For the Beauty of the Earth...

Dear Ones,

It's been a long week. A lovely soul went to be home with Jesus after a hard battle with cancer. She leaves behind a husband and three children. My soul rejoices that she is in heaven now and whole and joyful and at peace. My mother's heart breaks for the family she leaves behind. The grandmother of a very good friend also went home this week. I pray for my friend and her family as they miss a grandmother and friend. Another friend struggles through the beginnings of divorce and all the changes that means for his life. My heart aches for his sadness and the loss of a relationship. My darling niece celebrated her first birthday. She brings joy to all around her. We awoke this morning to still air after a very windy week and to one of the most lovely snows I've ever seen. I spent time this morning with three women that encourage me, make me laugh and help me keep my feet on the ground.

It's called LIFE. It's full, it's up, it's down, I couldn't live it without the faith I have in a God who loves us, who sent His Son for our sin so we can draw near to Him. Click the link, let the music play while you look at my sorry attempts to capture on "film" God's glory in His creation today. I pray it blesses you as it did me with the knowledge that "it is well with my soul" because of Him.
May you have a blessed weekend!
With love for you, my friends and family...
Christy

www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/b/fbeautye.htm

Halloween...

Friday night...carving pumpkins...Brennen did his own carving this year! (yikes!)

Kindrid just loves the goop!

Our results: One ballerina...One Luke Skywalker (again):We had 60+ trick or treaters this year. Todd took the kids around in the truck as the wind was really howling. Most of the kids that came around were older - too yucky for the little ones. Brennen and Kindrid had fun - and are busy consuming a ridiculous amount of sugar! :O)

And with this blog post...I am now caught up! Happy Reading! (and thanks for reading!)

Christy

Denver Zoo...

Hello Again!

Todd's folks left on Wednesday, the 21st and headed to Denver for a visit with Matt and Carrie (Todd's sister). We attended the kids' conferences on Thursday morning and then headed to Denver for a visit too.

First, I have to report how wonderfully the kids are doing in school! Both teachers were full of praise for their work. I'm thankful for how easily it seems to come to them and the pride they both take in doing a good job. We have two excellent teachers this year and, so far, it's been a much more peaceful year, particularly for Brennen, than last year was.

I didn't take many pictures in Denver, but we had a wonderful time. Auntie Carrie had set up a tent for the kids to sleep in, and we were enthusiastically welcomed to Camp Leiner. They said that, although they looked like dogs, they were actually bears and not to feed them. :O) There were other posted rules, like no parties after 2:00 a.m., which both kids tried very hard to break.

We shopped some, ate out some, and went to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day and around 60 so cool enough for the animals to be moving around. Most impressive were the lions. They were active, roaring and eating. The male would roar and the females answer him. They were mesmerizing, and we spent a good deal of time watching them. We also had to chuckle at the baby Cape Buffaloes named: Barack and Obama. What an honor the keepers bestowed upon our president by naming these two critters after him!! :O)

It was hard to say our final good-byes to the in-laws after such a nice visit, but the stay at the Leiners helped ease us all into it.

Almost caught up...just one more post! :O)

Christy

Kindrid Turns Six...

Despite all the rules against getting older that Todd and I have made, our little girl keeps having birthdays. Her actual birthday was October 7th, but, as that was a school and AWANA day, we celebrated on Saturday, Oct. 10th instead with 7 of her girl friends. This is a milestone for all of us since last year her birthday was so soon after moving here that she really didn't have any little friends to invite. She wanted a simple party and thought of most of the games herself. Here the girls are doing hopscotch in the garage (Todd and Brennen looked up online exact specs and worked together with sidewalk chalk to make a nice one for the girls.) We also had a rousing game of "Keep the Balloon in the Air." Another game involved the girls thinking up uses for unusual objects. Here the two teams are, deep in thought. :O)

And of course, there were gifts. Autumn gave Kindrid a soccer ball - a girly one!!
Sisters, Shelby and Lauren, gave Kindrid a Lite Brite! (which has a whole new look since I was a kid!)

Valerie gave Kindrid a darling soft horse:

Sisters, Shelby and Paige, gave Kindrid a Barbie Mermaid doll:

I had to include this shot of those two girls, too. Cute!

And a patient Bryn waited politely until the end for her gift to be opened. She gave Kindrid a "fairy hut" as Kindrid calls it:

Six years we've been blessed by our happy girl who delights in songs, smiles, beauty, cuddles, stories and love. Thank you, God!

