A weekend "Up North"

We had a fun filled 4th of July weekend camping up north. John and I both grew up spending summers on the Whitefish Chain. John at a camp on the chain and me at my grandparent's cabin. We both love the area and were both saddened with the rest of my family when my grandparent's decided to sell the cabin about a year after Jake was born. While we have been there a few times since then, Jake attended the same camp as John several years, it just wasn't the same and I always felt in a little funk for a day or two afterward. So we quit going up there. It has been about 5 years since we were there but it was calling to us and we decided to head up again this year. I think 14 years must be the mourning period for loss of a cabin because this trip I went up and just enjoyed the experience. I didn't wish for the cabin memories but enjoyed creating our own memories. And in doing so it turns out we were able to easily experience many of the same things, sitting on the dock with my feet in the water soaking up the sun, swimming in the lake, walking on wooded paths, shopping in Nisswa. And we added a few of our own, canoeing down Pine River, eating Ice Cream almost every day at the Chocolate Ox, a candy store that wasn't around in our day, running a 5K on July 4th morning with the whole family and swimming in a pool the first night up there because the campground was full and we "had" to stay at a very nice lodge across the street.

The day before we left I bought a new camera for the Africa trip and so we had fun learning to use it this weekend.

Pictures from The Whitefish Lodge where we stayed our first night. Noted for my parents and sister who might want to stay there if we ever do a family weekend up there. I know they don't camp. :)




Finally set up at the campground Friday morning. The site was so nice, very private with just the right mixture of sun and shade. With our van parked in the entrance we really couldn't see any other camp sites from ours. And should we ever have a boat there was a little path right out to the lake from our site. We haven't been camping since Isabelle was a year old so we were a little rusty but felt like we pulled it off quite well. John and Jake were the master camp kitchen managers and did all the dish washing and most of the cooking and food prep. It was a wonderful treat.


This outfit on Isabelle might be deceptive. This was getting ready for the fireworks. It was sunny and in the high 70's the entire weekend. We couldn't have scripted better weather.





Our Friday plan was canoeing. We considered several locations on the lake but because it was such a busy weekend we didn't want to be fighting alot of boat traffic and decided to put in at a river. Our initial idea was to canoe upstream and then float back when we were tired. However the Dam at the top of the river wasn't letting alot of water through so we were really scraping the bottom. We decided to go downstream toward a lake at the other end. We didn't have to go too far before we were comfortably floating along without hitting any rocks. However, eventually we were going to need to get back. Once we got to the rocky area it became obvious to John and Jake that there was only one solution...walk back up the river dragging the canoe and Kayak. John referred to it as his recreation of the Panama Canal. Isabelle and I enjoyed our ride back. And in case we might be lost it was fun to find all the rocks we had scraped our canoe on going down and left a little aluminum mark. John and Jake did great and we all enjoyed the experience.

Of course we did not bring the new camera on the water so this was taken with Jake's phone:



But I grabbed the camera out of the van as soon as we got back:








The up side of walking a river bed is you get to find interesting things in the water and stop to pick them up. Jake found this jaw bone in the river. I wonder what it is from.


And in case you are wondering how we brought 2 boats on top of our van here is the answer:

First you get out your power drill and loosen one of the bars in your canoe:


And then you simply slide your Kayak inside:


Isabelle loves canoeing and is fun to have along. Her highlights include naming the croaking frogs we could hear "Bill" since that is what she thought they were saying, I bet you all thought frogs said "ribbit". And seeing dozens of turtles sunning themselves on floating logs. I was excited to float by a duck I had never seen before. After consulting my Birds of Minnesota book I believe it was a female Hooded Merganser. Or it might have just been a Common Merganser. I wasn't able to photograph it to remember the details.

On the way back to the campground this happens to a little girl who has spend several hours on the water enjoying the view.


After an afternoon of pulling your wife and daughter up a river there is nothing any red blooded american man would want to do more than go chop up firewood at the campground wood pit. Right?



John enjoyed playing with the camera and got a great shot of the sunset:


And tried to capture some fireworks, those little lights at the bottom are all the boats:


Saturday morning we got up early to head over to the Crosslake community center for "Grandpa's Walleye Run". A 5K they hold every year. Isabelle did the kids run which for her age was running around the baseline on a ball field and Jake and I did the 5K.

Jake's high school friend Nika was also up there for the weekend at her family cabin. The two of them had been texting back and forth trying to figure out how to meet up at some point. As they chat it turns out Nika will also be at the run that day. When we get there we discover that Nika's grandmother is on some board that organizes the run and her family helps with it every year. What are the odds? So Nika led Isabelle's group on the run around the bases. Here she is getting the kids organized. Note Isabelle's very fashionable pink plaid running skirt.

And around they go, Jake is in the brown tank running beside her:



Jake has been wonderfully running with me this summer. I am slow but he holds back and I enjoy the slightly more challenging pace he sets for me. However, I told him for this race he could go all out and see what he could do. Unfortunately he wasn't paying attention when they announced his time but we are thinking it was around 24minutes. 8 minutes per mile. Not bad.




