Day trip

Wednesday was the "unofficial end" to our Christmas vacation. Mike went back to work on Thursday. Beth and I are still off school till after the New Year... But Mike always likes to put in a couple days of work at the end of the year when everybody else is gone. So, I know you're dying to know... What did my family and I do for our last day of Christmas break?? Why, they accompanied me to the Cities to see a hormonal specialist!   Yay! Yeah, not exactly festive.  But they were booked out over 2 months...so I took the first date they had to offer.  I don't especially enjoy Doctor's appointments.  Especially when it's talking about the...ahem...intimate details of my life and health with a man I've never met. But the guy is supposed to be good.  So...I went. And normally it's not the kind of thing that I would blog about. But I'm making an exception because instead of being a day that I want to forget . . . . . . it ended up being a day that I want to remember.  We ventured up to the appointment just under 2 hours away from home.  Then, my family checked out some stores in the area while I had my appointment...which was basically a consultation that lasted over an hour. When it was time to wrap up the appointment, the Doctor asked me, besides regulating my hormones, to list a few things areas where I hope to see improvement.  I explained to the guy that I wasn't hoping for any miracles, and that any steps in the right direction would be much appreciated.  But, I listed 3 basic things...  I said I hoped that I would be able to sleep better...which would result in a bit more energy...and that I would be able to handle stress a little better...   I came out of the Doctor's office and there were the smiling faces of my family waiting for me in the waiting room.  I can't tell you how much that meant to me at that moment.  Something about seeing their faces was just the most comforting thing in the world to me at that moment.  And really, just their "being there" was enough... We left the office and went down to the van, and guess what was waiting for me?  

 Flowers . . . 3 bottles of lotion . . . . . . and dark chocolate peanut butter cups.  Shhhh . . . If you look closely at the bottles of lotion, you will see their names: Stress relief . . . Energy . . . Sleep . . . Now, obviously, nobody in the world knows me better than my husband.  But it wasn't like I expressed a lot of anxiety about the appointment or gave him a run-down of what I hoped to gain from seeing this Doctor.   You might say stress relief, energy, and sleep are something we all need more of, and they're generic enough to explain away as chance.  But I don't think so.  My hubby is not exactly the sort of a guy who showers me with flowers and chocolate.  So, this was unexpected to say the least.  But more than that, it was just so comforting to know that--no matter what the future holds--I have the loving support of my family. We ended up finding a great business district right across the highway from the clinic with lots of restaurants and an outdoor mall with lots of fun stores, and it ended up being a really fun way to end our Christmas vacation. God is good! 

The Last of Christmas...

 Well, at our house, the Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving, and ends at New Year's. So, today, outdoor Christmas lights came down. The rolls of Christmas wrap and bags and bows and tissue paper are all placed neatly in the bin and tucked under the guest bed...with a roll of tape and a scissors for next year...which I will probably forget and hunt for a roll of tape and a scissors all over again. The tree will come down tomorrow. Christmas 2011 is done. It was fun.  Here are a few random pictures from this season's celebrations:  We no longer do gift exchanges for most of our family Christmas gatherings, but Beth's Grandma and Grandpa Amundson still enjoy shopping for her...and she doesn't mind...   They got her these stylish new glasses to add to her dress-up collection.  Funny how certain accessories have an instant transforming effect on the personality...   



Our little tree at home:  Our little tree has gotten a bit wobbly over the years...not to mention, a little small to hold our ornament collection.  We might have Mike persuaded to let us get a new one next year.  Maybe.  I'm finding myself more drawn to muted colors as time goes by.  But not so with wrapping paper.  I like lots of brightly colored wrapping paper.  Maybe it's the quilter in me, but I like to have as many kinds of wrapping paper as possible under the tree.   Time for our little family to open gifts:  Here, Beth is opening her doll clothes that I purchased for her off of Etsy.  These were her favorite gift that she didn't expect. 

And here she's opening her favorite gift that she had to confess she had figured all along...

Here's Gretchen (wearing her Snuggie) with Elizabeth helping her open her favorite gift--an Angry Bird toy which she loves.  She was tearing around the living room with it tonight.  She has figured out how to make it talk and I'm sure she will work hard to tear his stuffing out and find the noise-maker inside (she thinks that's the ultimate goal of all stuffed toys).

Here's a brotherly volleyball competition on the Move:

 Ooh...  and Husband vs. Wife.  Looks a little intense... 

 Can you believe he dared to show up on our doorstep with that abomination on for a shirt?  We shoulda made him turn it inside-out... Well, that about wraps it up.  ;-) I've successfully blogged Christmas just in time for New Year's...  

