tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65138080920871121062024-03-12T23:33:30.351-07:00Bangsund Family BlogAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.comBlogger479125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-7278341283637225132017-08-16T20:07:00.001-07:002017-08-16T20:12:13.735-07:00A Dozen Years With LukeOur boy Luke turned twelve today. Wanna see a cute baby picture of that guy? I figured.<br />
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That was him on his first birthday. This was him this morning:<br />
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Definitely the same kid. Right? Let me brag a bit on this boy because it's his birthday, I'm his mom, and this is my blog. ;-)<br />
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Luke is a delight to us. He is so intelligent and knowledgable while also being personable and fun-loving. He unloads the dishwasher without complaint and gives his mom hugs without being asked. He plays piano with a level of sensitivity and precision that awes his parents as well as his piano teacher. He is soft-hearted toward people younger than him. Multiple moms of toddlers have commented about how much they love the way Luke interacts with their kids. I love it, too. When he does funny things (i.e. repeatedly rolling off the couch in slow motion) to entertain a visiting two-year old, I can see the man he is becoming, and he reminds me of his father. A very good thing, people.<br />
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A quick word about the nearly teenage-ness of my son. I am not afraid. I am excited. (Maybe a little nervous, too, but mostly excited.) I believe the concept of teenager is a social construct. I know Luke is moving toward adulthood, but that does not mean he has to rebel or be surly. It means he has to intentionally seek out his place in this crazy world, try things on, suffer failure, and go back to the drawing board. We will love, support, continue to train, and guide him while he does this. We will also be intentional about finding ways to help Luke gain independence. Yes, this process hurts a little, but it doesn't have to be miserable. In fact, I think it is going to be epic.<br />
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End sermon.<br />
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Wanna see the rest of the pictures from the day's celebrations? Sure you do.<br />
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Getting the third in the Harry Potter series from us this morning. He was pretty excited.<br />
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But he also likes toys. And we like that about him. He's still a kid! This is a new light saber set that he had been eyeing recently. I love that we found it on clearance. The Lord is so good. <br />
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The next picture was taken at breakfast where Grandma and Grandpa gave Luke a new watch, a nice watch, a fancy watch, a watch that he can program to help him remember things like taking ADD meds and accomplishing other important tasks. He was pretty jazzed. So were we. <br />
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Luke had requested Chick-Fil-A for lunch on his birthday. We invited some friends along to make it even more fun. They are almost all looking at the camera in this picture. We tried. <br />
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The birthday party was a standard Bangsund affair, with a Star Wars theme and a movie shown. Here is the cake. It's a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. It was super yummy.<br />
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I couldn't find twelve candles that were all the same. The individual plugging his ears is doing so because our rendition of "Happy Birthday" was loud enough to be heard in the street. For real. Loud and proud, people. That's us.<br />
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Then it was time for the movie! "The Return of the Jedi" is a good one. And the crowd enjoyed it. Eleven kids, two dads and one grandma watched while three moms drank sparkling water in the living room upstairs. Lovely.<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-14863139655094087382017-07-16T20:19:00.000-07:002017-07-16T20:19:34.756-07:00A decade with PaulPaul turned ten today. That is crazy. In my mind, this is Paul:<br />
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See. Amazingly adorable little man who has always made great funny faces. Nope. This was him this morning after building his birthday train:<br />
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Oh, my heart. So, let me take a few minutes to brag to the world in general about the sweet, awesomeness that is our Paul. Paul is our creative, brilliant, musical, tender-hearted youngest son. He loves to draw and create. He reads voraciously and loves to listen to audio books. He plays piano better than any second year piano student I know. And he can scat. I'm not kidding. It's not a public thing yet, but maybe later in life. He struggles with his temper because he is passionate and sensitive like his mama. And he can find clever solutions to problems by thinking outside the box like his daddy. He will sit and draw a picture of dragons during the sermon at church, appearing like he isn't really listening, but then join in the dinner table conversation with spiritual truths he gleaned. And he is quick to forgive. Me, mostly but also his brother and dad. Do you know how beautiful that is? My prayer for Paul is that he would be quicker to forgive himself. We all need that, right?<br />
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Here are a few other pics from our celebratory business.<br />
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One hundred and eight gel pens from Oma!</div>
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These two both helped prepare our house for Paul's party on Saturday. We hung this banner last and they celebrated. Perfect.</div>
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Party time! We watched Despicable Me 2 with a great group of people that included church friends, CC friends, and BSF friends.</div>
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It's an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. It was his one request and I was SO happy to grant it.</div>
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We got Paul this plush Stitch. (We only just recently watched <i>Lilo and Stitch</i> for the first time with the boys.) He rode with us to Denny's this morning for birthday breakfast. They buckled him in on their own. Adorableness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeO-aBKSDTVxj_fCSuoRHCbyOIQbUHWocd57p6SfZQxdx5ZnrXLuSCP7d-43xeejHOEOA5vWH2udHmwINXGuLk4IVlT_gfbWBfsYly5WDSt0PaZekBLizsfYiaypWybbklBpgRmx2NWQUg/s1600/IMG_20170716_114534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeO-aBKSDTVxj_fCSuoRHCbyOIQbUHWocd57p6SfZQxdx5ZnrXLuSCP7d-43xeejHOEOA5vWH2udHmwINXGuLk4IVlT_gfbWBfsYly5WDSt0PaZekBLizsfYiaypWybbklBpgRmx2NWQUg/s640/IMG_20170716_114534.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grandma and Grandpa gave Paul cool glasses for biking. Paul leaves on his overnight bike trip with Grandpa tomorrow! These have a mirror that clips onto them, allowing Paul to have a rear view mirror of sorts while he rides. So. Cool.</div>
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<br />
This picture really says it all. He's ten, people. And he's fun and awesome. Clearly.<br />
<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-61332658991463431212017-05-09T08:48:00.002-07:002017-05-09T08:48:30.140-07:00Tithing<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I want to apologize in advance for the crassness of this
post.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I am going to name actual
amounts of money given and received.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If that is too offensive to you, I’m sorry.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But not really.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Get over it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erik and I have always given to our church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it’s been ten percent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it’s been more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually write that check.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it hasn’t ever been a thing I was
resentful about or afraid to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, it has always given me joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not claiming to be some Super Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I suck in a lot of other
ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is one area where
the Lord has granted me an obedient heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am able to joyfully give money to my church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Woot!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, Erik got laid off about six weeks ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His former company, as part of the
severance package, agreed to continue to pay him every two weeks for a period
of 8 weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I immediately
restructured our budget to plow as much of those paychecks into savings as
possible, not knowing how long our season of unemployment would last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I didn’t change the tithe
amount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not one cent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made the money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would give some of the money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However we were out of town the first Sunday I would have
written a tithe check.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, two
paychecks worth had accumulated when it came time to write that puppy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>True confessions:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first time ever, it stung a
little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I prayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it wasn’t some holy, awesome
prayer, people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It went a lot like
this, “Lord, this stings!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’m
scared!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was about to give away $600, an
amount that could feed our family and fill our gas tanks for a month and a
half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Giving was suddenly more
sacrificial than ever before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I didn’t hear an audible voice in answer, but I knew I
needed to write the check and give the check.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
I didn’t give it any thought afterward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Sidenote:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it helps that we
go to an amazing church filled with folks who love us unconditionally and
remind us of the goodness of the Gospel ALL the time.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fast forward a week and a half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Erik had his final sharing night for Bible Study Fellowship
last night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t know what
that means, think of around 150 men singing a hymn together and then taking
turns sharing with each other about all the amazing things God has done in
their lives over the course of the current year’s study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since February, Erik has been teaching
this band of brothers from the book of John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every Monday night, he stood before them and gave them
truths from God’s Word to encourage them, to convict them, and to draw them
closer to their loving Savior, Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has definitely been a sacrifice of time and energy for
Erik.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he has done it SO
joyfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am fairly
certain that it hasn’t stung at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, it has been a huge blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because sometimes tithing isn’t just about money. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s about time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The four hours of lecture preparation each weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two hours on Saturday morning to
lead and train the leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
two hours on Monday night to teach and serve the class members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joyfully given and abundantly blessed!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s where this story gets incredible to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of the night last night,
Erik was handed a card from a person who wished to remain anonymous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he opened it, he found a SUPER
encouraging note and $1400 cash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
burst into tears and blubbered for a good five minutes when he told me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People, God provides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And tithing is important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote the check for $600 thinking
about groceries and gas money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
gave us twice that amount and then some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wanna know what the “then some” is for?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s for giving back to Him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The lessons I learned from this experience:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When giving stings, pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And give even when you think it is
going to hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He died an excruciatingly painful
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave His life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it was so worth it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He rose again, conquering sin and
death!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we give sacrificially we get to experience in a <span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">very small way </span>the
sting of dying to self and the joy of being raised to new life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the Gospel all over again.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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</style>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-76277994135391621972017-05-02T10:41:00.000-07:002017-05-02T10:41:09.783-07:00Here I Raise My EbenezerA few weeks ago one of the pastors at my church asked if I would write something to share in an all worship gathering this past Sunday. So, I did. Here it is.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a worshipper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to those of you who sit
anywhere on this side of the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I also have a secret, quiet, sometimes silent way of worshiping
Jesus that I will be sharing with you today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Producing pages of oft times painfully crafted paragraphs feeds my
soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crazy, huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But because I love it, because God
created me with this passion, I use it to worship Him, to praise Him, to honor
Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And today He asks me to share
that with you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ebenezer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
a weird word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I’m not the
only one who immediately thinks of a Christmas story<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>with a crabby old guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I could write a literary essay about his transformation, but I
won’t! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I DO need to talk about
this word though because it has more meaning to me in my current season of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll get there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But first, the weird word.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ebenezer comes from the Hebrew for stone of help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was coined by Samuel after God had
helped the Israelites subdue the Philistines at Mizpah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s okay if you don’t remember that
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just know that the
Philistines were big, scary enemies of God’s people and God had taken care of
that business miraculously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Samuel
wanted the people to remember the place and time when God intervened and saved
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God had worked in a powerful
way on behalf of His people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
so a rock, a stone of help, an Ebenezer was set up to remind the people of what
God had done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to jump to present day
Portland, OR, but try to keep the Ancient Israelite Ebenezer or Stone of Help
in your head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll get back around
to it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On March 29<sup>th</sup>, Erik received an email saying that
the following day 480 folks in his company would be laid off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s 38 percent of the workforce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We immediately reached out to our Roots
Family and other believers in our lives, asking for prayer, trusting God to
accomplish His plan for our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The next morning at 7am Erik received the call from his manager letting
him know that he was among those who were no longer employed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we again immediately texted our
praying friends, letting them know that Erik had indeed been let go by his
company, but not by our gracious, loving God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(That was Erik’s awesome, Holy Spirit-inspired verbiage,
which I immediately stole) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, after eleven years, his job was just over. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t put on a tie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t gather his detail bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t load up his car. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So. Weird.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I won’t lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
were a little stunned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not because
we thought we were immune to such things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More because we hadn’t really processed all that was involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our loss loomed over us like the proverbial
cloud of grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t really
the lack of income that concerned us those first few days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We mourned the job that Erik had loved,
the job the Lord had given to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We grieved that the career that brought us to Portland and re-defined
Erik’s professional journey was over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a good job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would
miss it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those first few days really are blurry, filled with that
foggy-headed existence that accompanies grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our lives certainly did NOT slow down, but things happened
without our awareness, daily events rolling on, one into the next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And in the midst of all this, the Body of Christ became so
very real to us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two meat packs were purchased by members of our Gospel
Community, their hearts touched by my recent sharing about a Christmas from my
childhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nuttelmans and Steeles
– thank you for overflowing our freezer with meat. Every time we sit down to
dinner, we give glory to God and thank Jesus for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our kids were invited to play for long afternoons, allowing
Erik and I to go through the severance package and restructure our budget
without distractions and with as many tears as necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you Kemples, Smiths, and Vices
for loving our boys like they are family.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Invitations to dinner were extended and immediately
accepted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you Gleasons and
Smiths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fellowship alone
blessed our souls but the steak and Swedish meatballs certainly didn’t hurt! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meals and toilet paper and cereal and snack food arrived at
our home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when I went to Winco
and only had to spend $40 to feed my family for the week, it was easy for me to
help the young mom in front of me who was going to put back her whole grain
bread and organic yogurt because her WIC benefits hadn’t rolled for the
