Thanks To My Husband...

...here is a glimpse of some of our experiences over the last two weeks.


Allika, at the zoo with her friends, Skyelynn and Morgan


Sitting on a turtle






An Easter egg hunt in our backyard with Allika, Tea, Avery, Joy, and Kenny


First day of school


Trip to Duluth: Allika, throwing rocks into Lake Superior






Allika and Van at Lake Superior


Allika, chasing sea gulls


View from Enger Tower


Enger Tower


Climbing down from Enger Tower


View from the ledge


Silly People


Allika, at her first Art Fair...can you tell she didn't want her picture taken?


Allika, in front of her locker








Allika, having fun at her school playground

The Boat

A little channel ran behind the cabin my parents rented. It was wide enough to fit two good-sized boats passing each other. It had plenty of room to take the paddle boat, kayak, and row boat and putter around a little. There were lots of little fish the kids loved catching off the dock. They even got in the boat and tried to catch a few while paddling around.

As you floated up and down the channel, there were certain areas where you would catch a whiff of something dead sometimes. Once, we saw a dead duck just floating in the water bottoms up. The water was dirty and shallow, and we even disposed of a fish head in there, so we could enjoy seeing its beady eyes staring up at us every now and then.

In spite of the fact that this little channel was no Hawaiian beach, we all enjoyed ourselves nestled in our quiet cabin overlooking this functional and adequate little waterway. I had several thoughtful moments sitting at the dock with my legs dangling over the edge, watching the water and observing nature around me.

But the time came when my husband and I got in a boat and slowly (very slowly) began to make our way down the channel. We passed beautiful summer cottages along the way and drooled over the various water toys tied to the docks. We noticed the trees, stretching their lush, green branches over the bank. We felt the breeze in our faces, and laughed at our inept attempt at boating.

We looked ahead and saw that the channel was coming to an end, but the bushes and trees were blocking our view of what would come next. As we rounded the corner and went through the opening in the greenery, we just sat there in awed silence. We were on a beautiful lake, filled with see-through water, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The sky was brilliant blue above the green mountains, and the water stretched for miles and miles. The sun was setting, and we quit paddling and let our boat just rock back and forth as we sat and took in the picture God had painted for us.

As I thought about the stark contrast between the channel and the lake, I began to realize that life is a lot like that. We are content to sit on the dock of our tiny, little waterway and watch our small world go by. We think we are where we want to be because we are having so much fun playing in our dirty water.

Yet, God has so much more he wants us to experience. He knows what our lives are supposed to look like, and he wants to show us true beauty if we would let him. We cannot see it yet because we are too content in our dirty water. If we would trust him, get in the boat, and let him take us for a ride, we would come around that bend and never be content with the channel again.

Wonderfullest is a Word

I just got back from the most wonderfullest vacation with my family. It was so nice to get away for a while and pretend like I didn't have any responsibility. I got to spend time with my parents, two of my sisters, and my husband and daughter. I also got to see several friends who I grew up with and haven't seen for a long time.

My parents rented a cabin on the lake, so we spent a lot of time playing games, eating, visiting, and relaxing in the cabin. The kids loved swimming, fishing, going out on the lake in various boats, and lighting fireworks. I realized how citified my daughter had become when she saw lightning bugs for the first time at 6-years-old. I am horrified at the thought.

I said goodbye to my grandmother for the last time on this trip. It was really sad seeing her and knowing it would be the last time. I kept saying goodbye and going back and saying goodbye again. I finally had to tell myself that at some point I would have to just walk away and be done. She is the sweetest, most positive woman. Even in her state of dementia she maintains her class. When my mom asked her if she remembered my husband, she very sweetly said, "I regret to say that I don't." When he asked her if she had very many visitors, she said, "Oh, just loads of them. Piled high to the ceiling." At an earlier time, when my dad asked her how she was feeling, she said, "I'm getting better and better every day," even though she is terminal with leukemia. What a beautiful lady. What a beautiful legacy.

We decided to leave my daughter with her Grandma and Grandpa for two weeks until my mom and sister come out for a visit. I will be having surgery in the next two weeks, so we thought it would work out well to have her stay. I left my mom with strict instructions on how to take care of a child. I don't know if I will be able to handle this. It's only been one day, and I already miss her something fierce. It was harder on me leaving her than it was on her. She kept insisting that she wanted to stay. I kept trying to make sure she understood exactly what it would mean. I informed her that I would be having surgery while she was at Grandma's (she had told me to make sure she knew when my surgery was). I told her several times because I thought she might not understand. Finally, she said, "Mom, why do you keep saying surgery? Surgery, surgery, surgery, surgery, surgery, surgery, surgery!!!" I laughed and said it was because she had asked me to make sure she knew when it was. She said, "Well, you only had to tell me once." She is just the neatest little kid in the whole world.

So, keep me in your prayers. They will be doing the first surgery on June 26th. Thanks for all your prayers and support. I came home to some very, very sweet cards in the mail. That was so nice. God is so good to me through you.