Boldt Blog

Henry Nouwen - Life of the Beloved

2012-02-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

I have been reading & reflecting on Henri Nouwen lately and his book “Life of the Beloved” It is so rich an meaningful. He uses 4 words to define us as being God’s beloved. He uses the words Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given. These are very powerful words in our walk with Christ. And lately, I have been focused on “Blessed”, when we realize that we are God’s Beloved we can rest in the reality that we are His Blessed children. Nouwen gives us an exercise to realize our blessedness. He says an aspect of prayer is sitting in silence and listening to the good things God has to say about us.

It is all about us being in God’s “presence” to hear the things he has to say. And I think the idea of “presence” is vital to becoming fully devoted followers of Christ. There are lots of really great ministries opportunities to pursue, lots of voices calling for our attention, but for now “presence” is the river from which everything else will flow.

Memory from Tralee Ireland

2012-02-09T17:06:00.001-08:00

In 1997 I worked about 4-5 months in Swords, IRE with Amdahl Ireland. One weekend I rented a car and drove to West Ireland. I stopped at a B&B in Tralee. It was a fishing community and very friendly toward tourist. So I got to the B & B and a lovely family showed me to my room and I began talking with their 16 year old son and his grandpa. This grandfather was a fisherman his whole life (as his grandson explained).

So, I looked at Grandpa and asked him what kind of fish he caught? He answered me in a couple sentences and I didn't understand a word, not one word, of what he said! So I looked that the grandson and I said, "what language is he speaking?" The grandson said, "English."

Evidently, the old guy mixed in a little Gaelic and his accent was so thick I didn't get one word of what he said. I just about laughed myself out the door...

3 Questions from Church and Patrick Lencioni's book of 3 questions

2012-02-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

1. What makes our family unique?

Priya 8 - We all have different voices.

Shoji - We are multi-cultures

Dad - Our faith transcends culture

Stephen 6 - our last name boldt - because there is a movie bolt and store named Boldt, founded by our great-grandfather Everett Boldt.

2. What is our top priority? hmmm.... working on it that.

3. How do you talk about and use the answers to these questions?

Hamster, Fish and Dog

2012-01-25T07:01:00.000-08:00

We successfully avoided getting a dog. Priya has been insistent on getting a dog like crazy for months. We went to the pet story just to look at types of dogs and on the way to the dog area she saw a hamster and fell in love with it. So this was my chance to deal down, so to speak, because a hamster is way easier than a dog (cheaper too).

So I told the kids that if we get a hamster then we can't get a dog and we have to do something with this our goldfish. We have a one pet rule in the house.... I thought the goldfish could be a sensitive topic because they cried when the first one died. So I asked Priya, "what about Pineapple (or Treasure depending on the day). What are we going to do with him?"

Priya looked at me and said without a hint of hesitation.... "Just get rid of him... flush him down the toilet.... or feed him to the tarantulas..."

I wasn't expecting that!

Grandma Eleanor Boldt's Ice Cream recipe

2012-01-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

Vanilla Ice Cream: Using electric ice cream machine.

Put 5 eggs (slightly beaten),

2 tablespoons vanilla,

2 cups sugar into the container then

add 1 quart cream and the rest milk so it is 2 inches from the top of the container.

Start the machine. Put snow, ice, salt around the outer bucket to keep it freezing as it churns. Still have the old machine if anyone wants to use it.

Priya the Psychologist

2012-01-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

Priya told me about her friend that gives her some problems. Priya said, "Dad, I decided to write what I needed to say to in a letter and then read it to her. So I did and here is what I wrote:"

Dear [Name],
I want to be friends but I don't want to be your friend if you try to boss me around and be mean when you talk.

Her friend responds with, "Thanks for telling me that, I want to be friends."

It is actually quite profound, the truth spoken in love - I think children can teach us many things.

Tebow's Secret

2012-01-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

How cool has this season been? Watching such an unorthodox style succeed in the NFL has created such a buzz. How can Tebow keep winning while throwing so poorly? That is really the question. I don't think it is as crazy as everyone thinks. Here is the secret... most good QB's need to complete 65% of their passes to win or to at least move the ball and score. So how is Tebow able to complete like only 48% of his passes and still win? The secret is that most NFL QB that throw a high percentage also throw a lot of short passes. Short passes tend to be high percentage and have essentially replaced a number of running attempts. But in Denver they have gone back to replacing short, high percentage, passes with runs. And having a QB that can read option run creates an advantage in the running game that makes it more effective. Then when called on to pass, Tebow often takes shots downfield which are not high percentage passes to begin with but are game breaking passes. Case in point was last week against Pittsburgh. Only 10 completions and 316 yds! That is nuts but it makes my point and shows what can happen when it is working right. You don't need to complete 65% of your passes when you have an effective running game and have big play passes. Ball control and low turnovers keep them in the game for Tebow-time at the end. When Tebow can't make downfield plays and the running game is shutdown, Denver loses.

We always think we know what can and cannot work, we are trapped by our assumptions. I love the fact that Tebow is challenging assumptions. He is changing the game. He may not win the super bowl or even be good next year. But you can win playing differently and it can create advantages for your team. I think you'll see more of it in the future. I love the offense Oregon runs and their move towards utility rather than just more specialization. Like they have multiple positions that need to run or throw, even kickers! I even saw a couple punters in the NFL try to pass this season because a WR was uncovered, it failed because the punter simply tanked the throw. But I think it's a good strategy, there is no reason punters could not learn to throw the ball 20 yards accurately to a wide open receiver. That would be a major advantage.

Priya and a hot bathroom

2011-12-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

Priya says today as Shoji was curling her hair in the steamy bathroom, "Mom! I am a getting so hot, this bathroom is so hot!!! I am going to get dramatic!!"

Henry Nouwen

2011-12-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

I believe that people can make choices and make them according to their own best aspirations. I also believe that people seldom make these choices. Instead, they blame the world, the society and others for their "fate" and waste much of their life complaining... Henry Nouwen

Priya's Question about growing up

2011-10-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Priya has been saying the funniest things.

She is singing this song all the time about "Daisy Dukes". Apparently the bus driver plays all the popular songs on the way to school. I was getting all mad inside because I was not happy with it. But instead, I calmly asked her what Daisy Dukes are. She said so cheerfully and wide-eyed, "You know mom, like the flower daisies and a duke holding them!"

This one is for Annie (from Ryan) : tonight we were at church and Priya comes back up from the bathroom with Stephen and she is waving an open tampon in the air! "Look mom, look what I found! What is it mom?!" And Stephen is like - "yeah, mom, what is it?!" Ryan and I just burst out laughing, so embarrassed! Ryan said they should talk to mom about it later...

She asked this summer about how babies come out of your tummy. So I told her! That evening we were praying for Shiji's baby and she asks "Mom can you pray for me when I have a baby? I'm a little scared because I'm afraid that it would be hard for the baby to fit through such a small hole (belly button?) and its going to hurt!"

Oh boy! Here we go...

Priya and Stephen write their names in the wet cement

2011-10-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

I got a call from a neighbor... "hey do you spell your daughters name... is it P-R-I-Y-A? I think she wrote her name in the sidewalk they replaced.."

So that night after work I take a little walk over and sure enough... its' not a little initials, like PMB or anything.. is it a very clear and neat "P R I Y A" right in the sidewalk... I am thinking oh oh.. this could be expensive if I got to pay for this! So I called over to Priya, and I ask her if she knew what I wanted to talk to her about. Her face was as guilty as could be. She said, "yes, it is about my name in the sidewalk"

So, I am thinking this is not that big a deal... but I know some of the neighbors and they might! So I tell Priya she might have to pay for that from her money if they make us fix it. She is a little upset and goes home. So I cross over the street to the other side and start for home. I get halfway home and Whamo!! in another spot where the side walk was replaced... I see another big "PRIYA" and a "STEPHEN" and I see flowers, and designs, stars, and swirls written into the new cement!! It's 10 times worse than the other spot and Stephen did it too!!

I just laugh and then hope the neighbors don't find it for the next 5 years!!

Stephen's Prayer

2011-10-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

This is a prayer Stephen picked up at promisetowne from his friend Henry...
"Dear God, thank you for this day, thank you for loving us, thank you for the whole-wide world. Thank you for all the happy things we do, you are Father happy too. Amen"

Ammachi and Appacha come to visit

2011-09-27T20:43:00.001-07:00

What a fun week with Ammachi and Appacha! We have had a brilliant display of Indian food every night. Plus plenty for lunch, mommy is taking care of us and keeping everything in order. Daddy is helping too, although he has a thyroiditis condition that is not so fun for him.

Yesterday, they got Stephen a DS - game system with the game cars and he has been thrilled! Last Sunday we got to go to the American Girl doll store and they got Priya "Marie Grace" a new American girl doll! She has been playing with it non-stop! We also got to visit Thungachin Uncle and Shibu and Jimmy. We had a great lunch thanks to Uncle and then watch the Bears/Packers game over at Shibu and Solly's house in Woodridge. Packers trounced them 27-17 and should have won by 30! It was a nice time to hang out and many hugs were exchanged. It is really amazing to see how quickly the years pass. Jimmy's baby Jonah was adorable!

Time is passing we are getting older, trying to enjoy each day and every moment with our family.

Dad and Stephen playing chess

2011-09-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Stephen is almost 6 and he is really picking up on chess. He knows all the moves and can even see a move or two ahead. Pretty impressive. I was playing him tonight and I had a big advantage. So I back off and trade a couple pieces with him and then I get all caught up in trying to checkmate him with my Queen and rooks in the middle of the board. I KID YOU NOT, without me even seeing it coming, the little squirt slides his queen all the down the board and sticks me with a back row mate. I couldn't believe it!!

