no more

so, i haven't updated my blog in forever. i guess i'm joining the club with basically all my blogging friends. i guess i haven't had much to say lately...

it's been a good christmas break, but i got WAY too much stuff. why do we as americans think that owning STUFF is a good and desirable thing. of course, with that said, would i give up my kitchen-aid mixer, sewing machine or dansko clogs? nope. i love them all and can't wait to make them a part of my every-day life. yeah, that's right. i got a mixer and a sewing machine for christmas, and i'm HAPPY about it. i told chris all i needed was a vacuum cleaner and i would be truly domestic. oh well...

stop hanging out on the internet and go spend time with the people in your life. even if they annoy you. you both have things to contribute to each other's lives. no really. go. :)

oh okay fine - here's a couple of pictures...:) i don't have any from the walker christmas on the computer yet...*sigh* soon...

me with my sewing machine...:) :) :) it. is. perfect. and so simple! i've already played with it (i made a star-shaped pin cushion!!) if you need me to sew anything, just let me know!!!












the father-in-law with the AXE we got him!!!



















the mother-in-law got prescription sunglasses - this was just a notification that she could pick out her own!! HAH! and look at beautiful nana in the background!! :)














chris got PLANET EARTH for christmas!! HOORAY!!! :) we've been watching it ever since. it's AMAZING!!!














we're all opening our stockings. notice the necklaces that caroline and i have on - both from World Next Door!!!! WAHOO!!














december 25 is also my father-in-law's birthday, and he got a little crazy before opening presents....this is apparently "mister napkin head" and is supposedly from a movie. i think there was something in his iced tea...it actually frightened me! ACK!














we got him snowshoes to hang up in the cabin. she really did like them even though this expression doesn't reflect it! sorry mil!!! ;)

like frisbees in the river

“Jeremiah’s Frisbee is in the river.”
“Why?”
“I threw it there.”
“Too bad you didn’t have a trained otter with you.”
“Oh! I know! I need a trained otter!”

a conversation between my husband and me. he works close to the river, and he and jeremiah went down to ross's landing today to toss the frisbee. poor little frisbee.

a similar feeling of helplessness, although a lot more tragic is the following story. please make some time to read it...to be in prayer for those involved...for the youth growing up in a fallen world...for those who are being overcome by the evil one. we have to make room to pray for things like this. please be faithful in prayer for our God's Spirit to overcome our hearts. beg to become more sensitive to His Spirit.

**link to article**

Dear YWAM family worldwide,
As some of you are already aware, the YWAM Denver (Arvada) Colorado center
experienced a tragedy of great proportions in the early hours of Sunday morning,
December 9, as two YWAM Denver staff members died at the hands of a lone gunman who entered one of their campus buildings. Two other staff members are currently at a local Denver hospital; one of them is in critical but stable condition. The four had just finished serving at a Christmas Banquet for YWAM staff and
students. They were simply doing what they did so well: serve. Please pray for
Peter and Linda Warren as they lead their staff of 127 through this tragedy, for
staff and students, and the families of the staff who died and were injured.

The following report was compiled from various press sources and coordinated through YWAM’s International Chairman’s Office. Here is YWAM’s official press release on this tragedy, which we will update as we get more information.

For press inquiries directly related to the YWAM Denver shootings, please
contact pressoffice@ywam.org. This address is for media inquiries only.

Official Press Release:
--------------------------------------------------------------

A lone gunman entered a Youth With A Mission training center in the Denver,
Colorado suburb of Arvada early Sunday morning, opening fire and hitting four
members of the staff. All were taken to local hospitals and two later died of
their injuries.

The two wounded remain in serious condition. The gunman has not yet been
apprehended, and police are continuing their search for him.

The deceased have been identified as Tiffany Johnson, 26, from Minnesota,
and Philip Crouse, 24, from Alaska. Both served as staff members at the Youth
With A Mission Arvada campus. The third victim, Dan Griebenow, 24, has a bullet
in his neck and is listed in critical but stable condition. The fourth victim
Charlie Blanch, 22, suffered gunshot wounds to his legs.

Peter Warren, the Director of Youth with a Mission Denver says they had
just finished a Christmas banquet when the suspect arrived and asked a
22-year-old woman from Minnesota if he could be housed for the evening. When she
told him they could not house him, that's when, Warren says, the suspect opened
fired with an automatic handgun, hitting four people. Police say they do not
know whether the shooting was random or if there was a motive.

Warren says, "The young man – I don't know who he is; I don't think [the
victims] knew him – but he must be going through a lot personally in his own
life to do something like this. Our belief is that only God is the judge and our
place is to forgive and that's a difficult thing to do, but really, I think it's
the right thing to do," said Warren.

There are about 80 people living on the Arvada campus and they have been
transported to the group's mountain campus near Golden, Colorado where they will
stay while the murder investigation is processed at their residence. Warren says
they are trying to deal with this situation as best as they can.

"There's no blueprint for this," said Warren. "You know, we're just going
to be honest, we're going to pray with one another and cry with one another.
These kids were like our kids, you know. It's just such a tragedy, but who knows
what's going on in this young man's life."

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international and interdenominational
Christian movement with operating locations in 171 nations. Launched in 1960 as
a means for young people to get involved in short-term missionary service, it
now has over 16 000 staff working in 1180 centers and trains over 25 000 people
each year to be involved in the organization’s primary goal – to know God and
make Him known. YWAM is hugely varied in its approach, operating such ministries
as drop-in centers for street children in South America; hospice care for AIDs
victims in Africa; literacy and job creation programs throughout Asia; and is
well known for its quick response and long-term commitment to global disasters,
such as the 2006 tsunami.

YWAM International Chairman Lynn Green released this statement: "We feel a
deep sense of loss today and we grieve with the families and those who were very
close friends of the victims. Our surviving students and staff are being well
cared for and we have total confidence in those who are responsible for the
training program in Arvada to care for those who have been subjected to this
assault.

"Those who lost their lives had dedicated themselves to serve and we feel
the sorrow of their absence. Yet we take comfort from the assurance of
everlasting life for those who follow Christ in loving service to others.

"It is a great tragedy that our culture seems to produce so many deeply
troubled people who express their frustration in violence. We forgive the
assailant and we rededicate ourselves to serving young people in the hope that
we might bring healing to other needy youth."