P.E.I. Here we come!!!

Green Gables!

Gazing into L.M. Montgomery's mirror!

     I attended college at Concordia in Moorhead, MN with some wonderful people - including my dear friend, Amy.  The two of us could make each other laugh so easily!  At times we could finish each other's sentences.  We were together so much that one of our friends would say, "There goes "AmyJen" when he'd see us walk by.  We were hard workers in college, but also took time to be "rebels on a school night" by taking the occasional study break at the college snack shop hangout.  We had lots in common, particularly our love for music and our devotion to God, but especially our obsession with Anne of Green Gables!!!!  We loved the books, the movies, the characters, the time period, the clothing, the scenery, everything!!!
      So, we began planning our trip.  We planned that trip for about six years!  Then, in July of 2002 we were on our way!  Our friend Jess joined us.  We took my parents' 1987 Chevy Caprice Classic (otherwise known as "the boat") and set out on our three week trip across Canada to Prince Edward Island and then over to Nova Scotia, taking a ferry to Maine and then crossing the U.S. back to Minnesota.  What a blast!  We camped in tents some and stayed in Bed and Breakfast homes.  It was quite the adventure and it was also everything we hoped it would be!
     Prince Edward Island is beautiful!!!!  The blues were bluer, the greens were greener, and the whites were whiter!  The countryside was lovely.  The music is fun (lots of Scottish and Irish heritage).  The red dirt is enchanting!  The people were friendly.  And, the Anne of Green Gables lore is EVERYWHERE!  You can see many of the sights mentioned in the book such as:  "The Lake of Shining Waters,"  "The Haunted Forest,"  "Lover's Lane," and   

A beautiful beach on P.E.I.

Jen enjoyed P.E.I.

"The Hope Chest."   You can see L.M. Montgomery's birthplace, the actual school where L.M. Montgomery taught, lighthouses, beaches, bluffs, cliffs, and more.  We ate delicious sea food, and visited the village of Avonlea.  We had "high tea for three" at the Dalvay by the Sea Hotel, which is the White Sands Hotel in the "Road to Avonlea" series.  We attended church with some local Presbyterians.  We attended an excellent musical production of "Anne of Green Gables:  The Musical" in Charlottetown.  We biked along the Confederation Trail near Summerside.  We drove up to the northern part of the island to find the best beach!  We drove through cornfields to find a 40 foot cliff.  We took so many pictures of Prince Edward Island!  It was all such a dream!   I put my pictures into a photo album that I still love to look at.
     Now, nine years later I enjoy telling my husband about our road trip.  He listens appreciatively.  Last summer we went to the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming.  That place is very special to him.   He was so excited to show it to me!  It's like the Big Horn Mountains are a part of him.  As we were driving home from Wyoming/Montana, we talked about where else we'd like to travel to together.  Todd said he'd like to see this Prince Edward Island that I gush about so much!  It was HIS idea!  So, summer of 2012 we're

Dalvay By the Sea (a.k.a The White Sands)

My "kindred spirit" friend Amy and I

 going to take the camper and go!  I'm already planning the trip.  I know what new things I want to see (more of Nova Scotia!) and what "must see" things we'll experience together.  I can hardly wait!  It's fun to have things to look forward to.... especially in the thick of Februaryin Minnesota when things can be a bit dreary! 
       Part of the fun of the road trip with Amy and Jess was seeing other parts of Canada and the U.S. that I wasn't familiar with.  Quebec City, for example.... what a wonderful city!  It's like stepping into France.  There are cobblestone streets and French restaurants that sell delicous Crepes.  We stayed at a ski chalet there. 
    We stopped at Saint Jean Port Joli and saw an amazing museum of wooden sculptures hand made by local artists.  We watched trains travel through Ontario, and met up with a friend in Montreal.  We saw some amazing gardens in Halifax, Nova Scotia and took a foggy tour south to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  In Maine we drove up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park and ate lobster in Bar Harbor.  We took a Boston Duck Tour in Boston and a barge ride down the Erie 

Lover's Lane!

 Canal in New York State.  We visited Louis May Alcott's Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts (what a thrill!), and saw Niagara Falls from both the Canadian and American sides.  We spent a day on Mackinac Island in Michigan and were amazed by the power of Lake Huron.  After three weeks, we were three exhausted travelers!  I'm very grateful we took this trip together.  Amy and Jess are still two of my dearest friends.  God has been good to me!
    One of the souvenirs I bought in Prince Edward Island was piano sheet music to the "Anne of Green Gables" theme song.  Amy later created a violin part to the piece and it was played during my wedding prelude!  Sweet!
    Another souvenir I got was a Anne of Green Gables Chocolates apron.  I had it hanging downstairs in our "Anne of Green Gabes" themed guest room, but one day I needed an apron and decided it was "time" to use it.  I'm enjoying using it as I bake at home now.
     I have a book of quotes by L.M. Montgomery of Anne sayings and I'm going to close this blog with some of my favorites:
"It's nicer to think dear, pretty thoughts and keep them in one's heart, like treasures."

Annes of Green Gables

The bluffs of P.E.I.

"What a splendid day!...I pity people who aren't born yet for missing it.  They may have good days, of course, but they can never have this one."

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?"

"Dear old world....you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you."

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

"There are some people...that you can love right off....and there are others....that you have to try very hard to love."

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think.  It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."

"The world looks like something God has just imagined for His own pleasure, doesn't it?"

"Oh, it's delightful to have ambitions.  Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still."

"That is the first time I was ever called 'Miss.'  Such a thrill as it gave me!  I shall cherish it forever among my choicest treasures."