month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you Smiths, Vices,
and Abarias.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You sponsored that
moment at Winco with your generosity and sacrifice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Body of Christ is an amazing thing, friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up until this moment in our lives we have
always felt loved by our Roots Family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But this has been the event that has allowed our Roots Family to
physically and financially be the hands, feet, and wallet of Christ to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Is it irreverent to say the wallet of
Christ?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too late, I already
did.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there is something
beautiful about receiving help from the hands of brothers and sisters who love
you unconditionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have often
been on the giving end of this equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It has been humbling, glorious, horrifying, encouraging, difficult, and
SO, SO good to be on the receiving end of sacrificial giving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot like our salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I look at the Cross of Christ and
think, “That was too expensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
should not have done that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
price was too high.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then I
get on my knees and am inexpressibly grateful that He did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess what I’m trying to say, Roots,
is that I see a very small, not yet complete but still incredibly beautiful
picture of Jesus Christ in you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, now I need to remind you of the weird word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where does an Ebenezer come into all of
this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say we began to
see God’s hand of provision and help in almost everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While on a walk around the block during
that first week, a neighbor and fellow follower of Jesus engaged us in
conversation, challenging us to write down all the Lord had done so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I totally agreed, knowing that I WANTED to write it all down,
but that I also NEEDED a visual representation, a remembrance and
acknowledgement for our entire family and anyone who entered our home.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
God inspired Samuel to place that stone of help so that the
people would remember what He had done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wanted to place stones so we would remember, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I created an Ebenezer wall in our
dining room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSnXMNrL5IpyLLaDe_QWGg1-Mb9UjdlJsMsV6XNA46XzRfKao279so5y_wXMSb5atp9Remfhs7USQrJgfeo-BzdW7vEJd9s_jNxk08yEnKtP2J8xMlL5IrRT2aMG3tMoRQrzXYHaT8wLq/s1600/20170416_092003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSnXMNrL5IpyLLaDe_QWGg1-Mb9UjdlJsMsV6XNA46XzRfKao279so5y_wXMSb5atp9Remfhs7USQrJgfeo-BzdW7vEJd9s_jNxk08yEnKtP2J8xMlL5IrRT2aMG3tMoRQrzXYHaT8wLq/s400/20170416_092003.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me be clear:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am NOT a crafty person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask anyone who knows me well about my
gifts and crafty will NOT be on any of their lists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this did not need to be pinterest worthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while creating it that first
Saturday, I knew it was exactly what the Lord wanted. Each stone has a single
act of love and/or provision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
of them are from folks with whom we share life, but a few are from strangers
who had no idea how the Lord used them to bless us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He can do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is God.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the dining room is the perfect place for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time we sit down to eat food we
didn’t purchase or a meal we didn’t prepare, we remember the Lord and all He
has done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our gratitude to our
loving God overflows, friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are in the midst of a fairly uncertain time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we are unable to forget God’s great
love for us seen in the person of Jesus Christ and experienced more than ever
through our brothers and sisters in Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is not a road I would have picked, but I am glad He brought us to it
if for no other reason than it has set me here in this place, a place of our
weakness and His strength, our privation and His provision, our want and His
willingness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where I stand
and this is where I give Him glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is where I worship.</div>
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-74002119823155885892016-08-16T19:20:00.001-07:002016-08-16T19:20:16.510-07:00Luke is elevenOh, friends. My first-born son turned eleven today. I don't brag about my kids very often...because I spend all day every day with them and I see their flaws (my flaws in them) clearly. But today, as he balances on the edge of adolescence, I can easily brag about Luke's strengths. <br />
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He is articulate and well-read, much more so than I was at his age. Sometimes Luke enters an adult conversation about theology and adds to the discussion. What in the world? More importantly, he is compassionate, striving to love others and serve selflessly (sometimes). He delights to volunteer in the 2-year old class at our church. Who does that? Plus, he is so quick to forgive me. I've given him plenty of opportunity to practice over the past eleven years. Okay. He's not perfect, but he is soft-hearted toward His Savior, Jesus Christ. Simply put, even if I weren't his mom, I think I would be impressed by Luke. (I'm so biased...there is no way to be sure.)<br />
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I could go on. But instead, I'll post pictures of all the fun ways we have celebrated Luke over the past few days. :-)<br />
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On Saturday, we had some friends over to watch <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>. It was super fun. Here are most of the peeps posing on the couch before the movie. The matching t-shirts are a new tradition here. I gave up party favors last year and bought cheap, awesome, Star Wars-themed t-shirts at Target instead. I love the results, and I hope all the parents do, too.<br />
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After the picture, we went to the basement the film began. We eventually had eight kids and three dads. It was great.<br />
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Then yesterday we met Grandma and Grandpa at The Old Spaghetti Factory for birthday lunch. Luke ordered and ate all of an adult serving of spaghetti with marinara, including the cup of minestrone soup. I didn't know he ate that kind of soup! (I think we are quickly entering the phase of life when Luke eats food regardless of whether it is familiar or not...good for physical growth...bad for my grocery budget!)<br />
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As we ate lunch, Luke opened his gifts from this portion of his fan club.<br />
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New bike clothes!</div>
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Super fun spy gear set, including a pen shaped voice recorder and night goggles.</div>
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Luke also got a set of marshmallow shooters, but all the pictures were blurry because he was bouncing in excitement. </div>
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Birthday rainbow sherbet!</div>
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It was a sweet, little celebration. The wait staff was so sweet and Luke had a great time.</div>
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This morning, the actual day Luke arrived eleven years ago, he happily built his birthday train and posed for pictures. Are these days numbered? Probably, but I'm going to enjoy them while they last.</div>
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This might be my favorite picture ever. It captures their hearts for each other and really for me. Their willingness to pose and smile and snuggle for the camera is really out of love for their mom. Because what they really want to be doing is this...<br />
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But I also like this one. Because it is so very Luke and Paul. :-)</div>
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After breakfast, Luke opened his gifts from Mom and Dad. At his party on Saturday, we gave him a length of 100 feet of rope. And some of you are thinking that we are weird. Well, people, it's what he wanted. He was delighted and has already made use of it in multiple ways including a belt to hold his sword and a separated length devoted to practicing knots. He's so cool.</div>
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So this morning's first gift stuck to the theme of useful, but awesome. We gave Luke his first tools.</div>
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A set of crescent wrenches, a multi-tool, and a bag for all the goods.</div>
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And now, lest you think we such practical parents, we also gave him this:</div>
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It's a ginormous nerf gun. This thing is so big, it uses batteries to shoot. And Luke loves it.</div>
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Once our presents were done, we jumped in the car and drove to Canby where we had a lovely second breakfast of pancakes and bacon with my mom. I utterly failed to take pictures though. Weak. But my mom gave him the next four Redwall books. This is a series that Luke read in its entirety last summer. That's twenty-two books, folks. Now he wants to own them all so he can re-read them whenever he wants. He was thrilled to add these four to his collection.</div>
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After food and presents, we headed to the Clackamas County Fair to spend the day with some of our dearest friends. One of our favorite six-year olds showed his bunny for the first time with 4-H. He did awesome! Then we spent the next four and a half hours doing the fair together...just the free stuff...because that's how we roll.</div>
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After seeing the exhibit halls, including the Legos and the flight simulator, both wildly popular, we jumped aboard the free train ride. It's a great way to see the fair and sit for twenty minutes. :-)</div>
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I like this picture. Luke is chilling. Paul is doing bunny ears. Paul's buddy is enjoying the bunny ears. And our favorite eleven year old girl is doing her best to pretend like she doesn't know any of them. Right? ;-)</div>
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The kids with the moms. I am blessed to have this family in my life.</div>
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After the train ride, we all met Timber Joey. It's terrible that I had to explain to the boys who he is, but they were totally game to pose with him after I explained the whole chain saw thing. :-)</div>
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We grabbed some lunch and Holly took another fabulous selfie. She is really good at that!</div>
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We spent time doing other fun fair things, like visiting the pioneer village and watching our female buddy roll her pigeon in a 4-H demonstration. No, that's not a typo. Roller pigeons are real things. Google it and get ready to giggle. They are fun and funny to see.<br />
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The boys also spent a LOT of time climbing on the farming machinery that is always on display and available for kids to enjoy. It makes me so happy that my guys still love this type of thing. At one point, Luke was spending his time helping smaller kids climb up into the seat of one particular machine. I think the other parents believed that he was a fair volunteer or a farm machinery employee. He's a natural when it comes to serving small people, even in places where he isn't expected to do so. What a great kid!<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-72460769506767167852016-07-16T17:21:00.000-07:002016-07-16T17:21:47.575-07:00Happy 9th Birthday, Paul!Paul turned 9 today. That is crazy! Mostly because I remember this little guy...<br />
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He's a little bigger now...<br />
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And he loves to make faces. :-) We had a pretty great day with this guy. He started by making his birthday train, followed by some presents from his family.<br />
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We got a Paul a Lite Brite. The new, improved version uses LEDs that never die with batteries. It is WAY cooler. Paul really liked it.<br />
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Paul's first creation - It's a monster face with the moon. Fun!</div>
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We also got Paul this glow-in-the-dark Hex Bug maze. Hex bugs are little battery powered wiggly things that can crawl through these tubes. Paul really likes to watch them, talk to them, and narrate what they are doing. That fact that it glows in the dark just makes it that much cooler.</div>
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Erik also found this rubix snake thing. It folks out flat, but can also be used to make LOTS of different things. Right up Paul's alley.</div>
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Paul spent the morning enjoying his new things (with a few hiccups because brother was a little envious). I was able to bake the cupcakes and get the house a little cleaner, but not much, in preparation for the birthday party at 1pm.<br />
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We hosted a screening of "The Lego Movie" for Paul's birthday this year. There were eight kids and six adults. It was great. We wisely chose to show the film to the boys for the first time last night. Inevitably, the first time my guys view anything, they have LOTS of questions and comments. About 15 minutes in to the film last night, Erik and I simultaneously realized that this was the boys' first experience with what we would consider to be a modern action film. They kept exclaiming loudly, "WOW! Did you see that?!?" They are in no way inured to action sequences. They respond enthusiastically to the insanity that is a modern chase scene. It was super fun to see it through their eyes. And I'm glad that at nine and nearly eleven, my guys are impressed by these things, rather than being so accustomed to them as to find them blasé. It also makes it SUPER fun to watch movies like this with them!<br />
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So, the guests came, we showed the movie and I took a picture or two.<br />
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Everyone enjoyed the movie. And then we opened presents and ate cake. And it was a party!<br />
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This sweet customer was a last minute addition to the guest list when Paul asked on Sunday as we left church, "Can Caroline come to my party?" She's five, super fun, and adorable. After a few quick texts, she was all in. She did get up the most during the movie, but it was a delight having her here. She was explaining to Paul in this picture that she accidentally wrote "Happy Birthday, Paul" upside down on his card. Paul didn't seem to mind. :-)<br />
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I didn't get a candle shot of Paul with his cupcake, but this is his face while we sang to him. Pretty happy customer.<br />
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I haven't really spent much time thinking about my youngest being nine years old. We love our Paul. We are thankful for all the ways he is maturing and growing. And we think he is so stinkin' fun. I'm actively ignoring the fact that this birthday marks his halfway point to adulthood. Some days are long, folks, but the years - they are crazy short.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-90006886418585099442016-07-06T14:30:00.000-07:002016-07-06T14:32:36.038-07:00Our BIG Trip!We went on our biggest, longest trip as a family of four, and it rocked. Let's talk about that.<br />
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Back in January (I think) Erik's side of the family began talking about having a family reunion this summer in Minneapolis. Looking at a map of the United States, I thought to myself, "Heck, that's halfway to my sister's place in New York. We should totally go there, too." Right? And then I googled how long it takes to drive from my sister's place to Boston, the birthplace of the American Revolution, which we spent the bulk of our school year studying. Three hours, people. Clearly we needed to go there as well. So, we did. We did it all. Eleven days, three states, five flights, and two rental cars later I can say with all confidence, we are raising some awesome travelers. These boys absolutely rocked. Yes, we all had moments that were less than lovely, but they were short-lived and they did not flavor the trip. We made awesome memories with family and saw the places we had read about in books. Epic. Wanna see the pictures? Of course you do.<br />
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Warning: Many pictures are just my adorable nephews. Many other pictures reveal my new crush on the city of Boston. You've been warned.<br />
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We start in Minneapolis. This was our adorable, sweet, awesome airbnb find. I don't have any pictures of the interior, but it was sweet. And the boys didn't break anything. A triumph!<br />
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We had bunnies in our yard. I'm sure they are a hassle for the gardeners in this neighborhood, but I found them delightful.<br />
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We spent lots of time with family, including the morning when I took this picture of Paul being himself on the couch with Michael and Dave. Good times.<br />
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Erik's new hobby is the rubix cube. He got Dave one for his birthday and then taught him how to solve it...sort of. ;-)<br />
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Here is our entire group, minus Uncle Jim, who was taking the picture. </div>
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Here is my ten-year old being terribly proud of how close he is to being Grandma's height.</div>
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And then it was time for two more flights! We said goodbye to family in Minnesota and headed toward more family in Upstate New York.<br />
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I took this picture of Luke and he took the picture of me and Daddy and Paul. </div>
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Our flights went really well. The boys read, played their handheld video games, and listened to audio books. Happy!<br />
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And then, we arrived at my sister's place. It was a moment of awesomeness watching these cousins meet for the first time. My nephews, Joe and Rory, met us at the gate and all four boys immediately raced around the side of the house into the backyard. It was beautiful. All the pictures are blurry because they just never held still.<br />
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All four boys headed back toward the house.</div>
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Rory on the deck</div>
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Joe with his light saber</div>
The following four days were filled with running, swimming, jumping, and shouting. It was magical and crazy. Yes, there were moments, especially toward the end, when they began to treat each other like brothers...bossing and bickering from my guys mostly. So, we had some time-outs. But overall it was pretty sweet time for these four to get to know each other.<br />
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Joe and Luke</div>
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Paul and Rory being robots</div>
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Making faces</div>
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Chilling together on the deck</div>
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Selfie with Aunt Amy!</div>
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Rory loves his old Oregon Ducks shirt, so I got him a new one. :-)</div>
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The pool!</div>
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On Tuesday, our third day there, we took a trip to Saratoga to visit the battlefield. It was so cool! The National Historic Park there is well worth the visit. We spent the better part of four hours there and could have spent more if we'd had the time. We started in the Visitor's Center and then drove the battlefield sites, getting out to walk around at seven of the ten stops. Here are the pics.<br />
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Probably the boys' favorite thing: a map with embedded LEDs that light up to show troop movements as an audio recording tells the story of the battle. We watched it twice.<br />
