Christmas Letter 2011

Time for another Ekelund Family Christmas Letter. I actually like writing these because as I look through this past year’s pictures, I get to remember the blessings God has given us.

After a year and a half and lots of prayer, Adam decided to step down at the end of September as Associate Pastor at Hope Lutheran Brethren Church in Barnesville. We loved the friends and fellowship at the church, but ultimately, our house in Fergus didn’t sell. It was very important to us to live in the community where Adam served a church and it wasn’t God’s timing. We said “goodbye” at the annual Fall Picnic and Hayride. After he said goodbye, he was approached by Bethel Lutheran Church in Fergus to help teach confirmation class. Adam continues to work part-time at UPS driving and in the warehouse and also helps our neighbor book loads for his trucking company.

I (Rebekah) had a rough year physically as I struggled with eczema on my hands which was accompanied by some depression, but after a great visit with a dermatologist, healing came quickly. Then, more joy came with the discovery that I was pregnant. I continue to be a homemaker, breakfast getter, book reader, kid snuggler, diaper changer, etc. while fitting in teaching online chemistry at M State. As far as ministry goes, I continue to seek the Lord how best to be a godly wife and mother as I desire to encourage my husband and children in their relationships with Christ. I read a great article of confirmation as my role as a missionary to my family. It was entitled Motherhood as a Mission Field. You should check it out!

Caleb started 2^nd grade at Adams Elementary in Renee Larsen’s class. One of her passions is monarch butterflies. So, Caleb got to see monarchs emerge from their chrysalises, identify the sex, tag them, and set them free to migrate to Mexico. He is doing very well in school, and when asked, his favorite subject is still “recess.”…And finally, he lost his first tooth.

For Hannah's 5th Birthday, she was given dance classes. She loves to dance and still draws every chance she gets. In September, she entered Kathy Bjork’s kindergarten class at McKinley Elementary. She goes half-day, is quickly learning to read, and is thrilled to be in the same class as her best friend Ellie.

Timothy is a big 4 year old! For his birthday cake, he wanted “a dinosaur cake with his face on it" and a bowling party. He makes us smile, and his laugh is infectious. He can climb, jump, and throw just about anything (and everything), and he started Otter Preschool two days a week at McKinley Elementary in Ms. Tara’s class.

Sarah turns 2 this Christmas. She still has her bright eyes and zest for life. She wants to do everything her older siblings do, and her vocabulary is growing daily. Here is Sarah’s “Primer”:

Caka = Caleb

‘Enna = Hannah

Timpy = Timothy

Peebo = Peanut Butter

Bucky = Milk

Duck = I’m stuck!

This Christmas and throughout this past year, God has blessed us immensely. What first comes to mind is the amazing blessing he has given me to carry another child. What a privilege it is to nurture and grow a little one! What comes to mind as we enter the Christmas season is the blessing of God’s son born of a virgin in Bethlehem. This little blessing came to give us the immeasurable blessing of saving us from our sins and eternal punishment (John 3:16&17).

The amazing part? This blessing isn’t just for me, as the angel proclaimed to the shepherds in Luke 2:10&11, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.” This Christmas, I pray that you find great joy in His blessing!

Love,

Rebekah Adam Caleb Hannah Timothy Sarah & Baby

Cute Words

Sarah is starting to say lots more words, but my favorite so far besides "Dada" & "Mama", of course, is "Caba", "Enna", & "Timpy.

August is here already?

Yes. Summer is almost over, but don't despair. We have great news! Another little Ekelund will be arriving in March. We are very happy. Although, I had to laugh at Caleb's reaction. When we decided to tell the family, Adam said, "Kids come put your ears on Mom's belly." Caleb looked at me questioningly, slapped his forehead, shook his head, and said, "There's another baby in your belly, Mom?" That kid cracks me up.

These are Family Stickers that you put on your car window. I know they are a fad, but I love my family.

Thank you Lord for the blessing of family!

5 Years!

Adam's is from January 2009. Mine is officially from last night (unofficially from January 2011).

Time To Take a Trip?

I haven't posted in a while. I know this. It has been for a combination of reasons mainly just plain "not feeling like it." While the beginning of January is exciting because it is Caleb and my birthday, after that I feel the after-Christmas blues that others feel after the hype of the holidays ends. It doesn't help when it is so, so cold. I LOVE snow. I really do. Especially now that we bought a snowblower.

I HATE cold. I HATE heat too. I just like it to be "perfect." Don't we all?

Adam has to choose his vacation weeks in late October for the following year. I never know what to tell him to pick (because he always asks me). I said, "Take off the week that your mom is here (Feb).