"It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will."

School Prep. in Germany and Becker

      It's that time of year again - malls are full of moms doing back to school shopping with their kids - Wal-Mart is running out of the specific kind of the scissors listed on all the school supply lists - teachers are working away in their classrooms for hours and hours before their contracted time begins - and First Grade teachers in Germany are crafting their own "Back to School" gift for each child!
     See the tree in the first photo.  It is full of the gifts that First Grade students get on their first day of school in Germany.  Pretty fun!  Pretty cute!  They are all over Germany this time of year because they represent the start of a new year.  I wish America had something fun like that to give our First Graders.  I teach Second Grade and I try to come up with something for the students who come to Open House each year (sometimes a marker, or a smiley face gumball, or an eraser of the earth).  But, even though we don't have anything traditional to give our students, we as teachers, give an awful lot of ourselves to our classrooms and students to make it a great year.  I have been rather into blogging lists lately.  So, here is a typical list of things teachers do each fall:

Organize, sort and label books in our classroom libraries

Dust shelves, carts, trinkets, computers, and globes

Write student names on millions of things such as:

locker tags, desk tags, workbooks, individual book boxes, lunch tag holders, hallway cutesy signs, behavior charts, guided reading bins, and student folders!  Uff-dah!

Laminate half the above-mentioned stuff

Cut out everything you have just laminated

Arrange classroom "furniture" to get optimum use out of the space

Create forms for parents to fill out at Open House

Create a birthday bulletin board after receiving birthdates for students

Make fun, interesting, useful bulletin boards

Organize all the piles of papers coming in from the Offset copier

Put up a calendar with all the important September events marked

Write meaningful lesson plans that keep the attention of 26 kids at the same time who all are used to freely running around the neighborhood or swimming at the pool all day!

Catch up with the teachers and staff you see so that everyone feels welcome and ready 

to be a team player with a new school year beginning.

Try to calm your own nerves, even though this is the 12th time you've done this!

Look forward to seeing the students that will be your "kids" for the next nine months!

 

Whitewater Rafting????

The name Jennifer means gentle spirit.  The name Ann means nice.  So, I guess I am supposed to be a nice, gentle spirit.  So, does whitewater rafting race to your mind when you hear that description?  No!?!  Well, it took me 33 years to decide I was brave enough to try such an adventure.  Before whitewater rafting the most adventurous thing I had done was when I was on a family vacation the summer after fifth grade.  My family and I went to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado where we had the "coolest tour guide in the world!" who showed us all the ins and outs of the native peoples who built their homes in the side of a bluff.  We got to climb hanging rope ladders over deep canyons, crawl through dark, carved-out rocks, walk carefully along the edge of a broken-down trail, and walk in behind these rock homes to find ourselves very high in the air.  Now, that was cool!  So, when Todd and I were planning our trip to Montana, I thought to myself, "Self, you need to be more adventurous!"  Todd had never been whitewater rafting either and he loved the idea.  So, we decided on a place out of Superior, Montana who took us on a rafting trip from 10:00 to 4:00 with a stop for lunch along the way.  It was a wild ride some of the time and a very docile, peaceful ride during other parts of the trip.  We got to know our raft-mates and we all got very wet.  During the scariest moments I told myself, "If little children like Cassidy Walsh can do this - so can I!"  My friends the Walshes had done some whitewater rafting together and had put a picture of it on their Christmas card.  I had the Christmas card picture running through my mind as I was worrying about capsizing!  But, we didn't capsize and we had lots of laughs.  I recommend whitewater rafting to anyone who is ready for a little extra excitement!  I'm glad we went.  Hmmmm, what's next?  A zipline?  Mountain climbing?  We'll see!

30 things....

The World Would Be A Better Place If......

1. Everyone loved Jesus
2.  Marriages stayed together
3.  Everyone learned to play a musical instrument
4.  All parents read to their children
5.  Everyone had clean water
6.  Fast food places served vegetables
7.  Everyone listened to classical music at least once a day
8.  Everyone exercised daily
9.  Everyone prayed and trusted God
10.  All class sizes were smaller in school
11.  Everyone could learn to read
12.  There were a cure for Cancer and Alzeimers
13.  Everyone washed their hands more
14.  No one drank alcohol
15.  Everyone dressed modestly
16.  Everyone laughed more
17.  There were no sad goodbyes
18.  Everyone had a good work ethic
19.  Everyone were nice and kind to others
20  All teachers "built up" their students
21.  Everyone were honest
22.  No one swore
23.  Everyone wore deodorant!
24.  Everyone memorized scripture
25.  Everyone sang in the shower
26.  No one talked during concerts
27.  Everyone got enough sleep
28.  Everyone wore fun socks!
29.  Ice cream were good for you!
30.  No one were hungry

Taken from "Jen's Book of Lists" created in January of 2007

What facinates you?

What fascinates you?

This is a picture of my sweet niece Anna.  She looks fascinated by the magic of how her hand can make motions and shadows and entertainment!  I want to keep that expression of amazement alive inside of myself too.  May this blog help you remember what fascinates YOU too:

Blooming flowers

Crisp beans from the garden

Rhuli gel on a mosquito bite

Migraine medicine

Skype!

Sun tea

Inside jokes with a friend

Babies/Toddlers

Rainbows through a sprinkler

How a song can touch one's heart

Air conditioning

Positive endorphins rushing to my brain after exercise

i-pads, i-phones, i-pods, computers

Talented musicians

Indoor plumbing

How fashions change

Beautiful art

Connecting with a character in a book

How a good night's sleep can make everything better

Big flakes of snow falling 

Mountains and valleys

Rivers and waterfalls

Being truly loved by someone

Loving someone back

God

 

For the LOVE of books!

