CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS from the Bersons

Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Savior born in Bethlehem. We wish you JOY in Him!

On January 18th of 2008 my mom went to her final address, heaven. It was a very sudden death and we are thankful that she went quickly and without pain. We think she had a heart attack after shoveling snow. Mom had spend about 6 weeks with us in AZ just weeks before, and we cherish those special memories.

Our family is ever changing as our children get older. There is another grandchild to celebrate, and we welcomed Claire Shelby Johnson into the family on September 2. She and her dad, Eric, mom, Beth, and big brother Nolan(4 yrs.) live in Albuquerque. Nolan's cancer returned in April and they battle on. Chemo and radiation brought some wonderful results, however, and healing is taking place. We thank God for that, and invite you to keep this family in your prayers. (check earlier blogs)

Jim travels a lot with his work. This past year it has been mostly within the USA, with an occasional trip to London. He was also given an additional responsiblity as CEO/President of Colowyo Mining Company in Craig, CO. Rio Tinto is shifting and redirecting its holdings as many companys are doing in this challenged economic time. We are thankful for this new opportunity for Jim. I am still subbing, but haven't had a lot of jobs this fall. I am hoping that picks up soon...love the kids.

Volunteer stuff includes: Music at church, Life Care message for me once a month, prayer shawl knitting ( you guess who does that!!), Jim is an elder, and we've served on various think tanks/ committees. I've joined the prayer ministry team. We are also both training for the Rock and Roll FULL MARATHON with Team Diabetes and raised money as volunteers to support the American Diabetes Association.

Summer brought about more change: Ingrid moved from CA to Albuquerque and is currently working for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of New Mexico. She enjoys being near the Johnson clan! Drew and Lindsey remain in So. CA where they both work and both attend school. Drew finishes at Concordia in May of 09. Lindsey is currently working on her degree as a Nurse Practitioner. Sarah made her final arrangments with the Peace Corps and awaited her assignment...Ukraine! She said farewell to us on Sept. 19th and has just received her two year placement assignment in Tartarbunary!
July also included a trip to LaCrosse, WI, to bury Mom's ashed next to my dad's. Jim and I also attended my 35th High School reunion in Fairmont, MN. Fun!

I had the honor of being trustee of Mom and Dad's trusts. They were distributed by the beginning of August and after we considered our options Jim and I decided investing in a property rather than the stock market seemed wise. We were able to buy a small home in Albuquerque. We continue to keep our Scottsdale home as our main residence. It's nice to have a place to stay when we visit the grandkids...and this summer it will offer an escape from the desert heat for a week or two at a stretch.

A momenteous occasion was celebrated in Denver the weekend of Aug. 8th...the 60th wedding anniversary of Jim's parents, Dwight and Carole Berson!!It was a great party and such a wonderful tribute to two people who have been dedicated to their union and family for so many years! We are thankful and blessed.

Full circle..January 18th, 2009 is the date of the Rock and Roll Marthon...Jim's 4th and my first. Being the one year anniversary of mom's death you can bet I'll have have a HUGE smile as I think of her and her enduring spirit. JOY!

May the Peace of God, the Love of the Christchild, and Hope in the Spirit be yours, today and ahead in 2009.

Much love,
Jim and Sue

STRENGTH!

It is with great joy that I write this entry. The picture you see in this blog was taken almost a year ago, Thanksgiving 2007, in our condo community pool. I am choosing this photo because I want you to join me in giving Thanks to God for His strength being poured out on Nolan, Eric, Beth, and little Claire. Here's the latest, greatest news:

Eric called today with the best news we've heard in a long time. The area in the upper leg that had the turmor removed last summer has NO SIGN OF CANCER! The tumor in the lung has shrunk by nearly 50 percent!

The next steps are: Do two more rounds of chemo and then the doctors will look at removing the lung tumor. After he recovers from the surgery there will perhaps be two or three more cycles of chemo. But the bottom line is this: HEALING is taking place and cancer has been defeated in one area. God be praised!

As Eric said in his email, Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I concur, and ask that you would please continue to pray. It was amazing just how strong Nolan was through all of this recent chemo and radiation, and I know that's because so many were storming the gates of heaven!


Philppians 4:13 I can do everything though Him who gives me STRENGTH!

Not Even A Month!

Hello Readers!

It hasn't even been a month since my last post. That's pretty unusual!

I'm going to steamline my bits and pieces of news and hopefully post a couple of pictures, maybe even three:

. Sarah made it to Ukraine safely and she's loving the experience so far. She lives with an older woman who teaches English. They still try to speak Russian in the home, as this will move Sarah along more rapidly in her grasp of the language. She attends formal classes in Russian as well. Her attitude is positive and happy.