Transient Global Amnesia

2011-09-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ask Grammy for further explanation, it could be a combination of Ray's Truck stop and age.
Just need to document the date. It was not a typical day with an A-Typical Migraine.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/transient-global-amnesia/DS01022

http://www.relieve-migraine-headache.com/atypical-migraine-and-symptoms.html

From Grammy:Just sending good news from my visit yesterday at Mayo/Luther Health Center in Eau Claire. The neurologist examined me with some basic exercise tests and then asked questions about the memory loss (this took about 5 to 10 min), went over the neck ultra sound and the MRI on the computer with me (all were fine) and said he knew exactly what I had . He called it ‘Transient Global Amnesia’, fancy term for short term memory loss. Some people have it as long as 24 to 48 hours. Wow , I got out of it pretty quick. Why do people get it? It’s a mystery, but maybe stress. Good old stress gets the blame for everything. Anyway this was great news . Chance of it happening again, only 10%. God is good. Thanks again to all of you for your love and prayers of concern. Now had better get off my feet and have Dad get my slippers, chop , chop. Don’t want to get over stressed . Ha Ha. might as well play it out a little while longer.LOVE , LOVE - Mom

Dad fishes off Fort Lauderdale with Hurta

2011-08-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

We caught lots of bonita! and lost a monster Wahoo we think, no Mahi I mostly just drove the boat with the arm in a sling and the bad ribs. Just missed Hurricane Irene! Next year May!

Stephen's first day of school

2011-08-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

Here it is! Kindergarten!

Dad Falls off Bike - Breaks collarbone and rib

2011-08-05T22:06:00.000-07:00

It was official - I will not get through life without breaking a bone. Broke two in one day (8/5/2011) after a spill on the old schwinn varsity deluxe. Two blocks to the Walgreens on sandbloom should have been benign enough but not this day. On my way back from the Walgreens with a soda in my hand I looked over my shoulder to see if any traffic was coming as I crossed algonquin road and at the very moment I look over my shoulder, my chain came off. Looking one way and foot going the other, I hit the deck and landed on the bike. Of course in a very guy like fashion I pop right up and pretend nothing is wrong, even though I know something is wrong. So I pick my bike up and pretend to put the chain on and straighten my glasses as I let the cobwebs clear... I actually get the chain on and ride back home, it was quicker and easier than walking with the bike and soda (I wasn't giving up my soda to the street!). So I get home and even though it is not hot out I am sweating like a pig, feeling nauseous, and a little light headed. I decide to lay down on the sofa for a few minutes, get up to get a drink and then get light headed again and end up on the floor for a bit, after 5-10 minutes of that I feel a little better and sit up on the leather sofa. I know my ribs hurt but not that bad. My shoulder definitely hurts and I start to move it around and I hear it clicking! I take my hand and feel my shoulder as I move it and I can feel the bone out of place. I can actually move the bone around a little. I can't tell you what a weird feeling that was, moving a bone in a place it was clearly not suppose to be. I was surreal, almost felt like an out of body experience, like I was the doctor looking down at my shoulder seeing the bone move, very weird. But at this point the pain is not that horrible, it's not good, but it's like a 5 out of 10.

So at this point I know I have to go to the ER, but how am I going to get there? Call an ambulance and get charged $1500 bucks... I'm probably going to die before that happens! I think to call Matt and Rachel next door but they are not home! I think about some other neighbors who are most likely home but from what I know of them, they don't drive much, they have a 8 year old car with like 10K miles on it. At this point I feel safer just driving myself. Oh, yes where is my wife of 11 years at this point? at the zoo with friends not answering the phone. I think she sent me to VM like 3 times... So I get in the car and drive to Good Shepherd Hospital. I am actually feeling okay, but the car ride over there mellows me out and when I park and try to get out of the car the pain factor just went to like 7, I was very certain something was really wrong in my ribs too. So I go into the ER and thank goodness there is not a big line. I am second in line and I have only wait a couple minutes. I get checked in but I can't get my personal information out to clearly, and the nurse asks if I hit my head, I tell I don't remember. That was not a good way to state it, her concern just tripled. I quickly clarified that I am quite certain that I did not in fact hit my head (I may have left out the words "hard" or "very hard") and I did get my phone number out correctly after a couple tries.

So I got into the wait room and they take vitals and they do a EKG on my heart, not sure why? And the nurse has the gall to tell me that it is going to hurt. She says, get ready to squeeze the arm of the chair a little cause the EKG is going to shock me a little in the ribs. She says "get ready, are you ready?" opps were done... ha ha ha!! It actually cracked me up but it hurt too much to laugh. She/we had no idea I had a broken rib at this point. Then she escorts me to the next room and says I need to take off my shirt and put the gown on, as she leaves. So I start to take my shirt off over my head and WOW!! the pain just went to like 8.5, in fact once I got my shirt off, I got light headed again and could not even get the gown on. The next nurse comes in and says, "whoa... you don't look so good, I'll be right back..." in about 2 seconds she is back with a big needle filled with morphine and sticks it right in my good shoulder. And man did that ever work magic. I could actually, nearly instantly, feel it starting to work. It cleared my head right up and it made me feel completely normal, other than some pain in my ribs and shoulder which was now back down to a 4 out of 10. But the dizziness and light headedness and nausea was gone. I really couldn't believe it, amazing stuff.

Then I get taken to x-ray and that wasn't quite so fun and they move you around and make you lie down. The doctor comes in and tells me that the end of my clavicle is broken and that I have to wear this brace/immoblizer thing for 4 to 6 weeks. If the pain doesn't get better in a week I might need to have a pin put in. Doesn't say anything about my ribs, which makes me feel like a wuz. Shoji does call me back and is of course very concerned and she comes with a friend to pick me up and we stop at MacDonald's as we head home. Just like other big events in our life! Then the next morning the doctor calls my cell phone and says, "oh forgot to mention that you also broke your 9th rib too... C'est la vie"

I really thought that once I hit 40 I was going to make it through life without breaking a bone but it was not to be.

Priya Spotting a Carnival

2011-07-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

We drove by a wooded park in Algonquin and Priya is peering through the trees and she says, "Oh! I see a carnival... I see a faris wheel and oh, oh, I see porta-potties!!! lots of porta-potties!!! it is definitely a carnival!"

Shush!

2011-07-11T11:13:00.001-07:00

Priya, Stephen, and the neighbors made up a new word they love. Shush! Which is whip cream out of the can. It is called Shush because when you apply it to your cake or ice cream it goes shhhhhushhhhhh! Very clever little ones we have.

Now I am using the term all the time, at Starbucks I ordered a iced latte with shush! The barista loved it and and now Starbucks is using it! I think we should copy-write the word...

Kids at the cousins!

2011-07-06T13:44:00.001-07:00

Stephen says: "I am stuffed!"

The 4th of July!

2011-07-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

Priya's Ballet Recital 2011 - Oooo child

2011-06-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Or visit to see it in full screen:
http://youtu.be/6nef9FPREBU

Priya and Marriage

2011-06-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

At dinner tonight, out of the clear blue Priya said, "I want you (Dad & Mom) to pick for me so I don't get divorced." She said that some of her friends have to split time between their Mom and Dad or some of them live with a Mom who is not their real Mom. So with that she wants us to pick for her. Seeing a once in a life-time opportunity, I quickly said "done!" Just kidding... Instead, I decided to ask her what things she thought would be important in picking someone to marry. Without any hesitation she said,

"They have to be good at math, nice, faithful and care about God, and is nice to children."

I think we will have ice-cream tonight!

The Family in Connecticut

2011-05-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

We had fun with Alan and Shiji and Maya - in the pool and around West Hartford. Priya and Stephen really learn alot about swimming and had fun! We even had the fun of home repair of the A/C unit. Glad that Appacha got that figured out!!

Everett Boldt - 5/4/1921 - 4/28/2011

2011-05-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Henry Nowan on Christian Leadership - In Jesus Name

2011-03-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

This is an excerpt from his book "In Jesus Name" - it comes shortly after he move in to live with a group of handicapped people. It is so moving and compelling.

The first thing that struck me when I came to live in a house with mentally handicapped people was that their liking of disliking me had absolutely nothing to do with any of the many useful things I had done until then. Since nobody could read my books, the books could not impress anyone, and since most of them never went to school, my twenty years at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard did not provide a significant introduction. My considerable ecumenical experience proved event less valuable.

When I offered some meat to one of the assistants during dinner, one of the handicapped men said to me, "Don't give him meat. He doesn't eat meat. He's a Presbyterian."

Not being able to use any of the skills that had proved so practical in the past was a real source of anxiety. I was suddenly faced with my naked self, open for affirmations and rejections, hugs and punches, smiles and tears, all dependent simply on how I was perceived at the moment. In a way, it seemed as though I was starting life all over again. Relationships, connections, reputations could no longer be counted on.

This experience was and in many ways, is still the most important experience of my new life, because it forced me to rediscover my true identity. These broken, wounded, and completely unpretentious people forced me to let go of my relevant self - the self that could do things, show tings, prove things, build things - and forced me to reclaim that unadorned self in which I am completely vulnerable, open to receive and give love regardless of any accomplishments.

I am telling you this because I am deeply convinced that the Christian Leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God's love. The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God's Word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life.

Priya on temptation

2011-03-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Priya: on temptation, "I saw candy in the closet and thought should I eat it or not eat it??? Then my mind blew and I ate it."

Stephen's bedtime stall tactics

2011-02-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

As you are saying good night after books, stories and prayers, Stephen is coming up with ways to keep you in the room. Lately it's a question or two.

Tonight he said... "Dad, Dad, wait.... ummm... where do light bulbs come from?"
Then he said... "Dad why does Yoda have long fingernails in movie and short ones on my picture?"

Canadian Heat - Fishing with Eleanor & Everett Granite Lake

2011-02-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

My most memorable time with grandpa and grandma was our trip to Canada where we flew into Granite Lake, north of Thunder Bay, Ontario. We went right after school was out. I think I was a college sophomore 1991. It was early to mid-May and we packed all our gear, long underwear, sweat-shirts and coats, boots, the works, after all it has been known to snow in May in Canada. Everything is going smoothly, the drive was nice, the flight in was good, we get all settled in our little outpost cabin in the middle Canadian wilderness. Except we notice one little thing, it’s a little on the warm side. No matter we figure the next day will be perfect. So we go to bed and wake up the next morning and it is down right hot, like mid-90’s and humid, and all we have is jeans and flannel! The next 4 days are a pressure cooker and we are just getting baked. We are sleeping on top of our sleeping bags in our underwear, grandma included. Then on about the third night we hear grandma scream about 1 am and shoes start flying around the room, everyone wakes up and there was grandma scared out of her mind because a little mouse decided to crawl into bed with her and take up residence in her hair while she was sleeping. I can’t remember how funny it was at the time, but it has produced a life time of laughs for me and the family. Thanks gramps and grandma for just being you, for taking us fishing, and sharing in what are truly the best times of my life.

