Merry Christmas One and All!

We have had a wonderful season of advent. Preparation for Christmas has been the priority and we are ready to celebrate. We hope you are too. It will just be the four of us on Christmas day and we are looking forward to a relaxed, low-key day. We have our customary smoked turkey and will enjoy presents, grazing, and each other.

We got our tree last Saturday. The weather was perfect. It was snowing lightly, about 5 degrees (which was warmer than the entire week up to then, so it felt almost balmy). We found a beautiful tree and have thoroughly enjoyed having it up in our living room.

I know the west coast has been pummeled with snow for over a week now but we have had some great snowfalls as well. We have been below 15 degrees since early December and have about 3 feet of snow on the ground. Below are a few pictures of our lights and snow drifts after the first big storm. We also had a night of easterly winds and that pushed the mill steam onto the trees in the area. I don't think the picture does it justice but the next day everything glistened with horefrost.

Diane

Blizzard Day

Such a wonderful day to be indoors. Diane, Rachel and I all worked at church this morning, and are now back home with no reason at all to go outside. This is good, because we are experiencing our first ever blizzard in Minnesota. It’s impossible to tell how much snow has fallen since it’s piling up in drifts up to two feet, and they say the winter storm warning will be in effect until noon tomorrow. There’s plenty of wind out there, and perhaps strangest of all, bitter cold. Our backyard thermometer currently reads 5-below-zero. This is strange because you usually don’t get that much snow when it is so cold. REALLY cold air tends to dry up moisture making precip a little tough to come by. Not this time, however. So I’m just sitting here, watching the Vikings play Arizona, and I thought I’d update this blog.

Last week was Calls to Santa week for the Icebox Radio Theater. Five nights of playing the big man on the radio. This week, our focus turns to Stephen who is undergoing his first finals week at college. Not to mention a round-trip on Thursday to go get him. That’s what we have going this next week. I’m sure someone will update this blog before Christmas, but if it isn’t me, let me say Merry Christmas to everyone, and I’ll be praying for travel mercies all around.

Moving On

Well, swim season is officially over. The team potluck and awards ceremony was Thursday night. Rachel is planning on getting together with a group of the girls and swimming 2 mornings a week to keep their "sea legs" so to speak.

So we move on, the holidays are almost here and we are having Thanksgiving with a smaller group this year at another friends house as one of the friends is allergic to cats and ours definitely dominate our house. We will also have Stephen home from college and our niece Caitlin with us.

We will just be us for Christmas and are excited for Stephen to be home for about a month and for him to be done with his first semester of college.

But things are getting any less hectic. This last Monday the school district finally approved the band trip that the band had been invited to join and so now the fundraising starts. It will be a wild four months. The trip with Ely H.S. band to New York City takes place at the end of March so we have a lot of work ahead of us. At the same time the church youth group is fundraising for CHIC the triennial youth conference held at the Univ. of Tennessee. Rachel has an exciting year coming.

She is also learning to drive. Last Tuesday she passed her learner's permit written test and has been behind the wheel a couple of times with Jeff in parking lots. She is the only one of her friends who hasn't driven before (most kids get their permit and drive back to school) and so we are gradually spending time with her in parking lots getting her used to being behind the wheel before we introduce other cars and the road.

I think winter has arrived here. We haven't been above freezing since last Saturday and we're glad we got our stakes in the ground for putting up Christmas lights because I don't think we could get them in the ground now.

Take care everyone and have a great Thanksgiving week.
Diane

Whew!!

What a wild couple of days. On Thursday Rachel competed in four races at the section 7A girls swimming preliminaries. She (and three teammates) qualified in all three relays races for the finals. She swam personal bests in all four races she swam.

That meant Jeff and I made another trip to Hibbing today to watch her swim in three relays and Jeff had been asked to cover the meet for the paper. So he took photos and will write a story tomorrow. I sat with the parents and cheered all the girls on as the three relays and three individuals competed in four events (100 butterfly, 100 back stroke, diving and 100 breaststroke).

The weather was fine and we only saw a couple of deer coming home on Thursday and one deer heading down today we had no driving troubles which was nice because the forecast had been for snow/sleet/freezing rain/rain etc on Thursday and we only saw wet roads and a little snow coming home and dry pavement today.

Rachel feels good about her swim season but is glad it is over. We are working on establishing morning swims for any interested girls so they continue swimming over the winter and spring.

The other big news is she is planning on taking the written test for her driver's permit on Tuesday. We'll let you know when to clear the roads.

