the whirlwind...

Greetings friends...

You see, there is a double digit number of times in the past few months I have said to Anna, "Heck yeah I'll update our Team Rendell blog. No problem." Well, ambition, meet procrastination.  Clearly, I excel more in the latter.  I'll tell you more someday later...

Anyway, life for Team Rendell in these past few months has met every mental picture you may be having reading the title of this blog.  Other descriptors may include hurricane, F5 tornadic activity, pandilerium, etc.

The last you hear from this lifeblog of ours, it was April, we were at camp in our little house, working hard preparing for the summer ahead.  Things. have. changed.  Buckle up.

Around that time in our hearts we had begun to ask ourselves, as it is good to do, as a year on the prairie in ND was approaching, how we felt about where we were in things like life, job, family, etc.  This exploration brought us a few places. One, we were happy, Anna, Nysse, and I, being together as a family.  We could look at each other and laugh and smile and cry/whimper and know it was all going to be ok.  Two, we had some deep desires....

We had begun to believe that, while we loved so many things about life at camp, there were other things that we wanted as well.  The heart of that was the need to lay down roots.  We had felt like we had been in transition for much of our life and it was time to plant for a while at least.  As we prayed, we realized where we were was not the place to lay down those roots. We began to realize God may be leading us somewhere else.  This lingered in our head and hearts as we still dove completely in to preparing for the summer at camp, staff arrival, campers and parents, games and music, and learing about Jesus.  What a ride it was in May as training began with summer staff joining the year-rounders.  They were and are so talented; such a dynamic, wonderful group of people.

So, its mid-May.  Anna and my mom headed down the the Twin Cities MN to go to a James Taylor and Carol King concert.  They had an incredibly good time.  Anna was in a wedding that weekend so I came down Thursday evening.  On Friday morning, before the weekend festivities began, Anna gives me a box.  It was the prettiest pink box I ever did see.  Inside the box a stick that said one word, THE word, the word we had been waiting for for at least a year and a half....Pregnant.  I remember two things, screaming and tackling.  We have never felt such joy.  We had wanted to have a baby for so long.  Anna's whole life goal had switched from anything she ever thought.  She would love to be a stay-at-home mom. I couldn't wait to be a dad.  Our excitement was simply not containable.  So, we told our families and tried to keep a lid on it from the rest of the world for a while.

At the wedding that weekend, Anna introduced me to a new friend of hers.  This girl was the roommate of the sister of the friend that was getting married.  Follow that?  During that bachelorette party they had begun talking about this faith based financial services organization headquartered in the Twin Cities where this girl worked.  Anna mentioned that I had been thinking about that company as a place I would really like to work if God was bringing us back near the Minneapolis area, closer to family and friends. At the reception while everyone was hitting the dancefloor, I am sitting there talking with this girl about potential opportunities at a Fortune 500 financial company...nerd.  By the following Friday she had given her boss my name, I had sent in an application.  By the next Friday was on the phone for my first interview.  The next Wednesday I headed to an office for a teleconferencing second interview.  The following Monday I was offered the job, a new pilot program with a goal to help 1 million people worry less about money every day.  Cool huh.  We decided to take it.  The kicker, the job started July 19th , 3 weeks from the offer and smack in the middle of a summer camp program.

God leads and we follow.  It should be as simple as that.

It was hard to hold in the news of the pregnancy and after an 8 week checkup the doctor had proclaimed, "Oh yeah, you are definately 8 weeks pregnant." So we told the world via mouth, phone, and of course, facebook.  And twitter.  Information flows so quickly its incredibly, this matters later.  So we had two sets of news to share.  One that we were going to have a baby.  Then a week later, that we were leaving camp and moving to MN for this great new job and to be closer to our fam and friends.  Tears...

Over the 4th we stayed at camp and had our last major duty, hosting a family reunion.  We spent time with them as well as the process of preparing job things for the next person.  We also slowly began to pack a box or two.  Anna's mom came up to be with us over the 4th and good thing she did for a number of reasons.  We didn't have to miss fireworks, good thing to because I am pretty sure there would have been a two woman riot if we did.  These ladies LOVE fireworks.  It was also nice to have a mom there when we went to the doctor that week to check on some light bleeding Anna had been having for a few days.

