Advent Hymn... from a friend's blog

“Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord”
(by Heinrich Held; tr. Catherine Winkworth)

Let the earth now praise the Lord.
Who hath truly kept His word
And the sinners' Help and Friend
Now at last to us doth send.

What the fathers most desired,
What the prophets' heart inspired,
What they longed for many a year,
Stands fulfilled in glory here.

Abrams promised great Reward,
Zion's Helper, Jacob's Lord,
Him of twofold race behold,
Truly came, as long foretold.

Welcome, O my Savior, now!
Hail! My Portion, Lord, art Thou.
Here, too, in my heart, I pray,
Oh, prepare Thyself a way!

King of Glory, enter in;
Cleanse it from the filth of sin,
As Thou hast so often done;
It belongs to Thee alone.

As Thy coming was in peace,
Quiet, full of gentleness,
Let the same mind dwell in me
That was ever found in Thee.

Comfort my desponding heart:
Thou my Strength and Refuge art.
I am weak, and cunningly
Satan lays his snares for me.

Bruise for me the Serpent's head,
That, set free from doubt and dread,
I may cleave to Thee in faith,
Safely kept through life and death,

And when Thou dost come again
As a glorious King to reign,
I with joy may see Thy face,
Freely ransomed by Thy grace.

From Thanksgiving to Christmas

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with our families. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, we celebrated with the extended Jensen (Dan’s mom) family. We saw a lot of family we haven’t seen in awhile. For spent Thanksgiving Day with the Vance family (Lynn’s mom) at Uncle Joe’s house. We had the whole spread – it was delicious!

The next day, after staying with Lynn’s parents in a hotel in the Cities, we spent the day the Science Museum of Minnesota. Growing up during many a visit, Lynn’s loved exploring and learning through the different exhibits. The omnitheatre shows are spectacular too – if you’ve never scene them it’s a must! The show we saw was on the Great Lakes – so no great exotic adventures this time but still beauty, educational, and breathtaking! It’s amazing how fun it is to learn things – especially when you’re done with the “official” schooling.

We were back to Ames Thanksgiving weekend for our Going-Away Party. Thanks to the many of you who stopped by and we missed those that couldn’t make it. We decorated for Christmas in Ames with our housemates, which really helped us get into the Christmas mood! What a blessing to be living with Eric & Stephanie, and Tom & Angie. We’re going to miss you guys!

A beautiful snow fall!

Lynn has been working one afternoon a week. If you’re in Ames on New Year’s Eve you should check out Oh, What A Night! as a great entertainment option! Find out more at www.ohwhatanight.org.

We were back in MN only a week later to celebrate Lynn’s brother’s birthday, and we saw a few friends (like Laura Walklet & Laura Meyer!

Besides celebrating his birthday we got to build gingerbread houses! In High School Lynn did this a few times at the church we attended, but Dan had never built them quite like this! A guy from WI comes with the baked gingerbread, A LOT of candy variety, the frosting, and instruction and then you create! Dan & Nathan built there’s together – it’s an eco-gingerbread house. Can you see the two windmills, animal powered transporation, solar panels on the roof, and hay covering the roof. A wind block also helps during those cold winter days! (Note that Dan ate all of his in the couple days following…) Lynn’s was more traditional and pastel, although the roof was a bit too heavy – so it became a peek-a-boo gingerbread house with a Christmas tree inside (you can’t see it in the picture). She also ran out of time to fully complete it. We also helped Lynn’s parents decorate for Christmas!

On our way back to IA we stopped for a night and stayed with James & Nicole. We had fun watching Monday Night Football and playing games, although getting there through the first big snow storm of the winter wasn’t a lot of fun!

While in Ames again for a few days we went to our churches Christmas production, Esmeralda. It was incredible story of a little girl’s encounter with an Amazing King who chooses to walk among the common people of His kingdom. It’s beautiful & touching and I wish you could all see it! A woman in our church wrote it – the story, the lyrics, the music, the whole thing! Thanks Jenni!

We’re spending some time with Dan’s family this weekend and having a good bye party in Clarksville on Sunday. We had fun seeing Dan’s cousin’s holiday production with Matt, Ashley, Noah, and Pam on Friday and then spending some more time with Matt, Ashley, & Noah Friday night. It think we may have a budding musician….

As we enter our last month in the States we’re packing up, saying good-bye, running little errands, getting rid of things we don’t need & can’t bring with us, finishing little projects and trying to get everything in order as much as possible! Good-bye’s are never easy, yet we know that God has something great for us and are excited for what the other side of the ocean holds for us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't forget... our Going-Away Party is on November 30th from 1-6pm! If you can make it we'd love to see you, and if not because of Thanksgiving, blessings as you celebrate the goodness of God!

We spent 2 weeks in Ames, really our last real time in Ames and it was a huge blessing. We got to see a lot of friends...