      I became a teacher in the year 2000.  Every fall when a new school year begins, I reflect on my years as an educator.  That first year of teaching seems like a looooong time ago now.  That first class just graduated from high school and some of those kids are heading off to college this week.  The first class I taught in Becker was a third grade class in 2003.  That was a very special year.  I was so very nervous to begin teaching in the public schools.  But, my students were wonderful
and my fellow teachers and support staff were so SUPPORTIVE.  I'm  

so glad I had that year of teaching third grade before moving to second grade at the Primary School.  I have been teaching second grade ever since.  That one year of third grade helped give me a perspective to help me better understand what my students are headed for when they graduate from my class. 
      One thing I love about teaching is helping my students love reading!  I, myself love reading.  I've read about 8 novels this summer in addition to some fascinating nonfiction.  I want my students to love books.  So, sometimes I go a little out of my way to help the books come to life.  Take for example, the picture of me as Pippi Longstocking.  Now, that was a fun hair day!!!!  My girl students and I all dressed like Pippi one day and the boys dressed as Hawaiian boys from the book.  We did   
activities all day long that Pippi and her friends did in the books.  I imagine my

Mountain Lake kiddos will never forget Pippi Longstocking Day.
      Then there was the day I brought in my collection of giraffes for my students to look at as we studied our unit on giraffes and enjoyed my favorite picture book, "Giraffe's Can't Dance!"  I now keep my collection at school all the time and I'm enjoying adding to it as the years go by.  Did you know a giraffe's tongue is 18 inches long?  Did you know when a giraffe has a baby it is standing up, so the baby drops 7 feet onto the ground?  Giraffes take drinks from the river in groups so that one giraffe can watch out for lions while the other giraffes spread their legs and bend down in a very vulnerable position to take their drinks.  They work together well.  A giraffe's only way to protect himself is by flight - running FAST!
     Then there was "Tacky Day" where all the teachers dressed up in the tackiest

clothes we could come up with!  My friend Caroline and I posed for a picture on that day.  Tacky Day is in honor of the Tacky books by Helen Lester.  Tacky is a hilarious penguin who is definitely the odd man out.  He does his own thing and annoys his comrades.  But, it makes for some humorous stories!
    The next picture you see is one of me dressed in black, with a gray wig and some crazy eyebrows!  That picture represents quite the story....  One day I was supposed to attend a spelling convention in Minneapolis, but it was cancelled due to the weather.  I had already prepped my kids about how they should behave with the substitute teacher.  I had everything all laid out and ready for the sub.  I was disappointed to have to teach because I had worked so hard to give the sub. a good day.  So, I decided to make the best of it and play a little trick on my kiddos. 

We had recently read the book "Miss Nelson is Missing" and in that story, Miss Viola Swamp comes to be the substitute teacher in Miss Nelson's class.  She is a very difficult sub. and she makes the students work extremely hard and she is extremely strict.  After about a week of time with Ms. Swamp, Miss Nelson comes back and the students are crazy happy to have her back.  They promise to always be on their best behavior and to work hard.  Well, I came to school that morning all dressed as Viola.  I made a huge list on the board of impossible tasks for the students to do.  The hardest part was not smiling!  Thankfully I only had to keep up the act for about 30 minutes because then I could take the kids to Music and change into my own regular clothes.  Part of what was so fun about that day, was that many of the students were not quite sure if it was me under that costume!

   My most recent endeavor with playing "dress up" as a teacher was just yesterday afternoon when I got to dress up as the Poetry Princess (complete with tiara and cape) and tell favorite poems to the video camera to be used on our Friday news time at school.  I am hoping those segments will help students love poetry more and more.  Sorry I don't have a picture of Poetry Princess!  I do have one final photo of me holding a bouquet of dandelions from one of my classes.  That smile is authentic and not just "dress - up" because I love teaching and I love the kiddos that God gives me each year to have in my class!

Todd's Old Time Photos

Yup, that's me and that's Todd!  Do we authentically look like we're from the olden days?  Last summer while in Medora, North Dakota, we had the opportunity to pose for this photograph and then of course buy it for a ridiculously large amount.  But, it was worth it.  I have always wanted to be in an old fashioned photograph with my husband!  I've just been waiting for years and years and years to get a husband!  You see, when I was about 8 years old I got to pose for an old fashioned photo with my sisters and aunt.  I look incredibly sad because they told me not to smile, so I sort of frowned!  Then about ten years later I posed in an old fashioned photo with my grandparents and two of my cousins.  That was a fun experience.  But, as I posed for those memorable photos both times, I remember imagining the "someday" when I would be the wife in the photo next to her husband - getting their picture taken together.  As the day approached for our vacation out west, I knew one thing for sure, I did NOT want to be posed in one of those old fashioned saloon girl pictures!  Todd agreed.  His only requirement was that he get to hold a cool gun!  Ta da!  I love this picture!  We have it up in our home and it makes me happy!  By the way, the name of the photo studio in Medora was "Todd's Old Time Photos."  You can't beat that!!!

Grandparents' views on the Great Depression

Winnifred and Norman Iverson

      My grandparents loved to tell their grandchildren about their growing up years.  So, in 1999 I took time to record their stories, edit them, and compile them into books - one book about Iversons and one book about Albers.  It was a wonderful experience and I am extremely glad I took the time to do that project.  In this blog, I want to take time to write about what my grandparents had to say about living through the Great Depression.  This period of time in our country's history has always fascinated me.

