Spokane Vacation

I got the best Christmas gift I could have wanted from my husband this past year--a trip to Spokane, Washington to see my sister, Valencia, and her family. I hadn't seen Valencia since my wedding almost 5 years ago, so we were long overdue for a trip out West. We left on Thursday, January 22, very early in the morning. Getting us Damsgards up and out of the house by 6 AM is a great accomplishment, and we succeeded! We even made it to the airport and through security with 2 hours to spare. I wasn't sure how the flight would be. Three hours is a long time for 2 little kids to be stuck in a seat with almost 0 squirm space, but they did great! Seth sat on my lap, but Eliana is old enough now that she gets to have her own chair. The kids kept busy with coloring books, a Veggie Tale movie, and a box of Teddy Grahams. I was actually surprised at how smooth the trip went. To top it off, we loitered in the plane after landing until all the other passengers gotten off and then asked the pilot if we could take the kids into the cockpit. He was very kind and obliging and even let us take a few pictures. The kids were fascinated by all the switches and buttons. Unfortunately, the pictures turned out dark, but they'll still serve as good memories of Seth's first plane ride. Spokane was beautiful. Ken and Valencia live in a valley surrounded by gorgeous snow-capped mountains. The scenery reminded me very much of Chris's and my honeymoon in Oregon, espcially on one road that we often drove on that paralleled a river on one side and shouldered a mountain ridge on the other. Here is a picture of the Peters family with Eliana and Seth. We teased Ken and Valencia that this is what their family would really look like in a few years since they are expecting their 3rd child in June and would like to have at least one more. After 8 years of not having a baby in the house, our kids were a good reminder of what it's like to have toddlers around. Our first afternoon and evening in Spokane were spent getting acquainted with Ken and the kids. Ken and Chris had never met each other and our kids had never met, so there was a lot of "getting to know you" going on. Chris and Ken hit it off almost immediately and found that they had a lot of interests in common--college basketball, bowling (the wii version), and talking theology to name a few. They spent a lot of time playing virtual sports and video games and doing some "shoulder-to-shoulder" bonding (as Emmerson Eggerich calls it in his book Love and Respect) while tracking the stock market on their laptops.

Valencia had been at a conference in Texas and didn't fly in until late Thursday night. It was great to see my sis again, but we didn't chat too much that night. We were both exhausted from traveling and adjusting to a new time zone.

On Friday, the men drove across the border into Idaho and did some skiing, while the rest of us ran some errands and visited an indoor kiddie playground. Valencia and I got to do a lot of sister catch-up and chatting while the kids played and got to know each other better. Eliana adored her big cousins and got such special treatment from Karis whose main focus the whole time we were there was to entertain Eliana and do whatever she could to make her happy. She read stories to Eliana, dressed her up in all kinds of costumes, and shared her elaborate My Littlest Pet Shop village. She will make a wonderful big sister!

On Satuday, most of the day was spent watching Micah and Karis at their Upwards games. Upwards is a national Christian sports organization for kids who want to play basketball and soccer. They also have cheerleading for the girls. It is intended to be an outreach for the community, and they have someone share testimony during each half time. Micah and Karis have been in Upwards for a few years. Micah plays basketball, and Ken coaches his team, and Karis does cheerleading. I was bummed that I didn't get any good pictures of Micah while he was playing. The setting on my camera got messed up, so all the basketball pictures turned out blurry. I did get some cute ones of the Karis cheerleading, though.

When we got home that evening, Karis dressed Eliana up in on of her old cheerleading outfits and the two of them danced around the house making up cheers and shaking their pompoms. Their favorite chant was, "Logan the tomato! Logan the tomato!" I think Eliana mostly came up with this one--a combo slogan to honor her cousin back in Minnesota and her favorite Veggie Tale hero.

Micah and Seth did some dressin up too. Here is Seth in his Cowboy had. He also got dressed up as a green M&M with a clown hat!

