FISH!

You've probably never seen that Red Dwarf episode where The Cat stands in front of the food replicator machine and repeatedly says, "FISH!" in order to obtain his meal of five or six raw fish.  But I have.  And when titling this blog post, I heard his voice in my head.  It made me happy.  Okay.  Now having used something completely non sequitur as an introduction to my subject, I will tell you a wonderful story.

Christmas night we always go to Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy's house.  It is a great party with lots of people we know and love.  Each year, there is some sort of gift exchange amongst the adults and the kids usually get a few presents, too.  This year's gifts from Bob and Cindy were particularly super cool and awesome.

First the boys opened a jar of really cool sand stuff that doesn't make a big crazy mess like regular sand.  It sticks together instead.  Sweet!  Then Paul opened Snap Circuits Junior, a completely awesome, fully functioning circuit board that uses snaps as the conductors.  Paul had seen a set very similar to this at our friends' house.  He was overjoyed.  And I was a very happy mom.  Wait for it, people.  It's going to get better.

The boys took their loot, I mean gifts, to the basement and spent the rest of the evening playing with the really cool spinner toys from Chuck and Anita...think super awesome tops with a launcher.  Meanwhile the grown-ups exchanged gifts and enjoyed time laughing together.  When we were all done, Bob and Cindy pulled me aside and said they had one more gift for the boys, but we all needed to come to the kitchen for it.  I was thinking food.  It must be food.  Kitchens have food, right?

Erik ran down to get the boys and I stood in the kitchen chit chatting with our hosts and the grandparents who had followed us in there.  As soon as Paul entered the room, he immediately said, "Look!  Fish!"  Sure enough.  There on the kitchen table sat two elegant fish bowls with one betta fish in each.  I immediately understood and had tears come into my eyes at the sweet, thoughtfulness of our family.

You see, Krista, Lynne, and I had been plotting to get the boys hamsters this Christmas.  After some research, it became apparent that hamsters would not be the best choice for the loud, sometimes high maintenance six year old that lives in our house.  I was a little sad to let go of this idea.  I know.  They smell.  They are nocturnal.  But I had really wanted the boys to experience having pets.  Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy heard the story from Grandma, and they knew what to do.  FISH!

Back in the kitchen, Paul has no idea these are for us.  He simply asks, "What are their names?"  Uncle Bob tells him that he should name one of them.  Paul quickly says, "This blue one is named Jack."  Sidenote:  Luke has had his red fish for four days now and has tentatively named him Puffer because of his propensity to puff himself up when he sees himself in a mirror.  We'll see if it sticks.

Slowly, both boys realized that these fish were theirs to keep.  Uncle Bob spent the next few minutes teaching them how to feed and care for the fish.  The boys were super excited.  And this mom was so very blessed.  Sometimes the things I would pick for myself aren't the best.  Hamsters.  That would have been nuts.  Sometimes we need other people, wiser people, to pick what we wouldn't pick and gift it to us.  Huge thanks and big hugs to Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy.  GOOD GIFT!!

 Learning what it takes to feed Jack, who can't be seen.

Luke feeds Puffer, previously known as Red Fish.

For the record, I think Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy were a little nervous about giving this gift.  And for the record, I will be forever grateful that they did.

We brought our fish home and gave them a place of honor on the bathroom counter.  It's the warmest room in the house.  After one night in the 65 degree living room, it was clear that Jack and Puffer longed for warmer climes.  We have a space heater in the upstairs bathroom because I don't like cold porcelain.  It provides the perfect 72 degrees for our new friends.

Puffer and Jack - aren't they pretty?

That's what Christmas is all about.

It has been a very Bangsund Christmas this year.  We have experienced it all.  Six year old tantrums.  A sweet mother-son piano duet.  A lesson in grace.  Super cool gifts from the World Vision catalog.  Lots of Legos.  And two very special fish.  Read on for all the details and lots of pictures.

Christmas Eve day was mellow here.  Erik had already been off work since Friday, so we were feeling pretty relaxed.  In fact I was in my pajamas until some dear friends stopped by with their daughter whom we had not previously met.  She works in Alaska.  That's far away.  I digress.

Our first commitment for the day was meeting Grandma and Grandpa at church for the 5pm family service.  The boys put on their fancy clothes without the customary battle of the wills.  Sidenote:  my mother is a genius.  She made Paul a pair of brown corduroy dress shorts and bought him a pair of long argyle socks.  No more arguments over pants.  Beautiful.