Grandpa Iverson's story:

      The Great Depression was in 1929 when Norman was 19 years old and attending college.  He remembers the stock market crash quite well.  His father was running the general merchandise store at the time.  He remembers that prices on wheat and cattle went way down.  Cattle went for only $19 a head.  Sometimes the government stepped in and killed the cattle and destroyed all their parts.  He mentioned, "In the case of the store, sales were very low.  Many days, we got as little as $10 sales the entire day.  Often times that wasn't all money.  Some of it was trade.  For instance, someone would come in with half a dozen eggs and trade it for a quarter pound of sugar or other necessities.  Dad provided food free for a lot of people because they couldn't afford it.  We did stay in business but didn't make any money during that period of years.  We charged to many people and were never paid."
      Norman can remember the dust bowl of the 30's as well saying, "The yearly rainfall in North Dakota is now about 14-15 inches.  During the time it was down to practically nothing.  Instead of rainfall, there were dust storms.  Dust covered the fences, as well as Canadian thistles.  It's hard to even imagine how bad conditions were.
      Franklin D. Roosevelt was a very important figure during the Depression.  Norman remembers, "Generally speaking, people liked him very, very, very well.  For this reason:  he did provide jobs for people even though it was at a very low salary.  Many community buildings in various towns were built by people in that time."
      The Depression left a deep impact on Norman.  He said, "You never knew what was going to happen the next day.  It was an experience I hope you never have to go through."
      Norman became a teacher during part of the time of the Depression.  He stayed in a place for three dollars a month for board and room.  He said, "People were glad to rent it to me for that amount.  Almost no one was renting during the depression.  Very few people were working.  Thousands of people were out of work in the United States."  Norman's lowest salary as a teacher was $90 a month.  He was principal of the high school, taught six or seven subjects, and taught singing.  When it came time to be paid, the teachers were not given a check to be cashed, but rather a note.  The banks did not have the money to cash the notes, so teachers had to find someone who could cash their notes.  Norman's father cashed the notes for Norman and then later was refunded the money from the school district.

Grandma Iverson's story:

    During the Great Depression in 1929, Winnifred was 15 years old and she said, "I can remember one of first things:  the banks closed and people were outraged because even the Boy Scouts' money was taken."  She recalls that the beginnings of the Depression didn't affect her father's farm very much because most of the children were already on their own.  She said, "We were living off of milk and cream and chickens.  We had no money, just what the farm was able to provide.  We didn't lose the farm, but the farm was not so productive because of the drought.  We kept everything."  Winnifred recalls the Dust Bowl as well.  She said, "The boys were still on the farm.  I remember the grasshoppers.  Clouds of grasshoppers stripped the grain right out of the field.  One time there was a big group of rats that came and ate anything they could get a hold of.  My brother was out pouring feed into the trough.  This big group of rats came through, got a little food, and continued on their way."  

     Franklin D. Roosevelt was a huge symbol of hope for Americans, including Winnifred's family.  She said, "One thing the people liked was that Roosevelt started the Fireside Chats.  Everybody in the country loved him because of his consoling voice, and what he had to say, : 'Anybody who doesn't have a cream check will be able to work and feed his family.'  Through government programs people built dams to hold water so that animals would have water.  Everyone cared a lot for Roosevelt. 

Lois Ann and Harold Alber on my graduation day

Grandpa Alber's story:

In 1929 when the Great Depression began, Harold was 15 years old.  Harold remembers the stock market crash in October of 1929.  He said, "My Dad had made some investments earlier, but was not hurt very much by the crash.  We were fairly well off."  He remembers the Dust Bowl of the 1930s as well.  He said, "The dust was piled up in heaps on some of the farms, like a snowstorm.  The wind was blowing, no rain, soil blowing around.  It even covered some roads in Nebraska.  Once I went with my dad up to South Dakota.  We came into a field that had been wheat.  Now it was just sticks.  It was a sad-looking sight."  Harold was not too fond of the nation's leader, Franklin Roosevelt.  He said, "I never really liked Roosevelt because he wanted to allow 3.2 beer to be legal, which he succeeded in.  I never voted for Franklin Roosevelt.  All of those times he was elected, I voted, but not for him.  He was a good leader, but that was just my prejudice."  Harold's life moved along, despite the Depression.  He said, "Our family did not feel the effects of the Depression because my dad had a stable job.  We were fairly well up on the scale.  We got a new Buick in 1928 and used it for many years."

Grandma Alber's story:

     Lois Ann's family moved to the farm in 1928, before the stock market crashed in 1929.  Lois Ann was in fifth grade at the time.  She said of the stock market, "It didn't affect us so much right away, because we grew vegetables, did a lot of canning, and butchered our own pork."  The family had no money in the bank, so they were living from one crop to the next.  The girls got to make three new cotton dresses every fall.  They would wear one for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and they would wear another one Thursday and Friday.  They washed all the dresses on Saturday and started out on Monday with the third dress.  The family had special Sunday clothes to wear to church.

    "By 1935, when I graduated from high school, we were really affected by the Depression.  We got one pair of new Sunday shoes every year, and wore the old ones for everyday.  The soles would wear out, and we had to put cardboard in our shoes.  We had hand-me-down clothes and dresses made of flour sacks.  My dad would buy a lot of flour at one time so that all the sacks could make one entire dress.  We used the sacks with funny designs to sew our own underwear.  My dad sold two loads of calves in 1933 and got what he had paid for one cow in 1928.  He had to sell them in order to buy shoes for us.  My parents got so poor that they couldn't even butcher our own meat.  My brothers shot pheasants out of season, rabbits, squirrels, possum, and ducks for our meat."