Micah introduced Chris and I to the sport of Speed Stacking. I'd never heard of it before, but I guess it's something that's gotten quite populare and has been highly recommended for increasing coordination, dexterity, and sport and music abilities. I can see why! It requires an incredible amount of concentration and is a great excercise for training the right and left hands to synchronize with each other. I was terribly slow and clumsy at this, even after watching the training video, but Micah and Valencia were quite the duo. In this picture they are racing to see who can do a combination of stacking sequences the fastest. I think Valencia beat this time. She's always been very quick with her hans. When we were in college we worked in a shipping department together, and she was usually on the list as one of the fastest workers.

Sunday was spent with Ken and Valencia's congregation at the church they pastor. They have a wonderful group of people that they work with, and I really enjoyed worshipping and fellowshipping with them. Ken is a very fiery and inspiring preacher. Even after sitting through both services, I felt like I learned new things in both. He really has a gift for keeping one's attention and being able to give the same message twice without seeming monotonous.

Valencia leads the singing for their services and invited me to join the worship team which I was very excited to do. Singing was one of our favorite pass times growing up. We spent hours singing with soundtracks and composing our own songs and arrangements. Valencia is a very talented singer and worship leader, and I loved getting the chance to be her backup again :)

Our last full day in Spokane found us as a children's museum. We thought it would be a good outing for the kids, but discovered that there was just as much excitement for adults. Valencia and I were thrilled to see that the museum had a special display of a Filippino village. There was a true-to-life nipa hut (very common Filippino housing), little stores, shops, and a fishing boat that the kids could go and play in. Everything was so authentic, from the canned sardines on the shelves of the store to the sungka board hanging on the wall of the hut. It was almost like going back in time.

While we reminisced about our childhood in the Philippines, the guys used their engineering minds to create a speedway on the water table. They probably worked on this for an hour, trying to see how quickly they could get the toy boats to flow downstream.

The highlight for the kids at the museum was all the outfits there were to dress up in . They dressed up as police, bikers, monkeys, Cookie Monster, and doctors. My favorite costume was the firefighter one. It fit Eliana perfectly, which was neat because she's been saying for awhile now that she wants to be a firefighter when she grows up.

And then Tuesday came, and it was time to head home. As always, it was sad to say good-bye. We had such a wonderful trip. Chris and I were both so happy we had taken the time to go out there. It's so easy to get wrapped up in our own lives and schedules, but this trip was a good reminder of the importance of staying in touch with family, even when you have small kids and live a thousand miles away and (as in Chris's case) have never even met your brother-in-law and niece and nephew.

Our flight home was turbulent most of the way, but I got used to it after the first hour. The kids did very well again, thanks to more snacks and some special airplane toys from Karis.

Thanks, Valencia and family, for hosting a wonderful vacation time for us. And thanks, Chris, for the great Christmas surprise!

Prayer for a New President

Almighty, All-Knowing God, on this day that the United States celebrates a new leader, we are reminded that our hope is in you and not in men. We pray that you will show your glory in this new president. May he be wise in leading this country. May he have courage to protect its people. May he do what is just and right. May he uphold a life of morality and fear the commandments of your Word. May the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ pierce his heart and shed its light. May his heart be changed so that he becomes a wholehearted follower of Christ. The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes. Proverbs 21:1 NASB

2008 at its Close

We ended 2008 with a visit to my parents' home. It was a fun and relaxing way to end the year, especially since we were snowed in part of the time and were forced to stay in the nice, cozy indoors eating turkey and playing rumikub. The kids enjoyed building towers with Grandpa and doing crafts with Grandma. My ever-creative mother made good use of all the snow that had fallen and came up with some very innovative "sleds." The first one pictured is a grocery box tied to a plastic tote lid. The second is a shovel that Eliana stood on as Grandma pulled her. The day we were supposed to leave, we got dumped on with about 8 inches of snow, so our travel plans were delayed for a day. It was nice to have an unexpected extra vacation day, and we took advantage of the fresh snow with some snowball fights, snow castle building, and more sledding.