Love, Ryan, Shoji, Priya, & Stephen

Grammy's diary time staying with The kids

2010-12-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

Nov. 24th, Wed: Grampa and I arrived at 3:30 p.m., fairly nice weather. No snow , 20 degrees snow storm in behind us to the west. Didn't hit Chicago . Great to see Priya and Stephen. Met Ryan at Pin Stripes for supper and celebrated
Stephen and Priya's birthdays-----Star Wars Transport Vehicle, for Deegs and Salon chair for Pri. Fun playing til bedtime.

Nov.25th, Thurs. , Thanksgiving Day: Ry and Shoj get packed up and we all head over to the Larson's for turkey dinner. Apricot glazed turkey, dressing, cheesy potatoes, squash casserole, cranberry compote, rolls, brussels sprouts,
yum.yum. Pumpkin pie, apple pie and peacan. Delish! Enjoyed meeting everyone and the kids had fun playing. Grampa took Ry and Shoji to airport @ 1:30. Helped clean up the dinner dishes ect. Home about 4:30, took the left over
turkey home. Gramps fixed grilled cheese sandwiches. Kids ate well. Off to bed pretty much on time, pretty good for the first night.

Nov. 26, Friday: Cold today but no snow. Kids up around 7:30. Breakfast, oatmeal, muffins, toast. ; playing with kids . Went to store and picked up something (can't recall exactly) but we rented the movie 'How to Train Your Dragon' and after our chicken dinner, we all watched the movie downstairs. Off to bed. No problem getting the kids to bed. Had a little accident today. Pri and Deegs were sharing the tall wooden stool and tipped over. Deegs split his lower lip and there was some crying but that seemed to be the only injury from the accident; scared them. His lip healed up in a couple of days.

Nov. 27, Sat: Happy Birthday Priya! Watched the Dragon movie again this a.m. (Deegs watched the whole thing). Mac and Cheese for lunch . Took a drive to Cabela's this aft. Not Priya's first choice for fun but promised to go to McDonald's for supper and to get a birthday treat so she was happy. Got some pound cake and a special ice cream she picked out called, 'Happy Birthday Cake Ice Cream' ----packaged up especially for kids. she really wanted it so that was the one.
Don't buy again, they didn't like it too much; the carton was so eye catching ; too bad , fooled us. In the afternoon, Grampa went to a Buffalo Wild Wings somewhere and watched some of the Badger /NW game; came back soon cause the Badgers were so far ahead.

Nov.28, Sun: Made it to church and Sunday School. Weather cold but not snowy. Good sermon by Bill Hybels---Ruth and Naomi. Came home and ate bison burgers. Kids ate well. Grampa took the kids to the park for a little while.
Had mac and cheese tonite. Lots of playing 'zoo' in the basement among other games. Off to bed, reading American Girl Christmas book and Deegs loves the fairy tale seek and find book. Lots of fun reading at bedtime. both go to sleep with easily and say prayers so sweetly.

Nov. 29th, Mon: Burr , cold this morning, like 13 degrees. Priya up on time , took a cold lunch, had to do a little running to catch the bus but we made it. No snow yet , so didn't wear snow pants. Grampa and Stephen played downstairs all morning. Made a ramp for the cars to go down. Ask Deegs what that ramp was made of. Packed turkey sandwiches and Gramps took off for Baldwin about noon. Stephen and I played in the basement ; had P&J for lunch . Watched the movie Benji. Pri home at 2:30. Lots of playing. No home work. Finished up the chicken dinner with squash. Ate well. Played 'Lightening McQeen Bingo. Fun. Pri read some to us. Wow, the day went fast. Off to bed already. Priya coughed some during the night , gave her some cough syrup and she stopped.

Nov. 30th , Tues: Cold and windy, a little sleet. No snow pants yet. Pri took a turkey sandwich. Stephen and I went to the store this morning ( not sure might have been yesterday afternoon, no matter) He had a ham and cheese sandwich and also some Lucky Charms that he picked out at the store. Made turkey soup (might have made this Monday cause Gramps remembers making it too)?? no matter. Playing lots of 'cat and rat' , and safari game and monkey game. Pri home on time--brought a card home that showed a restaurant in Schaumburg is called 'Priya's' , her friend from school gave her the card--very exciting. She brought a traveling book home for homework. She is a good reader. Ordered scholastic books , one for each of them; should arrive around Dec. 17th.Talked to Barb Nahey and she will be driving over tomorrow aft. to stay until Friday. Looking forward to our time with her. Turkey soup and grilled bagels for supper. Pri now knows the riddle , 30 days has september ect.This was part of her homework or the green weekly sheet I think.

Dec. 1st, Wed: Cold and a little snowy. Pri off to bus on time. She is a sweetie in the morning , doesn't fuss, wears what I pick out , eats good . Took a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Deegs and I made a quick trip to Butera (sp?) and got some french bread, pickles and a couple of items. Barb got here around 3:00. So nice to see her. Brought the kids card games, also food. Had her chili for supper and also pumpkin pie, kids liked it. We played in the basement after supper then off to bed. Barb did KP while I put them to bed. No homework . Started the advent calendar today.

Dec. 2nd, Thurs: Really cold again this morning. Deegs sleeping with me. Pri up on time. Going to have hot lunch today. Barb , Stephen and I went to Target this morning. Bought birthday present for the sleepover party. Ate lunch at Wendy's. Cold and a little windy. Still no snow tho. Priya home on time. Not much homework, trying to read everyday and do the weekly calendar thing (green sheet). Barb brought the movie 'A Muppets Christmas Carol' , they love it.
Had turkey soup for supper with french bread, veggies, and more pumpkin pie. Played hide the thimble and playtime in basement. Days fly by.

Dec. 3rd, Fri: Priya up and off to school. No problem. Eating hot lunch again today. Barb and Stephen and I played games , watched the Muppets again together. Had sandwiches for lunch and Barb took off for home. Deegs and I went over to the store for milk. Pri home on time. Both had Lucky Charms for a snack. Got all her overnight and dance stuff together and took her to Teagans house. We didn't fine anyone home there. Tried calling, no answer. After 25 minutes and a bit of frustration, and some praying little Priya says maybe we have the wrong day Gramma. Awe yes Lord , out of the mouth of babes. So we head back home and check the date. Sure enough I screwed up. To recover from that mistake , we went to Wendy's for supper , Priya was happy with that and also to know that she hadn't missed anything, only had to wait now a whole week. We watche the Vegie Tales Christmas DVD and off to bed .

Dec. 4th, Sat: Oh my woke up (7a.m.) to 3 or 4'' of new snow. The kids were really excited to see it. Too much snow on van and in driveway to get to the dance class. Had mac and cheese for lunch. 32 degrees out so kids went out and played in snow. Jaden and Samuel out too. Came in had cocoa and watched vegie tales (Lord of the Beans) ?? Played out again a little before supper , played with Gavin. Had Chicken, drsg and green beans. Swept off the van and drove around a little to see a few lights (careful not to get lost). Went to Walgreens and bought a gingerbread train to make. A full day. Also discovered the 'candy bag' in the garage today; they knew it was there ,but this was the first day they mentioned it to me. Nice find, wow. Shoji's mom called to check on us today. Had a nice visit with her. Fresh air tired everyone out. Prayers are good; the Lord is really watching over us. Also keeping the kids from being too lonesome, a miracle.

Dec. 5th , Sun: Up at 8 a.m. breakfast and then jumping to make the gingerbread train. Took us awhile to get it together. The box said 'easy build'---what? Pri called ours the 'spooky Christmas Train. ' If anyone saw it, I'd take no claim in helping (but did most of it) , bad, bad, bad. But did taste good. We read some bible stories and try to everyday , at least Stephen and I do . Hot dogs and tater tots, carrots and gingerbread for lunch. Played games after lunch, then down stairs and played cars. 4 oclock we watched Charlotte's Web. Then had pizza ,peas and pop. Gave Pri a bath after supper. To bed on time. Priya says big words like imagine,actually, afirmative, and says she learns all her big words from Jaden. Rachel called today to set up a play date sometime next week. They have been sick with colds. We have about a week left before Ryan and Shoji are home , they are counting the days and literally marking off on the calendar by the computer.

Dec. 6, Mon: Crisp and cold this morning , 11 degrees. Pri wore snowpants and boots , first time. Had blueberry bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, Deegs too. Washed some clothes this morning . Stephen played outside a short while late morning with Samuel. After lunch went to Jewell for a few things---root beer and vanilla ice cream. When Pri came home she dolled all up in her ballet outfit and danced to Angelina DVD was coaching Stephen right along. Most entertaining. Had a slice of ham, cheesy potatoes and , bread, squash and carrots, and more gingerbread train. Priya did her reading , no other school work. Played games off to bed. Only five more days til Mommie and Daddy come home.
Deegs loves helping and he really likes to run the vacuum, like a toy. Root beer float for treat at bedtime.

Dec. 7, Tues: Stephen crawled into bed with me around 3 a.m. Pri off to school on time. Another cold morning, 10 degrees. Pri took a P&J sandwich today. We played lots of games this morning. He beat me 5 out of 7 match games. Made some muffins and Deegs stirred them up . We played in the basement and got so absorbed, missed meeting Pri at the bus; she was okay about it. Might have had chicken in gravy tonite, and mashed potatoes. After supper they we a little wound up and wild. Stephen says, Priya's 'wired'. Missing Mom and Dad I think. Pri read to us and the day was gone, back in bed . Deegs had a bath today. A little out of routine. At bedtime Priya said I want my daddy and mommy , (first time.) Only 4 more days to go.

Dec. 8, Wed: Sweet Pri up and getting off to school on time. Took cold lunch . Stephen and I read lots of books and bible stories this morning. After lunch went to the dollar store. He needed some things. Had fun roaming around there. Picked up 3 Christmas books and a snow globe like Priya's for him. More running around the house and 'wildness' tonight; the 'natives are getting restless' ha ha. Only 2 more days to go they are very aware and counting it down. Ate
steak bites tonite with rice and tater tots. Good eaters. Had carrots and cucumber too. Try to encourage the vegies. Stephen not so into meat. No homework. They like singing the 12 days of Christmas with the book. Such cuties.

