April 20th

April 20th was a wonderful day! Because Jennifer took me to the hospital for my LAST time to get remicade ever! When I was home over Christmas break, the doctor said that everything was looking good, so I would be able to stop receiving treatment. A year ago today I had just gone back to the hospital for the fourth time and was starting the longest stretch of being there. I put some pictures on here from then. Both of the pictures are actually from the first time I was in the hospital over spring break. (but that's because as time went on, I wasn't really up to pictures except for when the activity ladies would come with a dog, or the easter bunny to visit me :) hee,hee! then they would take pictures of me with them, and I would give them to mom to hide them for me. haha!) Anyways, the picture on top is from when Laura came to visit me. She's so sweet! Many times her family would take a day and come see me, and let Laura stay and chat with me as long as she wanted. She ALWAYS brightens my day! The teddy bear was from her for when she couldn't be there ;) The other picture is from later that day when the Schofield girls stopped by. We're all up in the library looking for movies to watch. :) That was a nice thing about the hospital is that they had a really nice library. Mom and I had fun having a movie night pretty much every night - eventually, though, we even got kinda tired of that! Anyways, I am so thankful that I can look back and see all that the Lord has allowed me to do since then. He has worked everything out according to His perfect will. At the time it was hard to understand why He was doing what He was doing, yet He gave us the grace to trust that He knew best. I learned so much last summer, and as much as it was a difficult thing to go through - I would not trade the experience. I just remember being overwhelmingly grateful to the Lord when I finally came out of surgery - He truly does do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. The timing was perfect, too, because I was able to be in Jenn and Jordan's wedding in July without having to be escorted by my iv pole! haha! And then I got to go to college, and now I'm almost done with my first year! PTL! I am SO thankful! God is SO good!

April 20th also would have been Dad's 49th birthday. I cannot believe how fast time has gone. I miss him so much - but am so thankful that I will see him again someday in heaven. It was neat that it worked out for Jenn and I to schedule my appointment on that day, because then we could spend it together. We had a really sweet time together. Jenn made word puzzles (one of them was specialized with crohns lingo. haha!) on the internet - so that helped to pass time while we were actually at the hospital. Afterwards, we went shopping and got matching dresses (buy one - get one half off) :) and went out for supper at Applebees. It was so fun to actually have time to just sit and talk together. It's been so busy at school - it was nice to have an "excuse" to take a day off and have some sister time :) Thanks, Jenny! I love you!

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater;

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;

To added affliction He addeth His mercies,

To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

- Annie Johnson Flint

"My grace is sufficient for thee..." II Corinthians 12:9 a

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." - I Peter 5:7

Julia

I know these are late - but I've wanted to blog - just haven't had the time. Julia celebrated her 24th birthday last Friday. I wish I could have been home to help her celebrate. Especially now that I know it was her last one in Minnesota. Jason and Julia are moving to Iowa this coming weekend. (I want to be there to help for that, too!) Anyways, Julia, I am so thankful for you! It's been so much fun to have you as part of our family now for the last two years! It seems like even longer - you've fit in since you and Jason started dating (even if you didn't feel like it your first visit! haha! ;) You are more like an actual sister than sister-in-law.

You are so special to me, and I look forward to times when we get to hang out together. I'm going to miss those spur of the moment lunch and dinner dates like we did last year. But we will keep in touch over phone and dial-up email (wink*wink). And you'll only be 4 hours away (and by one of the greatest malls ever!) so we'll come see you, too! It will be fun! You are always such an encouragement to me, and I am thankful for your example. Thank you for your love and prayers - I know I am so blessed to have a sister in law like you, and I am proud to say you are the BEST one!! hee, hee! I love you! Happy Birthday!

Happy Easter!

Mary went to the tomb in the morning, but the stone had been rolled away.

So she hurried to tell the disciples Christ was taken from where He lay.

As her tears flowed like rain in the garden, a clear voice sweetly called her name.

Then she turned, for she knew it was Jesus.

He's alive just as He claimed!

Oh, weep no more in sorrow!

He has risen and conquered the grave!

He's alive! It is true as He promised!

Oh rejoice for He lives today!

Place your faith in the blood of the Saviour, and your sins will be washed away.

All the power of death will be broken.

Oh rejoice for He lives today!

Matthew 28:5-6 And the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

Happy Birthday, Julia! :)

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday dear Julia!

Happy Birthday to You!

...and many more...

Last Weekend...

