Dear Family:
We will post a family update as soon as we can! In the meantime, here is a picture of Matthias getting his hair cut! He just turned 17 months old! How time flies! We are eagerly awaiting the St. Louis Leary's visit coming up from Saturday until Monday! Saturday we plan to have an early birthday party for Ingrid and Uncle Mark and have invited family and friends:) Love you all and we'll post again soon!!

Back in Time! 2014

Ruthie feeds Matthias

Happy Michelle holds Matthias

Everyone wanted to be with Matthias Carl in May and June of 2014. We remember these days and thank everyone for them! Looking forward to being back up north for a visit soon in July. We love all of you and just wait until you see this boy now...he's still adorable but on the go!!! 

Even Mrs. Murphy wants to be with Matthias! (seller of awesome donuts in Massachusetts)

Matthias all covered up in blanket from the Tantes

Matthias in blue blanket from Tantes, laying on blanket from Martha, next to pillow from cousin Sarah

Bjorn and Baby Brother

Dad and Uncle Bruce at the Bindery on tour for baby! 

Can we come back this summer?

Lars and Baby Matthias

A very special BIRTHDAY

Matthias Carl Bengtson turned ONE year old on March 31, 2015. We were privileged to be surrounded by family members. Here are some pictures from his big day.

Ede has made this yummy chocolate
cake for lots of kids: Scott, Todd, Bjorn, and Matthias. Lars's birthday was different - we lost power the moment I put his cake into the oven. So I left the batter in the oven for two hours while I packed up the children and stuff to head to Clifton Park where there was heat in December!

OUR ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!

Ede and Alyssa decorated the cake.

Mmmmmmm. Yum.

Bjorn helps to open gifts.

All cousins and siblings help open!

 Baseball game in the front yard.

Some Special Visitors

Ede, Todd's mom, feeds Matthias his bottle on the front porch - in March! Both Ede and Carl came quite a bit in March to help us settle and we completed a huge project - recovering our dining room chairs and the piano bench. Wow and Thank You!!!

Carl holds our Matthias Carl on his big first birthday. We are so grateful to be only 40 minutes away from Carl and Ede. They could not wait to see our kids and especially to hold Matthias.

March: Carl's brother Paul walking up from the garden with Todd and Lars. Cheryl and I in front yard.Paul and Cheryl live in Illinois and what a fun (too brief)
visit we had. I (Margit) had just
been diagnosed with the flu the
day before. Yuck.

Scott (Todd's brother) and Nancy seated at our dining room table for Matthias's birthday. My mom cut the cherry blooms for the centerpiece. Nancy enjoys educating us about gardens and plantings. Here, Lars and I learn about what are weeds and what are flowers to be kept. Shocking to see irises up a foot already in March.

Never in all my days have I seen this!!! My mom and dad on our ATV!?! Jimmy, slow down, Jimmy, Jimmy!

My dad really enjoys shooting and with some instruction from Todd did very well.





My dad on our ATV alone. He drove way too fast. The children were stunned.

ALL FOUR GRANDS! We love you and honor ALL of you. What a fun time we all had! Our thanks.

Home, Dogs, Pond, Fish - March 2015

Our new home. On right is a screened porch. On front porch is two rocking chairs - a gift from my beloved. 

Snow and ice in MS? Yes.

The view of our pond with snow on ground.

Our new dogs. They came with the house, courtesy of the former owners. They guard the property like pros and are outside 24/7. Black is Bo - an Australian cattle dog. White is Titus - a Great Pyrenees/Shepherd mix. Coyotes, snakes, turkey vultures, squirrels...beware!

Lars catches lots of catfish from our pond for us to eat. This one was shot by a bow and arrow.

Pictures from first days on Chapman Road March 2015

Moving truck arrives 8:15 on March 2.

Our new empty living room.

Going blue crazy on my favorite bookshelf.

Going blue crazy in my kitchen.

Matthias is thrilled about our new home. He will never remember his first days in NY.

Our new living room with lots of boxes.

Crazy kitchen.

Den full of boxes. Also blue.

Pictures from Goode Road Feb 2015

We want to say a BIG thank you to all of you for your patience in waiting for us to post pictures. We have learned A LOT about computers and blogs and the internet and our abilities. SO...here goes:

The Allied moving truck framed in our front window. February. It was a whopping 3 degrees that morning...wow.

The trucks leaving in the afternoon. They brought two trucks but only filled one. We slept like logs that night!

Some pictures of chaos that was left after the movers went home the first day. I had to move the rocking chair up close to the wood stove for warmth during the night of feeding and caring for Matthias. More pictures to come.