Dec. 9, Thurs: Cold again, 11 degrees, suppose to warm up by weekend. Pri is going to have hot lunch today. Deegs is playing over at Samuel's house this morning. Home for lunch , P&J, also finishing up Grampa's Pringles. Both kids have been eating fruit , grapes, orange, apples, pears, blueberries one of them everyday. Deegs and I watched 'Lord of the Beans' again trying to get those funny names down---Randolph son of Mandolf keeper of the ???? flame. Lord FalaminyonTeraglif son of Fairabill ala Lithamon, Elder of the Raspberry Forest. A riot. Granny very entertained. After school made a trip to Dollar Tree, Pri needed something, she missed out when Deegs and I went. Got more color books, and glow sticks and I found more micro fiber towels, nail polish ect. By the time we left the snow it had started to snow. Got about an inch, light and fluffy; temp is warming up some. Had good chicken nuggets tonight and mac and cheese and corn and toast. Ate good. Watched 'Horton Who' movie before supper. Pri had a precious prayer tonight, so from the heart. Did her reading. Bedtime is a fun time for them. and they do go to sleep well. no fussing. Gave her a partial bath and got stuff ready for the 'real ' sleepover. She is excited.

Dec. 10, Fri: Sunny morning, warmer , 20 degrees or so. Pri having fun playing at recess making snow fort. She started a fort and all the girls loved helping her. Stephen and I played lots of games this morning then off to Jewell for whatever . It was close to lunch and he was hungry so bought some fresh rolls and opened right in the cart and started munching. yum,.. After school both had snack , Lucky Charms (trying to eat up before you know who comes home) hee hee.
Off to the sleep over for Priya. Deegs stuck with me. We had left overs for supper and watched the first half of 'Cars' downstairs. With the warm up outside, the flys have come to life and tonight we had the big fly chase, Deegs loved using the fly'swopper' and also we got the vacuum down there and chased them with that. Big time. Off to bed. Tomorrow is the big day, Mom and Dad coming, no more waiting, no more counting down.

Dec. 11, Sat: This morning we finished watching 'Cars'. Played games , cat and rat, monkeys, safari, match. These games have been fun. Stephen also also has a mind for chess, beat me everytime. I play like checkers. Fun to hear him say the Queen moves dianaonly or something like that. Too cute. Priya home around 12:30; had a fun sleep over but is a tad tired and cross. Mentioned a nap maybe and she said noway. Had chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese then they watched a little Vegie Tale movie. Pri was sleeping on the chairs not 5 minutes into the movie. Bless her 'noway' heart. Wasn't long and someone came through the front door. Yeah, Mommy and Daddy are finally here. Yippie!!

Here are some miscellaneous tid bits: The upstairs toilet had a little over flow when Barb was here. You see Grannies get up often during the night and don't want to flush to wake the kids so the paper piles up in there and bingo too much paper for one flush in the morning and over she goes. Plunger fixed that.

On one of our many trips to Jewell or Butera decided to gas up (Friday ). Deegs shows me right where to go. We head left on Algonquin , pass up the first station, he says "go down farther" my Daddy doesn't like this one very much, that guy isn't too nice, bad guy".
Another Deeg's quote, " My Daddy likes the Bears just a tiny tiny bit" he's holding his thumb and index finger in pinching position.

Priya says, "Mrs. Sharp's husband sometimes shocks us and brings us doughnuts".

Had some undies drying on the clothes rack , Stephen looking everything over says, " are those my Dad's?" Oh laughed a ton, they were mine.

Probably missed a few here. We had a blessed time and the Lord was more than faithful. Made some good memories. THE END

Trip to Egypt - GLS and 10 year Wedding Anniversary

2010-12-12T05:30:00.000-08:00

Gramps and Granny had fun with the kids while we were in Egypt!

Days 1 & 2 - Nov 25th - 26th: Thanksgiving with Larson's and then departure from Chicago and arrival in Cairo via Paris, I actually slept fairly well on the planes. But I think it caused the jetlag to linger. It took me a week to finally sleep through the night - I kept waking up at 3am - just wide awake and ready to go for the day. We stayed at the Shepheard Hotel on the Nile. It is a very nice place, the street noise is crazy, all night long you can hear taxi's honking. I realized that they honk at you to get your attention. So as you walk along you hear, honk, honk, honk, honk - every taxi is honking to see if you want a ride.

Day 3 - Nov 27th - Up early and off to visit - hotel breakfast is very nice! Shoji and I brought our Daily Office book by Peter Scazzaro and it was good to start the day reading together and reflecting. Then a 5 hour bus ride to the villages of Deir Abu Hennis and Dier Abu ??? and then 90 minutes back to the town of El Minya and the Horus Hotel.

Our bus driver had major skills with the bus - he could do a 3 point turn in a cracker box - it was amazing. Also, we had to ferry across Nile to get to the villages. When I saw the size of the ferry boat (a glorified raft) and the size of our bus I thought - no way! The bus was nearly the size of the ferry. I made sure I didn't stay in the bus during the crossing just in case I needed to swim for it.

Day 4 Nov 28th - Churches preaching...

Day 5 Nov 29th - Visiting sites and ministries of Anwaar, Joni & Friends, bed bugs

Day 6 Tues. Nov 30th - pastor's conference

Day 7 Weds. Dec 1 - Back to Cairo - GLS Setup - Women's workshops - Tabloua Restaurant

Day 8 Dec 2 - GLS

Day 9 Dec 3 - GLS

Day 10 Dec 4 - GLS

Day 11 Dec 5 - Flight to Sharm el Sheihk

Day 12 Dec 6 - shark attacks

Day 13 Dec 7 - Great all inclusive resort Royal Grand Azure

Day 14 Dec 8 - glass bottom boat - lost coat

Day 15 Dec 9 - Mt Sinai - St. Catherine's

Day 16 Dec 10 - Last day at resort and return trip that night to Cairo and then Amsterdam

Day 17 Dec 11 - Home again

Stephen falls off his scooter.

2010-09-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, Stephen has been falling off his bike or scooter with regularity. I am not sure what it is but it seems like twice a day recently. Today he was going to show me a trick on his scooter. He was zipping along and hit the brake and then went flying and landed square on his knee right on the concrete. It look awful! He screamed in pain and limped back to me and I picked him up and tried to comfort him. His leg was twitching, I thought for sure he broke his knee cap or something, it was scary. We took him inside and put ice on it but before long he hopped up and went right back outside and started playing. I was amazed.

I thought to myself, if that just happened to me, it would have been a trip to the ER and months and months of rehab! Oh to be young again!

Stephen's Sayings - on waking up

2010-08-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

Mom tells Stephen that Priya is now getting up early for bed everyday and that he might need to get up too. And Stephen says, "I think I'll just get up when my eyes open up.."

Priya's Proverbs - did you get rained on?

2010-08-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

I was out for a long and very sweaty jog early this moring. I came back and Priya was getting ready for school sitting on the front steps and she says, "Dad, did you get rained on?"

While the Kids were away.... the parents will play!

2010-07-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

We were going to clean the house and work on Shoji's business, get lots of work done while the kids were gone. Well then we said forget that!! We just went out like every night - thanks to a bunch of gift cards and coupons. And also some very genenous friends (thanks John & Saray)!!

It was an anniversary week, not just a day!

Dinner at Nozumi and some interesting discussions...
Dinner at El Molino with Friends
Inter-Continental Hotel!
Breakfast in Bed!
Swimming Lessons the Hotel pool!
Water Taxi ride!
ChinaTown for Dim Sum!
Arti's 40th Birthday Party!

Summer Break in Wisconsin!

2010-07-08T16:27:00.001-07:00

Grandma: Mon. July 5th - Here's what we have been doing. Yesterday (Mon.) we watched' Madeline Lost in Paris' video. Then, for supper we had pizza and veggies. Gramps took us for an evening ride to Hudson and we fed the ducks & geese down by the river. The river was really high and the ducks came right up to us wanting our bread crumbs. Priya did not like the big geese so close to her. They made hissing noises. We had custard at Culvers too. Just little dishes. Priya had kit-kat, Stephen had nerds, Grampa had raspberry and chocolate, Gramma had mini caramel nut. We vote Deegs and Pri's the best. Oh, forgot , Deegs loved the geese and ducks getting close to us. Priya says she loved the baby geese and the white goose most of all.

This morning we made two swings with Grampa and they are in the tree in the front yard. We filled bird feeders. We saw a small young bunny and Grampa almost caught it in his fish net but missed it. Then Priya took a sun flower seed from the bird feeder and planted it by the rhubarb
It's hot today. After lunch we are going to mow the lawn and maybe go swimming in the lake later if it doesn't rain. Tomorrow we are going to Megan and Amanda's house (might sleep over).

Grandma: Tues. July 6th - Here's what's been happening . Grampa and Stephen mowed the lawn . Deegs did lots of steering and helping. Priya and I went to the 'Treasures' store downtown. She found a cute little puppy in a case and an American Musical t-shirt. also picked out a dinasaur for the Deegs and an alligator t-shirt. the dinasaur makes noise. roar. It was really hot and muggy out . Wyatt (the neighbor boy) came over and we all played fooseball and the frog game then went outside and had rides on the lawn mower. great fun. We ate steak for supper and had short cake. Kids are eating well. Got to bed a little earlier , will go to Ann's in the morning.

Wed. July 7th - After breakfast got ready to head out to meet Annie and the girls at noon at Wendy's on White Bear Ave. Ate chicken nugget happy meals and frosty's. Ann and I had the chicken, apple pecan salad and it was really good.
So here it is Wednesday night and it's quiet around here. Forgot to mention, at Wendy's they all got a prize in their happy meals, a toy saxaphone, nice and noisey. As Ann drove off in the van with all of them, I could hear the orchestra playing. Lucky Anner.

Also , when driving up to meet Annie , Priya and Stephen and I played Bible guessing game. They are really sharp on knowing who’s who in the bible. Asked who had the coat of many colors. They got it right. Then we discussed the story and they knew a lot about it. So sweet. And they were real good little travelers. Will miss them but know they will have a good time with the cousins Megan and Amanda.

