Just last week we were sitting in church listening to Pastor Jonathan's sermon, and he quoted Romas 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."  I found myself singing along in my head, and for the rest of the day.  "Singing?" you ask.  Yes, singing!  Back in college, in the good old CSF days (Christian Student Fellowship at the U of MN) Dave Burkum was fond of writing what he calls Scripture Songs.  He would take verses straight out of the Bible and put them to great music. He taught them to us and we sang them.  Little did we know that those songs would stay in out head for the rest of our lives, jumping out in times of need or recognition (such as last Sunday).  He helped us all to do what Deuteronomy 11:18 instructs:  "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and mine; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads."

So struck with memories of all the times I had sung Scripture Songs and what great music it was, I went to Google.  "Dave Burkum scripture songs"  Guess what I found--Dave's website and store, with two whole CD's of Scripture Songs!  They just came in the mail today, and I LOVE THEM!

Thank you Dave!!!

 Be sure to visit Dave's website and the Sonoluma store.  Enjoy!

So just a little note about the snowfall I reported last time.  We ended up getting about 4 inches (per the local tv station) and all area schools were closed for two days--four day weekend for all the kids!  By the end of the second day the streets were only wet and I could hear water gushing down the gutters.  By Sunday it was completely gone.  On Saturday, our neighbor (who moved here from Atlanta about six months ago) stopped us outside our house to chat.  She had a winter coat on and a shovel in her hand.  We were mostly in pajamas, no coats.  She asked us if she parked her car in her driveway with the parking brake engaged if her car would slide down the driveway and into the road.  She also told us that she had taken pictures and sent them to her friends in Georgia to show them what Arkansas people consider a snow storm, and how terrible it was.  She said in Georgia when they have a snowstorm that shuts down the city, you can still see the grass peeking through the snow.  We told her that we also took and sent pictures, but for the opposite reason. 

Here is a picture of Jon and the girls reading in their "book nook."  It is a childhood dream of mine.  I used to take all the books off the shelf in our house and lay in the shelf to read.  I've always loved little comfy corners where you can curl up with a good book. 

Jon was on a photographic streak Sunday, so here is some of his work.

Norah in the playroom:

Me working on sugar cookie dough: 

An example of why you shouldn't try to shoot a close-up with a wide angle lens.  Too funny! 

I just thought this picture was really cool--how it focuses on her hand and the rest has such perspective.

Jon's Still Life:

Olivia reading one of her favorite books, from Uncle Andy & Aunt Tanya! 

And Olivia in full princess/ballerina getup.  Notice how her crown is resting on her bent ear, lol.

And more Mama in the kitchen.  I have no idea what I was making there. 

So, nothing much exciting today, but at least some pictures!  Let me see if I can remember some good girlie stories from this week...

Okay, so after the cookies were made and frosted, of course we got to eat them.  However, the girls refuse to eat the cookie.  They just eat all the frosting.  So the first time she ate one, Norah said, "Eat my frosting all up my mouth!"  While that is not a brilliant and new thought, it is a seven word sentence!  For someone not yet two, that's pretty amazing!

Oh, then Livi said to me the other day, "Mommy, if you're a princess, boys kiss you."  All I could think in my head was, "Oh great.  Great.  My three-year-old wants to know about kissing boys.  All I could say was, "I guess that's what happens in your movie, right?"  She loves to watch The Little Mermaid, which is probably the most tame (violence and death-wise) of the Disney princess movies, but of course the whole point of the movie is to get the boy to kiss you.  At least she isn't thinking about being locked away in a castle by a beast (Beauty & the Beast), being treated like a slave by her mothers and sisters (Cinderella), a mean old witch feeding her a poisened apple (Sleeping Beauty), or someone coming to cut her heart out and take it back to the queen in a box (Snow White).  I used to think Disney movies were so nice, until I saw her processing them in her three-year-old mind.  I think we'll stick to The Little Mermaid for now.

