Table Talk

Ok, so who is the funnier guy, my dad or my son?

Makin' Cute Stuff for Kiddos!

Ashlee just sent this to me, and I'm hoping to get busy sewing, and I bet some of you all would like to, too! In the past she's also mentioned a need for pillowcases (standard size) sewn from kid-print fabrics.
Also, I'll be seeing Ashlee at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I can deliver them right to her if you don't know her.

From Ashlee:
"My little hospital depends on the work of volunteers to make our kids blankets, laundry & wheelchair bags and we have been in serious short supply of them (laundry bags, specifically) the past few months. Today, when I heard my patients were losing clothes because of this lack of organization, it motivated me to do something. I, unfortunately, don't have a sewing machine, so I'm calling in support - you! The bags are super basic and can be made out of whatever sort of material (they're hardly ever "kid themed" so if you have an old flat sheet covered in roses that you don't use, it will be perfect for this job). They tend to be about the size of a king sized pillow case and some have a very basic draw string at the top (this is helpful, but not necessary). If you are interested in helping out, let me know! I can take them directly to the hospital or you can contact the volunteer office if you'd rather do it that way: Paula Cronquist (Volunteer Services manager)651-229-3937 pcronquist@gillettechildrens.com If you know of anyone else who might be interested in helping, please feel free to pass this along. Please don't feel obligated, I just thought it might be a fun thing that would help out some really cute kids I know :-)"

Last Week in Photos

Henrik fits in the 5-gallon pot! Last year he fit in a pumpkin...

The view of Snow Falls Pocket Wilderness from Buzzard's Point. Ben and I hiked this as a date!

Sunday afternoon playing in the leaves. I took a LOT of photos and couldn't get him to look at the camera.

Ben painting the house. It might be a while before the final unveiling...

Father's Day

Ashlee and my parents visited this past weekend. Despite the crazy hot weather we had a good time. Here are a few pictures Ashlee took:

Pounding on the piano...

Afternoon at the country club. Mmm, okay, the Bryan pool.


At the Chattanooga Lookouts game. It was 97 degrees at 7:15pm when the game started. That's actual degrees, not heat index. Ugh.


Low-country boil for Father's Day lunch.

Northward-Ho!

Well, tomorrow morning we depart for MSP once again-- this time to celebrate Micah's wedding and enjoy some fun times with the Norquist clan. I will be staying up that direction until the following weekend, when Miss Mel gets married in Sioux Falls! Ben is in a wedding down south, but we are very excited for her and Tim, and for Ben's friend Bryce and his soon-to-be-wife Esther. And we are very excited to see our dear family and friends over these next few days!

Things That Go "Bump" in the Night

Soooo... last night when I went out onto our porch in the midst of a roaring thunderstorm to make a phone call (the only area with semi-reliable cell reception), I noticed a branch hanging down from the porch roof. Oh, wait. That is actually a snake. I didn't hang around to make a positive ID on the variety. Don't know if it was a bad snake or a good snake (Okay, are there really good snakes? Don't comment on that.) It was a snake, though. Maybe 2-2 1/2 feet long, an inch and a half around or so? Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. Later in the evening I heard it fall (jump?) off and land on the porch. That was actually a relief, because I didn't want it to climb into our attic and make itself at home or something. Ew, ew, ew. Ben was teaching last evening, so he didn't get to see it. He says that if he finds it in the future, he will weed-whack it if it is a copperhead or the like. Weed-whack it? That is more than I can handle. Personally, I think it might be time to get a shotgun. By the way, this is the second snake that I have had the pleasure to encounter on our property. Ben has yet to make the acquaintance of any at all. Why is that? Not that I want him to see one, or whack one, I just don't want to see them any more! Ew.

Faculty-Award Winner in Our Hearts

We are up in fair St. Paul this weekend to celebrate Ashee's graduation from Bethel and from Nursing School. She has worked so hard and had so much success! It is clear, too, the work God has done in and through her. He is a gentle protector and provider, and has indeed worked things together for good. Yesterday we attended the pinning ceremony (a tradition in the nursing profession since like 830AD or something). I was hoping Ashlee would win the Faculty Award. She didn't. I still think that she should have! I don't need to elaborate on that to the whole world, but you all understand the loyalty and love for your own kin-folk, right? I just can't imagine another living soul who could possibly deserve it more than her. So I have awarded it to her in my own heart. See above. HA!

