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

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)

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)

We did it!

isn't she so cute?!

This is our new puppy!!! For those of you who voted in the poll on the right column, it was 9 days from our full-time arrival that we got a dog :) We have wanted a dog for the longest time - we both grew up with them and couldn't wait until we were out of our 1-bedroom apartment that didn't allow pets. So late last week, our boss yelled out the office about a classified ad that was in the local paper that day. Someone was selling a 6 month golden retreiver puppy b/c they didn't have enough time to care for her. We called, went and met her Monday, and brought her home Tuesday (yesterday)!!

I took her straight to the vet for her puppy booster shot, and she weighed in at 56 pounds! She's gonna be a big dawg! We'll bring her back to the vet for her rabies and spaying in about 3 weeks, and see what she weighs then :) Tomorrow we are going into Minot (the nearest big city) to buy a bed, a cute leash (and a strong one. She snapped hers right off yesterday!), and some fun toys. And a pumpkin spice latte for me, because it's my favorite and i wait all year for them to come out!

And to answer the big question... her name. It was Teya, and we wanted to keep the "ah" sound at the end. We also wanted to use a Norwegian name. So we came across Nysse - as in the Scandinavian Christmas elf! They cause mischeif, and you're supposed to leave them treats (like rice pudding) to appease them. When your new city throws the annual Dickens' Festival and the town turns into a Christmas fest, Nysse is a perfect name. And then of course she needed a middle name, so...

...welcome Nysse Britt - the newest member of Team Rendell!!

Anna <><
(and Jared & Nysse!)