Happy Birthday to my dear sister!

I have been so extremely blessed with such a wonderful sister. I wish you all knew her as I do, she is so selfless and giving and so fun to be with. I've watched her as she has encouraged others, given of herself selflessly, supported her husband, and tirelessly served others--all with a cheerful smile and sweet spirit. She is my inspiration and encourages me to be more like Jesus everyday.


I love you Mindy!

Gone Huntin'

We had a beautiful weekend for hunting. Our hunting party consisted of my Uncle Albert and his daughter Audra, my dad, me, Ben and Mindy, and Ben's dad Dennis. Between us we got seven deer and had a big packaging party last night at Grandma Berge's. Even though it isn't the most pleasant job butchering deer, the atmosphere is always fun and full of dramatic hunting stories. It is always good to be together. Plus, every few hours Grandma appears in the shop bearing delicious baked goods and refreshing drinks. She is so wonderful.

Here is the deer stand that my dad built for me out behind our house...



It is a wonderful stand and yielded two deer this year! I also saw a porcupine meandering through the woods--he was kind of cute but I was hoping he wouldn't start coming my way. Thankfully he didn't.

Here is the eight-point that came by on Monday morning. He is now in our freezer--poor guy. Someone asked me if I felt bad shooting those cute little deer and I said that after having your garden ransacked beyond recognition and having one run into your car you begin to lose a little of that compassion.

I guess I never realized what a huge thing deer hunting was around here until I started teaching. The little boys in my preschool play "hunting" almost all day and even pretend to track their "elk" and "deer" after they shoot them. I was amazed at how much they learn from just being around all of the hunting talk at home.

Here they are with their Lego guns and blaze orange hats. They are so cute and have such amazing imaginations. I love it!

Love that lutefisk!

Lutefisk is a big tradition in the Berge family. For decades it has been a staple at our Christmas Eve celebration at Grandma Berge's. Some people say it smells bad but don't believe it! To me it smells like Christmas and all the wonderful feelings that come with it.

Every year in October there is a big lutefisk supper at a local Lutheran church and of course we couldn't miss it. This annual supper is actually one of the first places that we ever performed as a family band so it is always wonderful to go back again.

Here is a picture of my plate

(the white glowing mass is the lutefusk is case you weren't sure).

A little history on lutefisk: literally translated, lutefisk means lyefish, which refers to the early process of soaking where a lye solution made of birch ashes was used in the luting process. Lutefisk is actually dried cod, or stockfish and is probebly one of Norway's oldest trading commodities. It has been used for trading with foreign countries for centuries, along with skins and furs. In Viking times, stockfish was both a main part of the diet, and a trading commodity on long voyages.

Here is a Norwegian now, drowning his lutefisk in drawn butter! I guess that Viking blood just can't resist a little "lute-ing" every once in a while.

(Ha Ha--ok, I know that was a really bad attempt at humor, but that's what happens when your main social interaction all day is with 3-5 year olds.)