Thanksgiving Christmas Invitations and Cheers

Things were a little more complicated this year than most, but we finally know where we are "holiday-wize".

1. This is an open invitation to all the extended family to have Thanksgiving at our house. We won't be offended in the least if you want to do something else. We'd appreciate RSVPs but we won't kick you out if you don't. The only absolute is you can't come unless your bring something to eat that is utterly delicious - and I am the sole arbiter of whether you did it or not!!!!!

2. For us the unknown was Thanksgiving. We always assumed that people could come here Christmas Eve. We don't want to be greedy. If anyone else wants to host Christmas Eve that is fine with us. But for now we're assuming Christmas Eve at our house and anyone else who wishes is welcomed.

Cold, Muddy Waters

I don't know if it's the brown seawater or the foam turning into ice that keeps this beach from becoming a sunbathing hot spot.
Pothole art.

Outward Bound

Looks like we're still online!

After the baptism Jonathan and friends, for the first time, headed off into the wilderness all by themselves. I wasn't there but judging from the photos. . .

It seems to me that they were somewhat obsessed with blood and guts and urine and other

such things. Boys!!!

It was fun to see both Mark and Daniel on Facebook this evening. Mark, that was a sweet video of you and Emery. So I think that makes four of us if including Greg. Wow, aren't we something, getting on Facebook. I guess we from the older generation are the latest generation to get involved in this newer phenomena.

I can write a new post but I'm unable to comment. And, I continue to forget to find out if there is something I can do about it. Any ideas, let us know.

Go Twins!

It's Saturday night. I was busy and missed both games. Just checked the scores. Wow! Tomorrow is the last game of the season, the last game in the Metrodome and the whole season may be decided by 9 innings of play by the Twins and the Tigers. Go Twins!

Baptism

In the summer of 1999 Peter said he wanted to be baptized. A small group of us gathered at our neighbor's lakefront home and did the deed.

This summer Jonathan said he wanted to be baptized. Peter was already off to Kansas and unable to attend, but Jonathan and his good friend Nathan (assembly of god) were baptized at the same place.

I said I thought it cool that so many people from so many different positions could celebrate the boy's intentions despite differences of opinion regarding the ongoing debate regarding meaning and significance that has split families and divided denominations.

We are not the greatest of photographers, and unfortunately this is the best visual document of the event in existence.

Keeping Touch

Sorry, it's been awhile since I posted. It wasn't evident at the time but a lot has happened. Since I don't have the time to post it all now and also since we are woefully diminishing in posts, I choose to chronicle this dizzy summer in a number of posts and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

My last entries mentioned North High School Ultimate frisbee was 3rd in State, and Jonathan's graduation from high school.

This entry will chronicle an event many of you have experienced before me - one of our children left home perhaps forever. Peter, through the help of our friends Peg and Sid Burkey, got a surveying job in Hutchinson Kansas

I scoured our photos to find a good picture to chronicle this momentous event and could find nothing until 2008. This may be the last photo of our family intact.

some more empty nests?

I decided to check in with our two families that may have new empty nests? How are you doing Dan and Jo and Paul and Faith? It sounds like Peter is getting established in Kansas and Jonathan at Gustavus Adolphus. I?Is Tyler working as a youth pastor or is he still in school? I imagine Alyssa and JaNae are also busy studying.

Then there are some of us that are again busier than we expected. I suppose Mark and Lois are enjoying Emery and will be doing some babysitting. Gwyndolyn starts kindergarten tomorrow. Rhiannyn will be home with me.

Ralph and I have been trying to get away together more this summer, alone. We have also had family with us for some camping trips. Ralph and I bought a new camper; pop up with some pull outs. We have enjoyed it so much. Ralph can't carry over his vacation so we decided to get away more before Gwyn started school. It's been good!

Happy end of summer break. Welcome fall, soon.

More Alaska News

The biggest news for the summer was that Heidi, John, and Emery have moved up to Alaska. Here is a photo of Heidi and Emery at the Anchorage airport. Hidalgo the dog flew up also. They arrived on July 16.
Here is the moving van with their car that John and a friend drove up. He arrived on Sunday, July 19. I think they made record time after dropping off Heidi at the airport in Seattle.


They are working with Young Life up here on the Kenai Peninsula. For 3 weeks they stayed at Christoffers house while i worked on the bathroom etc. at the cabin to get it ready to live in.

Alaska news

It's about time to communicate what has been going on this summer! Here are some photos instead of thousands of words. Hope to post some tonight and will add some more over the next days and weeks.

This first one is of the Yukon on the left and Alaska on the right. There is a line cut through the trees to show the border. (An easy way for Americans to get into Canada?) Lois Ann i drove by here on June 13th on our way to Washington.

June 14, Whirlpool rapids on Liard River. Not very good for canoeing.Some forest fires near the Liard Hot Springs.
There were some firefighters at the hot springs. Can you see some rock piles in the background? That is the hottest part of the pool, and we were trying to put some more rocks on the piles.Here is a train photo for Ralph. The trains were squeeling down here all night long it seemed. This is just north of Hope B.C. for you google earth fans. We drove the Subaru and tented most nights. The Alcan is very nice these days, not like 40 years ago. 6-17-09


Here i am trying to sleep with all the trains squeeking way below my feet.Heidi and John took us along as adult guests to Young Life Camp Malibu June 26-July 2. (Happy Birthday Paul.)
It is about 100 miles north of Vancouver. Notice a rapids caused by the tides.
Looking down the fjord we boated up on the way to Malibu.

