Starting out with the Bible

Since I don't have any pictures to post, I just thought I'd write about life.... These types of questions have been at the forefront of my mind lately:

1. Who do I love, and what am I doing about it?
2. Am I pursuing my dream, or is fear stopping me?
3. Am I doing something that matters?
4. What am I doing to help others?
5. Am I as good a person as I want to be?
6. What am I doing to live life with passion, health and energy?

So one thing I am doing to help me answer these questions is to learn more about what it means to be a Christian and to learn more about the Word through Bible studies. I've never done a formal Bible study before, and I am completely motivated to dig in and to grow spiritually. I want to do this for myself and for my family, so that I know we are focused on what matters most.

I actually have joined two groups. One of my Bible studies includes a group of women from my area who all are 30-something Christians with various backgrounds in religious studies and denominations. We are studying the Beth Moore Esther "it's tough being a woman" series. It's a great balance between the history of the time and to the interpretation to the present time. The latest lesson is on "it's tough being a woman in a mean world" and it has given me perspective on how I interact with people and how easy it is to bubble up in anger. I'm making it a goal whenever I feel my blood pressure rise to pause and pray on it. What is making me feel this way? What is the Lord teaching me? Is this anger really even necessary? I have a long ways to go regarding many of my relationships, but I hope that I am going to be a more forgiving, relaxed person with the Lord in the center of my thoughts.

And I'm in another Bible study with some wonderful female friends from work. We meet every 2 weeks over lunch. It's so nice to not only have a break from all things Boston Scientific for an hour here and there, but to also know these women better. We are studying the Beatitudes from the gospel of Matthew through a Max Lucado book called "Applause from Heaven." I think this particular passage is opening my eyes to how valuable it is to get multiple perspectives in order to add depth to the message. I would never have gotten the same interpretation on my own, and I'm grateful for the messages and self-reflection the study is giving me. (We're going to be starting a new book in a month or so, so let me know if you have any recommendations for a read and discuss type of study book.)

Technical difficulties

Not sure when I'll have more pictures to post, but just checking out our blog is motivating me to fix this situation. The hard drive that we keep all of our pictures on is broken, so I have to figure out how to get all of our pictures back. Say a prayer!! I would be devastated if we lost them. I don't have a back-up for probably the last 6 months of stuff, but we do have everything uploaded to Snapfish, so at least I can get hardcopies.

And even the camera situation for new pictures is not pretty. I can't find the battery charger, so I can't even take NEW pictures. What a mess we are!

My little nephew Andrew

My sister Katie and Albie welcomed Andrew into their family in June, and I was so excited to visit them a few weeks ago. Andrew is such a sweet little baby - I can't wait to see if he is the calm, easy-going little man that he appears to be at this point. I brought Henry along, too, so that he could play with cousin Landon. They were typical toddlers - stealing balls from each other - but overall had a really fun time together.

Henry was OBSESSED with Andrew. He constantly signaled to us that he wanted to hold the baby, and he gave him kisses every chance he could get.

Summer, summer, summertime. (Summertime!)

Oops.  Didn't realize it's been a month since I've posted last.  Well, here's the short list of what the Knutsons have been up to since I wrote last:

1.  We went to Stella's 5th birthday party.  The tire swings will forever go down in infamy.  ;)

2.  We went to a family reunion on the same farm that Grandma Knutson grew up on.  The kids loved the big tree swing, the tractors, and a hay bale ride around Owatonna.

3.  We spent the 4th of July holiday up north going fishing at Grandpa Bob's cabin on Lake Kabetogama.  Aunt Amanda and Uncle Frank were there, too! Becky caught 1 single fish the entire trip - impressive.  Madeline caught her first fish - with lots of help from Grandpa.  Henry confirmed his love of Smores and discovered the joy of smoke bombs.

4.   Becky went to Ireland for the week, and the kids went to Grandma and Grandpa Knutsons.  Daddy got to hang out in a quiet, empty house.

5.  We went to Maple Grove Days!  It was gorgeous weather and the kids jumped around on the inflatable jumpers, petted some little animals, and rode around on a train.

Water fun

This post is for Amanda and Frank...  the kids LOVE Madeline's birthday present.  Madeline has been begging us to get it set up since the day she got it in the mail. Although the water from our hose was FREEZING, the kids had a great time on it.  Madeline is perfecting the "run and jump" technique.  So, thanks for the great gift!

 

Our first camping trip

So, I don't know about other couples, but when Nathan and I got married, it was definitely perceived that the registry was MY wish list of gifts.  So, "poor Nathan" decided to register for a tent as a "man gift," which we gratefully got from some of his fraternity brothers.  We have only used it once in the 7 years we've been married, so we decided to go camping this summer to finally break in the family tent and to start a new family tradition for our family.  In addition to this, some of my favorite childhood memories were going fishing and camping with my family up north in the Lake of the Woods and also with friends at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana.  (To my Indiana friends, can you please confirm if it really is a great place to go now?  I have romanticized Turkey Run so much, and Nathan doesn't believe me that I would still enjoy it if I went with MY family.)

 

We went to Baker Park Reserve on Lake Independence, which is about 15 minutes away from us in Medina, Minnesota.  Not only was it close, but it also had showers and bathrooms, so it wasn't like we were "roughing it."   We went with our friends, the Lapes, who have 2 adorable and super sweet kids.  The weather was GORGEOUS and we had such a great time.  We're already talking about scheduling our next camping trip later this summer!

Madeline's 4 year check-up

We had Madeline's 4 year check-up on Monday.  The nurse took her measurements (48 lbs, 45" tall) and told me that she is in the 90% percentile.  I was actually kind of surprised by that because she's always been "off the charts."  When the doctor came in, we were going over the charts and he realized that the nurse had charted it wrong.  She was 90th percentile FOR A FIVE YEAR OLD!!!  She continues to be off the charts for a 4 y.o.  And the doctor also commented that she hadn't been in his office in a year since her 3 y.o. well child visit.  I hadn't realized that she has had such a healthy year!  We are so blessed that she is growing so well and staying so healthy...