. Nolan has had two intense weeks of both chemo and radiation. Trips to the hospital Monday through Friday for two weeks straight took the entire afternoon. He has a break from chemo now for two weeks, but the radiation will continue. Beth is a trooper and Claire cooperates by being an easy baby. Nolan's spirit is strong. He takes it all without complaint, and he enjoys playing a lot! Even his appetite remains good. God is pouring out His strength on Nolan and the family. Keep praying!

. Jim and I are running in the Long Beach Half Marathon this weekend, Oct. 12. Then we'll reunite with the Team Diabetes training group to prepare for the Rock and Roll Marathon that will take place in January of 09. I am fundraising like crazy. I have set a personal fundraising goal of $5,000.00 for the American Diabetes Association. My sincere THANKS to all of you who have donated so far. If I reach my goal I'm hoping to run/walk the FULL marathon this time, with my doctor's permission. If you haven't donated and would like to, I'd appreciate it! The donation link is:

http://www.active.com/donate/teamdiabetes/SBerson1

May you know the Joy of the Lord, today and every day! sue :D

Peace in the Core

It seems that lately the excercise experts are recommending strengthening your core muscles. If the core is solid and well, your body will be much healthier overall.

The last couple of days I've had to exercise my emotional core, that being my heart. Sarah is heading overseas to Ukraine for 27 months with the Peace Corp. We had to say goodbye to her early this morning at the airport here in Phoenix and send her off for training, and then she'll be sent on her Peace Corp assignment. The reality of the loss in closness to her physically hit my core very hard. Tears were shed, and are flowing freely now. But not tears only of loss and sadness, also tears of pride and joy and love! In fact, mostly tears of pride and joy and love!!

My mind has worked on exercising my core with positive thoughts; memories of years long ago and recent memories made in these past two days while she was here. I've thought of the positive impact Sarah will make on so many lives. And she will grow in this experience. I've prayed, a lot! I am thankful to God for His Spirit giving peace to my core.

And to you, Sarah:

Bless you, Sweet Sarah.

May the peace of Christ dwell in you richly.

Peace in the Core!

Another LONG dry spell!

Hello Readers,

What can I say, it's the desert, the desert has a lot of dry spells.

Today is Sept. 15th and Jim's father, Dwight Berson, is 83 years old today! Hooray!

Another announcement...drum roll please...the arrival of our second grandchild, this time a girl, to parents Eric and Beth and big brother Nolan. Claire Shelby Johnson. Claire arrived on Sept. 2 at 5:17am and is in excellent health. Jim and I were in town the weekend before her arrival, over Labor Day, and I was just dropping him off at the Albuq. airport at 4:45 am when I got a text message from Eric telling me to stay in town. ( I had the car packed and was about to drive back to Scottsdale.) So, the Lord blessed me by being able to meet Claire the day she was born. Jim needed to make his trip, so he caught his plane and I made my way to the hospital. Both of us were able to make the drive to Albuq. this past weekend and attend the baptism.( Sept. 14) We celebrate Claire's birth and baptismal RE-birth in Christ!

Nolan continues to undergo treatment for his cancer. He has had chemo, and is on a break from it now. They were able to successfully take the tumor in his groin out on August 27th
and there were good margins. They are hopefull that they got it all. There is still cancer in his right lung. That will be treated with radiation. Those treatments were supposed to begin today, but had to be postponed. Today brought another medical treatment, however, in the fact that he needed surgery on his stump. The first surgery on his stump (July 28th)was to trim it up a bit so it worked better with his prosthetic. It was just not healing up correctly, so they had to go back in and rework that area.

I know that many of you, dear readers, keep Nolan in your prayers. Thank you for that. I'll try to do a better job of keeping you informed. But over all I can tell you that Nolan is full of LIFE! He just goes and goes and goes. He loves playing and is 'all boy'!! It's just a joy to see him in action. God's love is evident in all.

Time to try to attach a few photos. I'll give you more on the rest of the family another time.

God's blessings to all,
sue

Father's Day

I am pleased to be back on the blogging. There were some very difficult days since I last wrote,as well as wonderful days. Even though I'm not going in to a lot of detail, perhaps a time of reflection would be in order:

1. Mom died on January 18th and my life as the trustee of the estate and also the named personal representative has become one of duty, honor, and somewhat of a time commitment. What I've found to be a bit surprising is how much RESPONSIBLITY I feel towards their estate. I want to do it just the way they would want, and I'm happy to do it for them. Glad I'm a product of both as I'm using my dad's business sense and my mom's careful watching of the pennies. It's almost done, and I thank God for His speedy timing in the house sale and other things. I missed my mom a lot on her birthday in April and Mother's Day in May. And my dad today. But the Lord is enjoying them and they are celebrating each day with Jesus. Praise Him!