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Completely enthralled</div>
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Farmhouse from which General Horatio Gates commanded the American troops.</div>
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Cannon on Bemis Heights, placed here to prevent the British forces from reaching Albany by water.</div>
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These three doing history and science together...lots of cool insects in this battlefield.</div>
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Luke points to where the American forces attacked from, forcing the British to retreat to a nearby wheat field on September 19, 1777. One thing that I noticed - these battlefields are huge. When you read it in a book, you forget that thousands of men were involved. The spaces had to be large.<br />
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And now the most thought-provoking monument I've ever seen.</div>
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"In memory of the most brilliant solder of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot...7th October 1777, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution and for himself the rank of Major General."<br />
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Why just a boot? Why not this man's face? Why isn't he named? It was Benedict Arnold. He truly was the hero of Saratoga. Without his bold actions to ride across the line of fire and take the Breymann Redoubt, the Americans would not have won the battle and might not have won the war. When we arrived at this monument, the boys already knew the story. And they knew Arnold's eventual choice to betray his country, brought on by bitterness regarding an overlooked promotion. Pride. We all stopped and read Genesis 4:7, God's words to Cain after his offering wasn't accepted. "You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master."<br />
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Arnold's heroism and downfall was a clear example to us all about how sin can completely ruin an otherwise admirable human being. He allowed the sin of pride to be his master. And so, despite being the man who won the Battle of Saratoga, his name is forever synonymous with betrayal. Okay. End sermon.<br />
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And now, back to the pool!<br />
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One of the last pictures I took of the cousins. It pretty accurately portrays them!</div>
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Thursday morning, the Bangsund crew headed for Boston, via the Massachusetts turnpike. It was a lovely drive and we arrived at Minuteman Park in the early afternoon. We enjoyed the visitor center and then headed out to see a few sites.<br />
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The exact spot where Paul Revere was taken captive on the road between Lexington and Concord. He never finished the ride! Did you know that? Luke did. He read that book in his hand, <u>Mr. Revere and I</u>, a fictionalized account of these events as told by Paul Revere's horse. We highly recommend it for folks of all ages!<br />
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Our next stop was Concord. At this point we were running out of time because the rental car needed to be returned. Luke picked Concord over the Lexington Green. I was cool with that.<br />
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The boys in a tree at Concord that was probably standing the day of the skirmish.</div>
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Standing on the bridge that was the site of the first shots.</div>
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Looking out toward the bridge.</div>
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From there, we headed into town. Erik did an amazing job getting us into town in the midst of rush hour traffic. By the way, lest you imagine that the traffic is all headed out of town on a Thursday at 5pm, it wasn't. I think that in cities of this size, it just gets crazy and maybe stays crazy all the time. I don't know for sure because we returned the car and spent the next two and a half days walking!<br />
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So, I need to go back a bit. When we were considering this trip and I was looking at lodging in Boston, I needed to make a choice. Pay less and stay farther from the things we wanted to see or pay more and be able to return the car and walk everywhere. I am SO, SO, happy that I decided to fork over the extra money to stay where we did. We rented a two-bedroom apartment through airbnb that was across the street from Boston Common and a two minute walk from the start of the Freedom Trail. Perfect location! Money well spent, people. We will do it that way every time.<br />
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Our first evening in Boston, we headed over to the park. I have a confession to make. I now have a complete crush on the city of Boston. Our time there was nothing short of magical. So, excuse me while I gush and rave.<br />
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Boston Common is my new favorite spot on earth. Yes, it's a public park, but it is so gorgeous. Let me prove it:<br />
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And it abounds with awesome historical business like this monument commemorating the year Boston was founded, 1630, by Puritans.<br />
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And then there are the literary references:<br />
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When Luke was two years old, we read <u>Make Way for Ducklings</u> to him so many times that he had the entire first three pages memorized. I can still hear his little voice saying "Mistuh and Missus Mawurd wuhr wooking for a puh-wace to wihve." Now look at him. (deep mommy sigh)<br />
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Okay! Beacon street is beautiful. Like this:<br />
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The next day was my birthday! And it was our only full day in town, so we filled it!<br />
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Outside the Granary Burying Ground, this man was nice enough to pose with the boys.</div>
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We saw the grave of James Otis, a man the boys became familiar with through the reading of <u>Johnny Tremain</u> and the viewing of the <u>Liberty's Kids</u> series. He was really one of the first men to speak out against the Writs of Assistance, early British legislation that infringed on the rights of colonial merchants. We also saw the graves of Paul Revere, Samual Adams, the victims of the Boston Massacre, and the parents of Benjamin Franklin.<br />
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Next came the Old South Meeting House. I didn't take any pictures outside! But you can google it. This was the place where Sam Adams spoke to a gathering of at least 5,000 folks on the evening of December 16, 1773 while they waited to see if the colonial governor would allow the Dartmouth, a tea ship waiting in the harbor, to return to Britain with its cargo, rather than unload it, forcing the colonists to pay the taxes due. When the messenger announced that the governor would not relent, Sam Adams reportedly said, "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country," a pre-arranged signal for the Sons of Liberty to proceed to the wharf and dump the tea. It started in this building! And we were there! EEK!! I LOVE living history!! Here are the pics from inside Old South.<br />
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An interactive map!</div>
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These two men presented a dialogue between a patriot merchant and a British regular, highlighting what each might have been experiencing in the days that led up to the Boston Tea Party.<br />
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And then, because it was my birthday, we stopped at Starbucks and got cake pops! <br />
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We continued on our way, headed for Paul Revere's house, but I stopped to take this picture of the Old State House. (We went inside the following day...keep scrolling!)<br />
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This was the only shot I took of Paul Revere's house. We weren't actually permitted to take any pictures while inside. So, I'll just say that it was very interesting. It's one of the oldest original structures in Boston. And it was NOT a big home. One thing to think about for future visitors - this place was absolutely packed on Friday at 11am. It opens at 10am. I would maybe go on a weekday when it opens. Just a thought. :-)<br />
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Then we got hungry. We had just heard from the actors at the Old South Meeting House about the meetings the Sons of Liberty used to have at the Green Dragon Tavern. We had passed it on the way to Paul Revere's house, so we went back!<br />
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Luke is tired and hungry in this picture. But I'm posting it anyway. It was nearly 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Definitely time to feed the people.</div>
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The place is filled with cool Revolutionary War artifacts. So cool! </div>
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After our late lunch, we decided it was time to rest. We walked back to our apartment and spent a few hours doing not much. The boys played their handheld video games and we napped. Lovely.<br />
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After rest, the boys really wanted to try the wading pond on Boston Common. And since it's my new favorite place, I agreed it was a splendid idea.<br />
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The backdrop of city buildings against the park is just stunning to me!</div>
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For birthday dinner, we grabbed McDonald's pancakes for the kids and Thai takeout for the grownups. Our first night in Boston, we did a fun Italian restaurant with the boys. I didn't really want to press my luck with tired children on my birthday. Take out seemed smart.<br />
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Saturday was our final day in Boston, but our flight didn't leave until 6:30 pm. Our airbnb host was gracious enough to allow us to leave our luggage in the apartment until we headed for the airport. We were able to go enjoy the city unencumbered! Sweet!<br />
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We headed for the Old North Church. Rather than walk for twenty minutes, we took the subway. Luke was pretty impressed by the sight and sound of his first subway train. Those puppies are loud!<br />
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There it is! One if by land; two if by sea. The spire is a replica thanks to Hurricane Carol in 1954. But it still looks awesome.<br />
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The boys are holding our copy of <u>Johnny Tremain</u>. I can't help myself. We read about these places all year long! When we get to see them, it feels so special and amazing.<br />
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Another picture with the book in front of the entrance to the church. Costumed gentleman was super sweet and accommodating...probably meets crazy history geek moms all the time.</div>
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As we entered the church, a presentation was just beginning, so we took a seat in one of the box pews. We looked over and read this plaque:<br />
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HA! Extra brush with cool history - no extra charge!</div>
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This clock is original to the church. It's over 300 years old and still runs. That's impressive to me.<br />
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The sanctuary</div>
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This plaque explains that General Thomas Gage viewed the Battle of Bunker Hill from the spire of this church. The boys thought that was cool. Because it is.<br />
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This is the window through which Robert Newman escaped on the night he hung the two lanterns. There were British Regulars stationed at the church, probably because it was the tallest structure in all of Boston, the perfect signal tower. Newman climbed out this window, eluding them.<br />
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Another picture of the spire because it is beautiful against the blue sky and the green trees.<br />
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And because it was my birthday, I wanted my picture taken with these ladies in historical garb. :-)<br />
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We did the behind the scenes tour, which allowed us to climb to the first level of the bell tower. Paul Revere was hired as a teenage boy to ring those bells. He climbed those stairs. We sat in the room where he worked. I love it! Sidenote: I probably would not recognize most of the folks considered to be celebrities today. And even if I did, I'm confident I would ignore them if I saw them. Seriously. But if historical figures were walking around, somehow resurrected, I would turn into a mushy, gushy school girl and probably follow them around asking for their autographs. That's just how I roll.</div>
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Luke climbing the stairs to the bell-ringing tower.</div>
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By the time were we done at the Old North Church, we had about three hours until our flight. Too soon for the airport. So, we stopped off at the Old State House for an hour. It was a great museum! There were lots of interesting artifacts and plenty of interactive exhibits for the boys to enjoy.<br />
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Our final interactive map!</div>
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Actual weapons from the Battle of Bunker Hill</div>
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The balcony from which the Declaration of Independence was first read to the citizens of Boston on July 18, 1776.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOLci9TTroAurh4-Ybx7OpCdc60rrP6ZL8G3Ox-HJB7dmV3pRCdsYw9jIlY_MFMBwFsJbq3CcxtDgQ8AIMdL0iUKcJAhy1gFISLQwBUkXPtg8flktWcL2vZ-nJ0KYwSdV1xdxSlk_m114/s1600/2016-07-02+15.02.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOLci9TTroAurh4-Ybx7OpCdc60rrP6ZL8G3Ox-HJB7dmV3pRCdsYw9jIlY_MFMBwFsJbq3CcxtDgQ8AIMdL0iUKcJAhy1gFISLQwBUkXPtg8flktWcL2vZ-nJ0KYwSdV1xdxSlk_m114/s640/2016-07-02+15.02.42.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The table where the colonial government of Massachusetts met.</div>
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Well, people, that might have seemed like a lot of pictures, but I did an amazing job of paring down from the 377 that I took. It was a glorious trip. We learned that our kids can travel well, eating at non-chain restaurants and walking for three to five miles a day in high humidity and moderate temperatures. I think the key to our success was drinking lots of water and stopping when we were tired. We didn't get to Bunker Hill or the U.S.S. Constitution because we stopped when we were tired. But we all have mostly sweet, awesome memories of our time in Boston. And that was the goal. Go Team Bangsund!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-63853380174966999662016-06-07T20:36:00.001-07:002016-06-07T20:36:32.706-07:00The April and May Stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
April and May happened, didn't they? I think we did some stuff during those months. Let's use the pictures, shall we?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJKp49EI8IaGXgZSR20HMWz7AZThyphenhyphenOrYjcOlpInrr7hqyQwKAgYd3p0BVZc7KMdWb3l2iE2lCGUjW1VGdHEoMZx-EyrMwgABTcIcOmKqk8lTnRPX3mhVMLhXLOpnNwxuPUL1t0n68B4WV/s1600/2016-04-16+14.16.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJKp49EI8IaGXgZSR20HMWz7AZThyphenhyphenOrYjcOlpInrr7hqyQwKAgYd3p0BVZc7KMdWb3l2iE2lCGUjW1VGdHEoMZx-EyrMwgABTcIcOmKqk8lTnRPX3mhVMLhXLOpnNwxuPUL1t0n68B4WV/s640/2016-04-16+14.16.22.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We moved all the furniture from our living room into our garage in April. It's called Ultra Spring Cleaning. Just kidding. But in all seriousness, these awesome dudes from our church, Roots Community, came and got it all done in about a half hour. They rock.<br />
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They did all this work to allow me time to paint the walls before the floors were refinished. More about the floors later. Here is an example of the walls getting done: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJInNPdZjUIP88pKEtctLLG4-aBP-nTdM8ZsKfGcOv51Jj76-6ixig8WsVqUEt1FJxIawi5_ne8DxFTrSo_YSgmrWXj38o7VoS6W7fJbKnAA8wihiIoZSeHJ1nkwfNMwBFLb1hPbxXH5bz/s1600/2016-04-20+15.18.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJInNPdZjUIP88pKEtctLLG4-aBP-nTdM8ZsKfGcOv51Jj76-6ixig8WsVqUEt1FJxIawi5_ne8DxFTrSo_YSgmrWXj38o7VoS6W7fJbKnAA8wihiIoZSeHJ1nkwfNMwBFLb1hPbxXH5bz/s640/2016-04-20+15.18.26.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Here's something completely different:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsdz-IuENvdZbOiWBiulp3CGyllyG18gcUXdbSAoQOC1KLA7PXyDlzPVX7_PLOd2U-zIVZUVHWeSi9G-U0iqgQIFtKx-5OgdGnsNgFVEG4csVxjSHvmMyJtgnq9MSP8g6ep4FoYP5NQb5/s1600/2016-04-18+11.32.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsdz-IuENvdZbOiWBiulp3CGyllyG18gcUXdbSAoQOC1KLA7PXyDlzPVX7_PLOd2U-zIVZUVHWeSi9G-U0iqgQIFtKx-5OgdGnsNgFVEG4csVxjSHvmMyJtgnq9MSP8g6ep4FoYP5NQb5/s640/2016-04-18+11.32.52.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We had some eighty degree weather in April. It was crazy. Our friend came over and the boys played in the sprinkler. And they did this, too.<br />
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Then the boys and I went to the cabin while Erik went to Vegas for a meeting and our floors were refinished. My very favorite part of going to the cabin in the off season is having the awesome indoor pool to ourselves. The boys love it. I bring a book. They play. It is so good.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPTEMbQu4lt_vmWwkfdmUbuX6XtVf3yQVBuY9N2Nx1TBSCp24MyYAydbiuDaUXOF9oCjIksQ-uRnSWjfvDOAOsYlir0_QWCgY0Ow2HiH5Js2HyKeYG94dKtCrQNBVaO7XOi1q2Kx0lv2-/s1600/2016-04-28+19.33.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPTEMbQu4lt_vmWwkfdmUbuX6XtVf3yQVBuY9N2Nx1TBSCp24MyYAydbiuDaUXOF9oCjIksQ-uRnSWjfvDOAOsYlir0_QWCgY0Ow2HiH5Js2HyKeYG94dKtCrQNBVaO7XOi1q2Kx0lv2-/s640/2016-04-28+19.33.38.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another fun thing we like to do is go to the toy store. Luke has been asking for one of the rubber band shooters for awhile now. I decided ten and a half was the perfect age for this. He knows the rules - never at people or animals. He immediately created a shooting gallery when we got back to the cabin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALN2wDyh07ipgQ5VORjC03ynSRcLhVdEMpWFlH8pdpmbrmWxMDjVDQffRRm70mKrxACYicJKEkfJDWaW4HNYenFmeNgxV-wHV6a4Sbxk4Eu1gzsmx0XVViLDEC_LpwYVrfG7snb3qgUfV/s1600/2016-04-29+16.42.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALN2wDyh07ipgQ5VORjC03ynSRcLhVdEMpWFlH8pdpmbrmWxMDjVDQffRRm70mKrxACYicJKEkfJDWaW4HNYenFmeNgxV-wHV6a4Sbxk4Eu1gzsmx0XVViLDEC_LpwYVrfG7snb3qgUfV/s640/2016-04-29+16.42.21.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Pretty great.</div>
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Then we went home. And found this loveliness: </div>
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Okay, so there were a few hiccups, and our homecoming wasn't as smooth as I had hoped. The floors took longer to dry than anticipated, so we had to delay the boys' arrival a bit. They would have been unable to get down the hall to their rooms. And as much as camping together in the basement at the end of a long week sounded fun (and by that I mean insane and disastrous) I instead dropped one boy with my mom and the other boy with Erik's parents. We stayed in our guest room and received the boys home the following afternoon. It worked out well. And the resulting floors are gorgeous.<br />
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I don't have a good picture with our area rug, chairs, and cutie new side table. So, I'll have to blog again soon. Don't worry...it will probably happen.<br />
