Miracles

My brother Bjorn was run over by a DHL truck last night.  As he was riding his bike home from school, the truck looked as if it was turning left and swung back for a wide turn right.  Bjorn hit the truck broadside and ended up underneath.  The back tire went over his stomach area and the muffler burned his legs.  There were tire marks on his body.  As he remembers it he tried to lift the truck away from his body so his wrists are really sore.  The other tire smooshed his bike.  He ended up in the hospital and had a number of tests run to see what internal damage was done.  After 4-5 hours they could find nothing wrong.  Nothing punctured, nothing broken, no internal bleeding.  The doctors were amazed.  He easily could have died and if nothing else they said his pelvis should have been crushed.  One of the doctors asked if he believed in God.  Bjorn said yes and the doctor told him that today his life had been spared.  How great is our God!

How Great is Our God

Mark and Lana were married last Saturday at Cornerstone Church in Ames.  What a blessing to be able to witness this marraige in which the ceremony was abudantly full of thankfullness for Gods faithfullness in their lives.  The most amazing part was when the congregation was singing How Great is Our God by

Chris Tomlin as the bridal party and bride walked down the aisle.  It was perfect. 

Way to bubble Michelle!

Cale thought he had the raw end of the deal by being the only guy at the table.
He tagged our girl talk as "ridiculous"!

The beautiful bride and the beautiful bride to be!
FYI I'm not referring to myself... ;)

This was taken in the midst of our time on the dance floor. 
For all those wondering, we still got it!

Wingra Kayaking

Last week a few girls invited me to go kayaking with them on Wingra Lake.  You can rent kayaks right on the lake for only $12/ hour!  We had such a great time and it didn't hurt that the weather was gorgeous. 

Marshalltown Weekend

I'm heading back to Marshalltown for the first time since I've moved!  In addition to the excitement of celebrating Lana Flickingers wedding on Saturday I look forward to seeing dear friends,  hanging out with some high schoolers, eating at the taco bus, maybe seeing a few brand new babies, brunch at the Haven, visiting my grandparents and seeing Winston!  Hello Mtown, I've missed you!

Celebrate Good Times! Oh Yeah!

My mom and dad celebrated their anniversary this week!  Happy Anniversary! 

And they've still got it! (with a little less hair!)

Busted

Gotcha! Camera catches thief in background as NJ family poses for photo at Wis. state capitol

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The camera of a vacationing New Jersey family who posed for a picture in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol captured more than smiles. It also caught a thief in the act.
John Myers, of Bloomfield, N.J., set the self-timer on his camera and hustled into the frame with his wife and two children Saturday. While their backs were turned, someone grabbed their bag, which held Myers' wallet and other items.
After Myers discovered the bag missing, he checked his camera. Sure enough, the image showed a man picking up the bag.
Myers told the Wisconsin State Journal that he showed the photo to officers, who recognized the man.
When officers found him, he was still carrying the bag.
The suspect pleaded not guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor theft.
Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

Unexpected

This past week our church had an event to help people get connected to Life Groups.  Life Groups are just an opportunity to make a big church smaller by placing a group of people in your life with the intention of encouraging each other and living life together.  I was excited to be placed in a group and before I walked in I just prayed that God would do the placing and there would be a purpose to which group I ended up in.  It turned out that there were too many people wanting to be placed in groups and not enough established group space. I was disappointed with the lack of foresight that this might be a problem.  The whole procedure of picking groups could be greatly improved in my opinion.  Or maybe I'm still recovering from being the last one picked for a game of kickball in 2nd grade so situations like this irk me ;)  Anyway, I didn't want to push my way through the madhouse in the front so I just decided that I wouldn't sign up for a group at this point.  After a turn of events I was pressured, forced, asked to lead a group of people that made up a new group.  I'll be honest, I didn't want to lead.  I wanted to be led.  I felt a little manipulated by the time I got home and after feeling sorry for myself, I prayed.  And after a bit of time realized that this wasn't what I had planned, but it is what he had planned.  I am humbled in the fact that I ask for guidance, but honestly only if it's just what I want.  yikes!  So, while I'm wrestling through the ins and outs of this realization, I have a potluck to plan for my Life Group ;) And I have a renewed sense of excitement for what's to come!

Where would you want to live?

Newsweek posted an article about the top places in the world to live according to many different standards such as size, wealth, quality of life, healthcare etc.  Was I surprised that the US didn't make the list in any category?  Not really.  As Americans we live in a society of too much.  We work too much, we eat too much, we want too much, we stress too much etc.  I'm thinking Finland, Norway, Germany and Australia are looking pretty good...

http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/08/15/best-countries-in-the-world.html

Farmer's Market

Fresh produce, delicious baked goods, spices and beautiful flowers line the square around the Capitol every Saturday morning, and I have to say, this too is one of my Madison loves. I get so excited and wrapped up in everything that bartering would be pointless. Come visit me, and I'll show you how to spend lots of cash on locally grown, high quality, just baked, melt in your mouth wonders.  Things that make you go mmmm....

Another use for Duct Tape

Things that make you go hmm...

In some ways I feel as though recently I've found a piece of me thats been missing for some time.  Drive, motivation, competitiveness...  I've started hitting the pavement, and it's been refreshing!  So, in order to give myself a challenge I decided to sign up for a few races in the next couple months.  Which means that I need to hit the pavement harder, longer and quicker.  Getting back into shape takes patience and it hurts.  Oh how it hurts!  But there is one thing that's dampening my style...you see, people have always been in awe of my unique dance moves. Yes, they're literally jaw dropping.  So my question is, with my (hopefully) diminishing "assets" will my booty bounce groove ever be the same?