Take off the last week of the year (my dad always did that, and it was fun having him home when we were home on break). And for your third week????" I was hoping he would have something he HAD to go to so I didn't have to pick another week. The only thing he knew were a couple things in the summer with the youth group, but unfortunately the guys with higher seniority took those weeks already. Finally, I said, "Take off the third week in March because that is my Spring Break. Even though it isn't winter yet, I am sure we will need a break at that point in the winter." Little did I know...

After making it through January with only Adam having a nasty cough, maybe I got too cocky? We all got sick in just a rotating schedule that went on and on and on and on and on... There was strep, ear infections, tonsilitis, more strep, more ear infections, many fevers, and Sarah tried to cut 1st year molars too! It was miserable. As the third week of March approached, we started to get better, Timothy finished his 3rd round of antibiotics, and I tried to figure out what we were going to do for a VACATION!

Unfortunately, there were a couple of wrenches in the works. First of all, we have committed ourselves to getting out of debt. Every financial seminar/talk I have ever gone to says the same thing, "Don't spend what you don't have." So, I guess Disney World is out. Secondly, Caleb really wanted to go to a classmate's birthday party on the Monday evening. This would mean the vacation would have to be short, sweet, and a steal!

I had the brilliant idea of spending the weekend with the Lang Gang in DeWitt, IA, but when I called they were having company during that weekend. Plus, Caleb would have to miss the birthday party. We decided to do it another time.

Then, Sunday evening it came to me. Why don't we visit the Pribbs in St. Louis? We miss them so bad, and guess what? We could stop at the Lang Gang's on the way through during the week. Then, on the way back we could go to DeWitt Lutheran Fellowship to see the Lang Gang and Paul & Betti for church on Sunday. Brilliant idea. Thank you, Lord! Now to make the phone calls...

On Monday, after confirmation from all parties we decided to leave on Tuesday. For any of you who know me, I am far from spontaneous. It is kind of fun sometimes to do different things.

Tuesday brought a whole lot of obstacles including our minivan overheating before we even started the trip. The original plan was to take the van to Minneapolis and rent a car to avoid a huge car expense due to the miles. Was this the "huge car expense?" Do we gamble and not rent a car? I may be spontaneous, but I am NO gambler. We rented a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan.

The new features were fun to play with, I must admit.

We finally made it down to DeWitt at 2:30am. All the porch lights were on. Thanks Heidi!

We slept. Played outside. Ate breakfast with Pastor Jay. Found out that Paul & Betti were in Israel. Went to a consignment shop. Played at a park. Waited for everyone to come home from school, and left for St. Louis.

We arrived at the Pribbs at about 8pm. You know you are good friends when you can just pick up your conversations where you left off after not seeing each other for what seems like forever. Everyone may be older. Kids may be taller. But it's like we were never apart. Love you Melissa!

Most of the photo highlights are on Facebook. So I won't go into a lot of detail, but we jumped on the trampoline, sweated in 82 degree weather IN MARCH, went to a Jefferson Barracks park, went to the St. Louis Zoo, jumped on the trampoline, got stuck in St. Patrick's Day Parade traffic, played Wii, grilled outside, jumped on the trampoline, shopped at Target, and did I mention jumping on the trampoline?

The kids really had a great time playing together, and the adults really got a chance to be refreshed (except Brad did have school while we were there). I can't thank them enough for letting the Ekelund family circus invade.

We left on Saturday after lunch to go back to DeWitt and found a Godfather's Pizza stand in a Convenience store when we got there. We hung out with the Gang that evening, and after the kids finally went to bed, Pastor Jay and Heidi resumed their marriage counseling with us that they started over 1o years ago. :)

It was so great to go to church in DeWitt. They were such a warm church family and welcomed us throughout the morning. Pastor Jay preached and Heidi taught Sunday School. Too bad we missed Pastor Paul and Betti this time, but there can always be a next time...

We ended up leaving DeWitt quite late in order to get home at a decent hour. I knew that would happen. It is so hard to say goodbye. Thank you so much Lang Gang for making us feel so welcome in your home.

Until next time...

Sarah's 13 Month Primer

I don't do New Year's resolutions. I just don't. I don't need to decide to change a habit on January 1st anymore than I need to on January 30th or July 19th. Why am I telling you this? Because my non-New Year resolution of blogging more is being trumped by my spending more time growing our family with God. So, if you are checking here often only to be greeted by the Christmas Letter 2010, you may want to frequent my Facebook page instead.

I do want to use this blog as a digital memory book in the place of writing down all their cute sayings and statistics in a journal or baby book.

So, I am sharing Sarah's Primer as of today because she shocked me by saying a bunch of almost-words today!

Da-da, Da-da, Da-da etc. - Dada
Mehm-me - Mama
Pee - Please
Eee - Eat
Dehss - All Done (with dinner)
Caah Caah - Scat Cat (made famous in Hannah's section of Christmas Letter 2010)

So to recap: Sarah is the earliest walker (10 months) and talker (13 months) of my kids. The next was my first born.