Our Everyday Talk

I’m Thankful for . . . girlfriends! AND We have a winner!

First of all - congratulations to April!   She is the winner of the Gratitude Family Times Devotional Packs.   I know she has quite a few of these packs, so if you happen to have this one April, I'll give you another one instead.   Sorry it took me a couple days to get this posted. 

April is a dear friend, and I am so thankful for her friendship!  I couldn’t find a picture of just April and I, although I do have a few of us in a group picture of friends.   I do have a really funny picture of her “zoning out” while playing the Mind Ball game with her son at the Bakken museum last week.   I'm so tempted to post that one, but she'd probably disown me as a friend if I did - so instead here’s a nice one of her sitting in the cool MN sunshine. 

Here’s a group of girlfriends that I meet with on Tuesday mornings for a bible study.   The picture is us out on Thurs. night having dinner at the Renaissance Cafe (Yummy!)  

Girlfriends are the best!   I especially love my Christian girlfriends that love me right where I’m at, but challenge me to become more like Jesus.

Nancy

I’m Thankful for . . . Miracles!

Miracle: noun an event or action that contradicts known scientific and natural causes, a supernatural act of God.  

Our pastor is talking about miracles this month in our Sunday morning services.  It’s been a wonderful series and given me so much to think about and so much scripture to study!  

I’d have to say that I have experienced 2 miracles in my life, the first was a miraculous healing from an injury to my eye when I was about 23.   The story is too long to get into the details now, but I injured my eye in a major way (MOST PAINFUL EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!) and the Dr. told me I most certainly would have serious, permanent damage to my eye.   I was devastated to hear this, because my eyesight in my other eye has always been very bad and I depend completely on my “good eye” to see.   When I returned to work from that morning to finish up a few things before going home to rest, the Veterinarian that I worked for and her sister, who happened to be visiting, prayed over me, and I’m convinced that God answered my prayers and began the healing process right then and there.   My pain from that point on was minimal and when I went back for re-checks in subsequent days and weeks the Dr. was amazed that there was no scarring to my cornea.   Today I have no residual effects from that accident and thank God I see completely normally out of that eye!

The second miracle of healing I’ve experienced is during the birth of Noah.   If you aren’t familiar with the complications that happened during my emergency c-section with Noah (and are interested) you can find the story here.   There certainly is no scientific or natural reason for me to still be here in my present normal state.   Although many may have their doubts about the “normal” part ;) 

I also have the pleasure of having an amazing niece and nephew that are nothing short of miracles from God.   I have 10 nieces and nephews, that are all very special, but Lily and Sawyer are medical miracles in that they were both born with fatal liver conditions that required liver transplants as infants.   Lily hung to life for weeks on life support while they waited for a liver donor.   Sawyer was only 10 days old when he received his liver.   As both of them spent a long time in the hospital after they were born, my brother-in-law and his wife lived in the Ronald McDonald House during these times.   Jennifer, my sister-in-law, was asked to share a little bit about their story and how important the Ronald McDonald house is to their family.   You can see that video here.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1155595933064  

They are an amazing family and a beautiful testimony of standing strong in their faith through adversity!

Right now our friend Duane is experiencing a miracle as his body is being restored from the ravages of cancer.   Duane has been diagnosed with 3 malignant brain tumors in the past 4 years.  This last time when it came back the Drs. said it was inoperable at this point and they'd try chemo and radiation treatments to give him a little more time.   He was near death and told that there was really nothing more to be done.   Audrey, his wife, found out about a hospital in Mexico that did still offer some hope and they traveled down there last month.   Duane’s health has been restored, and although they don’t know what the future holds, we are well aware that he has been given a miraculous new chance at life and he’s taking full advantage of it.   You can read more about Duane’s story on his Caring Bridge site here:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/duaneheinen

Thank you Lord, for revealing yourself to us today in the power of your miracles!   Let all that have been privileged to experience your miraculous touch on their lives give testimony to your love for us, that you be glorified as our Almighty Savior.   Amen!

