Soren and Liz's Wedding Weekend in International Falls, MN

Over the weekend we made the trek up to International Falls, MN, which is in the northernmost part of MN, along the Canadian border. Int'l Falls is the self-proclaimed "Ice Box of the Nation" - they often boast the coldest U.S. winter temperatures, sometimes getting down to 40-50 degrees below zero (real temp, not just wind chill!) BRRRRR!

The big event was Matt's cousin Soren's wedding to Liz Ciminski, now Liz Anderson. :) We had a blast! It was an outdoor wedding, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Warm and sunny, but not too hot and not too breezy. We enjoyed seeing many of our Johnson, Anderson, and Essen relatives. Here are some pictures from the fun weekend - the rehearsal dinner and wedding day and reception. Congratulations, Soren and Liz!

Here are all of Soren's uncles singing "Thy Holy Wings, Dear Savior" at the rehearsal dinner. It sounded great and was such a nice family touch to the already special evening. Soren's dad Warren is the closest one to the camera on the right in the green shirt. Warren is a chaplain at Rochester Mayo and also helped perform the wedding ceremony with one of Soren's uncles, Rev. Jim Widboom.


Gwen had fun playing with her Grandpa Craig. It was so cute to watch them enjoy their purple Push Pops together.

Here is a good picture of the Johnson family standing on a deck overlooking Rainy Lake. From L to R: Matt and I, Linnea, Gwen, and Cam, Craig and Karen, and 2 more little girls on the way this fall!

Liz's parents, Debra and Randall, hosted the ceremony in their gorgeous and beautifully landscaped backyard. It looked like something out of a movie! What a special gift for Liz and Soren to be married there. It was just the perfect setting. Matt and his Aunt Karin from Texas did the music for the wedding, and it was beautiful. Both are wonderful musicians and worked hard to put together several pieces for the big day. A great team!


Liz & Soren - the beautiful couple! Liz had her sisters Annie and Erika as her attendants, and Soren had his sister Kristina and his friend David. The flower girl's name is Destry - isn't she cute? You can see Soren and Kristina's mom Rose looking on proudly from the front row. Rose also did an amazing job catering much of the food for the whole wedding weekend - she is so kind and giving, and so talented!


This Bible, cross, purple calla lillies, and "Anderson's" wood carving was sitting up front, next to the wedding party. During the ceremony Warren mentioned something about the cross being a family art project. You can see the white runner in the background. The runner went down a shaded path under a long row of trees where the bride and attendants walked down the aisle. Again, it was such a gorgeous setting.

The Johnson and Anderson cousins at the reception, minus Soren (he was probably walking around with his new bride - go figure!) Bjorn, Cam, Nate, Jed, and Matt - these guys always have a good time when they get together. :)

The Johnson gals at the reception - Karen, Julie, Gwen, and Linnea. Have I mentioned lately how cute Gwen is? What a sweetie, we love her so much!

We had such a fun weekend in International Falls. Thanks to the Anderson and Ciminski families for hosting such a fantastic weekend for everyone. Thanks also to Cam, Linnea, and Gwen for letting Matt and I catch a ride in the minivan from Chicago where we were for our church missions trip. And thanks too to Craig and Karen for driving us back to the Twin Cities. Hmmm... I wonder who is next in the family to have a fun wedding weekend like this? :)

Chicago Missions Trip

Last week Matt and I went on a missions trip to Chicago with our church, Bloomington Covenant. We went through an organization called CSM - the Center for Student Missions. CSM leads urban missions trips for youth and adult groups to various large cities around the country, including Chicago, Los Angeles, NYC, DC, Philadelphia, and more. CSM was fabulous to work with, and I would recommend them to any group seeking a meaningful learning and service urban experience. During the days our group served at Casa Central, which is the largest Hispanic social service agency in the Midwest. They offer many different programs for children and families. We worked with the School Age Program, ages 5-12. We played games, did crafts and activities, played outdoors, went to a water park, and more. We really enjoyed our time at Casa -getting to know the kids and playing with them was so fun and rewarding. Then every evening we went to different sites around Chicago to serve, including a senior home, a soup kitchen, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. GCFD distributes food through qualified agencies to feed hungry people in Chicago. We also ate at a different cultural/ethnic restaurant in the city every night, it was so good. Algerian, Ethiopian, Thai, Mexican, and Lou Malnati's Chicago-style pizza. :) Even though I have eaten Ethiopean before in Minneapolis and it wasn't a totally new experience, I think that was my favorite. SO YUMMY!

We had a wonderful time in Chicago, learning more about the various needs in the city, getting to know others, and growing in our personal walk with God. The following pictures are of our group in front of the church bus before we left MN, and of us at the senior home with residents after we played a rousing (several) games of Bingo. To learn more about how you can get involved with the organizations mentioned above, please visit: www.csm.org, www.casacentral.org, and www.chicagosfoodbank.org. If you ever have the opportunity to volunteer, serve, or go on a missions trip, do so - it is a life changing experience!