Sadly, Paul and I had a confrontation over a different matter right before we went out the door.  I was trying to get his picture in front of the tree when he LITERALLY bounced backward into the tree, tilting it backward into the window.  Every single one of my grandmother's antique glass ornaments, placed on our tree for the first time this year in memory of her, clinked and clacked as the tree tipped and uprighted itself.

And I gasped audibly.  Paul doesn't like it when I do that.  I didn't yell.  I just gasped and then got really quiet.  He knew I was mad.  He doesn't like it when I'm mad.  So he got mad.  He did yell.  It was a little bit of holiday insanity.  All of my grandmother's ornaments were nearly destroyed and I'm being yelled at by an irate six year old child.  Eventually I did let fly with one very ugly comment.  Something about not ever having beautiful things because someone is just going to break them.  Gross, I know.

I know what you are thinking.  This isn't very Christmas-y, Amy.  Can't you just skip all this and get on with the church service or the time with the family or the presents?  Anything, but this.  Stick with me folks.  Because I honestly believe that this IS what Christmas is all about.

I'd like to say that things were much better at church.  They weren't.  Paul behaved, but my attitude stunk.  Ever done that?  Gone to church with a poopy attitude?  No, I'm the only one?  Didn't think so.  At one point I actually leaned over to Erik and said, "I don't want to be here."  He smiled lovingly at me and didn't say that he could tell.  But he could.

I'm going to skip ahead to the final tantrum of the evening.  It was Paul's not mine.  Shocking, isn't it?  While we were at Dave and Lynne's for dinner and gifts, Paul was repeatedly whiny, ungrateful, and demanding.  He had multiple timeouts, during which he SCREAMED at the top of his voice for all to hear.  In the condo there is really nowhere you can hide from that volume.  It was pretty bad.

By the time we got home, I was SO ready to skip everything the following morning.  Give them more presents?  No way.  Maybe we'll do it the 26th if they can pull their act together.  And that's when it hit me, hard, like a punch in the stomach.

God did not wait to give His Gift until we had our acts together.  Jesus came and was born as a baby, God in the flesh, when nobody had their acts together.  We were (and still are) sinners.  But Christmas happened anyway.  God gave His best perfect Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ, despite our being undeserving, whiny, ungrateful, demanding, and sometimes having poopy attitudes.  And when we accept the gift, we are given new life, delivered from all that un-Christmas-y stuff into the realm of true joy and peace.  And that's pretty Christmas-y, isn't it?  (I told you I would get there!)

Wanna see the pics?  Okay. You've endured the sermon, so I'll reward you.  Yes, I'm aware that many of you scrolled past the sermon.  I'm cool with that.  I write it mostly so I can remember the lessons I'm learning, anyway.  :-)

So cute...moments before he bounced the tree.

With the Tomten at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

A family shot looking fancy.

 Luke and I played Away in a Manger as a duet.  It was far from perfect, but I think everyone enjoyed it anyway.

Grandma opening the nativity scene we made for her.  It was pretty special.

Wow.  I'm struck by how sweet all those pictures look.  You would never know looking at them what was going on in our hearts.  I'm thankful we have a God who does not look at outward appearances, but looks at our hearts.  I need Him to look there because nobody else can see it if I choose not to reveal it.  And it needs to be revealed so that it can be cleaned!  (End preaching.)

Segue to Christmas morning pics:  I forgot to take pictures of our birthday cake and World Vision catalog time, but it was good.  Sticking to tradition we sang carols, ate cake, and picked birthday presents for Jesus first thing on Christmas morning.  The boys picked lots of good stuff, but the items that were the most fun were solar lanterns for kids.  In the third world, it can be really hard to do homework by the light of a kerosene lamp.  Having a solar powered lantern enables students to do homework without incurring eye and lung damage or risking fire.  The boys also gave backpacks for orphans, some ducks, and seeds for farmers.  Erik and I picked a goat and three more ducks this year.

Then it was time for Lego.  Okay, the boys actually had to be called in from the playroom when it was time for gifts.  They were playing contentedly with the things they got from Dave and Lynne.  But I was so glad that we were a bit extravagant in our gifts to the boys this year, especially with Paul.  We bought him a Lego set that he has longed for, but that was beyond our normal price point for gifts.  I found it on Amazon a few weeks ago priced well within our budget, along with a set for Luke similarly priced.  So I got them.  And now I know why.

