Just ONE guy

One of our family's favorite sayings comes from our nephew, Nixin Rudy, who when he was 3 years old and wanted to do something by himself would emphatically say, "One GUY!!"

Our Honey Crisp apply tree ended up with just ONE guy too.  One apple that is. 

 It started out with 3 apples due to only one branch blossoming this spring.  The wind eventually reduced our produce to ONE. SINGLE. SOLITARY. apple.

I have yet to pick our ONE guy.  I suppose it is to prevent the inevitable quandary of who will get to eat it!  We are all hoping this year is an anomaly and our tree will go back to being the producer it has been in the past.

Remembering

Yesterday I was honored to participate in a balloon release in memory of Joshua.  He is the first born in their family and a big brother to 4 precious sisters.  The sky was painted a vibrant blue with wispy clouds and provided the perfect backdrop for the 18 balloons to float with our heartfelt intentions.

 

 Death Leaves A Heartache No One Can Heal,
Love Leaves A Memory No One Can Steal.
From a memorial headstone in Ireland.

 The balloons all too soon disappeared from sight, but our hearts were full.

Born September 20, 1994 ~ loved and remembered always.

A tiny little note

Early this morning, before school, Kippy came down to my office and handed me a teeny-tiny little folded up note.  It was the size of a postage stamp.  I asked her what it was and she said, very matter-of-factly, "It's my birthday wish list.", and turned around and left. I was rather taken aback and paused for a moment before I opened it up.

But first let me back up a bit. You need to know that our family doesn't do birthday wish lists.  There just hasn't ever been a need.  My thought is "you get what you get and should be grateful about it."  The only exception is we do ask for Wish Lists at Christmas time.  This is because extended family members want some ideas, plus Steve & I are frequently stumped on what to get the girls.  It cracks me up that Kippy has put together this birthday list when her 12th birthday is almost two weeks away.  However, since this year is a friend-birthday-party year (celebrated every other year), we had already made and sent out the invites on Sunday.  We have even put together the decorations and birthday favors for her 8 friends she invited to her "Mustache Bash".  For the record, this is the first birthday party I have ever had a plan together this far in advance - yeah, me!! So, needless to say, Kippy's 12th birthday has been a hot topic of conversation.

I unfolded the tiny little note and was amused by the long, long list Kippy put together.  I love her handwriting and how the list started out with small and reasonable requests and then got CRAZY with the iPOD touch taking over in capitols with emphasis and pleading.  The one that really caught my eye was "Inheritance".  I was completely lost on this one.  Does she want to see our Will? What the heck??  Since Kippy had already left my office after handing me her note, I called out to her.  "What do you mean by Inheritance?"  She yelled back downstairs explaining, "It's the 4th book in the Eragon series."  Oh, good to know.  Now I feel dumb.  I love the last sentence, "Come on, I don't even care if I get it on my birthday." Which is a good thing, because with a list this long, there is room for lots of disappointment.

A beautiful young lady

 Our lives have been inter-twinned with this amazing young lady since moving to Fergus Falls 10 years ago. I first met her mom, Jean, through a church group called La Familia.  As it turned out, Jean and I had a lot in common, which included not only our faith, but a mutual love of running.  Additionally, we live only 3 blocks apart!  Within a few years, Brianna began to come over to babysit for us.  She always wrote the sweetest notes to both of our girls and made them feel so special.

 As time passed, Brianna and Abby became closer friends especially after attending Steubenville Youth Retreat together and now they even work together at DairyLand!  I have always been an admirer of Brianna's strong faith, warm heart and easy smile.  

I can't hardly tell you how excited I was to be asked to take Senior pictures of this amazing young woman!  It was such a privilege and we had a blast spending a few hours taking pictures.  I am reminded again of His plan and Blessing in bringing us together with Brianna and her family

Thank you, Brianna!

The annual "Back to School" post

 In the spirit of "Hurry UP! So I can take your pictures!", I bring you Back to School Fall 2012 in the traditional we.are.almost.late Lindgren-Style.

Angelique (Kippy - "Redbull with legs") headed off to her first day of school and also her last year at Our Lady of Victory. Just saying that outloud makes me yearn for the bouncy days of super-sized crayola crayons and washable markers of years past.  Kippy has Mrs. Jenc as her 6th grade teacher and is part of an intimate class of 8 (5 girls/3 boys).  She is excited to get back to school to be with her friends.

Abby was ready early enough to eat breakfast, so we all consider ourselves very lucky! (Normally, it is breakfast on the go in the vehicle as her dad rushes her to school.) Abby missed seeing her friends over the summer, but isn't too excited about the "work" part of school.  She heads off to the adventure of her Sophomore year.

 The air was noticeably cooler this morning and there were a lot of crunchy leaves scattered around the yard. Fall is fast approaching and there are many activities on the Calendar for both girls:  Pep Band & Dance for Abby; Soccer, Piano & Dance for Angelique.