Merry Christmas!

The house is quiet as my family enjoys a few more winks of sleep before we rouse ourselves and head out to spend the day with family. The last few touches on the holiday goodies are almost complete and the wrapping of packages is almost finished. I feel like I can finally sit back and reflect on the wonder of Advent. Here are a few lines from some Christmas songs that always make me stop and go, "Wow!" One king held the frankincense, one king held the myrrh, one king held the purest gold, and one King held the hope of the world. -One King sung by Point of Grace And . . . Mary did you know . . . when you kissed your little baby you kissed the face of God? -Mary did you Know (Buddy Greene/Mark Lowry) Below is a copy of our family Christmas letter- Merry Christmas! Dear Friends and Family, The construction of the annual Christmas letter gives us opportunity again to glance backward and be astounded by all that can take place in twelve short months. Beginning with the littlest guy in the house, Seth has had a busy year of firsts. First birthday, first haircut, first steps, first teeth, first flu shot . . . you get the point. The little fellow has been a trooper and hardly ever complains. He continues to warm our household with his sweet mannerisms and contagious giggles. Not to be outdone by her little brother, Eliana has had her share of firsts as well. These included her first trip to the dentist (she had a great time riding in the mechanical chair) and her first trip to the optometrist. The eye doctor confirmed our suspicion that she needed glasses which she received a few weeks later. The transition to wearing glasses went quite smoothly for her, and we now fondly refer to her as our bespectacled little lady. With Eliana approaching preschool age, we are slowly transitioning into homeschool mode. It seems strange to say because we’ve actually been intent on educating our children since day one through songs, games, and stories, but in the past few months the educating has taken on a little more structure as we try to get everyone (Mom and Dad included) accustomed to having a set school time each day. School time consists mostly of reading, counting, and crafts. Eliana is doing quite well with her reading, and Seth loves to study letters and numbers. It’s always exciting and amazing to see these little ones develop and eagerly learn new skills. Chris is in his 10th year at General Mills and has been diligently working on a project to implement new software in all the company’s plants. This role has led to a slight increase in travel over the past year which has taken him to Ontario, California, Florida, and a handful of other states. He likes to take the family with him when possible and was able to arrange for Lacinda and the kids to join him for a week in Cedar Rapids earlier in the year. It was fun for us all to get away together and enjoy a change of scenery. Lacinda also enjoyed getting to see her grandma, aunt, and some cousins who live in the area. Other family excursions included a camping trip, a visit to a Wisconsin dairy farm, and a day helping out at a CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm which we participated in over the summer. In July, Lacinda was able to help organize the biennial family reunion for extended relatives on her mother’s side of the family. It was a great honor to take on this task and so wonderful to spend time with aunts, uncles, and cousins, some of whom she hadn’t seen for over 10 years. On the heels of our family reunion came a weeklong Back Yard Bible Club which we hosted (along with the help of several friends) in August for the kids in our neighborhood. We had around 10 neighborhood children come each day for songs, lessons, games, and crafts. We were very happy to get to know more of our neighbors and share Christ with the ones who came. One of the great highlights of the year came in September when Chris and Lacinda were able to take a weekend away to visit Disney World. Thanks to a very generous lady and Disney employee whom Chris had met on a previous flight to Orlando, we were able to get some free passes into the parks and had two wonderful days of thrilling roller coaster rides, 3-D screens, and many educational experiences. Thanks also to Chris’s parents who kept our kids for the weekend, we had a very relaxing time and were able to get to all the rides and sites that we really wanted to visit. Looking back, it’s easy to see that we have so much to be thankful to the Lord for. Our prayer for the coming year is that through hardships or ease, we will remain faithful to the One who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. This Christmas, may you also see clearly the light of Christ and the beauty of God sending His Son to bring salvation to a hopeless world. Merry Christmas from the Damsgards!