Love,
Diane

Last Weekend

All week I've been wanting to write a post and update everyone about our wild, yet spectacular weekend. This week has been slower but I think I must have been recovering from the fun.

Thursday the 30th, Jeff drove down to Morris, MN and spent the night. He and Stephen then drove home on Friday after Stephen got out of class about 1 pm. Meanwhile back in International Falls, I hosted the Little Giant spaghetti dinner and served 25 girls and their coaches dinner. I cooked 6 pounds of spaghetti and made about 3 gallons of sauce. And the weekend before had made 8 loaves of french bread (and used one for a church event).

Friday, Rachel had early morning practice and had to be in the water by 5:30 am. She was picked up by a fellow swimmer at 5:15 am. She then came home and went to church to help with the Fall Fest. I got home, raked leaves and then made an apple pie and dinner to celebrate Stephen's birthday. I handed out candy when the doorbell rang.

Jeff, Stephen and I ate dinner and were just beginning to open his presents when three high school students came by collecting for the food shelf. They asked to come in and warm up and settled in for about 30 minutes as one of them was Anna.

Saturday morning we got Rachel to the school at 6:30 and the rest of us left about 9. We dropped Stephen off at Anna's house in Ray and Jeff and I continued on to Aurora (Mesabi East High School) for Little Giant (junior high girls' swim sections). We had an 18 mile detour and missed Rachel's first race but were able to see her swim three other times for a first and 2 thirds. She swam personal bests all day and was pretty excited.

Sunday I went to early service as I had agreed to read names for All-Saints Sunday. I brought every one to church for Sunday School and following Sunday School we ran an errand, dropped Rachel off at home and Jeff, Stephen and I headed to Morris. Rachel spent the day in front of screens with cats on her lap while we made a round trip to Morris. It is a long day but doable. It was great to talk to Stephen and then Jeff on the way home. We got home about 11:15. The weather was great all weekend for all that driving.

It was wonderful to see Stephen and even more wonderful to feel that he has fit in and has a home at the University of Minnesota Morris. He will be back home for Thanksgiving as well as our niece Caitlyn at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

Diane

Rachel Swim Pics

Hey All,

Thought we'd post a few pictures from Rachel's swim meet last weekend.  These are from her 500m race where she finished 3rd overall.  She also did well in the Medley, 200m and 400m relays, all three of which she'll be competing in at Sections in a couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

Hello from Morris

I have a few minutes so I thought I'd write a bit about what's going on today.  I'm sitting in the Common Cup coffee shop in downtown Morris, waiting for Stephen to get out of class today around 1:00.  It was so good seeing him yesterday.  No big surprises.  No beard or tattoos or anything like that.  He is complaining about his lack of exercise and the fact that his clothes don't fit so well anymore.  Ah, the Freshman 15.  It gets us all, doesn't it?  

I caught up with him yesterday at the UMM pool where every kid within 100 miles was enjoying 'Spook & Splash' a community Halloween party that required every lifeguard in town to be on duty.  After that, we popped back to the dorm room which he apologized for.  Of course, it looked pretty much like a boy's dorm room.  Junk everywhere, electronics in abundance, but more than a little evidence of studying going on.  After that we went downtown to check out Jose's Burritos for dinner.  Very well worth the trip.  It's been a long time since I had REAL Mexican food.  Our one Mexican place in the Falls serves Cheese Whiz on the Nachos, I kid you not.  

After dropping Stephen off, I retired to the Super-8 with its mega cable featuring more than a few Halloween programs.   There was a Hammar version of Dracula, and 60's British flick titled 'Torture Garden' and the Travel Channel took us to America's Most Haunted Places.  No, I did not watch all night.  Honesty, I was wipped by 10pm.

A pretty good night's sleep, followed by some actual work getting done; a whole scene in the next Scoop Sister's script.  Amazing how a change of scenery can knock things loose upstairs.  Now, I'm downtown enjoying a fairly interesting cup of bean, and writing this.  I think I'll take a walk around town, make use of the sandwich fixings I brought for lunch, then meet-up with Stephen at 12:50.  Perfect driving weather.  I think we'll get home with no trouble.  Blessings!  

-Jeff

Wow!

