Andy and I have been given our 2nd sabbatical since being at Cedarly...one month every three years is just amazing. It comes at a good time for us. The spring and summer have been jam packed ~ full of good and productive and fun things, but we are a bit weary and in need of a break. Thru the winter and spring we had some amazing help finishing up the Upper Room project here at Cedarly. It is a beautiful room and several groups are already committed to using the space, some on a regular basis. We are grateful it is finished. We are praying that God will provide the last $4000.00 to dig a well and put in a pump for a water supply (ie bathroom) out there. The dedication was on Sunday, June 22. We would not have been ready if our wonderful small group hadn't helped us clean the garage, the stairwell, and the room with us They also helped with food after the ceremony. We hope to have some pictures up on the blog before long...no, actually after the sabbatical.
Right after the dedication Faith and Avery came, then Aimee, Gary, Sarah and Joel joined them, then the Hagen clan arrived, and then we had the Ekedahls here one afternoon, too. It was a whirlwind of activity and a very good time of good eating, lots of laughs, fun activities, catching up...
The year at Cedarly started out slowly as far as attendance goes, but since Easter we have been full just about every week...and we will be full until at least Thanksgiving. God continues to encourage us as we see Him at work in pastor's (and spouses) hearts and minds. It is truly amazing what He can do in just 5 days. It's a great ride, but a long stretch.
Unfortunately Andy and I haven't had a lot of time or energy to prepare for this sabbatical. We have some good ideas ~ where to go, things to talk about, books to read together, ideas to consider ~ so that is a start. We'll head out and go for 10-12 days on our sailboat, the WHITE IRIS. We hope to go across the pond from Manitowoc, WI to Manistee, MI. It takes a full day ~ about 65 miles. We are trusting God that the winds and the waves will co-operate. From there we will head north along the coast to the small fishing villages of Frankfort, Leland, Northport and possibly Charlevoix.
Then we plan to take a road trip, ultimately ending up in Colorado just after the arrival of Baby J. Joel is going to take a few days off from work when the baby arrives so they can enjoy some special time bonding as a new family together. So, we will take off, traveling thru southern Minnesota, across South Dakota, and around Wyoming, enjoying the natural wonders along the way. When we get the word that Baby J has arrived, we will still have a few days to make our way to meet him. We are trusting God to work out the details, the safe arrival, and the timing.
I have just finished reading a little book called GIFT FROM THE SEA by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Have you read it? It was originally published in 1955 and was a "ground-breaking, best-selling work". Now fifty some years later, it is still helpful and insightful. Lindbergh spent two weeks alone in a little cottage on Captiva Island on Florida's Gulf Coast. She shares her meditations on youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and contentment ~ things she thought about and wrote about during her time on the beach picking up shells and reflecting on life. Much of it strikes a cord with me because she talks a lot of time and space for contemplation, quiet, simplicity, and creativity...as we do here at Cedarly.
I do not have any desire to write a book while on this Sabbatical, but I am taking a Journal with me. I hope to reflect on my where I have been and where I am going...consider how I want to grow in my relationships...pursue getting to know God in new and deeper ways. I do not know where else the Spirit will take me. I will have to share that when Sabbatical Ends.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Absolutely Avery
Avery is absolutely the sweetest little two year old ever. She gets along so well with her big sister and big sister is so good with her. I think Avery seems older than she is because her vocabulary and understanding is great (I'd say advanced but you'd just think I am a doting Oma).
It really was fun and quite easy to have the girls around. This first picture (below) is on the 4th of July just before we had our very own fireworks display here at Cedarly, put on by Uncle Jon from SC. Avery was waving her 2 flags and calling out "America, America"...very cute!
In the late 50's after my Grandpa Severin left
a long time job at Rockford Screw Products, he started another company--making little cards to use around the yard (above). Many of them ended up on plantations in South America. My brother and my cousin each have one of these "Yard Bee" cars. Cousin Al brought his to Cedarly the day of our Ekedahl/Severin reunion...and the girls just loved it. They would have spent all afternoon driving around if we had let them. Cedarly was just the right environment to do it.
Avery loved the playground at Frame Park (above). She is not quite as adventuresome climbing or going down slides as Faith is, but she finds ways to have fun. At the Children's Museum she loaded and unloaded her grocery cart endlessly and enjoyed taking calls at the car repair shop.
Avery waited very patiently on the shore (below) while Faith and Opa were out on the kayak. She could hardly wait for her turn ~ her first time out on the water with Opa.