Eliana's New Look

Last week Eliana became a bespectacled little girl! We had suspected she needed glasses when she consistently said she couldn't see letters and numbers held up only a few feet from her face. A trip to the optometrist confirmed our suspicion. The transition has gone really smoothly. I've really been amazed that they haven't seemed to bother her at all. The eye doc. said they'd improve her vision enough that she'd want to wear them which seems to be the case.

My Favorite Things About Fall

1. Colors, colors, colors. 2. Cooler Weather. 3. Walking through crunchy leaves. 4. Raking (it's a good ab workout!) 5. BIG leaf piles!

What Would You Do?

This was forwarded to me by my uncle . . . (author unknown) We’ve been transported back in time. The year is 1860. The place…the United States of America. Abraham Lincoln is running for president. He and his Republican Party want to abolish slavery. Those who favor slavery say, “What business is it of yours to tell me what to do with my property? If you are against slavery, no one is telling you that you have to own a slave. It’s my choice! Besides, slavery is good for the economy.” If you could vote in that election, would you vote for Mr. Lincoln or against him? Now we go forward in time…to the 1930’s. You are in a European country and you have a new leader. This person has great oratory skills and is able to motivate people and get things accomplished. In just a few short years, a decimated economy is re-energized. Crime has been greatly reduced, great order has replaced chaos, and this country, whichwas defeated in a devastating war, is strong again. People can now walk around with their heads held high. There is just one slight problem though. This person is a racist and even talks of annihilating certain groups of people he doesn’t like. But yet, he has done so much good for the country and brought change and given hope. If you were one of the citizens of this country and you didn’t belong to one of the groups he wanted to kill, could you go along with him? Fast forward. We have been transported to a time future to the present. There have been great economic crises, unpopular wars, famine, and epidemics. Multiple millions have perished. However, someone with great leadership ability has appeared on the scene. This person apparently has all the answers, can make everyone live in peace, and promises to protect and provide for you and your family. There is just one slight caveat, however. In order to buy or to sell anything, you need to get a “tattoo” made on a certain part of your body. Taking this tattoo would identify yourself as being totally loyal to him, and you must give him your total devotion. He even requires your worship. You must reject or suppress any previously held loyalties and beliefs, or at least make them subservient to your devotion to this individual. Your own religious convictions tell you that if you accept this mark, you will go to hell. If you were one of the people who lived in this time, would you give your allegiance to this man? After all, the very survival of you and your loved ones could depend on it. And maybe, your religious convictions could be “tweaked” a bit. Okay, let’s now backtrack to the early 21st century. We have returned to one of the aforementioned countries, just a different time period. Another holocaust is taking place, not because of race, but because of age and inconvenience. Some estimate that around 50,000,000 have perished thus far. But the minds of many are on the economy, as the country is going through a strong economic shakeup. Unemployment is up and more people are being laid off. House values are down and many people have actually lost their homes. Retirement pensions have been devalued. (And the price of fuel has dropped to levels not seen in years!) Many are worried that their standard of living (which happens to be one of the highest in the world) may decline. There is plenty of finger pointing about who is to blame. Some people just want “change”, any type of change has got to be better than this. And there happens to be a man aspiring to be the next leader, who can give them hope because he says he can bring about that change. There are different ideas as to how this “change” will manifest, but one thing is for certain. He promises to make sure that this holocaust continues, maybe for another generation. This person has a likable personality and is very good with words. People are even mesmerized and awestruck by his presence. But besides his stance against under-aged persons, there are many serious allegations that have been made against him, including his close associations with those who hate the country and other characters of dubious distinction. But let’s say that 90% of those allegations are unfounded. No, let’s say 100% are unfounded. He says he can fix the ailing economy and get this country back on track. And let’s say, that he actually will fix the economy. What will you do?Will you help put him into power?

