This year we did so many things that it would be impossible to tell you about each one in this Christmas blog. So instead of boring you with ALL the details, we included a link to some blog posts in some of the “letters”. If you are interested in seeing more pictures or hearing more details of our “adventures”, just click on the word or words that are highlighted in blue or green.
Hope you enjoy the ABCs of 2009 at the Leingangs’…
2009 was a big year for the Annual CLBA Convention. This year we voted to approve a whole new constitution for the synod and people came out in droves. Of course it was fun to be back in Fergus and see all our friends! With the new constitution, 2010 will be the last annual convention in Fergus. Starting in 2011, they will be only every other year. I don’t know if I can go that long without seeing everyone, one year seems long enough… :o(
seminary party at the Ekelunds
We haven’t been backpacking in a couple of years and decided to go again this summer. My sister Theresa also hadn’t gone in a few years and wanted to tag along. So we all loaded up into the van and headed up to our favorite spot in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness. About 15 miles from the trailhead, the road was closed. So then it was on to Plan B, which we didn’t have. Plan B ended up being a nice little trail right along the Clackamas River. Our camp was right on the water and very private, the weather was ideal and we found a beautiful little waterfall to explore on a day hike! To see all the pics check out our backpacking posts, #2 and #3.
Andy was confirmed this year in June. What a joy and blessing to see what God has been doing in his life this year and to see him publically confirm his faith. We wonder what God has in store for Andy next… May God continue to richly bless and guide him in the future!
Over the summer our family got to enjoy my parents’ property down on Deep Creek. Dad has gone to lots of work and it is a great place to cool off on a hot summer day. We are looking forward to spending more time there this summer. Maybe with our trailer???
We had a wonderful Easter this year in celebration of our Savior’s resurrection! The boys and I played with the praise team, we had a yummy Easter breakfast at church and an egg hunt for the kids. And of course we had our tradition of “egg day”, when we decorate our Easter eggs and make jello eggs for Easter dinner.
We love our homeschool co-op! I think our favorite classes (both for me to teach and the boys to take) were WWI this fall and the Dangerous Class for Boys in both the spring and the fall. In Dangerous Class men from the community came in to teach the boys about all sorts of different subjects like chess, astronomy, Mt St Helens, woodworking, knives & knots, military, cooking, fishing, canoeing, soccer, bicycle safety, fencing, self defense, government, auto maintenance, electricity, and archery. It was a really fun class!
woodworking class
I have wanted a garden for such a long time and this year I finally decided to do it. Our friends, Kevin and Megan, came over with their beast of a tiller to help me break up the ground and get it started. God blessed us with a very fruitful crop that gave us more fresh produce than I could have imagined for the few plants we started with! It also provided us with a very full freezer, learning to can and beautiful shelves (that Chris made for me) to hold it all.
William turned 12 this year, which meant it was his turn to take a big trip with Grandpa and Grandma. Will has always wanted to go to the rainforest, so they decided that Hawaii was probably as close as they could get. So the three of them left the cold and snowy PNW for warm and sunny Hawaii for two weeks of tropical bliss. To see just some of the MANY gorgeous pictures they took, check out Remembering Hawaii
This summer Zack, Andy and their friend Ian started a band to play at the Bible Camp talent show called Ignition. You have to check out their ROCKIN' performance !
They also added a few more members this fall and play special music at our homeschool co-op.
I have to admit, it’s pretty fun to be a “band mom”! We’re pretty proud of our rock stars! :o)
Not only were we privileged to hear Justin speak at our Leadership Retreat in March, but we had so much fun spending time with them before they headed back to Alaska! Justin and Levi spent the day with my parents and Melissa and I headed to Salem to see our friend Emily and her son Elias. We all had a wonderful time! I wish we didn’t have to live so far away from one another. :o(
Melissa, Levi & Justin
This year two sweet little girls made their appearance in the world. Our niece Stella Catherine was born in April. She is such a combination of both Maggie and Charlie.
Lily Marie was born at the end of January and is already walking! It’s so fun to have more babies at church! Lily is the baby sister of our godson JD and the daughter of our youth leaders at church. And I think she looks just like her big brother! :o)
Every year Chris and I look forward to the PNW CLBA Leadership Retreat in Cannon Beach. And this year was so special because our friend Justin Vold was the main speaker. It was even more special because he even brought his wife along with him! It was so fun to hear what God had to say to us through Justin and His Word and to hang out with so many of our dearest friends and co-laborers in the Lord! The whole weekend was such a blessing!