I am slower than Jake but hoped to do a 10 minute mile. I finished at 30:09 and felt great about myself. I promise I am running in these pictures. I look more like a power walker.




It was a great weekend which we hope to do again next summer. Now that we know we can make our own memories in Crosslake I hope we are able to spend more summers there sharing it with our children.

15 years old

Sunday was Jake's 15th birthday. He is a special boy and I am so proud of him as he grows into a man. I can't believe it was 15 years ago that I became a mother. It has been a crazy journey. Let's see, some high points:

I remember in the delivery room them putting him directly on me after cutting the cord. Although I have never told anyone this before my immediate thought was that it was gross to have this slimy child put on me. But then I immediately realized this was my slimy child that I had just pushed out of my body and I really didn't care. My other immediate thought (alot goes through your mind at that moment) was that he looked exactly like John, a fact that has not changed a bit in 15 years. i also remember feeling that somehow all that labor and the baby were unconnected. I still can't believe he came out of my body and still think it is crazy when I see a pregnant person that a baby is actually in there.

John called my mom at work to tell her he was born and she was shocked since we didn't call anyone to tell them we were in labor. I went into labor at 2am and we didn't want to wake anyone. He was born at 8:20am so by the time people were getting up we were a little busy.

My good friend Kim was the first person to come see us in the hospital. She didn't have a car so called around until she found someone that would give her a ride. I was just getting to know Cammi at that point but she became a good friend that I still know today.

I didn't read a single page on parenting or what you needed to do with a child after they are born. I had decided to breast feed but had read nothing about that either. I didn't really know what to do and was waiting for someone to tell me it was time to feed him. Finally around 5pm I asked one of the nurses if I should feed him. She freaked out that I hadn't fed him yet. I have since learned that babies can go quite a while after birth without eating (I feel I read 2 days somewhere) so it really wasn't a big deal but I definitely felt like I wasn't starting this parent thing off on the right foot.

Somehow we managed to leave the hospital with this little baby and nobody stopped us. We brought him home and have been busy trying to raise him to be a godly man. It has been challenging at times, entertaining frequently but most of the time I just find it to be a privilidge to have been given this amazing gift from God and to be part of his life.

So this Sunday we had a party. A theme of Jake's life. I kept asking him how many were coming. Last update said 15 kids were coming. We went to the store and bought burgers, pop and chips for 15 kids. 20 kids came. The miracle of the fishes and loaves occurred as I watched boy after boy walk by with 2 burgers on his plate knowing that we only made 24 burgers. I did also make a package of hot dogs which found in the fridge. Somehow when all was said and done everyone ate. Really I am learning that the kids don't come for my food, they come for each other. Isabelle started a game of duck, duck, grey duck but we had to remove her from the situation when it was her turn every other time. After that they played Red Rover and she was able to get back in the game. We had a bon fire without any homework smoking. One of his friends brought a guitar and there was some singing which was entertaining. Finally the girls went home around 11pm and the party really started. 10 boys stayed all night playing the 4 x-box 360s that were brought and networked together. Keep in mind we do not have an x-box so Jake managed to recruit all the x-boxes and one of his friends even brought a tv! There were 4 stations spread across our lower level family room and spilling into Jake's room. I am told they were up until 6am playing. I went downstairs to have a peak the next morning and have determined that 15 year old boys have rubber bones. One of his friends was sitting in a chair and simply slumped over the side. Another was curled up on our wicker settee, something that is not really that comfy to sit in. And on the other side of the room was Jake's bedroom with a lovely double bed that not a single boy thought to commandeer.

A couple pictures of my sweet boy:





The Party Pictures:

Jake's friend Jaxon brought his electric guitar.


Hanging out in the yard:











They wanted to put the cake in Jake's face but we gave them a plate of Redi-Whip instead. Good times.





They took a walk to the park. Note Isabelle going along as a chaperone. Eric (pulling wagon) ran her home at one point to go to the bathroom. I told him he didn't have to bring her back with him but he did anyway. Jake's friends are as great with her as he is.


Jake and Britta laying on the slides at the park:

Preparing for Africa

Only 6 weeks until Africa!!!! I can't believe how fast it is going. We have officially paid for our whole trip and have money left over for spending money, covering lost work pay and I think a new camera. Our passports came a few months ago and last week we got all our immunizations. 5 shots each for John and I,3 shots for Jake and 2 for Isabelle (plus the 3 she got at her pediatrician last month). I still have a bruise on my arm from one of the shots but the sore muscle finally seems to be gone. We have been taking these homeopathic drops to help our bodies more quickly process the little "extras" that are in immunizations such as formaldehyde. 3 times a day (Ok 1-2 times or when I think of it) I go around the house and put drops in everyones mouth. It is so cute how Isabelle gets excited to take the medicine. She says it is good but it has a very distinct alcohol taste, John thinks it tastes like rum.