Another Summer Highlight

Chris and I at Epcot

Last week I posted my highlights from this past summer, but I purposely left one out because I knew I'd want to spend a bit more time on it. My favorite summer adventure was getting to accompany my husband to Orlando for a weekend in September. He was scheduled to speak at a work conference down there, but he scheduled his flight a few days early and arranged for me to fly down and stay with him for a couple of nights. Even more exciting is that on his previous trip to Orlando, Chris had sat next to a lady on the plane who works at Disney and told him she'd get him in for free if he ever wanted to bring his family down. Wow! So this dear, sweet, generous lady used up 4 of her free allotted passes for the year to give us two wonderful days at Disney World.

Walking across the barrel bridge on Tom Sawyer Island

It had been more than 10 years since I'd been to Disney, and that trip had been a very short one, so I really hadn't gotten to experience all the sights and amusements. Chris and I are ride-goers, so we went for the thrillers first. As far as scary rides, it was between Space Mountain and the Rock n' Roller Coaster. Both of these rides took place in the dark which added that extra thrill of not knowing where you were headed or what to expect next. My husband, who happens to be reading over my shoulder, just commented: "Why don't you talk about how you screamed like a little girl?" It's true; I did.

The mountain climber's supply shack on the way to the Mt. Everest rollercoaster

Other than the fast rides, I really enjoyed the 3-D movies where imagination along with special effects made one believe that there were mice running up their legs or giant bugs running under their bottoms. Soarin' was another fantastic ride. It took place in an omni-theatre and was designed to make you feel like you were flying in a hang-glider. Instead of watching the pictures from the ground, however, the seats in this specially created theater lifted off the ground and would tilt backwards and forwards and side to side to give an even greater sensation of actually being in the pilot's seat.

London village at Epcot

Foreign countries are a fascination to me, so I found the replicas of Japan, Italy, Morocco, France, and others very interesting. We stopped on the streets of London to watch an impromptu presentation by some actors, guess who got pulled from the crowd to be on stage (actually, it was just on the street). Chris did, and was given the roll of Sir Knight Gallahan. He did a great job following along with the unscripted play—riding imaginary horses and accomplishing heroic missions for the king!

Sir Gallahan and comrades

Another highlight was the Safari ride in the Animal Kingdom. Lions, elephants, wildebeasts, and best of all, the giraffe that stuck its nose in the window at us as we passed.

I was surprised at how educational the weekend was as well. I'd always thought of Disney World as being a place for fast rides and overstuffed cartoon characters, but I actually learned some new things about mechanics, hydroponics, and environmental conservation to name a few.

The best thing, really, was getting to spend the weekend with Chris. We hadn't had a weekend to ourselves since before the kids were born, and it was really wonderful to have some time to just enjoy being together and get to a break from the usual busy-ness and stress of life.

I'm so thankful for parents-in-law who were willing to watch the kids so we could have a weekend away. And a special thanks to Charlotte for her kindness and generosity in make our visit to Disney World possible.

Summer in Review

I've been at a loss the past couple of months without a cardreader to get photos off my camera. But Chris just ordered me a new one so now I can upload pictures and do a "show and tell" of my summer happenings.

July-Family Reunion

Every 2 years, my mom's side of the family gets together for a huge family reunion. My mother grew up Amish, so many of the attendees are other ex-Amish folks with fascinating stories and their own unique, dynamic culture. This time around, my sister and I volunteered to host the reunion. It was quite an undertaking and proved to be more challenging than we'd anticipated. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful weekend spent with family. We had about 70 relatives show up and enjoyed reconnecting, playing crazy relay games, and eating (of course!). I am so thankful that most of my mom's family are living for Christ and that we have this common bond that ties us together.

Above is a picture of Eliana with her 96-year-old great grandmother (my mom's mom).

First Steps!

Seth started walking on July 26! Go, little guy!