Anner: Thursday 7/8/2010 - We've been at Parker Lake in Plymouth. A very cute beach and park area. Caught alot if snails. Stephen said "smell it, it stinks!" after he stuck his head in the bucket of snails. They do stink! Haha! We are having a ball in MN, making memories for sure! We don't want it to end. I think we'll keep them one more night. If mom and dad will let us. :-)

Priya and Stephen do miss you but they are having a great time and very respectful little honeys. Love them!

Well, gotta wash off the lake and sand then off to soccer practice for Megan and Amanda.
Tootle-lou! -Anner

Friday, July 9, 2010

Grandma: Priya and Stephen coming back to Baldwin. Picked them up at early afternoon at Wendy's. Heard all the about the fun they had with Megan and Amanda and Annie and Jason. The soccer game was really talked about. Megan's team won by 4 points and it sounded like Megan made all the goals but then Priya said 'maybe not'. Love it.

Also, heard all about the new zuzu hammsters. Target has them . We stopped at the first Target we saw and they did have them , but no pink ones like Mander's has. Deegs found a great nerf gun too. On to the next Target at Lake Elmo area. This is a really nice new store. We had slushies here. The kids knew all about these , how to mix flavors ect. yum. Found the zuzu's but no pink ones here either so Pri took a black and white one and she is happy with it. These toy hammsters are cute. Pri says , 'I'm into zuzu's now not calico critters'; very funny. I wish I had invented these zuzu's.

Got back to Baldwin, made some supper then headed over to the parade at 'River Falls Days'. Thought maybe this might be stretching these little ones a bit far but they insisted they wanted to go. Almost fell asleep on the way over but made it and they had a good time getting a ton of candy and watching all the bands, floats etc. Home about 9 p.m. amazing they didn't fall asleep. wow. too much sugar?

Everything going well. PTL.

Sat. July 10th:
Grandma: Now then, this was quite the day. Stephen and Priya slept til about 8:45 this morning . Had breakfast then we all talked about what we should do today. Gramps heard that there was a carnival and pony rides at the River Falls Days so we decided to head back over to River Falls. Off we went. Couldn't find a carnival there or pony rides and no one seemed to know if that was going on anywhere. This was disappointing after the build up so we decided to head up to Como Park where we knew there were some rides. Amazing how we were blessed with a great parking spot near the rides and zoo. First thing we saw was the butterfly world then on to some animals , then to the rides also a blessing cause at 4pm you can get a special ticket deal; the kids wear a bracelet that gets them into all rides. A good deal, Priya's favorite was the Frog Hopper , will leave the details for her to tell. Deegs liked the train the best . The tea cup ride was least liked, Pri raised her hand to stop the ride. too dizzy. The weather was a tad on the hot side but had water and some juice with and found the shade and a bench to help endure.

Stopped at KFC on the way home. They loved it.(but they were starved) Ate chicken legs , corn, mac and cheese, biscuits and honey. If you have KFC by your house , recommend for it. We pulled the skin off the chicken and it was gooooood.

Had baths when we got home and watched some Toy Story (3rd time) ate raspberries and ice cream. Couldn't squeeze much more into this one. Nice!

The big excitement Sunday was going to watch the skydivers at the airport. Actually the divers stopped early due to a late afternoon storm. The sky cleared around 7:15 p.m. and it was a lovely eve. I thought I heard the airplane buzzing so we tore down there. The manager was so nice to us and he started announcing a final jump just for us to watch. The pilot of the plane took us over to the plane and let the kids go in it and check it out. We got the royal treatment. Nice. 8 divers suited up and we got to watch everything (how the parachutes were folded etc). There were no other spectators there, just us. Pri and Stephen really got a kick out of the whole deal. Me too.

Stopped in and said good by to Dave and Deb. Their Norwegians girls had arrived for the week. Real blondies. Didn't get home til 8:40 so bed time was a tad late. Started getting things organized for the ride to meet Shoji tomorrow. )o: Going to miss these little sweethearts lots.

Monday: Kids got up at 8:15 or so, still a bit tired. Had powdered sugar donuts (special because they were going) and milk . Grampa helped pack up the car and we were on our way by 9:20. They traveled really well. Put a movie in at Eau Claire. Had a little snack on the way. We played 'eye spy with my little eye' and the animal guessing game. Made it to the Dells by 11:55am---Shoji got there at the same time. Amazing. So great to see her. We all had lunch at Buffalo 'Phils'; so fun . Our food came around on an electric train that a guy in the kitchen was running. Deegs and Pri enjoyed this a lot (we all did).

After lunch we went into the arcade and Shoj and the kids had a wild ride on the roller coaster train. Wish I had a picture of their facial expressions as they whipped around on the track, priceless. Praise the Lord for all the fun, good health, safe travel, good food, a great week of memories. We're more than blessed.

xoxo Gramps and Grammie

Flordia Fort Lauderdale Fishing Trip - video

2010-06-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Priya's Proverbs - Not too happy about this

2010-06-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

I had a cookie attack last night about 10pm - So I found a couple packs of IKEA cookies in the pantry and I had a couple - okay I had 4 or 5, maybe 6, with a big glass of milk. It was sooooo good.

The next morning about 7am Priya finds the pack of cookies nearly gone (evidentally Mom got the cookies for her) and I hear her stomping up the steps toward our room and I hear:

"Dad! Dad!!!"

Then she comes into the bathroom where I am shaving and she is waving the near empty cookie bag and says in a big grown up voice,

"WELL I AM NOT TOO HAPPY ABOUT THIS!!!"

Lice Treatments

2010-06-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

We've had a bout of lice in the house - the victims shall remain nameless to protect the innocent.

Forget all the $10-20 shampoo's or prescription stuff that you have to use like 3 times only to have it not work or your kid gets re-infested.

This is a little dangerous but it really works & it is cheap: Rubbing Alcohol

Use a squirt bottle and a super fine lice "nit comb" and start at the roots and squirt and comb it through. Soak it good and put a plastic bag on the kids hair for 1 hour.

Then also dip your comb in a cup of alcohol to clean it off after every stroke. It seems to kill live ones in seconds and then just pic out the nits (I think it kills the nits but not 100% sure). Then just wash your hair and your done. Be sure to check for nits every couple days - Then repeat in 7 days.

Just make sure you keep away from any heat source and esp. any kind of flame! It'd be the end of you. But if you want lice gone - this works.

If no rubbing alcohol is available, Jack Daniels works fine...(kidding - I have no idea)

Cell Phone Ettiquette

2010-06-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

Don't answer your phone and tell the person your not available to talk... that is why you have voice mail.

Don't leave a message saying to call me back... that is why we have caller ID. When someone you know calls and doesn't leave a message it means - "call me back." When it is a number you don't know and they don't leave a message it means - "wrong number or not important".

When you are at the grocery store and your wife calls you like 10 times and you miss the calls or don't answer - it means "don't go home anytime soon."

Learn how to manage your phone sounds & notifications, when meeting with people or a group put your phone on silent (not vi berate - it's annoying).

Everyone forgets now and again so we all need a little grace, but have you ever had someone answer their phone and then apologize to everyone for the interruption only to leave the ringer/vibration on and have the same thing happen again!! Major faux pas - turn it off!

In about 5 years this may all be obsolete as we will probably only text. I'll come up with texting etiquette then.

Statue of Liberty or Jesus

2010-05-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

We are driving down Higgins Rd and Stephen sees this statue and says:
"Hey, hey - it's the Statue of Liberty!!"

Priya: "No it's not, it's Jesus..."

Priya's Tooth came out

2010-05-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today Priya's tooth came out at school. She said the teacher helped take it out and the whole class went wild.

True Story - Baldwin to Baja

2010-05-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a small town in Northwest Wisconsin called Baldwin. When I was in grade school our town had about 2200 people and I remember getting our first stoplight at the intersection of Highway 63 and Main Street. I thought "wow, we are getting big time" having a stoplight and all. In the last 30 years or so Baldwin has grown to about 3300 or so and now has like 3 stoplights! Mostly for all the Minnesotans going up to a lake in our fine State.

I moved to Chicago area after college and began working at Willow Creek Church and got the opportunity in 2002 to lead a mission trip to an orphanage in Vincente Guerrero in Baja Mexico. Vincente Guerrero was an even smaller town than Baldwin! It was rather impoverished and we stayed there for a week serving at the orphanage. It was an awesome trip!! One of our activities/jobs while there was to take the garbage from the orphanage to the dump. Everyone said you just have to experience this at least once, I wasn't sure what the big deal was but I decided to volunteer for that job one morning. So we loaded up the truck and trailer with the last few days garbage and began the 20 min drive to the landfill. When we got there the first thing that amazed me was the size of the landfill. It was huge! It felt like it went on forever. I think we drove for 10 minutes once we got inside the landfill! It look like a scene from "Terminator" or something. There was burnt up twisted metal, garbage and junk everywhere. And there were little cardboard huts here and there, not too many but very distinct. There were people living in them. There were people, including children, living at the landfill. That was a little gut wrenching. We packed some peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches for people we would met there. They would keep and eye on your truck and want to pick through your garbage right away.

We began to unload our truck and trailer and I saw a couple of Mexican guys just kind of hanging out around us and they had a nice Ford F150 pickup - it looked new and a little out of place in a dump. So we finally started talking in spanish even with my horrible, limited spanish - and the one guys (I think his name was Juan Guerrero) starts talking perfect English!! We talk about this and that, sports and the usual guys stuff and then he asks where I am from. So I tell him I am from way up north, in the midwest, and I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. I am speaking really slowly and phonetically because I figure he's never even heard of Wis-CON-sin. I explain it is kind of near Minn-E-sota sort of kind of near CAN-a-da.

He looks at me and says, oh yea "I know all about Wisconsin and Minnesota, in fact I just recently got back from there. I was working up there. So what town are you from?"

So, I tell him, it's this little town called Baldwin near the Wisconsin & Minnesota boarder, I tell him it's a nice little town. He looks off in the distance and says... "Baldwin, Baldwin? - is that the town near interstate 94 and Hwy 63? I think there is an A & W Rootbeer stand there?"

I practically faint! I told him it was.

He says, "Oh, yes - I've been there, in fact I worked there last year as a drywaller, on that new development on the Southside of town."