It is October 26th and I can't believe how fast the month has flown by. This weekend seems to be typically busy. Yesterday Jeff worked at the radio station in the morning and I worked at home. I did laundry, made 8 loaves of french bread, 3 loaves of oatmeal bread, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, artichoke dip and lemon granita. I also talked, played and enjoyed being with Jeff and Rachel.
Today after Sunday school we came home and got ready for the rest of the day. We went back to church at noon for a meeting about CHIC 2009. Chic is the Covenant church triannual camp for high school students. It is held at the University of Tennessee campus and Rachel is planning on going next summer. Then we swung by the house, picked up games and the lemon granita and headed to Rachel friend Aleena's house for a time of conversation, food and games with four girls and their moms. It was very nice and while we were there, Jeff ran our food contribution for the Pastor Marx and family open house to the Marx house, came home and did some recording before picking us up and we all went to the open house. Then we took Rachel to teen Sunday evening youth meeting and then home to fold dry laundry and get ready for the upcoming week.

Tomorrow is the second documentary film night and discussion at the library and is also the night of the second border concert. Tuesday Rachel has her last weeknight away swim meet of the season. Wednesday is teens and worship team practice and I get ready for Thursday. Thursday Jeff drives to Morris to pick up Stephen and I provide a spaghetti dinner for the 25 girls and coaches on the swim team, as well as rooms for them to try on suits for Little Giant (junior high sections) on Saturday at Mesabi high school. Friday Jeff and Stephen drive home and Rachel goes to church to help at the Children's fall fest and I wait the for guys. Saturday Rachel rides with the swim team to Little Giant and Jeff and I take Stephen to Anna's and we go on to Little Giant and back. Sunday after Sunday School Jeff, Stephen and I will head to Morris and Rachel will spend the day with Catherine (a friend here in town). Jeff and I will drop Stephen off and head on home, hoping to be home by about eleven.

After next week I think things will slow a bit as swim season is winding down and we don't have near as many things on the calendar. We'd love to hear from you as you go through your lives. Let us know what you're up to and what is impacting your lives.
Diane

And another post

Hat Pics

Hey all,

We have a few pictures here of Rachel in her new hat, a birthday present from Aunt Michelle. Thanks Mitch!

A lot of good stuff

A big weekend that ends with a very nice Monday, that describes my life over the past few days. Late last week, I got a call from the good friend Gene in the PR business. They needed a scribbler who can work fast. That’s me, so I’m back at work all weekend coming up with radio scripts for the Paralyzed Veterans of America. I have another deadline coming up in a couple of days, but I made the first deadline this morning, and haven’t heard back from the firm, so I’m assuming everything is okay. All this freelance work has had a nice effect on our finances. It’s looking like we already have enough to cover Stephen’s tuition in January, which means we’ll have most of 2009 to get his tuition for next year. I’m feeling pretty good about this.

Of course, all this freelance writing hasn’t left a lot of time for Icebox Radio, but we did manage to move the Icebox Radio online radio station to the house where I can keep an eye on it, and make the programming sound a little more professional. Unlike a podcast, an online radio station runs just like a regular radio station, requiring a constant stream of audio, which means the station really needs its own computer. Fortunately, the theater had one donated this month, so we’re on the air. And, I admit, I kind of like being able to jump on the air and introduce the next play whenever I feel like it.

We’ve heard from Stephen, and he is working a lot this weekend at the UMM pool. Not the best situation for him (the job is frustrating) but he is enduring. He’ll be home in a week, and we’re looking forward too it. Even a couple of days with Stephen is going to be wonderful, and I think he’ll enjoy the chance to decompress for a while. More later.

Jeff

Some Happy thoughts from Jeff

A busy, busy Fall so far, and many changes have come; so many that I thought I should blog about it before things move too far, and I forget.

The big development is that Gene Gee, the man who helped me form the Icebox Radio Theater and got me a job at KBHW radio, keeps trying to put my kids through college. At the moment we really did need some help financially, Gene popped back up into my life from the position of his new job in Portland. He’s head of the radio division of a PR firm that creates fundraising campaigns for non-profit organizations. He threw some work my way, which worked out pretty good so more work came my way, so now, I’m basically, for the first time in my life, a working freelance writer. And just like in the movies, PR work pays pretty well.

It’s put me in the mind of all the other help I’ve had over the years. For example, I’m writing this on an amazing desk my father built for me seven years ago. All the people that have come alongside the theater over these past four years. And, of course, Diane’s eternal patience and belief. I don’t really know where this new career is going to end up (Gene keeps half-teasingly talking about moving us to Pasadena in a few years) but it is a nice feeling knowing my ideas have value. More later.

Day After Harvest Ball

Rachel had a nice time at the ball last night, after further consultation with Rachel the first two girls in the group photo are Serena Moss (in red) and Brittney Harris after her. Ellie's last name is Sceles. I couldn't remember it last night.