Nancy

MNVA’s got Talent!

The Minnesota Virtual Academy held a talent show for their elementary and middle school kids last week, and all 3 of the kids decided to participate.   J.D. joined his brother and sister, even though he isn’t in MNVA.   He of course wanted to be part of the fun!  They did a 6 minute magic show that included 3 tricks, and did a great job!    I was so impressed by all the talented kids that performed!   There were 21 acts in all, and the show lasted exactly 2 hours.   I didn’t get pictures of all the different acts but here are a few of the amazing kids that showed off their gifts of talent for us.

First off the teachers all did an opening song to get us started.

Ethan and his brother,Ezra, sang and  played the piano beautifully.   These boys are friends of ours that don’t live too far away.   Obviously I wasn’t sitting in the right spot for getting any good shots of the piano players.   There were several piano players, and I couldn’t see any of them :(

              

These two girls each sang beautifully A cappella.  One of them sang “Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)” by Nick Jonas and the other sang “Call on Jesus” by Nicole C. Mullen.

                  

Two young men playing different instruments.

   

A few other examples of the talents displayed, Kung Fu and Poetry Reciting with his brother doing a little acting, and young lady who did some card tricks.

   

                   

There were several dancing acts that were really fun, each different than the other.   And our family’s favorite act was a young man that did a monologue from a scene from “The Incredibles.”   He did a scene between the characters Frozone and his wife.   He split his costume down the middle and stood in profile so he was both the parts talking to each other.   He was so amazing and FUNNY!   I wished I would have taken some pictures, but I was enjoying his act so much I forgot to take pictures.  

And finally there was Family FUNtastic!

  They started with the dollhouse trick.   They did this trick with the background music, “Love is in the House” by TobyMac.

    

Then Noah read Mr. Biatto’s mind.

And last Hannah made a dove appear out of an empty tube.

   

    You can’t see it very well, but Hannah’s  holding a dove in the picture above.

Here’s a group shot of all the kids who performed at MNVA’s got Talent 2009.   Good job everybody!!!

Nancy

I’m Thankful for . . . Family Times! Its a Giveaway!

One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is the times that it gives our family to talk about spiritual things.   When we get up (making and breakfast together), when we walk drive our minivan along the road, when we sit at home (doing schoolwork, playing, preparing and eating meals, or relaxing in the evening playing games or watching videos), and when we lie down (as we do “prayers and talking time” individually with each of our kids at night), our goal is to make learning spiritual lessons fun and part of our everyday life.

 

We have used lots of different types of materials for our family devotionals.   One of the things we’ve used for several years now are the Family Times Virtue Packs.   These are kits produced by ReThink Group and Pastor Reggie Joiner from Northpoint Church in Atlanta, Geogia.

                                                     

Our family has had the opportunity to worship at this church a couple times.   The Senior Pastor at Northpoint is Andy Stanley (Charles Stanley’s son), and I really enjoy his messages and the work his church does to encourage healthy Christian living for families.     So, if you’re ever in the Atlanta area and have the opportunity to attend one of the 3 Northpoint churches (yes, there are 3 campuses to this Super church), you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity and go!   Here’s a link to a message he gave. http://www.northpoint.org/new , click on the video titled “everybody’s invited” on the right hand side of the page.

But I digress . . . back to the topic of Family Times Virtue Packs.

We have amassed quite a collection of these Family Times Virtue Packs over the last several years, and I have been blessed to receive a bunch more to share with my friends.   So I’m going to be giving them away, each month until they are gone. 

Let’s start out with the one on the topic of “Gratitude”, it being Thanksgiving time and all.    The Virtue Packs include a CD with an audio story that teaches your kids about the “virtue of the month”, anand some parent teaching about how to help encourage that virtue as well.   They also include 4 Bible stories and some discussion points to read with your kids.   Four “meal time” discussions to use each week are also included, as are some encouragement cards to give your kids as they are working on their virtues.  

Our family really loves these!