My mouth hits the ground! I am standing in the middle of a huge landfill, a massive, stinking dump, in the middle of no where, in the middle of Baja Mexico, 2000 miles from home, talking to a complete random stranger who has not only heard of Baldwin but worked there and likes the Rootbeer stand my friend Chad use to work at! By this time I am without speech, I am thinking this is just impossible, maybe he is my guardian angel or something... I am just waiting for him to tell me he used to shake dice for coffee with Uncle Dave at Bark's Bakery on Main or he likes to fish at "Big Jim's!"

I knew that day our world had changed forever.

Priyas Proverbs - Kindergarten Theology

2010-05-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Priya and Stephen are talking in the back of the van today... blah blah blah blah and then I hear Priya say, "Well that is because Jesus IS God!"

Stephen, "But he was from Mary and Joseph.."

Priya, "It's complicated..."

Big Water - Big Birthday present for Grandpa

2010-05-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

It was windy and dangerous out on the big water. Not much for perch but we got some Salmon

The Day Stephen Rides his Bike!!

2010-04-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Grandma's Diary - While Shoji was in NJ

2010-03-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Thurs. 3/11 : Drove through the rain and wore sun glasses to help me see ; they worked great. It was raining heavy . Arrived around 5:30 p.m. Priya and Stephen were waiting to warmly greet me. So wonderful to see them. Ryan got pizza for supper. Played several games of candy land before bedtime. Visited with Ryan and Shoji and got info on house/school routine ect.

Fri. 3/12: Shoji left at 6:30 for the airport. Helped Priya get ready for school. We all walked her to the bus. Ryan left for the church. Stephen and I played more games and some Thomas train. I picked Priya up at the bus. Stephen waited at home. Weather was cool and cloudy. Cooked mac and cheese for lunch with peas and corn--Stephen helped. Watched some howdy doody. Ry home early. We fried fish and made some sweet potatoes, salad . Kids went to bed
about 7:30. Taking turns who starts out in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Sat. 3/13: Rainy and cool this morning but everyone in good spirits. We all went to get new wipers on my car. Went to Wendy's for lunch. Stopped and got crickets too. Ry went into the church around 2. We played games and then got ready for 5 p.m. church. kids had sandwiches and fruit. Good church service--about things being invented thru the centuries and how God has known all things and allowed this knowledge at just the right time in history. We have a great all knowing , all powerful, all present Lord and he knows each one of us personally. So awesome and amazing. Driving home from church, we followed Ry in the van and Priya kept her eye on the van. She said "Daddy coasts so he can save the brakes" - cute or what! Made some salads and snacks then to bed.

Sun. 3/14: slept a little later. Ate breakfast and played . time goes fast. love to hear Stephen say, "let me tell you something" . Had dinner at the Pin Stripes. So good . Kids got the buffet free. Sun is shining and getting more like spring now, warmer too. Went to Cabelas with a coin flip heads one. Priya was hoping for tails. (: Enjoyed seeing all the animals ect. Driving home noticed a note on the car thinking it was advertising , didn't look at it til later when I ran to Walgreens for bubble gum. The note said someone had hit the right rear fender. Not a bad dent but noticeable. Ryan spent an hour with the Hoffman Estate police department taking care of the report ect. Thanks Ry. Called Dad and told him and he called Dave ect. I think maybe the cute Latino family we saw in Cabelas by the fish tanks were the ones who opened their door and hit my car. I hope this won't be a hardship for them. What lesson here Lord? (got milk and good deal on pizza at Walgreens on way home from Cabelus.) Weather getting very spring like now. Praying for "Appacha" (sp) everyday. Missing Shoji. The bubble gum wasn't the best for bubbles, will try another brand. Priya is getting good at blowing bubbles. This was a fun day.

Mon. 3/15 Ryan took Pri to the bus. He left for work. Played with Stephen, likes the 'cars ' and Thomas train. Had Mac and cheese for lunch. I think we went to the park this afternoon, not for sure. Had Shoji's chicken for supper with rice and salad. yum .

Tues. 3/16 : Sunny and warm today. Ry took Pri to bus. Stephen and I played until time to pick up Priya. Had chicken nuggets for lunch and p&j sandwiches. Went to park with the bikes. (not yesterday). Shoji called and said the power was back on there and the weather was very nice too. Her Dad in good spirits. Kids played with Jaden and Samuel outside. Ry came home about 3 or so and I went to Butura for some fruit and milk. Grilled bison burgers , fried some boiled potatoes and had strawberry spinach salad and Shoji's good dress-ing , very good. Priya does her homework each day. I think it is pretty challenging for a 5 year old. Bless her. Kids go to bed early. Special to read with them and lay by them 'a couple minutes'. Such sweeties.

Wed. 3/17
Ry took Priya to the bus. It's another nice spring day , 60 degrees. After lunch(mac and cheese with corn) we went to the store in the van (Jewell) . Got some St. Patrick's day cup cakes. Priya's school really had the kids into St. Patty's day. She was excited to make it special for Daddy too. Ry home about 7 p.m. Matt Piercy took the kids on a bike ride and they loved it. We had chicken, rice and dressing for supper and cupcakes.

Thurs. 3/18
Pri off to school with Ryan. This morning Stephen and I made banana muffins and stirred up some bran muffins. didn't have buttermilk so made sour milk with lemon juice. Deegs was really into stirring everything up, lining the muffin cups ect. He has been helping make his own oatmeal too in the morning. Had strawberries in it today . Good eater. Had hotdogs for lunch. Shoji called and we all talked with her. Pri said" my mom makes the best mac and cheese, she uses butter." Went to the park, a little breezy and cool today. told them the old north wind was getting ready to send some more snow. they pondered this. Stephen's bike pedal got stuck so pushed him on his bike. Had chinese food for supper. Kids ate good. Last nite to tuck them in bed. They say the sweetest prayers , bedtime is good visiting time. I went to Target to look for scooters , found them.

Fri 3/19
Ry took Pri to the bus.. Deegs made oatmeal , said "do we make sour milk"? cute. He remembered from the muffin making. Precious boy We finished baking the bran muffins.
Ry went and got a hair cut. I packed and got ready to go. It is a gorgeous day at 60 degrees. We all went to meet Pri at the bus. They got on their scooters and were having great fun.
By the time I got to the Dells, it was 47 degrees and at Baldwin it was 37 degrees. Wow what a change. The old north wind is blowing.

Sat. 3/20
Ry called , they had snow on the ground. That old north wind did it.

Shoji's Dad's Health Condition

2010-03-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

After a whole month of being sick, a trip to the ER and being hospitalized twice for a total of 14 days so far, the doctor is leaning toward the diagnosis of:

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

You can read more about it here:
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Chronic+inflammatory+polyneuropathy He will be starting a plasma treatment tomorrow which will keep him in the hospital for probably another 10 days. We are happy to have some sort of determination and hoping that the healing process will not be complicated by anything that might be underlying this. Just in the last 2 days, he has lost all strength in his legs and we are hoping he would be able to recover quickly and fully. He has not lost any hope or courage through this whole process except maybe yesterday when he couldn't get himself out of bed. He is in the right place and in the right hands. His attitude and faith has been amazing and he is striving to get the "best patient award" by not bothering the staff if at all possible lest he be seen as complaining. Please continue to pray for his full recovery and for his spirit. Thanks for all your support, concerns and prayers to all of us expressed in many different ways.

Shoji & Ryan

Valentine's Day - 101 Dalmatians

2010-02-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

We went to 101-Dalmations last weds. 2/17/10. It was really great. After 10 years in Chicago area I finally got it right...

Complementary tickets to 101-Dalmatians (because we got puked on at our last show downtown over a year ago). Cost $0

Free Parking near Randolph & Peroia Str. just 2 blocks from the restaurant we went to. $0
Awesome Dinner for 2 at Sushi Pink, really good! $25 dollar coupon making the total $43
Cab ride from the Cadillac Palace theater to our car - 6$
A friend watched our kids for free - $0

$49 dollars (plus gas) - dinner, show, night out.

We had a great night, the show was amazing, very family friendly and they had real Dalmatians in the show. In fact when we got to the theater people lined the entrance like some celebrities were showing up. When I asked what was going on people were all exciting saying, "Oh, the dogs are coming, the dogs are coming!!" Only in America! I think the dogs got a bigger reception that Obama would have gotten!

Earthquake in Algonquin!

2010-02-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

Wow my first earthquake!! I thought there was a huge snowplow in the parking lot behind my house or I was having a bad dream or something!! Then I was so sleepy I didn't even remember it until someone said there was an earthquake. I have never been in an earthquake. I started thinking about it and it was a little scary with all that has gone one in Haiti recently. Just another reminder that we are not in control!

(CNN) -- An early morning earthquake rattled northern Illinois on Wednesday, shaking an area about 50 miles west-northwest of downtown Chicago, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake was originally reported as having a magnitude of 4.3, but the USGS later downgraded it to magnitude 3.8. It hit just before 4 a.m. CT (5 a.m. ET), with an epicenter about 3 miles underground. The USGS pinpointed the quake between the towns of Virgil and Sycamore, Illinois.

Outdoors with Chris Hurta II

2010-01-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

The Boldt Creed

2010-01-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

We are trying to develop a saying or short memorable statement on what is means to be a Boldt. Something we can focus on and help communicate values to our children. Maybe something like, "Love God and Love People through the Love of Christ to Transform the World".

There is something I really like about Romans 12 and the ideas of:
Being living sacrifice, not conforming to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:

"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Pinstripes Restuarant

2009-12-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Wow, do I love this place! There is a new one opened up in the Arboretum Mall in South Barrington. Some nights the kids eat free and they have been giving out wrist bands that gets you a free glass of wine with dinner. I can't imagine that lasting for too long... but it is really good.

Kids love it and food is great - prices are decent. The service has been terrific. Bowling and Boccie ball if you get board.

We went there tonight after the Willow Creek Church - Christmas service. We went with friends Wolfgang and Berit and Silas and Arti. Lots of fun!!!

http://www.pinstripes.com/

Packers 21 Bears 14

2009-12-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad came down for the game at Soldier Field, I scored tickets off my neighbor. These were the best tickets we've ever had! Near the 5 yard line 12 rows up.

We had a great time, right from GB's first play where Ryan Grant ran 62 yards untouched into the end zone for a 7 - zip lead, it was a blast. The Bear fans in our area were not all that bad either. The guy next to me was pretty sharp and most the folks near us were Bears season ticket holders. Soldier Field was really pretty nice, the grass looked awful but the new stadium was nice.