Here is some real 'young life' at Malibu - Emmitt and Emery. I think he is trying to impress Emery.
Here are a couple of photos of Heidi, Holly, and Emery at the Anacortes 4th of July parade.
Hope she can control that flag!!!
We saw some friends in Spokane and Idaho and then headed north again. Here we are at Lake Louise on my birthday 7/7. A little cooler than we had gotten used to.On July 10th some buffalo north of the Hot Springs.
This is for Dan and Steve. The bridge at Johnson's Crossing. This is a new restaurant building and new owners, but many of the same recipies from the canoe trip days: pasties, and fruit turnovers. 7-10

Switched At Birth

Note: The Imeem box referred to in this post has been removed.

This blogger is great dealing with words and images. It has a ways to go dealing with sounds. There are things I would like you to listen to that I don't know how to post. Here's an attempt to post something Jo and I heard that is unforgettable.

Jo and I listened to a fascinating radio show on Minnesota Public Radio. The show is This American Life where they tell fascinating stories based on themes like "summer camp" or "bad money decisions".

This was a week they devoted to one story - two women who were switched at birth and didn't know about this until they were middle aged. It's utterly fascinating. It brings up issues of what it means to be family - especially when the definition moves beyond blood (as with us),

It also deals with complex issues regarding communication and what we want to say and what we end up saying and what people actually hear and what people think they heard. Both families were committed Christians.

If you are tempted, look to the column at right for a section entitled "switched at birth". Do not click the arrow "play" button. You will only hear a 30 second sample. Look below the title to a highlighted label that begins "#360". Click that and you can hear the show in its entirety.

Cool

So this is what I found this morning. Apparently he wants to mitigate the "creepy" with something a little more "cool".

Creepy

Peter got a surveying job in Kansas and is gone. Jonathan is still at home for a few months.



Jonathan has, for years. edited and controlled the "wallpaper" and "screensaver" on our computer. This morning I found myself staring at this creepy photo.



I'd like to think I'm adept with manipulating photos, but I have no idea how he did this. . .and the more astonishing thing is that he has the inner confidence to let everyone see this!

Happy Birthday, Sailor!

Happy Birthday, Mark. I thought you'd enjoy this picture from a couple years ago...

Alyssa took this picture in front of her house in Northeast Minneapolis (!) recently.

Happy happy belated birthday, Paul

I discovered it had been about a month and a half since I had checked this out. Sorry Paul, as usual I remember birthdays but sometimes I don't act on that. I realized it as we were preparing for a parade. Our church has had opportunity to march for several years in the Columbia Heights Parade. We pass out candy, fliers about our church and have a float with the praise team on it. It's a lot of fun.

I suppose you Roseau Stynsbergers haven't had much grass growing under your feet, either. Wish we could have been there for JaNae. Congratulations again. Had a great time with Jonathan and family celebrating with him at his Open House, yesterday. Those tacos were great.

Ralph and I took a vacation. On our way down to Branson, MO we picked up a new tent camper in IL. We camped on the way down and had a great time taking in a couple of shows. One was called Pierce Arrow a group of male vocalists that sang country and gospel. They have one bass singer that has the record for singing the lowest notes in the world. He is in the Guinness Book of Records.

Hope you had a great birthday, Paul. Are you looking forward to an empty nest or are you getting lonely already? It doesn't always stay empty!

Jose is almost 2!

It's been so long since I've posted! José is almost 2! He likes wearing caps. He's talking, but barely. He loves cars, trucks, and tractors.

We're going to have another party! Please join us if you can make it. We'll do another BBQ potluck. Start around 2pm. Eat at 5pm? (July 4th)

Chickens.
Lambs!
Pigs?
Games.
Hiking.
Fire?
Singing?

If anyone can tell me why there is so much white space between this line and the table, let me know...

The Northern Light

My cousin, Gary Lindman, just sent me a note saying he found the enclosed pamphlet in the Soldotna Bible Chapel Library and he thought I might find it interesting. And suddenly I am whisked away to a long lost era. The Counter Culture was relevent. The Jesus Freaks were in the news. Mark and I were heavily involved in "the movement" As it unfolded in Alaska.



We were the creators of an underground newspaper in Alaska chronicling the counter culture Jesus movement. What Gary sent me was a long lost volume from that paper.






















The front page was drawn by a long lost friend Captain Lee Johnson. The back page was written by me and illustrated by Mark. Wow!

And if any young whippersnapper is thinking the production values are pathetic - I'd like to remind you that we did this long before the age of computers and photocopying machines. We really used typewriters and tried to correct our mistakes with "whiteout" as best we could.

Typical Alaska photos

The volcano was steaming pretty good on this clear day.Some newborn twins walked through the yard.
Emery is pretty excited about dandelions. Way more excited than me.

Regina Spektor

A friend from church handed me an issue of the Smithsonian magazine entitled "37 of America's Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences". She gave it to me because one of the 37 was Sufjan Stevens who I mentioned earlier. Well lo and behold but another of the entries was for another of my favorite new voices - Regina Spektor.

Sufjan wove biblical images and aspects of his faith pilgrimage into his songs. Regina doesn't do anything like that. I just like her melodic voice and the playful way she unfolds the lyric. You can sample her songs in the Imeem box or click the following link for one of my favorite songs. (Ignore the video - shut your eyes and just listen) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGTDRztaCCw

By the way before this I had left Ingrid Michaelson's music there for a few weeks. The main reason I did it was because Amy had included some of Ingrid's songs in her wedding video.

Jonathan Graduates

Jonathan is done and it was a great ending. His track team won the conference championship for the fourth year in a row. Their Ultimate Frizbee team finished third in state. Now he needs to find a job for the summer so he can help pay for his education at Gustavus this fall.

Other than that not much new here. Peter is still looking for a job. A few surveying possibilities emerged but they may not pan out.

Hey Mark, what are the job prospects in Alaska? Either boy, but especially Peter might be willing to take anything that paid a decent wage - given the current economic conditions.