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Saturday, 29 March 2008

Monday, 31 December 2007

  • Happy New Year!

    Well, it's hard to believe that today is the last day of December and the last day of 2007. 

    We had a wonderful Christmas although it was eventful! Up in Wisconsin we had some traveling challenges over the holiday.  There was a big winter storm headed our direction the weekend before Christmas and we decided to try and "beat" it.  Ha! We got about half way to Milwaukee and quickly realized that we were going to surrender and try again the next day.  Not sure if it was the weather or the fact that Becca was so mad in the car that she threw up twice.  Car sick? I don't think that most people who get car sick are instantly better and laugh hysterically when they are taken out of the car and are told that they get to stay in a hotel for the night.  Yep, that's our girl! Lucky for us, she must have gotten it out of her system, because the next morning at breakfast Jack told me, "Mom, I asked Becca if she is going to throw up in the car today and she said, 'No'.  Isn't that great?!?" Jack had a very superhero Christmas and Becca was all about dressing up and her babies.

    Our favorite Jackism is hard to choose.  We have a few for you although they are in a similar environment.  Jack was going to the bathroom and managed to cause quite a stink.  Erik walked in and said, "Jack, how do you smell so much?" Jack gave him a "duh" look and said, "With my nose!" We were visiting a friend yesterday and Jack was also in the bathroom.  I walked in and he smiled and said, "Mom, this house makes me poop." Sorry about the bathroom humor.  :)

    December was a crazy month for us.  Thanks again for praying for Erik's ordination interview and for my brother Carter.  Carter continues to improve and you'd never guess he'd had brain surgery only a few weeks ago.  I was able to complete my Masters degree a few weeks ago and my belly continues to expand, although my appetite seems to be slowing down a bit. My due date is on the 17th but we are hoping this little girl decides to show up a little earlier.  My babies tend to be big...

    We trust that you had a wonderful Christmas and wish you God's blessings for 2008. 

    Hopefully you'll be hearing from us sooner than later about our new little arrival. 

    We will try and post some pictures in the next week or so... but I wouldn't count on it.  :)

    This will probably be our last update from this site.  We are working on a website that will hopefully be ready in time for our update next month - more info on that to come.

    Again, if you did not receive a snail mail letter from us a few months ago, we do not have your snail mail address.  Please e-mail us your address if you would like a birth announcement sent your way.  Thanks!

Saturday, 08 December 2007

  • A quick update

    Just wanted to give all of you an update on our two prayer requests from our last weblog.

    Thank you so much for your prayers for my brother Carter.  His surgery went extremely well and he is having a miraculous recovery.  Praise God! Carter and my parents both had a tremendous peace that is only because of people's prayers!

    Erik's ordination interview also went very well.  Although it will not be official until his ordination ceremony in April, he will be ordained.  It was a great experience, but he is very relieved to be done with all of the studying!

    We will try and get one more update out to all of you before the baby arrives.  It will be our last update on this site since we will try and have our website up and running by the end of January.   And if any of you creative types have any idea for a website address for us.. please let us know.  We can't use "Wahlens" or "Erik" because people usually spell them wrong.  :)  Although Erik is quick to point out that most people don't spell "Folkestad" right either... Thanks in advance for your creativity!!

    Love,
    Christina



Friday, 30 November 2007

  • Have a blessed Christmas season!

    Wow, it's hard to believe that it will be December 1st tomorrow already! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We celebrated Thanksgiving with Becca's 2nd birthday.  She was very excited and now thinks that all the presents - especially the pink ones - are for her. :) Erik was able to get a deer this year - don't have a picture of that, which I know his mom is thankful for.

    Life continues to be very busy.  We are now in our "crunch time" this month.  I have until December 14th to finish up my masters work and I hope to also complete my classes for education licensing in WI.  Erik's ordination interview is on Tuesday at 10am.  Thank you in advance for praying for that. 

    I wrote in our last update about my brother Carter.  His brain surgery is scheduled for Thursday, December 6th.  I know he, along with the rest of us, would really appreciate your prayers.  The surgery will be in Rochester, MN at the Mayo Clinic.  Also, thank you in advance for praying for that.