At this point I was going to blog about mom and Jules coming to visit, but those pix are on Laura's camera, and she hasn't downloaded them on her computer yet, so I will blog them when the time comes! So stay tuned! There aren't many pix, but we had so much fun being together for the weekend! :)

Norway Teen Activity

Two weekends we had another youth activity at Norway Baptist Church. We had 9 teens, and just enough people to put 5 in each vehicle for the scavenger hunt. Laura and Pastor Markham were one team, Jenn and Jordan another, and Brian and me the last. That's the way it worked to - Laura's team won, and my team lost. oh well. It was all still a bunch of fun! ;) Jordan and Brians put together this whole thing so we were running around Norway and Iron Mountain trying to complete the list, and then we had to take pictures of ourselves doing it for proof. The boys on our team had a great time and really got into it! At each place we would give a tract to the person who helped us accomplish our goal. It gave some good opportunities. The bowling alley was our first stop - I was glad to find the balls are color coded the same as they are back home. The pink swirls are the light ones ;) I guess that makes sense, though, cause if you made heavy ones pink, no guy would want to use them, unless he's one of those wierdos who thinks pink is cool ;) haha!
This next picture is at the Goodwill store. We were supposed to take pictures with hats on. This particular one was not a favorite of mine - it didn't seem to appealing to me to try on a bunch of hats from a second hand store (and I have nothing against second hand stores - love to shop there, actually, but there are just certain things from second hand stores that you don't buy or try on...hats being one of them). But I did was a good sport and did it anyway ;) But that is why my hat is sitting so funny on the top of my head - I didn't really put it on - on. The boys chose some very colorful hats! :) haha! (and tried on several before they found the perfect ones).
Another thing we had to do was get a picture inside a vehicle that was for sale at a dealership. It was a Saturday eveing, so the two we tried were closed, but then as we were driving down the road, we saw this little local place, and the guy was right there outside helping a customer. So we came and waited our turn, and then the boys very eagerly and nicely explained to the guy what we needed. I think he misunderstood a little - I think he thought he might get in the paper if he did this because he suddenly was like, OH! okay! and mentioned something about maybe getting on the front page then, and getting some free advertising for himself. haha! then said, well, let me go get the keys to my nicest car on the lot, and i'll get rags for your feet so you can ALL be in it, and then he took several shots from different angles. We were racing the other teams, but there's only so much you can do without being rude, so we just smiled for him till he felt the pictures, etc, that he'd taken were sufficient. :) haha! He was a nice man, and the boys thought it was great!
Our next stop was Kame apart...did I just say that!? I meant K-mart! hee,hee. We were supposed to get a picture of us all suspended on a kame apart (oops! i did it again! that's so hard!), a k-mart cart. After the picture I stayed and held the cart for them all to get off, and then Danny just sat there and looked at me with this little smirk and then finally he was like push me fast and let go! haha! I was glad I had decided to be the one to hold the cart and not one of the other boys, or he might have convinced one of them to. Silly boys!

From K-mart (I got it right this time! well, actually, I think the other is more accurate, but at least I spelled it right) we ran across the parking lot to Dunhams where we had to take a picture with golf clubs. Danny looks like the only one who knows what to do with one - and come to think of it...he probably is. I look like i'm going to play baseball with mine. haha! I loved it cause Danny got so into everything. He cracked me up! ;)



Here we are at Walmart - we were supposed to get a picture with coffee, milk, and bread, and then we also were to get a picture with the little old lady walmart greeter (that's what Jordan and Brian called her on the list-so it was a good thing the little old man wasn't working that day ;) heehee!) I was bummed that she didn't give us smile face stickers, though, those are my favorite! ;)






Jeri's quilt patch was our last stop - it's on the road right before you get back to the church. We were all pointing to the "l" because the list said Jeri's quit patch! heehee! It was a very fun activity, and perfect weather! Our team had a great time even though we didn't win. :) It was neat, too, because the activity encouraged some kids to come who hadn't been coming for awhile, and then we saw them in church again, too, on Sunday. It's been so awesome to see how the Lord has been working in the church. Just since we've come here it has grown tremendously! PTL! :)

FUN!

They're HERE! :)

They're Coming!

'
Only ONE more day and Mom and Julie will be here to visit us! I'm SO excited! They will be coming Saturday afternoon and staying till Monday. The visit won't be very long - but we will pack a lot into the time that we have. Saturday night we're going to go to the play here, "Arsenic and Old Lace." No other specific plans - just fun times together! Can't wait to see you guys! Hurry here, but drive safe! ;) Love you both!

Party

Well, I'm going to take one last flash back to spring break. This is from the night before we had to take off for school again. (I'm going to post these pix, even though Jules already did, so you can actually see them without having to reconfigure your screen because of the shocking largeness of them! hahaha! j/king, jul! hee,hee! - but those big pix on your blog really do crack me up - i wonder what happened!? haha!) Anyways, Mom wanted to have a party while we were home, so we invited all the young married couples, young adults, and teens. It has been neat to see how the Lord has brought so many of the "kids" who grew up in our church back through the years, and now we can all still hang out together! (and some of them have their special someone now!) :) - so the group just gets bigger and more fun! ;) We had 30 people at our house. The evening just consisted of snacking, talking, laughing, and playing games - but those can be the best times! We ended the evening at about 11:30, and then headed to bed (except for jules and I - we still had some packing to do. hee, hee! ;) Spring break went so fast! But it was SO much fun - thanks, Mom, for making it all so special! Now the next time we come home, it will be for the whole summer! yay! Can't wait!

