Ottos Fun

I haven't shown much of what we are doing this summer, but it has been packed. One of the main things we are doing is working on our summer house (Ottos). This summer it has officially become our house. Andreas' mom and dad have given it to us. We are very thankful for it. However, with a house, we all know comes work! So this summer we are getting rid of bad wood and repainting it all. We will change some windows and maybe some doors, add a wood burning stove and generally make things look nice. Next summer will be the roof and more windows. I am sure that post will be up in a year. We have been to the lakes and the ocean, but there will be more posts to come. Enjoy the pics below.

laurie

Bonfires....

Friends have come to see us and spend time with us.

and more Bonfires!

Farmor and Farfar have come to visit.

We have been put in jail by spiderman.

Gotten a chance to read a little.

Have seen beautiful sunsets.

Painted, painted and painted again.

Johan, Emma, and Viktor have come to help and play.

Love this pic of Viktor, so cute.

New wood on the south side of the house.

Spent sometime with the Lord and listened to many sermons from our home church in the States.

This was the tearing down part.

Italian pics (5th installment)

On the Tuesday that we were in Italy we spend quite a bit of the day at the pool and then went to Volterra for dinner. Volterra is this amazing ancient stone city at a very high point in the hills. It amazes me that they could get so much stone up there and build aquaducts to it. The city had a lot of alabaster for sale so I am pretty sure it was mined somewhere around there. I really liked this city and there are a lot of pictures below. Of course the view was breathtaking. Sadly it was really hazy that day so the pictures are not clear. I would love to go back and spend more time in this city and explore. We were there too late to see the churches. There was one little chapel that was really neat and felt very personal. It was too dark to take a pic. When I went down one of the streets with mom, Samuel went in with Andreas and sat at the alter and said a prayer for his sister (the one to be adopted eventually). Andreas said it was one of the sweetest moments he has ever had with Sam. Then Sam went to the door of the chapel and started to sing and dance "I like to move it, move it.....". An American tourist thought he was hysterical and several apparently stopped to watch. God is definitely creating a character!

Enjoy the pictures below.

laurie

When you are always taking pics it is fun to capture a moment in time for others. I caught this one and I love it. Mom and dad have been married 40 years in October. Thank you for showing us that a lifetime commitment is still great and fun after 40 years!

This sign explained the picture below it. It was an amphitheater built and used in the time of Christ.


Ever wonder what the term, "finding a pigeon hole" means? Well it became very evident when we came across a wall with thousands of hole it in and in every hole a pigeon. I wish I could have captured the wall, but I did get one of the pigeons checking me out.

"Look mommy it works..."

I love the expression on Sam's face. This picture reminds me of something between U2 and Mr. Bean.

Adoption update: We have been accepted by Taiwan and now need to make a few decisions that we cannot go into detail about. However, we would appreciate your prayers.

Italian pics (4th installment)

Here are a few pics of our time in Piza. We really didn't stay there long, but long enough to see the tower and go into the church. Samuel had his heart set on going up the tower, but he had to be at least 8 years old. He laid down on the grass outside the tower and cried for a minute. We all went into the church instead. He told me that we have to go back when he is 8!

Look ma... it leans! It was really funny to see this after all that I have heard of it. Funny that they kept building it even when it started leaning after the 3 floor was built.

I didn't realize that the tower was a bell tower for the church. They now have to pump air under it to stabilize it. It is expensive to go up it, but the line was long, so many people do.

The doors of the church. The carvings were very cool and amazingly done.

Happy Birthday/Grattis Andreas Kjernald

Today (or I guess yesterday technically) it was Andreas' 36th birthday. So Happy Birthday baby! I am thankful for this wonderful man and love to celebrate this day with him. May you have many more to come. He just gets better looking every year.... I am a blessed woman.

Today we relaxed (despite the work he did) and had the Weaver family home for a steak dinner. It is good to have friends to spend special and regular days with. For those friends who weren't here we miss you and hope to celebrate other days with you.

Below, Andreas and Sam are relaxing in one of Andreas' birthday gifts. We'll see how long this one lasts until Sam twirls himself out of it.

There is a little movement on the adoption front. First of all we have friends who are in Albania picking up their precious little boy. Congrats to the Waggoners and please pray for the rest of there time in Albania. (you can go the the links on the side of my blog to see their story). We also have some friends that just found out their case passed through court in Ethiopia and they are now the proud parents of two boys (that is on top of their precious twins they adopted a few years ago). Congrats Kinnells, please continue to pray for them as they try to get a date to pick them up.