She got home about 12:15 this morning and got up and went to church with us at 7:30. She spent most of the afternoon on the couch reading and watching movies. She only has 3 days of school this week and then on Thursday will come to the library and play games, enjoy pizza and hang out with friends. On Friday she will head to Bluewater for the fall teens retreat with our church's youth group.

Jeff goes to Duluth on Thursday for his almost monthly Arrowhead Arts Council board meeting. I have tomorrow off for Columbus Day and Friday off because I worked yesterday. I am ready for a three day week. I will be doing some baking and cleaning around the house.

Enjoy the fall. We are seeing a cool down in the temperatures this week.
Diane

Girls in group photo

Okay, The top photo is Rachel. The second photo is Rachel with Aleena, probably her closest friend. The group photo includes in order starting on the left and moving right, 2 girls I don't know (the first I didn't recognize at all, the second I have see, but don't know who she is), Elizabeth (the girl whose house they ate dinner at), Alyssa Bergstrom, Michelle McDonald, Kelsey Eibler, Aleena Wilson, Rachel Adams, Ellie...

Aren't they gorgeous?!? but it is hard to see them looking so grown up.

Diane

Harvest Ball pictures

Here are a few pictures from the beginning of the evening. Rachel is attending her first semi-formal dance with eight other girls, all freshmen. They were all invited to dinner at the house of one girl and then were going to be driven to the dance together. More tomorrow, after we hear how the dance itself went.

Where does the time go?

I was really going to try and update this at least once a week and almost three weeks have passed since I last updated.

We are staying very busy this fall. I really thought things would be simpler with only three schedules to keep track of. But I think that with Jeff working three part-time jobs on top of Icebox radio theater, Rachel not driving yet and things at the library really hopping that it isn't going to happen any time soon.

Rachel is now 15 and has completed the classroom portion of driver's education. We will be paying for the driving portion of the training. She will study for the written test and then we will have another driver in the family (albeit in training). She is swimming again this fall and doing very well. She has been to invitational meets every Saturday for the last 5 weeks and is glad that she has her Saturday's back. She is celebrating by having a friend come spend the night for her birthday this Friday and they are having a Serenity/Firefly marathon session. Saturday night she will attend her first semi-formal dance. The harvest ball is Saturday evening and she is getting together with a group of friends for dinner at one of the girl's home and then attending the ball together. I will make sure we get photos and post them here.

Jeff is continuing to work on IBRT projects. He is doing the tech end of Bronco radio for at least football/volleyball season, and an occasional sports story for the paper, hours at the Christian radio station, as has been getting jobs from Gene Gee. (Thank you Gene.) He wrote a series of radio ads for Union Gospel Mission of Seattle and at least one other job with potential for some big jobs to come.

I have been training a new employee, between doing storytimes, library lessons with 2 classes from the parochial school, ordering and processing materials,keeping things running, and planning, executing programs. I have also been working around the house to put the garden to bed. Prepare apples we were given (YEAH!), knit, and read and play on the computer with Rachel. I am also in charge of the concession stand for all home swim meets and that involves setup along with assigning parents food to bring to meets. And this year we jumped from 3 home meets with one invitational to 7 home meets and one invitational. It has been a lot more work and we are in transition with new coaches who haven't helped set up the concessions as in previous years.

So we are staying busy and out of trouble. At least for now.
Diane

Pictures of Rachel

I finally remembered to take pictures of Rachel as she was getting ready for bed. I promptly went up and caught her reading as she brushed her teeth. I then gave her the option of changing clothes and she also wanted her hair up as that is how she generally wears it these days.




We aren't paying for school pictures this year for Rachel and had some people asking for an updated photo of Rachel so I took some last night after only a week of trying to remember. I suppose that isn't entirely true as I did take some at the swim meet on Saturday but they all came out blurry and all you can see if fuzzy swimmers so I'm not counting those.

Diane

Transitions

Fall may not officially arrive until Monday, but the trees are changing and dropping leaves here. We haven't had a freeze in town yet (for which I am grateful as I still have lots of green tomatoes on the vine).

It was four weeks ago today that as a family we drove down to Morris, MN to drop our oldest off at college. He checked into the dorm on Sunday morning and we drove home short one member of the family. It felt unreal then and still kind of feels unreal.

I pray for both children and my husband daily and I still do. The prayers for Stephen may be a little vaguer than before but not much. I pray for peace, perseverance and the ability to deal with whatever comes his way. While I don't know the days of big tests or particular times he is stressed the prayers remain the same.

