Happy Anniversary

29 December 1990


Today we celebrate our 20th anniversary. I love you more than anything and am so happy to be married to you. I look forward to the years ahead - whatever they bring. You are the best!

The text from our wedding is more appropriate today than ever; as we journey through life.

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.^a

Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heaven and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.

The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.

Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Merry Christmas

Daniel, Anne, David, Katie, Emie, Sam and Andrew
Christmas 2010

This was our 3rd Christmas as a family of 9. We have some memories of the first, however; the second is the most memorable. Emie got sick - right in the middle of opening presents and that was only a prelude of what was to come. The past few days in MN for the kids have been illness free- fun and very relaxing - a few photos for you to enjoy.

David opening a motorcycle - love the look



Kids shopped for each other - Sam opening a gift.

Tickle those ivories . . .

Today we had the privilege of attending a piano recital with 2 budding virtuosos.

Andrew and Daniel are somewhere between their 2nd and 3rd year of piano - and have done really well. We are super proud of them; and they can play piano better after 2 years than I could play clarinet/saxophone after 6+.

Enjoy!!

We also have a dispute we want the reading audience to settle. There was a contest to see who did the best bow at the end of the performance. At stake are 14 year old bragging rights - so take your role very seriously. Please register your votes in the comments.

Andrew



Daniel

14 Years

See what 14 (very short) years bring?



The boys had a good birthday. Andrew had razzleberry pie and Daniel choose a DQ ice cream cake. We celebrated at home, with family. A few days after the birthday we went out to Red Lobster for a seafood feast.

And - another reference point for what 14 years can bring - check this out.




We love our Andrew and Daniel. Best wishes for a great 14th year and many more great adventures.

mom & dad

ScooterCatBirthdayParty - said quickly

This is much delayed - but better late than never. Most of you know - we traveled to Ukraine to get Katie & Emie in July 2008. We began our travels on July 19, 2008 - which happened to be Katies' birthday. So, buried in that bit trivia is the irony that Katie had to

(endure/survive/live/fuss/whine and cry)

through: Lee, Daniel, Andrew, Sam, David, Emie, Annie and Karens' birthdays - before it was her turn.

We are not 100% sure where ScooterCatBirthdayParty came from - but somewhere in her head - between seeing Emies puppy cake and Annies elephant cake - Katie decided that her birthday should just simply be known as: 'ScooterCatBirthdayParty'. Scooter - by the way - was the cat that we were custodians of where their owners were overseas (for 8 yrs or something like that).

So - here it is . . . . ScooterCatBirthdayParty 2010.

Week @ the Cabin: Fourth & Final

A few last photos. . .







During the week that we were there - a few fires were burning in the Superior National Forest, and the crew was using our ranger station as a base - so it was really exciting to see the helicopter come in - fuel up and take people / supplies deep into the forest. One day they made three or four trips.


Katie & Emie - beginning their canoe adventure.












One day (what else do you do on vacation) - I counted the rings on one of the larger logs on our cabin. Not real easy - but I counted 139 rings. Knowing that our cabin was built in 1930 - that means that the tree that this log came from started growing in the 1790s - pretty amazing.





Fruit pizza - a Daniel creation and a real treat after long days outside.




One of our favorite activities is go to to the Marina in Silver Bay and hike out to the island. Officially it is known as Pellet Island - we call it Pirate Island. The day we did this - it was shrouded in fog and really a neat hike. Out on the island is a great view, some bird nests, a mini lighthouse - and a great place to explore.

It is a about 1/4 mile out and to reach the island you have to hop over literally millions of tons of boulders that have been placed.

Great adventures!

Week @ the Cabin: Part 3

As promised - more photos

Annie helping break eggs into the bowl from breakfast; she actually really does a good job.







Emie with a morning snack outside the cabin.












What more is there to say? Sam!

















Dirty David



















Andrew solos with the canoe for the first time. He did really well.











We almost had a catastrophe - running out of coffee 26 miles from the closest store? Desperate times call for desperate measures. Thankfully there was some tucked away in the freezer.









Katie at Lake Superior.

A Week @ The Cabin: Part 2: Wheels

One of the things at the cabin is that we have quite a collection of wheels. We have bikes, trikes, scooters, a doodlebug (minibike) - 3 wheeler, 4 wheeler . . . you get the idea.

One thing that has started making the trip is Davids' jeep. He saw his brothers jumping bikes and a mini-bike over a stump in the front yard and had to get into the action.



Also, Sam is becoming quite adept at driving the go-cart - which we keep up there.