    Lois Ann remembers eating lots of potatoes, milk, and eggs during the Depression.  They canned corn, beans, and tomatoes and made pies of mulberries with rhubarb.  Lois Ann's mother made a one-egg cake using just a cup of sugar and flour.  The cake was big enough for everyone in the family to have a piece.  Lois Ann remembers that when her brother Bill helped to beat the cake, it always turned out better.  There was no electric mixer, and so Bill was the strongest cook.  Bill liked to cook. 

     To sum up what stood out to Lois Ann the most about the Depression, she said, "I hated being poor.  I hated peanut butter sandwiches.  I hated pancakes.  They were a cheap food for breakfast.  I felt people were always looking at me because I didn't have nice clothes.  A lot of people were poor, but I still felt people were looking at me." 

Fancy Fitness

Is that really David?  Yup!  When David and I were little we used to love to go downstairs into the music/ exercise room and have our "Fancy Fitness" time.  We had stations set up around the room and we would go to each station for an alloted amount of time.  We must have used a timer, although I can't remember that detail for sure.  I do remember some of the great stations we had.  Our favorite was running across the stage, bouncing on the trampoline, and then landing on the old bed mattress that was laying on the floor.  THAT WAS FUN!  We also had a station that incorporated my "Get In Shape Girl" long pink ribbon.  We did figure eights and other fancy moves with that ribbon.  David is showing us in this photo how we used the rowing machine to work our arms.  We used the antique exercise bike you see in the background too.  We did jumping jacks and pushups.  We had great tunes playing in the background (probably Raffi or old 50s rock and roll).  We took breaks to run upstairs and get drinks of water.  But, this was serious business, we worked hard and it was fun!  Ah, if only exercise were that fun as an adult!  I enjoy going for my walks or riding my bike and that feeling of knowing I'm doing something good for my body.  Who doesn't want positive endorphins rushing to her brain during/after a workout?  But, somehow getting in that workout each day is no longer on my list of "fun" things to do.  Maybe I should start calling my workouts "Fancy Fitness?!!??!!"

Gotta love the trampoline!

Yatagiri

Yatagiri from India

Jennifer "adopting" Yatagiri at a concert

It was 2005 and I was at a Ken Davis concert with my friend Angie.  Ken had just given us a hilarious comedy concert and we were about to have an intermission.  But, first he played for us a video by Compassion International about the opportunity we had to sponsor little kids from different countries.  There was a booth upstairs where we could look at cards which they had laid on the table and "pick" who we wanted to sponsor.  I knew I wanted one from India.  I knew I wanted a girl.  When this sweet girl's picture looked up at me from the table with her dark eyes and her bright red and blue dress, I knew she was the one!  Then I read the description on the back and found out that among her favorite activities was "playing with dolls."  That was it - we're kindred spirits!  So, I got the package that explained how to sponsor her, paid a "down payment" and sat back down in my seat.  I was glowing, I was so excited!  I had been toying with the idea of sponsoring someone from India earlier in my life, but that night it just felt right.  You can see from the picture of Angie and I, that I look happy.  Also, notice, I am holding the sponsorship information and the picture is the same as on my blog.



I went home and promptly put the picture of Yatagiri on my refridgerator.  I have had a picture of her on my refridgerators ever since.  Compassion sends updated photos once in a while.  I was so excited to receive the second photo because she was smiling!  When I got the first photo, the night of the concert, I remember hoping that my sponsorship might help make her smile someday.

Yatagiri with a bit of a smile

My most recent picture of her

I write letters to Yatagiri often.  Compassion gives us paper to use.  We are to write our letters on one side and there is room for a translator to write on the other side so Yatagiri can read it.  How neat!  I love getting letters from Yatagiri too.  She writes in her fancy Hindi writing with lines and squiggles, and then I look to see what the translator wrote.  It's fun!  I pray for Yatagiri regularly.  I feel like I have a connection with this now 11 year old girl.  I appreciate that Compassion helped make that happen.  I went through about six months in 2007 when I considered adopting a little girl from India through an international adoption agency.  I was going to name her Sarala.  I thought that name was beautiful!  I had heard it in a song about a little girl from India.  But, one summer weekend while visiting a friend at a Bible camp, I went for a walk along the shores of Lake Sakakwea and I prayed and sang and listened and I KNEW without a doubt that I was NOT supposed to adopt.  God gave me this incredible peace that the answer was NO.  He also gave me this incredible feeling that He had something else in mind for my life.  Something amazing.  One month later I met my future-husband, Todd!  God is so good! 

The little C

Sheryl and Jennifer

One of my best friends in the whole wide world has breast cancer.  We spent the weekend together to talk and process.  Her MRI and other tests are coming up and then she'll know the full extent of her treatment.  I gave her a mug that made her cry but I want to write what was basically written on this mug: "Christ is always with you:
You are strong, a survivor, a woman of faith, a fighter, able to meet any challenge - even the big C because you have an even bigger C on your side!"  Sheryl and I decided that really cancer is just a little C when you know Christ as your big C.  She wore her "hope" necklace all weekend and we got matching bracelets and we enjoyed lots of laughs.  Somehow I just know that she is going to be okay.  I believe that God is going to give her a peace that passes all understanding.  I've seen Him give that gift to others.  My friend Becky was diagnosed with breast cancer and she beat it!  The odds were against her in many ways - but God had other plans.  I prayed for Becky so much!  I felt like I was along on her journey as I checked her Caring Bridge site and prayed some more.  She told me about that peace from God that she felt. 

