Thank you for your prayers

Simon is great! Sorry not to update the blog and thank you for your prayers. He is about the sweetest little boy and my FAVORITE Tengesdal grandson!!!!! I do love this little boy!

Exercise update....

Steve called from work one day and said...who are you trying to kid...you just said that you were in your mid 40's.

That was then...On Friday, I went to "Gutts and Butts" class. A 30 minute class that works on...well, you know. We did some exercises and I was okay.

Then, i got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. HMMMMMMMM I realized that something was drastically WRONG!!!!!! Yep, I HURT.

by morning...I could go up the stairs but coming down my walk resembled someone who had a wooden leg Or had suffered from polio. I kind of throw my hips out to get down the stairs.

My exercise age.....upper 80's I thought exercise was supposed to make you feel younger!

But my dear friend said...we must continue on so Monday morning I am back at the gym...right after I gum my breakfast and race the others to the door...HMMMMM here is a thought...I started this program at the Senior Center and moved to the regular gym...maybe the move wasn't so good.

Only 3 years until Social Security....

Barb and I bookended by our Steves!

Barb and Steve are friends in faith and friendship.

They were on the Greeter/Usher team for 9 AM and are in our small group. God does such a great job putting people together.

My birthday is on the 26th and Barb's birthday is on the 21st. So our husbands, Steve and Steve made plans to take us out to dinner. We decided (3 of us...Barb's Steve doesn't like to go to a foreign country) to go to White Rock, British Columbia and eat at the Boat House. Fabulous food and fun fellowship! It was a great way to celebrate! This is Jack and he was at another restaurant in White Rock. He sat quietly enticing people to go into the restaurant but did say that he thought that particular place had gone to the dogs so we didn't eat there. Later when we went back to our car, he was gone...he must have been union.

Memorial Day at Moles...

Each Memorial Day, the cemetery is filled with flags. This year it was over 1400. Each of the flags has draped the casket of a Veteran. Each year we are reminded that it is because of these flags that we have freedom. We have freedom to gather together and pray. We have freedom to speak our minds, even if it is hurtful to a race of people or the very soldiers that are serving. We have the opportunity to live in the land who, despite all of its faults, all of the things that people speak out against...we are free. We do not need to fear if we leave our homes in a dress that is not accepted that we take our lives into our hands. We do not need to fear that our children will be hurt when a stray bomb hits our neighborhoods.
With our freedom comes the price. For me, it is the price to pray for our country in this dire and dark place in its history. It is to bow before the only One who can bring change to our land. It is to respond to a call to be lights in a dark world. If I look at the world and as it seemingly spins out of control in every corner of the universe, I would be fearful. I would wonder what my future holds. I would fear for my children and grandchildren. I would worry about friends when I can't see them.
For me, it isn't the world that I choose to look at! It is my Heavenly Father, the God of Creation, the Father of my Savior, Jesus, who I place my trust. That spurs me on to pray for my country and its leaders, my neighbors, my friends, and those who I encounter. It is the peace that I have when I pray for my children and their children and yes, their children's children.
So, Father, allow me to spread your joy to those who have not joy.
Let them see your light.
Protect our children and wrap your arms around them.
Come and invade our land with your Spirit and heal it with your power.
Amen

Our One Day Three-week Vacation...

It seems like if there is stress that needs to melt away, for me and for Steve, we head for the Islands. San Juan Island is the largest and that seems to be a favorite. So with Saturday dawning with the promise of upper 70's, we headed for Anacortes to catch the ferry.

The day was clear in Ferndale and all the way to Anacortes but as we rounded the corner in Anacortes to the Ferry Terminal we saw that the blanket of fog that wrapped the islands was still covering parts of the trip...

The Ferry ride was wonderful and we docked in Friday Harbor, a little seaside town that without a car, you can have some fun bumming around in the shops...but we take the car because we have fallen in love with other parts of the island. We were off to Roche Harbor...lunch...sun...and lots of beautiful places to visit.

