we need a little protein in our lives) we read from Luke's picture Bible and sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and Luke asked us what herald meant. That's hilarious because I think that up until now both he and Paul have thought it was Harold the Helicopter from the Thomas stories, hence the popularity of this song in our family.
Next we brought out the stockings. Each boy got his very own package of freeze-dried strawberries. I know. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's a huge luxury in our world. There were other dried fruits and yummies also. The Chocolate Brownie Clif Z Bars went really fast. Definitely a favorite.
Following stockings, the "real" presents emerged. The Elmo puppets from Aunt Nikki and Uncle Ed were a HUGE hit, especially with Paul. In fact, for the rest of the present opening either Erik or I needed to be working Elmo. Whenever we attempted to set him aside, Paul would say, "Do Elmo puppet." So we did! Here are a few pictures of the morning's sweetness.

Saying "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" as loudly as possible!!

Happy Boys eating Chocolate Brownie Z Bars

Love at first sight!

Big Hug!

Paul spent the morning sharing his presents with Elmo. It was super adorable.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

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.