So, Tuesday we head in to the clinic.  We were excited because they said they would probably do an ultrasound and we were only a few days away from a 12 week appointment to hear the baby's heartbeat.  Wahoo for early milestones.  Well, the ultrasound was, we'll say, wierd, and inconclusive.  Not a great thing when you are talking about babies and mommies.  Next, blood test.  And questions galore about due date and last cycles and timelines.  After reviewing all of this the doctor comes in and the tone of voice, the facial expressions, and while she used many more words it meant one thing...miscarraige.  We have never felt so much devistation.

Let me interject, it continues to become clear to me that my wife and the strongest, bravest woman ever.

They said there was a small chance she was less far along than we originally thought but for the most part we knew, and we cried our eyes out.  Poor girl had to go get more blood tests done the next Thursday and then had to wait again for a day to hear the official news that the pregnancy hormone numbers had dropped.  We had no idea what was coming.

That night Anna began to bleed a little.  Then she woke up at 5:30 am in a small pool of blood.  Sorry for any quesy but it simply did not stop.  We rushed to the hospital in the small town near camp but headed the hour and a half to the big town where Anna was examined and taken in for D&C surgery late that morning.  For her, she descibed the whole thing as the ultimate slap in the face.  "Not only are you not pregnant but bleeding and having to go through the ordeal of fixing it."  It was hard to see God.

Anna had to lay low for the next days.  Camp pretty much just let her be done with her duties and she left a few days before I did with my mom and then her dad to get her down to the Twin Cities.  I finished, with tons of help from great people at camp, packing up the house and then u-haul to move down.  All of this happened inside of 7 days.  We decided it was a blessings to be moving down to where family both immediate and church could be rock-solid support and it was.

Did you know that 1 in 5 pregnancies are miscarried.  Blew my mind.

You know who was incredible support?  Our internet family.  Astounding how many people could speak words of both sympathy and empathy and lift us up.  We owe online social networking something fierce. Thanks again if some of you are reading this.  Your were a Lifeline, capitalized purposely.

Our surroundings now are a loft in mom-in-laws townhome, mom-in-law, sister-in-law, and two golden retreivers.  We are thankful to have a roof over our heads and food to eat.  Truthfully, we can't wait for those roots to have a house (we are hoping to buy as soon as possible) to plant themselves in.  I have started my job and it is simply incredible.  Anna found a great job too.  Get this, it has regular hours, the unwaivering stipulation in her job hunt and something she hasn't experienced in a long while.

Anna has also been rockin her personal blog "Girl with Blog" more and more in this past year especially and it is taking her places.  She is a really, really talented writer.  This weekend it has taken her to New York City for BlogHer '10.  It is really the largest blogging conference there is with over 2400 women in attendance.  She's attending parties, meeting tons of people, going to sessions, and making new friends.  Of course, all this in a cute pair of shoes.  She was also on a TV this past week for a makeup spot.  How cool!

So, do you see why those descriptors make sense.  I even feel like I forgot stuff. The moral of the story is.  God is still good, people are great too, no matter what.

Sorry if there are typos; Anna is the proofread queen.

With love for the world and the people around us...

Team Rendell

there went april!

Hi friends!
Well, April shot by! We had a busy month out here at team rendell. lots of church visits and retreats, a trip home for Easter, and not a lot of time to blog. spring had finally arrived - or so we thought, until the SNOWcame yesterday! uff da. snow did turn to rain, and today was back in the 60's. i actually even planted potatoes today. so spring may really be upon us. after the snow melted, i found we have tulips in our yard! can't wait until they bloom - i'll post some pictures of spring findings. summer is coming  SO FAST! i will be full-time as of monday, and our summer staff begin arriving in two weeks. i can't believe how quick it seems to be upon us!