Blessings to you,

Christy

PS I just have to add a thought about how much quieter and easier this little girl party was than, oh, say, perhaps a little boy party!! :O)

Bighorn Day Trip...

The forecast looked amazing for September 26th so we decided the elder Sandbergs should see our favorite mountain range, the Bighorns. Some very kind friends let Brennen stay with them for the day so he wouldn't miss a birthday party. The rest of us headed out very early in the morning. Our first goal: The breakfast buffet at Bear Lodge near Burgess Junction on the north end of the range featuring Big Mike's made-to-order omeletes, biscuits and, of course, Big Mike himself. The buffet closes at 10:00 a.m. and we made it just in time. The omelets lived up to our enthusiastic praises and Big Mike spent a considerable amount of time at our table visiting. He was charming, the food amazing and the day off to a great start.

What can I say? We are still in awe that we live so close to this much beauty! The mountains in fall are spectacular. Due to hunting season, we saw no moose or elk. This was the first time we've been in the Bighorns without seeing any. My in-laws were troopers! In case you care to see how much mileage we put on (more than 500 miles!), trace this route: Casper to Sheridan, west to Burgess, loop around north of 14, back to alt 14, down through Shell Canyon to Greybull, Greybull south to Worland, east to Tensleep, east to Powder River pass, southeast down Crazy Woman Canyon and then back to Casper. Wow!

Here are some pictures that just don't do the scenery justice:

Smoke from a controlled burn the Forest Service was conducting:

Picnic spot above Meadowlark Lake on the southwest side of the range:

Take one of me, Mommy:

One very brave deer in Crazy Woman Canyon:

What a satisfying day full of beauty, warmth and the gold aspens holding the sunshine in their leaves!

Christy

And The Next Day Brought....

...Snow.
Here is our view of the mountains the day after the thunderstorm. Yep. Snow on September 21st! We've had two storms already, bringing a total of more than ten inches altogether. The last storm shut down some of the interstates and interrupted lots of services. Wal-Mart's produce section was almost empty making me realize once again how we take for granted this amazing, abundant, blessed country in which we have the privilege to live!

During this first week with us, my father-in-law, Ben, reached quickly for a falling bottle from the fridge and tore a tendon in his right shoulder. The doctor he saw assured him it needed surgery. He scheduled an MRI and said that he could not see Ben again until two weeks later due to a vacation he was taking. We all immediately adjusted our thinking that their visit would be a month-long visit to thinking it would be one of three months or more. Having the surgery here would mean I could help care for Ben as he recovered and be there for my mother-in-law, Mary, to help with any of her needs.

It was a long two-weeks-waiting for my in-laws. During that time, we found out my dad, Tim, was also going to have surgery on his shoulder. In visiting with him about that, my father-in-law found out that they don't do surgery on this type of torn tendon anymore. (My dad's injury is different). After some Internet research, he was convinced he likely did not need surgery after all. When the time for the follow up appointment finally arrived, Ben was ready to ask the doctor if he really did need to have this surgery (unless the MRI showed even more damage). The doctor showed them the MRI, talked a lot about the damage and, finally, much to Ben's relief, said he didn't think surgery was needed at this time. **Whew!** My in-laws were so relieved and happy!!

More to come...
Christy

A Storm To Welcome Them...

Howdy Folks,

On September 19th, Todd's parents arrived for an extended visit. On the 20th, we had one of the worst storms that we've experienced here in Casper. It was the darkest wall cloud I've seen in Wyoming. After our years in Tornado Alley, we've learned that a cloud like that usually means only one thing! The sirens did go off and we took shelter in the basement, but no damage was done. There was an impressive amount of hail, though! Here's our patio table:And the deck, looking like it's covered in snow: And here is The Promise:

I have set my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign

of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13

Have a great day!

Christy

Lego-Mania!...

Hi,

So, in getting caught up, we have to step back in time to August. Just before school started, Brennen entered a Lego building contest at a local toy store. He didn't win, but really enjoyed the experience and talks about what he might do for next year's competition. His creation was a farm scene with a road going by. I've been reading the Little House series aloud to the kids for several months now, and some of the farm part was inspired by those stories. Brennen received a t-shirt, a selection of two items from the store's treasure bin, a certificate and a boost in his self-confidence for entering. He is all about Legos, Legos, Legos and has been for years now. We were in Denver for a visit at Todd's sister's home two weekends ago. Brennen forgot to bring any Legos along. That three-night trip is the longest he's gone without Legos since he was in kindergarten!

