OBAMACARE

Oh my word! How sad...they passed the healthcare bill. I have been talking on the phone with Brenda frustrated with the direction our country is going. It seems like everyone is a zombie following their leader Obama and whatever he says is gold! People WAKE UP! Somebody's going to have to pay for healthcare, it will not be free! Our kids/grandkids will be footing the bill, unless the Lord comes back...which seems more likely! I have a feeling China will be coming soon to collect too...It's so frustrating gov't taking over everything...I wish they would just back out and let us make it on our own. When I teach my kids to work at untying a knot or picking up their toys, etc...they are proud of themselves and that instills a sense of self-confidence...not me doing everything for them....Our gov't will inspire us to be better productive citizens if they let us pick ourselves up and do it our selves! :( frustrated in the most liberal city in MN...

Carter's Bday and More

Well, my little Carter turned 4 yesterday! I can't believe it! Time fly's! I treasure each day as much as I can sanely do :)

He is so hilarious! He is all literal and enjoy's soaking up his surroundings! He will take his time in life and enjoy all moments w/out rushing. I am thankful to the Lord for allowing us to have such a precious boy, and I daily pray for his salvation.

He had a great day yesterday, we went swimming at the GEL for 3 1/2 hours. He wore shorts all day (I told him when it was his bday he could wear shorts), rode his bike to the library to pick out a family movie, and got lots of cake and presents.

He got a scooby doo ball, scooby doo undies, spiderman fishing kit, glasses, jump rope, "go fish" card game and a snake (pretend, of course)...he was pretty excited.

Today I had to get a couple of moles removed. My dad has melanoma in one of his moles, and I thought I'd better get checked out and they dr says we'd better remove 2 of mine and test them. I should be getting results back next week. I am such a baby and hate needles, it was fine but I was pretty stressed. Grant has discovered his hands and try's to clap and make the "more" sign language...

Tonight Sydney and Carter have AWANA...so, I am studying for Mom's Bible Study for tomorrow.

Would love you to visit us up in ELY!

Well...took me long enough!

Well, it's been way too long since I have posted last! Sorry!
Things are going pretty well here in Ely. This winter has really spoiled us! I am waiting for the below zero streches and snow dumps soon! The kids and I have been sledding at Hidden Valley almost every afternoon! We don't even need coats, just snowpants and gloves and off we go! Grant too his first sled ride too!
Grant is growing. He got his bottom teeth last month and is really smiling and cooing. He is moving around on his belly too, won't be long and he will be crawling! We just moved him to his own room this week, it's so sad seeing such a tiny baby in a big crib! But, it's nice having your room back!
Alli is busy, and is starting to bond more with Grant, she is realizing she can be a helper and be a teacher. I am thankful for that. She is a joy and I look forward to every stage.
Carter is all boy! He is running all over and took ski lessons this past winter. He really progressed and battled through falling, and falling, and falling!!!!!!! Poor guy, he just asked dad to push him up the hill so he could cruise down, like a gorilla. :) he is into #'s and learning how to recognize them. He likes going fishing with Mark and did ice fishing for the first time last month.
Sydney has finished K5 Math and only has 50 more phonics lessons! She can write cursive, add, subtract, count by 2, 5, 10's and recognize money (who can't :)). She loves a challenge and pushes herself! She is also a natural in sports! She just picks anything up! I am thrilled for her. She was in skiing and was quickly moved up to the next level and also played basketball. She played in 2 high school games half time shows and did really well. It's so weird seeing her playing basketball, b/c Mark and I used to play!
I feel like i can't keep up with housework sometimes and getting together with friends! I go out once a month with other mom's and it's huge reconnecting and laughing! I miss my friends from the cities at times and look forward to reconnect.
Hope you are all well

Welcome 2010!