Sweet Laura

Laura Lynn Swenson

Surprise, Laura!

Last night (Saturday night) we had a surprise party for Laura. Our extension church had a teen activity that afternoon, and while we were gone, Megan, Audrey, and Danielle finished taking care of the party details. When we got back they rushed over to Jenn and Jordan's and decorated in probably less than 10 minutes! But by the time Laura and I walked down there ("to hang out with jenn"), they had it decorated awesome! The bookstore had run out of helium, so they had just blown up a bunch of cute balloons, and jordan taped them all to the ceiling, they had a few banners taped up here and there, and then the 19 cupcakes were in the shape of 19. The presents were out on the coffee table, and the girls all jumped up from behind the couch and yelled SURPRISE! It looked so fun and festive, and Laura was completely surprised! We had cupcakes and ice cream, talked, laughed, opened presents, and then played balderdash! Haha - more laughs! (the best word was 'pahoehoes' haha! - good one, Megan!) Then we watched a movie. It was such a fun night! Thanks for all the fun, girls! :) I love you all - and happy 19th birthday, Laura - you are SO special! xo!

Happy Golden Birthday, Laura!

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday dear Laura

Happy Birthday to You!

It was so neat that Laura got to be at Home Sweet Home for her GOLDEN birthday! I know she had a lot of fun! It was also neat that her birthday was on a Sunday, because then we were able to see each other ON her birthday! We brought her presents to church, and had a mini party for her after the service. Thank you so much Laura, for being such a dear friend to me for the past 17 years - or maybe I should say 16 since we didn't get along too well that first year ;) We've had so much fun together, and I'm just so thankful the Lord has blessed me with a friend like you.

Friendship with you...

...laughing at the same things

...one dessert and two forks

...really being understood

...never running out of things to talk about

...borrowing each other's clothes

...knowing someone by heart

...being accepted unconditionally

...having someone to cheer you on

...picking up right where you left off

...there when when you need it

...quick to listen

...slow to judge

...ready to shop

...has more fun than it really makes sense to be having

...makes me smile even when you're not around

...calls just to say 'hi'

...knows everything about me and loves me anyways

...finish each other's sentences

...know what the other is thinking

...makes me laugh like no one else can

...words are optional

...keeps secrets

...laughs at my jokes

...still laughs when i tell a joke completely wrong

...makes the good things better and the bad things not so bad by simply being there

...doesn't mind when I sing along with the music in the car, but sings with me

...chases away the blues

...laughs away the time

...always encourages

...the best cure for a bad day

...always has a warm and wonderful way of making me feel loved

Your friendship gives me a smiley kind of feeling. :)

I love you, Laura! :)

March 19th, 1987

Well, this next series of posts is in honor of Laura's birthday. It is belated, because we were actually home over her birthday, so I could not blog with our slow computer ;) Now that we're back at school, I have a fast computer, and we've had her party, so I am blogging HAPPY GOLDEN 19TH BIRTHDAY, LAURA!!!!! This is the garfield comic strip from the actual day that she was born. I don't know if you remember, but I told you earlier when I was blogging lots of garfield comics that we could not believe how perfect it is! It doesn't really make sense by itself cause it's with a series over several days, but the word to catch in there is Bertha. For those of you who still don't really know what I'm talking about -- for the past several years, Laura and I have also been two old ladies who suffer from alzhiemers. Hee, hee!

So here we are: Julie = Mortimer, Me = Thelma, and Laura = Bertha. This is a picture from Jennifer's bridal shower. One of the times I was back from the hospital, Laura and I wrote this skit together for another girls' shower, but weren't able to do it cause I had to go back in the hospital, but then when Jenn's rolled around, I was out for the weekend, so we tweeked it, and stuck Julie in there because she was back from school and did it for hers!! We titled it "The Imaginary Husband." My husband was Mortimer, and Laura had an imaginary husband, so we went out to eat for our anniversaries. Through the whole thing Thelma and Bertha have this silent husband competition, unbeknownst to Mortimer who forgets to open the car door for me, or pull out my chair, or help me with my coat, or let me order whatever I want no matter how expensive it is, or even to say happy anniversary! Well, Bertha notices each of these things, and calls them to attention by loudly thanking her imaginary husband for doing each of these things for HER! Anyways, in the end, Bertha walks out saying her husband will be paying for her, (her slip falls down, and she steps out of it and stuffs it in her purse.) Mortimer then gets up and gets down on his knee and gives me a special necklace and tells me happy anniversary now that it's "just us" - and I exclaim how happy I am to have a REAL husband (even though he wasn't perfect). Anyways, that's what that picture is all about - and that's Thelma and Bertha. Haha!

Happy Birthday, Bertha! ;)

The Art Girls

Here we are - the art girls. I wanted to post one of the three of us together, but don't have any on my computer :( I guess that next time we're all together we'll have to be sure we take a picture together. :) I love you Grandma, and Jules, and miss you! :)