That's our boy!

Christy

This One's For Ken...

Hi Everyone! Remember me??

Quite a few weeks ago now, our friend, Ken Stewart reminded me that I used to blog once. A long time ago. Faithfully.

Well, I have reasons (reasons, not excuses, as Prof. Annie Henry used to say). He suggested I list them for you the way I did for him. So, here they are:


Excuses, er, I mean REASONS!....
1. School started for both kids (lots of homework supervision)
2. Started attending women's Bible study Tuesday mornings - homework!
3. Chairing Staff Support Committee @ School
4. Member of Welcoming Committee @ School
5. AWANA started Wednesday evenings (supervising memory work)
6. Small Group started Friday nights
7. Began attending Mom's In Touch Thursday mornings
8. Began co-superintending Sunday School
9. Mother and Father In Law here from Sept. 19th - Oct. 21st.

Anyhow. I do have stuff to say and intend to say it in the following posts. :O) Hope all is well with you all,
Christy

Playing With Dolls...

Hi Everyone,

We had the privilege of taking care of the youngest daughter of our friends, The Huberts, whilst they attended a Bears (boohiss) game in Denver on Sunday and Monday this week. I felt like I was "playing house" and she was my little dolly for the couple of days she was with us. She's a very sweet, obedient, happy girl. I had to take some pictures to share with you. My "other dolly" had a lot of fun playing with little Savanah, too. I'm sorry about the blurriness. Although one can tell her mommy takes lots of pictures (she instantly posed and smiled when I got out the camera), holding still is not part of her M.O.!! :O)

My "other dolly...."

We also had the great honor of hosting my KINDERGARTEN classmate and friend, Doug Durant. and his nephew, Sammy, and godson, Jaydon, on Wednesday night as they passed through on their way back to Minnesota from their tour of Yellowstone/Tetons. We enjoyed a cookout and a great visit!!

Yesterday afternoon, my Uncle Steve called and said he was in town on his way from MN to his newly purchased mountain property in Colorado. He spent last night with us and is now on his way to CO.

It's been a full week, but one that makes me appreciate all the connections and relationships that we are blessed to have and that help define the parameters of our lives. I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend full of relaxation and filled with the love of those in your lives!!

Christy

First Day of School...

Hello,



Well, this one is pretty self-explanatory so I will let the pictures do the talking...

Kindrid loved her first week of kindergarten and loves her teacher, Mrs. Brown. Brennen had a smooth week, and, although less profuse in his sentiments, likes his teacher, Mrs. Nanneman, and class as well. He is VERY blessed to be in the same class as his buddies, Brennan and Matthew along with several other kids from his last year's class. All in all, a great week. And am I ever glad it's done! Not used to that ol' alarm clock yet!!

Enjoy the weekend!!

Christy

A Long Time Gone...

Hi All,

Ok, ok, I know I'm so far behind on blogging! We were in Minnesota for two and a half weeks. We got back almost two weeks ago. Guess it has been awhile!

The kids, the two dogs and I drove out to MN and it went great. The kids are awesome travellers and so are the dogs. We stayed two nights at my sisters, 6 nights at my mom's, 8 nights at my in-law's and one night on the way home in Rapid City. Todd had a meeting in Albuquerque, then flew to Denver for a night with his sister and brother in law and then flew to our hometown in MN. He was in MN a day and a half before leaving with his dad for their Canada fishing trip.

I:

*enjoyed a visit with my niece, Kallie

*met college friend, Becky, and her two kids at a lake/beach for fun, picnic and chatting

*enjoyed a meal with my Grandparents Amerud

*was reunited with some cousins/aunt at a dinner at my sister's

*drove up to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a day with Mom/kids (my favorite place in the world)

*visited my Grandma Huber

*grilled steaks...all by myself (they were only a little burnt in only one little place...)
*toured a lighthouse

*explored a waterfall and did some hiking (way to go, Mom!!)

*had a great visit with junior high friend, Shelly, her kids

*visited my uncle's grave

*enjoyed a day with my sister-in-law, Heather, and my two other nieces

*celebrated my 39th birthday (for the first time!!)