Mad Love

I really love Madison, yes I do!  And whether people have lived here for years and years or are newbies like me, it seems that most have the same sentiments!  One of the events I discovered right away was the Concerts on the Square.  The Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra plays a concert every Wednesday night for 6 weeks while the community sets up their blankets with picnics in tow and enjoys a free evening of beautiful music and weather.  Every week is themed with everything from Russian Ballet to Beatles Night to Frank Sinatra.  On Beatles night I was treated to VIP with some of my coworkers by a local hotel so not only did we get a fun performance, but we were right up front with white linens and a four course meal.  It always helps to know the right people!

On the same token, Opera in the Park, another free event that takes place once every summer became a favorite of mine as well.  Same idea, outdoor picnics and beautiful music.  Both of these events cater to young and old, and I cannot say enough about them!  What a fantastic way to introduce different cultural arts to the community in such a  fun way.  The second set of the opera came from memorable musicals so by the end of the night, glow sticks were out and young and old were merrily singing (and dancing!) along.

My Choice

I've written a lot about things I've done but not as much about what's going on with me.  Like the nitty gritty emotions, thoughts and feelings.  You know- the ooey gooey stuff.    For some reason it's been harder for me to shape words around my inner thoughts.  Discussions while camping and recent sermons have really hit on the importance of exposing ourselves.  Relationships aren't fed by only surface level conversations.  This is where my inner turmoil comes in.  Surface level is so easy.  Especially when I'm not 100% comfortable with people. It's the place that I can have a level of control over what people think about me.  I'm terrific at conforming to gain acceptance, and I'm really good at hiding the garbage.  This is not the me I want to be. 

Why is it not ok to let others know when I'm hurting? lonely? struggling? afraid?  Maybe it's pride. Maybe it's fear or control.  Most likely it's a combination.  Nonetheless I have an opportunity to change.  To allow vulnerability and be exposed.  I find it strange that a strength of mine is welcoming and encouraging others to open up with me.  There's no judgement or condemnation.  In fact, I feel honored that they trust me.  So why is it so hard for me to do the same?

It's funny that being in a new place without knowing anyone makes you self reflect more than normal.  Constantly putting myself out there and wondering if people are getting my sense of humor (ok, lets be honest, my sense of humor can be a stretch!) or wondering if they think I'm strange.  I long to live in the past, carry over my reputation from years of letting people know the real me. 

And here I am building a reputation again. exposing. vulnerable and yet excited.  Excited to see what the future has to bring.  Excited to be challenged and forced to lean more on God than myself.  Excited to meet new people that will encourage me and hold me accountable.  Excited to live.

For today, this is all I've got.

Gone Campin'

What a great weekend!  The church that I've been attending, Blackhawk, has a group called Access made up of young adults throughout the area.  This past weekend they organized a camping trip to Devils Lake.  It's been way too long since I've been camping and Devil's Lake is such a gem and it's only 35 minutes away!  About 40 of us spent the day hiking, competing in ultimate frisbee, beach volleyball, kickball, swimming in the clean lake, "sneaking" out to the beach to look at the stars, worshiping by the camp fire and making lots of new friends.  I feel really blessed.

Man of the Year

The funny thing is that they're all related to me....

Bjorn

Dad

Luke

The poor Bagnall women.  And they wonder why I'm not married yet... ;)

Payback is coming...

After moving from a house to a one bedroom apartment it appeared that I didn't need quite so much to fill the space.  I've been working diligently going through every box, book and article of clothing to get rid of things I just don't need.  While doing that I came across an old diary that I wrote in when I was really young.  If you ever want to know who I thought was cute or who liked who,  no worries, every detail was documented!   How fun would it be to read through all that again?  After opening to the front page, I noticed that I wasn't the only one who was interested in reading my locked diary...

Paybacks hurt Bjorn.  Real bad. Even worse 15 years later...

Fishing...

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.
Along comes a game warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replies. (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.
"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

Capitol Tour

I was strolling the famous farmers market last Saturday morning when I decided to venture into the Capitol and check out a tour.  Totally a mad deal being that it's FREE and on the hour all week long.  Lots of history and beauty all wrapped up into a fab 45 minutes.

• Reaching over 200 feet, it's the only granite dome in the United States. 
• It's the only state capitol built on an isthmus.
• The Badger state was named after early miners in the area.
• 43 different kinds of stone from around the world line the inside of the capitol with hand carved furniture and glass mosaics.

Johnny the Baptist

Johnny's Mother looked out the window and noticed him 'playing church' with their cat. He had the cat sitting quietly and he was preaching to it.

She smiled and went about her work.

A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the cat in a tub of water.

She called out, 'Johnny, stop that! The cat is afraid of water!'

Johnny looked up at her and said, "He should have thought about that before he joined my church."

Whoop there it is!

My sister just started her season ranked second overall for a combination of fitness and technical testing for the Gophers.  That'a girl!

What a weekend!

My weekend began in New Glarus for breakfast with friends from Marshalltown and then on to lunch in the Chicago area with this little lady and her wonderful mom and dad!  Seriously, how could it not be fun?!

What? UHC in the lead?! Nothing new.

Tour of Elk Grove

Jenny and I were the superstar supporters (and expert tweeters I might add!) for United Healthcare along with the Brucester and Heather!  Go Brad!

UHC Menzies in yellow!

The first wives club

Go Brad!

Priceless!