nysse started puppy school at petsmart a couple weeks ago! it's been really fun to spend time with 3 other dogs and owners and learn heeling, sit/stay/down, even a little trick! she's learning, but is definitely still a puppy. hey, it's tough to focus when there are 1000 other smells to check out! :)

please keep praying for us - that we would be ready for staff to arrive, that our staff would be unified and joyful, that the kids would keep registering for summer camp, that everyone would be open to what God wants for the summer... the list goes on. let us know how we can pray for you too!

lots of love,
anna, jared & nysse

it's been awhile

oops! guess amidst life happening we let this blog slide. sorry! its been a good month - recruiting is pretty much over, retreats have been going well, and summer's on the way! yesterday was jareds' birthday - happy 27th husby! i spent last week down in the cities for a much needed break to reconnect w/family and friends. we celebrated my grandpas' 89th birthday, we celebrated my little brothers' engagement, and we celebrated being together. we haven't been back to the cities since christmas, so it was a wonderful reunion. then yesterday jared drove down to fargo, and i drove up to fargo, and we had a birthday party for him and his mom. tomorrow we'll caravan back up to camp.

nysse is still the best dog ever. next month she starts puppy school!! i'll take her everymonday night for 8 weeks. i can't wait! there's a dance studio right around the corner with an adult hiphop class right after her puppy school, and a starbucks in the parking lot, so i'll make a night of it. i will be going full time at camp for the summer and i'm really excited about that! i'll be co-summer director (alongside jared), in charge of staff development, and helping in the office - all stuff i probably would have done anyway but now i'll get paid for it! yippee! :) we have been trying to be a little healthier at casa de rendell, so prayers that we would be able to stick to our resolutions and reach our goals would be appreciated!

we miss our family and friends in the cities and fargo area. we think about you and pray for you often. please let us know if there are ever ways we can specifically pray for you! and leave comments on the blog - it's really great to know if people are reading it :)

anna, jared & nysse

one rendell down...

... with a good ol' cold. boo! we have a group of quilters here this weekend for their 10th annual 'frozen fabric frolic' (fun, right?!) but jared and i traded jobs this weekend, so i'm at home computing and he's hosting the group. let me tell you, i. am. bored. and sniffly :) nysse's bored too, poor thing - she's just sacked out. not because she's tired, but because she's so bored. we can't let her run around camp while there are guests here, and there's not much room in our house for her to run. next week we'll go on lots of walks (once i can breathe through my nose again *grin*)

recruiting's done (phew!), so no more traveling for a while. the next few weekends are packed with groups (artistic creations, more quilters, artistic creations again!) not much else to report! hope all's well with you, friends. miss and love you!

anna (jared & nysse too)

the real world is great

tonight we got to go visit our friends! it was so nice. they just had a new baby girl, Hannah Mary, last week! so i got to go all domestic diva and make lots of food for them to store in their freezer. i'm not a mom yet but my guess is that having some meals ready to go would be helpful. plus, it was a great opportunity to fill our freezer too! so after work we bopped into town, picked up a few things at the grocery store (the only place open in town until 8:00pm) and went to bring food to our friends. it was so nice to get out in 'the real world' for a bit! and to see a brand new baby who is SO cute- just a little peanut of a girl!

and now to bed. i woke up this morning totally stuffed up- pretty sure i've got a sinus infection coming on :( so tonight's 'cocktail' includes tylenol congested head and ambien :) so goodnight- ash wednesday blessings friends!

anna <><

valentines getaway 2010!

we have spent so much time on the road in the last month. we knew it was coming, but the toll it took on my body and spirit still surprised me. in the midst of it all, we knew we needed a family getaway. we had planned a weekend in bismarck, but jared booked a surprise for us! he found a lodge outside bismarck and rented it for the weekend. it was a fully restored old farmhouse, just beautiful! we had so much fun - we watched the olympics and some movies, we played games, we ate good food, and just spent fun time together. here are a few pictures:

the house!

the amazing kitchen

husby's "senior pic" :) (shot of foyer and kitchen)

one of 4 bedrooms!

we had a great time. now gearing up for a large group this weekend. they're nervous about food, lodging, etc, so hopefully we'll go over the top to make them comfortable, happy and confident in us and in camp. night friends!
anna, jared & nysse

craziness!

