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2015 started like it has for the past few years - with a lot of basketball. We love watching Elizabeth play basketball and it really does make the winter go by faster. She played on the Rochester Area Homeschool Defenders again. Her team ended up with a winning record and made a lot of great memories. Mike and Mary put together a slideshow for her team which can be found here. The Defenders won the Mustang Classic tournament in Winona where they played five games in one day. FIVE GAMES! The smiles in this picture say it all, don't they? (Elizabeth is 3rd from the left in the back row, standing next to her coach).
Spring means warmer weather, birds, and SOFTBALL. Mike played softball for Berean again this year and had the opportunity to coach three other teams of "Berean + MN Adult and Teen Challenge" men. We have a passion for sports ministry and the Lord has greatly fulfilled this desire the past couple years. It's hard to describe the impact this has had on our family, but let's just say it has opened a new avenue of ministry for us. Not just for us to give, but also for us to receive. Seventeen years ago Mary wrote Mike a note saying "Let's serve together forever". At that time we didn't know what that might mean, but looking back we can see God's hand in it all. It's also cool seeing Elizabeth begin to share that passion:
Mike's team also played in an all-day softball tournament in Shakopee and were blessed with a ridiculously gargantuan 1st place trophy. It now gathers dust as a conversation piece at his work. In the picture, Mike is the guy in the back row, lost in the shadow.
It was such a fun summer, but it went by so fast! Elizabeth played more basketball for a local AAU team called the Piranhas. The team was made up of girls from many area schools. They played in six tournaments and did quite well. It will be fun to see how some of those girls do when they get to the varsity level. Not sure if we'll do AAU again, but it was a good experience in many ways. Elizabeth is middle of the back row.
Mary continues to be a stellar stay-at-home mom. She is the glue that binds us together. She does so much "behind the scenes" and for that we are grateful. She has a genuine love for people and has made our home warm and inviting to guests. Above the mirror in our bathroom she has written "fearfully and wonderfully made". What a great reminder for us and for our teenager! She continues to homeschool Elizabeth as well. Homeschooling is definitely not the easiest route, but we know it is best for our family. Being able to instill a Biblical worldview will hopefully set a strong foundation of faith in Elizabeth's life. Mary still enjoys photography as is evident from Elizabeth's 14 year picture below.
Gretchen enjoys her role as the family dog. She's now middle-aged, but still gets around pretty well. Earlier in 2015 she injured her back leg and had to hop around on three legs for quite some time. We were quite concerned, but were able to avoid surgery. She still favors that leg from time-to-time, but still shows off her A.P. deke skills every so often.
2015 was also a year of change in our family. The year begun on a sad note as Mike's Grandma Amundson was laid to rest. It feels different without any grandparents. But we'll always have memories, like when Grandma rode in a golf cart the previous year.
The other big news of 2015 is that Mike changed companies. He didn't really have a choice since his area at IBM was divested to Global Foundries. He officially became a "GFer" on July 1st. Working for GF is definitely different than IBM, but in other ways not much has changed (yet). He enjoys the work and the new company.
More changes... We revamped our front landscaping, became SmashBurger groupies, and finally moved out of the 90's with a new HD TV and surround sound. Wow, how did we live with the old tube TV for so long? We've really enjoyed casting music throughout the house - what a blessing!
Oh, and who can forget that this is the year Elizabeth got her braces off! She was SO excited since she had them for over 4 years!
Oh, and who can forget that this is the year Elizabeth got her braces off! She was SO excited since she had them for over 4 years!
In September we took Elizabeth for her first visit to the North Shore. Well, she had been there before as a baby, but for some reason doesn't remember it. ;-) What a beautiful area! Listening to the crashing waves never gets old. The bottom picture was taken at Gooseberry Falls (and yes, we are Dude Perfect fans).
Then, on the day before Elizabeth's 14th birthday, we all watched the Lynx win the WNBA championship at Target Center. This was especially cool since Mike watched the Twins win the World Series at the Metrodome when he was 14 years old. Sweet!
Mike still enjoys his drone and has now officially registered it with the FAA. His favorite video of 2015 was definitely the dry ice adventure. We also had fun spinning steel wool - it was incredibly simple!
Hope you have a blessed 2016!
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