Roche Harbor has changed. It, too, is seeing the introduction of more and more building which tends to take care of some of the interesting places that we enjoyed. One of the most "picturesque" building has been torn down...I'll keep searching to see if I can find the picture....

The harbour is beautiful and at noon the chimes went off and played for about 10 minutes...great memories.

The Old hotel built in the 1800's with it's garden is always fun to explore and has blooms for every season...

Steve almost ran to the dock to find out if the Phecal Phreak was docked...at times, he is such a boy...huh? Jane? His reason for taking the picture...Jon will love it! I reminded him that Jon HAS this picture...he still had to take it...I love that man!

It always surprises me when memories assail me. When I was little, lolligagging was not good. It meant that you were walking way too slow, you were taking too much time to smell the roses, or something! Later, my mom used the expression that she was just "gagging" the mall. In our house, gagging the mall brings a smile and memories of grammie. I stand corrected...both Steve AND Betsy credit Jane for the "gagging" the mall!

The flowers were beautiful! We saw other living things:

I guess this is how you clean the underside of the boat...house cleaning doesn't seem so daunting right now!

These little "boat" dogs were available for pictures at a moment's notice but one of the pups really had had it with the paparazzi!

We always anticipate seeing whales...but this is the only whale that we saw this trip.

We did see this sleeping, sun bathing seal when we went to Lime Kiln park. It is where the whales like to gather...this seal seemed a bit frustrated as the tide was coming up and waves from passing boats splashed on his whiskers and "bothered" his nap...I can identify...nap time should be nap time...PERIOD!

I realized that this North Dakota girl has taken all kinds of pictures of water an mountains and has ignored the islands' beautiful farms with llamas, sheep, statues, and there is even a camel!

At the end of the day, we feel like we always do...that we have had a three week vacation. God is so good and He is so faithful. He has given us an amazing playground to relax and enjoy...and we do love it out here. However, sometimes, a playground like this without our family and old friends from ND it seems empty...but then God reminds us that He has directed our paths and He will continue to direct our paths...and we praise Him for that!

Yogablog teaches moves...

I thought that I should walk you through a couple of exercises that we did in our yoga class. Now to make this an effective exercise for you, have someone read this while you do the moves unless you can find someone else to do the moves while you dictate. Whichever manner you choose, keep in mind that I am in my late 40's and doing these exercises.

Begin standing up and go into the "downward dog" pose (as seen above). Great. Now lower your knees to the ground (if you have a yoga mat, you should be using that...I really don't get the mat) You should end up in the "table top" position...okay, as a woman in her late 40's, why not just say...get on your hands and knees ladies!

Okay, here is where it gets tricky because I really can't find pictures of the next several moves..

Danica (the instructor) says: Thread your right arm between your left arm and leg.

What she means: Stick your arm under your stomach and have it come out the other side. Good grief, a woman who is in her early 50's would understand that.

Okay, now is when it gets tricky...

Danica says: Put your shoulder on the mat...

I pop up to see what she means by that...yep...put your shoulder on the mat.

Danica says: Rotate your shoulder until your shoulder blade is on the mat while lifting your right arm and raising it to the sky.

I pop up to see what she means by that...yep...she has her whole skinny little shoulder blade on the mat and doesn't look like she is in pain or is breaking anything...what have I, a mid-50's woman, have to lose? I rotated and heard cracks...Danica's face is angelic, mine (because of the joy of the mirrored room) is in a painful grimace which doesn't really do me much justice.

Danica says: Oh, feel the stretch, doesn't that feel so good? Now open it up some more...lift your chest, feel that wonderful stretch.

I pop up to see what she is doing to her body now. WOW...she really has opened up...with the same angelic face. Why is it that when you are dying of pain...the instructor always says...feel that stretch...doesn't that feel good? Who has the guts to say...NO, I am in pain and I want to stop...but who has consideration for a woman who is in her late 50's.

Danica says: Back to the table top position and let's do it on the other side.

I say: Oh doodie doodie dumbdrop, let's do it again.

Oh, this is the easier of the 2 exercises...stay tuned for yogablob to teach you another one later....