Next post will include some girls and nature - I promise.

A Week @ The Cabin

The next few blog posts will be random events from our week at the cabin.

A few preview highlights. . .
any idea how long one can stay in Lake Superior without freezing their toes?
ever seen a 3 year old try and jump a stump in a battery powered jeep?
how old are the logs in our log cabin?
and a few other fun photos and events that we recorded.

First - the Lake Superior question - how long can someone stay in Lake Superior without freezing their toes?
Andrew - 21 seconds
Daniel & Lee - about 46 seconds
and Zach - aka Zachman, Zacheroni, Zackmeister . . . over 50 seconds.

But the best is this little gem captured for the world to see - here is how Andrew handles the adversity of cold feet.

Watch and enjoy. . . .

The "cat" days of summer

Welcome to the 'cat' days of summer. OK - everyone knows that they aren't the 'cat days' - but since we don't have a dog and these two (Mr. Bundles & Sergent Tibbs) seem to be taking on the role pretty - well - we are going to call them 'cat days'. Seriously - it was one beautiful day in Minnesota. We had help yesterday - so the adults in the house planted flowers (that came from ND - and had been in washtubs and misc containers and got them into their final resting spots - huge relief for Karen. One of the elements of feeling fully settled after a move.














As previously mentioned, the weather was great - the pressure to get stuff done was low and we just had a great day. It began with homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We had church at home today - we read about Jesus calming the storm. We also prayed for our upcoming school year and two other people who are close to us that were injured in the past few days - that they would get better soon!

The water park was open for a while this afternoon - with David, Katie and Emie taking full advantage. Annie is somewhat of a landlubber - so she used the kittie pool - aka bucket as her pool and had a great time.
































While all this was going on - naughty monkey - AKA David began the climb up the pantry shelves - ins search of gum. David is about 90% potty trained - but the final deal is that when he goes #2 - he gets gum. He LOVES gum. Note by his hand on the 4th shelf - he has reached the gum.

David also cruised around in his jeep - pulling Sam and his sisters - which is very funny to watch. For a 3 year old - he is actually a pretty good driver.



Supper was chicken on the grill and AYKE (all you can eat) sweet corn - shucking courtesy of Katie & Emie.



The day ended - we fired up our '34 Ford (another story and post sometime) and took it down to Cup and Cone - home of the 37 cent kiddie cone - and a White Bear Lake tradition. This happened after 7 - which is girls bedtime - so the boys went and brought mom back a treat.

As I said before - it was a nearly perfect summer day.

Now - thinking about back to work and enjoying the last to weeks before school starts.

The "Bee"

One of the highlights for our family every year is a trip to the Albert City Threshing Bee. Albert City is the town that Karen grew up in; and where her parents still live. The "bee" was started 40 years ago - by Karens' dad and a neighbor and has grown into a great family event, full of fun and surprises.

A few favorites - Sam in a pedal pull tractor competition. Way to go Sam!

Some great food, like ribeye sandwiches, homemade ice cream, served from 9 AM - 7 PM, kettle corn, pie, pancakes, funnel cakes, baked potatos. . . . and the list goes on.

and many other fun and interesting things to see.










































and a good time was had by all!

The best part of my day…..

…occurred when I discovered Mr. Universe in his birthday suit playing in the front yard.

Apparently, rather than change to clean clothes after a tee-tee accident someone just decided to go commando.

This particular picture was taken shortly after I caught him giving his sister a wagon ride around the circle.

Sometimes I wonder what the neighbors think.

Top Secret

We just finished a weekend at the cabin and have discovered a top secret location for some of the best blueberries in the world! We want to share it with you.

You head up around Trappers Landing, go past the sawmill and then keep going - counting pine trees - I think it is the 4,522nd, take a left, follow the butterfly across the creek and then take a right - and count 2 potholes. Get out of the car and walk just a little over the hill and you will find blueberry paradise.

Need proof?















A few other fun photos of the picking.









Katie

&

Emie
















Davey





















and the real pros -







Andrew

&

Daniel

























And the million dollar question - what does one do with all these blue jewels? Turn the kitchen over to Chef A and Chef D to create the worlds best blueberry pie!

It was an awesome pie. Best I have ever eaten.

We also had enough to freeze - so we are going to be able to enjoy blueberry pancakes & muffins - part of the year - as we ration them throughout the year.

We have now created a new family tradition - every year - sometime between the last week of July and the first week of August - we are going to be sure to be at the cabin for Blueberry Fest.

Til next time, signing off from the end of the road.