Yesterday it was 72 degrees here, so we spent a lot of time outside.  I told my friend Elaine it was like I had spring fever!  All the windows were open with a nice warm breeze floating in and out, and the wonderful smell of the outdoors...I couldn't concentrate on anything!  It was hard to fold laundry because my mind kept drifting.

Have a great week, and I'll try to update again soon! 

All the are schools are closed, everything is shutting down...  Here are a couple pictures I just took out the front door:

To be fair, we are expecting between 4-6 inches, possibly up to 8-10 inches by this afternoon.  At 6:30 this morning they were reporting Bella Vista roads were already slippery.

Here is Livi in her Rainbows shirt.  She missed last night because both girls and Jon have been sick.

Grampa John came to stay with us for awhile, and we all had a fabulous time!  The girls loved having Grampa around and were quite confused when he had to go home.

We went to the Arkansas Air Museum in Fayetteville and saw lots of airplanes, helicopters, and cool stuff.  They also had a couple buildings full of old military vehicles, airplanes, helicopters, uniforms, and artifacts.  They even had one of those huge helicopters with a motor on each end that Grampa said he flew in a lot when he was in the service.

And, of course, Sam Walton's first airplane.

Then, as long as we were in Fayetteville, we went by the Razorback stadium at the University of Arkansas.  Go Hogs!

 Grampa also had some Christmas presents for the girls.  Olivia wanted a pair of dress-up earrings and other jewelry to go with her dress-up outfits.  She has worn them every day since!

Grampa also got each of the girls a bike!  It was sixty plus degrees last weekend, so we went down to the park and rode on the path.

Then we went to the Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista.  It is a slightly downhill walk, and the girls took it at full speed...

A couple cute close-ups

Piggyback rides! 

Daddy's birthday was yesterday, and we celebrated on Tuesday with Grandma & Grandpa.  Not quite Dora the Explorer, but I think the cake is nicely decorated in Rustad-fashion!

Oops....trick candles.....hahaha

Grandpa comes to help out...

When all was said and done, we had to get a wet paper towel and put them out with a combination of blowing the flame out, wetting the wick, and grabbing the candle out of the cake before it lit up again.  We had quite the fog hanging around us.  Guess I won't do all trick candles on a cake again any time soon.  But it was funny!!!

Sorry for the lapse in coverage, but I hope you enjoy the update! 

Hello again from Arkansas!

We are doing well, surviving in the "freezing cold" weather of highs in the 30s-40s.  A shout-out to all our northern friends and family, who are surviving negative forty windchills.  We hope you are staying warm, and we don't miss that part at all. 

The girls seem to be adjusting well to life here.  Last night for the first time they discovered that they can talk to each other in their bedroom before they go to sleep. It was hilarious to hear them talk to each other on the monitor.  I can't even remember some of the stuff they said, but Jon and I were rolling in our room listening to their conversation.  At one point, Livi said, "Let's call Mommy."  Norah yelled, "MOMMY!"  Then Livi said, "No, I'll call her on the cell phone."

Then they decided to pray together, and they both held their bear's and doll's hands and prayed.  Norah prayed the usual, for Mommy and Daddy and Livi and "me."  Livi prayed for Daddy's tummy and Mommy's head, something we prayed for a week ago or so, and it seems to have stuck with her for some reason.  Then she started acting out her Sunday School class from the morning.  "Elise?  Do you want to pray?  Livi?  Anyone else?  Okay, well we're going to talk about Jesus today..."  It was SO FUNNY!  At one point, Norah squatted down (we have a video monitor) and grunted, then said, "Poopies!"  I figured I should go in, so I went and changed her diaper and laid her back down.  After that they got a little quieter and eventually fell asleep.

Olivia absolutely loves going to Sunday School and to Rainbows on Wednesday night.  She has to go in the nursery during church on Sunday, because the classes start at 4 years old, but she is really too advanced for the nursery.  She spends all her time being the "helper" and doing things for the little kids.  A few times over the last week she has come up to me while I am unloading the dishwasher, hung on the refrigerator handle (right below the timer) and asked me, "Mom, can I set the tie-bull?"  I assumed she was talking about the timer, but she wasn't, and after awhile would give up and go do something else.  Then a few days ago she asked me again.  I said, "What do you mean?"  And she said, "The lady at church said we have to help set the tie-bull!"  I said, "Oh, you mean set the ta-ble?"  Liv said, "No, she said the tie-bull." 