- Aaron & Marilee with their little new addition, Joshua

- Mahbub & Luna with their new addition, Afra

- some of our favorite kids - the Bodins! (Sophie loved our housemate's cat, Tuna!)

- John & Laura
- Lynn got to spend a Saturday with her best friend Kate!
- On Sunday our friends Matt & Jessie came over as well as Aaron & Marilee, and Eric & Stephanie who we live with. All the guys are musical & Beta Sigs, so they had a lot of fun playing music and hanging out - not to mention the women had a great time too!

- Pam & Dave came down to visit us and Kate. Just so you know, Jeff's Pizza in Ames is GREAT!
- More Beta Sig's came over for dinner as well!

We're so blessed with so many friends, and so many more that we can't see very often. The first snow fall (kinda) happened as well, here's a pic to prove it!


As we head into our last month & a half in the states, we reflect on how thankful we are for what we've been given by God - one another, loving friends & family, more things than we'll ever truly need, and much much more. But the true gift is of his son, Jesus Christ, who through we have the only thing that can not be taken from us, eternal life with God! So no matter you're circumstances, we pray that you'll find joy & thanksgiving in the only One that can grant it to you. Happy Thanksgiving!



We found this great picture that Dan made when he was little in his room while cleaning at his parents house and thought it was apt for Thanksgiving!

George Washington
It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.

H. W. Westermayer
The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts… nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.

God's been busy knitting...

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
~ Psalm 139:13


August 22 at 10:02 PM, Afra Farah Majumder



Around August 25th, Ella Grace Hodgell



September 3, 2008 at 2:10 PM, Annamarie Grace Jensen



Tuesday, September 9 at 2 PM, Eden Elizabeth Clarkson



September 14th, 6:33 a.m., Amelia Jane Samp



October 8 at 10:59 pm, Asher David Wessman



October 26th, Miles Nathan Klinge



November 6th at at 3:59 p.m., Leah Kincaid



November 7th at 12:14am, Joshua Ayden Eischeid
(He's glowing because he has fiber-optic lights on to help with jaundice)

Congratulations to all of our friends who are new parents - each little one is truly a miracle!

9 new babies in less than 3 months.... and don't worry there's more to come (but not any of our own, yet)!

As someone said... It was a cold winter :)

A Thought from a Founding Father

"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have" - Thomas Jefferson

Piper's Pre-Election Perspective BUTa Timeless Transcend Truth

If a pictures worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million, but this John Piper clip on the election (taped before) must be worth... well, I don't even know how to describe it... just watch it! Click here

from 230 to The Ridge

Note: Below Post was Written on Nov 4th, although not posted until today.

Well, it’s Election Day here in the good ol’ US of A and we hope you all had a chance to vote! What a privilege, no matter who you voted for! Songwriter Derek Webb describes well our feelings and thoughts on the matter…

“My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man. My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood. It’s to a King and a Kingdom.”

We know that no matter who is elected that ultimately it’s God who is in control… as Daniel said…

“His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does what He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” – Daniel 4:43b-35

The title of this post describes what we just spent the last few days doing – helping move Lynn’s parents from 230 to The Ridge! We had a lot of fun spending time with them as well as getting to move and help get a house ready to be a home is one of our favorite things to do! It’s nice to see them finally in their “dream” house. Here's a pic of one of the last trips - Echo, our dog, had to sit with me in the passenger seat!



We also were in town because it was Grandma Klisch’s 89th Birthday and we celebrated on Sunday! There was a lot of family there and it was great to catch up with cousins & aunts & uncles. We had a sing-a-long time of folk songs from when Grandma was younger which was great fun!

Lynn brought some of Grandma’s famous poppy seed coffee cake that she’s begun to learn to make. Making it seems to be a whole day process, but I suppose soon many things will take much longer than we want it to, living overseas.

We spent a couple days milking for Dan’s parents while they were out of town. The kittens were sure cute again! Here’s a video for all you cat lovers out there!



October 25th was ISU Homecoming, what a joy to be in Ames! Beta Sigma Psi had an alumni event and we got to see quite a few college friends who we hadn’t seen in awhile! That evening we carved pumpkins with our housemates Eric & Stephanie, who had just taken the FE (a big engineering exam). They carved the “nice” pumpkin and we carved the “mean” pumpkin.






We were moving Lynn’s parents on Halloween so we didn’t do much except give a few things out to the kids who came to the door and watch “27 Dresses” – which we both suggest for a fun romantic comedy type of movie.

We’re excited for the next two months, as we’re flying out in early January!

More Family :)

The last week of September we helped, well Dan mostly, with harvest – making corn silage. Pam and Lynn cut and peeled A LOT of apples again and made lots of apple treats and froze even more! We also got to see Noah, Matt, & Ashley briefly.