2. Nolan, the wonderful grandson, has cancer again. I think many of you have linked to Ingrid's or Beth's blog to read about him. If you haven't, I'd invite you to do so. The bottom line is this: Nolan has cancer in two places in his body, a tumor in his groin and a small area of this right lung. He has begun chemo again. It has been such shocking and awful news that I really can't put my feelings in to words. But I have watched his parents, Eric and Beth, carry on with more strength than I could ever imagine. I am so proud of them and the way they continue to parent Nolan. And there is another baby on the way...a girl due in early September. JOY! Please, please, keep praying for all of them. God is faithful and He is able. I am trusting in Him and therein is my peace.

3. Sarah!!! She has found out that she is going to be placed in Ukraine with the Peace Corps. I wish I had her blog link on this blog, but you should be able to find her through Ingrids. ( I don't know how to add names and when I first set this up, Ingrid put the two on for me and Sarah didn't have one yet...hope you find her!) She is making all the necessary preparations to make this happen. She's be missed greatly, but I KNOW she'll make such a difference in the lives of all those she encounters. You make me proud, Sar!

Jim and I continue to live in Scottsdale and right now endure the heat. We get up at 5 am most mornings in order to run outside before it gets too hot. Jim is traveling a lot, and he was gone about 75% of the months of April and May. We enjoyed visits from our CA offspring...Drew and Lindsey, ( a quick trip to the Grand Canyon) as well as a fun, random visit from Ingrid! We have lots of room if anyone wants to come see us...we'll share the heat!

This week I'll be joining Jim in Montreal, Canada, on a business related trip. Fun for me, work for him.

That's the news from the desert for this round. Hopefully it won't be such a long DRY spell before the next time...a pun IS intended!! Bless you! Sue

Fairmont Friends

Nancy and Shelley are friends from childhood. The three of us lived next to each other on Day St. in Fairmont, MN, and were very close from elementary school through high school. Nancy was two years ahead of us in school, but we had so many things in common that it was bound to be a friendship that would last over the years.

As young girls we played dolls together, snuck lemon drops and pink peppermints from Nancy's family candy jar, and spent countless hours on our bikes, riding to 'the lake' to spend the summer afternoons swimming and just hanging out together. In later years we all played clarinet, we were all twirlers, and were a part of the marching band that went to California and performed in Disneyland, the Angels stadium, and Knots Berry Farm. There are many memories of a wonderful childhood with wonderful friends.

On March 18th we were togther for the first time in 32 years! We had seen each other on separate occasions but not all three of us at the same time. We are in touch at least a couple of times a year, so the information on each other was fairly current. But what was clear to me is that girls who play dolls together and raid the candy dish and make each other laugh so hard that one of them has to run to the sink because milk is coming out of her nose are friends for life!!

I raise a glass of milk to you, Nancy and Shelley. Cheers to our forever friendship!

Superhero Friend Turns Four!

Well, the Superhero had his fourth birthday the end of February. Jim and I were able to drive to Albuquerque the weekend before Nolan's birthday and celebrate an early birthday with him.

We got there late Friday afternoon and in less than an hour after our arrival this is the scene you would have seen at the Johnson household:

Nolan and Grandma Berson wearing superhero capes ( blankets tied around our necks) carrying the toy guns I had used as a child...cap guns that have lost the ability to work properly but not the ability to entertain and captivate the imagination of an almost four year old! We were the SUPERHERO FRIENDS and we were hunting the Monster.

Yes, you guessed it, Jim was the Monster. He hid and we searched. Nolan and I would hunt room by room to find that monster, but when it was a little bit dark the smaller of the superheros would duck behind the larger superhero and the monster would jump out and scare us. And it would start all over again...

After about a half hour of this game I plopped down on the floor in the livingroom with my cape still in tact and my capgun/pistol in hand. Jim said, " Oh, I wish I had a picture of this!" Sorry, no picture to share, only the memory of a great time with our grandson! Sharing another photo instead, and so thankful I have the picture of an event called SUPERHERO FRIENDS FIND THE MONSTER in my head and heart!

Two weeks

It has been almost two weeks since I received the phone call. It was late afternoon here in Scottsdale, January 18th. We were leaving soon to meet up for dinner with friends Phil and Donna, in town for a Mayo Convention. The day had been so special, as I'd been able to hang out with Donna all day! The phone rang, and the news I received was shocking.