And fall has traditionally been such a busy time in this family that having one fewer doesn't seem to matter. I think that might be that Jeff is busier than ever. He is doing some freelance work for the local paper, writing sports stories and being the techie for the online radio that covers local games. Yesterday he went to Ashland WI and back for a football game.

I am more involved this year with the girls swim booster club and am coordinating the concession stand. But that hasn't meant a whole lot more work, just being organized. I am doing more programs at the library this fall and that might be adding to the busyness.

So how has live changed with one kid in college, not much on the surface. And underneath, I'm still dealing with the changes, so I'll have to remark again in the future, but overall we're doing well with the change and excited to have launched the first kid out into the world, even if it is a halfway launch to college.
Diane

September Saturday

It is Saturday and I think it could be what will become the new routine for Saturdays around here, at least during the fall. Jeff provided the technology expertise for bronco radio last night during the Falls/Virginia football game and then went to the radio station for a shift this morning until noon. I got up and helped Rachel get to the school by nine for a varsity girls swimming invitational in Bemidji.

I worked around the house and enjoyed the quiet. I'm still hoping Stephen will call tonight. Jeff has been in email touch with him and thought he was sounding homesick. But he did share that he had auditioned for the improv troupe at UMM. He thought it had gone well and was hopeful.

Our weather is definitely fallish with temperatures in the low 60s and showers. I am beginning to slowly get a few ripe tomatoes and this week managed to get one decent zucchini and made two loaves of lemon zucchini bread. I have also had a good crop of cucumbers this year and made 4 jars of pickles so far.

Rachel is swimming well if not more than she thought this year. They have a new coach and a small team. She is about the only girl who swims distance and is regularly swimming the 500. She is also being asked to swim the 200 and often the 50 in the medley relay and the 100 in the 4X100 relay. So she swims the first and last race of the meet and then two in the middle.

Enjoy your fall and let us know what is happening with you.
Diane

First Week without Stephen around

We have all survived our first week with Stephen away at college. Jeff, Diane and Rachel spent almost an hour on "Skype" with Stephen. Skype is an online phone service that allows you to talk via computers for free (or at least without additional charges beyond our monthly Internet connectivity charges). He was in the process of doing laundry for the first time and talked about his first three days of classes. It sounds like he is staying busy and doing well.

He is looking at auditioning for the improv club at school. He had hoped to join the fencing club, but that folded last year. So he is looking at some other options and is considering the improvisation club but you have to audition to join so he doesn't know at this point if that will work.

A beautiful weekend here but it doesn't feel as hot as the thermometer says, I think the back of summer is broken, but it was a pretty weak back this year. I think we only had one day officially above 90 all summer and not very many in the 80s. My tomatoes are definitely pretty green still, so I'm hoping we still have a few more weeks before we freeze. I may cover the plants with black plastic bags if it is threatening a freeze.

Take care.
Diane

Stephen has flown the nest

Today, we dropped our oldest off at college in Morris Minnesota. There was a fair amount of excitement and a lot of unknown. We are all entering a new phase of life and aren't really sure what we should be feeling. We drove down yesterday and checked him into the dorm about 8:30 this morning. We spent some time together including a tour of the new biomass gasification plant and wind turbine. We were able to meet his roommate and his family before leaving him there as we drove the six hours home. We did stop at a roadside stand on the way home and picked up some fresh sweet corn.

I think the changes won't really impact me until Stephen isn't here for big events in our lives, things like the first day of school, his birthday.

Hopefully we can keep this blog updated better this next year as we document the changes in family life.

Diane

Stephen's at College

Well, we have a kid in college.

Diane, Rachel and I are fresh back from Morris (about a six hour drive) having successfully deposited Stephen in his dorm room at UMM. It was a very interesting day. Timeless, in a sense. I had the strong feeling much of the day that this is one of those moments you just don’t live through twice. Yes, we’ll be dropping Rachel off at school soon (hopefully not too soo. There is this performing arts high school in the Cities, but I don’t want to think about that just yet) but Stephen is our first born. Leaving your first born at college is just one of those things; like getting married or actually having the kid.

The day went about as well as it could. We got a fitful night’s sleep in the Prairie Inn, then got down to campus right around 8:30am. A crew of upper classmen was on hand to haul stuff into Stephen’s room (a tradition at UMM). They were surprised at how little he had, and very impressed by the Xbox and the fencing foil. Stephen is in room 18 of Pine Hall. It’s a pretty standard dorm room, in the basement just like his Mom’s dorm room had been.

