My girls

Thanksgiving in Michigan

Here are a few pictures (a little late) of the time we spent in Michigan celebrating Thanksgiving with Jason's family.

the whole family


Grandpa with Sophi and Morgan

reading with Grandma
Jason's brother, Mark, and his wife, Christi - Jason's parents - Jason's younger brother, Seth, and his fiance, Erin


The cousins - Mark's three kids and our girls

A Visit to Madison

The four of us recently traveled to Madison to visit my brother, Mike. He's attending the University there and will be graduating with a degree in Microbiology in a few weeks, (My brother Aaron also attends UW Madison, and is in his second year studying Computer Engineering.)

Mike lives with his two best friends, Marcus and Bub . . .



. . . in a 1 bedroom apartment. Hence . . . "The Triple Bunk"! (It really is a sight to see, I have to say.)While we were there, we were able to help out with, what has come to be known as, "Free Food". Mike and 10 or so of his friends put together a hot meal (below is Bub with his famous chicken casserole that he makes every week), pair it with whatever donations they can gather (pizzas, day-old bagels, etc.) and head downtown. Every Sunday, no matter the weather, they are there at 4pm to serve anyone who might need a hot meal and someone to talk to. They've been doing this faithfully for a couple of years and have had the chance to meet and serve hundreds of people.

Out for lunch with Mike, his roommate, Marcus, and his girlfriend, Sara.

Mike and Sara also cooked for us while we were there. Here we're eating an African stew that was delicious!


Uncle Aaron with Sophi.Mike and Sara - she's not as dangerous as this picture makes her look. :)


Uncle Mike with Lucy.

Lefse

Being of Norwegian descent, I've been eating lefse all my life. It's a delicious flatbread made mostly of potatoes. My grandmother was the first to teach me how to make it about 15 years ago. Since then , my mom and I try to make it every year. This year, my sister-in-law Wendy, cousin Mary, and Sophi joined us. We had a wonderful afternoon together and each went home that day with our precious little stacks of lefse. :)

The recipe we use comes from my grandma's sister, Mae, who actually worked in Door County making lefse to sell in a tourist shop for many years. She's known as the expert lefse-maker.


Wendy and Mary, mixing the riced potatoes with flour.

Sophi has her own, kid-sized, lefse rolling pin.
My mom, rolling one out.


The aftermath . . .

Telling Better Stories

This is going to be a great chance to share some thoughts about how Christianity fits into our current economic situation.  I'll be talking about the suicide machine of Theocapitalism, life in exile under the empire of consumerism/materialism, living simplicity & generosity... all in a fifteen minute window.  I might have to shorten things up a tad.

I think I am most looking forward to unpacking some destructive views that have been grafted on modern Western Christianity.

You are welcome to join the conversation if you've got nothing going on Friday night (and happen to be in Oskosh)  Did I mention there would be snacks?

A few more Halloween pics with Daddy

Handing out cavities . . . I mean candy . . .
Braving the neighborhood . . .
What has Halloween come to???

Halloween

Just a few photos of the girls in their costumes and pumpkin carving . . .

From the Land - folk art festival

We recently visited a folk art festival nearby called "From the Land". Although it was pretty chilly, we had a wonderful time.


Lucy was dressed appropriately for the weather. :)

There were beekeepers there selling their honey and they had a live beehive encased in glass on display. We had a great science lesson with Sophi. :)

There were also sheep, which Sophi also LOVED!
And kittens . . .
Of course, Sophi wanted to bring one home. They were only $1 (I suspect there may have been some child marketing going on. But we resisted!)
We also stopped in Ripon, WI on the way home. This museum/ little house is located there and claims to be the location of the beginning of the Republican party. Jason insisted on getting a picture. Also worth noting is that Jason had planned on going inside with his mom, but ended up refusing to pay the "overpriced admission fee" of $1. My husband . . .

First Haircut!

One of the fun things we were able to do while Jason's mom was visiting was take Sophi for her first haircut. It's amazing how cutting off just a few inches of baby hair (aka "baby mullet") seemed to instantly transform her into such a grown up little girl! :(

The mullet :) . . .



We brought Baby Bear along for moral support.

All done!
Sophi and Grandma . . .

A Visit from Grandma . . .

Jason's mom recently came by train from Michigan for a visit and Sophi and Jason drove down to Chicago to pick her up. Needless to say, Sophi's first train ride proved to be pretty exciting!


Waiting to board . . .
Sophi and Grandma . . .


Riding an escalator downtown . . .
Grandma and Lucy . . .
Reading with Grandma (note: Jason's mom brought along this book especially for Sophi. Since she's gone back to Michagan, Sophi has refused to let anyone else read it to her. "Just Grandma reads this book!")

More pics . . .

Jason and I babysat by brother's two boys the other night. Sophi and Liam had a great time making necklaces out of some wooden beads I found at a garage sale that day. :)



Sophi and fall leaves . . .a good combination.

My brother Mike's girlfriend, Sara, is an avid knitter and makes just beautiful things. She took on the challenge of knitting her first sweater this year . . . for Lucy! Adorable . . .