sundays... then and now

I've had a sorta love/hate relationship with Sundays most of my adult life. I know, that sounds kinda strange. But let me explain...

When I was growing up, Sundays were the best.
First off... let me just say... farmers may be the only profession that can actually say they work 24/7. There you go, I said it. Now you know.
But on Sundays... well, Sundays were different than the other days of the week.
Sundays were a family day... at least between the two milkings.

After my Dad milked the cows.. we would all go to church at our little Lutheran church. We would all sit together... taking up most of one pew. As a side note... we really were given pins and a bar for every year of perfect attentance in Sunday School. And yes, my pin had several bars hanging from it. You never wanted to miss Sunday School... ever!

After church we'd go home and eat fried chicken... every Sunday. I smile as I recall my Mom saying that she would take the wings while the rest of us got the better parts. And I would think, "I could never sacrifice for my kids like she does and settle for the wings!" Heck, my Mom was no fool... she knew she was getting darn good meat! So now I do that! I love the wings!

Then after dinner (in the midwest the noon meal is dinner) we'd pile in the car and go for an afternoon drive and invaribly end up visiting family.

My Dad came from a family of nine kids. My Mom from a family of six kids. And they all lived close. So I grew up with lots and lots of cousins. We'd often times go to my Grandparents home and spend the afternoon with aunts and uncles and cousins. I loved hearing my aunts and uncles telling stories... recalling events of the past... discussing the weather, the crops, the latest news. They were a fun-loving, laughing bunch.
And come on... is there anything better than hearing your Mom & Dad laughing and joking... totally relaxed... enjoying the day! I felt I really got to know my parents hearing them interact with family and friends.

Fast forward... Randy and I married... in full-ministry.
Needless to say, Sundays are not quite the same. Sundays are, well, a work day.
Randy is either on the road singing at a church somewhere or leading worship at our church. So he leaves the house super early... we rarely ever ride to church together... much less sit together. He usually needs a nap before he heads out again for an evening concert somewhere... or he'll leave right from church to sing at another church out of town.

Don't get me wrong... I love our life... I love that Randy is doing what he was created to do.
But... it was just not what I wanted our Sundays to be like... what I knew and remembered my Sundays to be like.

So I struggled... especially thoses years when our kids were young... wanting to recapture the memories of my youth... wanting the same for my kids that I had with my family.

But guess what? They're fine... they love Sundays... hanging out with their church friends... building memories.
And guess what? I'm fine... I scrapbook with a group of friends once a month... so it has become like my scrap day.
Randy and I love hanging with our family & friends when we can... and love to be outdoors as it gets cooler. Life is truly good.

Just had a thought... I need to do a scrapbook layout called 'Sundays... then and now'.

things I want to do

things I want to do before it's too late...

create mosaic stuff
exercise more
see the canadian rockies
learn photography
use photo shop
downsize my clutter
read the word more
watch shindler's list
hike the canyon again
experience the north rim
weigh my driver's license wt
floss every day
worry less
scrapbook faster
be in the moment
see myself as Christ sees me
have no regrets
give grace
listen more
talk less

Schwan's came!

Yesterday was quite eventful... the Schwan's "man" came!!
But it was more than that... you see, I have a new Schwan's"man"... she's Sam, my new Schwan's "girl"!!
And I really like her! She's so nice... she loves Koda & Wiley... she's from Minnesota... a farm girl... and cute as a bug! What's not to like! She's now part of the family!

So, what in the heck is Schwan's, you ask!?
Well, those big vanilla-colored trucks that you see around town... well they come to your home at no cost, selling quality frozen foods, at normal prices. They are known for their ice cream products... Blackjack Cherry ice cream! Yummo! Oh and Nicole, I ordered the garlic red skin mashed potatoes! Miranda said they were great!
Oh, and you get a free half gal ice cream on your first order!
Come on... call them up!

Randy and I

Randy and I were gone over the weekend teaching at a Marriage Retreat.
Our 27th Wedding Anniversary is Friday.
So, I thought I would take a post and tell you about my husband, Randy.

He's probably the kindest man I know... he's thoughtful, sensitive and wise... an incredible father to our three kids. Oh and the smartest man I know... I swear he has retained everything he has ever heard... I am serious!

When I came out here to Phx... I was two months away from heading back to WI. I had only wanted to come out here for a year, grow in my faith, and go back home. But then I met Randy at a Hand in Hand concert that we were singing at. I heard his voice, singing these amazing songs... and they made me cry. (believe it or not, back then I rarely ever cried)
We went to a movie on our first date and I quickly became aware of his deep love and commitment to the Lord. And then one night he made me laugh and that is when I knew... he's the one. I still went back to WI that summer... we wrote letters and talked on the phone... and then I returned to Phx. Aug. 28, 1978 and we were married a year later on Aug. 25, 1979.

