Helping out at Okontoe- That's Joshua and Boston up on top of the truck (to keep them away from the chainsaw, good thinking Daddies!) and our friend John (Boston's Daddy).
Friday, 24 April 2009
Northwoodsy Pictures
Helping out at Okontoe- That's Joshua and Boston up on top of the truck (to keep them away from the chainsaw, good thinking Daddies!) and our friend John (Boston's Daddy).
Friday, 17 April 2009
Exciting News About Celiac Disease
A group of scientists are working on a vaccination of sorts to end the gluten free diet for people with Celiac Disease. Check out this article here.
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Thoughts from Andrew Peterson
"He came Back
After that brutal Friday, and that long quiet Saturday, he came back.
And that one intake of breath in the tomb changes everything. It changes the very reason I drew breath today and the way I move about in this world because I believe he's coming back again. The world has gone on for more than two millennia since Jesus' feet tread the earth he made. What would they have said back then if someone had told them that some two thousand years later we'd still be waiting? They would've thought back to that long Saturday and said, 'Two thousand years will seem like a breath to you when you finally lay your crown at his feet. We don't even remember what we were doing on that Saturday, but let me tell you about Sunday morning.
Now that was something.'
These many years of waiting will only be a sentence in the story. This long day will come to an end, and I believe it will end in glory, when we will shine like suns and stride the green hills with those we love and the One who loves. We will look with our new eyes and speak with our new tongues and turn to each other and say, 'Do you remember the waiting? The long years, the bitter pain, the gnawing doubt, the relentless ache?' And like Mary at the tomb, we will say, 'I remember only the light, and the voice calling my name, and the overwhelming joy that the waiting was finally over.'
The stone will be rolled away for each of us.
May we wait with faithful hearts.
-AP
After that brutal Friday, and that long quiet Saturday, he came back.
And that one intake of breath in the tomb changes everything. It changes the very reason I drew breath today and the way I move about in this world because I believe he's coming back again. The world has gone on for more than two millennia since Jesus' feet tread the earth he made. What would they have said back then if someone had told them that some two thousand years later we'd still be waiting? They would've thought back to that long Saturday and said, 'Two thousand years will seem like a breath to you when you finally lay your crown at his feet. We don't even remember what we were doing on that Saturday, but let me tell you about Sunday morning.
Now that was something.'
These many years of waiting will only be a sentence in the story. This long day will come to an end, and I believe it will end in glory, when we will shine like suns and stride the green hills with those we love and the One who loves. We will look with our new eyes and speak with our new tongues and turn to each other and say, 'Do you remember the waiting? The long years, the bitter pain, the gnawing doubt, the relentless ache?' And like Mary at the tomb, we will say, 'I remember only the light, and the voice calling my name, and the overwhelming joy that the waiting was finally over.'
The stone will be rolled away for each of us.
May we wait with faithful hearts.
-AP
Monday, 6 April 2009
Some Updates on the Kids
Joshua: He still loves Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder, Diego and Dora. He doesn't seem to mind Elmo either. Tinkertoys are a new favorite. He and Daddy build lots of different things with Rachel assisting. Being outside is also a favorite now that it's mostly above freezing temps. Puddle jumping, climbing the piles of melting snow, eating the melting snow, shoveling the melting snow just to name a few of the activities. Asking questions is a large part of his conversation. Questions about anything and almost everything, including Jesus and heaven. Joshua certainly makes us think sometimes! Right now we are going through the creation story. We read it everyday (the first three ch. of Genesis) in a children's Bible. Both the kids love it.
Rachel: She's gained three pounds in the last few months, eats a lot whenever it's mealtime, and is now a size 2T (finally!). She throws occasional tantrums everyday, but it's more because she's a stubborn two year old and less out of exhaustion. Rachel's favorite right now is Elmo (Lord, please help me), dresses, and going on "woks". Going on a "wok" simply means strolling into the laundry room, putting on her toque, and proclaiming "wok? wok? wok!" regardless of the time of day or evening. Her vocabulary is slowly expanding. I'm finally understanding most of her sounds, which is a relief. Some of her expressions are: "No way!" and "Oh boy!" Rachel also has a strong sense of independence, which Mommy loves. It must come from being the second child. She has all of her teeth except her two-year molars (4), and the top two canine (corner) teeth. Potty training is still casual, it seems to be more encouraging that way (for mom).
