Sledding!

For Caleb's first Christmas, God gave him a white Christmas here in the north woods.  And we gave him a sled to go with it :)  Today we finally got outside to test it out.

We got him bundled in snow gear, then Eli gave him a speech about how fun it is to play in the snow.

Then Eli took him for a spin around the park behind our house.  We couldn't tell if he was confused, perturbed, completely indifferent, or something in between.

And then, after mulling it over...

it hit him...

sledding is SO MUCH FUN!

We've got a long winter ahead of us, kiddo.  It's a good thing you like your Christmas present :)

Trailing A Little Behind: A Red Flannel Christmas

My Grandma and Grandpa Clark live in Cedar Springs, Michigan, a.k.a Red Flannel Town.  Every October is the Red Flannel Festival in which they crown a Red Flannel Queen and celebrate all things red flannel.  It's a delightful tradition in a delightful little town.  And everywhere you go, there are clear indicators of the town's charming allegiance to the iconic red pajamas.

So naturally, Grandma and Grandpa and all their kids had a pair of red flannels, like most everyone else in Cedar Springs.  This photo is from 1978.

And then, when the grandkids came along, Grandma and Grandpa proudly supplied all of us with our own red flannel pajamas.  This was Christmas 1991.

So when my Grandma and Grandpa gave us Christmas money this year to buy a present for Caleb on their behalf, my first instinct was – you guessed it – red flannel pajamas!  And to top it off, I found these.  Nothing could be more perfect for our moose baby :)  Trailing a little behind indeed!



We celebrated Christmas with the Clarks yesterday and Grandma was pretty excited to see Caleb's new duds.  But I also have to tell you how excited I was for my own Christmas present from my cousin Peter.  He drew my name for Christmas and decided, quite appropriately, to go with a hobbit-themed gift for me.  I could not have been more excited!  In addition to some other amazing hobbit-related items, the jewel of my Christmas bundle was this homemade art piece he crafted of Song of the Lonely Mountain which the dwarves sing at the beginning of their adventures.  It's crazy awesome and incredibly creative.  I love love love it!  Hats off to you, Peter.  May your beard grow ever longer.

Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away ere break of day

To seek the pale enchanted gold.

....

The pines were roaring on the height,

The winds were moaning in the night.

The fire was red, it flaming spread;

The trees like torches blazed with light.





Nativities

Although we don't have a plethora of holiday decorations, it's a joy to pull our nativities out of the Christmas box.  We had the idea several years ago to try collecting a nativity from each country we visited.  These pieces are fun memorabilia from our travels as well as reminders that the Incarnation took place for all people of all nations.  As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, it's beautiful to see how believers in other cultures artistically depict the nativity.  These are some of our favorites:

Cameroon

Guatemala

Bethlehem, West Bank

"The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.'"

Luke 2:10-12

Shiner

Caleb got his first, then second, then third, bruise this week.  He's on a roll.

First he fell over while sitting in the grocery cart at the store.  It was the first time I'd tried putting him in the cart, and he was sitting quite well until I had to step aside and unload the groceries at checkout.  While I wasn't standing right beside him for ten seconds, he fell over and smashed his head against the wire cart, which left a nice mark by his eye.  In the moment of mishap he went from perfectly peachy to woefully weepy and let everyone in the store know about his troubles.

Next, he pulled himself up on a bookshelf at home, then slipped and smashed his face against the shelf as he fell to the floor.  That's what caused the beautiful shiner you see in the picture.  This happened a few days ago, so the bruise was even lovelier before.  Caleb didn't cry about this particular incident, which is ironic since it left the biggest mark.

Lastly, he pulled himself up onto another shelf this morning, and as he turned around to look at me he let go of one hand that was supporting his balance and again smashed his face against the shelf as he tumbled down.  Hence the red line underneath the previous bruise.  I'm not sure what it is about the right side of his face, but that's where all the catastrophes have happened thus far.

When I first saw the shiny shiner on Caleb's right cheek (which was truly black and blue), I swept him into my arms and emotionally held him and kissed his face and whispered sweet Mama love into his ears because it hurt my heart to know he'd been wounded in the Battle of Standing On His Own and I wanted to make it all better.

Eli watched my display of Mama love and said simply and bluntly, "Krista, he's a boy.  He's gonna get a lot more bruises."  Harumph.  I scowled at Eli, but he speaks the truth.  Sigh...

I think he looks like a pirate here.  Arrgh!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

One of the greatest joys of the Christmas season is cutting down the 'ol evergreen tree.  My family always had a real tree growing up and I will settle for no less.  We love love love having a real Christmas tree, and we especially love chopping it down ourselves, which is exactly what we did yesterday.

