Jordyn Noel

Be still and know that I am God.
Jordyn Noel Harren
8 pounds 6 ounces
19 inches long
Born January 11, 2011
A beautiful reminder that our God is still on the throne...
He keeps blessing people...
Be still and hear His gentle voice...
Hold His Blessings close to your heart...
And continue to pray for the next generation!

Christmas shopping with Jeff

For the fourth year Lindsey has planned a Christmas shopping trip in St.Cloud with her uncle Jeff. She plans it so that all the girls are included. This year they went on December 5th, 6th and came back to Arlington the 7th. On Saturday they went to Chris and Emily's and spent the night there. They enjoyed each others company, talking and relaxing. Sunday they did some of Jeff's Christmas shopping and then went to the Holiday Express in St.Cloud. Lacey, NolaJean, Emily, Chris, Conner and Jaci Anna all met up with Lindsey and Jeff in the pool. Conner has gotten so used to going to the pool where "Lindsey" is that he thinks it is where she lives! After lots of swimming they ordered pizza and hung out in the room together. When everyone left they got some well deserved sleep eye and got ready for the next day of shopping. Finishing up the last minute details they headed home for Arlington...
and Conner asked his momma "can we go to Lindsey's house?"
"well, little guy, we will need to wait until next year when she moves in again for the "Christmas shopping with Jeff" week-end!"

Favorites

I know we aren't to have favorites...
but, I must add this picture of my favorite brother.
It is him and I, I and him, and no matter what they say
about all the others...
I believe - he will always be my favorite!

Family

Who would have ever thought...
a young lady from Willow Lake South Dakota
a young man from Lavern, Minnesota
a new start in Gaylord, Minnesota
a small family in the middle of no where
to all of this
one day in Foley, Minnesota!!

The Juggler

I remember being a young mother and not being able to talk on the phone. I couldn't remember exactly why until tonight when Emily called me on the phone. Chris was out at a fire call, the kids were all snuggled in the living room watching "Harry and the Hendersons". What a perfect time to call grammie pammie and let her know whats been going on. As we talked about her adventures from the week, the quiet snuggling soon turned into a chaotic commotion! It started with Conner wanting a drink of pop and promising his mom that he would not get "wild". The next thing you know there was some counting going on... "Conner if you don't stop now I am going to count to three, if I get to three you will be going in the time out!" As we continued our conversation momma was soon to count three. It was time out for Conner D. While Emily is talking on the phone to me, she informs him to head to his time out in the other room, tells him there will be no pop, and tends to JaciAnnas needs! I have a sudden flash of a juggler, a kindergarten teachin, momma prechin, phone talkin, pop moppin, timeout station, loving momma!
What in the world just happened here?
"Hello Grammie? This is Conner, I am watching a movie!"
And so we hang up the phone...
and I dream of the days I was juggling
and pray for momma.

The Book Sale

I am not going to lie here. I do not remember ever reading "Cather and the Rye",or "Gone with the Wind". I know we had book reports to write in school, my mom bought me books for Christmas, and I checked books out from the school library. I carried books around with me and had them on my nightstand and in my locker. Not sure how I did it but I never remember reading any book from start to finish until I was about 30 years old.
Emily went to the town library "book sale". It was in the summer and she had walked up there and took some money with her. Quite proud of herself, and sure she had gotten the perfect gift, she came home with a "romance novel" for my birthday. I sat down to really try and read this novel from beginning to end! To my surprise I devoured the book and read it in little time! I was now hooked on romance novels and bought everyone at every garage sale I could get a hold of. At .25 cents a book, it was a reasonable habit for a young mother!!
It is amazing to me but real soon I could not read another smut novel. I was so tired of them... they were all the same...
young beautiful women
meets strong, brave man and they fall in love
just before the marriage something awful happens and they are separated
then just before the end of the novel they come together again for a life that only can be dreamed of!
I still wanted to read but needed something new.

The next thing I remember is Carol giving me the book " Where the Heart Is". It is a book about a girl who has a baby and secretly lives in Walmart with her. It was a wonderful book. Again I am hooked on books!!
Slowly through the years the books I liked have changed. God has brought me to more learning type of books. Reading and learning about who He is in my life and who He is to the world. Books on faith and love, memories and change. It seems to be a time in my life where I can not read enough! Starting with some of Nicolas Sparks, and then moving into Glen Beck, Max Lacado, Richard Evans. Books of personal triumph and the Grace of God in peoples lives. You name it... tuck it in with a few love stories, a little midlife crisis and don't forget how to turn 50 and love it books!!
One of my favorite's was a 49th birthday present from Carol "The Same Kind of Different as Me". I don't have the book right now - it is being passed around and everyone says the same thing..."That book can change your life!" I encourage you all to read it when you find some extra time!
And now to the most important part - the reason for my story tonight.
I loved to read to my babies (they had all the Manners and Bernstein Bear books) and now that they are grown, I love to read to their babies (they have the llama llama Red Pajama books). The picture that is on this blog, is a very beautiful memory of the day I went to Conner's preschool class. We were reading about "Clifford the Big Red Dog". Then of course there was "The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy", and the "Llama Llama Red Pajama" books, each of them read several times so that he is then able to read it back to me! JaciAnna who is now 6 almost 7 years old is learning to read. She read to me from her new Christmas books. First JaciAnna would read a page and then it was my turn. It is amazing to me to see how a child learns to read. I hope their love for books stays with them...
and if not...
I hope that their 10 year old will one day buy them a book!