Grape Nut: Yes there is an update on Grape Nut. All good stuff. (whew!) Grape Nut is growing, kicking, punching, bouncing, dancing, you get the idea. The due date is still June 13th (10 weeks to go!) and I hope that we make it that far. Braxton Hicks contractions (false contractions) are a common thing now and is quite scary for me. (I have a history of pre-term labor) I am trying to take it slow, asking for help, and not lifting too much. Joel is a great help and helps me be cautious. Joel and I will not be naming this baby before the baby is born, just in case the baby is a boy! The ultrasound report wasn't 100% sure. We've decided not to induce but to let things go naturally. Please pray for a healthy, full-term baby.
Rachel: She's gained three pounds in the last few months, eats a lot whenever it's mealtime, and is now a size 2T (finally!). She throws occasional tantrums everyday, but it's more because she's a stubborn two year old and less out of exhaustion. Rachel's favorite right now is Elmo (Lord, please help me), dresses, and going on "woks". Going on a "wok" simply means strolling into the laundry room, putting on her toque, and proclaiming "wok? wok? wok!" regardless of the time of day or evening. Her vocabulary is slowly expanding. I'm finally understanding most of her sounds, which is a relief. Some of her expressions are: "No way!" and "Oh boy!" Rachel also has a strong sense of independence, which Mommy loves. It must come from being the second child. She has all of her teeth except her two-year molars (4), and the top two canine (corner) teeth. Potty training is still casual, it seems to be more encouraging that way (for mom).
Grape Nut: Yes there is an update on Grape Nut. All good stuff. (whew!) Grape Nut is growing, kicking, punching, bouncing, dancing, you get the idea. The due date is still June 13th (10 weeks to go!) and I hope that we make it that far. Braxton Hicks contractions (false contractions) are a common thing now and is quite scary for me. (I have a history of pre-term labor) I am trying to take it slow, asking for help, and not lifting too much. Joel is a great help and helps me be cautious. Joel and I will not be naming this baby before the baby is born, just in case the baby is a boy! The ultrasound report wasn't 100% sure. We've decided not to induce but to let things go naturally. Please pray for a healthy, full-term baby.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
I'm Gonna Miss Winter (don't shoot!) - Joel
I don't mean this in anyway as a response to my dear wife's longing for spring.
We got 16 inches of snow on Wed but I don't mind - spring is still coming.
I was standing on a finger of Gunflint Lake on Friday, the Narrows, looking down past the open water where the Canadian border runs through from Magnetic. The distant eastern end of the lake faded into the winter fog as I stood and enjoyed the stillness and thought, "I'm going to miss this." Gunflint lake in the winter, on an overcast day takes me back to the Rockies, specifically Lake Abraham in Alberta where I've spent a lot of time back-packing. I imagine steep mountains rising from the shores of the Gunflint, towering over the surrounding hills and it feels like home. We are working on a project at the Narrows where the road is partially a cross-country ski-trail. So we either walk across that part of the lake from another project we've just finished, or snowmobile down the lake, up a steep hill and along a narrow trail. I've spent a good deal of time in the last few weeks riding an Otter sled piled with lumber and building materials, bouncing along behind a snowmobile. (Laughing at how ridiculous it all was while hanging on for dear life!)
Friday morning as I walked up to our tracks from the previous day I saw large deer tracks and wolf tracks intermingling with our own. A couple months ago we noticed a deer kill out in the middle of Gunflint. Two wolves were walking away from the kill, in different directions. They seemed unsure of what to do next, glancing over their shoulders. Eventually, the healthier looking of the two, decides to return to the deer. He turns at about 500 feet away and charges back at a full run. His only remaining contestants for the kill, a cloud of ravens went scattering. Then the ravens and the wolf together settle down for a meal and we go to work.
I think of one of our early morning drives up the Gunflint Trail when there was heavy frost on the trees and the sky was overcast. You could have sworn the world was only black and white if it weren't for road signs and an occasional glimpse of the yellow lines. We were just coming through an area that had been burned by the Ham Lake fire of 2007 when we saw a large dark animal in the middle of the road. The moose fit right into this black and white morning in a beautiful way. She relunctantly stepped off the road into the snow and stopped to strike a pose against the open meadow and the distant hills shrouded in snow and fog.