It was then that I realized we had had our first encounter with the Southern accent.  Set the tie-bull.

Livi of course doesn't know that a tie-bull and a table are the same thing.  She thinks it's a brand-new word for which she doesn't know the meaning.  We'll see how it pans out from here.

We had a fun weekend--we looked at some houses with Jon's dad, went to church on Sunday, and then spent Sunday afternoon with Jon's parents.  I made crockpot potato leek soup on Saturday, and it was SO yummy!  Unfortunately, the excess of veggies, specifically onions and leeks, gave Jon heartburn.  But if you like potato soup, you'll love this, and it's so easy!  Here is a link to the recipe.  It is the second one down.  Then on Sunday I made my homemade chicken noodle soup at Jon's parents, which of course was a hit.  Grandma and Norah were both clamoring for more noonies (or noodles, as the case may be).  Per Grandma Collins, I also made mashed potatoes to put in the bottom of the bowl.  Yummy!

We have also been coloring a lot of pictures lately, and Olivia is showing definite development in that area.  She now draws stick people, with heads, hair, eyes, mouths, arms, legs, and feet/shoes.  This morning she drew herself, Norah, Daddy, Mama, and Grandpa John all on the same page.  She also likes to trace her hand, though it ends up looking like a puffed-up glove.  Later today I'll try to scan some of her drawings into the computer so you can see them.

We have our calendar up now--one for the adults and one for the kids.  Olivia loves to see what day it is and what is happening that day.  The big ones for now are church, Rainbows, and Grandpa John coming on an airplane, which will happen on Thursday!

Look for some picture updates later today!  And as always, we love comments!

We're here!  We have unpacked (mostly) and even have the pictures hung.  We finally have internet access back--sorry for the delay.  The girls seem to be adjusting well.  They love to play outside and in their new playroom.  They also love going to Sunday School and church--yay!  Those skills transferred well, for which we are very thankful.  They are also sharing a room, which is working fabulously. 

Jon is enjoying his new job, but still getting acquainted and doing introductory things.  He will be glad to have his boss back this week so he can really get going with some projects.  He is excited to have a desk, computer, and even his own phone.  We are adjusting to corporate life, making coffee every morning, packing a lunch every night, and getting Daddy home for dinner and bedtime every day and on the weekends!  Mondays are a little difficult, because it's so fun to have Daddy for two whole days that we don't understand why he has to go back to work again.

I took pictures of our house this morning, so here they are:

This is the entry from the garage.  The washer/dryer is to the far left, the pantry is to the near left, and the coat closet is to the near right.

This is facing the opposite way, looking into the kitchen.  The master bedroom is to the left, living room to the right.

Standing in the dining room, looking towards the kitchen and sunroom.

Looking into the sunroom/playroom from the living room.  My favorite room!!

Looking onto the deck from the sunroom/playroom.  Normally we just go out in our regular clothes, but it's only 30-some today, so we would need jackets.

Looking into the living room from the end of the kitchen.  The girls are watching Dora.

Looking towards the dining room and entry from the playroom.

The entry, guest bedroom, and hallway to the girls room.

The kids bathroom.  Thomas!

The girls' bedroom.  Isn't it cute???

More of the girls' room.

Looking into the hallway from the girls room.  We can close the door to the hallway for an extra sound barrier to their room.  Cool!

The master bedroom, from the short hallway at the end of the kitchen.

Another angle on the master.

More master bedroom.

Master bath and closet

Second vanity and toilet room of the master bath.  Oh, I mean water closet. 

Master closet--it continues to the right as well.  It's huge!

And that's about it!  Enjoy!