Back Yard Bible Club

Chris and I, along with several members of our small group and other friends from our church, hosted a Back Yard Bible Club for the kids in our neighborhood. This is something I'd felt a prompting to do for a few years, and this year the time was right. We had a great response from our neighborhood. The kids were well-behaved and everything went very smoothly. Most importantly, I believe that the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of some of the children who came--I could tell that some of them were so eager to learn about Jesus and what the Bible says.

On August 7, Eliana turned 3. We kept her birthday pretty simple, just celebrating with parents, but it was a special day for her and she's very pround to be 3 now.

Every Summer Chris' workplace does a family picnic with all kinds of games, inflatables, yummy food, a petting zoo, horse rides, and best of all, a Cheerio dig! The kids love it (so does mom!). It's a wonderful family outing. Below are pictures of Seth digging for treasures in the Cheerio pit and Chris with Eliana on one of the giant inflatable slides.

Farm City Days

One of my favorite summer events the past 2 years has been the annual Farm City Day in St. Croix county. Each year a local dairy farm hosts the special event and brings in people from all around to tour the farm, observe a hay-baler at work, check out an impressive display of tractors, and see first-hand what really has to happen before we pull those gallons of milk off the shelves at the grocery store. This is a free event, they serve a great meal, and offer lots of great entertainment--petting farm, booths, pony rides, and my personal favorite: live country Gospel music. Yes, that's right. I was raised on country Gospel and I've got it in my blood. Love it!

Here's a picture of me and Seth making friends with the cows. We got to pet their noses!

My nephew, who turned 4 in August, requested a camping trip for his birthday. Chris and I accepted the invitation to join the camping excursion and had a wonderful 2 days living in a tent and enjoying the beautiful outdoors. It was our first time camping as a family, and I'm hoping we make it a summer tradition. Camping is a lot of work, but well worth all the sweat and smoke once it's done. I really want to instill in my kids an appreciation for the outdoors, and I think that taking advantage of the campgrounds around us is a great way of doing that.

So there's my summer in a nutshell!

Chiroptera Phobia

I was faced with one of my greatest fears this morning – the bat. I hate bats. They’re hiddeous-looking to start out with, they seem to swoop out of nowhere, catching the unsuspecting by surprise, and they do their work at night, which makes them seem that much more evil. Bats actually never bothered me much until the summer of 2000 when one of these creatures decided to pay me a visit in my bedroom. Maybe I’m too territorial, but I was appalled at the realization that this flying mammal was invading my space. Ever since then, I’ve been terrified of bats. I don’t even like walking past the bat display at the zoo. So you can imagine that I got a wee bit squeamish when my neighbor, a widow lady who lives alone, came over while I was watering the yard this morning to see if my husband could help her dispose of a bat she’d found in her house earlier. Chris happened to not be home at the time, so she went on to another neighbor’s to see if there was a man available to help out. Apparently, no one answered her knock at the next house because I saw her walk back home alone. I suddenly felt sorry for her and a bit guilty at my relief that she had not asked me to help. The slogan What Would Jesus Do? popped into my head. I began to feel convicted. My next thought was, “What would my mother do?” My mother heroically chased the aforementioned bat out of the house with a broom the day after it tried to share my room with me (and saved me from spending another night huddled in the bathroom). She also tells stories of killing a rabid dog when she was a girl to keep it from attacking the family’s German Shepherd. Wow! I began to feel a bit more courageous, so I packed the kids up in the stroller and marched over to the neighbor’s house to see if I could be of any assistance. She graciously denied my offer, saying that the bat was currently under a pile of phone books and that one of hers sons would be dropping by later to help her dispose of it. Again, I was relieved that she didn’t need my help but glad that I had at least offered. I certainly don’t score high points in the area of bravery when it comes to bats, but I did take time to do some research on them to help myself feel more comfortable (since I now know they’re in the neighborhood!). Their redeeming attribute is that they eat bugs—lots of bugs. But when weighed against the fact that some bats carry rabies, SARS, and a few other vicious-sounding diseases that I wasn’t familiar with, I think I just might prefer the bugs.