For several days, Avery would not go anywhere without 2-4 of Oma's old necklaces aroun her neck. Here she is on the train at the Zoo ~ ready to go.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Featuring Faith
Oma had the wonderful opportunity to take care of Faith and Avery for six days (with great help from Aunt Connie and Opa) while Gary and Aimee went to British Columbia for a few days to celebrate their 10th Anniversary and a Marx family wedding. We had such fun. 
It was my objective to keep them busy, experience new things, and be so tired they would fall into bed at night. It worked and we had an incredible time together. These first couple of pictures are at Frame Park along the Fox River. The girls love playground parks and this was a new one to them...they loved the HUGE sandbox and the HUGE creature living in it!
One day we three went to the Betty Brinn 
Children's Museum in downtown Milwaukee. We got there at 11:30 and I couldn't get them to stop for lunch until 2:00. By 4:00 we had the place to ourselves and ended up staying until 5:00 when it closed. They were good about staying together, they made friends with other kids, and they tried just about everything. Faith especially like an area where there was a post office, a bank, a grocery store, and a car repair shop. Each area was connected by telelphone, so I would call them from another area and they would be so surprised when they answered the phone.
My sister Connie joined us for the weekend and we went to the Milwaukee Zoo...again we stayed for about 6 hours. 
It was a beautiful day ~ not too hot. This picture (above, right) was on the train ride around the zoo...a real hit with Faith.
Last year we started a tradition of making spritz cookies together...Christmas in July (plus they are Aimee's favorite so she loves it). This year we made them at 7:30 a.m. Avery was sleeping 11-12 hours a night, so we took advantage of the time alone to make green wreaths and trees.
It was my objective to keep them busy, experience new things, and be so tired they would fall into bed at night. It worked and we had an incredible time together. These first couple of pictures are at Frame Park along the Fox River. The girls love playground parks and this was a new one to them...they loved the HUGE sandbox and the HUGE creature living in it!
One day we three went to the Betty Brinn 
Children's Museum in downtown Milwaukee. We got there at 11:30 and I couldn't get them to stop for lunch until 2:00. By 4:00 we had the place to ourselves and ended up staying until 5:00 when it closed. They were good about staying together, they made friends with other kids, and they tried just about everything. Faith especially like an area where there was a post office, a bank, a grocery store, and a car repair shop. Each area was connected by telelphone, so I would call them from another area and they would be so surprised when they answered the phone.
My sister Connie joined us for the weekend and we went to the Milwaukee Zoo...again we stayed for about 6 hours. 
It was a beautiful day ~ not too hot. This picture (above, right) was on the train ride around the zoo...a real hit with Faith.
Last year we started a tradition of making spritz cookies together...Christmas in July (plus they are Aimee's favorite so she loves it). This year we made them at 7:30 a.m. Avery was sleeping 11-12 hours a night, so we took advantage of the time alone to make green wreaths and trees.
One afternoon we were able to be together with my brother Jim's 4 grandchildren. 
Th
ere are 5 kids in my family and so far just 6 grandkids...with Baby J on the way. We spent a couple of hours at a friend's pool and got t
hem to pose. They all LOVE the water and took turns doing their favorite jumps and dives off the board...even Avery joined in the fun. Faith had some good form on her jumps and a name for each one.
Another favorite activity is taking out the kayak or canoe with Opa. Faith isn't much help yet, but she doesn't weigh much either. This year they saw three turtles and gathered some pretty water lilies.
We could hardly take the pictures we were laughing so hard in the front seat. When we showed the picture to Faith, Connie commented, "You like like an animal but I can't figure out which one." Faith immediately came back with, "A pig with a snout!" At that point she started laughing so hard she couldn't stop. It was encouraging to see her enjoy the joke on herself and enjoy it as much as we had.
Th
ere are 5 kids in my family and so far just 6 grandkids...with Baby J on the way. We spent a couple of hours at a friend's pool and got t
hem to pose. They all LOVE the water and took turns doing their favorite jumps and dives off the board...even Avery joined in the fun. Faith had some good form on her jumps and a name for each one.Another favorite activity is taking out the kayak or canoe with Opa. Faith isn't much help yet, but she doesn't weigh much either. This year they saw three turtles and gathered some pretty water lilies.
This picture is not the best one of Faith, (below) but I was so proud of her, I must include the story. Both Faith and Avery fell asleep in the car several times during our adventures... a little cat nap worked really well. Connie was with us when we discovered this funny pose of Faith out cold.
We could hardly take the pictures we were laughing so hard in the front seat. When we showed the picture to Faith, Connie commented, "You like like an animal but I can't figure out which one." Faith immediately came back with, "A pig with a snout!" At that point she started laughing so hard she couldn't stop. It was encouraging to see her enjoy the joke on herself and enjoy it as much as we had.
