Related to previous post...

So today I read Psalm 19 and realized that David says it much better:

"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.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world."
Psalm 19: 1-4a

It is also very cool to think about David sitting and thinking about the same thing I was thinking! If time didn't keep us so far apart I would totally turn to David and say "I hear ya!" And put my fist out for some "knuckles"!

This also makes me think about how cool it is that the sky can communicate to the whole world. We are much more limited in how many can hear our 'voice' but nevertheless we do 'communicate' to everything around us and have the power to speak life or death. I want to speak more life. And I pray that I have the opportunity to speak life to the death I have communicated, or that it will be overcome by life communicated by another.

What do you hear when you look up at the sky?

My vacation in the U.P of Michigan was great; I saw many of my best friends from back home and got to spend lots of time with family, including celebrating my sister's birthday and Mother's Day!

One of my favorite things (as always) was playing card games with family in the evening after supper when the kid is in bed and all the dishes are done. Bonus for me this trip; I won every game we played!

Another favorite thing was the clear bright U.P. sky. I have always enjoyed and loved the scenery in the U.P, even when I was growing up. I remember staring at the sky, taking late night walks and pretending I was a great photographer at a very young age because I appreciated the beauty around me. I wouldn't have been able to say exactly what I liked about it at those times but now I know that even back then God was announcing himself to me through his creation. Somehow it feels like a personal conversation just between him and I even though I know everyone can see it and he wants everyone to see him through his creation.

God has been calling our church to drown ourselves in his love and his presence and this trip was certainly a continuation of that. After a great worship practice on Saturday evening before I left the presence of God strongly lingered with me all through the night, the next morning and throughout Sunday as he touched each heart in church. I left for the U.P. after church and his presence was still lingering as I drove across Wisconsin and that's when I began to hear his announcement.

The sky seemed to be clearer and bluer than ever and the clouds seemed to be fluffier and whiter than ever! Throughout the rest of my trip everything in the sky seemed so clear, even when the sky was grey and full of clouds long dark clouds.

So what was his announcement? It's hard to describe but wasn't communicated in words and I don't know if there are words to described it. Let's just say that I knew very clearly that he was anxious to be with us and sky that was a beautiful display of him showering us with his love.

A "stay-at-home-mom"'s vacation

A week at her mom's house!

With no income all we need is a free place to stay where someone will make the meals, clean the house, do the laundry and take care of the kids for free too!
Well, we all know that doesn't exist but my mom's place is the closest it gets.
I will help make meals and still take care of Riley while she goes to work (because she stayed at home with me when I was growing up so she is still working her but off) but she will take him from me every chance she gets and she'll pay when we go out to eat. And I will help with the cleaning and laundry but I won't be the only one in the house that thinks about cleaning and laundry! :)

The icing on the cake is NO internet and plenty of safe outside acreage for Riley to run around in!
So from Sunday, May 3 through Tuesday May 12 I am sippin' mom's ice tea and reading a book outside in the fresh UP air (well, maybe during his nap)! :)

See you back online Wednesday, May 13th for the same old facebook chatter and bloggin'.

Riley & Esther

Riley and Esther get to play together every Thursday and they learn so much from each other. Almost every Thursday they tumble down together as Esther attacks Riley for a hug. One Thursday the tumble resulted in a fat lip for Esther. As you can see Riley forgives easily and is quickly back to playing big brother to her.

This is how I manage mealtime with both Esther and RIley. It works especially well if they are eating the same thing. They are always wearing their matching Baby Bjorn bibs (Riley wears the blue and Esther wears the red - and yes, Riley knows the difference and doesn't like if Esther takes his). This particular time they were both eating cereal (Cheerios) and I refilled each of their bowls at least three times.

Drivin' it into the ground!

I am trying to tap back into my roots because our car has been diagnosed with a fatal engine and it's not worth it to spend the large amount of money necessary to replace the engine. So we're drivin it into the ground!

One of the things that is way different about where I grew up is the lesser amount of new cars on the road. People really know how to get their miles out of a box of metal.

I grew up in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan (the UP) which has a similar culture to northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota. Some call it "back woods" or something like the Iron Range. Whatever you call it, it is different from other places and may even seem behind-the-times. But that's where I grew up and I am proud of the things I learned that I would not have learned anywhere else.

Please share your stories of how effecient you or your "back woods" friends and family are. And if it's your heritage your boasting about please leave some fun facts or links so we can appreciate it more!

If you have a really good story I will respond with one of my favorite Yooper (someone from the UP) phrase: "Holy Wa!"

More fun Yooper stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Peninsula_of_Michigan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yooper_dialect

http://www.dayoopers.com/whatwher.html

All alone...

Everyone finally got fed up with the Minnesota winter and took off on me!

• Brandon is in California on a business trip for a week and is currently at Disney/not working (his second time at a Disney without his wife and child, both of which have never been to any Disney or theme park).
• The Sjostroms are in India for a couple weeks and I am praying like crazy for 2 more sermons!
• The Blanchards are going to Florida for Kris doctorate graduation, hooding, etc...and I'm watching their house, kids and dog for 5 days.
• I honestly can name at least 2 more friends that are vacationing right not but I am just checking in on the one's cat a couple times, so it's not a big deal.

So starting tomorrow I am a lone pastor, single mother of 4 kids and taking care of of 3 houses.

Don't get me wrong, I truly love being able to help everyone out and I am excited that God blessed all of them with the opportunity to enjoy these trips but I am definitely feeling a little left out!

It's a good thing preparing 2 sermons is more than enough to keep me busy as an amateur preacher. And I'm sure being a single mother of 4 kids won't be boring! :)

My renewed love for IKEA

Check out these crazy colors in our new bedroom!

Only IKEA has been able to help me make this work at an affordable price.

A more seroius note:

This place is a major blessing and we love it!