Photo Shoot Time!

This was the last time my family would be all together before Paul and I leave for Indonesia at the end of the month. My sister was out visiting from Wisconsin and we determined to have a family photo taken during our time together. My cousin Kristi willingly offered up her time and skills to come to a park and take photos. That's no small task when there are 19 of us! We had a great time though, and the kids did pretty good. :)

Have to have silly ones in there. And Nathan, true to his little nature, is off doing his own thing, oblivious to the world around him.

My family.

My sisters, in birth order. Brandee, Terra, myself, and Chelsea.

My parents with their 9 grandchildren!

My oldest sister Brandee and her family. Connor is 7, Logan 5 and Hailey is almost 3.

My sister Terra and her family. Kylee is 6, Kaden and Colson are 4.

Our nuclear family. Nathan was pictured out. He'll be two in August! Can you believe we'll be in Indonesia by then!

My younger sister Chelsea and her family. Tayvan is 2, and Jezzirayah is 1.

Nathan in his element. He truly loves the outdoors!

And he loves picking flowers and bringing them to mama.

My sister Terra captured these two photos.

Gotta love the little kisses.

Thank you Kristi for all the time and effort you put into capturing these precious moments!

Dad with all our guys.

Fun CD cover pose!:)

Just goofing off. Doesn't it remind you of the sound of music?

Cousins!

My sister Terra and her family flew out for a two week visit from Wisconsin. We were thrilled to get to spend time with them. Especially as we knew this was the last time we got to see them before heading to Indonesia. Amazing to think how much everyone will have grown up in the next couple of years! Between my three sisters and I, there are 9 kids. That's a lot of cousins and a lot of busyness! They range in age from 1- 7 years old. It's been fun and a little crazy at times watching all the cousins play together.

Nathan swinging with his aunt Tee and cousins, Kylee (6) and Colson (4).

Nathan has gotten much more comfortable on the trampolene and enjoyed holding hands and jumping with Kylee and Tayvan (2).

My sister Brandee and her husband and three kids came down to camp out in mom and dad's yard for the weekend, so we could all be together.

What fun to play in the tent!

Nathan was taking a nap, but I walked by the family room and saw this precious moment. They had all positioned themselves this way for the movie they were watching.

While us girls stayed at home with all the kids. The guys went on a weekend back packing trip for Father's Day.

They were excited for this day to finally arrive, as they'd been planning this two nighter for months. However, it got cut short, as they got rained on that first night and were soaking wet that second day. But we were happy to see them come home late on Father's Day.

While the guys were hiking, we spent some time at our place at camp Harlow. It's a real favorite among the kids.

Here we are enjoying a picnic inside, as it was drizzling outside.

Ah, but the sun came out and we got to go outside after all! With a miniature golf course and a fun play ground, it's no wonder why our place is a favorite among the kids.

Aunt Tee pushing Nay Nay as he calls himself.

Colson and Kaden (4) on the fun red swing.

Uncle Travis had the idea to take the kids on a ride around the block in the trailor. What a blast for them! A memory they won't quickly forget.

At one point, we went on a walk by the river. Nathan is one of the youngest cousins. I would think he might follow his older ones. But I continue to be surprised at how independent he seems to be. He's not a follower. He likes to lead out, or do his own thing. So while many of the cousins walked side by side. Nathan was often found doing this. :)

He was taking time to smell the roses!

Nathan and Tayvan are closest in age. Tayvan is just 3 months older than Nathan. They've learned to play together the most. Here they were playing with rocks on the path.

Many of the cousins side by side watching the Willamette river.

I wanted to show a video of Nathan's trampolene adventures. Here you see him warming up with his dad. Now he's gotten so comfortable he'll jump by himself on the trampolene with out us needing to hold his hand the whole time.

Get to Know the Gundersons: Video #2

Here is the second video that was put together to let our church body have an opportunity to get to know us better. Thanks Ryan and Jon for your awesome work.

Untitled from Paul Gunderson on Vimeo.

Memorial Day Weekend

We got to spend a special memorial day weekend with my sister Brandee and her family. We had planned to go to our family beach cabin, but a couple days before we were to head out, we found the cabin pipes weren't working. So we headed to Sunriver instead and stayed at one of our friends - the Bennington's vacation rentals. It was such a treat, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with family.

My sister Brandee and I.

Travis and Paul.

Going on a bike ride by the river.

Hailey and Nathan. Hailey is one year older than Nathan. Bike riding was one of our favorite things to do. The only negative was that Nathan kicked off his little shoes on our last bike ride and no matter where we back tracked to try to find them, they were nowhere to be found. Travis and Paul, who were riding close to each other recalled that they heard Nathan laughing randomly at one point on the ride. Well he must have been having a fun time throwing his shoes out of that cart- the little stinker!:)

Everybody's most favorite, was the river float we did. It took about 3 hours and we had a great time. Nathan did a lot better than we thought he would.

Brandee and her boys, Logan (at the tip) and Connor in the middle.

Nathan enjoying the ride.

And helping Daddy.