We are so thankful for 2009...Sydney accepted Jesus as her personal Savior & Lord. WHAT A BLESSING! We have been praying for her since she was born, it was overwhelming joy!
Grant Arthur was born into our family in July, he is so content and such a happy baby. He is struggling with a touch of pnemonia right now, so we are praying that God uses the drugs to heal him up quick!
Carter is able to recognize #'s up to 10 and we are working on letter recognition...planning to send him to preschool next year.
Alli is memorizing scripture, potty trained and is strong willed as a bull! Lord help with her! :) She won't be peer pressured into too many things when she get's older!
We started homeschooling Sydney this year and are really enjoying it! It's so fun to see her learn and want to know more!
Mark is enjoying the Credit Union. Feeling more and more at home. His members are so nice and really are kind!
I am busy with everyday stuff and find the day's quickly slipping by. I'm doing a Mom's Bible Study 2 times a month, "Power of a Positive Mom"...and would highly recomment "She's Gonna Blow" too...Great study's! We are visiting Berean Baptist right now (Southern-Calvinist Baptist Church)...
Blessings for 2010!

Baby 4 is coming...

Just a quick update...I've been back and forth for dr visits in the cities...It's official the induction is scheduled for Monday, July 20th...our Fourth and Final should be here...Lord willing...We choose the name Grant Arthur...will keep you posted on all the stats as we can!

Updates

Well, I haven't blogged for quite a while because I spend most of my internet on facebook...

Mark went on a fishing trip with some guys from Ely, they fished Basswood (in BWCA) and slept overnight 2 nights. They caught about 200 fish, Mark says he got 27 walleye and 3 northerns. Fishing was great. This past week we fryed up some walleye, and it was SO GOOD! I told him he might have to go out and catch us fish for supper at least once a week!

Mark started demo'ing the bathroom and dust is flying and plaster! It's exciting to see that I won't have a 1800 bathroom forever!

We had a garage sale at our house last Saturday, it was snowing and horribly windy. Lovely, but thankfully we sold a big item and a bunch of small items...we made out pretty good.

We had parent conferences at Sydney's preschool...she is exceling in reading, math and her social skills. It was fun to hear! We talked about how sensitive she is and if she will grow out of it...Ruth Lah says that her daughter fainted while hearing the story "Old Yeller" in school, so at least we know to avoid sad books/movies! :)

Carter had his 3 year old check up today, he is a good communicator and analyzes things before he does anything.

Alli is a little stinker, she is not wanting to eat with the family lately. She wants to just graze and doesn't really seem to eat much.

Pepper hasn't ran away in a while, which is nice, since we are down to 1 car.

My ladies bible study is winding down, and we have 2 chapters left. It has been great. My allergies is kicking in really bad! I think something must be bloomin or the dust that is getting kicked up from the demo might been the culprit.

We are headed to the cities this weekend to see Brenda and Kirk for Memorial weekend. I am almost 31 weeks, and think I will be enduced the 20th of July, so only 8 weeks left! CRAZY

Beautiful Weather!

It's been so beautiful! Thank you Lord for this weather! Last week the kids and I went to the cities for a dr appointment and Easter...it was so relaxing!!! I was able to lounge on the deck and watch the kids wear themselves out! We had Easter dinner at Jack and Nancy's...with Aunt Janet and Grandma Olson...
When we got back to ely we were pleasantly surprised to see alot of the snow melting! YEAH! We walked to the dr office for Carter's finger (check up) Monday and Tuesday (about 25 blocks) and today we met friends on the trazona and walked about 2 miles! CRAZY! It is about 60 and now sunny...and tomorrow is going to be beautiful too...we are meeting friends again to walk.
Hope all is well...

Dr visits

Well, it's been a while since my last post! Jack and Nancy visited here for Mark's birthday, we had a good time, however the weather was quite cold! But, what do we expect in ely? I had a run with the flu, for a week, yuck!!
Last week Alli smashed her fingers in the garbage container, it weighed about 50 pounds and I thought her fingers were broken thankfully, the xray showed different. Saturday, Alli was choking and threw up a quarter! Oh my word!! Thank you Lord!!
Today, Carter was chasing Sydney in the basement and tripped on his boots (which were on the wrong feet) and ended up breaking his pinky finger! Poor guy! He is so accident prone! The dr's and nurses know us all better than there own family, I think!
We are still sorting out boys names.
We decided to homeschool Sydney, so pray that we do a good job in training her in the way we should...Hope you are all doing good...my next trip to the cities is next Tuesday-Sunday! YEAH!