So every time you comment you’ll get a chance to win this family devotional virtue pack, and on November 23rd I’ll have one of those random number choosing programs  pick the lucky winner!   Then we’ll do it again the following week for a Virtue Pack for December.

Sound like fun?

So what do you do as a family to learn about God’s character?   And if you don’t do it as much as you’d like, what’s your biggest stumbling block?

Nancy

 

I’m Thankful for . . . The blessing of “Everyday Talk” with my kids!

I’ve referred to this book several times over the last 2 years.   Its one of those books that Todd and I go back to again and again.      We heard the author, John Younts, speak a few years ago, and really appreciated what he had to say to us.

The book uses Deuteronomy 6:6-7 as its theme.   See above (in my banner) for the words of this verse.    One of my favorite lines from the book says, “God is not just a Sunday God.   He is for every day.   If you live in awe of Him, your children will see that.   If you love Him and serve Him, you will talk about Him every day, and your children will hear that." 

That is what I want to be as a parent.   A living example of what it is to love and serve God, EVERY DAY.   Not just on Sundays, not just on Christmas and Easter.   And sure I’m going to mess up, I do every day.    But I hope my kids see that even when I do mess up, I still love God and he still loves me.  

I am so blessed that God has given me the opportunity to be Mom to our three amazing kids!   I find it the sweetest part of my life to get a peak at what God is doing in their lives, through the conversations we have during our plain, old everyday lives!

P.S.

There’s going to be a part 2 to this post with a fun giveaway, hopefully tomorrow or the next day.

I’m Thankful for . . . the prize inside!

Life is tough!   We all know it, don’t we?   And there are times that I get an invitation to a pity party, and I RSVP - “Yes” I’m there!

Our Pastor has been talking this past month about the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.   If and when we invite God to live within us, His Spirit can be our prize inside (like in a box of Cracker Jacks)!  In the life of a Christian, the Holy Spirit makes all the difference!

Some of the things that the Holy Spirit does for me (and you):

1) He helps me in my weakness (Romans 8:26)

2) Intercedes for me in prayer (Romans 8:27)

3) Gives me courage (Acts 13:9&10)

4) He’ll help me know what to say   (Mark 13:11)

5) Produces good fruit in my life (Galatians 5:22)

6) Gives me boldness to blog (and talk) about Jesus (Acts 4:31)

I’m so thankful for His Holy Spirit and His influence on my life!   With Thanksgiving just around the corner I want to dedicate my blogging this month to remembering all the things I have to be thankful for.   My goal is to post at least 10 things between now and Thanksgiving.   This is number 1, lets see how many more I can get in.

This is a picture that I took of one of our doves.   My good friend, April, used her amazing Photoshop talents to put a vignette around it.   I think it turned out really nice, and it seemed very appropriate here.

Jesus said:

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”   John 14:25&26

Our “Social” Event at Monticello Community Center

Last week we went to the K12 Social Event at the Monticello Community Center.   K12 Inc. is the company that publishes the curriculum we use, and the company hosts several social events around the state each month.   I had heard that that a few other MNVA families were going to be able to make it and was excited for a fun day with some friends.   Unfortunately, we were the ONLY ones there.   We still had a great time, but the kids would have loved to have some friends to swim and play basketball with, and Todd and I would have enjoyed some more adult company.   We usually get to one of these K12 Social events each month, and at least 50% of the time we’re the only family there.   We’ve been golfing several times, a couple ice cream socials at Cold Stone Creamery (is it still an ice  cream social if its just our family and the K12 marketing person?) , bowling, an apple orchard, the History Museum, and to Summerland water park.

So here are our kids having fun playing water basketball.  

  

     

    Hannah flippin’ around

 

 

Don’t they look like they’re having fun!   Wish some other MNVA kids could have joined us!

More Anniversary Fun!