Family Gatherings

 We enjoyed spending lots of time with family over our Christmas weekend. On Mike's side of the family, they like to capture a picture with everyone who's able to attend.   I picked a few to share...   Dave Amundson family Christmas: 

 (Mike's folks, his brother John and his wife Hwa, her sister Haley and the 3 of us)  Hamlin family Christmas: 

(Grandma Hamlin with her children and grandchildren and families)

Amundson family Christmas:



 (Grandma Amundson and her children, grandchildren and families)  

On a side note...

Several years ago, when we went to a small rural church near Zumbro Falls, we decided to put on a special Christmas program.  I spent hours sewing costumes of all sorts for Mary and Joseph and angels and shepherds and wise men...

Beth Marie was an angel in that program by the way, and I happen to have found a picture:

She's the little angel on the right...does that melt your heart or what?

Well, years have passed, and we no longer attend the little church in the Zumbro Valley. 

The Christmas costumes found their way into a Rubbermaid bin on a shelf in the garage...

Honestly, I thought of giving them away for scrap fabric because seeing that bin made me a little sad for days gone by and I figured there wouldn't be a reason to use them again.

Until this last summer when Elizabeth asked if she could take them out and play with them.  Well, I must admit, I wasn't thrilled with the idea at first.  All I could think was it was gonna be a big mess and what could she want with a bunch of old Christmas costumes?  But I reluctantly agreed, and I'm glad I did.  She spent many a summer afternoon running around the yard in Bible costumes.  And many of the neighbor children were thrilled to join her--who knew Bible costumes would be such a hit?  She even enticed Mike and I to join her on occasion.  One night we drove around the neighborhood on my dad's golf cart all dressed in Bible garb.  (Sorry...I don't have a picture...  I know.  How rude of me to tell a story like that without a picture...)

Well, I was pleased that my old Christmas costumes weren't going to waste.

But when the Berean Christmas program rolled around, guess what?  They were short on Christmas costumes...  And the old costumes came out of the bin once again to serve the purpose for which they were created.  And now, my little stash of Christmas costumes will live on as I look back fondly on my video of all of the pictures on the farm that day in Lake City...and I won't be sad anymore when I look at that bin on the shelf in the garage. 

I thought that was pretty special.

Sunday School Program

 Well, lest you think that we went through the entire Christmas season without pictures... Here is a post with pictures: Elizabeth took part in the Sunday School program at church. Which was a big deal because last year, she worked so hard on her part but got sick on the day of the program.  So... If there was one thing that we were healthy for this Christmas, I hoped it would be the program. And thankfully, we were.  :-) Here is a picture taken of my girl and I after the program... 

  And here is a picture of Beth that captured more of the pretty decorations: 

 Here is a picture of all of the kiddos from the program...can you find Beth's face in the crowd? 

A couple weeks before the program, we all had a field trip to a farm near Lake City where the kids dressed in Christmas costumes for a photo shoot in the barns and among the animals.  The pictures were then projected onto the wall behind the children as they recited their parts for the program.  One of the men from church was kind enough to create a video of all of the pictures set to the sound track of each of the children saying their verses.  Parents were given the opportunity to keep the video as a memento of the evening!  Excellent idea! Here is where I wanted to insert a clip from the official video of Beth saying her part...  But Windows Movie Maker and I are not friends...and making a video clip was an exercise in frustration that wasted a good chunk of my afternoon. So, for now, I reverted to the old fashioned way and just took a video with my camera.  You'll have to excuse the video quality, but hopefully you'll get the idea.  (Eventually, maybe Mike will have mercy on his technologically handicapped wife and create a clip from the actual video which would be far better.) 

. . . (:  Deleted  :) . . .

Update:  My hubby was kind enough to make a clip of the original for me...  Here's a much higher quality version of Elizabeth's clip from the video:

 

Elizabeth was slightly embarrassed by her expression in the video.  (Actually...more than slightly...)  I think she's coming around though.  Her expression of shock was supposed to be the babe in her womb leaping for joy...can you tell?  :-)

I'm so glad she got to take part in the program this year...it was yet another special memory from this year's Christmas...

It's a Wonderful Life

 The Rochester Assembly of God had a billboard near our home that we passed often advertising their performance of "It's a Wonderful Life". 

 Elizabeth wanted to see it so badly...so we decided rather spontaneously to go. Another missed photo opportunity, but another fun memory. I would have loved to have captured a shot of their set...it really was impressive.   But there's really no way I could have captured my favorite memory in pictures anyway--seeing the dark silhouette of my little girl sitting on the edge of her seat with an expression of pure delight--hanging on every word of every scene...  It was the first time she had seen/heard the story (besides an Adventures in Odyssey episode based on the movie).  She's at such a fun age--old enough to sit quietly and be attentive for an entire play but young enough to get caught up in the "fantasy world" of the story. Pictures can be seen here on the Assembly of God facebook page.