With the direction our country is headed we decided this year we would finally take a stand and get involved in a little bit of politics. Washington state had a measure on the ballot this fall to legally redefine marriage. So when we heard about the rally to oppose this referendum, we were there… and we brought friends. There were over 60 people there to take a stand for marriage and families! Although it passed, we were excited to teach our boys about standing up for what is right. And the boys and their friends were excited, too! My friend’s daughter told me that she hadn’t had so much fun since her birthday. :o)
We love the Newsboys! So when we found out that they were playing at the WA state fair, we had to go. We took the day off of school and work and headed to Puyallup. We spent the day looking at animals, plants, rides, games, crafts, collections and people. We also got to eat some unique deep-fried stuff! Then that evening we enjoyed a Newsboys/DC Talk concert thanks to the addition of Michael Tait. They ROCKED and we had a fantastic time!!! Check out our day at the Western Washington State Fair
After 4 years of having his “office” in the furnace “room”, I decided that Chris needed a real office more than our teenage sons needed a toy room. So it was good-bye toy room and hello office/guestroom. It took quite a bit of shuffling and a big pile of stuff for the co-op free table, but it’s all done. To see the move step-by-step check out the whole shuffle on our blog.
new office
We have new additions to our church’s praise team this year: Carrie, Zack, and Andy. I sing and play the piano (which I haven’t done in about 17+ years and is not like riding a bike), Zack plays the guitar, and Andy plays the drums. Andy just got his drums for his birthday in January and was already playing in the co-op worship band 6 weeks later! He really has a gift! Like Zack, he taught himself to play and is really good at it. Both the boys are terrific and I am working hard to try to be as good and to play with them. It’s slow work but is paying off. We’re getting better and it is so fun to get to praise the Lord every Sunday! If you want to hear us play, come to any worship service at our church at 11:00am. Here are the directions :o) We’d love to see ya there!
Q is a hard letter to do! But thankfully I still love to quilt and even had time to make a few this year. These are two of my favorites.
One was for our godson’s new baby sister Lily who was born in January. She is so sweet and we had fun throwing her and her mommy a frog-themed baby shower
This year at Bible Camp all the Leingang men went on the high ropes course. It was a pretty big deal because Will has been afraid of heights his whole life. I think Mom was more nervous than he was. But they had lots of encouragement from their friends on the ground! They all did great and Mom was so proud that I bought them all commemorative t-shirts! You have to see the pics at High Ropes Course Day 1, High Ropes with Will & Chris
the guys in their shirts by the ropes course
We went to Ape Caves for the first time this summer with our friends from Greater Grace in Portland and our church. There were all kinds of cool places to explore, rocks to traverse and walls to climb. The kids all ran ahead (I don’t know how they went so fast) and left us old folks behind. To see more of our spelunking adventures go to Ape Caves
Now that the boys are old enough to sleep in their own tent, Chris and I decided to invest in a little travel trailer. It’s so much easier to head out in a moment’s notice when everything’s already all packed. Just throw in some food and clothes and you’re ready to go! Well, at least that’s the idea… She needs some work, but we’re hoping to have her up and fully operational by spring! To see the progress so far go to trailer tour , fun with trailers , curtains
This year the boys had the opportunity to be in a movie that was written, directed, crewed, acted, edited, scored by kids all under 18 (mostly all homeschooled). Their friend Danny is a talented film maker and they had a great time doing it! It even premiered at a movie theatre here in town this summer! They did a great job! The movie isn’t out yet but you can see the trailer on You Tube or our blogs at Fort Stevens , Camo , Rough Cut premier
The youth group hosted another Valentine’s Dinner at church this year. We learned a lot from the year before and it went much better this time. Next year will be even better yet… It was an even more special night because Will came home from his trip that night! If you’re thinking about coming next year, check out all the details at Valentine's Dinner
This year the boys and I did another week of boat-in camping on Walker Island in the Columbia River. And like every year of camping on the river, we had another adventure. The scariest adventure yet!!!But this year we drug our friends and family into it… For the most part the weather was beautiful, we had a great time and we are very thankful we (and all our stuff) made it back safely. If the suspense is killing you, read Camping Day 1 , Day 2, Day 3 , The Adventure
Last year for Christmas we got tickets for Creation 2009 at the Gorge in George, WA. And as usual, it was HOT! About 110 degrees hot! Despite the fact that it was fairly miserable heat and Andy ended up at the hospital thanks to dehydration, we all had an incredible time! There were tons of great bands, but Skillet totally “rocked our faces off!!!” More pics at : Creation Fest 2009
In August our whole family got to go on the youth group’s camping trip to San Juan Island. Chris and I were chaperones and all the boys went as youth group members. Are they really all that old already??? We had a great time and are looking forward to next year’s Great Escape! More pictures at Days 1 & 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5