Yesterday was a full day, so Todd and I are going to celebrate our anniversary this weekend and decided to do something fun and simple last night.   We made lasagna together when he got home from work.   We like cooking together.   Todd loves to cook, I enjoy cooking but love cooking with Todd.   For dessert we made chocolate brownies with a white chocolate/cream cheese/whipped cream topping.  YUMMY!   While we cooked, the kids set the table.   They came up with the idea that they would eat out on the porch so we could have dinner by ourselves.   They set our table with special plates, candles, and Hannah showed her artsy side by including spinach leaves and grapes in her candle centerpiece arrangement.   Then they left us alone, “to look at each other” as Noah put it.

Here are just a few of the pictures that the kids and I looked through while I told them stories about our wedding.   Look at all that big hair!

My bridal shower at Jody’s apartment with Lori and Jen

I love this picture of my sister, Maria, and my sister-in-law, Jen, as they open their gifts from us at our rehearsal dinner.   So silly!

 

Jody and her adorable daughter, Jonnay.

Hannah saw this picture of my cousin, Carol, and her tough looking husband, Bob, and asked, “Did you have security guards at your wedding?”  (hee …hee…hee)

Us showing up at the Pirates Cover for dinner.   My kids all remember watching the video of this scene last year on our anniversary, and said, “Oh . . . yeah, with Aunt Jennifer screaming in the background!”   Yep, all you hear during this portion of the video is my brother honking his horn, and my sister-in-law hoopin’ and hollerin’ really loud for a really long time. (hee …hee…hee)

My gang of High School friends.   Lori, Jody, me, Mary, Judi, and Julie.   Judi passed away just 3 years later, but I still keep in touch with the rest of them and we all get together at least once a year.

My Grandpa and me

 

Our wedding cake.   Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  Yum.

Our decked out car.

Todd and I dancing to “Always” by Atlantic Starr.

 “Ooh, you're like the sun
Chasing all the rain away
When you come around
You bring brighter days

You're the perfect one
For me, and you forever will be
And I will love you so for, always
Come with me my sweet
Let's go make a family
And they will bring us joy for always
Oh boy I love you so
Can't find enough ways to let you know
But you can be sure I'm yours, for always!”

                              from Always by Atlantic Starr

It's been 20 years!

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary.   My day started with a good-bye kiss from my sweetie, as he was off to work.  I laid in bed a few minutes, until I heard the kids whispering in the kitchen.   As I came out into the hall, Noah met me and pushed coaxed me back into my room.   A couple minutes later they appeared with a breakfast tray covered with home made cards and gifts.   Hannah had made me a necklace and matching pair of earrings.   Jewelry making is a huge hobby of hers.   The boys made us coupon books full of coupons for a variety of chores.    The kids brought me our two wedding albums and I walked through the album telling them the stories of our engagement and wedding.

And then I heard it.   I had anticipated that this was going to come up today, I knew it would.   “You’re finally old!”   I don’t remember which one said it, but as soon as he or she did, the others all nodded and agreed.   It might sound like an odd greeting on your anniversary, but I’m just happy that it wasn’t the first word of greeting from each one of them this morning.

Somehow, I don’t remember how, but about this time two years ago, I made a casual remark that I had always considered people being married 20 years to be “old” but now that we were getting close to 20 years my perspective had changed.   So for the last 2 years whenever the topic of age has come up, my kids have teased me, “You’re not old mom, you still have fill in the blank for how many more months until you are old.”   Filling in the blank with the number until our 20th wedding anniversary.   Even yesterday Todd asked me, “Are you ready to be 'old' together tomorrow?”

So here it is, the day that I become old. (LOL)   Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane in pictures.

Todd and I met in college at the Univ. of MN.   This is a picture of us in my apartment on the night of the Spring Formal.

Our wedding day.

Our honeymoon

 

At Todd’s brother’s wedding, we’ve been married almost 3 years.

 

Married 5 years with our first 2 “kids”, “Choli” and “Kam.”   (Just as a funny side note, each of these dogs weighed over 100 lbs.   Our 13 and 11 year old sons don’t weigh anywhere close to that.)

A year later with our 3rd “kid”, Jasmine, and pregnant with Noah.

 

Married 6 1/2 years with 3 week old Noah (and Kam and Jasmine, Choli couldn’t fit.)