Itza Boy

Its a boy! I did have an ultrasound last Thursday (they were worried about a low lying placenta---just got word from the dr yesterday, the placenta moved up, so nothing to be concerned about) and she confirmed it was a boy! We don't have any boy names, so any suggestions would be helpful.
We got the blizzard that everyone kept telling us was coming, it's really pretty outside.
Friday night is family fun night for ECFE...we are helping with concessions and setting up! It's bring your family and eat dinner, dance around with other little kids (all kid friendly songs like "old mcdonald", etc..). We are excited for that!
Oh....funny story today! Sydney and Carter were playing outside in the snow and Sydney came to the door to tell me to see what she found. She had a dead bird laying on the back porch. I quickly told her we couldn't have the bird inside, and she was wondering if she could have it as her pet. I kindly explained that pets are live animals and not dead....not to mention the fact that pepper would use that as a chew toy! She was disappointed, but I told her she could save it outside until daddy came home! Kids are so cute...

Fun week

I am heading to the cities Tuesday-Sunday for a dr appointment and to celebrate Carter's birthday.
I was painting the bathroom today a fun blue color, boy does my back kill...and I am exhausted, but it was worth it!
Wednesday I am planning to get together with the girls and than visit 1st Baptist for church in the evening.
Thursday I am meeting my grandma for lunch with the kids and than maybe visiting IKEA.
Friday I am going to run to Ely to pick up Mark and make it back before the kids go to bed...
Saturday we are having a birthday party for Carter (thomas theme)
Sunday we head back to good ole Ely.
Have a good week...and we don't have our cell phones anymore so if you want to get ahold of us this week call Jack and Nancy.

First Ely Basketball game

We went to the library for storytime yesterday morning and the kids loved it! It's always fun to listen to stories with friends and when someone else is reading (and if you get a cookie at the end) :)!
We attended the first of many, I am sure, Ely basketball games. Sydney's friend Broc played at halftime. It was fun to watch and I couldn't believe how many people who don't have family playing come out to watch and support the team. They got creamed by Cloquet, but that's ok we enjoy hoops anyway!
Broc is 5 and he plays with the kindergarten boys, and every varsity boys home game, they play at halftime. Gives them practice for a crowd and learning the key skills.
Today we are going to a birthday part at LaTourell's...their friend Grace turns 3. (broc's sister) Its more fun for the adults to get together, I think :)...
Tomorrow is the 2nd annual dog sled racing, I don't know if we will make it or not ,but its fun to see the dogs pull the sleds.
Hope all is well...

Brenda had her baby!

The Krekelbergs are proud to annouce the arrival of Luke Russell today! He weighed in at 10 pounds 12 oz, 23 inches long! Brenda was induced this morning and had 3 pushes...she got her epideral which was vital! She says he doesn't have too much hair and blue eyes...I can hardly wait for Kirk to send us the first photos! Faith will be visiting her little brother tomorrow!