Becky and Jennifer

      My friend Cindy experienced that peace too.  She had breast cancer and had to do Chemotherapy and she beat it!  She is a strong, beautiful woman who teaches Kindergarten and she experienced God's peace.  I think Sheryl will experience that peace and someday she'll be able to share her cancer survivor stories with others who need her encouragement.  I will pray and pray and pray for Sheryl, just as I prayed for Becky and Cindy, and just as I am praying for my friend Lisa and my young friend Cassidy.  Lisa has breast cancer and yet, she is one of the most positive, caring people I know.  I had the priviledge of teaching next door to Lisa for two years.  What an excellent teacher!  What a great Mom to her three kids.  What a neat, Christian woman who is very real and sincere!  She inspires me daily!

Cassidy is going to win this fight!

    Cassidy is a sweet girl who was in my Sunday School class when I was teaching.  She has a great sense of humor.  She also has Leukemia.  And, she's going to be okay.  Cassidy's mom is a good friend of mine.  It has not been an easy road for Cassidy and her family, but she is a fighter, a survivor and she is going to be okay too!  She is going to beat this! 
   I love these survivor stories and the hope and optimism people can now feel despite the word Cancer!  My aunt died when she was three years old from Leukemia.  But, that was back in 1950.  I am so grateful to live in an era where some cancers can be cured.  I first felt the effects of losing someone to cancer when I lived in Mountain Lake and my good friend Lana's mom died.  I remember just feeling full of anger that there could be such a disease that could take away loved ones in the painful way that Cancer does.  Two women from our church (Linda and Laureen) died from cancer.  They were some of the most positive, spiritual women I knew!   My husband Todd's mom, Lynne died from Breast Cancer about 14 years ago.  What a loss!  I never knew her.  That makes me sad.  My friend Jennifer Kessler, who taught third grade right next door to me, died of cancer.  I miss her.  We've all been affected by people with cancer.  We all want this disease to STOP!  My friend Kimberly has done fund raising and walks/runs for Cancer.  She lost her mom and aunt to Cancer and she is a fighter on behalf of others.  Kimberly inspires me.  I read on a Caribou mug recently the answer someone wrote to the question:  "What do I stay awake for?"  The person had written:  "To find a way to stop breast cancer worldwide!"  I have hope for that day.  I have hope that by the time my niece Anna has her own children someday cancer will be wiped out just as Polio and Tuberculosis are now!  In the meantime I'll keep praying for Sheryl and Lisa and Cassidy and others that come into my life that need prayer.  Let's all pray for a cure!

Lynne and Doug Sapp

          

Ukraine Mission Trip 2005

Christine, Angie, Jennifer, Sarah

My church recently heard the reports from some summer mission trips to the Northwest Angle of Minnesota and to Haiti!  Both had some wonderful experiences.  Every time I hear about missions trips, I think about the mission trip I went on to Ukraine in July of 2005.  My team included sisters Christine and Sarah and my housemate and friend Angie and myself.  We would be representing our church family (Becker Baptist Church) to our "Sister Church" family in Vatutino, Ukraine.  We would be helping run a Vacation Bible School, leading a women's event, and sharing music at church.

Sweet Ukrainian Kindergarteners!

I "taught" the kindergarten group of kids along with two teenagers: Julia and Oksana.  They were very mature, excellent teachers, so I was more of a helper than a teacher that week.  They both spoke English very well, and so I could communicate with them and build a nice friendship.  Another one of my jobs that week of Bible School was to help with the singing.  We usually did one or two songs in English and the rest in Ukrainian.  What a thrill it was to hear the kids singing praises in Ukrainian!

Julia, my translator and me

One thing I really enjoyed about my trip to Ukraine, was getting to have a translator.  Julia opened our eyes and our hearts to the people of Vatutino in an amazing way.  She was able to express complete ideas and thoughts and feelings.  She became a very good friend too.  She stayed with us at our host family's house and helped with all of those conversations too.  Usually she would have us tell her a whole idea or a whole story and then she would translate it into Ukrainian.  It was fun to see our host's reactions to stories as she told them.....especially funny stories!!! 

Our kindergarten class!

It was very hot during our week of Bible School, but we still chose to be outside for games or to find some shade for classroom time.  We did craft projects each day.  The kids were so excited that they had a hard time listening to directions.  We felt like we were yelling over them to be heard.  They had snack each day - they LOVE peanut butter!

Besides working with the kids, we also had a chance to spend time with some of the youth of the church.  They were some great young people.  Angie, Christine, and Sarah had all been  
to Ukraine the year before, so many people remembered them.  They remembered that Angie loves hedgehogs!  I was feeling disappointed to not get to see my own hedgehog, so on the last night we were there, some of the youth and the pastor brought a hedgehog (one they found along the road) and brought it in for me to see and touch!  Crazy Cool!

Hedgehog!

Visiting church members in their homes

Vatutino Baptist Church

Craft time with the Cuties!

We learned a little Ukrainian along the way.  Before we left America, Angie made a tape of common expressions that I could use during our time there.  So, I could greet someone by saying, "Dob-riy den!" or I knew how to Praise God by saying "Slava Bohu!"  I could thank the family for the tasty dinner by saying, "Dya-koo-you za smach-niy o-beed!" or tell the children God loves you by saying, "Boh lyoo-bit vas!"  I loved that one!  I remember walking along with two of my kindergarteners and saying God Loves You in Ukrainian and they looked up at me and smiled!  Sweet!