Waiting for the shuttle after we got out of the river. Don't you love Logan's tough guy face. It doesn't even look like him!:)

Nathan and Logan. It's hard to get Nathan smiling at the camera these days.

Playing games inside.

Connor and Hailey.

The guys really got into their electronic battleship game. I think Paul and Travis were having the most fun with it.

The girls enjoying a nice book.

And how fun to get to enjoy a nice swim in the pool! I don't think the Ratzlaff's kids smiles could get any bigger! I think this photo best captures how we felt about our Memorial Day weekend trip! Thanks guys for such a fun time!

Get to Know the Gundersons Video #1

There have been many new people that have started attending our sending church over the past five years. Many of these people we do not currently know because we have been at school in Michigan and Missouri for much of that time. It has been fun to get to know some of these people since coming back here to Eugene this past January. But needless to say, only some of those who currently attend our church saw Sheila grow up in this church. And people are still getting to know me also.

Even though our church supports a few other missionaries, we are the first missionaries they have sent out. So this has been a learning curve for not only us but also our church. A couple months ago our church leadership expressed that they wanted to send us out well. At the time we were not quite sure what that would look like. But over time it has evolved and Sheila and I feel very encouraged about the things they are attempting in order to send us well.

They asked a very talented videographer in our church to put together some videos that we could show in the main service in order to let people get to know us a little better and to help people understand that sending us out is a church sanctioned event. So this is video #1. In a couple days I will post the second video that has been done and I will post any other videos as I get my hands on them. Hope you enjoy.




Video shot and produced by Ryan Welch: http://www.aocreative.com/
If you can't view the video, click here: http://www.vimeo.com/4184151

Random Happenings

Nathan playing at the park here on the camp we live on. He's gotten quite good at coming down the slides all by himself.

Paul getting a motorcycle lesson from Matt ( a friend from church). Seeing as how riding a motorcycle will be our main way of transportation in Indonesia, Paul wanted to get more comfortable riding one.

Nathan manipulating his Aunt Bee into sharing a piece of her cake with him. Don't you just love his tongue?:)

My good friend Rachel came out from Idaho with her dog Jericho, and we got to hang out for a couple of days.

We climbed to the top of Spencer's butte here in Eugene.

And of course, we had to try our Indonesian avocado shakes out on her. It was a success this time.:)

I realize I haven't been very good about posting videos lately. The truth is, I haven't been taking many either. I plan to make some changes, and capture more little clips to share with you friends and family who are interested. It's not like Nathan is doing anything spectacular, but he sure is cute and hopefully you'll feel like you get to know him more through some live clips.

This clip is taken at Paul's parents house in North Dakota two weeks ago. He got really into sitting at this little chair and throwing the ball into the tub behind him.

Nathan calls himself Nay Nay. And I think it's cute that every time we take a picture of him, he says, "Nay Nay?" because he wants us to turn the camera around and show him the photo we just took. How cute.

Goodbyes to Family in the Midwest

On April 29th, we flew out to Minnesota and rented a car. We stayed two weeks and got to visit many family and friends. It was a bittersweet trip. Sweet because we enjoy our times with everyone, and bitter because we don't know when we'll be seeing any of them again. This was our goodbye trip to Paul's side of the family, as we won't be seeing them again before we head overseas in July.

Nathan logged a lot of hours in the car driving from Minnesota, to Wisconsin and then back through to North Dakota visiting many different relatives. Unfortunately, he rarely naps in the car. That can make for some long hours on the road. I have to say that the Lord really answered our prayers regarding our flights though! On the way to Minnesota we sat next to a wonderful Christian family and the young girl sitting next to us was even holding Nathan and reading him a book at one point! We couldn't have asked for a better seating arrangement.

We stayed with Paul's brother Brian and family in Minnesota. What a wonderful time we had together. Doesn't Nathan look like he belongs in their family?:)

Nathan enjoyed riding with Uncle Brian and cousins Bria and Evan on the four wheeler. Apparently he really liked going down hill.

His aunt Karin loved to spoil Nathan, and he ate it right up!

Nathan wanted to play on the family wii as well! I think it was a baseball type game they were playing.

Cousins! Bria (almost 9), Nathan (21 months), Evan (almost 7)

We treasured every day we got to spend with their family! We sure will miss them!

In Wisconsin, we visited some of Paul's family and my sister Terra and her family. The kids had a blast playing outside as it was one of their first "spring like" days.

Nathan playing with his aunt Tee and cousin Kylee. Boy does that kid love sticks!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the books on minding your manners, even though they all kind of look like they are frowning there.:)

Then we were off to visit Paul's parents in North Dakota. We spent almost a week with them. Here we're enjoying a nice stroll in the park. It was actually sunny the first day we arrived.

Grandpa Russ had set up this table and chair set for Nathan, and he loved to color and read on it. It just fit him perfectly.

These were Grandpa's trucks when he was a little boy.

Snuggled up next to Grandpa to read one of his favorite books.

Hugging Grandma on mother's day.