But not only did we chop it down - we got to hike through the northern woods of Minnesota to find it!

Here's the deal: the National Forest Service sells permits for $5 (yep, $5!) to let you cut down your own Christmas tree in the Superior National Forest.  How amazing is that???  We discovered this gem of an opportunity last year and knew we had to do it again this year with Caleb.  So we pulled out a map of the Forest, threw a saw in the trunk and journeyed even further north to find our blessed evergreen tree.

Then we hiked through a winter wonderland in the silence of the woods, watched the trees sway under the heavy snow on their branches, and listened to our son coo with excitement as he discovered his wintery surroundings.

Bliss.

And then we hauled it home, strung it with lights and ornaments, and voila!  A lovely glow and the scent of pine have enveloped our home.  And Caleb is enamored with the tree, meaning that he excitedly crawls toward it anytime he catches a glimpse of it :)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, thy leaves are so unchanging!

And of course, as we decorated the tree, the final touch was the Afro Angel.  This was an ornament I made in Sunday School as a kid and although my sisters have made fun of it throughout the years, she has survived, and because I'm either too lazy or too nostalgic to get a real Christmas tree angel, this saintly seraph tops our tree every year.

The tree is lit, the carols are playing, and the tiny (or not so tiny) baby is cooing as we rejoice in the baby that came to save the world.  It's Christmastime, and we are eternally grateful for the true reason for the season.

Churning Butter

Caleb discovered his great-great-grandma's butter churn today...

"Ooo, I like this stick.  What should we churn today?"

"Whoops, this churning is slippery business."

 "Uh, a little help here?"

"Seriously, a little help?" 

"There you are, Dad.  I didn't know that churning butter was so precarious...

...and exhausting."

(And then he pulled himself up onto this butter churn in the other corner, and really started churning!)

Gobble Gobble

After spending Thanksgiving Day with the Horns in Minnesota, we got on the road (again!) and traveled to Michigan to spend the weekend with the Clarks.  It was the first time Caleb got to meet everyone in my family, including Great Grandma and Grandpa Clark!  Everyone oohed and ahhed over him.  He showed off his crawling skills and drooled over much of the house :)

with Great Grandma and Grandpa

with cousin Emily

saying hi to my cousin on Skype (she and her husband live in Germany!) 

reading with Aunt Nancy

with Aunt Marilyn, who made this cozy moose blanket for Caleb!

Now we're in Davison and my mom is taking down the Thanksgiving decor to make room for Christmas decor.  The Christmas season is officially upon us!

Lincoln

Who could attempt to tell the story of our 16th president, a story so complex about a man so intricate, even enigmatic, and yet so revered?  Who could attempt to tell this story and succeed?  Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg, and Daniel Day-Lewis.

After months of anticipation, we had the privilege of seeing Lincoln today.  Words can hardly describe how it impacted us.

The masterful screenplay highlighted a particular part of Lincoln's story – the passing of the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery at the tail end of the Civil War – yet made it clear how Lincoln's personal history combined with our country's history could, together, culminate into the present struggle to pass a piece of  legislation that was so controversial that the Union government was nearly as divided as our war-torn country itself.  The task of telling such a story, and telling it well, should seem insurmountable.  Yet Tony Kushner crafted a screenplay that is both brilliant and poignant, and Steven Spielberg visualized and showcased this era of crisis in a way that left us speechless by the end, and Daniel Day-Lewis brought Lincoln to life that we might see this humble leader right before his death.  This is a powerful story, and this film told it well.

While I could write at length why we deeply appreciated this movie, let me say one last thing: we valued its portrayal of Congress at the time.  Although a room full of bickering, sniveling politicians is an irritating sight, it was powerful to witness that amidst the ugliness of politics something good and beautiful and just and necessary could happen: the abolishment of slavery.  Lincoln's work was Kingdom work, and I praise God for raising up this leader during this embattled part of our nation's history.

Saturday Morning

We had a rare Saturday morning together at home.  Eli was home (yay!) and Caleb slept until 7am (double yay!) and we were blessed with some sweet family time.  Caleb relaxed with his Daddy and read his new favorite book, which makes animal sounds and makes him smile and giggle :)

Then Caleb decided to investigate this diaper box.  Currently, this kid loves everything that is not a toy.  He loves water bottles, spatulas, DVD cases, magazines, shoes, boxes, etc.  How do we know this?  Because 1) he shows minimal interest in his actual toys and shows intense interest in non-toy items, and 2) because he CRAWLS to inspect, manhandle, and slobber over anything that looks remotely interesting to him.  That's right.  This kid = early crawler.  Six months old.  We're in trouble.  With a capital T.