*visited my Dad's log home and enjoyed seeing all his projects

*spent some time on a dock on a lake listening to the water sounds

*spent a day sick to my stomach

*went to several parks/picnics with the kids

*visited with the wonderful "old" friends from Brainerd Medical Center

*tossed rocks with the kids to see who could land one on a lily pad

*met my "birthday present" (my god sister's new baby - so sweet and born on my birthday!! Very cool gift but they wouldn't let me take her home...)

*had a mini-reunion with old high school friends at a coffee house (thanks for coming, guys!!)

*Drove through Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills on the way home and encourage you to do the same if you are ever there.

And so much, much more. I'm sure I left out some really cool stuff. What's sad is that I still only got to do about half the things I wanted to do! There are so many folks there we love and wanted to get to see. Well, maybe next time...

Thanks to our families for hosting our little circus and for all the great meals and memories and love!!

Jackson and Claire Wallerick with my kids:

Mom and kids at the Ariel Lift Bridge, Duluth:Gooseberry Falls, upper falls, North Shore:Cave near the upper falls:Brennen in the red shirt perched on the rock mid-photo:Split Rock Lighthouse museum, North Shore:Split Rock Lighthouse:Funny tree photo shoot with my kids and nieces, Cierra and Rhiannan...they are the cutest and sweetest kiddos!:

"Old" friends - new memories (borrowed your photo, Doug, hope that's OK!):

My "birthday gift" -welcome, Caiden!! (I borrowed this picture from Kay - thanks, Kay!!)Sorry, Todd took 0, zippo, nada, zilch, zero pictures in Canada. So, all we really have is his word for it that he actually caught fish! :O)

Also, no pictures from Grandma Mary's house, either. :O(

And that was my trip....coming soon...First Day of School!!!

Love yous,

Christy

A Short Cut...

Hello!

Kindrid has been thinking on having her hair cut shorter for a while now. She mainly dislikes having it combed out in the mornings as it gets so tangled. It's been cut a time or two before, but it's been quite some time. So, here she is before.... And here she is today, first having her hair braided. She had enough to donate to Locks Of Love.

Here is the braid before...

Snip, snip and then, snip, snip, snip and then some more! Kindrid's hair is thick!!

Ta Daa!!

When given the choice to have it washed or not, she went for the works! I love this part best too!

After the cut, she had it styled. Her face pretty much says how she feels about blow dryers!

All done!

And one last good-bye to the braid that will, hopefully, help make some little girl very happy! Please see the link if you aren't familiar with this neat charity: www.locksoflove.org

Have a great week-ending!!

Christy

PS Boohoohoohoohoo! My baby's hair....wahahahawaaaa!! She looks so grown up.....sob, sob!! (Just so you didn't think I was cold about this!!)

Six Days, Five Nights...

Dear Ones,


We spent this last Friday through Wednesday in the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming. This continues to be our favorite mountain range. We spent the first two nights at Dead Swede campground and the last three at Tie Flume.


Day One: We left around 1:00 and headed north to Sheridan and then west into the mountains. We found an awesome site at Dead Swede in the pines overlooking a river. The kids played "harvesting," an activity that involves digging shallow trenches and loading them with things like pine cones, stones and various size sticks. We walked the campground, explored around the river and came within a short stones throw of several deer. The mosquitoes are relentless and abundant!


Day Two: Looking for a lake for the kids to fish brings us to Park Reservoir on the east side of the range. Brennen caught this funny looking fish....some kind of sucker fish. He was pretty impressed with himself!


The life!!Todd sneaking in a few moments of his own fishing between helping the kids with theirs.


His big catch...good thing we'd packed sandwiches!!
Brennen learned to cast today. He's a natural!Kindrid fished some and enjoyed playing among the rocks and driftwood. This was her "paddle" for her rock boat. Note the orange-drink mustache!The view we enjoyed across the water.Day Three: We enjoyed Sunday buffet at Bear Lodge, especially Big Mike's biscuits and made-to-order omelets. If you ever visit the Big Horns, be sure to do this buffet they have on the weekends in summer and every day in winter (snowmobiling is HUGE here). We switched campgrounds as the one we were at had tree removal and some construction commencing the next day. In search of another lake to try fishing, we sought out Adelaide Lake in the center of the range. Um, you know what they say about getting there being half the fun? Well, it was. The roads were really rough! We (Todd) persevered and were rewarded with a gorgeous mountain lake and LOTS of mosquitoes. Kindrid found some flowers...