Moving back down the Trail in my memories of winter beauty we get to the hill overlooking our town on Lake Superior. Usually the lake temperatures don't drop enough to freeze until about this time of year, April. And then it only has a skim of ice for a few days as the air temps warm up. But this year the lake was frozen for as far as the eye could see (all you can see is water - if you think you see Michigan people tell you your dreaming) for most of February and March. Only on windy days did the ice break up. But the best part of this was driving up the hill as the sun came up over the lake somewhere over in Ontario. I can't describe how neat those sunrises were.
A few weeks ago Joshua, Rachel and I went to go throw rocks in the harbor because it was warming up. Instead we ended up throwing rocks on the harbor as it was covered in a glass-like sheet of ice. It made a good rock-skipper out of anyone. The rocks I threw went spinning on seemingly forever making funny spinning noises, and jumping over irregularities in the ice. That was neat too.
These have been some of my favorite moments of this winter. I like all the beauty God has instilled in the season. And the joy of spring time and hope of resurrection that follows. Thats all.
We got 16 inches of snow on Wed but I don't mind - spring is still coming.
I was standing on a finger of Gunflint Lake on Friday, the Narrows, looking down past the open water where the Canadian border runs through from Magnetic. The distant eastern end of the lake faded into the winter fog as I stood and enjoyed the stillness and thought, "I'm going to miss this." Gunflint lake in the winter, on an overcast day takes me back to the Rockies, specifically Lake Abraham in Alberta where I've spent a lot of time back-packing. I imagine steep mountains rising from the shores of the Gunflint, towering over the surrounding hills and it feels like home. We are working on a project at the Narrows where the road is partially a cross-country ski-trail. So we either walk across that part of the lake from another project we've just finished, or snowmobile down the lake, up a steep hill and along a narrow trail. I've spent a good deal of time in the last few weeks riding an Otter sled piled with lumber and building materials, bouncing along behind a snowmobile. (Laughing at how ridiculous it all was while hanging on for dear life!)
Friday morning as I walked up to our tracks from the previous day I saw large deer tracks and wolf tracks intermingling with our own. A couple months ago we noticed a deer kill out in the middle of Gunflint. Two wolves were walking away from the kill, in different directions. They seemed unsure of what to do next, glancing over their shoulders. Eventually, the healthier looking of the two, decides to return to the deer. He turns at about 500 feet away and charges back at a full run. His only remaining contestants for the kill, a cloud of ravens went scattering. Then the ravens and the wolf together settle down for a meal and we go to work.
I think of one of our early morning drives up the Gunflint Trail when there was heavy frost on the trees and the sky was overcast. You could have sworn the world was only black and white if it weren't for road signs and an occasional glimpse of the yellow lines. We were just coming through an area that had been burned by the Ham Lake fire of 2007 when we saw a large dark animal in the middle of the road. The moose fit right into this black and white morning in a beautiful way. She relunctantly stepped off the road into the snow and stopped to strike a pose against the open meadow and the distant hills shrouded in snow and fog.
Moving back down the Trail in my memories of winter beauty we get to the hill overlooking our town on Lake Superior. Usually the lake temperatures don't drop enough to freeze until about this time of year, April. And then it only has a skim of ice for a few days as the air temps warm up. But this year the lake was frozen for as far as the eye could see (all you can see is water - if you think you see Michigan people tell you your dreaming) for most of February and March. Only on windy days did the ice break up. But the best part of this was driving up the hill as the sun came up over the lake somewhere over in Ontario. I can't describe how neat those sunrises were.
A few weeks ago Joshua, Rachel and I went to go throw rocks in the harbor because it was warming up. Instead we ended up throwing rocks on the harbor as it was covered in a glass-like sheet of ice. It made a good rock-skipper out of anyone. The rocks I threw went spinning on seemingly forever making funny spinning noises, and jumping over irregularities in the ice. That was neat too.
These have been some of my favorite moments of this winter. I like all the beauty God has instilled in the season. And the joy of spring time and hope of resurrection that follows. Thats all.
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