We are now officially signing off in Minnesota.  Tomorrow morning I will drop off our modem (and load the truck and clean the apartment and pack the cars, etc., etc., etc.) and we'll be off towards Arkansas.  "Towards" because we won't actually get there until Thursday.  Anyway, tonight we are all sleeping on mattresses on the floor, except Norah who is in the pack-n-play.  My thoughts are a little disorganized right now, probably because I have been putting all my organizing efforts into packing and cleaning.

Happy New Year to All!  We'll write again from Arkansas!

~Jon, Chelsea, Olivia, & Norah

P.S.  Until then, here are some memories to make you smile.

We'll be back soon!

So Jess and Leighton had to leave on Christmas Day to get back for work, and that left us four to have our own Christmas Day fun.  We lounged around and played with our new toys, then decided to go out for dinner.  We called a few places (a surprising number were actually open) and decided on the Green Mill.  I had a gyro for my Christmas dinner!  It was fabulous.  Then Jon came up with the idea to go bowling.  We went home for the camera, and somehow both children fell asleep between Green Mill, the apartment, and the bowling alley.  If you've ever been to or by any of those places, you know they are about a stone's throw away.  To get to the bowling alley we drove our car out of the parking garage and directly into the parking lot of the bowling alley.  Literally.  Green Mill is about three blocks down the road.  I can't believe they both fell asleep!

Anyway, we woke them and and went into the bowling alley.  At first Livi didn't want to wake up, but the second she and Jon stepped in the door her eyes lit up and she was in.  Norah and I walked up to the counter, and Livi continued on to the arcade, but suddenly stopped, turned around, said, "OH!" and then turned to the fellow behind the counter and said, "Merry Christmas!"  His jaw hit the floor, and he turned to me and said, "That is the first time anyone has said that to me today!"  Then he gave us free shoe rentals.  How sweet!

We sat down to put our shoes on, and of course Olivia finished first because she was so excited.  As Jon and I put on our shoes, Livi watched the couple next to us as the man bowled.  As soon as the ball hit the pins and knocked them over, she Jumped up in the air and SCREECHED for Joy.  We're talking earth-shattering, high-pitched, I-scream-like-a-girl screech.  They laughed so hard!  What was even funnier is that she did that EVERY SINGLE TIME any one of us bowled--herself, Jon, me, Norah, or either of the two people bowling next to us.  It never got old for her.

We found a six pound ball for her and taught her how to bowl granny style.  Her feet slid easily on the floor, so one of us had to stand spread eagle, then she would spread her feet so they were braced against ours.  Then four hands would grip the ball and swing back and forth.  "One.....two.....THREE!"  Then we would both make every effort to throw the ball with as much force as we could, which was usually enough to make the ball hit the pins in about ten to twenty seconds.  We stood there, silently watching, until finally..."YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"  What a hoot!

So I mentioned we stopped for the camera, and we did.  We also took pictures.  But then the battery on my camera died, and we think the charger is already packed.  So sorry, no pictures!  I promise to put them up in about a week and a half.

That's right, we are officially one week from Arkansas.  The truck will pick us up on January 2nd, and unload us January 4th.  It is getting so close.  We are finally at that point where we want to pack everything, but can't because we still have to live here for a few more days.  It's so much harder with kids!  They have to have somewhere to sleep, good food to eat, and somewhat of predictable routine.  Luckily they are resilient as well. 

Merry Christmas again!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

from Olivia, Jon, Norah, Chelsea, Jessica, & Leighton

Testing the light for the Christmas photo--what hams!

Norah glaring at Daddy because he told her to wait her turn to open the present

Olivia modeling her new reversible apron from Auntie Jess

Playing peek-a-boo behind the Christmas Tree

Norah telling Mama about her present

Cheesy Mama

Jess & Leighton openning their gifts

Olivia "helping" Daddy open a present

 Smile!

Norah wrapping her baby in the matching placemat from Auntie Jess 

Leighton reading to Livi--what a guy!

Norah must get in on the action

The girls enjoying the mattress in our living room