The South...Things to get used to!

10 Things We Had To Get Used To When We Moved To Our Home in the South!

10. All of us are called "baby", "sweetie", "honey", wherever we go - grocery stores, restaurants, banks.
9. None of the roads are cleared after snowfalls or ice - they just wait until the sun shines.
8. The southern accent still throws me - I am forced to listen carefully and often have to ask people to repeat things.
7. Lots of deer on our property - often...but will they stay around during hunting season?
6. The former owners left their 2 dogs with us because of their new living situation. Our "new" dogs are awesome and tend the property (50 acres) day and night and protect us from coyotes during the night and from squirrels, birds, and turkey vultures during the day. You heard right. The dogs are outside 24/7.
5. Everyone orders sweet tea or something called 50/50. This means half sweet tea and half unsweetened tea. But sometimes it means half unsweetened tea and half lemonade. Other folks order a coke and then they ask you what kind. Coke means soda, apparently. I stick with ordering water.
4. We have long conversations with our mail lady and with the UPS guys. They all know that we're the new folks from way up there in New York.
3. We live in a mostly dry county. We have to go to TN for beer and on Sundays, no alcohol is sold in TN at all.
2. We have a really good relationship with the former owners - they are amazingly gracious and kind.
1. We love catching catfish from our pond in the front...what??? Ingrid caught the first one on the Saturday after we moved in and Lars followed suit later that day with a 23" catfish.

The Trip Down South

The first leg of our journey south got a late start. We were delayed due to some issues with our NY home and could not close on the 23rd of February as planned. Again, our gracious friends allowed us to bunk for another night while the lawyers and agents scrambled to get things ready to close. It was recommended to us by our lawyer to come to Albany on Tuesday morning to sign some paperwork which would allow him to sign our names for the future closing on our behalf. Fine. This appointment went well for us and we left his office with confidence that all would go well and we'd be closed in just a few short days. We picked up Todd's brother, Scott, from the airport while we were in Albany. He had flown jump seat with the intent to drive Todd's truck down south with Lars to keep him awake. After a tearful goodbye to our dear friends we headed south. Scott took a quick nap and he and Lars left a short time later.

The first night was relatively uneventful. Everyone slept well at the hotel after a wonderful meal at a Bob Evans (courtesy of dear friends) and we left Erie, PA in the morning bound for somewhere in Kentucky. Wednesday was a full day of travel. Again, we have amazing traveling kids. They are quick with bathroom stops and content to converse in the car and listen to music. We are very grateful. We stopped at a Subway in KY that night that was very close to the hotel we chose. Eleanor mentioned that the meat in her sandwich didn't taste quite right but I thought nothing of it...until around 12:30 that night. She got sick all over our hotel bathroom. Shockingly, none of this chaos woke the baby, but Ingrid and Martha groaned, covered their ears, turned over in their beds and went back to sleep. I, however, was not sure how to handle this. I assumed that we would now have to move out of our room because our bathroom was not usable. I was told that the cleaning crew did not start until 9:00 in the morning and that the bathroom in the lobby was available for our use. Thanks. Meanwhile, Todd and Bjorn slept like babies in their room and were completely oblivious of all that was happening. Then, after getting Eleanor settled and calm again, Matthias woke with a horrible cough - the classic barking cough of croup. The lady in the lobby was sympathetic but could do nothing. Because I didn't have a shower available for the hot steam (our bathroom was a disaster) Matthias and I just stood in the cold foyer - me in my sweats and baby in his hat - and watched airplanes fly overhead during the night. Whenever he woke, which was often, out we'd go. Somehow we made it through the night, had breakfast (some of us) and told daddy all about our adventures. We limped into Tennessee later in the day on Thursday into the arms of our family.

I wish I could say that this adventure was the end of our sickness but I cannot. Bjorn followed in Eleanor's footsteps and Todd got a super bad cold - most likely the result of severe stress. Ingrid and Lars followed in Todd's footsteps, Matthias was diagnosed with RSV, and I, the flu. Martha, remarkably, stayed rather healthy. During this chaotic time of sickness, we painted, scraped, organized, swept, dreamed, ran errands, blew our noses, took our medicine, and finally the movers arrived on March 2nd, a cool day with rain in the forecast, with our things. After a very long day, Martha and I headed back to Collierville and Todd and Lars slept here. On March 3rd, we all slept here, sick and healthy alike. We are grateful to be here and have lots of work ahead of us...