We took a ‘Green Tour’ of the college’s biomass heating plant and its wind turbine. They do a fair amount of practical energy research at this school, and are planning to be energy self-sufficient and off the power grid by 2010. Then it was back for lunch and a return to the dorm room where Stephen finally met his roommate, a nice kid from Granite Falls, MN named Andrew. Andrew’s whole family was in the room as well, so we had a chance to chat with them a bit. When they decided to head off to the Student Center and see about Andrew’s mailbox, we took it as our cue to make, ‘The Big Departure.’

Stephen walked with us out to the car, and he looked ready. There had been some nerves earlier in the day, but those had passed, and he was laughing, and joking. He was – well, ready.

Jury’s still out on Mom and Dad.

WOW! Check it Out!

Check out the trailer that Rachel posted on her movie site and on YouTube! It is worth watching. I haven't been all that involved in the production as I have been at work while they have been shooting but have heard about the work at the end of each day. Here is a taste of what is to come.

http://webpages.charter.net/jeffreyamn/freedombird/Welcome.html

A proud mom.
Diane

Good Morning!

Good morning (or day, depending on when you read this)Family and Friends!

We are having a glorious morning. It has been a cool, wet summer so far with lots of wind and hail. Rain is expected to move back in later today but for now we are bright sunshine and warm which feels very nice.

We have been very busy this summer and I don't think it will slow down any time soon. Stephen and I went to Morris Minnesota to register him for fall classes. I was very excited to see the campus and meet staff and faculty. I feel very good about leaving him there. We will take him down to school on Saturday, August 23rd and he will check into the dorm on Sunday morning August 24th.

Rachel and Jeff begin filming her live-action movie today. She was inspired by her time at the teen Acquire the Fire conference this past winter to share her beliefs through art. She got an idea for a story, wrote it, has cast it and now begins filming.

I am working hard as summer reading at the library dominates. We are having a very successful summer, which is cool, but means a lot of work. I am also trying to keep my garden from drowning and pulling lots of weeds. I have also been doing a bit of knitting.

Jeff and Icebox radio theater have been and continue to be very busy as I am sure most of you know as you can follow their adventures on their blog and all at
http://webpages.charter.net/jeffreyamn/Icebox%20Radio%20Theater/Welcome.html

Enjoy your day and enjoy your family.
Love,
Diane

Happy Summer!

Hope some of you are seeing summer weather. We have reached a high of 50 degrees today with clouds all day and rain off and on. It has been a while since I posted and a lot has happened in the past month.

We now have a high school graduate in the family. On Thursday evening, May 29th Stephen Adams graduated from Falls High School. We celebrated the event with a graduation party. Both sets of grand parents were able to spend the week with us and aid in the celebration. We also had my Aunt and my sister and her husband and son with us. We had planned on using the backyard as overflow for the party but Thursday evening we had more than a typical rain shower. We had almost 10 hours of downpour. So we crammed everyone into out house and had a wonderful time celebrating Stephen and his accomplishment.

Now on to summer. Stephen is teaching swim lessons and lifeguarding at city beach this summer. Rachel is taking the classroom portion of drivers' education and learning to play the oboe (she has spent the last four years playing the clarinet and wanted a new challenge), and starting work on a movie.

Jeff is keeping everyone together as well as preparing for four shows this summer, including two at Convergence a science fiction convention in the twin cities over the fourth of July weekend.

Diane is running another summer reading program, training new staff and trying to make her garden grow. But she'd really like some sun to help.

Have a wonderful summer and thanks to all the family and friends who sent Stephen cards and helped us celebrate his high school graduation.

Diane

The life of Rachel in the last week

Hey everybody I know I haven't been up to date with my blogging lately so I am about to catch up for the last six months I haven't made a post.

Track is finally over for me, after three months of practice and about six or seven meets ( a lot were canceled because of weather). We had JV IRC's which are kind of like sections except you can't go any farther unless you are competing on the varsity then you can make it to State. But Any way at our sections IRC's I got fifth overall in the 100 meter dash, first in the 4 by 100 relay, and the big highlight of the meet was when I tied for first place in the high Jump with a jump of four feet three inches!

The other main highlight of the past few weeks is today I got Confirmed! Me, two of my friends plus one other boy were there to recite our life verses, and a paragraph that we had written about why we had chosen that verse , and read three answers to questions given to us a couple of weeks ago. I had to answer, What is Gods relationship to he world? What is the sacrament of the Lord's Supper? and What is the Christian hope? Here are my answers if you wish to read them.