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The boys earned their blue belts in Taekwondo in April. Here's a picture of them in class sometime in early May. I think they just look cool when they are doing their forms. :-)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekWh_UCD8HSHTJrPtfhpdoSxFEMvOg4z8-mBgUENXX6QJHQe5TNavjAXEbIVJ2NUo_00lMvp_rwBGQkVHdCUAMkY3JWgwL4nx-bOGNLf-kMEtC8HLTqRczgDtyodykLZlF0rCh5yZ_QfA/s1600/2016-05-02+18.32.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekWh_UCD8HSHTJrPtfhpdoSxFEMvOg4z8-mBgUENXX6QJHQe5TNavjAXEbIVJ2NUo_00lMvp_rwBGQkVHdCUAMkY3JWgwL4nx-bOGNLf-kMEtC8HLTqRczgDtyodykLZlF0rCh5yZ_QfA/s640/2016-05-02+18.32.10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then we hosted some wee folks so their moms could attend the end of the year bible study sharing day. Here is one who reminds me SO much of Luke at this age. And this particular individual really wanted to be wearing a glove. When Luke helped him put one on, he made a friend for life. Adorable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIhSRbQDdxUUkxhov0OkDl10tQvpp5DsFyd27KdDdYpS4HFIEw-oxTg_oP7hHKFIlol2OxXortm6xx9fWS_m2yXtPmNbgXsYP66aEZJ2d7nCiDnfW34KoWCH09AwBl5D1uXfkKO-CduML/s1600/2016-05-11+16.14.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIhSRbQDdxUUkxhov0OkDl10tQvpp5DsFyd27KdDdYpS4HFIEw-oxTg_oP7hHKFIlol2OxXortm6xx9fWS_m2yXtPmNbgXsYP66aEZJ2d7nCiDnfW34KoWCH09AwBl5D1uXfkKO-CduML/s640/2016-05-11+16.14.36.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In May we made a day trip to my dad's place to do some evening fishing, leaving our house at 2pm and arriving home a little after 10pm. A long day, but it was worth it. We had spaghetti dinner and then headed to the lake. Paul wanted to stay on shore and throw rocks and sticks for my dad's dog. So Luke and I headed out onto the lake. Nothing was caught, but that's not what we say after forty-five minutes of rowing. We caught six, all over four pounds. Released 'em all. My dad actually told this tale as we pulled the boat into shore and Luke's eyes got SO big! My dad chuckled and winked at the guy who had asked. It might take awhile for my ten-year-old to catch on to the wily ways of the fisherman. Regardless, it was a lovely evening on the lake with my dad and my boy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xTB8Loz1XEOJUe_lMoTx-O6Hd3QhJlFbdB6HIVMNl-fHZ_6jTvzg0odLc4YGcJ4NMnN7PoFTYs0oq49ZZ4Hit5J58_KeWQarzwZTl_Qj4ETAtJ5_0MwyNlZaxMjx3lanx3t5EHT2i4lx/s1600/2016-05-12+18.56.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xTB8Loz1XEOJUe_lMoTx-O6Hd3QhJlFbdB6HIVMNl-fHZ_6jTvzg0odLc4YGcJ4NMnN7PoFTYs0oq49ZZ4Hit5J58_KeWQarzwZTl_Qj4ETAtJ5_0MwyNlZaxMjx3lanx3t5EHT2i4lx/s640/2016-05-12+18.56.58.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After that, much of my time was spent doing this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraH-vIGpJVUTxOgD6R1PKntCO5zJqZD56J4_NNMB9mSMZ7cgATDBWs6Q7BeQgtkwHtP0zP27YZX2UE7LMGNJGr-gt9XwqCSpNQ86CTjPxyynr-enPjMx4WNXgLTPzge89U85aQkOvvRAW/s1600/2016-05-18+15.43.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraH-vIGpJVUTxOgD6R1PKntCO5zJqZD56J4_NNMB9mSMZ7cgATDBWs6Q7BeQgtkwHtP0zP27YZX2UE7LMGNJGr-gt9XwqCSpNQ86CTjPxyynr-enPjMx4WNXgLTPzge89U85aQkOvvRAW/s640/2016-05-18+15.43.33.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Drapes. The living room and dining room needed them. My friend Jena and my husband Erik helped me accomplish this herculean feat. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLomosM0GXA3Cdj0gM9WKjPbi_T5xQWVhHcXjfFHQzELAcN1qmZT2vGdM7NaarjZAZvkvS4iaOaKQf6ffk1hfwcM97oH8wMUbvcHZ7YnNAT4SSnlnqPl-cpwecbMZRZAhi3Qneujeq1iNm/s1600/2016-05-24+15.26.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLomosM0GXA3Cdj0gM9WKjPbi_T5xQWVhHcXjfFHQzELAcN1qmZT2vGdM7NaarjZAZvkvS4iaOaKQf6ffk1hfwcM97oH8wMUbvcHZ7YnNAT4SSnlnqPl-cpwecbMZRZAhi3Qneujeq1iNm/s640/2016-05-24+15.26.15.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Who knew there was this much ironing involved in sewing?!?</div>
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But they turned out beautiful!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmk6taBr1xun31C3TgBGR7epRyAClG_0nVhzpynolNFU3hXN-zSHXp5_Z97_WDe6NBlvZvocAmBccanQ22VxGmw735i0nKSAGr6wqBStcXXBIoC1sZ3mySYQ-Rb7vdDLA_pSUab8Efh4hA/s1600/2016-05-24+15.55.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmk6taBr1xun31C3TgBGR7epRyAClG_0nVhzpynolNFU3hXN-zSHXp5_Z97_WDe6NBlvZvocAmBccanQ22VxGmw735i0nKSAGr6wqBStcXXBIoC1sZ3mySYQ-Rb7vdDLA_pSUab8Efh4hA/s640/2016-05-24+15.55.04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sheesh, this post in long and random, but I want to include one more event. On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we did something awesome and important. We participated in the Tabor Trot, a two-mile walk to for Donate Life. Our friend, Bob Meek, received a heart transplant just over a year ago. We love this family and when they invited us to participate in this event, we jumped at the chance. It was a good day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6t6oIyymPmwRPPfbniFb91uRKU_2J09zAlRCM_0pz4P4parldAYz9JazHEe13oqmGFeEEdPwBTIO8r5raUBparlIVIrlBNlp0TBd2NIFQVjnvAt5ZZDbJQqHMj59XgPtCm8ocaBO_JD_/s1600/2016-05-28+10.20.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6t6oIyymPmwRPPfbniFb91uRKU_2J09zAlRCM_0pz4P4parldAYz9JazHEe13oqmGFeEEdPwBTIO8r5raUBparlIVIrlBNlp0TBd2NIFQVjnvAt5ZZDbJQqHMj59XgPtCm8ocaBO_JD_/s640/2016-05-28+10.20.47.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Liza and I smile for the selfie while her dad gives me bunny ears. Like I said, it was a good day! :-)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_grBDwoeJC__nKke2oGypTVfGDnyM88JqP0lF3fkVeCeAJlBx1EAuJa-51gntJylHMOrYYPV_c4MgZkbiZ8juU4H3YqptvHpwsB0gSLfacsLjbfZ_gVOQat2Kn4v6r9aiYXFrbXxn9Hw/s1600/2016-05-28+10.44.27-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_grBDwoeJC__nKke2oGypTVfGDnyM88JqP0lF3fkVeCeAJlBx1EAuJa-51gntJylHMOrYYPV_c4MgZkbiZ8juU4H3YqptvHpwsB0gSLfacsLjbfZ_gVOQat2Kn4v6r9aiYXFrbXxn9Hw/s640/2016-05-28+10.44.27-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our family cheesing it up at one of the social media photo ops. </div>
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The kids taking a break on a bench, seemingly oblivious to the amazing view.</div>
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Bob and Liza at the after party - Happy Heart Birthday, Bob!</div>
Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-45084345889989994772016-03-23T21:40:00.001-07:002016-04-07T13:15:22.606-07:00Sick Luke and Living Room UpdateI'm not the mom who takes my kids to the doctor for a stomach flu or a chest cold. When they are sick, I keep them hydrated and as comfortable as possible. And I try to make them rest. But every once in awhile one of them becomes authentically ill, and a trip to the doctor becomes quite necessary.<br />
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Luke was overnight at a friend's house Saturday and when we arrived at noon on Sunday to pick him up, he was lying on the couch in his pajamas. Luke doesn't stay in his pajamas past 8 am. Ever. I'm nearly always in my pajamas later in the day than Luke. One touch of his forehead told us we were dealing with some fever. When we got home, the thermometer revealed the 102.5 degree truth. He didn't even try to stay up. He went straight to bed. And started coughing. Boo.<br />
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Long story short, the fever stuck around for three days and the cough worsened. We saw the doctor this morning, and he listened to the boy's lungs. Turns out the left one was congested and wheezy. The thought is that either Luke is either having an asthma flare-up induced by a virus or he has pneumonia. Or maybe it's both. We were given new inhalers for a steroid and albuterol, along with a prescription for an antibiotic. The doc said we could wait and see if the cough worsened and the fever continued before giving the antibiotic. And we came home.<br />
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Within a few hours, the 102.5 degree insanity had returned. Advil and peppermint oil were administered because I think both western medicine and alternative medicine rock. And I decided antibiotics were a brilliant idea. We started that business, along with the new inhalers, after dinner tonight. I'm praying that that business will be effective, and our boy will be back to his old, crazy, too-loud, overly-active self soon.<br />
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I would like to publicly thank Jesus Christ for using my friend, Holly, to save my life yesterday. On day three of being basically shut in with one sick kid and one healthy kid, she brought us two bins of "new-to-us" toys and a bag of books. It gave Paul something new to do and Luke something new to watch Paul do. That in combination with the audio books that the Daddy-Man picked up for us the day before have made survival possible.<br />
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Here is a picture of the people doing the things.<br />
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It kinda trashed the living room, but it was TOTALLY worth it. Luke is able to play quietly in his less-fevered moments, and Paul can easily play in front of Luke when he is on the couch. Win/win.<br />
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So that picture has a bit of a teaser for those of you who are following the living room remodel...the new chairs came. I think I have a better picture to share. Lemme go find it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDAzMGkNS6OLpr12neZnt8VtbbWPVPchd3Rl5GBIPGLouuqvqHRQbHEddvdoT555-vvAecHlJA2w46HxMvnm1Tz3hHBs2ah77Vo81PcqNbMWjsHQbYmkFGo3OSsk-hXSXfnod-EIBBslX/s1600/2016-03-18+15.04.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDAzMGkNS6OLpr12neZnt8VtbbWPVPchd3Rl5GBIPGLouuqvqHRQbHEddvdoT555-vvAecHlJA2w46HxMvnm1Tz3hHBs2ah77Vo81PcqNbMWjsHQbYmkFGo3OSsk-hXSXfnod-EIBBslX/s640/2016-03-18+15.04.19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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There. The chairs. In front of the new wall. Lovely. Lovely. Lovely. The remodel has largely been put on hold this week because you don't paint when your ten year old is lying on the couch being feverish and unhappy. However a few of the bits that I had ordered online arrived, so I was able to add one more component to the room this afternoon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT0J4BP89Sqr5rEdwOjQrHmkhHt3q6qCfWZrmOwKDkz5vzg7EBmzyJrcLC234KxVZBBHU5rqTJgtU2hAI-UeG3KPQJcPqL2kMruWvZ3zApEKuGRsSpKUU0t-_9bxeQoVfuSYV4-Grbh2g/s1600/20160323_114720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT0J4BP89Sqr5rEdwOjQrHmkhHt3q6qCfWZrmOwKDkz5vzg7EBmzyJrcLC234KxVZBBHU5rqTJgtU2hAI-UeG3KPQJcPqL2kMruWvZ3zApEKuGRsSpKUU0t-_9bxeQoVfuSYV4-Grbh2g/s640/20160323_114720.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We have owned this print since Dave and Lynne downsized in 2000. It hung in our house in Puyallup and was actually something Baby Luke loved to stare at for minutes on end. But it's framing needed updating. I did this myself, people. It's not perfectly done, but I love how it turned out. Erik will add the hardware to the back soon and it will hang above the mantel. Pretty.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-67737824183491061772016-02-27T17:20:00.001-08:002016-02-29T09:47:02.587-08:00ChangesI have never been the person who places high value on interior decorating. I'm not actually sure why that is. Too busy? Maybe. Too intimidated? Probably. Too cheap? Definitely. Regardless, a few months back a dear friend heard me speaking disparagingly about the fake wood paneling in my living room. Ugly. That's about all I could say about that business. Oh, don't forget outdated. She mentioned how much she loves interior decorating - it's her hobby. It feeds her soul. We were sitting in my 1972 meets 1991 living room at the time. I glanced around and decided to take the risk.<br />
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Me: "Wanna help me make this room pretty?"<br />
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Friend Jena: *squeal of delight* YES!<br />
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She started the pinterest board and the journey began. I had already found a fabric that I really loved for new chairs. Once I forwarded a picture to her, she had all the inspiration she needed. Erik and I decided it was about time to spend some money on living room furniture for the first time in our married lives. For real, people. Sixteen and a half years with hand-me-downs, for which we have been SUPER grateful. But buying furniture isn't a sin. Coveting furniture - yes. Overspending on furniture - yes. Finding an amazing President's Day Sale and getting two chairs for what you thought you would have to spend for one - not. a. sin. And that's exactly what happened. The new chairs don't arrive for another month or so, but here is the fabric in front of the test paint section of the fake wood paneling.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKHNgD7JJkm8BYNF8VAU_MT6CUESufylm54iFxe2I-a5eVELQvyphhKmV8WJe4sVv4EtTBtq3qi08X2nlrHmnNsw_PDDtUAY0panLBgtwV7pOLNIBx_pWC43lzfHt0rNBI2yaiJXATrhn/s1600/2016-02-09+12.39.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKHNgD7JJkm8BYNF8VAU_MT6CUESufylm54iFxe2I-a5eVELQvyphhKmV8WJe4sVv4EtTBtq3qi08X2nlrHmnNsw_PDDtUAY0panLBgtwV7pOLNIBx_pWC43lzfHt0rNBI2yaiJXATrhn/s640/2016-02-09+12.39.10.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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The chairs will be the "pop" in the new room. Most other elements will be in tones of white and grey. This will be the accent wall. The other walls will be a light grey. Here are some other "in process" pictures.</div>
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I used a LOT of primer to cover that paneling...and I might have taken a few days off school to paint. Teacher work days. Those are a thing still? Right?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEiriB4VXsxLNvfPzGnOeO0NiJO9AhKMP4fLZ1cTEEOnJGu0MimwDCm-iuhrilT2bSa_XVKJRSrVhUb97JpH1x263tKQMpPYOjkzcjJ6BKbCOvMhyphenhyphenBsVXaIACRZHcpchfAC86bHX3sdTOs/s1600/2016-02-11+12.00.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: start;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEiriB4VXsxLNvfPzGnOeO0NiJO9AhKMP4fLZ1cTEEOnJGu0MimwDCm-iuhrilT2bSa_XVKJRSrVhUb97JpH1x263tKQMpPYOjkzcjJ6BKbCOvMhyphenhyphenBsVXaIACRZHcpchfAC86bHX3sdTOs/s640/2016-02-11+12.00.12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Wanna see the entire wall finished?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FJgPuHee6_M6ychkJKHx4qtFGfpe_9bbc1PoGLKo8SfWIu-xjO7LtlcyMDaaUttAM0XDYxYDV2pzzqhDEbHkrt0k94w4ayCgyq5Vxm34YwOdEmvLC6rFuZbQgqbDA2Wyr1Fh7D37Nb-8/s1600/2016-02-15+14.20.47.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpXa06ydaDoyr2chOn7apdX0ccstz3g52p8N-YmEChOOFmFblLIUEjVMTjCdel6Ub09O942K0GwPmlghYHgW7rmkU625HCY4A33xxyC7HRfV1EnwSMd6baI_UPtEcnweUR_5DH4VUVUy1/s1600/2016-02-16+16.02.20.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpXa06ydaDoyr2chOn7apdX0ccstz3g52p8N-YmEChOOFmFblLIUEjVMTjCdel6Ub09O942K0GwPmlghYHgW7rmkU625HCY4A33xxyC7HRfV1EnwSMd6baI_UPtEcnweUR_5DH4VUVUy1/s640/2016-02-16+16.02.20.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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There is too much stuff on that mantel, but we haven't worked on accessories yet. The color of the wall helps so much. The side tables will be painted white and have new lamps. We also plan to paint the brick and the tile around the fireplace, as well as the insert. I haven't decided yet about the mantel. A lot will depend on what it looks like against the hardwoods...insert Amy's girlish squeal of delight here.<br />
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We have always known that there were hardwoods under the carpet. It's in the closets. Getting them refinished has just never been at the top of our list. That all changed when our good friend Michael came over to take a look at the possibility of removing the shelving that enclosed our entryway. Take a look:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FJgPuHee6_M6ychkJKHx4qtFGfpe_9bbc1PoGLKo8SfWIu-xjO7LtlcyMDaaUttAM0XDYxYDV2pzzqhDEbHkrt0k94w4ayCgyq5Vxm34YwOdEmvLC6rFuZbQgqbDA2Wyr1Fh7D37Nb-8/s1600/2016-02-15+14.20.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FJgPuHee6_M6ychkJKHx4qtFGfpe_9bbc1PoGLKo8SfWIu-xjO7LtlcyMDaaUttAM0XDYxYDV2pzzqhDEbHkrt0k94w4ayCgyq5Vxm34YwOdEmvLC6rFuZbQgqbDA2Wyr1Fh7D37Nb-8/s640/2016-02-15+14.20.47.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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It's not terrible, but it always made our entryway feel cramped. Dinner parties were always filled with people squishing between these shelves and the backs of chairs. So, Michael tore it out for us. The same day he came to check it out. And we all discovered the absolutely pristine hardwoods underneath it. While he was at it, he mentioned being worried about damaging the terrible, poop-brown tile in the entryway. I informed him that it would eventually go, too. No time like the present! So, he tore that out, too. And found PRISTINE hardwoods underneath. Are you catching a theme here? Wanna see a picture?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2j9SuqN3Ymy1mIh-4iDMOl3ZdzF11DwBkv7wli5VYyIbZH0TlcD_b5tGhjPBUhoGs7gTUmnVLFgKov8FYCeZ48C6JgY5ZubP7wpx70na-JCySU4s6HWfxGnM_rX5x3DJOktdPhS1vXyD/s1600/2016-02-16+08.33.26.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2j9SuqN3Ymy1mIh-4iDMOl3ZdzF11DwBkv7wli5VYyIbZH0TlcD_b5tGhjPBUhoGs7gTUmnVLFgKov8FYCeZ48C6JgY5ZubP7wpx70na-JCySU4s6HWfxGnM_rX5x3DJOktdPhS1vXyD/s640/2016-02-16+08.33.26.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Michael and Jan are part of our Roots family. That's our church. But it's really more like family than church. (Friend Jena is part of Roots, too.) These folks came over spur the moment and did all this work. Michael even left to go grab his belt sander so we could see what the floors would look like without the gross glue. Beautiful. That's how they look.<br />
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We are going to hire professionals to do the actual refinishing of the floors. Our buddy, Kale, runs his own business and they do this type of stuff. They'll be coming in April to rip out the carpet and do the refinishing at a very reasonable price. Blessedly, Erik will be out of town at a business meeting and I will be in Sunriver with the boys during the work. We will, however, have the joy of removing all the furniture from our front room during the two weeks previous to the work and painting all the walls. Pretty sure we are going to beg our friends for help with all this, too. ;-)<br />
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So, it's going to take a few more months, maybe four to six. I still need to pick the grey color that I want to paint the other walls. There are LOTS of little DIY projects that Jena and I need to attack, but finding time is a challenge. And we might not be able to afford a new couch for awhile. I tried a slipcover - too slippy and messy-looking when people sat on it. Honestly, who doesn't sit on their couch? So, we will save our pennies and shop around and wait for the right sale. And when this room is finally done, I am so confident that it will be stunning. <br />
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I can't tell you how excited I am about this, folks. This is the room where I drink my first cup of coffee and have my first conversation with Jesus each morning. It's always been a functional room, but never a beautiful one. Sometimes beauty matters. Especially when the ugly can be remedied fairly inexpensively and with the help of good friends.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-41868595236682463132016-01-03T19:24:00.001-08:002016-01-03T19:24:09.416-08:00Mostly Christmas AwesomenessThe last two weeks have been so relaxing and mellow for us. Erik has been off work since December 23rd. We have had lots of family time and celebrating. I'll do my best to use the pictures to catch y'all up on all the fun.<br />
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We started what I hope will become a new Bangsund Family tradition on Christmas - a new puzzle! Erik and I saw this Legend of Zelda themed puzzle online over a month ago. It was a must have. We weren't really sure when it would make an appearance, but the boys' restless behavior on Christmas told us it was time!<br />
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We all worked together on these 550 pieces, and it was epic. The only struggle was that both boys wanted to put together the Link (hero and all-around awesome green-clad character) pieces. Once we solved this issue by telling them to do it together, it went pretty well. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJs6YN2mfTM3Xz2cgxsdmk9zK5BNa_cbwzn8AFKO13j_aC0gqeW0FCA4nUAiDKMWkk12MJWytQyehF566HzGKOGhx6cO3P0jXJezyg4hvqgDATTN-E1dKA3Q9Vn7rfysG5lt7mJlvFVTS/s1600/2015-12-24+12.42.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJs6YN2mfTM3Xz2cgxsdmk9zK5BNa_cbwzn8AFKO13j_aC0gqeW0FCA4nUAiDKMWkk12MJWytQyehF566HzGKOGhx6cO3P0jXJezyg4hvqgDATTN-E1dKA3Q9Vn7rfysG5lt7mJlvFVTS/s640/2015-12-24+12.42.16.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
I don't actually have a picture of the finished puzzle! But maybe next year. :-)<br />
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I also don't have a picture of the boys posing all dressed up for church. But I gave them their new slippers shortly before we left, so I have those pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQySe6jVxNYfoghmImYOd-fDCa9w_iEDpkG-xpk4O-4CXzWWmM1Gvyww66UqNvXAfX6W6zqEskjkvZCqh0dEmg2rPdWLEq6bCcuXjNj7m3djn9H4HaL6qPPX0JDdbsCva-RkYC01WBgKLw/s1600/2015-12-24+16.03.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQySe6jVxNYfoghmImYOd-fDCa9w_iEDpkG-xpk4O-4CXzWWmM1Gvyww66UqNvXAfX6W6zqEskjkvZCqh0dEmg2rPdWLEq6bCcuXjNj7m3djn9H4HaL6qPPX0JDdbsCva-RkYC01WBgKLw/s640/2015-12-24+16.03.13.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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You can't tell, but they are Wookie-themed slippers - Star Wars - HUGE around here - the kids like it, too. ;-)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHt4iqx4JeuXXuLXR3VUnmp1hexvXQO7lS04dF8xsR8D2OM1oHtU8WL4nh303hSAum43fwdnm5w3Up1mRTJKfDzM-jCTeTDOS7KyqlHZj1bq-kq2_EsZH9Gi59AVOdUq_uDrBO0NWjzGw/s1600/2015-12-24+16.03.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHt4iqx4JeuXXuLXR3VUnmp1hexvXQO7lS04dF8xsR8D2OM1oHtU8WL4nh303hSAum43fwdnm5w3Up1mRTJKfDzM-jCTeTDOS7KyqlHZj1bq-kq2_EsZH9Gi59AVOdUq_uDrBO0NWjzGw/s640/2015-12-24+16.03.26.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Also Wookie-themed, but slightly different. Oh, and Luke has tape on his toes because I'm fairly certain he broke one of them running through the house about a week before this shot was taken. Yep.</div>
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After this, we went to church with Grandma and Grandpa, ate a beautiful dinner at their place, and opened more presents. And I failed to take a single picture. Sometimes it's just nice to enjoy the moment. It was a lovely evening and we were blessed with lots of great gifts, including Storm Trooper Hanna Andersson jammies for the boys and a sewing machine for me!</div>
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Christmas morning, I was the first person up, around 6:15am. It took me about ten minutes to get the table set for our celebration. Chocolate birthday cake with peppermint frosting, worship packets, Christmas dishes, and the World Vision Gift Catalog to pick birthday presents for Jesus. This start to our Christmas morning celebration never disappoints. It is always cool.</div>
