Snow, New CD, and Caleb's Foot

I thought I should give an update on a few things that have been happening here lately . . .

First of all - and I know those of you in TX or other Southern states will have a hard time believing this - we had our first snowfall of the year the other day, and it feels like we went from summer to winter with only two weeks of fall. In fact, most of the leaves on the trees are still green! Hopefully it won't snow too heavily until it's actually winter!!

Secondly, we just received the new Triple L CD in the mail on Friday, and we have not stopped listening since (okay, I guess we have taken some time to eat and sleep)!! :-) And if we weren't listening to the CD, we were singing - uh, well, trying to anyway - their songs!! :-) I highly recommend it to any of you who love bluegrass music (and if you don't, you will when you hear them). It's an all gospel album, and the vocals and instruments are excellent!! I hope to put a promo video I made of them on my blog sometime in the future. You can visit their website at www.triplelband.com.


The other thing I wanted to update you on was Caleb's foot. He has to have another surgery because his tendon broke again, and his bone didn't heal properly. So . . . mom and dad are probably going to take him to Minneapolis, where there's a foot and ankle specialist. Thankfully our insurance will cover everything. Please continue to pray for Caleb - that he will have patience (it's hard for him not to be able to do everything he wants to!), that the surgery will go well, and that his foot would COMPLETELY heal so there won't be any permanent damage. I will update more after his surgery - we're hoping to get him in in October or November.

Oh, and one more thing. Just recently dad sold our four wheelers and bought this (below) to attach a plow onto for the winter. It's great fun to ride on! :-)

Atheism

I found this recently on someone else's blog, and thought I would share it with all of you. :-)

Anniversary and Birthday

We left early Sunday morning for Duluth, MN to celebrate mom and dad's 23rd wedding anniversary, and dad's birthday (don't tell anybody, but he turned the big 5-0). We went to the Edgewater Resort and Waterpark, where we spent two nights. We got a very good deal (which is why we chose that place) on a two-room, lake-side family suite.

Over the three days we were there, we had a lot of fun swimming at the waterpark, playing mini golf, walking along the lake, going out to eat, opening presents (well, I guess dad was the only one who did that, but we had fun watching him!), and watching the Packer/Viking football game (of course, since they were playing in MN the Packs had to let the Vikes win). :-)

Dad bought mom a beautiful rose . . .

 

. . . and she gave him a picture frame of our family.

 

Here's one of me mini-golfing - Amy, I'm glad you weren't there . . . I know I'd never make it as a golfer! :-)

 

 

Ethan - with Lake Superior and a huge ship in the background

 

Lydia and I swimming together

 

 

Daniel coming down the water slide - those were so much fun!

 

Dad making a basket in the pool

 

Looking back on our trip, I think I learned a good lesson. Doing things like playing at a waterpark, eating special treats, playing a couple games at the arcade, or watching some interesting shows on TV are fun - for a little while. I can't imagine what it's like for those people who do those things ALL the time! While I had a great trip and it was neat to do those things that we don't do very often, I was thankful to be back home - to eat my cottage cheese and pears, to have a TV that only gets 2 channels (that we hardly ever watch anyway)and to get back to normal life. :-) It would be so unfufilling if all I ever did was eat junk food and watch TV. I always feel good after I've gotten something done around the house, worked on a project, or been stimulated in my Christian walk. True, lasting, peace and joy comes from the Lord, and from doing what he's created us to do. That doesn't mean you can't ever have fun, just don't let it control your life.

Here's a few more pictures to end the post . . .

Dad, opening gifts on his birthday (Oct. 5th). The leather gloves are from Daniel.

 

 

Does anybody know what kind of tree/bush this is? I thought it was SO beautiful!

 

Watching a ship go out

 

And last, but not least . . . my favorite picture!!

 

Happy anniversary, mom and dad!!

Happy 50th birthday, dad!! (You don't look a day over 30, by the way)

40 Days for Life

This morning our whole family went to the only abortion clinic in ND and, for one hour, prayed for and silently protested against what is being done there. Even though that doesn't sound like much, it was a great experience to actually get out there and do something, rather than always talking/praying about what should be done. We hope to do it again, and continue to do more to take a stand for what is right. I would strongly encourage you all to do what you can to fight abortion - go to the 40 Days for Life website and sign up to pray in front of an abortion clinic in your area. Abortion is a curse on our nation, and we must do all we can to stop it. As 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

The Family Bible

It's been so busy around here lately! Between homeschooling, garden produce, giving lessons, and not having much to write about, I haven't been blogging a lot in the past couple weeks. :-)

Anyway, here's a video of our family playing music at a Sons of Norway meeting (dad's manning the sound system and Ethan's in the back). It's always humbling to watch yourself perform. You think you're pretty good . . . until you see yourself on tape!! Then you wonder why you ever thought that was good! :-) At least the crowd seemed to like it, and we hope we were a blessing to them. I know that we were certainly blessed at the response they gave, and to be able to share Christ with them.

Enjoy!

Tea Party

Several weeks ago our family went to a Tea Party in Fargo. I've been wanting to post some pictures of it for a while, but other things kept coming up! :-)

I won't say much - pictures speak louder than words - but I will say that we enjoyed it, we were glad we went, and I would highly recommend it!! It was great to actually get out and protest against the way our government is going! Here's a couple websites you could go on to learn more: http://www.reteaparty.com/, and http://taxdayteaparty.com/. I just did an online search and found these, so if anybody knows of any other good websites about the Tea Parties, please leave a comment and tell me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Birthday

 

It's true. I turned an old 19 yesterday. :-)

It's hard to believe how fast life goes the older you get. Where does the time go?
I had a great birthday - my family worked hard to make sure I did!! Mom and Daniel made me a scrumptious brunch of omelets (with American Cheese), bacon, caramel rolls, fruit, and a yogurt smoothie. For supper I chose pizza and Oreo Ice Cream Dessert. YUM!! Here are some pictures of the day:

 

My sweet little brother

 

Lydia always does such a GREAT job designing birthday cards!

 

Daniel - a great cook!

 

Caleb has a knack for making people laugh! :-)

 

Anybody want Oreo Ice Cream Dessert? :-)

 

I received many nice gifts/cards from family members and friends including headphones, a new body pillow, a gift card for the newest Triple L CD, a gift card for Behemoth, and this music pin from the Bartlett family! Thank you everybody!