Sitting by a cute Ukrainian lady!

 As I mentioned earlier, we did music at church in Vatutino.  I played piano and Christine played flute.  Sarah and I did piano duets.  We sang songs all together.  I accompanied congregational hymns on the piano.  They usually don't have a piano accompaniest, so they LOVED it!  I was glad I could play piano because when they sing accapella - they go sooooo slowly and that church was HOT!  It was so hot while we were in Ukraine that the roads buckled!  Thankfully we had some fans at the church and fans at "home."  But, Ukrainians are funny about fans or open windows- they are afraid of drafts - they think they are not safe.  But, we were NOT afraid of any drafts when we were there.  Boy, was it HOT!
    After our time in Ukraine, the four of us spent a day in Kiev and then an evening in Frankfurt, Germany.  Then Christine and Sarah flew home, but Angie and I spent a week in Germany with my friend Anette (from Up With People).  We had a wonderful week and even got to spend a day in Poland!  To read more about our week in Germany, click here: http://journalingjennifer.blogspot.com/2011/04/glimpses-of-god-in-germany.html 
   Overall, I had a wonderful experience on my mission trip and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to see the country of Ukraine and love some of the people there.  I saw God at work all around me.  I felt hope for the people there that God was touching their lives.  The same God who loves me loves the children and adults in Ukraine.... and Germany....and Poland! 

We loved hearing their stories!

Pollyanna

If you could listen to someone who is an EXPERT on a certain subject (from the past or the present) who would you want to listen to or what would you want to hear about?

That is the question I recently asked my facebook friends.  I got some great answers (to hear Jane Austin talk about her book Emma, to hear the author of Peace Child talk about his life as a missionary, to hear an expert talk about living with adult children, to listen to a ship-builder from the 1600s talk about how they built huge ships back then, to hear Abraham Lincoln give a speech).  All excellent answers, of course!  I have changed my answer three times.  First I thought I wanted to hear someone who is truly an expert on healthy living - food and exercise and balance!  Then I thought I wanted to hear someone who could positively, absolutely tell me how to help a struggling reader become a proficient, fluent, excited reader.  But, after a few more days of thinking, I have decided I would want to hear my infamous great, great aunt Mary give her speech on Pollyanna!  Let me tell you more:

Aunt Mary's Pollyanna speech notes...

Aunt Mary was my Grandpa Alber's aunt.  She was my mom's great aunt, so she would be my great, great aunt!  My grandpa was born in 1914, his mom was born in 1886, so I am guessing Aunt Mary would have born around 1886 too.  The Pollyanna books were written by Eleanor H. Porter and published in 1913, when Mary would have been an adult.  She traveled around the country and gave speeches to women's groups about the Pollyanna books.  I have the original Pollyanna book that Mary used.  It has my mom's name in it too because it was given to my mom.  At the beginning of the book are three pages of notes that Mary used in her talks.  I've read Pollyanna a couple times and have always loved the book.  From Mary's notes, it appears that she gave a very detailed synopsis of the book.  She goes over the characters and the storyline in great detail.  She tells of some of the undercurrent relationship building going on.  She explains "The Glad Game" and how Pollyanna uses it in her own life and how she encourages others to play.  I can imagine my great, great Aunt Mary as an excellent story teller, expressively exclaiming over certain parts of the story - with an enraptured audience wanting to hear every word.  I see dressed up ladies with gloves and hats listening and looking forward to tea and cookies afterwards.  Although the notes do not go into much detail about the deeper inspirational lessons from Pollyanna, I can't help but believe that Aunt Mary got into that too.  Pollyanna was a child of God, using her optimism and her love for people to help her minister to everyone around her.  She was a confident, bold young person who cared deeply for the people God brought into her life.  She found things to be glad about even when it would seem impossible for most of us.  She knew that the Bible tells us over and over and over to "Be glad in the Lord" and "Rejoice in the Lord."  Pollyanna had that figured out.  I think Aunt Mary had that figured out too.  I feel proud to be related to my great, great, Aunt Mary.  Grandma gave me aunt Mary's wedding dress too!

Great, Great Aunt Mary's Wedding Dress

   I love being an aunt, myself.  I have three nephews and one niece.  These adorable young people are so precious to me.  I want to be a special aunt to all of them.  As a girl, I always loved to hear stories about my grandparents' aunts.  Of course, Grandpa's Aunt Mary was one I enjoyed hearing stories about.  Grandpa adored his aunt.  His mom was quite ill for a few years when Grandpa was growing up and his aunt Mary came to take care of him and his brother.  When I was at my grandma and grandpa's house playing with my nephews, Grandpa would tell me I remind him of his Aunt Mary and the way she used to interact with him and his brothers.  I like that.  And, Grandma had an aunt named Aunt Ruth.  I'll copy an excerpt from Grandma's biography written in 1999 to explain the specialness of Aunt Ruth:  "When there was company, Lois Ann often had to share her bed with them while Dona slept on the cot.  Her Aunt Ruth (her mama's sister) would come every summer for a long stay.  This aunt used wooden crutches to walk and had a painful tumor on her back.  Lois Ann was careful enough that she was able to sleep on the same bed as her aunt without bumping her.  Lois Ann loved spending time with Aunt Ruth.  She felt her aunt was an amazing woman and was impressed by all the things she could do even on her crutches.  Medicine has come such a long way that Lois Ann feels her Aunt Ruth could have been helped today.  Aunt Ruth gave the children toys at Christmas and enjoyed crocheting things for the family.  Lois Ann remembers fondly, 'We all loved her....she was so happy!  She bought us our first can of pop!  We went to an air show and she was going to buy us all pop.  We had to share it because she didn't have enough money to buy everybody a whole can of pop.  But, we bought orange pop.  None of us really liked it.  We wanted it so bad and we didn't really like it then when we got it.  It was different.  We preferred lemonade or milk.'"