They were the perfect example of extravagant grace.  Paul's behavior warranted coal and lots of it.  He got the Lego set of his dreams.  This is exactly what God gives us!  We deserve punishment and death.  We get eternal life and all the riches of heaven - love, joy, peace, etc!  I know.  He's six.  Does he really get it?  I don't know.  But as many times as I can paint this picture for him, I will.  It's worth it.

Hard to believe the Rancor Pit from Star Wars can be a picture of God's grace to the world in Jesus Christ...but it is.

 Luke liked his set as well.  It's an AT-TE from Star Wars.  Um...it's technical, folks.  Only eight year old boys really understand it.

Let the building begin!

And quiet descended upon the house.  I think I will save the fish for the next post.  Don't miss it, people.  Coming soon - Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy's awesomeness.

Christmas Related Post

I was awakened EARLY this morning by a child.  Crazy early.  Three am early.  Unable to fall back asleep, I woke up, made coffee, read some Bible, journaled some, prayed some, and wrote this blog post over at Simply Radical Christmas.  It's about keeping it simple at this time of year.  Enjoy!

Getting Away

Erik and I took the opportunity to get away from it all this past weekend.  We escaped...I mean...left town on Friday at 1pm and returned home yesterday at about the same time.  It was a much needed break from our regularly scheduled programming.

We went to Seaside and stayed at the Rivertide Suites on a Living Social deal.  Love the deals.  We did whole lots of nothing, followed by some more nothing.  Okay, we did go up to Astoria Saturday where we climbed the column and visited a few Goonies sites.

Um...so...I'm a true child of the 80's.  I loved that movie.  And I saw it lots.  Yes, the kids swear WAY too much.  And it's got violence.  But I find that the things I grew up with are nearly always too filled with sentiment to offend me now.  Simultaneously, I'm pretty sure that folks who didn't see it then would be grossly offended by it now.  Do kids still cuss like sailors in movies today?   I don't watch movies much anymore, so who knows?

Regardless, some pics to tell more of the trip.

It was super foggy but awesome anyway at the Astoria column on Saturday morning.  Yes, we climbed it.

I was amazed at the amount of acrophobia (irrational fear of heights) I experienced on the way up and the way down.  My grandmother always had this.  I thought it was silly.  Not so much now.

But I made it!  The view wasn't much, but the sense of accomplishment was...worth it?  Um...no.  I probably won't do this again.  Ever.  Scaredy cat!  Yep.  I'll own it.

And now some goofy Goonies sites and props.  Oh, I'm such a dork.

It's the jail that the bad guy brother breaks out of in the opening scene, home to the Oregon Film Museum these days.

It's Chester Copperpot's wallet and the "key" they find around his skeletal neck.

Skeletons?  Dead bodies?  Why does Amy even like this movie?

Mikey's house.  That window with the blue tarp near it is the window he's looking out when we first see him.  Dork dork dorkity dork.  That's me.

I actually have more Goonies pics, but I'm thinking I'll save those for my old age when I no longer differentiate between reality and the movies I loved in my youth.  I'm fairly confident I'll be showing the pics to my great-grandkids telling them the events of the movie like they happened to me.  Oh dear.

Here is our suite:

Meanwhile, at home, Luke got really sick.  Poor guy and POOR Oma.  Nobody but the parents should have to clean up after that.  We owe her.  BIG.  She got way more than she bargained for all night Friday and part of the day Saturday.  Bleck.

This is the boy I left on Friday.  Seriously, I took this shot Friday morning as we finished school.

 (I took this because of the awesome, purple, fuzzy socks he was wearing.)

 And this is the boy we came home to on Sunday:

 All smiles to have Mommy home, but clearly ill.  :-(

Paul has yet to contract the yuck, and I don't knock on wood.  But we are praying hard that he stays healthy.  It's just a junky time of year to be sick.  We all missed church last night.  I was bummed.  So was Paul:

Okay.  This picture has nothing to do with church last night.  I  took it about a half hour ago.  I asked him to smile.  He did this.  Yep.  I don't have high hopes for a Christmas pic this year.  Meh.