we've been traveling a lot here at team rendell! it's summer staff recruiting time.  so last week we were:

• ND State Univ.
• Mn State Univ. Moorhead
• Concordia College
• Univ. of ND

this coming week, we'll be at:

• Bismarck State College
• U of Mary
• Valley City
• Jamestown

phew! in between (so this weekend) we had a 20 person retreat and a blizzard. phew again! along with the traveling and visiting with staff, we've been to several constituent churches, hosting retreats, and working on summer publications. it's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks.

in other news... we have got a lot of snow! which is fine by me. love it! and our pup loves it. she rolls, jumps, eats, chases, adores the snow! tomorrow we hit the road again for bismarck. pray for safe roads and smooth travels please!
anna, jared & nysse

the long winter

when i left Grace, some friends gave me the laura ingalls wilder book 'the long winter'. let me tell ya, it's here! not that i mind winter - i like it. it's blizzarding up here today, and we've been snowed in for the past couple days. not that i mind that either - yesterday, the power went out which meant no heat. so the three of us snuggled back in bed and watched a movie on the computer! the power returned for the big game (phew!). we were supposed to leave this morning for a curriculum re-write at another bible camp, but with the 50mph wind gusts and blowing snow, we haven't left yet. my ambitious and optimistic husby wants to leave tonight, so we'll see :) the ND DOT road map is entirely red-lined, meaning 'no travel advised'. so again, we'll see how far we get!

in other news... there isn't any :) hope everyone's staying warm! we're sending big bear hugs and loves to you all!
anna, jared & nysse

leave a comment!

i think i fixed them now so that anyone can leave a comment! give it a try please, so i can see if it works? thanks!

in other news:

• nysse was so excited to see us last night! she freaked out and then (and now) all she wants to do is snuggle and be cozy. which works great for me :)
• jared's at meetings today in bismarck, so i'm working upstairs and catching up on emails and dvr'd shows :)
• our laundry hasn't worked in a month. there's a broken pipe or something, so if we try to run the washer water leaks everywhere. bleh. however, it's kind of nice to be able to say, "Oh, guess i can't do laundry today- it's broken. Oh well..." =) so the unpacking and laundry will wait for another day.
• nysse is on twitter! haha. follow her at @nyssethedog =)
• there was a lovely frost today at camp. oh, i love frosted trees!

a few prayer requests:

• haiti. the international justice mission reports that children are more easily trafficked and exploited while there's chaos. so please, please pray.
• discipline. to stick with certain goals and resolutions. to continue growing in God's love with each other. to keep in touch with family and friends.
• guidance. to lead us to new ways to reach out and enter into the community God has placed us in.

love you all.
anna, jared & nysse

... and we're home.

phew! 4 flights, 10+hrs in the car, a rehearsal, a wedding, a 3 year old, a pair of 80 year old grandparents, and other misc family excitement later - we are home.

 

a few highlights from the weekend:

• the wedding dance- we boogied the night away!
• singing at the wedding w/my jared

• our 3yo nephew walking around w/a blanket over his head, saying "oooooo, i'm a scary ghost!"
• swimming w/aforementioned nephew
• walking to starbucks w/husby and reading the NY Times!

• talking laaaaate into the night w/family we rarely get to talk to in person
• coming home to the joyous excitement of our poochie
• also arriving home to a big box from Gooseberry Patch - wheee!! so fun to open!

what a whirlwind! and now, getting ready to go to bed. night friends!
anna, jared & nysse

Team Rendell goes to the big city!

this weekend we're flying out to New York! jared's brother is getting married in albany, so we're all going! he's a groomsman, and we are playing and singing during the ceremony. the whole rendell clan will be there, and we are REALLY excited!