Then we played the keyboard, which is one of Caleb's new favorite activities.  He's discovered sound effects and rhythms that I never knew existed on it.  Clever little man :)

I bought this keyboard on Craigslist when we lived in Chicago with the intent of maintaining my music knowledge.  To be honest, I haven't played it as much as I'd hoped, but I'm still so glad we have it.  Here's why: Eli and I desperately want our kids to learn music, but when we move to Africa it will be my responsibility to teach them how to read music since Eli doesn't really know how.  And, as it turns out, keyboards are more transportable than actual pianos.  No, I do not intend to take a keyboard on the plane as we cross the pond, but they can be sent in shipping containers and somehow eventually make it to their final destination in the African bush.  That's how the missionaries we worked with in Cameroon got a keyboard in their house in Africa.  We're hoping to do the same.  It's kind of ironic since I'm not a pianist.  I play the cello way better than I play piano (although I've only played my cello once since moving to Duluth) but learning music is, I think, easiest on the piano because you learn both clefs, you don't have to build up calluses on your fingers, you don't need to worry about tuning once you find the right note, you don't need strong lungs, and so on.

So there you have it.  We have a simple keyboard that we hope to move across the ocean someday so our kids can learn the basics of music from their non-pianist mom in the African bush.  Life is an adventure, is it not?

Send Us!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?"  And I said, "Here I am.  Send me." 

Isaiah 6:8

Thank You, Lord, for encouraging us at the missions conference, and for opening some doors while closing others.  Thank You for Your constant guidance and for keeping us on the path You've called us to: Africa.  Thank You for calling us as a family.  Together we say, "Send us!"

Declare His glory among the nations, 

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

Psalm 96:3

Road Trip (Final Destination)

Part 3: Louisville

We made it!  We drove through the beautiful hills of Kentucky and arrived at the medical missions conference this afternoon.  Eli has already been meeting and networking with people, and I happened to meet another woman who is likewise married to a family doctor and who also has a baby that was born on May 8 this year!  They want to do medical missions long-term overseas so we chatted for awhile and I was blessed by our encounter.  It's good to be here, surrounded by people who love Jesus and love missions.

And Caleb turned 6 months old today!  He's been awesome on this trip and we're incredibly proud of him.  It's fun to be on this adventure together as a family!

Road Trip (Continued)

Part 2: Midwest Tour

Today marks Day 4 and State 4 of our road trip.  We had a smooth ride through Wisconsin on our way to the Windy City and the kiddo was, yet again, an all-star traveler.  And it just so happened that it was time for a lunch break when we got to Black River Falls, home of the orange moose.  This behemoth has been a marker on our trips along I-94 for years.  Eli and I have traversed this highway through Wisconsin innumerable times on our way to Michigan and we always wave to the giant orange moose.  So we thought it fitting that our moose baby meet the moose.

Caleb was just glad to get out of the car and bounce around a bit.  And he decided to take his turn behind the wheel too.

We got into Chicago and my first instinctual thought was, "Good golly, I do not miss this place."  After driving on the peaceful roads of Duluth, the traffic in Chi-town was especially grating.  Despite my intense dislike of Chicago, however, I do love the friends we made there and it was sooooo good to see them!  We saw some friends from our Small Group as well as some dear friends we met in med school.  Our hearts were full and happy after our brief stay.

Then we made our way to Indiana yesterday where some other Small Group friends welcomed us into their home with the best burritos we've ever eaten in our life.  Let me tell you, Eli and I are diehard Chipotle fans, but even Chipotle could not compare.  These particular friends of ours are the most amazing cooks we've ever encountered.  They put time and effort into the art of cooking, and they just love the opportunity to feed people, which is convenient for us since Eli and I love to eat and eat some more.  So we had good food with good friends and we went to bed with our hearts full and happy still.

And today we're on our way to Dayton, Ohio, which isn't on the way to Louisville, but since we're in this neck of the woods we wanted to see one more couple from our Small Group who have the habit of blessing our souls.

And tomorrow: Louisville!

Road Trip!

Part 1: The Farm

"On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again...."  This morning we packed up and headed out on a road trip that will take us through six states.  Our car is loaded with snacks, music, books, and baby toys.  Kentucky, here we come!