We got to visit Paul's great uncle Orlin and his wife Charlotte Gunderson. They are in their mid nineties and still doing so well!

Eventually we had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. Not an easy thing to do! We don't know how old Nathan will be at our next get together. Please be praying not only for us as we say goodbyes, but for our families as well. Could you imagine having to say goodbye to your son, daughter, grandson, or nephew for years at a time. I know it's not easy for them, even though they've remained supportive of us all the same. We love you guys!

Fun with Friends

Our good friends, Holly and Robert Bennington are expecting triplets. Holly was hospitalized three weeks ago because she was contracting and starting to dilate. She's on strict bedrest to prevent her from going into premature labor. She is 25 weeks now and the babies are still growing healthily. They know it's a long road ahead of bedrest. We were glad for the opportunity to head out to eastern Oregon and see them. We realized that you can still manage to have a lot of fun talking, laughing and eating around a bed for 10 hours! :) You are such a trooper Holly! (My hands are on the two girls, and Holly's is on the little boy)

Paul and Robert.

You gotta get creative when you are hanging out in a hospital room all day. We thought we'd surprise them all with a special Indonesian avocado milk shake. Paul learned to make these recently and we have grown to really enjoy them. Holly likes avocado, so we thought we'd give it a shot. Well, let's just say, even after adding chocolate sauce, she couldn't get more than a swallow down. Oops!:) We guessed wrong on that one. Robert seemed to like it ok. Then again, maybe he was just humoring us:)

After our trip to Bend, we also headed up to Washington to visit our good friends the Blacks. Just like the Benningtons, they moved away from Eugene when we were in Missouri finishing up missions training. So we were glad for the chance to get to visit them. Nathan loved running around outside and feeding the horses that live next door.

The last night we were together, we realized we hadn't taken any photos. So we decided to try to capture a few of the four of us. A fun self portrait turned into a goofy photo shoot. . .

Silly Faces

Excited faces.

Distorted faces.

Freaky faces! You gotta love mac computers and their silly photo booth program.

More fun. And now we were getting tired and everything seemed funny.

Last shot. Photo shoot done. We decided we should probably go to bed.

Vacation with Nana and Papa

On the heels of returning home from the medical course I took in North Carolina, Paul, Nathan and I got to go on a vacation with my parents, "Nana and Papa". We had planned this time long ago, knowing our time in Eugene is always packed full and doesn't guarantee quality time with my parents. It was such a treat to go down to sunny california and spend time together as a family.

Nana reading to Nathan.

We did a lot of hanging out and playing in parks. Nathan has a thing for dandelions. He even tried to eat one. :)

He sure loves to swing! We could have pushed him for hours.

I love his little squinty eyes.

We'd always wanted to go to Yosemite National Park, and we were just 2 hours away, so we made the drive down, and enjoyed a beautiful day hiking around and looking at waterfalls.

Nathan with his Papa.

Throwing rocks into the river.

There was a pretty steep hike up to this waterfall. Nathan seemed to enjoy the ride.

Playing tennis with Papa and Nana.

Nathan couldn't get enough of every one's icecream, but Papa's flavor won out. He had the favored mint chocolate chip and no matter who offered Nathan a bite, he always went looking for Papas.:) You gotta love his orange shades. He likes to wear those everywhere.

Thanks Nana and Papa for a wonderful vacation time!

Pray for Our Friends

Paul and I are on a week vacation with my parents in Northern California. We've been having a wonderful time and are treasuring each moment we get to spend with family. Our last months here in the States, seem to be flying by!

Since being here, we've had family and friends going through significant or difficult times.

1. My nephew Connor, who was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 3, is now 7 and just this week had his last chemo appointment. That's right, he's finishing up three and a half years of chemotherapy, and although he has been through such difficult valleys, he is doing so well. He is on the left in the photo. You can read more about Connor and this journey at his web site, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/connorratzlaff

2. My good friend Holly Bennington, who is pregnant with triplets at 22 weeks, just got hospitalized because of preterm labor and will be on strict bed rest in the hospital for the remainder of her pregnancy. We are praising God that her contractions stopped, but we know it will be a long journey of bed rest ahead. You can read more about their situation here, http://benningtonsinbend.blogspot.com/

3. I went to Bible school (2001-03) with a girl named Joanna. She got married to Curtis Bergman, another guy in our class. They now have three kids and were on their way to Mozambique to do tribal church planting when Joanna started having some health problems last fall. Turns out that she has an orange size tumor in her brain. She had surgery last fall, and when they took it out they found it's the most aggressive form of cancer, and will not respond to chemo. Just this last week, they did another surgery to remove it again, because it has already grown back to it's original size and was causing her to have seizures, etc. Their website is http://curtisandjoanna.blogspot.com/

This morning I was reading in 1 Thessalonians about how it's the Lord's will for us in Christ Jesus to "give thanks in all circumstances." That seems so much easier to do when the going is smooth and life is as we expect it to be. It's much more difficult when the road is marked with suffering, and loss. Please join with us in praying for our friends during these trials they face.