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The people arrived on the scene around 8:30 a.m. How sane is that? We sing the songs, read the scriptures, and eat the cake...YUM! Then we each get to pick a present. <br />
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Looking through the catalog, Luke piped up, "Mom! Look, you can give a sewing machine - just like you got from Grandma and Grandpa last night!" So I can, buddy. What a great idea. A sewing machine gifted to a woman in the third world provides a sustainable livelihood for her and her family. It's food. It's safety. It's well-being. It's perfect.<br />
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Paul picked a very cool water pump that is operated by foot, the pedals for which look a lot like an elliptical. I think Paul probably thought it just looked fun! But he was also jazzed to know that it would provide folks with clean water.<br />
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Erik picked $1,200 worth of medication for not nearly that much money. It's super cool to be able to pick gifts that match with our passions.<br />
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Meanwhile, Luke was quietly reading a page in his catalog that has always been there, but drew his attention this year. The page tells the story of a girl who gets trafficked. I didn't actually realize he was processing the story until he said, "This. I want to give this. Safety for a girl." When my boy read those three paragraphs, he immediately decided that he needed to do something about it. This is the man I pray that I am raising, a man of integrity who sees the injustice in the world and takes as much action as he possibly can. I have never been so moved by one of my boy's choices. I'm pretty sure at that age, I might have just ignored that page because it was terrible and sad and uncomfortable. Luke doesn't want to ignore it. He wants to help fix it. And that, friends, is awesome.<br />
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Once that sweet tradition was done, it was time for our gift giving to each other. Okay, here's the deal. While we were on vacation alone together at the cabin earlier in December, Erik and I completed a little online questionnaire about our love languages. You know, the way each of us communicates and receives love most effectively. So, quality time was my first love language, and receiving gifts was my second. Well, folks, let me just tell you that I knew about that secondary business and always thought that I should just pretend that wasn't a thing. Because it felt kinda selfish. But then we read more about it. It's not about big, expensive shiny things. In fact, those don't count unless there is time and thought behind them. Gifts matter when they say, "I've listened to you. I know what will delight you."<br />
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This is the part where my husband rocks. Erik will be the first to admit that coming up with gift ideas for his wife is hard. The ADD mind struggles to remember the conversation where the wife mentioned the thing that would delight her on Christmas morning. And people, I have let go of this business in a lot of ways. So, when Erik surprised me on Christmas morning with not one, but THREE thoughtful, meaningful gifts, I wept. For real. Wanna see what he got me?<br />
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That personalized glass ornament of a piano hanging from the lamp commemorates this year, the year I started lessons again and we got an acoustic piano. Cried when I opened that business. Did I mention that I started collecting the old style glass ornaments two years ago? And then there is the piano music...from Jane Austen movies...that I love. How awesome is my husband? Super awesome. He nailed this BIG time. I already knew that he loves me, but for whatever reason, when he buys me meaningful gifts, my heart sings.</div>
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And then the kids opened their gifts!</div>
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Paul got this Lego Dimensions thing in his stocking. He was pretty impressed.</div>
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Both boys got these cool Star Wars cups in their stockings.</div>
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We continued the tradition of giving each boy three gifts corresponding with their hearts (toy), souls, and minds...although I did cheat a bit this year.</div>
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Both boys received piano music this year as their soul gift...because music feeds the soul...right? Luke got music from "The Legend of Zelda" video games and Paul got music from Mario video games. They can't quite play them yet, but they LOVED listening to me pick my way through them. SO fun!</div>
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Paul got this robotic dinosaur as his "heart" gift. We were together in Kohl's at the very beginning of December when he spotted it. I don't think he ever thought I would actually get it for him.</div>
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And then Luke opened this Nerf blaster, something he saw and loved on the same Kohl's trip. I don't know if their love language is receiving gifts, but I LOVE paying attention and getting them at least one thing that shows I was listening. And folks, sometimes I'm sad that we never did Santa, but when it all comes down, I'm super glad my kids know that I know them and give them good gifts.</div>
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Then my mom came over and we had lazy brunch, followed by presents. Here she is opening the ornament that I made with the boys' picture. She's pretty thrilled.</div>
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Okay, so this past summer Luke read the ENTIRE <i>Redwall</i> series in three months. That's 22 books written on about a seventh grade reading level. He loved it. And my mom noticed. She bought him the first 12 books in the series and gave them to him on Christmas morning. He was beyond thrilled.<br />
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That stack of books has made for a VERY quiet Christmas break around here. Lovely gift, Oma!</div>
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Then the boys hugged Oma!</div>
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Christmas evening we enjoyed time at Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy's but again I failed to take pictures. We had a great time catching up with family and laughing really hard at the crazy antics of gag gift boxes. So hilarious! <br />
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That's the Christmas business. I think I'll save the rest of vacation for another post. :-)Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-65235807356923272382015-12-18T13:31:00.001-08:002015-12-18T13:31:05.831-08:00School TodaySchool in December is nobody's favorite thing. Seriously. That tree goes up, and all I want to do is plan presents and play piano. Period. But today was a beautiful example of how schooling looks different for us in December but is completely legit in my opinion.<br />
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Our day began with me needing to rouse both boys from sleep in order to leave the house by 7:45 a.m. to be at the nearby elementary school in time to deliver 6 bags of groceries for the Backpack Buddies kids. Paul wasn't just reluctant. He was kinda ticked. So, I stopped and had an important conversation about serving even when we would rather sleep in. All I had to do was quietly explain the purpose of the bags. It's food so those kids can eat over Christmas break. And he was all in, folks. With a smile on his face. It didn't hurt that I promised pumpkin bread from Starbucks at the end of the trip. Service is rewarding, people!<br />
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We arrived at the school and delivered the bags, Merry Christmasing our way through the building. It was so good. And educational. The lesson? It's not always about us. Sometimes we have to climb out of our warm, comfy bed in order to do something for others. Good lesson.<br />
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When we got home, post-Starbucks drive-thru, it was time to practice piano. Music. It's school around here. It counts.<br />
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Then they went downstairs and played while I practiced piano. Soul-care for the teacher. Also important around here.<br />
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After that, I called them upstairs and read to them from <i>Johnny Tremain</i> for about an hour. History and literature rolled into one! They were entertained, and we are all learning lots about Boston during the American Revolution. That's just cool.<br />
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Now they are playing chess on the living room floor while I write this blog post beside them. I can hear them strategizing and problem solving. It's all school. I know it's not traditional. And yes we will get back to math and spelling and vocabulary in January. But sometimes learning is best snuck in between the everyday stuff. It's almost like I'm preparing them to learn in real life situations rather than just a classroom. Right?<br />
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Here's the pic:<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-54649883303569227692015-12-16T16:48:00.000-08:002015-12-16T16:58:33.554-08:00Piano TuningWe got the piano tuned today. Why is this blog-worthy? What's the big deal? Let me explain.<br />
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Most of you already know at least some of my backstory, growing up below the poverty line in suburban America. It's miraculous that we owned a piano, and I am SO grateful for the church that sold it SO cheaply to my mom the Christmas that I was seven years old. It was magical. They snuck that beast of an upright grand into the house on Christmas Eve, and I was overjoyed the next morning.<br />
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And I played it untuned and without a treble C (it had fallen and couldn't get up) for all of my growing up years and through college. When Erik and I moved into our little starter house in Puyallup, we brought the piano home. And I tried to get it tuned, but having been moved unprofessionally multiple times (it had been rolled up the street on one occasion and had fallen over in the back of a pick-up truck once), the sounding board had cracked. Irreparable to our newlywed budget. So it sat. I played from time to time. But mostly I just mourned. It was playable sort of, but I was playing a well-tuned baby grand every Sunday at church now. My piano just hurt my ears.<br />
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Eventually, shortly after or right before (my Mommy Brain can't recall) Luke was born, we gave it away. I placed a classified ad (yep...in the paper...it was 2005, but we were in the suburbs and who knew craigslist existed?) offering the piano "as is" and free to a good home. The man who called me let me know that he takes pianos, fixes them up, and gives them to underprivileged kids who want to learn to play. Okay. So, that was perfect. He came and got it. <br />
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Then came the electric piano my dad gave us about two months later. I'm not kidding. We were without a keyed instrument for less than a quarter of a year. God knows us, people. He knows what feeds our souls. God knew what I needed. My dad brought the electric piano to our house, and I knew it for the blessing it was. And folks, I do love that instrument and am SUPER thankful to my dad for giving it to me.<br />
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But it wasn't a real piano. And until a few weeks ago when we acquired this beautiful instrument from Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy, I didn't realize how very much I have missed playing a real piano. It's different. It rings differently. It physically hums. It sings with me.<br />
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And then Taylor Mackinnon arrived today at 12:30 pm to tune it. I greeted him at the door and he had a warm smile on his face, reminding me just a touch of Santa Claus. No joke. The boys were downstairs playing and I left them there. He got started and eventually the boys came roaring up the stairs, but I cut them off in the kitchen. They could hear Taylor tuning. And I told them they had to be silent. Ready for another Bangsund Family Christmas Miracle? They were. Silent. Like the night in the song, people. I couldn't believe it. They stood by his side and watched him work. He didn't shoo them away or even looked askance at them. In fact, at one point when swapping between registers, he engaged them in conversation and told them that they should encourage me in my lessons because having a mom who studies piano is great. So, he works for Concord Piano Services (503-648-5247) and everyone should hire him. Just sayin'. <br />
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As he was finishing up, I realized that in the thirty plus years that I have been a piano playing person, not once have I lived in a house with a tuned acoustic piano. Tears. Blessedly, I was in the kitchen and the poor man didn't need to witness that Amy Craziness. But seriously, folks, I am so abundantly grateful, to Bob and Cindy for parting with this beautiful instrument, to Dave and Lynne for gifting me with the birthday money that started me back to piano lessons, and to Jesus Christ for creating me with a heart that loves music so much and gifting that matches that passion, allowing it to feed my soul.<br />
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Okay. Of course I took pictures. Pretty sure Taylor thought I was crazy. ;-)<br />
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I didn't time how long they stood there, but it was definitely longer than five minutes.</div>
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This is the reason that the treble B and C were sticking together. This had been dropped into the piano at some point. Both boys were in the room when Taylor pulled it out. And Luke immediately said, "I did NOT put that in there. I promise, Mom." I had a hard time not laughing. (I found the sticky keys while the piano was still at Bob and Cindy's...pretty sure it was one of theirs...not mine...whew!)<br />
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And now an attempt to share how much I love this instrument. This is a super short, twenty-three second clip of me playing my current favorite passage. I promise not to become one of these people who posts tons of videos of myself playing the piano. But this kinda reflects some of my joy, and I wanted to share it with all of you.<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-5127880618529667262015-12-13T14:33:00.002-08:002015-12-13T14:33:57.787-08:00More December FunBangsund Christmas traditions continued last weekend as we procured our Christmas tree and decorated the business out of our home.<div>
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We went to the tree farm we go to every year, owned and operated by Don Schneider. It's the free toy place. My kids still love it, so we still go.</div>
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The weather was not great, so I quickly picked a tree. My main goal is always a skinny tree because our living room just gets REALLY crowded with anything other than a mildly anemic, Paris runway model version of a Christmas tree. Know what I mean?</div>
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Here's what I found:</div>
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It's so slim, it doesn't really show from behind the boys. Dang! Luke is going to be taller than our tree in just a few years. Oy.</div>
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So we (meaning Erik) cut it down, the boys picked their toys from Mr. Schneider's free toy shed, and we headed home.</div>
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Then came the fun, new Bangsund Family tradition.</div>
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Luke Bangsund helped his father put up the outside Christmas lights!</div>
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By this I mean that Luke did ALL of the ladder work. All of it. Erik stayed on terra firma while the ten year old climbed the ladder and did all the gutter clipping and tensioning. What just happened?</div>
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Like this. Crazy, huh?</div>
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Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, our little tree was decorated by mostly me. I'm still not super comfortable letting the boys touch my grandmother's antique ornaments. Maybe next year. They did get to decorate the tree in the basement...that's cool, too, right?</div>
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Here's how our upstairs tree turned out:</div>
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I hadn't put the tree skirt on yet, or eliminated the boy legs from the area, but you get the gist.</div>
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And now, one of my favorite pictures of the season so far - Paul doing his spelling by the light of the Christmas tree this past week.</div>
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He found this location all by himself, and I love it. Even spelling is better by tree light!</div>
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-65878978193237318632015-12-13T13:41:00.005-08:002015-12-13T13:41:53.657-08:00Some December FunDecember is only half over and look at me, blogging! Be impressed, people. Okay, not that impressed. Erik and I are currently snowed in a bit at the cabin in Sunriver. So, I have a little time on my hands. :-)<br />
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We have enjoyed some great family moments thus far this month, the first of which was a brand new experience for the boys and a very nostalgic one for Erik and me. We took the boys to the PLU Christmas Concert held here in Portland each year. Let me explain. Erik and I sang in this concert every year of our PLU lives. And in 1997, having just started dating in November, we sat together on the bus ride down and back, dancing with each other in PLU's Red Square after helping unload the buses at midnight. This concert is meaningful to us for LOTS of reasons.<br />
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We had never taken the boys because it requires sitting mostly still for two hours straight while listening to orchestral and choral music. Right? Not exactly their scene. Also, in years past the concert has been on Tuesday evening, a night that I am committed to be at my bible study as the supervisor of the school-aged program. But this year was different.<br />
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The advertisement arrived via snail mail in mid-October. I glanced at it, interested in what the choir would be performing. And there it was - Portland's concert was on Wednesday, December 2nd!! I was so excited. But I had a decision to make. With or without the boys? I decided to test the waters.<br />
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While sitting at the kitchen table for lunch that day, I not-so-slyly pulled up a youtube video of a previous PLU Christmas Concert and just started watching. I NEVER do this, people. I do not watch youtube during the day, unless it is very specifically connected with something we are studying. Even then, it's always in our school room and has a big long boring introduction from me about what I want the boys to be watching for and things we will discuss afterward. Educational. Yep. Not so this time. I just started that video playing right in the middle of the Top Ramen. From the very first notes, both boys were completely intrigued.<br />
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They stopped talking to each other. That's so stinkin' rare. Then, without speaking, they moved from their chairs to standing behind mine, silently staring at the screen. After about a minute and a half, Paul reverently whispered, "What is this?" And I knew they were ready. I put a reminder in my calendar to purchase tickets when they went on sale a few weeks later. And I did.<br />
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Next came some wardrobe improvements. My children are homeschooled, people. They spend much of the day wearing pants that are best suited for athletic activity and t-shirts with either Star Wars, Ninjago, or Mario characters emblazoned across them. They wear these same clothes to church because nobody there cares about their clothes. They each own two pairs of shoes - sneakers and rain boots. That's it. But for this PLU grad, the Christmas Concert held in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in downtown Portland was going to require something a bit snazzier. In fact, before buying tickets I sat down with each boy and let them know that in order to go they would need to wear non-athletic pants and a collared shirt. Period. No arguments. They both readily agreed. And it was the first of a few Christmas miracles we experienced surrounding this event.<br />
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The boys and I shopped together for their concert attire. I took them to Kohl's after doing some online research ahead of time. I knew exactly what we were looking for and found it. Wanna see the results?<br />
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Those ties have a character from Star Wars on them. See what I did there? It's called compromise. You agree to dress up and I find you something that you absolutely LOVE to make it less painful. The shoes were also a brilliant move on my part. They are Vans, reasonably comfortable and absolutely awesome looking. Not a single tear was shed during the donning of these outfits. Christmas Miracle #2. This picture alone might qualify me for Mom of the Year, folks.<br />
