Holden Village

At times of transition in life it seems wise to take pause and breathe deep. We were fortunate to do that at Holden Village in Chelan, Washington.After Jedd's last day as Camp Manager at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp we drove to the Holden Village Bed and Breakfast and then took the ferry to Holden. It was a much needed, much anticipated mini-vacation. We were blessed by the warm community there, the evening worship, and the extra care for our girls. We were also blessed to stay as guests of our friend Siri Garnaas. Although it was short, it was restorative. Jedd visited Holden with his family when he was 12 and I went when I was 6 so it was special to return with our girls.

A woman offered the paint the girls' faces. Oh, boy!

Trip Further West Before We Head East

We had a fabulous time with Uncle Mat, Aunt Stephanie and Cousins Claire, Simon and Penny! We enjoyed a trip to the Puget Sound, many morning Top Pot Donut runs, the Seattle Art Museum, celebrating with Stephanie at her graduation party, and Jedd and I got to meet our friend Anya's fiance, Garth.

Sand between the toes will never do.

The Cousin Love is palpable. Thank you, Mat and Stephanie, for a great weekend! xoxo

Mara's Kindergarten Graduation

It's hard to imagine Mara will be a First grader!!! The Kindergartners had a Slide into Summer graduation ceremony in which their teacher announced their name and then they went down the slide in pairs. Mara is pictured above with our neighbor, Willow, and on the slide with Natalee.

Home free! (:

Mara has been blessed with some very good friends. She and Lilly have known each other since they were 16 months old and Aubrey is a new friend this year. Both of their moms, Sonja and Cheryl, have been close friends of mine too. I will really miss them!

Audrey, Skyler, Willow, Mara, Natalee, and Macie. All ready with their graduation hats.

Afterwards, Mara suggested we go to the Dairy Queen to celebrate. Jedd and I thought that was a great idea! We are so proud of you, Mara!

These Are The Days

Here's Mara. She decided to pose for the picture. Oh, there is a lot going on inside that 6 year old head of hers. Mara is needing lots of hugs and kisses and I'm treasuring that she wants them and accepts them. (The new readers, Mara and Linnea McCrady, brought books out for their lawn party. Love it.)

This picture captures Sonna in true form. She's giggling at herself and entertaining the rest of us. Her direct quote right before I took this picture was, "I just tooted on the timer!". Hilarious child.

Svea isn't one to throw out smiles real frequently. She typically has a rewarding smile for her Mama, Daddy, and sisters but otherwise it seemed as though she might have been storing up her smiles . . . until now. My sister or my mom pointed out to me that she smiles with her eyes. And it's true. Even if her mouth isn't flashing a smile, her eyes often are. But now, at nearly 8 1/2 months, it seems as though her smiles come more freely. She's always been a super easy going, deliciously content baby, but it sure is fun to see her beautiful smile. Svea's latest trick (which includes full body smiles) is peek-a-boo. She even initiated it yesterday using her changing mat. So fun!

Special News

After much prayer, consideration, and some sleepless nights, we have decided to move back to Minnesota! It will be such a gift to be near our families (parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins), college friends, camp friends, and our old church family. It will be a joyful homecoming in many ways, and at the same time, it is hard to leave Montana. This was Jedd's dream to come to Montana and I was happy for the wonderful opportunity given to us. During the past nearly 5 years, we have experienced a loving community, amazing schools for the girls, mountain adventures, 65 camp counselors who have loved our girls each summer, and two beautiful additions to our family; Sonna and Svea. And there have been some challenges too.
We take this leap of faith knowing we are leaping into a whole lot of love and support from our family. We are excited for this next part of our journey together and we trust that God will continue to take care of us.
My mom took this picture of us on Jedd's birthday, May 24th. It was taken just before we told the girls of our plans to move back to MN but it easily could have been taken just after they heard the news. The girls were thrilled to hear we were moving to MN. They immediately spoke of their excitement to be near grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. I was so relieved that I cried and had to explain to the girls they were tears of joy.
To follow up, a few days later Mara began to feel sad to leave her friends, her school and her house. Bedtimes have been filled with heightened emotions for her. Two nights ago, Mara was calling for me after both Jedd and I had done bedtime with the girls. I didn't come right away because Jedd and I were watching a movie and I didn't have many patience left. Soon Mara cried, "Nobody loves me. You think I'm weird". (Weird had three syllables when she said it). Well, that broke my heart and made me laugh simultaneously AND it got me back in Mara's room. I explained that her dad and I were having some Mommy and Daddy Time. She cried, "I need some Mommy Time". I hugged her and agreed to stay 2 more minutes. Then she exclaimed she was going to run away. Next Sonna cried, "Then I won't have any Sister Time!" Oh, dear. Stay tuned . . .

Svea and her Grandpas

Svea is so blessed to have three grandpas! We have had the opportunity to travel back to MN twice in the last month! The first time all five of us drove back for a special work week at Jedd's parent's farm. Last week, Svea and I flew back for my friend Alecia's wedding. We arrived on Grandpa Paul's birthday and these pictures were taken that day.

We visited Grandpa Lanny in the nursing home in Minneota, MN the week we were at the farm. I love the way he is holding her hand in this picture. We so wish the girls could have known their grandpa when he was whole and healthy.

Svea likes to pull on strings, usually the strings on Jedd's hoodie sweatshirt. Here she is playing tug-o-war with her grandpa's lap belt. She is delighted in him!

We also stopped for a visit with Grandpa Stan Sather in Madison, MN. They were quite taken with each other too. Grandpa Stan's eyes lit up when he saw Jedd!