violin memories

My Senior Picture

      I began playing violin the summer after fourth grade.  I always knew I would play violin.  When Mom and Dad had their third child (me), they chose to have me play violin.  My older sister Patty played violin too and my other older sister Kimberly played cello.  Patty was six years older than me, so by the time I started violin, I had already heard her practicing each day with my mom.  Mom was very dedicated to helping us practice each day.  Once David was born (three years after me) and started taking viola lessons, there was a lot of practicing going on!  We had to practice piano for 30 minutes a day and violin for 30 minutes a day.  I took voice lessons for a couple years too and practiced that 30 minutes a day and David took trombone and he practiced for MORE than 30 minutes a day on that.  It was a very musical home!
      Learning the violin was hard.  You have to keep your bow straight and hold your chin and your wrist a certain way.  You have to place your fingers in exactly the right spot on the fingerboard to get the notes in tune.  You have to learn notes and rhythms and techniques.  I am so grateful my mom was also a violinist because she could help me.  I had my own private tutor!  Oh, the hours she spent helping me!  I would say that around ninth grade is when I really took off and got excited about playing the violin on my own.  I got to the point where I would want to play things just for fun.  I loved playing violin to Mom's piano accompaniments.  My violin used to be my Mom's and that makes it more special to me too.  I loved to listen to great violinists like Itzak Perlman.
     I loved feeling "special" because I could play the violin.  I remember wanting to be very careful that no one would ever think I was "stuck up" because I was "first chair" in orchestra.  I always tried to be humble.  And, I knew in the big scheme of things, I was not that fabulous.  How did I know?  All-State Orchestra!  I was selected to be in the All-State Orchestra three different years.  What a wonderful experience!  But, also a humbling one!  From the best at Alexandria High School to last chair in Minnesota All-State Orchestra!  But, I sure loved the experience.  We did Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition that first year and the director was fabulous - so expressive!  I loved hearing all the winds and brass and percussion.  It was all extremely exciting!  I felt like a real violinist in that orchestra.  My high school orchestra did arrangements of pieces, All-State Orchestra did the REAL thing.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

     Little did I know that All-State Orchestra was going to be a lot like Concordia College Orchestra.  When it was time for me to decide which college to attend, one of the major criteria was that I wanted a good, quality orchestra to be part of.  And, that's what I got!  The director was Mr. Houglum and he was excellent.  The other members of the orchestra were so fun to spend time with.  We had just strings three days a week and full orchestra two days a week.  After orchestra we would go to dinner at dining services.  I had a group of orchestra friends that I ate with every night my first two years of college.  It was so fun!  Junior and Senior year I ate my own food in my apartment after orchestra.
     Besides enjoying rich musical experiences, orchestras have provided me with good friends!  In high school my stand partner was Natasha.  We became great friends.  We would get together on weekends and play violin duets together.  We performed Bach's second movement of the Bach Double for contest.  Tasha continues to be a wonderful friend all these years later!
      Then my freshman year of college I was given Rebecca for a stand partner.  We had so much fun together.  We would giggle and write helpful notes in our music.  Our director had funny ways of 

  explaining things sometimes and we would take notes like "Swooosh,"  "Be a dead chicken,"  "Like fairies dancing!".  Rebecca was a great friend that year and we were going to be roomates our sophemore year, but she ended up moving to Texas!  Later I enjoyed visiting her there.  We're still good friends.  Of course, God provided other friends in the  

Stand partner Natasha and I

 orchestra to enjoy.  I fondly remember orchestra tours with Stephanie, Joy, and Melissa!  I remember Christmas concert rehearsals until late in the evenings and needing to study afterwards.  I remember sectionals (just violins or just cellos practicing in a room by themselves) and all the laughter.  I remember the feeling of finally getting that tricky part and being able to play it together!  Exciting stuff!
       We really spent a lot of time together in the Concordia Orchestra.  We had rehearsal every day for at least an hour, some-
times two hours.  We were so "together" in our playing.  We

Freshman Year stand partner Rebecca and I

 could sort of "feel" where the director was going in his conducting.  It was a group bond like none other I have experienced.  Now that I am all grown up and out of college, I miss those orchestra days.  I have tried being in other orchestras, but it's simply not the same.  The unity isn't there.  Yes, we've played some great music and we've had some fun together, but it's not the same committment and focus.  I think I cherish my Orchestra experience at Concordia more now than I did at the time.  I still love playing the violin.  After college, I taught violin lessons for three years to students in Mt. Lake.  I would play violin for church too.  Mom and I played violin/piano duets for TONS of weddings for a few years.  I played "fiddle" in a bluegrass gospel band.  I played violin on worship team.  Most of my playing now is just on my own at home or when I visit my parents in Alexandria.  I have lost quite a bit of my skill, but I know if I practiced regularly I could regain it.  It makes me sad sometimes that I'm not playing as much as I used to.  Violin was such a huge part of my life.  I still consider violin an important part of who I am.  I will forever be grateful that Mom and Dad encouraged me to practice, paid for my lessons, sent me to summer strings camps, and helped me through college so that I would grow in my love for music! 

Concordia Violinists:  Melissa, Joy, Stephanie, and me