February 14, 2008 -
Happy Valentine's Day from snowy Minnesota. We've had to endure lots of extremely cold days lately - miserable to go out in such wintry weather. Luckily, we can stay snug and warm in the house most of the time. As usual, I've neglected to update The Nest for far too long...I'll try to fill you in on what we've been doing since July.
We enjoyed the trip to Colorado. It was fun to watch the kids' reactions as we got closer and closer to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. "We're going up there?!" was Allison's incredulous response when we could see the mountains in the distance. We ended up not going to the fireworks at Mount Rushmore because we heard rumors that they weren't going to have them because of dry conditions out in the Black Hills. Turns out they had them after all, but oh well. We went south instead and visited Gary's brother in St. Joseph, Missouri for a couple of days. On the way we stopped at the Omaha Zoo. It was awesome (we've been there lots of times) but we were so hot! We had planned to go to the Kansas City Zoo the next day, but opted out of that and just hung around at Jim's place and helped him with some projects around the house.
The retreat in Colorado was great. It was refreshing to get away and spend time with other pastors and their families in the mountains. We were so surprised and happy to have some friends of ours walk into the lodge after we got settled in - the Andersons were our next door neighbors when we were in seminary in Holland, MI and they turned out to be staying right across the hall from us during the retreat. It's so great to have friends who are also in ministry and can relate to the unique joys and challenges of serving a congregation.
The rest of the summer flew by...we got in some camping and boating at a nearby lake. We had fun most of the time, but the summer ended badly for my waterski loving husband. It's my fault, really. I was skiing and told him I felt like I almost dared to pull my foot out of one ski and try to go slalom. So, he tried it when it was his turn. Hoo boy, that was a mistake. He wiped out big time and pulled the muscles in his left leg. He could barely get in the boat, and then he had to hobble around for a long time after that.
Soon after this injury occured, we left to go on a long vacation out east. I was so nervous about it (since he was hurt), but it worked out fine. We stayed in Toledo, Ohio one night, then went on to Niagara Falls. Someone forgot to bring along the kids' birth certificates, so we couldn't go into Canada. (I had a good cry over that, but then I let it go...) We had fun on the U.S. side. We rode on the Maid of the Mist boat and rode way up by the Horseshoe Falls. Erin and I walked up next to the American Falls and got soaked because the wind was blowing the spray right at us at the top of the trail. Gary's leg was hurting, but the rest of us still had to struggle to keep up with him. I can only imagine how tired we would have been if he had been in good health!
From Niagara Falls we went to see some friends from seminary living in Mohawk, NY. It was fun to see Brian win in a Demolition Derby at their county fair. The six of us stayed with the six of them - it was so gracious of our friends to open their home to us like that! After that it was down to Washington, D.C. for two long days of Metro riding and walking around our nation's capitol. It was so interesting to see the White House, Capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and so much more. We found a McDonald's near the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and frequented that often during our D.C. tour. :-)
Back to Toledo for another night and a visit to their awesome zoo...the baby polar bears were so cute! From there we headed up into Michigan and saw the Ford Museum, Ford Rouge Factory where they build Ford pickup trucks, and Greenfield Village - a walk back into our nation's history with the actual homes and workshops of people like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers. After that we planned to go to the zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan, but storms had gone through the previous day and left many without power, including the zoo. We continued on and stayed with my parents in Twin Lake, Michigan for a few days. The highlight of that time was celebrating my grandpa's 90th birthday. It was so good to see many of my cousins and aunts and uncles.
Right after our trip out east, we came home and got the camper ready for the LifeLight Festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We had an awesome time seeing many great Christian music groups. Erin and Allison and their friend, Jessie, got to go back stage and meet Barlow Girl, Toby Mac, and other great artists. They also watched many of the concerts from the "mosh pit" close to the stage. I saw some of the concerts, but spent a lot of time in the camper with Blake and Dylan, too, since it was very hot outside and I was a little overwhelmed after our busy trip out east. It was nice to relax and regroup before the school year started again after Labor Day.
Well, that's probably enough about our summer. If you're still reading, I'll tell you a little about each of the kids before I close for this month:
Erin (15) - Erin got her driver's permit this fall so now she offers to drive us almost anywhere we want to go. She's doing a great job and is a very good driver. Yesterday we went to Worthington and it was a little icy on the way home. We passed about six cars in the ditch while traveling along the interstate from Worthington to Adrian. I was driving and was a little freaked out by the cars in the ditch so she offered to drive home after we got gas and sub sandwiches in Adrian. I still drove the twenty miles home, but I was very impressed that she had the confidence to offer to drive. (She probably can't wait until she can drive by herself and not have to listen to me offer my driving advice. :-) She's looking forward to being a staff person at camp this summer (helping with two weeks of camp for younger kids in grades 3 to 6) She gets quite a few chances to babysit and is growing into a wonderful young woman.
Allison (13) - Allison finally got some riding lessons this fall and she loved it! She's looking forward to starting again in the spring. This winter she's been involved in a 4H Horse Quiz Bowl team. On Saturday they'll go to an invitational event and see if they're ready for Regionals later in March. The kids are part of teams that answer questions about horses and horsemanship. I go to some of the practices and I'm amazed at all of the things they are learning as they practice. Allison still loves reading and writing, and lately she has enjoyed drawing Manga cartoons (it's a Japanese style of cartoon). I think they're awesome, when I get a glimpse of them. :-) She's kind of private about some of her projects and doesn't always like me looking over her shoulder as she works. She's a very funny girl and she makes us laugh often.
Blake (10) - Blake likes to read more now - he's in the middle of a series of chapter books called Star Wars Jedi Apprentice. Not my favorite genre, but he seems to enjoy them. He likes playing on the computer and he and Dylan also do lots of "pretend games" around the house. I hear them discussing the "rules" of the game as they go around the house, having lots of fun. Legos still cover the floor of his room - he likes to make lots of Lego creations. He's doing a great job with his school work - he even gets most of it done early in the morning now that we told the kids they can't get on the computer until their school work is finished. :-)
Dylan (7) - Dylan is still our bouncy, funny boy. He obeys quite well and is learning more self control, but it's still hard for him at times. We keep working on it. He likes the computer, too, and playing games with Blake. He's reading more and more. He doesn't do too much on his own, but he'll read to me when asked. We've been going swimming once a week lately down in Luverne, MN and he's really improving. I almost don't have to worry about him drowning! (I still stick pretty close, just in case) It's fun to see Dylan asking lots of questions when we read aloud. He'll ask "what does _____ mean?" and then we have to stop for a second and explain another vocabulary word. I don't mind - that's part of how we're learning here at home!
Guess that's about it for now...I'll try to make it back in March to update again so these updates don't have to be a mile long. :-) I'd love to hear from you - whether you're a friend stopping in to see what we've been up to or if you're new to The Nest. Keep our family in your prayers and let us know how we can pray for you. Thanks for visiting!
~Robyn