When the Roll is Called a Pyonder

As a child, I would sing those words in church and imagine the great heavenly banquet where baskets of freshly baked rolls were being passed around. “Why on earth are we gonna call them pyonders when we get to heaven?” I would wonder. I’m not sure when it was exactly that I was enlightened to the true lyrics of this great hymn, but I was reminded of how easy it is for children to misconstrue words to songs as Eliana and I were singing Amazing Grace a few weeks ago. When we got to the line, “Through many dangers, toils, and snares,” she wanted to know what a snare was. I did my best to explain that it was like a trap or something that you could get caught in. Her next question: “What’s a toilet snare?” A few more of my favorite recent “Eliana-isms”: While eating peas one day at lunch, she squished one between her fingers and said, “Look, it’s not a P anymore, it’s a G.” Holding a tape measure up to Seth’s head: “Seven o’clock!” One day while trying to explain to her what saline solution is made of, we had the following conversation: Eliana: Who made salt? Me: God did Eliana: No, God didn’t make salt. Jesus did. Me: Yes, God and Jesus made salt because God and Jesus are one. Eliana: No, God and Jesus are not one. Seth is one.

One Smelly Nature Center

Last week found my family and me on a little vacation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Actually, it was a work trip for Chris, but the rest of us got to tag along and take advantage of the hotel and rental vehicle that his company provided. The highlights of the trip were getting to spend time with relatives who live in the area, playing with the kids in the hotel pool, and not having to cook (the hotel provided breakfast and supper at no extra charge!). My most memorable experience of the trip, however, was the morning I decided to take the kids to a nature center. It was a rainy, windy morning, and I thought visiting a nature center would provide a nice outing for the kids since we didn’t have anything else scheduled for that day. Our destination was only about 30 miles from our hotel, but the drive took us twice as long as it should have because I tend to drive slowly in the rain, especially in an unfamiliar vehicle on unfamiliar roads. High winds were also cause for my reduced speeds. The Ford Explorer we were renting was quite a bit larger than the car we normally drive which means it caught more wind on such a blustery day. I kept imagining myself and my kiddos getting blown off the road and toppling into a ditch. I finally came to Bertram Road on which the nature center was located--a rural, pothole-ridden, washed-out road well off the Interstate. I immediately began looking for signs to the nature center. For some reason, I had gotten it in my head that this nature center would have an agricultural focus (maybe it was all the corn fields we passed on the way). So, when I came to a lot with silos, some man-made ponds, and a nice office building, I automatically assumed that this was my agri-focused nature center. I might also add that when the building came into view, I was struck by a very foul odor— like a bean-eating skunk getting shoved into my nostrils. I quickly attributed this odor to the horse manure and hog pens that must be close by. I pulled into the parking lot, unloaded the double stroller and the kids, and ran up the sidewalk to the entrance. (Note to self: bring umbrellas and wind breakers next time we take a road trip.) We were chilled and dripping by the time we made it through the front door and I’m sure quite a spectacle for the nicely dressed lady at the front desk. As soon as we walked in the door and saw no pictures of wild flowers and no “touch and feel” displays of fox furs, snake skins, and rabbit feet, I got the sickening feeling that I was going to have to go back out in that cold rain. “Is this the nature center?” I asked hopefully. The receptionist smiled (I bet she’d never been asked that question before). “The nature center is down the road. This is a sewage treatment plant.” A sewage treatment plant! I guess that would explain the smell. Back out in the wetness, back in the car, back out to Bertram Road. After many more potholes, we did find the nature center. There were no agricultural displays, by the way, and no explanations on how to raise a fine field of corn. But they did have an interesting assortment of stuffed coyotes, turkeys, owls, and other creatures, and there were a couple of basins containing live critters from a nearby creek that we found fascinating. Overall, I would classify the nature center as “not very impressive,” but I’d say that the humor caused by our little detour to the sewage treatment plant made the trip worthwhile.