Part Two: Moving, Cleaning, and Saying GoodBye

Part two of our move took place on Saturday, February 21. The movers were at our home a bit before 9 and proceeded to take beds apart and clear the living room of all of the dusty stuff that they brought up the day before from the basement. Matthias and I had some quiet moments in the rocking chair surrounded by boxes and dirt. It was actually peaceful by the wood stove if I closed my eyes during his feeding! Wonderful friends showed up to clean my home and my bathrooms and to take away lots of garbage - thank you everyone!!! Random stuff went into random boxes as I hurried to finish the last of the packing. Our home and garage were empty by around 2 in the afternoon. All of our stuff drove down the driveway not to be seen again by us until March 2...weird. That Saturday night we slept like logs at our friends' home after a delicious meal.

The next day was Sunday. A wonderful church service followed by a pie reception for our family took place that evening. Little did we know it but the congregation was given the opportunity to speak about our family. Many folks said very kind things and we were humbled. It is an honor to be a part of such a great group of people. We were also given a gift of a Bible verse to hang in our new home. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." We shed many tears that night. Thank you Ballston Lake Baptist Church for your love and support for our family! You all are missed!!!

Stay tuned for our next entry...to be continued...

Part One - Moving in the brutal cold!

Well, part one of our move down south took place today.

At around 9:30 this morning, four men and two large trucks arrived and parked in our driveway. It was 3 degrees and the wind blew hard.

At 1:00 this afternoon we all took a break for lunch - hot dogs, baked beans, and sauerkraut - thanks for the venison hot dogs, Ronnie! They were amazing!!! The main floor was empty (except for our beds). It was 10 degrees and the wind blew harder.

The guys worked for another three hours and the basement was empty. It was 12 degrees and the wind was merciless. They only filled one of the trucks and they will be back tomorrow with a smaller truck to take the rest of our stuff - our beds, a couch, rugs, etc. Not once did the men stop, complain, grumble, or waste time. They didn't even warm themselves by our flaming wood stove even though our home temperature was in the 50's at several times during the day. They had a mission and they accomplished it. We are grateful!

We then went to friends' for a pizza and salad dinner - yum! Thanks Alyssa and family! Once we arrived back home with all the kids they had a grand time hearing their voices echo in the empty rooms and basement. Matthias knows there's something amiss but can't quite process it all! 

So now the children are sleeping soundly in their beds in their rooms - for the last time. Sheets and towels must be washed and packed in the morning. Movers will be back around 9, friends will be over around noon to clean and to haul up our trash from our basement to our garage for another friend to take to the dump, and we say our goodbyes to neighbors, friends, and loved ones on Sunday and Monday. Thanks to all our family and friends who are praying for us. We covet your prayers and will keep you posted as much as possible. Our sincere thanks!

boxes boxes everywhere...

A brief update:
We have boxes, boxes everywhere. Our once peaceful, organized (most of the time) home looks rather odd but this is all par for the course and...temporary (whew!). There are boxes in my closet, in our bedroom, in our basement, in the family room and kids' rooms. I am attempting to keep the hallway free and clear of boxes for safe passage.

Matthias thinks this is all great. Lots of boxes around means lots of ways to pull himself up! Boxes stacked high with blankets over them make great forts for Ingrid, until Bjorn pulls them down! Eleanor is my inventory girl - ready whenever I need her with the clipboard and a marker. Martha and Lars are polar opposites - they always have been! Martha has sort of dragged her feet when it comes to packing up her room but now she has kicked it into high gear and is a packing queen! Lars needs more thinking and pondering time and has dragged out his packing job into several days. He is doing pretty well now that we have given him the time and space he needs. You try packing several hundred types of feathers, hooks, thread, foam, glue, etc., for fly tying purposes! Todd has been keeping very busy supplying us with wood from our stacks in the garage, changing our address with all our contacts, packing tools, ammo, his closet, etc. He even made lunch today! Martha played the piano at the nursing home Bible study so Todd brought her there and made a quick trip to Roma's in Saratoga for Italian mix subs. Thanks, honey - you are awesome! My favorite sub ever (grinder for those folks who live in MA)!!! And I go from job to job packing and trying to keep things organized and clean. This is my downfall. I even caught myself dusting boxes today - yikes! I just don't see why we should live in filth when surrounded by boxes. So here's to more boxes (and a little dusting and vacuuming thrown in to keep it all lively!)

P.S. Isn't there a song by some folk group?
Little boxes little boxes and the boxes are made of ticky tacky and they all live in little boxes little boxes all the same. There's a blue one and a green one and a pink one and an...
Does anyone know what song I am remembering??? 