The Mom Song

In our church on mother's day, one of our singers/drama persons, sang this song. It is funny and so true. So this is to all you moms out there who will understand and identify with this lady.

http://www.mormonvidz.com/video/1141/The-Mom-Song-to-William-Tell-Overture-with-lyrics

Thrive Comes to Ferndale...

In January, a new gym opened in Ferndale. I joined in October and gave Steve a present of a membership in November so it was an anticipated event! We were going to get physically phit!

(Here is an aside to my membership to gyms ... I paid my membership to the YMCA for 2 years or was it 3 and never darkened the door.) That was not going to happen with this gym.

We have been faithful...consider my past...and we go about 3 times a week. In May a friend, Michelle, and I decided that we would join the gym's classes. They have some great classes and the classes have fun names. She has gone to butts and gutts but I haven't...

We have had some great fun experiences...but I have to say some of them are not so fun. Here is a question...whose idea was it that thought it was a GOOD idea to encase the room with floor to ceiling MIRRORS????????? Well, we have floor to ceiling mirrors...and so when you are exercising, you get to watch yourself. In our cases we get to see ourselves look like...yes, Bob the Tomato! If we were to take our pictures, this is the color that we would be! So...that is one of the perks that we got when we started classes.

I don't mean to blow my own horn, but I have always thought of myself as someone who has a bit of rhythm...NOT SO! One of the classes that we went to was Latin Groove. Being an avid watcher of Dancing with the Stars, I knew that I could do those moves if only Steve would want to take dance lessons. NOT SO! As a teacher, I know that when you have a student who doesn't get it...you move so that you are in close proximity and stay there until you think he/she gets it and then move on. Betty (her real name) would move to 2 of the students in the class and go through all of the moves while leading the rest of the class verbally because of course the sluggards in the class are always in the back row. She would stay by those two until she thought that they had it and then move away. By the end of the class, she just stayed with us. No we never really got it but we were both soaking wet! And, much to Betty's surprise, we are going back tonight....

Then we went to yoga. We did all of the poses and thought...yeah, this really didn't do anything until the next day and we realized that it touched on muscles that we hadn't known about. So last night I went with another teacher. My, who knew that Yoga from one could be so different. I'm not saying that this was a picture of me...but it is what I felt like when I looked in the mirror...I decided to call that class...Yogablob because looking in the mirror that is what I thought I looked like compared to the 2 cheer girls who were...maybe 19 and were complaining that they had not done any moves like that since....well, HIGH SCHOOL. Yogablob just kept her mouth shut.

The greatly anticipated gym ... oh, I like it. I know it's good for me. And the mirrors tell me I need it. But...maybe I am not as young as I think I am...

Yogablog...just keep on going....

Stand up and be heard....

As I watched the news last night, I realized that to stand up for something that you believe in is difficult and usually sacrificial. I am referring to the graduates who felt strongly enough to miss their graduation ceremonies because the speaker stood for something that they didn't believe. They could be called radicals. They could be viewed as having no respect for the office of the President of the United States.

It is not easy to stand up for something. History has had many who have stood up against what was the norm. Against what was acceptable and showed lack of respect for the "organization."

Martin Luther nailed his doctrinal questions and answers on the door of a church and history changed. Moses stood up against a ruler and there was significant plagues that happened to the Egyptian people.

I think of the most radical individual, Jesus, who stood up against the ruling body of the church, the Pharisees, and called them vipers, hypocrites, and charged them with being tied to the law and followers of the law with no love to the God that they were serving.

Jesus set the example for us to stand up. He commands us to go and be witnesses for His name. Whether these young people stood up as a protest to abortion in the name of Jesus or just to protest abortion, I don't know. What I do know is that they stood up. They took a stand. It is so easy to blend in with the crowd but much more difficult to stand up and be counted. I wonder what I have taken a stand for lately. What do I feel passionately about?

My passion for Christ should spur me on to stand out in a crowd. It should push me to the levels of my comfort zone and then past it. My love for Christ and my dedication for Him should be evident in everything I do. Unfortunately, sometimes, it is far too easy to blend in.