    Believe it or not, I had trouble narrowing down what Jackism and Beccaism to include this month. My favorite Jacksim this month would have to be when we were reading the book, "No, David!".  In one of the pictures, a little boy named David is picking his nose.  His mother tells him to stop.  Jack, who refers to himself as "the snot machine", looked at me very seriously and said, "I do that sometimes." Becca's happened a couple of days ago when the kids were getting their flu shots.  Jack volunteered to go first, but quickly changed his mind when he saw the needle.  After a lot of screaming and wiggling it was over.  He sat up and Becca raised her hand and excitedly said, "My turn!"  She gave us a funny look when she was poked, and then sat up and was fine. 

    We hit Black Friday sales - yes, "we" Erik joined me at 4:45am along with my mom and my trooper brother Curtis.  We were able to get some great deals on sheets and towels for Mongolia.  The kids are very excited about their boots, jackets and snowpants and Jack looks forward to wearing them while riding Mongolian horses and camels.  He also thinks that he'll be able to ride yaks while we are there.  :) Thanks for your gifts to this outfit fund to help us get ready.

    Well, I should wrap this up.  We will try to get one more update out to all of you before we switch over to an actual website.  We'll still probably keep this for my personal ramblings, but we'll use the other for our regular updates.  If you would like to commit to praying for us on a daily or weekly basis, please let us know so that we can get weekly prayer requests to you.  Also, if you did not receive a hard-copy update from us, and would like to be on our snail-mail mailing list (i.e. if you want a birth anouncement :)), please e-mail us your address and we'll be sure to add you.

    Thanks again for keeping up with us and have a very wonderful Christmas!

    WE FINALLY ADDED SOME NEW PICTURES!

Thursday, 01 November 2007

  • Mongolia in Summer 2008!

    Well, many of you will receive this information through snail mail, (if you don't receive a letter in a week or so and would like to be on our snail mail list, please e-mail us your address - we will have prayer cards to send this Spring), but we are officially headed to Mongolia in either late July or early August of 2008.  We thought news of this magnitude deserved an actual letter.  We are thrilled and want to thank you for praying as it has been quite a journey to get to this point.  We also ask that you continue to pray as a very different journey is quickly approaching.  A more specific prayer request - Erik's ordination interview is on December 4th.  Thanks in advance!

    I have finished my student teaching.  It was a great experience, but I look forward to being home and getting some things done around the house, finishing my Masters classes, and being with my kids.  Erik's job is still going okay.  God continues to bless him with great friends at work and ministry opportunities.  Erik has had the opportunity to be involved in a young men's discipleship group at church. We have also been blessed by two churches that he has had the opportunity to preach in.  The kids are doing really well and have been healthy overall this past month.  I mentioned this in our letter that went out, but my favorite Jacksim deserves another mention.  We were at Kohl's and had pushed our time there too far.  Both of the kids were in the middle of a major meltdown as we were waiting in line to pay.  I looked at Erik and said, "Looks like we are falling apart."  Jack stopped crying, looked at me, looked over his body and screamed, "I'm falling apart!" I guess he thought he had lost a finger or a toe somewhere.  :) Becca is picking up on lots of phrases that she hears although she is still learning the appropriate time to use them.  She loves to count and read her books and has embarked herself on the wonderful journey of potty-training already.  We aren't pushing that anytime soon! :) Jack and Becca love to "cuddle" together and seem to either love each other or are at each other.  I'm sure that sounds familiar!

    In addition to partnering with us through prayer, you can also give to us financially.  We are very thankful for the Great Commission Fund which supplies us with our ongoing support - housing, traveling, insurance, food, and education for our kids.  Thank you for giving to this.  If you are looking for another way to support us financially, you can give to our car fund or our outfit fund. You can either give online at www.cmalliance.org/give/gmissions.jsp or by check to the Christian and Missionary Alliance designated for the Wahlens and then to the specific fund.  Their mailing address is The Christian and Missionary Alliance, P.O. Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500.

    We feel tremendously blessed and thankful for all that God has gifted us with and the time we've had with family and friends.  There are still so many of you that we hope to connect with before we leave!! One final thing that you can be praying for - my brother Carter.  Some of you have already heard this - thank you for already praying.  Those of you who know anything about the Folkestad family these past 15 years or so remember when my brother Carter underwent two brain surgeries about 11 years ago to remove a brain tumor.  The tumor has reappeared and so Carter will be having another brain surgery in the near future.  We appreciate your prayers for our family and for Carter.  We have entrusted him to God who knows him and has created him. 

    Please be in touch with us when you can. 

    Love,

    Christina, for us

    Sorry that we don't have new pictures posted - the kids dressed up last night so I will try and get those posted sometime this next week.  Please check back!

     

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