Mom's good neighbors in Lincoln were calling me to tell me that my mom was no longer alive. When mom's friends, a dear couple who would take her out for dinner and play cards almost every Friday night, did not get a response to their knocking they went next door to gain access to the home. Mom was found in her street clothes, sitting on the loveseat with her boots on, but unzipped.( the logical explaination is a massive heart attack related to shoveling.) She had laid her head on the pillow and had died with a peaceful look on her face. Yes, peaceful! Oh, what a blessing to die a non-violent death in your own home. I thank God for His mercy!

These last two weeks have been a blur. I am the named Trustee of both of the trusts, Mom and Dad each had their own. Therefore, I am in charge of seeing that arrangements and all necessary action be done in a timely, prudent, godly way. I take this role very seriously, and try to make all decisions as my Mom and Dad have taught me so faithfully. The list of decisions goes on and on, and is still by no means over. The point I'm trying to make is that my mind has been so caught up in the business end of their lives I've not slowed down enough to shed tears. Until just now.

I opened my 3 girls' blogs: Ingrid, Sarah, and Beth. As I read the tributes Ingrid and Sarah made to Grandma, complete with pictures, the tears started to fall. I cried and am now crying as I type. And then when I read Beth's little New Year's blog I also cried, tears of joy in the dear grandchildren/great-grandchildren of my folks and how life continues and is new and exciting to the living! Praise God for those dear bloggers, their words, and their pictures. It feels good to cry. It was time.

And am I crying for my mom...HECK NO! She's having the time of her life..eternal life that is. She is where she longed to be, dancing with Jesus! Probably with her BOOTS on!

ps. you can access all 3 blogs if you go from mine to Ingrid. Then Ingrid will have Sarah and Beth on hers as links. I don't know how to add Sarah to my links...Ingrid did that for me. Sorry, but I know you can figure it out!

I Finally Figured It Out!

I have been questioned over the years about my love for hosting garage sales. Yesterday I experienced such a sale, one that I held with my friend Susan. How many garage sales have I been a part of? I don't really enjoying GOING to garage sales, but I sure love having them! Many people have asked me why I don't just donate my discards and write it off as a charitable donation. I would sort of stutter around and say something like...'because I love having garage sales' and that was the end of the conversation. Well, yesterday I gained an insight into why I like these things so much. In no particular order... my reasons for having garage sales!

The first part is the joy in 'weeding out'. It's fun to clear out those closets and cupboards of items that no longer work in our lives. With a little bit of prompting I can get Jim to 'go through' his personal items and release them to my care. He found four pair of shoes that were no longer meeting his needs. I washed up the two pair of running shoes and thought to myself...someone will love getting these because they were still looking good, just had too many miles on them for a marathon runner.

The marking portion is fun, too. I try to determine a value that is fair to the buyer. I often price on the 'low' end, but know that someone will be happy to get that item for such a good price. Helping people who may not have as much to spend makes me happy!

Then, the day of the big sale. Oh, just so much to enjoy! Here are some of the things that I remember about yesterday:
1. I got to spend a lot of quality time with Susan. We were together for about five hours and even though there were busy times, we still got to catch up on so many things. The conversation is always so good when having a sale with a friend.
2. I watched families come together. There are often three generations represented in one van that pulled up. Much of the time there is a younger person translating for an elderly person. I saw a mother choosing a couple things she liked and her son told her in spanish the cost and there came the change out of her coin purse.
3. The neighbors stop by. Granted, it's not at my house, but I do know Susan's neighbors and they checked in a couple of times. Social opportunities!
4. Kids and their thrill in the smallest things. There was one girl who picked out a pair of earrings out of Susan's daughter's discards...and she pulled out her own quarter and paid. She was so pleased, both with the earrings and with the fact that she used her own money. So sweet!
5. The same man who has come the last four years ( we have one every year) and asks, " Do you have any musical instruments?" We say 'no' and then just burst out laughing when he leaves. Every single time!
6. The man who told us his 'garage sale' joke a year ago...same guy, same joke! :D
7. The good coffee I get at Susan's house. We keep it going all morning long!
8. The joy of, yesterday at least, seeing about 80% of the inventory disappear.
9. The challenge of adding up each person's sales and then counting the money and seeing how close we came. We were only short by $2, so we each took a dollar less to balance the books! Perfect.
10. The aches and pains after a long day of physical labor are lessened knowing that many people would have something of value in their homes for a very small price.

That final wad of cash ( $10 of it in quarters!) was worth so much more than $74.00!

Priceless memories!

Remembering all the garage sale fun with Mom, Chris, Connie, Lisa, Kathy, Donna, Deepa, and Susan.

Priceless