The game was another winning ugly for Green Bay and honestly it was losing ugly for the Bears. This whole Cutler trade appears to have backfired. I mean they couldn't be any worse with Orton at QB. Cutler has a great arm and can have amazing accuracy, but he appears to just lose his mind and throw it to the wrong team. The interception to Nick Collins in the 4th quarter was kind of mind numbing, it looked like it was intended for Nick. I am sure Cutler is a good QB, I mean you can't be good with one team and then just lose all your talent. Maybe he has mental issues or something but clearly he is not in the right mind. Part of me thought maybe he is trying to get Lovie fired so they can bring in Mike Shannahan? His old coach. Who knows?

Then we met grandma, Shoji and the kids at pinstripes - what an awesome place!! I am going back there. Great food, bowling and bocce - big screen TVs. It was great.

An Indian Thanksgiving & Ketchup and Cutlets!

2009-12-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

We drove all the way to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving week with Shoji's family. We had a great time of celebrating Priya and Stephen's birthday with all the aunties and uncles. Mummy feed us authentic Indian food all week, we had chicken curry, goat curry, mean curry...nice curry! I had to drink a lot of milk and eat lots of raita (yogurt salad) to keep my internal temperature below en fuego!

Then the ladies of the house (Mummy, Shiji-mama, and Shoji) put on an awesome display of versatility and made an authentic American style turkey dinner for Thanksgiving day (maybe a little spice rub just to liven it up a bit). Sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries and Shiji-mama's famous pear & apple pie. Uncle Alan fasted all day getting ready for the big meal. We were suppose to eat at 1pm - but you must remember that many family members operate on IST (Indian Standard Time) - so we started eating at about 3pm. It's a little challenging keeping things hot for a couple hours... Needless to say uncle Alan was ravenous by this time, he probably ate half the turkey himself, hot or cold it didn't much matter.

Shoji and I also had a fun meeting with the young adults of Shoji's Indian Church. We had a discussion time around the identities that second generation Indians struggle with.

1. Traditional Identity - This is the traditional Indian culture that they grow up with in the home. The culture of their parents and ancestors. Things like arranged marriages, family expectations for education and career. Pleasing the parents, think of the Indian movie 3KG "kubby kushi kubby gum". I am sure I misspelled that but I got it phonetically!

2. Current Cultural Identity - Growing up in the US, having lots of US friends - a culture of high individualism and choosing your own destiny, you can be whatever you want! You don't have to be a doctor or engineer, really!! This culture sees dating and choosing your own spouse as the relational norms and so much of this is in tension with the traditional values of the parents and family. How are young Indian adults to deal with these clashing worlds?

3. Spiritual Identity - But as Christians what does our faith say about these things above? Is there a way for faith to transcend cultures? Of course this is where Shoji's and my story comes in, we have been able to navigate the cultural waters and have a growing marriage where we like both of our families and value the best of both cultures. It's like having ketchup and cutlets!! Ketchup an American staple and cutlets are a main stay in the Indian diet put them together and wham!! You can have the best of both worlds! The key is the parents and the next generation must be humble and open on a faith level and engage in honest communication to talk about what values are most important in life. This dialogue must happen in order to create honoring and loving relationships that can last a life time.

So that was our Indian Thanksgiving!

Packers 27 Ravens 14 - Winning Ugly

2009-12-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Well that was about as ugly a game as I have seen in a while. I mean when you tie the Seahawks and Bucs for the second or third most penalties in a game... that can't be good. I watch the whole thing while walking very slowly on the treadmill at the local Snap Fitness. That was great, I burned like 400 calories just watching the game and didn't even break a sweat!!

As ugly as the game was I will have to be honest and just rant all over the officiating. That was the worst officiating I have ever seen. The pass interference calls, against both sides, were in my opinion just horrible. I mean guys calling for the flag and then getting it like a minute later is ridiculous. The amount of incidental contact and hand fighting that guys were getting called for is something that happens on every play!! When guys are looking for the ball and fighting for position it is what we call "football" and that is why it is not called "synchronized swimming". We want to see players make plays and determine the outcome of the game more directly.

Specific plays to note:
1. Ravens WR Mason was called for offensive pass interference violating Charles Woodson. Ridiculous!! That was so crazy, Woodson was equally involved in creating the contact and it should have just been a no call.

2. Pass interference against Green Bay's T. Williams on a long pass play to the end zone, it looked to me like he made a great play, he was looking at the ball and made great play. A little hand and arm fighting both ways, that should have just been a no call. Instead it was a horrible call.

3. There was another call on T. Williams (I think in the end zone again) and it looked like he made another good play. I'd have to review that one but I think it was pretty good.

4. Donald Driver got a call down the middle on about a 15 yard pass from Rodgers over the top. Driver flopped a bit and made a big stink and got the flag to come out of the 5th row. It looked like the contact was minimal and he wasn't going to make the catch anyway. Just let it go.

5. Also some of the other penalties seemed so ticky-tac. I think Taucher got called for holding and it seemed soooo... lame. And I think there were some calls against the Ravens as well just seemed so wimpy.

At some point they should let the guys with pads on make plays.

I tend not to rip on the officials (they have a tough job and usually do it well) but tonight it just seemed so bad. Maybe it was because I was having a bad fantasy football weekend or something, I mean how can Wes Welker have like 20 catches in a game for 160+ yards and not be in the end zone at some point! Two weeks in a row!

Priya's first field trip to Gobbert's Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-16T14:26:00.000-08:00

Priya's Kindergarten Class goes to Gobbert's in Hoffman Estates. She had sooooo much fun!!!

Cross Cultural Marriage - 3 F's

2009-11-11T18:49:00.001-08:00

Being married cross-culturally has been a really fun adventure for us. It of course has its unique challenges but also unique rewards.

1. Food - you gotta be a little adventurous with food. Hey, if other people eat it you have to just get over yourself and give it a whirl. Many foods are an aquired taste but you really can aquire it!! I actually crave Indian food and look so forward to visiting the in-laws to get some good old South Indian Cuisine. So get outside of yourself, get a good attitude and you might find you like it. Also, others love it when you take an interest in them and their food. My mother in-laws cooking is so good! Even if the food doesn't agree with you there are some tricks to help you out. The first is milk and yogurt! If the food is so spicy, that it feels like fire in your GI track, drink lots of milk and yogurt - this will cool it down. It really works!

2. Family - It is good to be aware that not all cultures view family the same. Eastern families tend to see family as intergenerational where parents have lots of influence in the lives of their married children. Western families have a high value of the nuclear family where the primary influence is your "immediate" family and extended family doesn't have as much influence, the final say is left up to the nuclear "immediate" family. Neither view is right or wrong just different and if you are not prepared to deal with it, it can be very difficult and frustrating.

3. Faith - Many people don't think this is a big deal. Let me just set the record straight... it is a big deal. Even if you don't think it is when you get married it will be later. Especially, once you have children. If you have different worldviews or faiths it is easy for your children to get caught in the middle. Even if you are not spiritual you may start to feel like your spouse is pushing their views on the children and vice-versa. One thing that has really strengthened our marriage is the fact that Shoji and I are on the same page!

Before you get married talk long and hard about these things. Then when you think you come to some common ground, talk about a it lot more!

Shoji is 36 today!!

2009-10-09T05:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Shoji,
The kids picked out a vase, pink roses, card and chocolate for mom! all glutten free...LOL
They were so excited to surprise mom with a gift.

Shoji got a gift cert to the spa from Shiji-mama and a dinner with friends at Bistro Wasabi from Dad.

Mom's Catfish! Clam Flowage

2009-09-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Michael Vick

2009-08-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what to make of all the talk about Michael Vick coming to Green Bay. It would definitely help the depth at QB. It would seem crazy to bring him in to compete with Rodgers and any level. But every QB is one play away from an ACL snap. So it would make some sense just for depth. Also, if you have Vick on your pine as backup, maybe give him an occasional Wildcat formation then you also keep him off the field with another team that could really use him... Like the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings are crazy for not trying to get him. He is so much better than what they have, it is insane. And I think he'd fit the Vikings style of offense perfectly.

All of this is from a purely football perspective, with the assumation that he really did have a change of heart. But Tony Dungy seems to think so and that is a very good recommendation. Dungy has always been a straight, upstanding guy.

Here are some teams that I think he'd fit and could start.
1. Minnesota - perfect fit
2. Carolina
3. Denver
4. Oakland - Jamaal is a big question mark.
5. SF
6. St. Louis

Maybes
1. Seattle - Hasselback is fragile
2. Tampa
3. Cinni - Palmer might not make it more than a games before he gets hurt

Possible?
1. Detroit - why not they need as much help as they can get.
2. NE - they need a backup

So there you go....

Perpetuum Jazzile - Africa

2009-08-11T12:02:00.001-07:00

I love this... it gives me chills!

Dad with a Bucket-mouth Bass

2009-08-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

A lovely day on our favorite secret lake. Actually the Big Hurta and I didn't catch squat until...

Yikes that is a big bass! 20+ inches and about 5lbs

Stephen's Sayings - Hair Jello

2009-07-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

Stephen got a hold of my hair-gel and went wild. He said, "look I put hair-jello in my hair!"

Priya's Proverbs - Consti-patiences

2009-07-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

shoji will fill in later...

Centegra Health Care - Open House

2009-07-18T12:00:00.001-07:00

A lovely 68 degree July day! Shoji is in Houston at Teena Thomas' wedding, dad and the kids are home alone. We went to Centegra's Open house and got free bike helmets for the kids! It was awesome. And we got free lunch and they had lots of fun stuff, like rock climbing, balloons, jamba juice and fire trucks. We even saw friends! It was great.

Priya's Proverbs

2009-07-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

Both Stephen (3.5) and Priya (5.5) completed the Algonquin library reading program and one of the prizes was a cool harmonica. Do you ever experience your children saying something wrong but it is just too cute to correct them? Well Priya got the harmonica and she calls it a commoddada (cah-mod-da-da) and she was so serious about playing it and using it. That night we sat around a fire to roast some marshmellows on the patio. She says she needed to go get her commoddada to play some music. She keeps calling it her "commoddada" and it was just so cute I can't correct her.