1st Official Hagen Family Reunion
This year Andy and I hosted the 1st official Hagen Family Reunion at Cedarly over the 4th of July. It was a great time with wonderful weather, fabulous food, and lots of fun events...some played golf, many went to the Brewers game, several went out on kayaks or canoes, most played ladder golf and cornhole, and everyone clapped and cheered over Jon's fireworks display brought from SC (well, maybe not Avery who was in the house holding her hands over her ears). What a special treat to have the cousins together again. It doesn't happen very often, but everyone loves it when it does.
We plan to get together AT LEAST every three years, rotating who hosts/plans and where we meet.
We plan to get together AT LEAST every three years, rotating who hosts/plans and where we meet.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Food for Thought
Time for an update on what I've been reading lately...it's been a season of challenging stories, most of them life stories about real people. They aren't the typical autobiographies like I remember reading in school in the 50's and 60's, but very interesting and enlightening, disturbing and depressing at times. Several are about people in parts of the world where I have never been ~ the Middle East and Africa. Many of the books were recommended by my girls.
These books have been impactful for me, but I have not yet processed how they might affect my life in days to come...that might have to be a blog later on.
A three part series by Jean Sasson (who lived in Saudi Arabia from 1978-1990) gives an insiders view of life among the royals. The story comes from a princess who has a desire to alleviate the suffering of women in her country where women are often ignored by their fathers, sold into marriage to men 4-5 times their age, treated as slaves by their husbands, and murdered or isolated in a small windowless room for the rest of their lives for the slightest transgression. From extravagant shopping trips spending millions in just a few days to camping trips in the dessert complete with Persian rugs, servants, and 25 Mercedes at their disposal, the decadent opulence of the royal family is described in detail. Image your 15 year old daughter with a safe in her bedroom containing over a million dollars worth of jewels. The books are "Princess: a true story of life behind the veil in Saudi Arabia", "Princess Sultana's Daughter's", and "Princess Sultana's Circle". The danger of male dominance and the desperate lives of the women they rule comes to life. The royal women respond in acceptance, minor rebellion, alcohol and drug abuse. In the end, Princess Sultana determines she will never again allow an individual woman to be mistreated.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah describes "how wars are fought now ~ by children, traumatized, hopped-up on drugs, and wielding AK-47s. Children have become the soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty violent conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers." As a young boy of, Ishmael fled attacking rebels and wandered about Sierra Leone with other boys his age. Within a year he was picked up by the government army and...well, you need to read the book! I cannot imagine what it was like for him...it was gut-wrenching and unforgettable.
"This is where you'll stay," he said, swinging the door open to reveal our new home: a small bathroom about four feel long and three feet wide....There was a shower stall at one end and a toilet at the other - the room wasn't big enough for sink." But six women of various ages lived in this room for three months, packed in tight and on top of one another, absolutely quiet, silent, because if any one could hear them they would be found and killed. This is the story of Immaculee Ilibagiza...in 1994 her world was ripped apart as the bloody genocide in Rwanda claimed nearly a million lives. In the midst of the killing spree Immaculee discovered the power of prayer and a relationship with God. Amazing...again I cannot imagine what it was like for her...the fear and suffering and loss. "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust". Read it and weep.
Then there's a four part novel series by Terri Blackstock. (Last Light, Night Light, True Light and Dawn's Light) The story centers around the Banning family in Birmingham, Alabama. An electromagnetic pulse from a star millions of miles away causes electricity on earth to fail ~ without warning. Suddenly planes are dropping out of the skies, millions of cars stop in place, refrigerators shut off, and lights are no more. Think of the implications in such a world wide crisis...people fighting over bicycles they haven't ridden in years, tearing up your newly landscaped front yard to plant food, taking turns guarding your home and your gardens 24 hours a day, hauling water from a pond...with crime running rampant around your upscale suburban neighborhood. The implications are huge. The Bannings are a Christian family and their faith is tested on every front. In the process of surviving they are challenged by the Sermon on the Mount. Instead of hoarding, they decide...you'll have to read it and see for yourself. There are no easy answers.
Last but not least, Nancy Ortberg has come out with her first book called LOOKING FOR GOD: a unexpected journey through tattoos, tofu & pronouns. Nancy has a carefree style of writing and a wonderful storytelling ability. It's different, but effective. I liked it and found it helpful as I strive to see God at work in my life and the world around me day by day. "We get so prescriptive with the spiritual life. We prepackage it, duplicate it, mass-produce it, insist upon it, and brag about it. We make it a formula. As a result, we tend to see God from such a narrow perspective."
These books have been impactful for me, but I have not yet processed how they might affect my life in days to come...that might have to be a blog later on.