What is God’s relationship to the world?

Remember your creator in the days of your youth, Ecclesiastes 12:1a. God created the world and he loves the world because it is his creation. God pronounced that the world was good at the creation but mankind through sin has corrupted it and we have turned our eyes away from Him. Our relationship to the creator isn’t all that great at the moment. I say at the moment because the way God shines through people on earth comes in waves. Sometimes it seems like every thing is great. Then of course we hit the bad times and the world seems to be going down hill. Lately I think we have been stuck down at the bottom of one of these waves and we need to work on getting out.

But how do we do that? We need to get back to the basics: God created the world in the first place and he has ultimate rule. But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding, Jeremiah 10:12. We are the ones messing up. God is always there for us to get reacquainted with him, we just have to make the time. God Wants to be in a relationship with us but even thought we are listening we really don’t know what to listen to and we keep getting distracted by the rest of the world. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; renew my life according to your word, Psalm 119:37. God loves the people that he created so much that he was willing to sacrifice his son so we could maintain a relationship with Him. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that who ever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life, John 3:16.

What is the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper?

A sacrament is a devotional, rite, or symbol. The Lord’s Supper is the ritual we use to remember Christ’s death. The Bread was his Body that was being basically destroyed for us, and the wine which represented his blood that was being spilt to clean us. While they were eating Jesus took bread and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying “take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying “Drink from it, all of you this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for the many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26: 26-28. We need to keep our eyes on the immense sacrifice he made for us. We can do that by taking the bread and the wine like he told us to.

We are not only remembering but we are giving thanks and participating in the blood and body of Christ who saved us from sin. Is not the cup of thanksgiving that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 10:16. We are thankful for the price he paid to give us eternal life with Him. And we are participating in the Blood and body of Christ because we are part of Him when we accept Him as part of us and take the Bread and the Wine for the First time.

What is the Christian Hope?

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Hebrews 6:19. The Christian hope is that Jesus will return and carry us all up to heaven! We all wait in Careful expectation for that wonderful day when he will come and take us all out of this world and up to spend eternity with him. Look , he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him so shall it be! Amen. Revelation 1:7.

We are his chosen people we are in his book and we want all the people around us to be up there with us in heaven. But sadly most of the people on earth haven’t accepted Christ yet. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Matthew 28:19. Even if we don’t succeed in one person doesn’t mean that we don’t plant a seed in that person, and one day they will accept Christ. All Christians should share the same hope of all of us going to heaven with the entire world with us! So let us all celebrate because we are going someday. But while we are still on earth it is our duty and privilege to bring other people in to His light, and let them see the wonders of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So my fellow believers let us celebrate in his second coming, let us reach out and let us grow in him with every life that is saved and we shall be praised by Him, the alpha, omega, beginning and end.

oh and one last thing to those coming out to our place for Stephen's Graduation. I have entered a movie contest about three hours south of here. And my Movie was chosen to be shown so my father and I will be driving down there for the showing! all that want to come are welcome, if you think it is worth it to drive three hours and if you will fit in the car. Love to all

-Rachel

Update from a snowy spring

A beautiful Saturday in International Falls, so I felt like updating this blog in the first time in, oh, forever. There’s a lot of news from the Adams corner of Minnesota. Perhaps some of you are aware that winter is hanging on a bit longer than normal this year. This last week, parts of the Northland (that is roughly Minnesota north of Duluth) got over a foot of snow, and this in the second week of April! We had about six inches as most, and that has largely disappeared now with a sunny day and 40+ degrees to help it along. We’re in the middle of ‘Ugly Spring’ the season after snowmelt but before the grass and trees start to green out.

I’m working hard preparing for our first ever ‘Kids Show’ at the Icebox Radio Theater, that is, a show specifically for performers under the age of 20. Rehearsals have been a lot of fun, and I feel energized whenever I’m working with the kids. Plus, this will be the first show we’ll broadcast on our very own internet radio station. That’s right, the show is going out live over the world wide web. Find a link at http://www.iceboxradio.org. Thus endeth the commercial.

My other big news on a personal note is that I am going to become a college instructor this fall. The theater’s involvement at Rainy River Community College inspired RRCC Provost (and IBRT board member) Wayne Merrell to ask if I wouldn’t like to teach a class or two. I wrote up a proposal for ‘Introduction to Audio Art and Internet Technologies’ and the Academic Affairs committee was very excited about it. The idea is that artists in remote areas such as I-Falls are often detached from the usual artistic support systems, and don’t always get to share their work or . This should not be in the internet age, so I’d like to teach people how to blog, podcast, and generally write and produce their own audio art (read: Poetry, drama, prose, etc) and share it with the world. Highfalutin ideas, to be sure, but when opportunity knocks, and one has a kid headed to college, one must listen.