True Confessions

I'm sitting in our playroom, the room with the most windows but also the most space heaters. (Still no furnace here) The Christmas music is playing. I have a fresh cup of coffee, and I'm waiting for it to snow.

I think it stems from my time as a public educator. Snow in the forecast? Urge to teach decreases. Must make warm beverage and snuggle up with a book.

I know. We homeschool. We need not take snow days. But the stuff is so stinkin rare around here. We are required to take time out to enjoy it, right?

I'm sure the boys will find me here eventually and beg me to read them something. I'll roll our school shelf over to the couch and something like school will happen, but the laziness of this moment is delightful to me.

Brrrr!

Some of you might notice that today has been a rather prolific one for this blogger, this being my fourth post of the day, including one over at Simply Radical Christmas.  There's a reason, of course. It snowed here today.  And it's crazy cold, colder than usual but more about that later.  So, because of the snow, this happened to my calendar:

I don't drive in the snow.  Ever.  There's a story behind that involving me driving a car that is spinning out of control in an intersection with on-coming traffic fast approaching.  Nope. Nope. Nope.  I'm blessed to live a lifestyle that means I can pretty much stay home when it snows.  In fact, it makes for a beautiful day usually.

 Watching it snow.  Notice the difference in attire.  This will become more meaningful when you scroll down.

 Artsy shot.  Couldn't resist.  Keep scrolling.

This is our thermostat.  It's not broken, but our furnace is.  It is not warm in vast portions of our house today.  Some of us are choosing to layer heavily today.  Others of us are wearing swim trunks, knee socks, and t-shirts.  Whatever.

The Mama-La is hanging out in the playroom where these in-wall space heaters are saving the day.  Historically, I have not been a fan of the fact that this room is not part of our central heating system.  

Today, I am thanking Jesus for these bad boys.  It's 28 degrees outside, 62 degrees in my living room, but a warm 74 degrees in this playroom.  Where I sit.  Blogging.

And drinking coffee while listening to Christmas music.

The boys did venture outside to play in the dusting of snow we received.  They actually ended up having a halfway decent snowball fight with Mrs. Mary, our backyard neighbor who loves my kids.  It was so awesome that she instigated this super fun activity because it meant that I didn't need to go out and get really cold.  Yes, I'm a wimp.

 That's glee on Luke's face, in case you couldn't tell.

The snow was really powdery and didn't stick together all that well.  Did that stop these peeps?  No.  No it did not.  They had a blast and came in red-cheeked and happy.

As for the furnace, our call is in to our dude who fixes these things.  Simultaneously, I'm not stressed about it.  Yes, we are going to have our coldest night of the year tomorrow night.  But we have lots of blankets and a portable space heater.  We will survive.  In fact, this is as close to camping as my boys are going to get for awhile.  No heat, but warm, running water and electricity.  That's my kind of camping, people.  Don't judge.  I do other cool things with my kids.  ;-)

Christmas Tree Hunt 2013

The hunt took place on Saturday, November 30th.  It never actually takes that long.  I'm not picky and none of us are really outdoor folks.  We squeezed it in between Erik's lecture prep and the college football. (BAMA LOST!!!)  Oh, dear.  I digress.  Let's go to the pictures, shall we?

 Hats on and ready to go to the tree farm!

There was a noticeable difference to me this year.  After we got out of the car, both boys went running through the tree farm, pointing at trees and making a big ruckus about which one they wanted.  They were actually just joking around.  They both know that Mommy picks the tree.  ;-)  It actually made me super happy that I didn't have to shush them and tell them to slow down.  Walking feet and inside voices aren't necessary on a tree farm!  YAY!

Here's the tree the boys picked:

 I think they are hilarious.

Here's the tree Mommy picked:

 It's a little more realistic for our living room, right?

 Luke helps with the process, pushing the tree so Daddy can get a better angle with the saw.  Luke is getting big.

 I think Paul is pointing back to the ginormous tree they had picked out.  He knows it won't work, but it tickles his funny bone to think of that tree in our house.

And then came the boys' reason for loving to pick the Christmas tree at this particular place:  The Toy Shed!

A free toy for every kid.  Don Schneider shops garage sales all summer to make this possible.  Luke went right for the Nerf blasters.  No surprise there.  Paul ended up with a pair of kid-sized binoculars for being a spy.  I love the way neither boy cares that these toys were pre-owned.  New to them is new!