A three part series by Jean Sasson (who lived in Saudi Arabia from 1978-1990) gives an insiders view of life among the royals. The story comes from a princess who has a desire to alleviate the suffering of women in her country where women are often ignored by their fathers, sold into marriage to men 4-5 times their age, treated as slaves by their husbands, and murdered or isolated in a small windowless room for the rest of their lives for the slightest transgression. From extravagant shopping trips spending millions in just a few days to camping trips in the dessert complete with Persian rugs, servants, and 25 Mercedes at their disposal, the decadent opulence of the royal family is described in detail. Image your 15 year old daughter with a safe in her bedroom containing over a million dollars worth of jewels. The books are "Princess: a true story of life behind the veil in Saudi Arabia", "Princess Sultana's Daughter's", and "Princess Sultana's Circle". The danger of male dominance and the desperate lives of the women they rule comes to life. The royal women respond in acceptance, minor rebellion, alcohol and drug abuse. In the end, Princess Sultana determines she will never again allow an individual woman to be mistreated.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah describes "how wars are fought now ~ by children, traumatized, hopped-up on drugs, and wielding AK-47s. Children have become the soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty violent conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers." As a young boy of, Ishmael fled attacking rebels and wandered about Sierra Leone with other boys his age. Within a year he was picked up by the government army and...well, you need to read the book! I cannot imagine what it was like for him...it was gut-wrenching and unforgettable.
"This is where you'll stay," he said, swinging the door open to reveal our new home: a small bathroom about four feel long and three feet wide....There was a shower stall at one end and a toilet at the other - the room wasn't big enough for sink." But six women of various ages lived in this room for three months, packed in tight and on top of one another, absolutely quiet, silent, because if any one could hear them they would be found and killed. This is the story of Immaculee Ilibagiza...in 1994 her world was ripped apart as the bloody genocide in Rwanda claimed nearly a million lives. In the midst of the killing spree Immaculee discovered the power of prayer and a relationship with God. Amazing...again I cannot imagine what it was like for her...the fear and suffering and loss. "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust". Read it and weep.
Then there's a four part novel series by Terri Blackstock. (Last Light, Night Light, True Light and Dawn's Light) The story centers around the Banning family in Birmingham, Alabama. An electromagnetic pulse from a star millions of miles away causes electricity on earth to fail ~ without warning. Suddenly planes are dropping out of the skies, millions of cars stop in place, refrigerators shut off, and lights are no more. Think of the implications in such a world wide crisis...people fighting over bicycles they haven't ridden in years, tearing up your newly landscaped front yard to plant food, taking turns guarding your home and your gardens 24 hours a day, hauling water from a pond...with crime running rampant around your upscale suburban neighborhood. The implications are huge. The Bannings are a Christian family and their faith is tested on every front. In the process of surviving they are challenged by the Sermon on the Mount. Instead of hoarding, they decide...you'll have to read it and see for yourself. There are no easy answers.
Last but not least, Nancy Ortberg has come out with her first book called LOOKING FOR GOD: a unexpected journey through tattoos, tofu & pronouns. Nancy has a carefree style of writing and a wonderful storytelling ability. It's different, but effective. I liked it and found it helpful as I strive to see God at work in my life and the world around me day by day. "We get so prescriptive with the spiritual life. We prepackage it, duplicate it, mass-produce it, insist upon it, and brag about it. We make it a formula. As a result, we tend to see God from such a narrow perspective."
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Girl Time in Colorado
What's better than time in Colorado? Time in Colorado with your two daughters!Aimee, Sarah and I enjoyed a few days away together in early June ~ a first for us since the
girls have been married. I'm hoping we can do it again some time ~ it was so much fun.
Sarah and I picked Aimee up at the airport and we headed out to Summit County. It was cool and rainy the first couple of days but we managed...scrapbooking for much of a day, shopping at the outlet malls, dinner out. One night we watched not just one, but two chick flicks! Catching up on all the latest, remembering days gone by, planning for our family time in Wisconsin in July...conversation flowed easily and non-stop.
The day we headed back to Denver it was a pretty sunny day so we took Loveland Pass up and over the Continental Divide, stopping along the way for some pictures.
Friday night we joined 40 of Sarah friends for a shower in her honor. Everyone had an opportunity to introduce themselves and tell how they knew Sarah. Lots of stories were shared ~ funny, encouraging, and affirming of Sarah as well.
Sarah had requested I make a jean quilt for Baby J out of pieces of jeans from Hagen family members. It was a challenge for me (and for my sewing machine) but it turned out well. It will fit right in with the Cowboy theme in the baby's new room!
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