 

Married 8 years and pregnant with J.D.  (We still have all 3 dogs, but have decided pictures with dogs are just too much work.)

 

Married 12 years and very pregnant with Hannah

 

Married 14 years

 

Married 17 years

 

Married 20 years

 

There you have it 20 years in 12 photos.

And Todd tells me, “Being ‘old’ isn’t so bad when you’ve got good company.”

Cowboy Church

This post has been edited.   After reading my post I found a bunch of errors and felt like it just kind of fell flat, so here it is again.  

Our Church had us some “Cowboy Church” two weeks ago, and it was SO MUCH FUN!   Pastor Denny invited a friend, Duke Edwards, who is a real Cowboy Pastor from Colorado to join us for a fun day of rodeo.   It was a pretty big deal in our little community of about 8,000.   About 1,000 people enjoyed a hot day in the sun, that included our 2 hour rodeo/service, with lunch and tons of fun activities for the kids afterward. 

It was a very nice fall weekend!   Our family was there the day before helping with some of the preparations, and practicing for some of the clown skits.     I didn't think much about sun protection on these beautiful fall days, but I should have, because after the 2 days my family of fair skinned folks were sun burned!

Noah got to be one the rodeo clowns.

Our little cowboy and cowgirl.

                    

     Both of my brothers and their families were able to come for the fun day of rodeo.   They enjoyed the fun day, and we enjoyed spending the day with them.   This is a picture of Noah clowning around with my brother, Tom, and his family.

Hannah and her friends,Abby and Clarisse, got front row seats. 

 

Todd video taped the service.   He looks a little warm in his black hat, and long sleeved shirt.   But he wasn’t complaining, he was having a great time.

Here are our friends Minsan and Neil in the worship band.   I'll add a short little video at the end of the post with some rodeo highlights, and its Neil singing in the background on the video.   Their country worship music made the day that much more wonderful!

We had Mutton Bustin' (the kids riding sheep), Pigs in a Barrel (with H.S. kids chasing pigs and putting them in barrels), Pole Bending(young women racing their horses around the poles), a Calf Scramble (the kids chasing the calf to pull off a ribbon around his neck), Calf Ropin' with our 4 younger pastors, and finally came the Bull Riding.   Pastor Denny saved the best for last, and got on the bull.   He was only a tiny bit shy of a glorious 8 second ride, like maybe 6 seconds. ;)   But at least the bull gave him a little buck.   As you will see in the video, when it was time for Pastor Kirby's ride, the bull had decided it was just too hot for all of this.   And our Youth Pastor got off easy, much to the disappointment to about a hundred High School kids.   What their rides lacked in breathing taking excitement, they made up for in humor!

When the rodeo was all over, I was talking to Pastor Adam, thanking him for his part in this really fun day.   He told me, “I told God,’God you know I don’t have any talents for this, so please just keep me safe and let me be funny.”  And Praise God his prayers were answered!   No one got hurt, and I thought Adam was the funniest guy out there the whole day!   He had so many hilarious moments, like getting tripped up by Pastor Corey’s rope and falling flat on his back while Corey took a dive.   And starring down the calf, I don't know if he was trying to psych the calf out, or make some sort of connection with the little guy or what, but it was hilarious!

3 twenty-something year old men vs. 1 three month old calf, who won - the calf. They never did get him down.

Click on the arrow in the middle of the picture to watch the 3 minute video.

Even though it was all fun and games for us watching,  a lot of time and work went into this amazing day.   The 2 hour rodeo/service, lunch afterward, and all the other activities like the pony rides, petting zoo, hay rides, and face painting, made for a very full day for everyone involved.   While taking a hayride I had a nice conversation with a couple who were at our church for the first time.  They were in awe of all that was going on.   They couldn’t believe that we had 6 Pastors on our staff, 7 if you include Pastor Amber who is part of our amazing administrative staff of 4.   God has blessed our church with these 11 amazing people who work as his stewards, and our family and our entire community is so blessed by all of them!