We have started meeting every other week with our team in preparation of the trip. Last week we all shared why we were going on the trip and it was a very bonding experience to hear everyone share. In some ways we are all going for similar reasons and it other ways all for different reasons. A few people in our group have gone on missions trips before and others like us are going on our first trip. Christian, our pastor, has asked if a few of us will share our stories on a Sunday morning so I am sharing on August 2 why our family is going to Africa. If you don't already know why we are going check out this post.

In preparation for our trip we are learning some Swahili words and songs. By the time we go I will know:

Jambo--Hello
Chakula--food
maji--water
Tafadhali--please
Kwaheri--goodbye
Jina langu ni--My name is
Bwana asifiwe-Praise the Lord
Psa ngapi-How much is
Asante-Thank you
Pole-sorry
And in case it isn't obvious enough:
mimi ni mgeni--I am a visitor

Swahili is basically a phonetic language with similar sounds to English so you just have to sound the words out. The main thing to remember is the vowel sounds:
A-ah
E-eh
I-Long E
O-Long O
U-ooo (short u)

So use those vowel sounds with normal consonant sounds and you can make those words all happen.

Jake and I have been practicing our songs all day. At first they feel like tongue twisters but now that we have the rhythm it is starting to come together. Just don't ask me to learn anything on the fly!

Song one is "God is so Good". Of course there is a twist on the tune that I keep forgetting but the first part is the traditional tune.

Mungu yu mwema, mungu yu mwema, mungu yu mwema yu mwema kwangu.
God is so good, God is so good, God is so good he's so good to me.

The other song goes "Jesus is mine He is Lord forever". African songs are very repetitive so you just repeat that verse over and over with variations on the tune or just the ending "He is Lord Forever". And usually you are repeating what someone else sang so theoretically it is just about following along.
"Yesu ni wangu wa uzima wa milele".

OK no problem now sing it fast and in tune. :) Maybe a little easier for the more musically inclined but am loosing in both language and tune. Still now that I have it I am enjoying learning to praise God in a new and fun way. I am falling in love with the African music we have heard and really look forward to this aspect of the trip.

Here are a couple versions I found on YouTube.

Blue and Green and Brown

Have you noticed a theme in my decorating color scheme of late?

Here is my project from this winter when I was brightening up my office:



I am still planing to paint a few more squares around the room and include a few green squares in Jake's area because he thought this was a little too girly for him.

And then there is this inspiration for the summer, again, project not complete but coming along nicely:



So yesterday I am sitting outside enjoying the weather and reading a book I got at a garage sale on simplicity when I take a break and look up and see this:



and this:



and this:



And I think I am starting to understand where I get my inspiration.

Isabelle's Baptism

We had Isabelle baptized Sunday. It has been a journey to reach the decision but one worth taking. We grew up baptist and while we made the decision to help start and be part of an Anglican church about 6 years ago we had not fully come to understand infant baptism when Isabelle was born and instead chose to have her dedicated which our little church was happy to accomodate. But now as Isabelle has grown and our understanding and love of the Anglican church has grown I felt a longing for Isabelle be able to more fully participate in the worship service with us. AKA take communion. Communion was the first thing I came to fall in love with about the liturgical service. To see families go up together and participate in the Lord's Supper. At first it disturbed me because I grew up baptist and children don't take communion until they make a profession of faith. I was watching 2 year olds go up and take communion and wasn't sure how I felt about that. But over the weeks and months I came to see instead the family unit sharing their faith through the Lord's Supper and it became a beautiful thing which brought tears to my eyes for weeks. I don't know if I can fully explain it but I know that was my first love of the Anglican church. As Isabelle grew and watched us take communion every week she began to reach out to do it too and we would hold her back knowing she shouldn't participate because she wasn't baptized. We began asking questions about infant baptism and the idea behind baptizing children. I needed to understand, John needed to understand. I got there before him and waited. Finally this spring I told him I was ready and asked him to pray about what was holding him back. We met with our pastor and afterward John said he was ready. Something had finally clicked in him as well. Now some of you may be dying to hear an explanation of infant baptism here but you will not get it. I understand it for myself but am not ready to stand as any sort of expert on the subject. Sorry.

Today was the day. We were to read a scripture we chose for her life. We chose PS 89:1-2, "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself." I chose this as I think about her love of music and deep awareness of it that Jake never had. I can imagine her singing "of the Lord's great love forever". My mom caught John reading the last part.



Isabelle loves a stage and was constantly grabbing the microphone. Turns out it had no batteries. John figured this out quickly and let her go with it.

After quite a bit of excitement when we first told her about it she suddenly was telling me this week that she was afraid to get baptized and so I really had no idea how she would react or if she might even be up there yelling that she didn't want to be baptized which I didn't think would go over very big with our still baptist parents. :) Luckily when the time came God was there with her and she was excited and peaceful. Of course the memory on my camera quickly filled up with the above video so there is no actual picture of the event. Luckily Lauren, Isabelle's birthmom did bring her camera as well (since neither of the grandparents did) and she took a few more pictures for us. She videoed the actual baptism but I don't know how to save it to my computer off facebook. Anyone?







I am sure you are all noting our mother/daughter outfits courtesy of sewing day with Grandma. We got many compliments.