The water near shore was very shallow and begged for little feet to come wading. Which led to wet pants. Which led to wet underwear. :O)Kindrid (with some help from Daddy) caught this fish. Yep, Brennen is in his skivvies...trying to dry out. He was able to wade out quite a ways and then cast this way. His little legs got very numb from cold mountain lake water which was a good thing as it helped dull the pain from all the mosquito bites he got!

Day Four: We took a drive through the high country hoping to find places cold enough that mosquitoes would shun them. We did! Although I have no pictures, we enjoyed a romp with the dogs in a high field full of wildflowers, a picnic in a valley near a river, Brennen learning to "drive" some more and so on.

Day Five: We spent most of the day in camp. The kids played in the woods near our site and were in the woods on their "adventure" most of the day! They had Starbursts and some sugar wafer cookies that we found they were rationing at the rate of one half cookie every hour. They made beds, houses and rock walls. We came to "visit" them and they were thrilled when we left them a back pack to use. In the evening we took a drive and were rewarded with sights of much wildlife. Here is my effort at a moose when it was almost dark. We also found ourselves in a herd of sheep, viewing elk and deer and walking into the sunset on a high meadow surrounded by flowers. It was a lovely evening!!
Please forgive the dirty windshield!!

Day Six: The last day of a wonderful trip like this is always so sad. :O( We could have stayed much longer but real life calls. We did try one adventure this morning in trying to cross "Woodchuck Pass" but ended turning back as the road became fit for only four-wheelers. On the way out of our campground, the kids insisted we pull over and take Daddy's picture laying in a field of flowers that PROVES God loves the Vikings best (note the color of the flowers). (These pictures are for J.O.'s benefit...I know she will print them off and hang them all over her house!)

Todd's going to be so happy I put these on the blog. I could hardly get him to pose and he jumped up very quickly when a car drove by!! I love you, Babe!!!

And that's our trip. Hope you have a great weekend! Love,

Christy

Trip to the Tetons...

Hi!

We travelled to the Grand Teton National Park, Jackson, Jackson Hole, South Yellowstone, Dubois and Wind River Range part of Wyoming over the weekend. We stayed in a camper cabin near Lava Mountain on the Togwotee Pass but weren't "home" much. We did a lot of driving and poking around. I tried to do better about taking pictures this trip. Blogger isn't letting me move my pictures around as easily as it used to (likely my error but can't figure out what it is.) I'll try to put them in order, hopefully it will work:

The Grand Tetons were shrouded in storm clouds that made them even more stunning and mysterious than usual.

These little birds were so lovely and this one in particular actually posed for me (ask the family...he came hopping right up and stood still as if to say, "Mountains are all fine and well, but I am just as amazing." :O)

The wildflowers were as pretty as I've ever seen. The whole area looked as though it was a never-ending Eden. I couldn't resist taking some pictures - well, OK, a LOT of pictures - of them.



Buffalo! We also saw a mama moose and her calf and some elk. Deer and antelope are almost a given on any trip in Wyoming. We also got to see a REAL cowboy on his horse moving a herd with the help of his two dogs. Todd tried some more fly-fishing but still no luck. On our way through the western end of the Wind River Range, we found several places we'd enjoy re-visiting to camp and fish. I have to say again that words just can not describe how vast and gorgeous these wilderness areas are. I encourage you to come see for yourselves someday.
Kindrid skipping up the trail...
I love my family....

We ended the Fourth with fireworks in Dubois. We followed some locals up to a ridge, parked where they parked and waited to see what would happen. The whole of this small town was spread before us. Let me tell you....these folks LOVE their fireworks. It turned out they were setting off the official ones just a few hundred yards from us while the townsfolk gave their best to compete with one another and the official fireworks by sending off MANY of their own. It was a WILD experience and one we will likely try to repeat next year. Kindrid just couldn't get enough. She repeatedly declared this to be "the best day of her life" and being "unable to wait for next year's!" Of course, showing you in a picture how this looks was really hard but we tried.

We dove a lot. Todd got tired after a while so Brennen helped out.

Hope you have a wonderful week! Thanks for reading and especially for leaving comments as they encourage me to keep on blogging. Blessings...
Christy