I love that he loves Christmas and Disneyland like no other.
I love that he still puts gas in my van.
I love that he decorates like crazy for Halloween.
I love that he puts extra memory on my Mac to surprise me.
I love that he fixes all the cars to save money.
I love that he lets me be me... just the way I am.
I love that he is honest, patient and trustworthy.
I love that he is... just the way he is.

you made a difference

Recently I proposed this question to a group of women- "tell me about a person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to." Here's my story:

When I was 8 years old, I sent a paragraph about myself to this Farm Journal/ Dairy magazine... they had a page devoted to kids writing in for pen pals. I don't know what I wrote... but it must have been very impressive... cuz I got tons and tons of mail from kids all over the tri-state area. I ended up choosing Debbie from Minnesota. We wrote for over 10 years and I finally met her for the first time on her wedding day and then our correspondence ended. And no, she is not the person I would want to talk to.
In the midst of the tons of mail that I recieved, I got a letter from a lady asking if she could send me a subscription to the magazine, Young Ambassadors. Wow... I was thrilled... my very own magazine!
But little did I know the effect the magazine would have on me spiritually. I became very aware of God, and wanting to be a good person for Him. I read these stories that made me want to believe in miracles... to believe that God was good and not mean and scarey and far away. When the year ended I wrote to thank her for the magazine... and she ended up renewing the magazine for many years after that.
Wow... what could I possibly say to her? Well...
"Thank you... thank you for investing in ME. Thank you for making a little girl believe she was special... that she was destine for great things. Did you have any idea that your act of kindness would make a difference... that many years later I would trust Jesus with my life... that I would let Him use ME in the life of another... just as you did? Thank you for planting that seed of hope."

Who from your past has made a difference in your life? Tell them... or tell me (or someone) if they have passed on.

my love of storytelling

I had quite the imagination growing up... heck, I still do. Ok, so I talk for my dogs! And I often times forget it's me talking for them. Is that wrong?

Anyway, I pretended and played with dolls long after my friends stopped. So when I was 12 years old, I went from playing with dolls to playing with my very own baby brother Kevin. And he was so much more fun than a doll! Kevin's 2 brothers and 3 sisters were born within 7 1/2 years and then 10 1/2 years later Kevin was born. Needless to say, Kevin brought so much joy to our family! He became the focus of my need to love and be loved. Let me tell you, he was one loved little guy! I would spend hours talking to him... telling him stories... singing to him... holding him... just loving him to pieces!

When I graduated from high school... he was just starting school. So needless to say, he became the glue in our family, drawing us back home, wanting to be there for all his activities. He kept my parents young and active... he made us all proud. Kevin was 10 years old on my wedding day in 1979. The only tears I shed that day was when Kevin was lighting the candles.

Well, I guess my storytelling got around... so that when I was a senior in high school I was encouraged to join Forensics because they had just introduced a new catagory.... storytelling. I didn't know a thing about Forensics... but I went to the meeting... and was told to find a story to memorize for the first level of competition (district). So I edited and memorized an 8 minute story... and won in that catagory... and then was told I had to find another story for the next level (Regional)! So I edited and memorized the next story... and won in that catagory! I was going to State in Madison, WI!! Well, I found another great story... not as good or funny as the other two. I didn't get first place... but I had an awesome time... roomed with my friend Naomi, who also represented our little school, Whitehall High School, competing in another catagory. What a wild ride to cap off my senior year!

I don't remember what story went with what level of competition ~

"The Waltz" by Dorothy Parker
"I Can't Breath" by Ring Lardner
"Memoirs of a Yellow Dog" by O' Henry

this and that

I thought I'd share some tidbits of this and that so that you have a sense of where I am coming from.

Ten years in 4-H intoduced me to sewing, cooking, leathercraft, canning, knitting and travel.
I played the bassoon in high school... our woodwind quintet went to state.
Went to a one-room school in first grade, grades 1st- 6th, 5 girls and 15 boys... the year President Kennady was killed.
It was a big deal when the Schwann's man came to the farm once a month.
I was a cheerleader for football and basketball.
It is still a big deal when the Schwann's man comes to our house every two weeks now.
I saved the wad of gum I was chewing when I got Harmon Killabrews autograph at a Twins game.
I save and collect... well... everything.
My name is Linda Thompson and I am an ice cream addict.
I graduated with 78 in 1975... Randy graduated with 1200 in 1972.
My parents met at a roller skating rink (married 56 years)... Randy's parents met at a roller skating rink (married 64 years).
Went to Cosmetology school after high school... worked in a shop one year.
I came out here to Phx. 29 years ago with a friend... met Randy and well, I'm still here and still missing the four seasons.
Linda and I grew up together (both named Linda Larson) and wrote and sang Christian music when we came out here.
I don't know how to swim.
I'm a stay-at-home Mom to our puppies Koda (1) and Wiley (5).... and our son Tyler (17).

BLOGLESS no more!

So here it is... I have a blog!

After all my whining and complaining, my family decided to help usher me into the 21st century by helping me create a blog.

OK, so now that I have one I am feeling kinda bashful about the whole thing... I mean, what have I done... what's it going to be about... what am I going to say... how do I keep you coming back for more? More of what? Of ME? Yikes!

I guess I will just let this blog evolve... along with me and my life... and I will tell stories that give you a snapshot of my journey... stories that help explain who I am... stories that are just worth telling. That's it... I'm a storyteller! I am so about the story... "stories that preserve the past, encapsulate the present, and hold promise for the future", a quote from my daughter, I might add. Thanks Miranda, you so get me!

So when did my storytelling begin?

Well, I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin... the 4th of 6 kids... 3 boys and 3 girls... the first 5 kids born within 7 1/2 years... the 6th came along about 11 years later. I remember at a very young age, telling my brothers stories as they fell asleep. I would make up elaborate stories about make believe twin sisters Penny & Pat. I would have to talk real loud because their bedroom was across the hall in our two story farm house. Often times they would have long since fallen asleep, but I would still have to finish the story, anxious to see how I was going to end it! I didn't care that anyone was listening!

So I plan to keep telling the stories whether you check in or not... but it would be nice to know someone is out there.

Thanks for taking a peek ~ come back for more!

Here's a photo of me and my siblings taken Feb. '06 at my Dad's 80th birthday party on the farm.

Kevin - Ronnie - Gary

Linda - Ginny - Kathy