Shoji's Crappie, not "Crappy" but "Croppy"

2009-07-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Shoji was up to her old tricks as she slayed the crappies at Bear Trap!

Priya's First Fish - Bear Trap

2009-07-05T19:19:00.001-07:00

Priya caught her first fish on the 4th of July!! What a great day, perfect weather and good fishing for the whole family.

Fishing Derby

2009-06-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

They Kids at the Fishing Derby. Priya won a hula-hoop contest!

Priya's Proverbs - Heaven

2009-06-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Priya asks me, "Hey Dad, is Jesus in heaven? And we get to see him when we die?"

I said, "Yes that is right"

Priya, "I think I want to be died..."

Nice Theology Dad.....

Stephen's Sayings - "Maybe not"

2009-06-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is Stephen's latest saying. He will say something like, "I want to watch Tom Thomas the train!" And Priya will then say how it is her turn to pick the DVD and a big fight insues. So we finally resolve that it is stephen's turn to pick and I will say, "So you want Thomas the Train DVD?" He looks at his upset sister and then me and says... "may-beee not" It is so cute.

Stephen's Sayings - Promisetowne Rules

2009-05-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight while putting Stephen to bed, we were discussing who his friends are. One of his favorite friends, Maya, no longer comes to Promisetowne. But he reminded me he still has his friends Porter, Avery and Lorilie (Low-e-lie). He said that "Low-e-lie is not in the baby class anymore because she is 3 now." Lorilie loves to give hugs and so I asked him if she still gives him a hug. And Stephen said, "In Promisetowne, you keep your hands to yourself! No hugging, no kissing, no pushing, no grabbing things from hands and no stealing." I asked him if there is anything else and he said, "No, that's it!"

Ice Fishing - with Chris Hurta

2009-03-05T17:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome the "Big Hurta" to Wisconsin. He is hooked on ice fishing and Mies fish batter!

Stephen's Sayings - Cabela's and shopping

2009-01-18T07:19:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago Stephen saw the socks Shoji was wearing and said, "Hey Mom those are the socks that Dad and I got for you at Cabela's... Cabela's, Cabela's hey that rythmes!"

Stephen Takes Charge - Potty

2009-01-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

We were hoping we would be diaper free by the New Year. However, Stephen has taken matters into “his own hands” and we need to rescind him from our Top 8 List of 2008. Over the vacation time Stephen, after some significant success with going potty, decided that he was going to take some control by consistently soiling his pull-ups. After a few serious conversations between Ryan and me, we decided that we will pull away and give Stephen a week off from asking him to go potty. He is back in diapers and we do not remind him. We decided to go the Kevin Leman way and let it go and let Stephen decide what he wants to do. However, we would no longer clean up the mess – Stephen would. This week Stephen spent on average 30 minutes 3x a day in the bathtub, cleaning himself often with a great attitude and very agreeable – “OK! Like this?” he would ask in a cheery voice. As I helped him get dressed today for the 3rd time he says, “I love it, Mommy. I love cleaning myself!”

GOXED

2009-01-08T20:53:00.001-08:00

One other note, during our trip to Seattle we went up on the roof top to watch the new year's fireworks. While in the elevator on the way up some new year's partiers got in the elevator and we got Goxed. I thought Shoji and Ashley were going to die.

Check out Gox in the scrabble dictionary...

Christmas 2008 - Seattle

2009-01-06T11:10:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas visiting Uncle Alan & Shiji-mama in Seattle. We did lots of fun things.
Priya loved taking the bus around and Stephen loved the mono-rail. Shoji and I got to go to the "Nutcracker". We went to the Science Museum, We got to help Ashley move! We help Alan take down the Christmas Tree, needles everywhere- LOL. We went to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at University Pres. Church. We got to see Mary Sahli, Shoji's counseling buddy. We played lots of scrabble.

We dodged the snow storms got free 1st class upgrades on the flight (thanks to uncle Alan), the kids were great!

Shoji-isms - Why we love her

2008-12-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

Shoji's grasp of English slag and idioms is rather breath-taking.

1. Flack vs. Slack - During the Favre saga Shoji told a friend that Ryan was catching a lot of slack at work from the guys...

2. Shoji is holding Stephen in her lap and he bounces up and whacks Shoji's head with his head and Shoji says... "Ouch!! Stephen just head bunted me!!" (like bunt a baseball rather than head-butted).

3. After Ryan's trip to the doctor Shoji proceeds to tell Dad Steve that Ryan got "goosed" at the doctor.

I am sure there are many more, we will keep posting as Shoji continues to make us laugh.

The Boldt Top 8 List of 2008

2008-12-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

1. An unexpected gift of a trip to Kauai, HI in the middle of a relentless winter – Feb 2008

2. The 2nd annual Boldt Three Bear’s Lodge trip – the perfect water park for any kid under 5 and their cousins – July 2008

3. Experiencing the wilder side of our family at the Big Fat Indian Wedding in Maryland with a stop in Pittsburgh with more fun cousins under 5 – May 2008

4. Shoji inheriting (and surviving) ownership of Awakenings Counseling when her business partner and dear friend moved – May 2008

5. Quetico, Canada – 7 days, 6 nights of camping, canoeing, backpacking (70 lbs) and surviving in the wild with 2 of our most adventurous friends and living to tell about it!! (ask us) – August 2008

6. Making memories with our sister and brother-in-law in Seattle this Christmas – Dec 2008

7. Friends, friends, friends. Having a blast with our special friends in the neighborhood this summer and 3 of the 4 year-olds learning to ride their bikes on the same day! You go Priya, Bella and Jaidan! - Oct 2008

8. Kids out of diapers! Well…almost…”You are sooo close Stephen!” - TBD

9. A blessed ministry season with serving those in need through Parivar (educating and counseling those of South Asian origin) , Celebration of Hope, Feed my Starving Children, Habitat For Humanity, a trip to the Dominican Republic, Stock the Storehouse and so much more see: http://wcccdundeecrownarea.blogspot.com/

10. Our new IMac – our Christmas gift from last year - endless slide shows, photos, making movies, DVDs and blogs…see The Boldt Family Blog so you don’t have wait til next year to get caught up with the Boldts: http://zrboldt.blogspot.com/

I know this started out as the Top 8 List of 2008 because it sounded good but as we stopped to reflect on the year, the blessings seem endless. We are looking forward to discovering new adventures for the New Year! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy, adventurous New Year too!

Love,
Ryan, Shoji, Priya (5) and Stephen (3)

Priya's Proverbs - on skunks

2008-10-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today we were driving in the van and Priya smells a skunk and she says... "Dad do smell that Stunkt?".... a combination of skunk and stunk...

Neighborhood and kids learn to ride bikes

2008-10-12T22:08:00.001-07:00

Ammachi's Visit - Priya Hair Cut

2008-10-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Carrie Underwood - Concert at the Sears Center

2008-10-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last night Shoji and I got free tickets to Carrie Underwood concert and went with Jack & Mary Jo Gallaway and John and Kathy Angle. It was really fun!

We really liked her song Jesus take the Wheel and the other on about her home town. And there was a funny song about the more boys she meets the more she likes her dog. I would like my daughter to listen to that one...LOL. However, I must say I am showing my age as we were surrounded by 15-teen year olds screaming at the top of their lungs, I mean ear-piercing screams. And they knew every word of the songs and I had never heard of any of them!

But she was talented and lovely and all that which I suppose is why she won American Idol.

Stephen's Actions - helping

2008-10-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

This morning Stephen helped mom make pancakes, then went potty all by himself, and then asked if Dad would help him vaccum his room, and then put the clean silverware away (correctly), even at 2 he is an amazing taskman and great helper. And he can actually do stuff that I just never thought he would be able to do.

Some days you think your children are just angels.

Stephen's Sayings -

2008-10-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Stephen said the other day, "I was a little baby a long, long time ago. But now I am a big boy!!" - he is 2 almost 3.

Priya's Proverbs - Toot toot chugga chugga big red car

2008-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in the van we all went to the doctor for mommy's check up. On the way back Priya lets a big toot go. Dad turns around and asks "What was that??"

Priya with out skipping a beat, and right on tune, breaks into a chorus sung by the Wiggles, "Toot toot, chugga chugga, big red car...."

Stephen laughed hysterically for about 3 minutes.

Priya's Proverbs - Cramps

2008-09-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

I went into Priya's room this morning as she was waking up, she gave me a big hug. And I said, "I can't believe how big you are getting Priya!" She said, "That is because I drink milk and have cramps, cramps make you grow..."

Wicked - The Stage Show - The Oriental Theater

2008-09-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

We went to wicked last night and had dinner at the Midtown Bar and Grill.

Boldt Family Bedtime Prayer

2008-08-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

This day you gave me has come to an end,
bless me God and all my friends,
help me lord to let others know,
you are with me where ever I go.
Amen

Boldt Family Dinner Prayer

2008-08-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

This is the day the Lord has made
All thanks and praise to thee
We gather around this table of plenty
Remembering you set us free
Help us to serve you with gladness and joy
Dear jesus abide in me
Amen

Blessings in the Favre Fiasco

2008-08-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

1. We got something out of it, a draft pick, when before we had nothing.
2. He is not in Minnesota or Chicago!
3. He won't play again in Green Bay - so it's like he is still kind of retired
4. He still wears green - so it doesn't look so crazy.

This is great!!

2008-08-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

3 Bears Lodge 2008

2008-07-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

First Dahlias of 2008 Arrive

2008-07-18T13:41:00.001-07:00

Priya's Proverbs - on blond

2008-07-02T20:05:00.001-07:00

Priya and I were laying in her bed and as we were reading a book I asked her to help me with a word. As I am encouraging her to read and learn words, she already knows about 30 words. She shut her eyes and said, "I can't, I'm blond daddy, I'm blond..."

Of course she meant to say she was blind.

Bye to Friends - the McCombs

2008-06-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

Katy & Chris and family will soon leave us here in Chicago and head west. Colorado and then Utah with church planting in mind. We will miss them and wish them God's Blessings.

Priya's Proverbs - on grandma

2008-06-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

I love my Grandma because she is not so old, she is a little old, but not so old.

Hector Hermasillo - Casa de Luz

2008-06-29T14:48:00.000-07:00