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We enjoyed dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory on the waterfront beforehand. The boys did AWESOME. A huge thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for introducing the boys to this restaurant a few weeks before the concert. It was the perfect pre-concert family dinner place - fancy enough that I could be wearing my cutie dress and not feel WAY too overdressed - casual enough to be affordable and kid-friendly. Seriously. Perfect.<br />
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Sidenote: This experience made me realize how much the boys are maturing. They ordered their own food, stayed in their seats the entire meal, ate without complaint, and were uber polite to our server (I think she wanted to take them both home by the end of the meal). I don't want to speak too soon, but these boys might actually turn out okay.<br />
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Okay! On to the concert! We parked the car and walked a few blocks downtown to get to the hall, taking us by the beautifully awesome downtown Christmas tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square. I didn't get a picture because we were moving, but we all ooohed and aaahed appropriately.<br />
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We arrived at The Schnitz and both boys were super impressed by the marquee area. All those lights! I took this picture of them standing with Erik beneath it, but you can't tell it's them. Oh, well. The lights show very well!<br />
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We went in and the boys were again enthralled with the fanciness of the entire place. I am basically just like them. I think because I don't get out often enough, places like this still awe me. It's not a bad thing actually. But seeing it through their eyes made it even more enchanting.<br />
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We easily found our seats and it wasn't long before the concert started. From the appearance of the Concert Master to the final standing ovation both boys were pretty much attentive. Paul got tired during the second half (around 9pm), but he just leaned on Erik. It helped so much that there are many opportunities for standing and singing. Part of this concert tradition is the audience sing alongs. About every half hour, the entire audience stands and sings a classic carol, loudly and fully orchestrated. It rocks. The boys loved it. And it helped them stretch their legs and get the wiggles out. So good.<br />
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At intermission, we climbed the stairs to the balcony to get the real view. I took a picture. The ties were clip on and too uncomfortable to last the entire night. If I am able to, I will replace them with real ties for the upcoming Christmas celebrations.<br />
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It's a little dark and blurry, but can you see Paul's face? It really says exactly how he felt about the entire night. "Can you believe something this amazing exists and happens every year?" Yes, buddy. Maybe someday you will be on the stage instead of in the audience. By the way, we need to get balcony seats next year. It might be that you need to know the fancy people to sit up here. But it just so happens that we know the people who know the fancy people. So, it could happen. ;-)<br />
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The concert ended around 9:30 pm, a good solid hour and half after we usually put the boys to bed. We REALLY wanted to stay for just a moment to greet our former director and all-around awesome guy, Dr. Richard Nance. Unsure of how long the boys would last, we were heading up the aisle toward the lobby when Dr. Nance appeared from back stage. Ready for the third Christmas miracle? Both boys were polite and kind to him. At 9:30 pm. Really. I'm not lying. I promise. They greeted him and shook hands and smiled. They allowed us to talk for a few minutes and then we gave our hugs and headed for the door. Dr. Nance did ask if they sing LOW like their Daddy. Erik and I replied in unison, "Not yet!" C'mon genetics! Give us some more bass power! Okay, we will be content with baritones or tenors...sort of. ;-)<br />
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The drive home was mostly fine. They were tired and at one point thought it was a good idea to start a conversation about Minecraft. They were soon at odds regarding a debatable point of which no adult knows or cares to know the finer points. Erik politely told them this was not a good time to discuss such matters and we turned on some Christmas music instead. Other than that, there were no disputes. We arrived home and all went to bed while visions of coloraturas danced in our heads.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-46349801289533962802015-11-30T13:18:00.003-08:002015-11-30T13:18:52.452-08:00November HappenedI will say this about November - it was WAY busier than I really wanted it to be. There were just more bits to coordinate for some of the ministries in which I am involved. But it's pretty much over. And although December's calendar is equally filled, all of it is more relational and less administrative. WHEW! :-)<br />
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Similar to the last post, I'm going to use pictures to catch up on our lives. Here we go!<br />
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November 1st was the 6th birthday of a dear friend. The celebration was at the Molalla Train Park. I was SO happy to see that the boys still love this place. A few pics to prove it.<br />
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Dorks on a train. Love it.</div>
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The whole gang of birthday party attendees. Luke is standing next to the birthday boy. Paul is leaning on the birthday boy's big brother. We love these folks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wKyeJVu-4fVSBmtyJOxiswI_EIpMY-5TKfcMJVKv6oSiT-C_QSyuGl_NOvFA0SE76_0bysZTy9C0rc5-EjKnezqM3tU9bQG3jWknT3xqo4Q7qwUj8JRacTpzDeg9eKmZlU46LbfQZIpL/s1600/2015-11-01+15.07.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wKyeJVu-4fVSBmtyJOxiswI_EIpMY-5TKfcMJVKv6oSiT-C_QSyuGl_NOvFA0SE76_0bysZTy9C0rc5-EjKnezqM3tU9bQG3jWknT3xqo4Q7qwUj8JRacTpzDeg9eKmZlU46LbfQZIpL/s640/2015-11-01+15.07.51.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Someone said, "Let's do a silly picture." I snapped this before some of the folks got close to getting silly. My guys? Instant silly. I'm so proud.</div>
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And now for something completely different...Paul does math!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5_XI-sVgiqcPJxbLVrhBs3qKkxgWq4AQp76zoqbtruEGRVZ-01n-SsmPReiilYps2QHmnachUunweawFNsCPhMkcb7Pn1DfGSKwOcxIesUqEIwjiJhR0siYriXEc-DypCIByHDA-qRhR/s1600/2015-11-04+09.04.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5_XI-sVgiqcPJxbLVrhBs3qKkxgWq4AQp76zoqbtruEGRVZ-01n-SsmPReiilYps2QHmnachUunweawFNsCPhMkcb7Pn1DfGSKwOcxIesUqEIwjiJhR0siYriXEc-DypCIByHDA-qRhR/s640/2015-11-04+09.04.46.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We use Math U See. Mr. Steve Demme, a veteran math teacher with a fabulous sense of humor, explains concepts clearly and concisely on the video. I always sit and watch with the boys, pausing it to ask questions and check comprehension. It's the only video we use for school, and I love it. End commercial.<br />
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Then Luke decided that he didn't want these dollar store whistles, but he did want the string. Telling him he could use a hammer to bust them up was a magical moment for me as a mom. We are definitely entering new territory with this guy. He's so capable and cautious. I would probably let him make a fire in the fireplace...if we ever did that sort of thing. For now, he'll have to be content with real tools whenever he has a project.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7RwHT_4g4coc8HQigmT3Rvw8QEZ_7i-G2CGaqD2dc-TV3HwelY_VfWJLexD08HsqiwLUkJAy7fphYbEAgsTX0vqmKMUuQZWfQOmEUsMHSFv_j9pVuQ6MvmW8dkrHxiAsf0Zo0nj8nFbQ/s1600/2015-11-05+11.56.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7RwHT_4g4coc8HQigmT3Rvw8QEZ_7i-G2CGaqD2dc-TV3HwelY_VfWJLexD08HsqiwLUkJAy7fphYbEAgsTX0vqmKMUuQZWfQOmEUsMHSFv_j9pVuQ6MvmW8dkrHxiAsf0Zo0nj8nFbQ/s640/2015-11-05+11.56.09.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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I told him he needed eye protection. He found these swim goggles in the basement. Genius.</div>
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We got to go visit my dad in November. This is a VERY long story. I'll make it short. He and I got re-connected after not seeing each other for eight years when my step-mom, Marilyn, had a heart attack in early September. I went up there for two days in a row to sit with him in the ICU. Stuff like that helps everyone remember what's important. And I'm so thankful to Jesus Christ for using hard stuff to do beautiful things. Marilyn is recovering nicely. And this happened:</div>
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Pretty sure this is my dad's first selfie ever. And right before I took it, he said hello to the camera because it looked like video to him. Adorable.</div>
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Papa Leon took us fishing in the rain. It was like re-living every weekend I spent with him as a kid. Except this time, one of Erik's arms was around me keeping me warm while his other arm held an oversized umbrella to cover us both. I don't have a picture of that, but it was a very good thing.</div>
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Sidenote: My boys LOVED fishing in the rain with my dad. They didn't complain once. They ran around and threw stuff in the water. They played with his dog. It was a highlight for them. I think having grandsons is going to fit my dad REALLY well. :-)</div>
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More random pics</div>
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Luke drinks coffee! Black. The caffeine seems to help him focus.</div>
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Backpack Buddies Shopping with the boys</div>
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We did our final pack of the year and it required a LOT of business. The boys were great at Winco, helping me get all this stuff paid for and loaded into the car.</div>
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Paul likes to play this card game - Monopoly Deal. He beats me most of the time.</div>
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And he's adorable.</div>
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Final story of this post. When I was 15 years old, my piano teacher moved to Michigan. I never found a new teacher and shortly after that, I was sucked up by my first worship band at church. I have played piano consistently for the past 25 years, but I haven't studied piano since 1990. Until now. I started taking piano lessons in September using my birthday money from my generous and loving in-laws. And I love it. I love getting new music. I love being reminded of theory and being forced to practice scales, arpeggios, and inversions (most of the time - D# excluded).</div>
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But, we have been the proud and grateful owners of an electric piano since Luke was about three months old. It was a gift from my dad and Marilyn. And it's awesome. But it isn't the instrument we are actually taking lessons to learn. A piano has hammers and strings. You play it differently than you do an electric instrument. After about two weeks of lessons, I knew we needed a real piano.</div>
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Enter Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy. We spend Christmas evening at their house and a beautiful upright piano has sat in their living room. Knowing that no one in their house is playing this instrument, I sent an email wondering if they would ever consider parting with it. Forward of me? Maybe. But I believe that generosity brings blessing to both the receiver AND the giver. So I asked. And they said YES! WOHOO!</div>
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So, this past Saturday, this bit of loveliness arrived in our home!</div>
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We are still working on the family history of it, but we know that it was manufactured in 1957. Erik knows that it was the instrument that was in his home until they moved his third grade year and replaced it with a grand piano. It needs to be tuned and there are some keys that stick together. But already I enjoy playing it more than its electric cousin. And the boys do, too. <br />
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We were supposed to go tree hunting this weekend, but I'm not the only one who is sick. Erik has really struggled with a head cold since the day before Thanksgiving. So, none of the grown-ups really felt like going to the tree farm. The boys were a little bummed, but we will make it happen as soon as we are well and have the time. But we needed to decorate something!<br />
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So we decorated the piano a bit.<br />
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Paul loves these houses and they look excellent in this location. :-)</div>
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And what did we do with the electric piano? We moved it to the playroom of course! (We had friends who came for a Backpack Buddies pack night on Tuesday - they helped Erik move it.)</div>
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Why have two? Well, three of us need to practice every day. So, having two means it doesn't need to take as long! And it's just super fun. Right?</div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-48422407765030242972015-11-30T11:53:00.001-08:002015-11-30T11:53:06.913-08:00October in PicturesYep. All of October and November came and went without a single blog post. Sorry, folks. It happens. But today I am sick. Like "sent home early from my leadership meeting this morning" sick. I've been ordered to rest. I have slept some. I will sleep some more later. Right now I will sit lay on my couch and blog. Here's October, folks.<br />
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There is no story behind this picture, but I love how cozy Paul looks. The weather was downright balmy in our area for most of October, but mornings began to cool off, allowing Paul to snuggle with this blanket.<br />
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This is simply a very accurate representation of what these boys spend a lot of their time doing. We are still able to finish school before noon on most days. After that...they do this. And play in the basement. :-)<br />
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The next picture needs a little bit of introduction. Our church, Roots Community, continues to serve a local elementary school by doing Backpack Buddies. We deliver bags of food before each weekend for six students, enabling them to eat on Saturdays and Sundays. In order to have bags of food, we buy LOTS of food each month. The money came from Roots' Advent Conspiracy giving last year. It's pretty awesome. I had some help at Winco for the Backpack Buddies shopping trip in October.<br />
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Adorable behind the trunk full of food.</div>
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So, then I took all that food home. And some other AMAZING helpers did this...</div>
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The beginning</div>
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Finished!</div>
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Luke and Paul carried every single food item down the stairs in rather heavy bags that I loaded from the trunk in the garage. And they did it with happy, joyful hearts. Know why? We have been abundantly clear with them about Backpack Buddies. When we feed hungry people, we are feeding Jesus Christ. This is ALL for Him. And that gives us all joy.</div>
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Then came the super fun part - PACK NIGHT! </div>
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This picture doesn't do it justice because there were a total of about sixteen people here that night. Our Gospel Community (think awesomest version of a small group ever) came over and we packed the bags and prayed over the kids who would receive them. It was so good. I was so encouraged. There were times during the last year when we had one other family at pack night. It works, but it is so much cooler with a houseful of folks. I love the Body of Christ. And I'll take any opportunity for time together to serve, connect, laugh and point each other to Jesus. It's just good.</div>
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Okay. What else happened in October? Apple cider pressing party!</div>
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My friend Holly and I cut up a LOT of apples together. It was sweet.</div>
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Then the kids took turns cranking this business to mush them up. (Okay, the dads did most of the cranking.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7khtExDBZPyZyQ-02ACHE9eRcLuYqDYqpW5KHwo8ykiElwiRlr3EQfSMKgB9D-_Y-MWBw9KE0W4w4abeRBldaiBp5ziKSKyFI_nOpjcwrddB8L5wvrSMSm6DjioqqLEshdSC8UfvXYHZ/s1600/2015-10-17+15.10.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7khtExDBZPyZyQ-02ACHE9eRcLuYqDYqpW5KHwo8ykiElwiRlr3EQfSMKgB9D-_Y-MWBw9KE0W4w4abeRBldaiBp5ziKSKyFI_nOpjcwrddB8L5wvrSMSm6DjioqqLEshdSC8UfvXYHZ/s640/2015-10-17+15.10.25.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Proof that it was hard to turn the crank...the littler people in the picture above didn't actually turn it. But Luke was DETERMINED.</div>
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Pour the mush into this thingie. Turn it. And voila! Cider!</div>
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Okay. I posed this shot. ;-)</div>
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The day after the apple cider, we helped Dave and Lynne host two German students. We took them to a pumpkin patch near our house. There was a hayride, but I failed to get any decent pictures. Here's a shot of the girls with two goats and my children. It'll do.</div>
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The boys have been really into making crazy faces for pictures lately. So, I felt like this was a triumph.</div>
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The following Monday, I received a phone call from a Roots buddy in desperate need of childcare so she could go see the chiropractor. My answer: YES! And look at this cuteness:</div>
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Yes, he totally needed to go to the bathroom when I took this picture. We took care of that.</div>
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And here's little brother:</div>
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You would have said yes, too.</div>
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Most weekends Erik does Science Saturday (or Sunday) with the boys. Here's the skinny, people. I've said it before. I am awesome at analyzing literature, diagramming sentences, finding historical patterns and themes, and lots of other school bits. The science experiments kill me. When it doesn't go like the book says it should, I can't figure out why! I can't tweak one little thing and make it work. That's why God gave me Erik!!</div>
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They are studying all about electricity this year. And it is so much fun to see these three "discover" together. Our curriculum is amazing. If you ever want to run super cool experiments with simple household objects, look into <a href="http://topscience.org/" target="_blank">T.O.P.S.</a> It's fabulous.</div>
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They've built a circuit with a switch using a battery, aluminum foil and clothes pin. So cool!<br />
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And then we did more pumpkin-related things...</div>
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Paul used a fun craft kit from Grandma to create this spider pumpkin.<br />
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Paul also cleaned the goop out of his pumpkin with just a little help from Erik.<br />
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I wish we could convince him to do theatre stuff. Seriously. Facial expressions this large belong on stage.<br />
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Meanwhile...<br />
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Luke organized the tools, removing the ones that were clearly no longer efficient. Yep. These dudes are two very different people.<br />
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Luke didn't want to carve his pumpkin. He wanted Erik to do it with precision. So Erik did!<br />
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It's a Minecraft character called a creeper. Don't google it.<br />
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Paul's pumpkin didn't actually get carved that day. He dithered for a few days about what he was going to do. And then I failed to get a picture of the final product. He basically free-handed the same face, giving it an upturned, smiling mouth instead of the frown. </div>
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And now for the costumes! (Sorry that it's nearly December and you are looking at costumes.)</div>
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Paul was a Jawa from Star Wars. You can google it if you don't know. Think short, funny sounding aliens who sell robots.<br />
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LOVE the smile!<br />
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Luke was Link from the Legend of Zelda video game. It's a multi-generational favorite around here, folks. And our ten year old makes a perfect Link.<br />
