The Persson Post: May 2008

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The New Addition

Hey all,

I know I just posted the latest "Persson Family Update" but this news deserves a post all of it's own.

I'm so happy and excited to share with you all, that Erika and Scott are expecting their first baby and my FOURTH grandchild. Now I know that many of you already have heard this news, since they made their announcement at Erika's Graduation party, but for those of you who didn't know before now, here's the scoop.

About a week or so before Erika graduated, she took a home pregnancy test which confirmed her suspicions. Well, somewhat confirmed anyway. As any newly pregnant woman will tell you, peeing on a stick is just not enough. So, off to the health center she went for a blood test and we all know that blood tests don't lie. Yes indeed, she is pregnant.

Knowing that Scott's family was all coming up from Mississippi, they chose to wait it out before telling anyone so that they could tell the immediate family altogether. How ironic that the very day they chose to tell all of us, was exactly 4 years to the day, since we had all been together at their wedding.

Erika's tentative due date is January 4th, but we'll get a more definitive date after she sees the doctor on Friday May 30th. As far as having twins is concerned, she and Scott welcome the very thought of it and would LOVE it if two were on the way.

So that's our happy news. I'm so thankful to God for blessing this family with babies and grandchildren. I pray that they will all grow to be as loving and special as their parents.

Check back for more updates.

God bless,
Janice

Another Persson Family Update

Oh my gosh, I just can't believe how I've been slacking on my blog entries these past couple of months. I have to admit, now that the nice weather is here, I would much rather be outside in the yard than sitting here blogging. And when I'm not outside, it seems I've always got something to do around the house or Cora won't permit me to sit and type.

Erika Graduated

Anyway, here's a bit of an update. I am so happy and proud to tell you that Erika graduated from Gordon college on May 17th. The day started out cloudy and overcast but the sun broke through and it was a beautiful day and the ceremony went by pretty quickly. The guest speaker was Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life. If you haven't read it, or heard about it, check it out, it's life changing.

After the graduation, we had a nice party for Erika with lots of food, family and friends. It was especially nice to have Scott's family up from Mississippi. The two families don't get to see each other too often and having them here made it all the more special for Erika, that they could make the trip up for her graduation.

Krista's Growing

In other family news, Krista is growing with each passing day. We're so excited to welcome this new baby into the family. Since this baby's birth will be a planned C-section, Krista's OR date has been scheduled for August 8th. On paper that will be 08-08-08, how cool is that? Unless of course, the baby decides to make his or her entrance sometime before that. It'll be nice to have a baby around for the remaining part of the summer.

Cora and Trevor

Cora and Trevor are growing in leaps and bounds. It's amazing what happens to a baby in his or her second year of life. They've actually become "little people" that can relate what they want...and get it almost anytime they want it, lol. Both babies are really starting to talk now but Cora has that three month jump on Trevor and although you wouldn't think that three months is that much when it comes to babies, it really does make a difference at this particular age. In all fairness though, and I'm not just saying this because I'm his grandmother, I think that Trevor says more words than your typical 17 month old. And he's already putting two words together like, "thank you" and if you ask him to say some two word sentences, he always makes an attempt to say it. Still, his "Trevor language" is like nothing I've ever heard or seen before. Now that I'm thinking of it, I've got to get that on video before he outgrows it. He's absolutely hysterical the way he babbles with actual syllables and inflections and hand gestures. It's so funny. Cora is at the stage now where she can remember things from days before or will tell you something she saw on TV or outside. If Calliou, (her favorite cartoon character) hurt his knee, she'll tell you with a sad face. Or if our cat or parakeet, bit her, days later, she'll bite her finger and show me her scratch and tell me that Boo or tweet tweet, did it. With Cora and Trevor, each day holds something new to learn and it's so rewarding to see it happen before our very eyes.

Mark's Blood work

Hey everyone, I'm happy to tell you that Mark went for his follow up PSA blood work and his levels are back to normal, indicating that the radiation seed implant procedure, done in February, was a success. We thank our Heavenly Father for prayers answered and continue to pray that Mark will remain cancer free forever.

Ashley's moving

No, not out of the house, LOL. Ashley will be moving to a new branch of the bank she works for, starting in June. She's very happy to be making a change and to be getting her own office...with a door and not just an opening, LOL.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm planning on adding more pictures one of these days, but right now, as I sit and type this, it's sunny and warm outside and Cora is taking her nap so I'm going to take advantage of this time to sit outside and spend a little time with my Creator.

If you've just read this, don't be shy, stop by the guestbook to say hello.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Congratulations to Erika

for receiving the 'Association of Youth Ministry Educators Scholastic Achievement Award' during the honors convocation at Gordon College on Friday May 2nd. This is a highly coveted award among YM majors, awarded to two students who maintain a high academic standard and will potentially offer a strong contribution in Youth Ministry upon graduation.

There's a saying that says, "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree" In this case, I have to say, the apple has fallen very far from the tree. My daughter Erika is so much more driven, determined and motivated than her mother is, that it brings tears to my eyes. As a young mother, I used to look into my babies faces and pray that one day they would do so much more than me. Be so much better than I am. I have to say, that with each of my daughters my prayers are answered everyday.