camp life is going well. we had a marvelous Christmas getaway where we visited family and friends in MN and ND, got snowed in a little bit, and ate way too much :) the weather here has been gorgeous - it was over 40 today!! all the snow is melting. we have lots of groups coming to camp, and in a few weeks jared and i will hit the road to go recruiting. i'm really excited about that - we'll visit 10 college campuses and participate in their "camp fairs" to talk with potential summer staff. should be really fun! we're also going to travel to another bible camp in a week to tweak the summer curriculum. we do buy the ELCA curriculum, but as with any pre-packaged item we'll have to work it a little to really make it ours. so we will travel to this other camp and tweak together with many other program directors! i'm excited to keep meeting more camp people from around ND.

nysse is doing well! she still loves playing with her best friend carly, and at 75 pounds now outweighs her. she loves to be outside and run around camp. yesterday though, she proved that she does know where home is. she and carly were chasing camps' site manager (who was on a snowmobile), and they were getting pretty far from camp. nysse decided she'd had enough, turned around and came home to me! it was pretty sweet. she is so smart :)

tonight was a nice night - we had grilled steaks indoors (thanks grandpa, for the indoor grill!), ate fresh green beans, then went to the Malt Shoppe in town for some ice cream! this whole wednesday nights free thing is awesome! :) hope everyone else had a great night too. miss and love you all!
anna <><
(and jared & nysse)

welcome to our little house

merry Christmas! team rendell has hit the road for the holidays. right now we're slightly stuck in MN and hoping to go north tomorrow to celebrate w/jareds' family. weather pending, that's the plan! so for our trips home, we put together a video tour of our little house at camp. we want our family and friends across the country to see where we live! enjoy, and come visit soon!
anna <>< (and jared & nysse)

we'll be home for Christmas!

tomorrow, we pack our car full - gifts, goodies, crafting supplies, a puppy, a weeks worth of clothes and gear, us - and head home. home. to the daytons 8th floor display and candyland. to our church. to our family and friends. to grandpas' house. to skyscrapers and traffic and stores open past 8pm and hustling & bustling and 3-floor malls and familiarity.

 

i can't wait.

life is good here in ND. we have made some friends, our house feels like a home, the stars twinkle brightly every night, and downtown is adorable and has everything we need. but it's not the place i lived for 27 years, you know? so to be able to head HOME for Christmas... it's going to be good. like soul food. again, i can't wait. 

 

team rendell has been working for a long time getting ready for this trip. cookies are baked and packed up. gifts are wrapped (only 2 more to finish tonight!). plans are made back home. we're not packed yet, but we'll get there. in fact, here's tonights list:

•  bathe the dog
• create two more gifts
• wrap said gifts, plus one more
• pack ourselves and puppy's stuff
• load the car
• sleep.

tomorrow jared's preaching at a church just outside of town, and then we'll hit the road!! ahhh, late night eating and shopping, family galore and caribou coffee, here we come!!!!!!
anna<><
(jared & nysse too)

christmas!

Click here to view these pictures larger

a months worth of words

we are still alive. team rendell has not fallen off the face of the earth, we have not lost our ability to type, and we are healthy and not bedridden. we are, however, CRAZY BUSY!!! no excuses though. we'll try to catch you up on our last month here in ND!

the latter part of october was consumed by retreats and camp life. there were scrapbooking retreats, a quilting retreat, a junior high retreat, a synod conference, and more. most significant, however, was the scrapping retreat, during which the retreat goer's blessed anna with a scrapbooking package! i must have received a thousand dollars of scrapping "gear" - paper, stickers, tools, diecuts, embellishments, organizers, glitter, scissors, punches, and tape. since then, i've had a blast creating! i've made a few cards, a calendar, and have big plans for my scrapping future :) this gifting from the retreaters is a tangible example of the appreciation they express for us when we host them here at camp. it's not always easy (we're still new, and sometimes the demands and expectations are high) but it's always fun!

november swept in with beautiful weather- we've maintained 50's through now! pretty amazing for the plains of ND. this month flew past with lots of bustle - another artistic retreat, a huge Scandinavian supper fundraiser at camp, a spot on the bismarck news about the supper, and hosting Dicken's Festival guests at camp. oh, plus jared's family came out to celebrate thanksgiving here with us! nysse the puppy got spayed (she's healing nicely, stiches come out at the end of the week), the house was decorated for fall, and the Christmas lights were put up outside (utilizing that lovely weather!) here are a few pics of fall at camp:

playing in the leaves,

thanksgiving day (nysse hearts turkey!),

just hanging out.