Blessings and Opportunity's

I feel really blessed lately, and a bit overwhelmed...the big thing going on right now, is the moms bible study we are doing. We layed out the plan of salvation and gave them the opportunity to accept Christ. It was neat to hear the questions, and the sad thoughts they had about other family members that would go to hell if they didn't follow Christ too. The Bible way is so clear and easy, but it seems that other religions say, Christ wasn't enough, I have to do "xyz" too... talk about a slap in Christ's face...Lord, you can be my help when I need you financially, when Im sick or someone I know is sick, but when it's comes to heaven, I know better? Sad, but true alot of the time. We are continuing in our "Lies women believe" book this coming week, and there are a lot of convicting thoughts, so I pray God will continue to work. The funny thing about this study to me is, some of these women don't believe the bible is 100% true, but yet they still want to study it? Praise the Lord, he works in mysterious ways. I have been able to indivually talk to each of the ladies, and pray that I can keep the communication lines open and be able to field the questions in a biblical way!
We are going to be heading to brainerd this weekend, getting hair cuts and staying at the waterpark. pepper will stay with a coworker of mark's and he will be completely pampered.
Brenda is due today, and I hope she will go soon! I am looking forward to little Luke!
I am 16 weeks pregnant, I think? yeah I am pretty sure, definitely growing a belly, awkward stages.
Mark has really wrecked his back...he actually broke down and went to the chiropractor today. He has a bulging disk, crooked spine and mulitple misplaced stuff...he had too much inflamation for the dr to do anything today, so tomorrow morning he is going back after he is done icing it all night! Poor guy, he acts like a 90 year old frail man! :)
Alli is talking a little more, saying "bowl, ball, yeah, pepper" It's funny to hear her talk. She is definitely independent, we won't know where she is and than we will find her all by herself playing in the toy room.
Carter is ready to turn 3, he asks almost everyday when his birthday is! He has a bad cough now, so we are praying that goes away quickly. He loves being outside with me, rolling in the wet snow.
Sydney is doing well in preschool, her review turned out well, she is doing everything a 4 year old should be doing. She is excelling in awana program, and loves helping with the dog!
Ely was super warm this past few days, and still is in my book (about 20 degrees)...its been a huge blessing for us! We have been taking advantage of this great weather!
hope you are all doing well! Toodles.

Been a while

It's been a while since I posted! Well, what is different in our lives? Pepper is the new addition to our family. He has exceeded our expectations! He listens really well, shakes, sits and never barks. The kids do everything to him and he just sits there, the cutest thing is Alli likes to grab his face with both her hands and says "mmmm" and kisses him on the mouth! He ususally is forced to lick her...we laugh. She also locks herself with him in his kennel...he tries to look the other way, while she shares her baby and blankie with him! He is a fun addition.
We had a cold spell last week and are getting another one tonight. It's so hard on us b/c we are locked inside, with no where to go! Bummer! I am really hoping for an early spring.
I am almost 14 weeks pregnant and have gotten my appetite back...but am doing a 4 mile walk to make up for it...which probably doesn't equal the amount of food I have been consuming...I have been so hungry lately!
Mark had his annual audits done and he got a Camel rating 2 which is really good, and his audits this week went great too.
Hope all is well, and I understand if you don't want to visit us here but come spring you should come up! Oh, Feb 6-16 is Ely Winter Festival...if you are interested check out www.ely.org

What will 2009 hold?

Well, 2008 is done hard to believe! I wonder what 2009 will bring!
We are ready to get back into a normal routine and have our house back in order, glad the decorations and tree is down and we can just breathe...
Our church retracted the vote for the new pastor, huge answer to prayer! So, we are still looking for a new pastor, so keep that at the top of the prayer list...pray for a saved pastor who is grounded in the Word!
We are getting a new puppy this weekend, Pepper...he is a 1-2 year old black lab :) the kids and I can hardly wait...
We are also pregnant, if you didn't get a Christmas card or didn't read it carefully LOL, we are about 11 weeks along, due at the end of July. The plans are to continue seeing my dr in the cities and plan an induction at Unity sometime in July! As long as things are noneventful, which is usually the case for me, thankfully!
Well, I am shivering by the window here...so I will write again later!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your family! We did send out Christmas cards, but they got sent out yesterday...so you probably won't get it until this weekend! Sorry!
We are chilling in Ely tonight, maybe go to the Christmas Eve service? We will open presents tomorrow morning and than go sledding...
Merry Christmas...remember Christmas wouldn't be if Christ didn't come...thank you Jesus!