A Christmas Carol

 Our first "official" Christmas outing was to see the Northland Words Players:  

  We should have known it was a "big deal" when the tickets sold out so quickly...but we had no idea we were in for such a treat! The bad news is that I didn't bring my camera...because it really would have been an adventure worth capturing. The good news is that you can see pictures from past performances here and you can learn about the historic Mayowood Stone Barn here. Not captured in pictures were memories of Elizabeth dancing the night away after the play... Believe it or not, Mike even got in on the action.  Well...if you use the term "dancing" loosely, that is.  ;-) But it was a really great evening, and the Words Players put months of exhausting preparation into the performance.  Though lacking pictures, it was one of my favorite Christmas memories from 2011. 

Christmas 2011

 In contrast to last year's Christmas, this year--besides the occasional sniffle--we enjoyed good health throughout the holiday season.  What a blessing! We ventured out for a couple of Christmas plays... We drove around and took in the Christmas lights (several times)... And . . . We attended every single scheduled Christmas gathering... We are very thankful. I'm browsing through my pictures and I'll post a few highlights from our Christmas season soon...  

10th Birthday (part 2)

 Well, what would a 10 year old girl wish to do on the morning of her birthday? How about open her presents in her jammies?  

Beth Marie always wants to wake up to her presents on the morning of her birthday... She doesn't want to know how many presents she'll have, or even what kind of wrapping paper... She wants it all to be a surprise on her birthday morning. (Must take after her daddy.  Her Mommy can't stand surprises...) 

 Somebody else was also excited to open presents.  Gretchen had her nose in every one sniffing for something good.  She knows good things come in presents.  She didn't have any presents of her own (because it wasn't her birthday) but we did hide treats in a couple of the presents. Opening her Hayden doll (can you tell it was her favorite present?) 

(no acting, of course...) We then went to Rochester for a light lunch, and to pick up her birthday cake: 

(a chocolate carrot cake from Daube's . . .  They are the best. cake. ever.)

The cake was deposited at home, and then we ventured up to the Twin Cities for the day.

Beth wanted to visit the James J. Hill house. 

We enjoy touring mansions together, and Mike and I had visited this one without her.  (It's not unusual for Mike and I to see something and then visit a second time with Beth.)

After a leisurely tour of the grounds, we went to Mall of America for supper and shopping before heading home for cake.

Happy 10th year Beth Marie!  Your birthday is behind you, but I pray that you have a wonderful year ahead.  I love living life with you.  You are a precious companion.  It's so amazing to watch you grow--you're becoming such a beautiful young lady.  I am so thankful for the privilege of being your Mom.  I pray that our God will protect you, and preserve you, and guard your heart for Himself...I pray that you will see His goodness in all things, and that your heart will overflow with joy and gratitude...and I pray that you will allow His Spirit to teach you, and that you will walk in truth.  I love you Boo!

10th Birthday (part 1)

 And, along with 10 year pictures comes... The 10th Birthday!  

How is it possible that it was 10 years ago already when our little girl was born? Our only child . . . our miracle . . . Beth Marie. (Unless God intends to do another miracle--which could happen--but that seems less than likely as the years go by)  So, what are 10th birthdays like with an only child? Well... This year, her birthday fell on a Saturday...so we considered taking a trip.  But that didn't work out... So Daddy took Friday off anyway and we just had a special weekend as a family close to home.  We began by visiting the Northwoods Orchard just a few miles from home. And if you're wondering how tall Beth is this year, here's a photo to answer your question:  

 And her Daddy? 

 Cheater! Well, there was lots to see at the Northwoods Orchard... There were some hay bales to conquer: 

 There were some sweet bunnies to pet... 

 

And some goofy goats to feed:

And some pigs who wanted us to feed them...

(their pen was locked, but they kept running over and grunting toward their food bin...we were sorry to disappoint them...)

And there were some pretty amusing chickens, too...

All of which made us wish for a farm.  :-)

There were also 2 corn mazes...

...a 10 minute one, and an hour long one. 

We elected to do the 10 minute maze...and I think we pretty much dominated it...

But it was fun.  :-)

Then we went inside for fresh apple donuts.

Sorry...no pictures.

10 year pictures...

 I've been asked a few times if we did 10 year pictures, and if I planned to post them... And indeed I did plan to post them... And so here they are--a little later than I had planned...  

    (she looks so grown up in this one!  . . . . . . . . . .  and she looks like a little girl in this one)