In the past years, I have seen Erika lend out her car when someone needed it. At a moments notice, pick up a student who needed a ride. Volunteer to decorate a hall, go on mission trips or attend some one's play, or concert when she knew it was important to them that someone be there, when no one else would go. She gave up every Friday night to be with the high school youth group at our church. She babysat other peoples children while putting off her own family to pursue her education in Youth Ministries. She didn't do these things to earn academic credits or for extra points. She did it because that is the core of who Erika is. She is giving and loving and caring. She does it because there is a call on her life to serve God in a way that not a lot of people can do, and that is, to minister to our youth, your youth, the world's youth. There have been endless nights of little or no sleep, countless hours, many of which were in the middle of the night at the Gordon library writing papers and studying for tests.

As I said before, this apple has fallen far from the tree. I would never had been able to endure the long hours and studying she has gone through in these past 3 years. Not to mention, maintaining a marriage all at the same time. I would have made every excuse why it wasn't right for me or why I should quit. But not Erika. With the support of her husband, Scott, and the ever present love and strength from our Almighty God, she trusts where He is taking her, and presses forward to her goal.

Erika, we couldn't be happier, more please or proud of you than we are today. Congratulations on this well deserved award.

Love, Mom and Dad

Friday, May 2, 2008

Our Vacation

Hey Everyone!

So sorry for the long delay in getting this posted. I've either been busy or lazy or the day just goes by so fast and I'm too tired by evening to write anything.

It's amazing how much you look forward to something and in the blink of an eye it's done and over with. Well, now that I'm home, I'm happy to be here and I suppose that's because the weather is sunny and warm and finally Spring is in full swing.

So, about our vacation...

We, Mark, Ashley, Cora and I, left for Virginia Beach late Saturday morning. We rented a mini van which was a great idea because it made for a much more comfortable ride with lots more storage space than if we took one of our cars. Our first destination on this vacation was the Amish country in Pennsylvania. We've been there several times before and it's one of our favorite places to go to. We made a couple of stops along the way for diaper changes, food and to let Cora get out and run around a bit. This was her first vacation and long ride (besides going to Maine) and she did absolutely great. When we weren't entertaining her, she was entertaining us with her baby talk, laughing and pointing to things out the window. Because of the van, she could see out the windows better than if we were in our car so she loved telling us all the different things she saw. She pointed to every kuck (truck) mooed at cows, saluted the American flag and tweet tweeted every bird she saw flying. She waved to horses and barns and clouds and anything else she thought she should say hello to. As I said, she really kept us entertained.

Our first night was uneventful. We stayed in a motel, ordered pizza and went to sleep. The next day was pretty chilly outside. We took Cora for a horse and buggy ride which was more like a covered hay wagon with bench seats than a buggy. It had a bunch of nice big blankets but even with all the blankets, we were still cold. Cora loved the horses and now she gets a big kick out of it when I pretend I'm a horse and say, "clip clop clip clop" all over the house, LOL. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the pictures from the Amish country so I won't be able to show you how cute she was with her little red cowgirl boots on.

After the wagon ride we headed for Richmond Virginia to visit Mark's cousins, Jerry and Lu, and two of their kids, Richie and his fiance' Angela and Mailon and her boyfriend Rob. It was really really great to see them all and to spend a little time with them. Too little time to be honest with you. We ended up spending the night at Jerry and Lu's and it was great not to have to stay in a motel again. Lu made her "famous" egg rolls and fried rice which are to die for and when it was time to leave the next day, she packed us up with all kinds of snacks and goodies for the trip home. I can't thank Jerry and Lu enough for taking us in for the night and making sure we were well fed for the last leg of our trip.

The rest of our vacation was spent in Virginia Beach at my sister in-law's brother, Rob's house. Actually, he shares it with his wife Michelle and their four children, Alex, Sarah, Abby and Meghan. Finally we had reached our destination and boy were we glad of that. We had spent too many hours in the car and it was time to plant our feet for a few days.

We had a great week at their house with nice weather and good food. Mark got to golf in a charity tournament and Rob planned a spectacular fishing trip in North Carolina off the outer banks of Cape Hatteras, for Mark and a couple of his friends. They caught Yellowfin tuna, Blackfin tuna and Mahi Mahi. In all, over 200 lbs. of fish. that's a lot sushi baby, LOL. Although it was too cold to actually spend a day on the beach, we did go down to the water and spent a day going into the tourist shops. Rob took us to a great Zoo one afternoon and Michelle took Ashley, Cora and I to Williamsburg to go outlet shopping. Now that was fun.

Rob and Michelle just moved into this house in January and are still in the process of getting it to their liking. To say the least, their house is enormous and absolutely gorgeous. I felt as if I were staying at a 5 star resort. Each day we woke up to someone new at the house, whether it was the painters, the electrician, the pool guy or the designer. It didn't matter to us, we were just so grateful they wanted us to be their guests for the week. I would also like to mention Joan, their awesome nanny who is more like a member of the family. I had heard so many nice things about Joan and all of them were true. HI Joan!

There is really so much more to tell, but I'd be here all day if I were to mention all the things we did. Here are a few pictures of our trip. Enjoy!