Treaures and counting down...

We are counting down the days until movers will be swarming all around our home and will be loading our stuff onto a big box truck...12 days to be precise (February 20 and 21). Apparently we are not the only folks heading south. Our stuff is going to be loaded over two days and each day it will be transferred to a tractor trailer and on that tractor trailer there could be one or two more households! We wish they could just do it in one fell swoop but the tractor trailer will not fit down our driveway. So it will be stretched out over 2 days but that's ok with us. They will leave our beds for us for the final night here on Goode Road and we can clean where they have taken stuff away. 

All this focus on our stuff, taking inventory, boxes, tape, bubble wrap, packing up our stuff (!) leaves me scratching my head.Where is our real treasure? It is certainly not our stuff. We have lived for eight months without several boxes of stuff that I packed to leave some empty space for our showings. Shocker! Nope. Here on earth, our treasures are our children, our loved ones, family members, friends, relationships, memories, and Jesus - these are all things that cannot be stolen, eaten, destroyed, bubble wrapped, packed, taped, labeled or shipped! Matthew 6 says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." So here's to several more days of packing all of our stuff but keeping in mind that my real treasures cannot be packed and shipped. Thanks, Lord, for our family, friends, relationships, memories and for You, Father...and for our stuff, too! Now does anyone know what to do with an old onion, a jar of pepperocini, cornstarch, pickling salt, steel cut oats, and a box of smoked oysters? 

it is amazing...

Three years ago today, it was official. I had lost our baby a few days before and this was the day of my doctor's appointment. They determined that I had been about 10 weeks along with a precious little one. It is amazing to me how we can still miss a baby that we never even met. Thank you, Lord, for another lesson in sensitivity. Be aware that there are those around you who can not have children and are desperately praying that they can! Pray for families like this. Pray also for an end to abortion - that adoption will be seen as an excellent choice that women can make. Without adoption, my mom would never have been born and my family would not be here! Thanks also, Lord, that we have the assurance that we will meet our littlest family member one day when we are with you in heaven. Love, Margit

a brief update

It's February. This is a very busy month for us! Our family is planning a move down south with a closing date of February 25th. Yesterday, we were asked if we would consider moving the closing to the 23rd. This seems like a better plan for all of us so we contacted the moving company and it seems like it will work for them too. So at this point, movers will come on the 20th and 21st. Our last day at church will be the 22nd and we already have an invitation for dinner on that day. Scott will try to fly in on the 23rd instead of the 24th (thanks, Scott!) and will be driving our truck and Lars to TN. Todd and I will follow after the closing with everyone else and a full van. Will you pray for all of the details as we move forward in this month? Will you pray for kindness and patience as we go forward a bit sooner than expected? Moving a household is lots of work. Will you pray for the folks who are buying this home? They are a young couple with no children yet and we believe that he is an instructor at the nuclear site. Thank you for your ongoing prayers for our family. We know you are praying! Todd and Margit and fam 

God gives snow, opportunities for service, and life lessons

We are attempting to be thankful for more snow! We got dumped on yesterday - approximately 14 inches of snow but a bit hard to tell because of the blowing and drifting snow - could be more. WOW! We even think Matthias got dizzy watching it fall from the window and trying to keep the big kids in his sights.  Today there is more snow to move here at home and we have some opportunities for the children to learn how to serve others. Our neighbor, Linda, rarely needs help. She is in her 70's and can round up cattle, ride horses, move gigantic hay bales, and live on her own. But with so much snow around we like to serve her by clearing her deck and making the walk from her driveway to her front steps a bit less dangerous. So after the kids clear the snow from our walkways, generators, propane tank, garage, and all entryway doors, they head down the driveway and take care of Linda's property, too. Today, our family also has the job of clearing the parking lot and walkways at our church - a very big and intense job. So even though, as home educators, we do not have "snow days", we do have service days. On these busy service days, the children are only required to do their math lesson. Service to others is an amazing life lesson - it requires service over self, knowing how to dress in extreme weather,  putting others first with a good attitude, thinking of others' needs rather than my comfort (it's a very cold day - only 12 degrees!), going above and beyond in serving others, etc. Todd and I think this is super important - perhaps more important even than grammar! So have a wonderful day and look for opportunities to SERVE!

God gives six-packs of thankfulness!