The boys pose with Don Schneider, proprietor and all around awesome guy.  

Thanksgiving (Finally!)

It's been just over a week since Thanksgiving, but I can't just leave it out.  I have some pictures and a few fun stories, so here it all is.

We created our traditional Thanksgiving Tree from brown paper grocery bags.  Both boys really got into the creation of the tree trunk this year, providing additional details with markers.

By the time it came to make leaves, Paul completely declined to have his picture taken.  But Luke was game:

His first leaf isn't exactly grammatically correct, but I just wrote what he said anyway.

Putting his leaves on the tree.

The finished product - never glamorous, but always fun!

We were so blessed to be invited to Chuck and Anita's for Thanksgiving dinner this year.  We had a great time laughing and sharing and the food was wonderful.  Check it out.

This photo comes to you courtesy the fabulous Maya, who remembered to take the plate/table picture, and so kindly shared it with me.  My favorite thing on these plates?  The sweet potato stuffed orange covered in marshmallows made by Aunt Cindy.  Where have these been all my life?

 I'm not really sure what this look is all about, but it's Luke at dinner, so it goes on the blog.

This next shot requires a little explanation.  There were a variety of nuts on the table for decoration.  After dinner, Paul gathered some of them and proceeded to "play Yahtzee" with them on the floor of the living room.  It mainly involved rolling five of them and saying, "Yahtzee!" when they were all the same, which was fairly simple to manipulate.

 He looks so happy!

 After dinner spoon hanging lesson with Elizabeth.  Awesome.

 Sarah Jane has it down!

It was a delightful day with lots of laughter and joy.  The boys did pretty well, enjoying time with the ferrets, Sarah Jane's childhood dinosaurs, and probably some of the people as well.  Erik and I were delighted to be with grown-ups engaged in real conversations.  Happy Thanksgiving (finally)!

What Jesus Does

Remember Luke's 7th birthday?  I know.  It was a while ago.  If you need a reminder, you can go back and read the post.  In a nutshell, Luke raised money for clean water in Haiti for his 7th birthday.  Guess what we received yesterday?

It was an amazingly special email from Living Water International with an attached pdf telling a story and sharing pictures that made me burst into tears of absolute joy.  First a little back story.

After Luke's birthday, Erik and I looked at the money that had been raised with utter amazement.  While it wasn't enough to fund an entire well, it was still a TON of money.  We knew that Erik's company does fund matching up to a certain amount.  Obviously none of the money raised from outside sources was eligible for matching.  After doing the math and looking at our funds, we saw how God was going to provide the money necessary for what we thought would be a well in Haiti.  So, we submitted the necessary paperwork to Takeda, wrote our personal check to Living Water, and waited.

The matching funds were a VERY long time in coming.  There was a bad storm on the east coast, I can't even remember which one, that took out the matching funds processing center used by Takeda.  Delay after delay and Luke began praying each night for the funds to come through.  It's been close to a year since his birthday, and this Mama Bear is ready to send angry emails and make irritated phone calls.  Luke?  He prays every night and has a happy heart, super sure that God is going to make all this happen.

The funds FINALLY come through!  Our contact at Living Water International sends an email with a request.  They have a project already going in Haiti.  It's actually bigger than a well and already has two donors.  It's called a spring box and provides an enclosure for an already established mountain spring.  Luke's funds would give this project exactly the amount necessary to go forward.  Are we willing?  So, we checked with Luke.  His response:  Sure!

Wanna see the results?  First my apologies...I extracted the photos from the pdf they sent using a free extractor I downloaded and they are all watermarked.  But I did ask Living Water and they gave me permission to use the photos, so no copyright is being broken.  :-)

Here is how this community formerly acquired their water:

Their previous water source was "open and left subject to contaminates."  Um...no joke.

What the spring box gave them:

I love this picture.  A lot.

That middle plaque isn't quite right, friends.  It should say "Donated by the awesome friends and family of Luke Bangsund in celebration of his 7th birthday and in honor of Jesus Christ."  But I guess that is a little long.  Thank you all SO very much.  Thank you for helping our boy understand that Jesus Christ does amazing things when we pray and submit our ways to Him.  We are already praying and contemplating what God would have us do next as a family.  Despite all the waiting, this project has been a HUGE blessing to our family.  It has drawn us closer to each other and to the One who is our source of true Living Water, Jesus.