Lady Bugdahl

When I look at this picture I can not help but smile.
Our little Lady Bugdahl.
When Nola Jean was in the womb we used to laugh about how much "swimming" she did. She was constantly on the go in there and you could see her little hands and feet poking out her mommas tummy!
After she was born and she would lay on her back - she was constantly "swimming", hands and legs moving... and her momma would call her a little beetle bug.

For Christmas we got all the grandkids "pillow pets". We decided on lady bugs. They were adorable. I know when Jaci Anna opened hers her whole face lit up and she said, "Mom, look, this is exactly what I wanted!" Her face at that moment is something I will never forget!" Conner got one also, he didn't seem quite as thrilled with his as Jaci, but then he opened it after his john deer hat and tractor!

When NolaJean got to open her presents we thought it was quite fitting for her also. She enjoyed opening it and then came the picture taking part of it!! It took us awhile but we got a picture of our little
LADY BUGDAHL
with her pillow pet and her new picture that grammie pammie finished for her...
"with a butterfly kiss and a lady bug hug, sleep tight little one like a bug in a rug".
How fitting for our Nola Jean Bugdahl!!
Merry Christmas my pillow pet kids! We love you so!

The Story Teller

Emily called Grandma Dorius. As the conversation goes you usually will ask "Is there any more funny stories?" (Emily is a great story teller, and she has great sources being a kindergarten teacher and a mother. When she was in first grade her teacher Mr. Bienfang (Mr. B.) wrote each one of the kids out a little wish. His for her was, "I hope that Santa will always have time to listen to your stories." She was known already to get a good story going, and then add to it as needed!)

Emily answer to grandma on the phone... "There really isn't any good stories, Conner, Jaci, and I have been just sitting and loving each other and enjoying our time together."

Conner got wind that his mother was talking on the phone to his grandma...
"I want to talk to Grandma"
He gets on the phone and is talking and out of nowhere he says...
"Grandma, I am SO very proud of you!"
and he starts laughing and talking about Malaska and keeps right on a talking -
because
now he knows he has his grandma
LAUGHING!!

I wonder what Conner's first grade teacher will wish for him?

AWAITING

We are waiting for grandchild number four! I really can hardly believe it. I remember like yesterday our first...
our second...
our third...
and now here we are waiting for January 11th, 2011. That is the day our little princess is scheduled to be delivered. If momma has any more back labor before then they will let her come, the Dr's say she is ready. Emily had Christmas vacation from school and now is staying home until the time. At the beginning of this pregnancy she said she would have never even thought a baby was in there... now, towards the end - she is ready for her birth...
AWAITING with great anticipation.
Who will she look like? How much will she weigh? Will she have lots of hair
or will there be barely any there?
What will she grow up to be?
Father, in Jesus name, We thank You for this unborn child. We treasure her as a gift from You. She was created in Your image, perfectly healthy and complete. You have known her since conception and know the pat she will take with her life. We ask Your blessing upon her and stand and believe in her salvation and her love for You Jesus Christ. Lord we pray that through you this precious Blessing will live and move and have her being. She is Your offspring and she will come to learn to worship and praise You. We stand in awe of You and at the miracle of life!
AMEN!

A new place to vacation

I called Foley to talk to the Harren family. Just wanted to check in after our wonderful Christmas, how everything was going. Chris and I talked for awhile. His wife was at WOPS(working mothers of preschoolers) JaciAnna and Conner were playing around his feet. Right before I was going to hang up...
Conner gets on the phone.
He says "Grammie? This is Conner, I am going North to Malaska"
and he said "Grammie, are you laughing? Is it funny grammie? MALASKA!!"
It is like I went on vacation right there and then. My heart melted and yes, I was laughing...

Thanks again Lord, for grandchildren, laughter and this new place called Malaska!