Afterwards, Ben and I took my grandma out for supper while the rest of the fam attended a banquet. They had dried-up chicken, and we had fabuous Chinese at Pei-Wei. That was Grandma's choice, believe it or not. Afterward, I found out that she has never had Chinese before, so I think that she actually chose it by accident or misunderstanding, but she happily ate her Sweet and Sour Pork anyway, so good for her. We also mined her for family names. It was fun to listen to her remember who is who and related to whom. She even elaborated on how to say some of the names in German, which is pretty neat.

This morning we're up before everybody else since we're working on TN time, so here I am blogging. After everyone else awakes, we will head off to Key's Cafe for breakfast. You might think that the highlight of the weekend for me is the food. That is a highlight, but also it has been fantastic to be with the fam.

Last night we watched video footage from Ashlee's trip to Uganda last January, and our ultrasound video while eatng strawberry sundaes and drnking root bear floats. Food again. Good times. Everyone has felt the baby kick by now, too, which is fabulous!

It's a Boy!

Well, another point for women's intuition. Every woman who ventured a guess (at least, those who told me about it) thought it would be a boy, and sure enough...

Tech: "Now, you want to know what it is?"

Us: "Yeah!"

Tech: "See that? There's no doubt about it. Those are boy parts."

Spring Break Visits and a Button-Popping Solution (Is there a solution to button-popping, or is the solution button-popping?)

So, we have had lots and lots of family fun these past few weeks. Jim, Becky and Anna were here last week and my parents and Ashlee came down this weekend. Both visits were wonderful-- we feel pretty blessed that our families come to visit us "just because!"

Also, my belly is getting round. So far, no non-family members have noticed, but family can tell! I am down to one and a half pairs of pants. The half pair can zip and button, but the metal hooks can't close. They are still wearable, thanks to the button (this is perfect, because having two pairs allows me to alternate washing and wearing). Enfamil suggests that I wear my other pants unzipped and an elastic band around my hips to hide that fact. This seems to be a rather strange suggestion to me. Maybe they sell the bands, and that's why they think this is a good idea.

I will check this theory.

Okay, they don't sell the bands after all, but other companies do. And maybe it isn't such a bad idea.

Here is a Bella-Band photo. Of course the models look cute in their bands. But doesn't it also look like they are wearing maternity pants as well? Those jeans look pretty zipped-up to me. And they are going for the layered tee shirt look. How would the stretchy band-thing look under work dress shirts? Hmmm. Maybe I will try to experiment by altering an old tank top or something.

Thanksgiving

We are in Hudson, enjoying time with family after our Norquist Thanksgiving dinner. Niece Sophia is indeed adorable, and very content and happy. We love her.

Yesterday we spent time with the Harms side, hearing stories from Grandma Harms about the family rabblerousers-- my dad (who once stole a pumpkin?) and grandma's uncle Fred, who owned a nightclub in Hollywood during prohibition, and wrote one letter home to the farm in Illinois which read, "They're after me." A new story to us. Grandma definitely surprises us sometimes.

Tomorrow we head back to Tennessee, certainly full of good family time. Being away from family these past few months really helps one to savor even a short visit like this!

Northward Ho!

This afternoon we will begin our Thanksgiving journey.
We have hummus, pita chips, cupcakes, oranges, apples and almonds to sustain us, and a AAA triptik to guide us (FYI you can get your own, even non-members at AAA.com. Major upgrade from mapquest. Actually, too much of an upgrade if you're just trying to find the opthamologist. Unless you are planning to camp nearby.)
We have Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War as our quite-relevant audio book companion and a backlog of about 2 months worth of periodicals which we've not had time to read.
Our schedule is as follows:
Tuesday 3pm depart Dayton, TN
Tuesday 11 pm arrive Paducah, KY?
Wednesday 3pm arrive Pecatonica, IL to pick up Grandma Harms
Wednesday 5 pm arrive Sun Prairie, WI
Friday, 7 am depart Sun Prairie, WI
Thursday, 11 am arrive Hudson, WI
Saturday, 2pm depart Hudson, WI
Sunday, 7pm arrive Dayton, TN

Yippee! We'll see some of you soon!