 I am looking forward to a more peaceful work environment in my home office during the day, and driving the girls to their various events after school.

 Wishing both Abby and Angelique a school year full of fun, friends, memories and great experiences!

10 Years in Fergus Falls

Our family moved to Fergus Fall from Marshall, MN on August 23, 2002 - 10 years ago today.  It was a huge change for us as we had lived in Marshall for 11 years.  Marshall was where Steve & I began our married life together in 1991.  First in a two bedroom apartment on Saratoga Street where we lived for 6 years.  Next, we bought a tiny, sweet little 3 bedroom house on Hill Street, where over the next 5 years our  family expanded to 4. Marshall was the town Steve & I got our first jobs after graduating from Northern State University (Steve at Tholen Auto Sales as a salesman and me at The Manifest Group as an Account Executive).  There were a lot of growing pains, milestones and changes during those years in Marshall.  We developed a wonderful network of friends, who still mean the world to us.  However, after the girls were born in 1997 and 2000, the dynamics shifted and we began to crave living closer to our extended family, who lived 4+ hours away.

When the opportunity came up for Steve to become a counselor at the Fergus Falls High School, we took the leap of faith and moved our family.  We were lucky to have been able to sell our home in Marshall and buy a new for our family in Fergus Falls within 4 very short and hectic weeks.  Abby was 5 years old and we had 1 week to get her enrolled in Kindergarten and we chose Our Lady of Victory School, which was one of the best choices we made for our family.  Angelique was 1 month from 2 years old when we moved, and she doesn't even remember her home town of Marshall!

Now Abby is starting her Sophomore year at Kennedy Secondary School; Angelique is in her last year at OLV as a 6th grader; Steve is teaching Psychology at M-State; I am still employed at USBank where I continue to telecommute from home. There have been so many blessings, changes, ups and downs, twists and turns in our lives since moving to Fergus Falls 10 years ago, but one thing I know for certain - we are exactly where we are supposed to be!


*Interesting fact:  Since we have been married, we have lived in three different locations, but our home on Park Street is the place we have lived the longest of all.

A tale of two camps

Angelique had a fabulous experience back in February when her 5th grade class got to go to Long Lake  Conservation camp in Palisade, MN for 3 days.  Ever since, she begged to be able to go back to Long Lake for their summer camp session.  She selected the Outdoor Explorers camp which ran from July 15-20.  As it turned out, 2 of her fellow classmates (Lexie & Brooke) along with one of her former classmates who had moved away the year before (Tina) had also signed up.

Since this was Angelique's first camp experience, I thought she would want me to help her pack and prepare.  I was wrong.  She was so independent about preparing for camp.  All I did was print the suggested supply list and she went in her room and got prepped.  She had a few items that we needed to go out and specifically purchase (hand sanitizer, bug repellent & sun screen), but everything else she was able to gather herself. (It was very difficult for me to not double check by going through her bags.)

Since the 4 girls had registered together, they were able to stay in the same dorm room.  Steve & I drove 3 of the girls up to camp, while Tina met us there.

Look at how excited these 4 shiny, happy faces are to begin their adventure together!!

We were able to stay for a little while, checking out the facilities, which were very nice.

But all too quickly, Angelique wanted to get rid of us and get to spending time with her peeps.

The girls said good-bye and never once looked back.  Angelique absolutely loved camp!  In fact, she ended up being awarded "Camper of the Week", which was a honor given to 4 of the campers chosen by the staff (2 girls and 2 boys the 2 age groups). In addition to being with her classmates, she also met other kids she became friends with and had some awesome adventures. The description on the camp website turned out to be very accurate:

You'll find life-long friends and life-long memories at Long Lake. Each six-day Explorer session is filled with outdoor activities, games, and enjoying the camp community. Canoeing, archery, bog trekking, Challenge Cooperation Course, and much more are led by enthusiastic counselors and naturalists.

One week later, Angelique attended a 2nd camp (Legionville) which ran from July 29-August 3.  The camp was sponsored by the local American Legion and 3 students from OLV's 5th grade class were selected to attend.  This camp was located north of Brainard on North Long Lake.  The camp was focused on School Safety Patrol Training and was much larger than the first camp Angelique attended.

The girls (Angelique, Brooke & Maia) stayed in a large bunk house and quickly selected upper bunks to stay in.

 

And just like the last camp drop off, the girls were anxious to get rid of Steve and me. Although, this time I was more anxious because we had to leave Angelique with 3 different prescriptions due to a virus she had contracted which caused her to have severe bronchial spasms.

As it turned out, Angelique loved the second camp even more than the first camp.  Hard to believe!  The activities kept the girls very busy and they bonded well with the staff and other campers.

  I'll have to say, I really missed my Kippy-girl.  I swear she grew inches in the time that she was gone and I couldn't get enough squeezes in when she was finally back home.