as november draws to a close, we've had fun. this past weekend the Garrison Dicken's Festival kicked off, and team rendell had the opportunity to host one evening. the festival is based around (obviously) the Dicken's classic A Christmas Carol. Garrison gets all decked out, and people travel from all over to walk main street, shop the English market, see the play at the restored theater, hear live entertainment, watch the parade, and have a wonderful time! so we dressed up in costume and walked around for hours, greeting folks and handing out Garrison dollars! and we got to be in the evening lighted parade (think small-scale hollidazzle)! it was one of the best days we've had here in Garrison.

greetings from the Dicken's Festival!

we have just started decorating our little house for Christmas! pics will be up soon. know that as we prepare our house and hearts for Christmas, we think and pray for and miss all of you very much. we're hoping to be in MN around the 21st, and will be there through Christmas, then we'll spend some time in the Fargo area (25/26-28ish). Christmas cards are in the works, so if you don't think we have your current address, please email it to us! likewise, if you don't have our new address, email us and we'll send it your way. sending much love to you all from ND,
anna
& jared and nysse

a note from nysse

dear everybody,
last week was so fun! me and anna and jarey (thats what i call him) went down to apple valley for anna's birthday. we spent the day at the apple orchard! it was sunny and cool and i got to eat apple cores and walk around the orchard - so fun!

i saw punkins...

i went on a tractor hayride...

i even made this little girl stop crying cause i'm so cute!

the week went so fast! i met lots of nice people at church - seems like a great place! i hung out with my aunt ilse (the first family golden retreiver) and tried to play with her, but i don't think she wanted to play. she kept running away from me!  on the way home we went through a drive-thru at  a magical place called starbucks. anna and jarey got treats, and i got one too!! i love starbucks (whipped cream)!

then, when we got back to camp, i played in something new. it was cold and wet and white - anna said it was snow! it was everywhere - all over the ground, the plants, and still falling from the sky! it fell all day today. anna and jarey couldn't believe it was snowing - wonder why? it's been a fun week. thanks for letting me fill you in! i gotta go chew on something now - i ate anna's bunny slipper today, oops!

facelicks and tailwags,

nysse

spring has sprung, fall is fell...

i LOVE fall! those who know me know why, but i'll let you all in. it's because september is a month of new beginnings - new school year, new clothes, new programs, new weather - and i am all about new beginnings. then october, which is even cooler weather, my birthday, turning leaves, and the first holiday since 4th of july - halloween! and i like halloween 'cause i LOVE candy! next is november, which brings vibrant fall colors, or it can bring snow (my fave!!), and a wonderful holiday all about giving thanks and food & family. doesn't get much better than that. and following november is my favorite month of the whole year - december!! i adore Christmas. so to me, fall is beautiful and wonderful and leads up to the most magical time of the year. and let me tell you, fall is here! temperatures have been between 38-60 this week, the shrubs outside our little house are turning yellow, and i've simmered mulled cider on the stovetop. *contented sigh*

so fall is here and time is a-flyin' by here at Team Rendell home base. last weekend, jared and ben (works at camp) installed beautiful new wood flooring in over the absolutely hideous circa 1970 orange-and-yellow plaid linoleum. here are a few shots of the new kitchen:

i even got Nysse to pose for this one :)

we also removed the upper cupboard doors. they cabinets are just plain white right now, and i'd rather look at our pretty dishes and yummy pantry items than plain white chipboard cupboard doors:

so there are projects in the works! right now, pretty much everything's unpacked except for the "pretties" - wall hangings and pretty little things. we started hanging things up last night, and with each item the house feels more like home. Nysse is another project - she's so much fun! we are just smitten with her. a few weeks ago she got her first bath. the dirt literally ran off her, ew!

checking out the tub before the water turns on

       getting soaped up

this one's my fave. "guys, i'm miserable!"

we've decided she'll be a little like me - cute but still campy :) we've got a big weekend coming up - confirmation camp, scrapbooking retreat, and packing for our big birthday trip home! my birthday's next week and we're trekking to the cities to spend time with family and friends. i can't wait!

take care all, we'll post again soon.

anna <><

(&jared & nysse)

A good day equals...