So Glad I Didn't Put The Snow Suits Away

We had some beautiful weather last week, and I was so tempted to get all the winter garb put away. I'm glad I waited!

Wedding Vows

Chris and I just celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary! In honor of our marriage, I am posting our wedding vows that we made to each other on that special day . . . (Chris wrote these-wow!) His vows:

Our God has said

That two shall join 'til one is dead.

And so today I ask the Lord

To help me keep this sacred word-

My covenant and promises

To you, this hour--and show a mes-

sage jof His pow'r.

I pledge that health

And stable girth or lack of wealth

And want of mirth shall not become

The notice of my love. Our home

Shall be a place of rest where I

Love God above your grace so my

Weak heart might have more strength to love

You as the gift you are. This cov-

enant today, my vow to you,

Is that I'll strive to take my cue

From Christ, our God, who gave His life-

With joy!-for us, His church, His wife.

Now with this ring upone your hand--an emblem of our wed, this band-

I bond myself to you as one, in love, until our days are done.

My vows:

I also make a pledge

That I will never let a wedge

Of hunger for this world come to

Be driven twixt my love for you.

From parents who do love us free,

My father now has given me.

And so I take you as my head,

Submit, and turn to dress our bed.

By God, the Source, I'll bring you grace

And make our home a peaceful place

For family--as you do leave

Your parents and to me do cleave.

Our Lord's design to complement

My strength and you with such a bent

As only women tend to know

Is good for you as time will show.

I'll take my cues from how we love

Our God who is a might dove.

Now with this ring upon your hand--an emblem of our wed, this band-

I bond myself to you as one, in love, until our days are done.

My Brave Boy

My little guy recently passed his 9 month mark which meant we had to make a trip to the clinic yesterday for his routine check-up. Ah, the dreaded visit to the clinic. Now, the clinic staff is wonderful, and we have a great pediatrician, but I don’t deal well with watching my kids get needles stuck into them. And I especially don’t deal well with the hurt and rage in their eyes as I, their protector, hold them down so that someone can poke those needles into them. On more than one occasion, I’ve ended up crying with them. Usually, I make it out the door and to the car before my emotions get the better of me, but there was one time that I burst into tears right there in the clinic. It was awful and very embarrassing. I was relieved when I found out that Seth wasn’t due for any vaccinations. Good! No needles getting stuck into my boy today! He was pronounced healthy and his growth charts looked good (lean and long with a big head!). But as the visit was coming to a close, Doc said he wanted us to stop by the lab to draw blood for hemoglobin and to test for lead due to all the lead being found in toys recently. I could feel my throat constrict and my pulse speed up. So much for escaping the needles! Our wait in the lab was short, which was a good thing since it was lunch time, and when it was our turn to go in I sat up in the big chair with Seth on my lap, trying to make him comfortable. “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,” I told myself. Two minutes later, I couldn’t believe it was all over. Seth hadn’t so much as flinched a muscle while the nurse was getting his blood sample. He sat as still and contentedly as ever as if he didn’t feel a thing. What had I made such a big deal about? Way to go, little guy!

It's About Time

I've been wanting to do this for well over a year now, but laundry, dirty dishes, and messy rooms have always deterred me. I'm finally realizing that house projects are never ending, and I can't keep putting off the fun stuff I want to do until I'm caught up on everything else in my life. So it's time to just sit down and get this blog going. My purposes in starting this blog are mainly to keep in touch with friends and family that I don't see often and also to give myself an outlet for putting into words some of the things that tumble around in my brain. I hope this blog site will be enjoyable to those who come here and that it will be a useful tool to keep us connected. I also know that in today's world there are far too many hours spent in front of computer screens, so may we all use our time wisely! If you don't have time to be here, I promise not to be offended. Likewise, if you don't hear from me for a lengthy amount of time, you'll know that family and household duties are calling!