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...  

Every year, on Mother's day, I am so thankful for the privilege of being a Mom... With each passing year, I am all the more reminded of the miracle of motherhood in my life. While all indications are that I will never have a "quiver full" of children--at least not biologically--I am so incredibly grateful for the darling (I'm not going to use the word beautiful in this post) little girl that God gave to me.   

 She is such a treasure--and I'm so thankful that I get to be her Mom! We enjoyed visiting our Mothers today--and Mike's grandma also (because she needed a cookie for Mother's Day). Some flowers also appeared on my porch in honor of Mother's Day...  

 

Aren't they pretty?   I have no idea what they are, but they like full sun, and I hope I can keep them alive so that we can enjoy them--at least for awhile. Oh, and last but not least, Beth Marie picked these out for me: 

I haven't potted them yet, but they'll also beautify the porch this summer. Mike explained that the hanging pot was "from her, too" but she is so fussy about those sorts of things.  She is one of those people who needs to shop for and bond with gifts personally...so these were the ones that called her name and she picked them for me all by herself.  I love whispy flowers.  So, I hope that all of you had a (insert something other than beautiful here) Mother's day...enjoying your Mothers and, for those of you blessed to be mothers yourselves, treasuring the little (and not so little?) ones that made you a Mom. 

Belated Celebration

 Today, winter decided to return--it was very cold and blustery.  Let's hope this will be winter's final blast!  What better way to spend the day than with warm food and family? We finally got to take my folks out to lunch as a belated anniversary/birthday celebration.   (Better late than never is turning into a consistent theme in my life lately...  Well, that's a whole 'nother post.) We took them to their favorite restaurant in Mantorville: 

Beth brought Kirsten along to celebrate with us.  She was so excited when she realized that the Hubbell House was constructed in 1854, the same year Kirsten Larson came to America.

I took a picture of Beth Marie with my folks.  My Mom doesn't usually appreciate having her picture taken, but she cooperated for a picture today.  (Isn't my Mom beautiful by the way?  She has the most stunning blue eyes...)  I'm so glad to have gotten this picture.  This will be a treasure to Elizabeth for a long time:

Of course, a special dinner wouldn't be complete for Pa without just a little bread pudding:

 Mmm...good to the last bite: 

Beth in front of the painted mural in the room where we ate:



 We took the opportunity to visit the Chocolate Shop across the street: 

A kid in a candy store...

On the way home, we stopped in to check out Leashes and Leads on the outskirts of Rochester:

 

We had fun looking around, and Beth made a new friend.  This is Jake:

He was an amazingly good dog.  So calm and kind.

Beth loves horses and western wear.

She begs us for riding lessons, and I suppose we'll have to look into that one of these days.

It was a great time with Mom and Dad, and a great day to enjoy the beautiful family that God has blessed me with!

A Whirlwind Weekend...

 Last weekend, we had plans for a visit from Mike's brother and his wife. They were coming to celebrate Mike's Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary. Dave and Norma spent the actual day of their anniversary in Hawaii...  

...so this was a belated celebration that we had planned. John and Hwa arrived on Saturday morning just in time for Elizabeth's basketball game. Of course, the weather didn't take our plans into consideration.  The forecast called for up to 15 inches of snow/ice on Sunday-Monday, so John and Hwa decided that they should head back early. So, we made Saturday count.  :-) We decided to head out to Chester's for supper. Here are a few pictures from our night out:  Mike's brother John, his wife Hwa, and Beth Marie:   Hwa, Beth and Norma: 

Beth, Hwa and I:

Dave, John and Mike:

(this is the only picture that turned out of the 3 Amundson men, so John deserves to have it posted on the blog...although I did resist the temptation to enlarge his head...)

John, Hwa and Beth twirling in the hallway:

Mike and his girls in the parking ramp:

 It was a good night.  We are thankful for Mike's parents, and glad we got to celebrate 40 great years that they've shared together.  And I am thankful every day that I get to be married to their son!  I can't believe we're going to celebrate our 12th anniversary this spring... My folks celebrated 51 years of marriage last weekend!  We'll be taking them out for a belated anniversary dinner soon.  I'll have to see if they'll let me take pictures.  :-)
 

Enduring love...

I've had this Valentine's post in progress for several days.  So, may as well go ahead and post it--better late than never! . . . ♥ . . . The Amundson's celebrated Valentine's Day as a family this year.   Nothing fancy, but it was a special day. We exchanged Valentines and Mike took his two girls out to Noodles and Company for supper. While Mike and I--obviously--didn't compare notes ahead of time, there was a common theme in the cards that we got for each other:  Always.  It's a theme that's been on our hearts a lot lately... Mainly because, to be honest, we've been seeing marriages crumbling all around us. Sometimes I almost start to feel numb because I feel like I don't have the tears left to grieve anymore for the broken promises and shattered dreams of so many people that we've loved over the years. Love... It never gives up... Never loses faith... Is always hopeful... And endures through every circumstance. Several years ago, I went through a "sign making" phase.  I made this one to display in our bedroom: 

 At the time, it seemed like a nice little token of affection to display in our room.  But there have been several times lately when I've walked into our room and paused for a moment to ponder that thought and give thanks for my marriage...   Forever.  For always.  And no matter what. While I'm learning--over and over again--that there isn't a single marriage that is "untouchable" in this fallen world, I am so thankful for the man that God gave to me.  He is demonstrating that he is committed--for better or worse--and we've had to walk through quite a bit of both lately. If there's one thought that I could leave with all of you as we reflect on Valentine's Day...   Regardless of your circumstances...   If you are swarming with little ones in your home...   If you are short on money or going through health struggles...   If there are family situations that are making your life difficult or complicated...   Whatever you may be going through...  Make time to invest in your marriage.    Never in history have Christian marriages been more under attack...  or more vulnerable to attack.  The evil one delights in broken homes and he's on the prowl...  looking for marriages to devour.  