Weekend

Well, Jack and Nancy made it up about 11pm Friday night safe and sound!~It was a cold weekend, but when it hit 5 degrees above zero we were heading to the park to ice skate! We didn't make it too long, especially the kids their toes were frozen! Mark, Nancy and I decided to get a few things at the grocery store, and you would normally think we would get in the car and drive there, but b/c we live in Ely...we walked, pulling our sled behind us, so it could carry the grocery's back to our house! (we live about 5 blocks away)...
Sunday was a hard day for Mark and I...our church had a pastor candidate at Ely Baptist...He was fresh out of Bethel College and seemed quite promising. Wow...we didn't agree with him on the fundamentals so, we are going to be looking for another church. They voted him in 28-4. I did pray and ask God for a clear answer, and thank you Lord...it was crystal clear...Pray for us, this is going to be hard socially for us, and I don't want this to jeopardize what the Lord has been doing in the Bible study we have been doing! How bittersweet? Hope you have a great Christmas, we will be in Ely for the Holidays! Lord Bless!

Cold weather, a blessing?

Wow, who would have thought that this cold weather could be a blessing? But, today at Bible Study, my friend Kristi says that the guys at the college haven't been out of control, b/c of the weather, it's too cold to go outside and stir up trouble! It was an answer to prayer for her and us!
Sydney baked cookies at preschool on Tuesday, today had a AWANA christmas party and tomorrow she has school and than a birthday party at the GEL. She is one busy girl!
We had bible study today and it was great!!! We talked about how science and religion go hand in hand and science can't contradict God's Laws of Beginnings and Causes...really interesting stuff, I am not a science buff, so it was nice to scratch the surface and still understand!
Mark is keeping busy at work, he usually stays with Sydney while she is at AWANA and does the Bible Study...
We got invited out to dinner at the Ellerbrooks last night...we had a good time, and boy is she a great cook!
Jack and Nancy are going to get their dog sled team together and head up here for the weekend. We are all looking forward to seeing them, it's been since the beginning of November since we had seen them last...
I am hosting a Birthday party bash for Jesus next monday, the kids are donating a toy to Jesus and we are going to have a cake and everything, just trying to distract them from "getting"... Pray we can donate the toys to someone special who God can show His love towards this holiday season....
Well, I would say, come up and enjoy ELY...but, WAIT until its a little warmer!

Sweet Sydney

We have been having a lot of cold weather lately...one day we woke up to -19! BRrr....it's a blizzard out there right now, our Sunday School program was cancelled for tonight. I haven't written lately, but have been meaning too...Sydney's preschool teacher came up to me last Thursday and put her arm around me and said, "Sydney is just so sweet in class, everytime I bring up Santa Clause, she tells me, Mrs. Lah, Christmas is about Jesus' birth, not Santa!...she said that she is so proud of her, b/c no other kids care about Jesus' like she does and how she doesn't care about presents, just that Jesus gets recognized for Christmas!"...I was praying this season that I could impact the kids towards Jesus this season and not on the other things we get distracted with! She wrote a letter to Santa Clause with her preshool, and she said "Santa, Christmas is about when Jesus was born in Bethlehem...and she asked for presents for everyone of us, except herself! I am just so thankful for her selfless attitude! Ineed to be more like that! Don't forget the real reason of Christmas...our ticket to heaven, escaping hell!

Bible Study update

Just updating you guys on my Bible Study. First, thank you for praying, it truly helped!
We started out by addressing the fact that there have been some questions and asked them to please feel free to ask...So, they unloaded, great questions...Who wrote the Bible? Is divorce ok if you are getting abused? How do we know if our pastor is decieving us? Can you argue someone's belief? Is the Bible open to interpretation or is black/white?
I was so excited that they are really searching and not just wanting to do our bible study for social gatherings...it's truly to have purpose...
So they decided they wanted to first study the validity of the Bible first and than move on w/the study...so the next 4 lessons are going to be from a study called "examine the exidence". We address all their questions, plus have an opportunity to accept Christ...HOW EXCITING!
Couple of prayer requests...these women would be saved, Kristi's family is struggling w/their job up here due to some threats by college kids, my testimony to be real and that I desire God w/my whole heart! THANK YOU!