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The Brothers Bangsund<br />
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Okay, I'm going to publish this bad boy and start work on a November post. :-)</div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-74851560076760484552015-09-26T16:19:00.003-07:002015-09-26T16:20:15.057-07:00Unexpected PerksThe Monroes, the family of five that camped in our basement for about a month, left a little over a week ago. I won't lie. It was hard and sad to say goodbye to them. We have spent the last week expecting small people to arrive in the kitchen for toast or applesauce or popcorn. We will adjust to life as a family of four again, but it might take a few weeks. On the up side, just yesterday I witnessed an unexpected highlight of having hosted a family with three small children.<br />
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We had a 2-year old visitor yesterday who was immediately embraced by my 8-year-old and whisked away to the playroom for time with trains. While the moms sat and talked ministry stuff, the 2-year old was completely entertained by Paul. His willingness to build a train track and facilitate a simple art project without being asked showed me how much he matured while we hosted the Monroes.<br />
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At the end of the visit, Luke popped out of his room where he had been reading, to say hey to folks. And help the 2-year old put on his shoes before leaving. The moms were out on the driveway loading ministry stuff into a minivan when Luke appeared with the perfectly shod toddler. I made a comment about how awesome that was and Luke just said he'd done it a ton of times for the Monroe's toddler girl. Of course you did.<br />
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And now for the part where I post WAY too many pictures of our time with the Monroes. And by that I mean pictures of their little girls. Sorry, Asher. We love you, too, buddy. We are just a little too smitten with your sisters.<br />
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First selfie in my kitchen with my girl</div>
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She's two days old here. It was the day they moved in.</div>
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The boys with their books on the couch</div>
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Baby Montage</div>
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She was almost smiling!</div>
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Luke and Baby Girl</div>
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Swinging with Tovah-SuperNova (a Bangsund original nickname)</div>
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Face making </div>
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"Feed baby"</div>
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Another face maker!</div>
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Luke is blurry because he was moving from side to side. Adorable.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Sisters!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQrkobE3VpZA6XZGZNpc1p8zNfQ3CLWFGGiEAMIXXVy40FlZwnrnJGOlSevx5KXyrtckt3WDatA71NFfTtIxEH3SQPecX1BiwV-ooLKS8w3cwLxyT2kMkE-_t-bSXkkBXMlnbmJnDJo2F/s1600/2015-08-26+12.09.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQrkobE3VpZA6XZGZNpc1p8zNfQ3CLWFGGiEAMIXXVy40FlZwnrnJGOlSevx5KXyrtckt3WDatA71NFfTtIxEH3SQPecX1BiwV-ooLKS8w3cwLxyT2kMkE-_t-bSXkkBXMlnbmJnDJo2F/s640/2015-08-26+12.09.01.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Big Brother and Baby Sister</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLJzW72dBYZ2NdaJQ0BEmKzxiUCnvKPetEQjB3EyaAlX9ZashtGofARYglW6RhylapywIiz3BP_Sf1zRE8JNg6pUUAN8KMuDK9lY6kYnQKhzo3pEp4AVuhyDHB_SdTB9bSTR8E3JAQm8v/s1600/2015-08-26+12.12.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLJzW72dBYZ2NdaJQ0BEmKzxiUCnvKPetEQjB3EyaAlX9ZashtGofARYglW6RhylapywIiz3BP_Sf1zRE8JNg6pUUAN8KMuDK9lY6kYnQKhzo3pEp4AVuhyDHB_SdTB9bSTR8E3JAQm8v/s640/2015-08-26+12.12.12.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Simply Adorable</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Luke spends time with Baby Girl</div>
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These next shots are backlit, but I loved them too much to exclude them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzvatYVgxw7m9EvSkDsZTU1dIVcN5kUOVrGcj-pvedjHbC-JA4CrpCvYn-fXdfLCoIJx5FzA6Eb1wuus2ZV9zfK7bXj0_o9Wl6cm99B8Bg8F0HmXNOEjQ7RFuE9OLq4iEMWEiQ5GV4Oly/s1600/2015-08-30+09.53.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzvatYVgxw7m9EvSkDsZTU1dIVcN5kUOVrGcj-pvedjHbC-JA4CrpCvYn-fXdfLCoIJx5FzA6Eb1wuus2ZV9zfK7bXj0_o9Wl6cm99B8Bg8F0HmXNOEjQ7RFuE9OLq4iEMWEiQ5GV4Oly/s640/2015-08-30+09.53.21.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Reading to all the people</div>
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About three weeks old.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyD8EjBcls9gAJgtlQgxF5jfe9IyjZBazAfTUPjgloyIbKhPz12IlpyfV4-hUY4W-wrFchYy8P2XrIoegY-Qz5e3NyEHgzVQhbNukdqBoZYQK43X0bPjSJDWn6CjTsjMVAwo9xvxTL3I7X/s1600/2015-09-09+09.35.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyD8EjBcls9gAJgtlQgxF5jfe9IyjZBazAfTUPjgloyIbKhPz12IlpyfV4-hUY4W-wrFchYy8P2XrIoegY-Qz5e3NyEHgzVQhbNukdqBoZYQK43X0bPjSJDWn6CjTsjMVAwo9xvxTL3I7X/s640/2015-09-09+09.35.13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Paul reads to Asher and Tovah from <i>Curious George</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRmzRLopDhq5dy2ZYLqOCWzbQp6DPF9yCR_1gUhI3Q_eECKzSJSCgfdV_G8FS-GdI4CmdUMzPRF0ipn-SqVviFhaHLhJFNwUpYOPWN04rZ-5SDBhuAcYpIEI7KKTuRsfn7ak4sfasnPsR/s1600/2015-09-11+18.12.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRmzRLopDhq5dy2ZYLqOCWzbQp6DPF9yCR_1gUhI3Q_eECKzSJSCgfdV_G8FS-GdI4CmdUMzPRF0ipn-SqVviFhaHLhJFNwUpYOPWN04rZ-5SDBhuAcYpIEI7KKTuRsfn7ak4sfasnPsR/s640/2015-09-11+18.12.13.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Both my boys did this with the box at this age. Asher, you are one of us.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
I could not resist the photo bomb by Luke and the half moon by Asher. Swinging is fun.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7ehYEEIjfvp0deS82v80T2AelwhCVZ67c01TwqKsh4NOqZ21jFTaKLJjB65Ub0XA11Lt9ENjqEc6APIEI9PFPyibG8G_m0gZdlKYo2Fd9mGIgHVNGyvXmi6vzuurKf_qOxdhZIy6RBDE/s1600/2015-09-15+09.43.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7ehYEEIjfvp0deS82v80T2AelwhCVZ67c01TwqKsh4NOqZ21jFTaKLJjB65Ub0XA11Lt9ENjqEc6APIEI9PFPyibG8G_m0gZdlKYo2Fd9mGIgHVNGyvXmi6vzuurKf_qOxdhZIy6RBDE/s640/2015-09-15+09.43.22.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
These two...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDBbNdoUEFx6Cvf6wvjaSNbr1XnIeUpiEctRPfcX176N4Yw2PRv14Y1ikcyfO2kRuZxV25RtrCuXPUFVWfyDxjezVh9ayxYF8k8j50wRNJeedchknY7hMJh0jJ7H1qRpg42KT4bEOKMPA/s1600/2015-09-16+08.52.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDBbNdoUEFx6Cvf6wvjaSNbr1XnIeUpiEctRPfcX176N4Yw2PRv14Y1ikcyfO2kRuZxV25RtrCuXPUFVWfyDxjezVh9ayxYF8k8j50wRNJeedchknY7hMJh0jJ7H1qRpg42KT4bEOKMPA/s640/2015-09-16+08.52.53.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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...really like each other...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPtWag7BnrqOZWWbESYU0-MQx1jglL8RgvIEIbmwQOA5nDHsAZe3ZKRRwMtSVdYM3FbxgClJTExtaIUI6B7aJBTEI6SslOT8_q7uua03yr3siS16PR4QOPySHdDbliNlwN9j1m13ZEiZZ/s1600/2015-09-16+08.52.59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPtWag7BnrqOZWWbESYU0-MQx1jglL8RgvIEIbmwQOA5nDHsAZe3ZKRRwMtSVdYM3FbxgClJTExtaIUI6B7aJBTEI6SslOT8_q7uua03yr3siS16PR4QOPySHdDbliNlwN9j1m13ZEiZZ/s640/2015-09-16+08.52.59.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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...a lot.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqC0yo3a_GEXY-DNnXIJ-ZIa7CxVueV4LSL7M7gCw3lUFdGzzjL7c2mNf5PWBl1XRjuU1VD43BMzKED1_JwfSPuozqWxfDVJqB_0HJHZ7DI0ogYMOqoSfHXDfMp0k-33eniRIH5pBjeCv/s1600/2015-09-16+16.40.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqC0yo3a_GEXY-DNnXIJ-ZIa7CxVueV4LSL7M7gCw3lUFdGzzjL7c2mNf5PWBl1XRjuU1VD43BMzKED1_JwfSPuozqWxfDVJqB_0HJHZ7DI0ogYMOqoSfHXDfMp0k-33eniRIH5pBjeCv/s640/2015-09-16+16.40.02.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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More swinging!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDNwa5lw9gAR05htguii9M8DUMWgrvZ8Sn1UqF3ItexFO-oL_g3CgZiwEZ1Vz9fsP7g3GADrWeDQzt2Jmk8M8DoYBAUBWkz0kk3ObgsOwrRBh9TCpMAS9EjTI6H8UGpVwTV7Yos8RZv_8/s1600/2015-09-16+08.54.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDNwa5lw9gAR05htguii9M8DUMWgrvZ8Sn1UqF3ItexFO-oL_g3CgZiwEZ1Vz9fsP7g3GADrWeDQzt2Jmk8M8DoYBAUBWkz0kk3ObgsOwrRBh9TCpMAS9EjTI6H8UGpVwTV7Yos8RZv_8/s640/2015-09-16+08.54.08.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Two days shy of one month old!</div>
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Last selfie in my kitchen with my girl. We are adorable.</div>
Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-61362858005284215002015-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:002015-09-26T14:49:29.667-07:00Real HospitalityHospitality has never been my thing. None of the rooms in my house would ever come close to being featured in a magazine, unless it were a periodical about people who get most of their furniture for free and leave fake wood paneling on their walls. Not because it's hip. More because they can't be bothered. It's just low on the priority list.<br />
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I've been in homes that are beautifully appointed. They made me feel like I was at a lovely bed and breakfast. Now THAT'S hospitality. Little soaps in the bathroom. Fancy napkins folded in fancy ways. Furniture that looks like someone picked it out instead of having it offered for free from a neighbor who was moving. My house has just never fit the bill. It's not that it's messy (although it often is messy). It's more that none of the furniture/decor really matches or is fashionable. And I don't care. At all.<br />
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So, I've always figured this removed me from the realm of those gifted with hospitality. Recently someone told me I was wrong. Here's why.<br />
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About five weeks ago a family from our church moved into our basement for the four weeks before they left town to go plant a new church in Nashville, TN. Five more people in our home, including a four year old, a 22 month old, and a newborn. Crazy, right?<br />
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About a week after they moved in, I was explaining our temporary family of nine to my friend, Dena. I couldn't help smiling and laughing at how delightful it was having a very full house. And she looked at me and told me that I clearly had the gift of hospitality. I argued with her! I said, "No! I'm not baking or anything. And the house is FAR from clean most days. I just love having them in our home. That's different, right?"<br />
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Dena just looked at me and shook her head. "Amy, that IS hospitality - enjoying people in your home and making them feel comfortable and loved."<br />
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This exploded my brain. What? Hospitality isn't Pinterest everything? I can't buy it on Etsy? That just sounds nuts. But it's true. It is more about my heart than my home. And lo and behold, I have a heart that LOVES having folks in my home.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-59832992439955169802015-09-18T21:02:00.001-07:002015-09-18T21:02:31.975-07:00First Day of School and Purple BeltsSeptember has been a whirlwind so far. No joke. Let me back up a bit.<br />
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We actually started school on August 13th. The boys had just arrived home from a trip to the cabin on August 12th. I actually had three days to prep materials and resources. And I was PUMPED to start. However. The children probably could have used a few more days to adjust to life at home. Dang. I hate it when my enthusiasm rolls over the top of my people. We had a hard first day. It wasn't helped by the fact that within a few hours of finishing one student would be lying in bed with a fever. I was oblivious until that one put himself to bed at 12:30pm. <br />
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Meanwhile, our other person decided that he was going to refuse to do any sort of writing curriculum. Forever. The laser beams that shot from my eyes narrowly missed exploding his head. Good did come out of all this because our Daddy-Man/Principal made an unscheduled stop by the classroom to facilitate a meaningful conversation between a struggling student and his frustrated teacher. We are blessed to have that guy. And probably still alive because of him as well.<br />
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Anyway, nobody died on the first day of school. And we took cute pictures despite bad attitudes. What is a blog if not a place to be blunt? Right?<br />
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The table ready to go!</div>
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The Paul. He doesn't look like he's about to come down with strep throat, does he? He is.</div>
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I love this guy. Even when he refuses to do his writing assignments.</div>
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102 degrees Fahrenheit that same day. Boo.</div>
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But then he got better. And it was time to get their purple belts. Okay, clearly I have abandoned transitions. Pictures. Here they are.<br />
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During testing - don't they look awesome?</div>
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Then they got to spar. Sweet.</div>
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Purple belts! Yay!</div>
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And since I had five hours of sleep last night, and a conclusion is failing me...the end.</div>
Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-84520961944440146512015-08-26T16:31:00.001-07:002015-08-26T16:31:38.723-07:00Homeschool Organizational BitsI added some new elements to our school room this year. This will be our sixth year on this journey, if we count the year we did preschool with Luke. I find that reassessing our organization each year helps me discover ways to improve how we do what we do. I'm a huge fan of making things run smoother if at all possible.<br />
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I've loved our green bins but really wanted to add labels to them. Simultaneously, I did not want to commit to labeling them. What if I decide to use them for something different in three months? While pondering this (whining about this) with my husband, he made a suggestion that absolutely rocked.<br />
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Painters tape and a Sharpie white paint marker. Brilliant. It's something I can easily change, but they stay in place just fine. My husband is awesome. For those who aren't familiar with my bins, each one has a subject in it. (WWE=Writing With Ease; FLL=First Language Lessons; HWOT=Handwriting Without Tears) Each day the boys look at their schedule to ascertain which subjects they need to complete. Grab the bin. Move to a workspace that isn't the same as your brother's workspace. Work. Replace bin when finished. Having them labeled has helped SO much!<br />
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Then I prepped the binders for the year. I do these at the beginning so that we can fill them up as we go instead of putting them together at the end. It works well.<br />
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The card stock background just makes it easier to insert the spine label.</div>
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I don't usually get this cutesy with the labels, but I had time this year. The boys were at the cabin with Grandma and Grandpa during the four days right before school started.<br />
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Yep. I had more time than usual this year for sure. These pencil pouches are meant to ensure that everyone's stuff stays reasonably close to their school work. <br />
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I decided to try something new with my pencil pouch. I had never actually purchased a pencil pouch for myself, so that was new. I highly recommend it. I often find myself sitting on the couch with the boys, reading something awesome and needing a pencil to write a narration or what have you or a pair of scissors to cut out a timeline figure. I always have my Instructor's Guide with me, but I don't always have writing utensils. Until now.<br />
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Look at this! I put my pouch IN the Instructor's Guide facing the current week's schedule. Perfect! Sometimes it's the little things that make life SO much easier.</div>
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I guess that's it for organizational bits for our start up. I will do my next post about our actual first day of school. :-)</div>
Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-5978163241971945022015-08-15T15:58:00.003-07:002015-08-15T15:58:36.582-07:00Luke Turns TenWell, folks. Tomorrow is the actual day, but we had Luke's 10th birthday party today. Ten. I might spend time waxing eloquent about that later, but right now I just want to share all the awesomeness of his party. <br />
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For whatever reason, as Luke's 10th birthday approached, I really felt like it should be something special, something different. At the same time, it needed to be something inexpensive. Right? I'm a big believer in using the gifts, talents and resources God has already provided. We have an awesome basement with a projector. Let's watch a movie. <br />
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I'm also a huge proponent for parental authority. I don't think I've ever once asked my kids what theme they wanted for their birthday. I tell them. Okay, I strongly suggest by saying something like, "Hey! Wouldn't it be fun to have a _________-themed birthday party?" For whatever reason, they've always been super excited about each theme I pick. Not surprisingly, when I suggested to Luke a Star Wars themed party during which we would watch the original Star Wars (1977), he had no problems embracing the idea. You see, our boys hadn't seen the film yet. I know. Plenty of younger peeps have viewed this film and they are turning out just fine. We just prefer to enjoy limited media together as a family. It makes viewings like this one incredibly awesome instead of everyday. And folks, it was epic.<br />
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<i>Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope</i> on the big screen with surround sound. Five of your closest buddies and their dads. Toss in a few presents, some cake, and you have yourself a very nearly perfect 10-year old birthday party. I LOVED the simplicity of this event. I purchased simple snacks like popcorn, granola bars, Fritos, and trail mix. We set up the food on my desk. I popped SIX bags of popcorn, and they ate nearly every kernel while sitting mesmerized by the story of good vs. evil accompanied by LOTS of explosions and light sabers. EPIC.<br />
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Sidenote: We decided to preview the film with the boys the night before the event. Having never seen it, we knew there might be moments of stress during the initial viewing. So, we all watched it together Friday night. There were a few moments of pausing to check on them, but for the most part, the boys simply sat, agog at the cinematic masterpiece playing out before them. So. Good.<br />
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Here are some pics for those of you who want to see the fun!<br />
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I made star-shaped cupcakes using a Wilton silicone baking tray. They weren't perfect, and not one of the folks who ate them cared. <br />
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The party room ready to go!</div>
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All the peeps are watching...</div>
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Like I said, it was rather epic. After the movie we sang Happy Birthday, ate some cake and opened presents. I took a picture of all the kids together to show off their party favors. Can you spot the party favor?<br />
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Yep. I bought a t-shirt for every party attendee. They watched the film in them and then took them home. Erik was at Target last night. These shirts were $7 each. About a half hour before the party started I decided each boy needed one. I hadn't purchased party favors yet, thinking it would just be a favor-less party. But this was irresistible. I love the idea of sending kids home with something their mothers won't cringe over. I'm brilliant. ;-)</div>
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And that was the party. I can't say for sure, but we might never host a movie-less party again. It was so easy and fun. I mean, we have this great projector and this great room. Use what you have, people. Pinterest Moms - you keep on creating awesome things and doing the crazy, awesome business that you do. Me? I'm gonna watch movies in my basement, and thank Jesus for giving me boys who don't care if the frosting looks right on the cupcakes.</div>
Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-1630135750707498772015-07-22T17:36:00.001-07:002015-07-22T17:36:29.396-07:00Paul Turns EightThis past Thursday our Paul turned eight. How crazy is that? And yes, I'm aware that this happened nearly a week ago. It's been a busy one, folks. I'll catch up!<br />
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Baby Paul on the couch at about four months.</div>
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8 Year Old Paul after swim lessons on his birthday - I love the big smile that is all gums - I used to do this!</div>