Ice skating, anyone? I know, I know, it's winter in New York...but everywhere we look there is ice. Todd and Bjorn worked bravely a couple of days ago and got sand spread on our dangerous driveway. All of this ice and snow makes me very eager to think warm thoughts in order to stay positive for my childrens' sake. Warm thoughts lead to thankful thoughts. I will call it a six-pack of thankfulness! (Usually a six-pack has a negative connotation but this will put six packs in a positive light.)

A six-pack of things we are thankful for this day:
1. We have a very warm and cozy home for these chilly and icy days. And when we get chilly after sledding on the ice (!), we put on sweaters, wrap up in blankets, and enjoy some hot cocoa. Thank you, Lord.
2.  We have food in abundance. Nutrient-dense, healthy food and stinky vegetables (and some hot cocoa) are keeping us all healthy so far this winter. Thanks to our Chinese family members for reminding us of our need for stinky vegetables during these winter months! Yummy garlic, onions, scallions, shallots... Thank you, Lord.
3. We have cars that run well. Our vehicles are in good working order and somehow, they keep starting in the deep deep cold. Thank you, Lord.
4. We have six amazing blessings - arrows in our quiver for His kingdom and for His glory. We are willing and able to teach them at home and watch all of those wonderful "a-ha" moments in education and learning. What a privilege! Thank you, Lord.
5. We have a buyer for our home and are moving to warmer weather and closer to family. Things are still moving along well with all of the myriad of details and packing and we are still on target to close at the end of February. Thank you, Lord.
6. We have great memories of our 20 years here in New York and many friends in many places - 3 different and precious church families, 3 neighborhoods, 5 years in a homeschool coop, 6 years of choir. God has blessed us richly and we are looking forward to continuing relationships here and developing new ones at our new home. Thank you, Lord!

Mom and Dad's 20th Anniversary

Mom and Dad celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on December 30, 2014. Lars and I got up at 5 am and started making a surprise breakfast for Mom and Dad/ the family. It all worked out and we didn't burn the house down! Breakfast that morning was pancakes with warm blueberry syrup and/or maple syrup and butter, scrambled eggs, sausage and coffee. We played a recording of their wedding tape during breakfast. So special!
We are so thankful for Mom and Dad and their example to us kids for our marriages in the future. We pray for 20 more years!

20 years and the spark is still alive!

ready to dig in!

God gives music and rubber duckies (?)

While I gave Matthias a bath the other night, he played with a rubber duckie - a gift for our family at a recent "white elephant" Christmas gift exchange. (thanks, Andrea!)

For those who have not bathed a 9 month old recently, you need to understand the mechanics of dealing with a wildly happy baby in a bathtub...Matthias screeches, reaches, slips, slides, splashes, pulls, spits and pries. He is nearly impossible to keep in one place. Gone are the days of relaxed, sweet bathtimes...of momma and baby talking and cooing to one another with gentle water and soap all through the tub, classical music in the background, older children all around ready to deliver soap, towel, new diaper, freshly washed baby pajamas.

Nope. Now it's a marathon. How quickly can baby get clean? How can I possibly keep his pudgy hands away from the jade plant that is perched on the seat of the tub in our bathroom? How can momma anticipate his next move while trying to keep the temperature of the water not too hot, not too cold?

So in my feeble attempt to distract him these days while getting him clean, I discovered the magic of the rubber duckie. He loves the silly thing! He throws it and it floats back. He sucks on it and momma does not remove it from his mouth. He can hang onto it with those precious little hands even though it is super soapy and slippery. And then, in the midst of his latest bath, music comes back to my tired brain. Granted, it was not a Bible song. It does nothing to encourage the saints, convince men of sin, or help us stay on the straight and narrow. But Matthias responded to the music and loved it. Can you remember the Bert and Ernie record that we used to play constantly? I think you got it for your birthday one year, Erik. See if you can recall the tune.

Rubber duckie, you're the one. You make bathtime lots of fun.
Rubber duckie, I'm awfully fond of you. Booboobeedoo.
Rubber duckie, you're so fine. And I'm lucky that you're mine.
Rubber duckie, I'm awfully fond of you!

So teach your children to sing - silly songs, fun songs, but also songs that do encourage the saints. Teach them songs that they will remember FOREVER. Start with Jesus Loves Me, Tell Me the Story of Jesus, Amazing Grace. Because what we sing, we will remember. Kiss a baby today and SING!

Day After Christmas Field Trip, etc.

Where we went.

Entrance...on a beautiful Friday.

The museum's gun arsenal. 

Uncle Cliff and Ryan doing crafts after walking around the museum for about an hour. 

Back at Charlie...Matthias and Ryan.

Just before cousins had to leave...great shot-almost everyone was smiling:)