We're ultimately headed to Louisville for a medical missions conference.  We're stoked!  This is an annual conference focused solely on medical missions and we are pumped to be among other people who are called on a similar journey as us.  It's rare to find people who are headed overseas to do medical missions, and even more rare to find people who want to do it long-term.  Sometimes it can be lonely on this side of the fence.  But this week, for three days in Louisville, we will converge with hundreds of other people to be mutually encouraged, edified, and challenged as we let God speak to us about what He has for our future in missions.  Some people, like us, are confidant that we're called to do medical missions.  Others are trying to figure out whether they're called to this or not.  Still others want to support medical missions although they maybe aren't going overseas themselves.  The point is this: there will be a very large gathering of people who love Jesus and love medical missions in some fashion, and we get to be a part of it.  We are sooooo excited!

The conference doesn't start until Thursday but we left a few days early so we could make some stops along the way.  Our first stop: The Farm.

Let me tell you about The Farm.  This is a place that is near and dear to our hearts.  This farmhouse, in Cambridge, MN, belonged to Eli's great-grandparents and has stayed in the family ever since.  It's a big 'ol house with lots of space to run around and it's a fabulous place for family gatherings, which is what happened today.  The Horns descended upon The Farm to watch the Vikings game.  Eli was in heaven :)

Eli grew up spending nearly every weekend at The Farm, hanging out with the Horn cousins, and he has innumerable fond memories of the place.  While we were dating, I too grew a special place in my heart for The Farm, mostly because it's not in the city.  Eli would take me there to get out of St. Paul and I loved it.

Eli proposed to me in this barn!  I was completely surprised and it was incredibly romantic and I said yes, which was the best decision I've ever made :)  Sigh... I love this barn.

During our first year of marriage, Eli and I lived at The Farm for 4 months.  It was incredible.  We were both working at a group home and arranged our schedules to work 40 hours in a row (including an 8-hour asleep shift), and then had 5 days off a week!  What does a newlywed couple do with 5 days off a week for 4 months straight?  They go camping, they watch movies late at night and sleep in, they ride the go-kart around The Farm, they go to the local coffee shop and read, they pick apples off the trees in the yard and bake pies, they go bike riding through the country, they enjoy every minute of every day because they know this bliss won't last forever.  And it was, indeed, bliss!

So this is a special place for us, and today was Caleb's first trip to The Farm!  He had a great time exploring and playing with the cousins.  And he loved this trunk.  He was playing with the flaps and feeling the wood, and he stood there like this for a little while.  (He may have fallen over shortly after this picture was taken, but Eli was there to catch him.)  And we learned that this trunk was the very trunk that Caleb's great-great-grandpa brought over on a ship when he immigrated from Hungary.  How cool is that?  Real history.  I looooovvvee history.

So we had a great time on our first stop on the road trip.  Now we're in St. Paul for the night, and tomorrow: Chicago!

Why You Should Vote for Us

Since we won't be in town on Election Day, we get to vote on Saturday instead.  So, being the dutiful citizens that we are, we just spent the last couple hours online trying to decide who to vote for.  It's one thing to vote for the president of the United States and quite another to vote for the local guy (or gal) who lives down the street.  For one thing, not every state representative in our district even has a website.  It's a bit more difficult to find information on these folks.  And the information is much less comprehensive than what other, more noted politicians have available.

But at least these local folks are honest to boot.  Seriously.

The one state rep from our district who had a website had a video to watch on the homepage.  It had sweet Celtic music playing in the background (which may or may not have garnered our vote right then and there) with a number of slides describing the candidate.  This was one of the slides, I kid you not:

[this candidate]

is NOT the most educated man in Duluth

is NOT perfect, nor will he ever be

is NOT the richest man in town

Now that's pretty darn honest if you ask me!  Of course, the following slides included an endorsing quote from "Duluth Resident" followed by a quote from no one at all (seriously, there was a quote with no citation whatsoever), so it leads us to wonder if the not most educated man in Duluth knows how to cite his own sources.  Still, I like the guy.

At least he wasn't trying to win my vote by impressing me with his log rolling and axe-throwing abilities on a TV commercial (oh wait, that was the guy from Wisconsin, and maybe he would've won my vote if I lived in the Cheese State - the dude does hold two speed climbing titles for climbing log poles after all).

At any rate, we've decided that politics shmolitics are a headache-inducing enterprise, but we're gonna vote, gosh darn it, because we live in this beautifully free country that gives us the right to do so!  

But since we still have a couple days to mull over our voting decisions, who knows?  We may end up writing ourselves into the ballot.  Because we, too, can admit to not being the most educated people in Duluth nor perfect people nor the richest people in town, and if the other guy can get voted in on that premise, then why not us?  Besides, we're two good-looking folks, right?  Nowadays, that's half the battle anyways :)

Vote for Us!