Today was a good day. Some people froze their butts off because it really felt like fall today but this family welcomed it with contentment. Anna was so excited, Nysse knew something was in the air, and I had this really nice calm feeling that God was their and would be for the next feeling, and the next.

Here is the rundown. Early morning to check in with retreaters at camp. Coffee. Breakfast on the couch with my wife plus some lattes of our individual flavor preference. Eventually a meeting with a couple members of the board of directors. A very, very windy drive with a view of whitecaps on the lake that were just ridiculously huge. Coming home to the coziest house ever. Fall decor. Mulling spices in apple cider on the stove. Really good chili right next to that. A crockpot with an apple cherry cake dessert waiting for me to go upstairs and eat it. A really funny dog. A beautiful wife. Insert sigh...now.

PS. The other day we were driving back from town and saw a HUGE moose just hanging out in a wheat field. Crazy.

May God bring you a good day.

jared (and anna)

Upside down

Greeting blogworld,

I just sort of opened up a post not sure what I was going to right about. Then, I looked over my shoulder and for the third time today, the dog is sleeping on her back, leg sprawled out in the air. Upside down. First thing that came to my mind. Apparently is struck a chord because it got me thinking about how there is a bunch of upside down going on right now. Things that were different than expected, or just a different as we expected.

We turned our life upside down to come out here to the middle of North Dakota. My experience of this is nothing compared to my wife's. I have been here before, I grew up going here. Anna, however, is in a total change of everything. I was just feeling appreciative of her tonight. She is with her family in Philly for a cousin's wedding right now. If your lucky, she will write about the craziness of her trip. Wow.

A bunch of our possessions are still upside down in a box in the basement or "craproom" as we dubbed it. It is actually mostly set now. I got to organize a bunch of it these last couple of days and that feels really good. We finally have a camera that works do we will put up pictures soon. We still have little thing and decorations to put up and some painting.

Any brilliant Spirit-led inspiration for painting and decor ideas?

I have officially started farming on Facebook. The prairie is getting to me. Anna started it. I am totally addicted. I will probably have to take a time out from this post to harvest my raspberries...

Time in. Not ready yet.

I guess the point is this. Game on for having some things be upside down. One of our favorite authors is Mike Yaconelli. He wrote this absolutely spectacular book called "Dangerous Wonder" and in it he gives a little shot to Christians who view life as a series of mountains and valleys, ups and downs. He says that his life, and hopefully our lives, look much more like a roller coaster. Twists, turns, inversions, circles, the occasional upset stomach, and so much fun. Our friend singer/songwriter/speaker Peder Eide has planned what his last words will be..."what a ride!"

Amen, and amen.

God's Peace...

jared (and anna)

Blog about the dog... etc.

Our puppy has this uncanny ablility of being very silly, very naughty, and very adorable all at the same time. She is such a joy to have. She is sleeping in the bed for most of the night now with us and I am impressed. I definately did not think she would be doing that yet.

Right now, she is beside me in the office. She started by chewing the face off of a gorilla stuffed animal. Most would stop with that kind of torture but no, not Nysse. She, from the hole in the face, proceeded to unstuff all the cottony bowels of this poor gorilla. I wish I could find the cords to the camera so that I could show a picture. Then, she lays down in her adorable, too much skin on her face, puppy fashion. She's great.

Wifey finally got the chance yesterday to get to the heart of her new job and she LOVED it. Hanging out with a bunch of crazy quilt ladies, meeting the needs, and wants, of people around her (one of her best gifts), being Light to them. How wonderful she did and I wasn't even here. I know that because of the things other people said. More of that the rest of the weekend.

I am sitting here in that spot where there is so much to do that I am almost bored, clueless where to start. Just pick one and go for it I guess.

PS Just had to scold the dog for chewing on the file cabinet. Oy.

jared (and anna)