On October 4th we had the pleasure of celebrating Lynn’s cousin’s wedding in St. Cloud, MN area. Mike & Beth’s wedding was gorgeous and we enjoyed seeing a lot of Lynn’s family, some that had even traveled from out of state to be there! The rest of our time in MN we visited a bit more family and helped Lynn’s parents finish up their house. Our dog, Echo, rode along for the trip!



We ended up back in Ames later that week and spent some good time relaxing and with friends as well as getting some important things done – like deep cleaning our van, preparing to sell it in a couple months.

We loved celebrating the births of many of our friends on Sunday! Aaron & Marilee are expecting a little boy in late November. Seth & Emily’s little one, Eden, arrived in early September. We got to celebrate with both of them at showers on Sunday. Our friends Reed & Rachael also had their little one, Asher, the Wednesday before that! It’s baby time!

We saw Dan’s cousin Travis run cross country in Ames on Monday evening – this is the third year we’ve seen him run. This year we got to walk to the course because we live so close!

The past couple days we’ve been in Clarksville – Grandma Mavis made popcorn balls early (usually they’re handed out for Halloween) and everyone was excited! James & Nicole were down from Rochester, so the whole family was together for the first time since their wedding… as James’ profoundly said… “hey, I just realized we all have the same last name!”





Dan’s mom, brought back a surprise for Dan’s dad from the vet… two little kitties. Dave named them Sox & Victorino and they’re VERY cute! We’ve had them out for playtime a few times. For not being cat people, we’re becoming more and more ok with cats!

Sunday we visited Reed & Rachael in Mason City and saw little Asher, what a cutie pie! We also got to see Rhonda who was in town visiting Dan’s Aunt Deb, which was great. Sunday afternoon we went to a Hymn sing with GG Bolin at their church with a great potluck following! We helped them babysit our nephew Noah after that – what a joy to spend time with him when we can!

Preparing for the Move

As we prepare to move, we’ve been visiting family & friends – which has been such a blessing! Lynn is done with her official money-making job and is spending time at home preparing for our big move.

One of the highlights of our September so far was going to an ISU football game. We were so blessed to get free tickets for the September 6^th games again Kent State. We were overjoyed to just be going to the game, and were even more blown away when we arrived and realized our tickets were in the lower section about the 50 yard line in the 20^th & 21^st rows! ISU won and we had a blast at our last ISU football game for awhile. Here’s some pictures & a mini-movie to show you where we got to sit!

Another fun ISU activity was visiting the newly build Alumni Center, located on the hill between Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum. Since we live in the neighborhood we were invited to an Open House with free rootbeer floats. We had a great time learning about the many details of the new building, it’s not just a building to house the Alumni programs, but looks to campus buildings for its architectural features & looks to the future in it’s sustainability & green building. Jeff Johnson, the president of the Alumni Association gave us a tour of his years of dreaming!

I had a lot of fun with my sister-in-law, Ashley, coming to Ames to present a Pampered Chef Cooking Show. We had a great time making mini-cheeseburgers & an inside-out chocolate cake! It was a lot of fun and I know that Ashley would love to help you host a show anytime if you’re interested!

We headed out on a road trip on September 11^th to see friends & family throughout Minnesota & Iowa. We stayed with Dan’s Aunt & Uncle for the first weekend in Minneapolis before picking up Lynn’s grandma Vance to bring up to Lynn’s parents.

We stopped and retook pictures at the location of Lynn’s childhood home, since we lost the pictures of when we stopped before. Here they are…

While visiting Lynn’s parents we were able to help with a few things out at the house, got a tour of St. Cloud State University (when Lynn’s brother Nate just started), saw Lynn’s cousin Heather, and went to a great restaurant called Anton’s. Anton’s had all these geese in the back that you could feed – Dan got some food and as you can see they really loved him!

Next we were off to be dairy farmers for a few days in Clarksville at Dan’s home farm. We had a lot of fun! When Pam & Dave got home we helped with making haylage (chopped up hay for feeding the cows) – here’s a short movie of how it’s done.

Pam and I picked a bunch of apples and peeled, cut, and froze them. We also took some home to Ames and I made 5 apple crisps and an apple pie this past week. Here’s the great apple tree!

On Monday we got the chance to James at the Crossroads soccer game, as he’s the assistant soccer coach. Nicole, his wife, played a volleyball game afterwards. Lynn finally understands what it’s like for Dan to watch a basketball or football game and get all worked up because he knows what it’s like to be out there playing. They girls played really well and came so close to winning, but lost in the last few moments. It was a great game! After the game we all went out to Red Robin!

This past week we were home in Ames, which was so nice. Lynn had coffee with her best friend Kate before being she left for Spain for a week and a half! On Friday we got free chili because it was the Memorial Union’s 80^th birthday on the ISU campus. It’s great in Ames. We had a lot of fun playing with our housemate’s cats (Tuna & Salmon) – they’re really cute as you can see from these pics!