I’ll keep this post short for now but I’ll also encourage Diane to add a post very soon. There’s a lot of news (but then again, there’s a lot of water under the bridge from our last post) but keep reading, and we’ll update soon. Maybe we’ll even get our high school senior to make an entry.

Talk to you soon.

Jeff

Stephen at Section Swimming

Thought we'd try something technically more difficult and post a short movie on the blog. This is Stephen's swim at the section meet this year. Enjoy!

End of February 2008

My goodness, how time does fly. It doesn't seem possible that the last time I posted was a month ago. I will work on getting Jeff to post Stephen's swim at sections from last week. He has been busy this week getting his entry in the Mark Time audio awards entered and getting the IBRT grant finalized and mailed off.

Both kids are on the speech team again this year and spending most Saturdays getting up very early to head to school to drive to speech meets. Most Saturdays they have to be at school between 4-4:30 am. It makes for a long day.

Stephen is also on the Knowledge Bowl team this year and spending two mornings a week practicing with the team and heading to school at 7:30. The team is doing very well.

Rachel has convinced Jeff to start an indoor pickup soccer game on Tuesday evenings so they are spending time at the church gym running around and getting her in shape for track season which starts in about 2 weeks and then for soccer which doesn't start until the end of April or early May.

I am beginning to dream about gardens and working the dirt even though the ground is still covered with cold white stuff.

Happy Friday!

I hope this finds you anticipating the weekend. It has been a busy week here as we have all four been dealing with colds, coughs and various and sundry creeping bugs that suck the energy out of you.

We have had a very cold week but are looking to warm up to the 20s for the weekend and that will be nice. Maybe we'll even have the energy to go out and ski. I would love to get outside and move, but have had so little energy to do more than the bare essentials.

Enjoy wherever you are and know that we are thinking about you and you are in our prayers.

Diane

Happy New Year!

It has been a while since I posted and after Jeff talked about posting last night I decided I should as well. We had a wonderful holiday season which provided many memories to last us for years.

As I reflect on 2007 and anticipate 2008 the thought that has occurred to me several times is that we are in a year of firsts and lasts. Stephen will be leaving for college in the fall and I find myself aware that we are doing things "the way they've always been done" in our family for the last time and we are also having a lot of firsts. First time applying for college, first time filling out financial aid forms, last year of boys' swimming, last year we will all be involved in Christmas preparations. Possibly last birthday for Stephen at home. As I encounter each first and last I seek to praise God for the opportunities and the blessings they bring.

May your 2008 be filled with joy and peace through each and every day regardless of what it brings.

Diane

It’s 27 degrees under a sky filled with glitter-snow, and I felt like updating the Icebox Blog. A beautiful winter night is just the thing to get the wordsmith in my going.

Happy belated holidays to everyone. I hope your Christmas and New Years were fun. Mine was spent on a west coast tour of family abodes that began and ended on an Amtrak train speeding across the Midwest. We had a wonderful time as a family, though I strongly recommend making the trip in sleeper cars. We tried it both ways (sleepers on the way out, coach seats on the way back) and can positively report that the sleepers are the only way to go when your trip lasts as long as ours did (thirty hours each way). Still and all, we saw some great scenery, enjoyed truly exceptional cuisine in the dining car (everyone’s favorite part of the trip) and had a great time once we got where we were going. We spent Christmas with my folks, as well as my sister’s family in McMinnville, Oregon, then spent the week tween the holidays (Kwanza, I guess) with Diane’s family in Sedro Wooley, Washington. Many presents, much eating, and many miles on the rental car were our lives for those two weeks.

Back in the Falls now, I’m getting very focused and very excited about the IBRT’s 2008. We have a new board president in Harley Droba who is bringing an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm to every project he’s involved with. He’s a gifted fundraiser, and led us to our best payday ever the first week in December when we did ‘Calls to Santa’ on local radio station KSDM. Kids called the station and got to talk to Santa Claus live, on the radio, and the whole town got behind it. After the show one night, Harley took his wife to dinner and said he overheard four different couples talking about the show. It will definitely be an item on our plate next year.

Blog posts should be brief, so I’ll cut off right now. Keep checking this space for more on the Adams Family, and the IBRT. Cheers!