For us, we have now officially been accepted in the Taiwan program and our paperwork should be sent to Taiwan soon. We will see what awaits us next. Sam told me today that he thinks we have been waiting too long. I couldn't agree more son! Learning to trust in Jesus more and rely on him to lead us in this path. Still hurting a bit from the Nepal shut down, but realizing how much I need the Lord and that it is all for his glory and not my own desires. Please continue to pray for us in this long process.

Blessings to all,

laurie

Italian pics (3rd installment)

I really liked these little stained glass pieces in one of the churches in Lucca.

Going across part of the wall in Lucca. It was huge and had beautiful little areas to play and sit in the shade of the amazing huge trees.

On the wall again.

Fun for the boys.

Crazy women truly enjoying Lucca.

The front of one of the huge churches in Lucca. The stained glass above is from this church.

The back of that same church. The organ is amazing.

The Plaza or Piaza. It was circular and really quite nice. Of course we stopped for some gelato.

This is another large church in the city. We could not get into this one. But I thought the top statue of Arch Angel Michael was cool.

The above mentioned church. Amazing that they could build them so well back then and now most of the churches don't have even a fourth of this splendor.

The second day that we were in Italy we headed for Lucca, Piza, and Viareggio. This post is about Lucca which is a beautiful ancient walled city. It was so cool to see the old Roman aquaducts coming into the city. The wall is so thick that there is a bike path with huge trees on both sides (pictured above). Lucca is where the best olive oil in the world comes from and where my great grandmother was from. It was very cool to be able to see the city where some of my roots originated. However, there was no easy way to find more information on my great grandmother because her name was as common as Smith.

It was quite hot that day, so Sam is the handsome stud without the shirt.

Somehow the vehicles just don't fit in.

I loved the fact that laundry (no matter what type) hung outside of windows and homes everywhere.

Can you tell he was tired of having his picture taken!

Italy (installment number 2)

A small update on our adoption. We have sent quite a bit of paperwork to the agency. If it all looks good they will send it on to Taiwan and then we may know a bit more about timelines, and children available. We still appreciate your prayers as we move forward and our hearts switch gears.

Blessings,

Laurie

These are a few pictures from our first day in Tuscany. The city in the pictures below is San Gimignano. This is the ancient city that we could see from our swimming pool.

Enjoying a gilato!

Somewhere out there is the house we stayed in.

Besides the huge flock of tourists in the bottom of the pic... this pic could have been taken many, many years back.

I just liked this one.

First Installment of Italy pics

Just thought I would get some pictures up from our Italy trip... There will be more to come, this one is just a preview. Tuscany was absolutely gorgeous. We had a great time with the whole family. Andreas' parents, his brother Johan and his family and the three of us all went. Mom and dad gave the trip to us for their 40th anniversary and mom's 60th birthday. We are very appreciative for there kindness and really enjoyed being with the family. There will be more to come in the next days...... so stay tuned.

Laurie

Andreas took this pic. Found it interesting that you could buy any god you wanted in San Gimignano. Not to mention art scultpures that happen to be in France. I guess if it sells it will be there.

The first day we were there, Sunday we went into the old stone city that we could see from the backyard of the house. This is a picture of one of the nine towers in San Gimignano.

Samuel adores his cousin Viktor!

This is the house that mom and dad rented for the week, Casa Renio. We had the first floor and the owners lived on the second floor. I would highly recommend this house, it was beautiful with an amazing view and a wonderful pool. It was about 40 minutes outside of Florence, but a great location to do day trips to many cities.

A pool with a view and a little boy that became a fish that week. Samuel has been taking swimming lessons for two terms now. In Italy, he finally took off his waterwings and swam by himself. By the end of the week he was swimming the whole length of the pool, jumping and diving (belly flopping) in and trying to sit on the bottom of the shallow end. This was the best part of the vacation for Sam.
More to come!

13 Years and Counting

(just pretend there is a huge drumrole before you read this).... Yesterday was our 13th anniversary!!!! I can't believe it has been that long. Of course over the years we have changed, but all of it has been there to deepen our relationship with Christ and each other. I thank God for this man and look forward to many more years of this adventure we call marriage and family.