 

Looking back and looking ahead...

 Yesterday, I thought about sitting down to write up a year in review for our family, but I felt like I couldn't possibly do justice to the happenings of the entire year in one post.  It was a very full year, and I am so grateful for the many blessings and wonderful memories of 2010.   (My husband reflected on a few of the highlights of the year a bit at his blog if you're interested.) I often begin the new year thinking about all of the projects I want to tackle and all of the new disciplines that I want to implement in my life...which basically boils down to a little yearly identity crisis.   (Am I the only person who does this?)   I'm excited to see what the Lord has in mind for our family in the coming year.  Lord willing, there will be many precious people coming through our home...  There will be school days and field trips, sunshine and storms, laughter and tears.   Each day that the Lord gives us breath is a gift from Him, and more than anything,  I pray that we will be faithful.   There's an old song that has been in my heart a lot this week.  (I love it when the Lord puts a song in my heart.)  The words go like this:  ♪♫ "God has not given us a spirit of fear, But has given us the strength to obey.With power and sound mind,With love--the unfailing kind, O be not ashamed of His way. May the Lord find us faithful.May His Word be our banner held high.May the Lord find us faithfulEvery day, though we live, though we die." ♫♪

~ Mac Lynch

I've been pondering a lot of Scriptures on faithfulness, and so I might develop these thoughts a little more in another blog post one day.  But for now, it's time to make some homemade pizza!  :-)  Happy New Year everyone!

 

Last night, we spent our New Year's Eve as a family watching old videos of when our daughter, Elizabeth, was a baby.  We hadn't watched those videos in years! 

Hard to believe when our baby was born, we still had a 35mm film camera, and we had an 8mm video camera!  Wow...gotta love digital pictures and video clips!

Anyway, it was pretty amazing to go back in time and see our little girl as a brand new baby all over again.  Where has the time gone?

There is an old Ron Hamilton (Patch the Pirate--remember him?) song called, "Cherish the Moment" that I was listening to on YouTube earlier this week:

♪♫  Read my book, rub my back;
Mommy, listen to my prayer.
Let me sit in your lap,
Daddy fly me through the air.
Throw a ball, make a snack;
Can we go to the park?
Tuck me in, hold me close;
I'm afraid of the dark.

Cherish the moment,
Soon you'll be apart
Cling to the memory;
Clasp it to your heart.
Soon comes the day when you'll have no child to hold,
So cherish, cherish the moment.

Sing a song, play a game;
Swing me high in the air.
Ride a bike, fly a kite;
How I love the times we share
Hold my hand, hug my neck;
Daddy bounce me on your knee.
Come and sit by my bed;
Mommy, rock me to sleep.

Cherish the moment,
Soon you'll be apart
Cling to the memory;
Clasp it to your heart.
Soon comes the day when you'll have no child to hold,
So cherish, cherish the moment.

Think ahead to a time
When your little ones are grown;
Hold them tight, don't lose sight
Of the blessings you have known.
Think ahead to a time
When your little boy's a man
And you'd give anything
Just to hold him again.

Cherish the moment,
Soon you'll be apart
Cling to the memory;
Clasp it to your heart.
Soon comes the day when you'll have no child to hold,
So cherish, cherish the moment.  ♫♪


Here's the link if you'd like to hear the song:

Cherish The Moment 

Wow, Patch the Pirate was sort of like another lifetime ago for me.  So, for some of you, hearing this song might just take you back in time, too.  :-)

A family gift exchange...

We were going to wait until we were "in the clear" from sickness for a few days before we had our family gift exchange.  But...there was a little person in our house who has missed so much this last few months...and has been so patient...but her little countenance fell when Daddy suggested that maybe we should wait until later this week to exchange gifts.  So, Mommy and Daddy discussed it, and while neither of us were feeling great, there was no way to know how long it would be before we were all healthy.  There was no Christmas music playing in the house...no dainty appetizers in the kitchen...nobody was wearing Christmas colors...but there were presents under the tree, so why not open them?  Here's the excited little one ready to open some Christmas presents: 

Actually, we had 2 excited little ones.  Gretchen gets presents at Christmas time, too.  We usually forget her birthday, but when the tree goes up in the basement and colorful boxes and bags start appearing beneath it, she knows what's going on.  One night, Mike had to scold her because she had sniffed out one of her gifts and was about to snitch it from under the tree!

Gretchen got to be the first one to open a gift:

We are usually pretty "practical" about Christmas presents, but this year we got Beth Marie something very special.  We bought her an entire wardrobe of old fashioned doll dresses that were handmade by my niece, Dorothy Rowe.  They are SO beautiful.  I separated them into 3 packages.  Beth was absolutely overwhelmed with excitement when she saw how many beautiful new clothes she had for her favorite dolls!

Here, Beth is modeling a couple of the dresses on her two favorite dolls.  Here is Beth with Naomi:

And here she is with Kirsten:

Here is Daddy opening his much wanted "walking stick" which was intended for an upcoming adventure that he was planning. You'll probably have to visit his blog to read more about that:



And here I am with Beth Marie and the beautiful primitive doll that she gave me:

 

We had a very nice time together exchanging gifts.  And as we get better, we'll have to sit down with the calendar and begin to reschedule visits to the many people that we didn't get to see at Christmas time.  :-)