MAJESTY

WE have had record amounts of snow this December. It has brought about alot of tragedies with it. A man dies in St.Peter - 80 some years old, fishing and falls into the water. A man 25 married and his wife ready at any time to deliver their second baby, dies in a snowmobile accident. Another young man in his early 20's paralyzed from the waist down in an accident in the same place, the day before. A friend for many years who taught us swimnastics class gives up her battle against cancer here on earth. A friend who I worked with for many years and shared a passion for the mentally handicapped dies in the Alzheimer home where he has had to live for the last two years. A 48 year old man is found laying out side his home, frozen,
Two young men ice fishing, one falls in the other goes to get help... but due to weather they can not resucue him in time. Two little boys die in a bad accident outside of Winthrop, fog causing unbearable driving conditions. A 53 year old women dies in a car accident not seeing the semi in front of her. A baby born with lung problems dies after 36 hours here on earth...
The list goes on...
Earthly Tragedies.
and we wonder if we can handle any more?
Haven't we had enough?
Isn't there enough snow on this land.
Aren't our souls tired of the grief?
Tired of being cold, in the dark and left alone?
Lord, where are You? How long do we wait this out?

And just when we are feeling "I can not take one more storm!"
HE comes along during our darkest times, the times when we feel alone... and HE puts HIS artist touch on the land, HE makes something so Majestic it takes your breath away.
And even if just for a moment in time...
You can glimpse out your window and capture how things are when we look through HIS eyes.
HE takes the storms of our lives and turns them into something so beautiful we may not ever be able to understand it until that day when we meet HIM face to face
I trust in You Jesus... in Your time!
MAJESTY

A Wonderful kind of different!

This for the first time in many years we had Christmas Eve at a different place. When our 3 girls were little we always had Christmas Eve at our house... my mom and dad coming over and Jeff. We would have a few different gatherings at other places also but not one year has gone by sense approximately 1985 where we didn't gather at the Schmidt house for Christmas Eve.
Traditions change.
It has been a snowy 2010! Storms have been a regular occurrence and no easy task
...every few days cleaning up from snow storms. We have had a record amount of the white stuff falling across the state of Minnesota during December!

Emily now has two kids of her own and the third one is on its way... any day! She is not feeling the most like traveling and so it is decided we will go to Foley this year for Christmas Eve!

Lindsey lives in Circle Pines, making the drive to Foley from her place is about the same as coming to Arlington. Her and Josh have no problems with the change... lets all meet at Emily and Chris's house Christmas Eve. She doesn't have to work the 24th so her and Josh head up there early. They are able to go for a walk together with Baxter and the kids and play a few games...take a few pictures! They will have to leave early to share Christmas day with Josh's family. That is okay - I know I need to share my girls with others - it is that time of life!

Lacey lives in Mpls but her honey's family is from Chicago. I can not deny the fact that his family wants to see them and especially their little Nola for the wonderful Christmas Season. They left for Chicago on Wednesday the 22nd of December - just after another snow storm had settled on the state! We get to see them quite often so I can not be selfish of the Holidays when there are days off to go see family that is farther away. I know now with the girls that God did not give them just to us. We were to raise them in a way that they would be a Blessing to others. I believe we have done this.

I had to work on Christmas Eve day until 2:00. Papa, Grandma Dorius, and Jeffrey came to Glencoe to pick me up with GD's car about 2:30. We left for Foley with a car packed to the brim with gifts for our family! We arrived in Foley approximately 5:00 and would have to miss church, that was outside at 5:00. We were okay with this as it was very cold out and there just wasn't time to rush this into the schedule. We had spent time the weeks before Praising our Savior in the Foley church and in the Arlington Chruch. Next year we will figure that part out better.
Once we got to Foley we
unloaded and unloaded and
unloaded
a few presents and some food.
We went to the grocery store to meet up with the big guy who had bought most of the groceries already. So to the Harrens we went to get our supper ready.
Lindsey had brought all kinds of food along. She made an artichoke dip, cookies, chicken wings all kinds of good stuff. Chris brought some little smokies and meatballs and I whipped up a taco salad - I am sure there was alot more food but this gives you a little idea - that yes, we had plenty to eat! We got everything out and ready and then we stood holding hands in the kitchen giving thanks to the Father for all we have been given!
After eating it was getting to be about 7:30pm. It would be time to pass out that mound of gifts ... giving each one to the person it had been thought about, bought, and wrapped for. It was what the kids had been waiting patiently for... and me too! All gifts passed out and everyone started opening. To say the least it was a wonderful time!!

And I thank-you this day Lord, for my memory. That all that matters is that You brought us all together for such a time as this. To celebrate all that you are in our families life. To give thanks to You for coming down to earth as a human and showing us how to live. I pray that each one of my family and friends will know you personally as their Savior and will pass on traditions to their family...
and that they won't be afraid to change traditions when needed...
as sometimes that can be...
A WONDERFUL KIND OF DIFFERENT!