I wish I had a recent picture of the two of us to share, but it always ends up being one of us with Sam. Even all the pics I have from Italy are only one of us in each pic. Hopefully the family have some of us together. Yes, you read that right, I have been to Tuscany and loved it. I will begin sharing those pictures soon. I took over 800 pictures, but don't worry I won't share them all.

Recently I was asked how Andreas and I met, so I will share a short version. In January of 1996 I was beginning the last semester of my college career and Andreas was coming to the States to experience an American college. He ended up (the very last minute, literally) in my Volleyball and Soccer class (the last P.E. credit I needed). We flirted, well he flirted with all the girls.... but we initially became friends. He would actually talk to me about the other girls he liked. However, he would also talk to me about Christ. Even though he had grown up in the church he had never experienced a commitment to Christ.

One night Jesus put him on my heart. So I prayed for him. The next day in class I told him that

I had been praying for him the night before. He was quite surprise and asked me how I knew. I was quite confused by the question, but he later explained that it was the first night that he had actually felt the presence of Christ with him at a dorm prayer meeting.

We continued to hang out as friends and talk about Christ. One evening in March after we had gone to Nicholasville to eat, I was driving back into Wilmore when he asked if we could go somewhere quite and dark. My answer, "absolutely not!" Quite surprised at my answer he tried to explain why he asked that. He wanted to give his life to Christ. At that request I drove to the parking lot of the then Wilmore elementary school (now the early learning village). It was a beautiful evening as he prayed to Jesus and gave his life to him.

We continued to hang out as friends and I took him to my Junior/Senior banquet where he embarrassed me greatly by giving a toast in my honor (but it was really sweet). We of course had the conversation of "let's just stay friends" because we lived in different countries and I was leaving for Jamaica after graduation. However, in the end of April we started dating and the rest in history. On June 16, 1997 I became his wife. (of course there are a lot more details, but a little hard to write them all here). In all of our dating time we were apart for 3/4 of it. I think I will tell Sam we dated for years before getting married....just kidding. It is not recommended, but we knew that Lord had given us each a gift with the other.

In a time when so many marriages are struggling, we pray that you all hold fast. Marriage is worth holding onto!

Blessings,

Laurie

Helping Fishermen Families

This entry was sent to me by a very good friend and I can vouch for the genuinous of this! The oil spill is not only ruining the ocean and land, but many families and lives that survivied off of the ocean and coastline. Please pray about helping some of these families and continue to pray for the end to this disaster.

Blessings,

Laurie

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

We need you to help feed a fisherman's family!

My Big Blue Planet is asking that YOU donate non-perishable food items and backpacks. Our volunteers are filling backpacks with food items for these families.

The U.S. government has not declared the Gulf Coast a disaster area. Therefore, Federal Aid is not available to these families. These families are hurting financially and emotionally. They need your help. Won't you help feed the fishermen's children?

TO DROP OFF:

To drop off food items, please contact Kim Haney at 662-871-0085.

WHO CAN RECEIVE THE BACKPACKS OF FOOD?

To receive items you must show two things. One is a tax form showing occupation as a fishing related career (shrimper, deckhand, charter boat captain, etc) and second is you must show proof of residency in a coastal county in AL, MS, or LA.

TO BECOME A DROP OFF LOCATION: Please contact Kim Haney at 662-871-0085.

Please forward this email to everyone you can. We need to help our neighbors and today is the day!

Thank you and May God Bless You,

Kim M Haney

Ordination pictures

Ok, these are some pictures from Andreas's ordination ceremony. In short, this means that he is now an ordained elder in the worldwide United Methodist church, licensed to preach, teach and serve.

First off is the historical test, a series of vows written down by John Wesley, Methodism's founder some approx. 300 years ago. Every Methodist pastor in history (more or less) has answered these questions and deeply pondered their impact on their lives.

This is the second ceremony, or the actual ordination. The ordination service was a joint service with two other denominations, i.e. the guys and gals in black. Andreas is the guy in white and the bishop is asking him in he believes that God has called him to being a pastor.

This is the moment of ordination. The bishop places his hands on Andreas, along with superintendents and a sponsor/another elder, and prays for God's wisdom and power to enable him to do his task of spreading God's kingdom on earth.

"The gang" - everybody is ordained and turned around to meet the 3000 people's applause and approval. A very special moment!