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Paul's birthday began with the building of his birthday train, a Bangsund Family tradition.</div>
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After the birthday train there were two small gifts from Mom and Dad.</div>
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A little bit of LEGO...</div>
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...with a side of ham.</div>
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A cool craft kit that allows him to make these <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009KLXWSM/ref=sr_ph_1?m=A2NL9UUKFTRQH&ie=UTF8&qid=1437606202&sr=1&keywords=gild+a+dragon" target="_blank">neato dragon things</a>.</div>
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After breakfast and some LEGO building, it was time to go meet Grandma and Grandpa for second breakfast at IHOP, per the birthday boy's request. Paul ate all five of his silver dollar pancakes, and then opened his gifts.</div>
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It's a Minecraft sheep. And Paul is utterly delighted.</div>
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It's the Ender Dragon from Minecraft - in LEGO. Really it's the coolest thing ever for most 8 year olds in the Western Hemisphere.</div>
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Checking out the back and showing it to the others at the table. The adults were clueless but polite. The older brother was probably a little jealous, but handled himself beautifully.</div>
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We went back to the house for a few hours before swim lessons, during which Paul built LEGO and Luke watched Paul build LEGO. It really does work well, for the most part. We headed for swim lessons at 12:15. The boys are doing private lessons this year. They just haven't ever learned much with thirty seven other kids in the pool. It's not the best learning environment for folks who can get distracted by their own arm hair. For. Real. I was blessed to be whining about this predicament to a friend of mine who shared her solution to a similar problem in their family. Private lessons with a college student who teaches the boys at the nearby high school pool during the adult swim hour. It's empty, people. Except for two or three elderly folks swimming laps, my dudes are the only peeps in the pool. And they go one at a time so they can't even distract each other. Good idea? Yes. Yes, it is.</div>
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I don't have pictures of Paul in the pool on his birthday, but here are a few from two days earlier, when he had his first lesson. Teacher Nikki did a fabulous job getting him to put his face in the water by the end of his first day.</div>
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After swim lessons, Paul got to pick lunch. Jack in the Box. $1 for a grilled cheeseburger. Yes, I know it's not a healthy choice, but folks, birthdays only come once a year. And you can't beat $1!</div>
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We ran over to Fred Meyer to grab the birthday cake, and then headed home. Regarding the lack of baking on my part - here's the deal - I had it in my plan and on my calendar to bake Paul's cake. When the day came, Tuesday, I had delivered Paul to Canby to spend the night at my mom's place. Luke was on his first overnight bike trip with Grandpa. I got home at 3pm. And I did not want to bake a cake with my free time. So, I got online and noticed I could buy a cake for less than $20 at Fred Meyer. Terrible? Nope. Do I feel guilty? Nope. I played piano and sang for nearly two hours. And when my husband arrived home I wasn't grumpy or crabby or stressed or overheated from having baked a cake. I was relaxed and happy to see him and ready for our date. I am so smart.</div>
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Anyway...we grabbed Paul's cake and headed home where I put the finishing touches on the basement for Paul's Minecraft party that evening. Okay. I want to be SUPER clear. I hired my friend Vanessa to help me put all this together. She has <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TimberLaceParty?ref=ss_profile" target="_blank">an amazing Etsy shop called Timber + Lace</a> where she sells adorable and awesome party decorations. I approached her about a month ago and asked if I could hire her to help me throw a Minecraft party for Paul. I had spent about three minutes on Pinterest, and it only made me sweat and weep. Crafting does that to me. Vanessa said yes, and I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Sidenote: If you aren't familiar with Minecraft, none of these pictures will make sense. ;-)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUJfdDbMKhsbocXU5m0Fo2U6Ob5UDQl5NWfCc78rb3Cg04dy5gY4agSNMYxiAuQDi0dPwUTPcvsMX3MrEb2ZKFA21ZS4MNXZCC_PXkZ0dQ1eMCrf9PpSZtHpAnvFfXD0EaDEv4i2tggjI/s1600/2015-07-16+15.40.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUJfdDbMKhsbocXU5m0Fo2U6Ob5UDQl5NWfCc78rb3Cg04dy5gY4agSNMYxiAuQDi0dPwUTPcvsMX3MrEb2ZKFA21ZS4MNXZCC_PXkZ0dQ1eMCrf9PpSZtHpAnvFfXD0EaDEv4i2tggjI/s640/2015-07-16+15.40.52.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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It's a creeper face made from square paper plates.</div>
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Paul's birthday banner with Minecraft themed paper.</div>
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Paul's finished Ender Dragon acted as our tables centerpiece. There is a creeper head in the background, flanked by Paul's new sheep and ocelot.</div>
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Both boys pose with the Ender Man that they helped me create! Yes, we did this together. Vanessa was super inspiring and encouraging. She also left me enough black plates and black streamer to make this happen.</div>
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With the basement ready to go, the guests began to arrive! We did an evening birthday party on the day of the birthday so that our Daddy-Man could be there. The Saturday after the birthday was not available. In the future, we will find a way to have the party mid-morning. Evening just isn't our best time of day, but we made it work this time!</div>
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The kids started by eating pizza. Then we played a game. Pin the tail on the Minecraft pig. Pictures.</div>
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Pizza eaters with the pig in the background</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKnnTV-6Lq3K1tLihKRd6kfHc_L0oqCCxHJQxYSaFdFbIgRkGW-25nD_E_VMfdFl8Pd-atlEjoyBfeDoAYY6g-44g5uOGrqCwGhzSFvSBL8NjWH9qVUYqdGtmp9NpL4QFJXHqSlnz3jPt/s1600/2015-07-16+17.21.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKnnTV-6Lq3K1tLihKRd6kfHc_L0oqCCxHJQxYSaFdFbIgRkGW-25nD_E_VMfdFl8Pd-atlEjoyBfeDoAYY6g-44g5uOGrqCwGhzSFvSBL8NjWH9qVUYqdGtmp9NpL4QFJXHqSlnz3jPt/s640/2015-07-16+17.21.14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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More pizza eaters</div>
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Each player wore the creeper head and pinned their tail. This is the birthday boy.</div>
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This is the birthday boy's brother. We are keeping this thing forever.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYG7bJsUM_rMfAgB_txE365N5l_iNoJD2-zjrYLbLGae69vmnnU7yIs6rqfucvV1tKnsUQsvnjRFD7BlkJfi6L3gJd9IEVmcNXpjqCO_MWF_57SgGs8ClBkrBxh9kv0r22tgBtqBypCGdM/s1600/2015-07-16+17.41.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYG7bJsUM_rMfAgB_txE365N5l_iNoJD2-zjrYLbLGae69vmnnU7yIs6rqfucvV1tKnsUQsvnjRFD7BlkJfi6L3gJd9IEVmcNXpjqCO_MWF_57SgGs8ClBkrBxh9kv0r22tgBtqBypCGdM/s640/2015-07-16+17.41.01.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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This is the birthday boy's five-year-old friend's dad. Aforementioned five year old was NOT going to wear the creeper head. So his dad said he would do it for him. Awesome.</div>
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The Fred Meyer cake with the cool cake toppers Vanessa made. Happy Birthday, Paul!</div>
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After the cake it was time to play an hour of Minecraft. No pictures available because I was upstairs with the moms enjoying mom time! Overall, the party was a HUGE success. And I was SO happy when it was done. One down, one to go!!</div>
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-882043907389145512015-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:002015-07-08T20:44:53.361-07:00More Birthday Than I Ever ExpectedEver been surprised? In a good way? ;-) As a stay at home mom, too often the things that surprise me aren't all that pleasant. You put what into the dryer?!? (a red crayon - not good) You did what to the carpet? (drew a map in marker on it) You ate how many of the saltines in one sitting? (Two packs) See what I'm getting at here? Surprises can be a mixed bag around here.<br />
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Last Friday my husband surprised me in the BEST WAY EVER. Let me explain. I knew that we were going to be having a small, intimate dinner at my in-laws place in celebration of my birthday. It was going to be us and two other couples from church, our pastors and their wives. These are folks that we appreciate and with whom we rarely get to socialize. In fact, the six of us had NEVER done anything without kids that wasn't ministry related. So, my in-laws made us a beautiful dinner to celebrate my 40th. So fun! Wanna see the menu?<br />
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So nice</div>
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It was fancy, people. Speaking of people, you should see them, too. Here are the people pictures.<br />
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The Vices with their salads</div>
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The Monroes also with salads</div>
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The Bangsunds</div>
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Dinner was so lovely. That is perhaps the hugest understatement of this post. It was elegant and refined. Our children were not present. Oh, the pure bliss of uninterrupted dinner conversation. It was good.</div>
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We finished our main course and prepared to retire to the veranda for dessert, as stated on the menu. Lovely. We walked down the hallway of the condo, and there on the veranda were stunning, shiny pink decorations, a table full of pink desserts and twelve of our closest friends in this life, blowing on party noise makers, wearing pins with pictures of me from childhood, and shouting, "Surprise!" It was the coolest thing anyone has ever done for me. And let me be clear, I walked right up to my husband and kissed him on the lips and told him, "Good job." I know full well the sacrifice and effort this took on his part. Yes, he had help. Kirsten and Vanessa from Roots did all the decorating and dessert arranging. But my husband went WAY outside his comfort zone and planned this amazing, beautiful surprise for me. I was stunned and thrilled and so excited. And I cried a little. I love surprises...the good kind...and I had never been thrown a surprise party before. It felt so special to know that people were thinking and planning to do something this wonderful for me. I'm not sure which love language surprises fit under, but it's mine. I don't think I knew that until Friday night. Anyway...here are some pictures...I wish there were more, but the photo booth photographer is pregnant with her third and I am NOT going to bug her for the pics from that business. If/when she gets them to me, you might see even MORE birthday business from my 40th. It was that epic, people.</div>
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Okay, here's what I do have.</div>
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This is the moment!</div>
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SO surprised and a little weepy.</div>
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I wore this tiara all evening. It lights up and says, "Party Girl." These people know me so well.</div>
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A selfie with my Holly</div>
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He's dancing. I'm so happy I took this picture.</div>
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I am so blessed to know these folks.</div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513808092087112106.post-35401005069311594072015-07-03T12:07:00.001-07:002015-07-03T12:07:13.843-07:00On Turning FortyLet me be clear. I love my birthday, and this year was no exception. Turning forty has not freaked me out, bummed me out, or in any way bothered me. I'm fairly certain it is because I have close friends on both sides of forty, some a decade ahead of me on the journey, some a decade behind. All of them inspire me to do this well. <br />
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By "this" I mean aging, a word that many folks want to avoid and/or ignore. I don't. Age is not a state of mind. It's simply a measure of how long your body has been on earth. Right? And aging is different for different people. Some folks reach forty no wiser than they were at twenty. Really. I've met a few. I can't claim to be all that wise, but I'm definitely wiser now than two decades ago.<br />
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Let me illustrate using a simple, real life example from the past six months. I decided some time in January or February that I wanted my fortieth birthday to be a little more special than previous birthdays. I am married to a man who loves me as Christ loves the church. For real. He chooses the highest good for me so consistently, a definition for love that I learned in Junior High and never forgot. Love is choosing the highest good for the other person. Erik does that. And at the same time he is ADD.<br />
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What does that mean for birthdays usually? Has Erik ever forgotten my birthday? NO! I would never let him do that. He would feel terrible. I would feel terrible. It would BE terrible. I love him, people. So, I help him remember the things that are important to me. And when I want something to be special, I TELL HIM. Toward that end, as I realized that I wanted my birthday to be more epic than normal, I started sending him ideas from Pinterest in February. Not in a nagging, annoying way. More like a "Maybe this" way. People, I didn't start a board and pin all the ideas I wanted him to consider and then spend six months looking through it all. I found one idea that I really liked and sent it to him. About seven months in advance. And then I forgot about it. Honestly. The forgetting part was pretty easy. My memory is not that great anyway!<br />
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Let me fast forward to Wednesday morning this week. I didn't actually sleep well on Tuesday because I was SO excited for my birthday. It's true. I knew I was going to be spending the bulk of the day with my dear friend, Holly, and we don't get to do that very often. So, I woke up at 5:30 a.m., went out to the kitchen, started the coffee maker and headed to the living room for some quiet time. As I walked into the room, I noticed some candles on a side table that usually live on the mantel. Not grumpy, but a little perplexed, I turned toward them to put them back where they belong. That's when I noticed it. Big. Pink. 40. It will be easier to show you.<br />
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Each sheet is from a different friend or family member and contains memories of time spent with me. I was above and beyond surprised friends by this display. And yes, I sent Erik something similar to this idea about seven months ago. And then I forgot, so I was TOTALLY surprised! Perfect.<br />
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Erik and I spent the morning reading through the pages and pages of memories as recorded by some of our closest friends. Some of them were funny. Some of them were poignant. All of them were encouraging and edifying, reminding me of all the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save me and transform me over the past forty years. You see, I have recently fallen into the trap of thinking untrue things about myself. I'm not sure why, for whatever reason, it just hasn't been uncommon for me to be thinking thoughts like, "I'm not a great mom," or "I don't really have much to offer folks." Those are lies, but if you've ever heard them, you know how easy it is to believe them. <br />
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Each one of these pages told me the truth about myself in Christ Jesus. I have loved well in His name. I have encouraged others in His strength. I have shown His light in dark places through His power and not my own. Oh, how I needed to read these things about myself. What a great gift. I was so blessed by my husband's efforts and the time my friends and family took to create this present. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Sidenote: it was also easy on the budget (pink construction paper from the playroom plus printer paper from the office). Nice.<br />
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Next stop: Holly's house! Time for another picture.<br />
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Isn't this lovely? Holly and I enjoyed a late breakfast of scrambled eggs with pesto accompanied by a cup of English Breakfast at this beautifully appointed table. My children were somewhere in this house or its adjoining yard at that point. I don't really know where. Perfect.<br />
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After our leisurely brunch, during which Holly's ten year old daughter willingly waited on us despite having been freed to go and play, we loaded the kids in the van to take them to free lunch in the park. I love this program. The kids arrive, wash their hands, and are given a bag lunch. My kids are finally old enough to actually eat the food. Luke ate his turkey sandwich and Paul ate his hummus and pita bread with a side of string cheese. Holly and I enjoyed more conversation and the shade.<br />
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Our lunch table in the shade.</div>
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After lunch, we dropped all the kids back at the house (with the fifteen and thirteen year old in charge), made some quick iced coffee with caramel, and headed for the bead shop about seven minutes away.</div>
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This was Holly's birthday surprise for me. We made bracelets together in the craft room at the local bead shop. It was SO much fun. I'm not crafty at all, but I can put beads on a string. And so we spent a couple hours picking beads, stringing beads, and chatting uninterrupted by kids.</div>
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Ready to bead it up kid-free!</div>
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Planning my pink bracelet. I like pink.</div>
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Nearly finished...</div>
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Done and awesome.</div>
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We headed back to the house where Holly put together another stunning meal of chicken salad. I think I took a picture of that goodness...</div>
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Yep. Pretty amazing, huh?</div>
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I cannot thank my dear Holly enough for making my day so very lovely. I am grateful for you, friend.</div>
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The boys and I headed home, where Erik made pancakes and bacon for dinner with my mom as a guest. Cheap and complaint-free were what I wanted for dinner on my birthday. This meal is both every time. We enjoyed my mom's award winning apple pie for dessert. Okay. She's never won any awards for it, but that's only because she's never entered it in any contests. If she did, it would win.</div>
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Then I jetted out the door for the first evening of our Roots Women Summer Bible Study. I was asked to co-lead that adventure and said yes, knowing the first meeting would fall on my fortieth birthday. Why would I do that? Simple. I love the Bible and I love being with women to study it. We had a blast. We studied Mary and Martha. I gleaned sweet, awesome truth from women who shared what God taught them through the study. I shared what God taught me. People, this is exactly the kind of thing I LOVE doing and getting to do it on my birthday was epic. There was also cheesecake. And they sang to me. So, that happened, too. (Yes, I ate two desserts on my birthday, but it's okay because I didn't have any pancakes...)</div>
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Overall, turning forty has been sweet. Being forty? So far, so good. And I have a plan to help the goodness continue. I'm going to take the birthday money gifted to me so very generously by my fabulous in-laws, and I am going to take piano lessons! EEK! I'm so excited! I took lessons between the ages of eight and fifteen-ish. Since then, I have also learned to play in a worship band and accompany myself if given a chord chart or a piece of sheet music that I can fake my way through. A short while ago, I found myself talking to a friend about wanting to study piano again in earnest. She was SO encouraging and even loaned me some of her piano books from her youth. For the record, she started at the top of the pile with her most difficult books, and I kept her flipping through until we hit the books for junior highers. I've been working my way through one of them, and it's a perfect fit. We all knew I was still in junior high mentally, right? ;-)</div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12868214017556702920noreply@blogger.com1