All Things Finseth

Happy 1st Birthday Cade! October 13, 2008

Wow how time flies!  I can’t believe our Cade is a year old (on the 19th)!  We celebrated his birthday yesterday with the traditional 1st birthday luau with friends.  The weather was perfect and we all had a wonderful time.  In keeping with the luau theme I made him a cake shaped like a surfboard and Cades personal cake was a sea turtle.  They turned out really cute considering it was the first time I’ve done this.  All the kids wore their hawaiian outfits and accessorized with fresh orchid leis from Hawaii (thank you auntie Deb and uncle Ray)!  Cade was having a great time trying to pull his apart. 

We feasted on kalua pork with rice, fumi (chinese cabbage salad), and fresh fruit.  There were no leftovers this time everyone really ate well! :)  Cade especially loved the fruit -bananas are his favorite.  He really enjoyed the company during dinner he clapped and gave us his cute little squenched up grin several times. 

After supper Cade opened his gifts with the help of his big brother and sis!  They were more excited than he was over this as he is still unaware of what all the ruckus is about!  All he knew was everyone was really excited and happy and so he was too!  He received great gifts of which he is thankful to all of our friends for thinking of him so dearly.

Then came CAKE!  Mari’s favorite part of the whole party!  I had to hold her off the WHOLE DAY!  And trust me this in not an easy feat.  She did get a few pokes here and there but I did succeed for the most part.  I now think that Cade will equally love this part the most.  He LOVED his cake and would have eaten the whole thing had we of not taken it from him.  He was smiling from ear to ear with every bite, showing us his cake between chews.  He was by far the cleanest of all the kids eating his cake - no frosting in the hair or ears.  Almost disappointing.  Mari wears her dessert.  It is more fun that way!

The kids all played hard and had a wonderful time.  I can’t believe they are all so big now!  Our latest count of kids of our group of friends is now 21 (Reed being the oldest at 5 1/2) and 2 more on the way in December and January!  It is wild!  We are so blessed.

 Remeber if you haven’t contributed to the kids’ time capsules please do!  We want you to be a part of this wonderful tradition.

See Cades birthday pics here. http://flickr.com/photos/12363472@N00/sets/72157607980594319/

Facts about Cade during his first year:

1.  He is very laid back and easy going - ALWAYS happy.  2.  Loves to play “smack down” with daddy.  3.  First word “Mama” 4.  Favorite toys- cars, balls, and music.  5.  Loves to climb.  6.  Currently has 6 teeth.  7.  Loves Bananas, Cheese, Meatloaf and anything sweet - Hates most everything else.      8.  Still “cruising” the furniture - not walking; he can stand unsupported as long as he doesn’t realize that is what he is doing! :)  9.  Is most happy when we all play on the floor together especially with Reed and Mari.  10.  Likes to “dance” with mommy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADE!         

Finseth 5 Family Update September 30, 2008

This is my first attempt at adding a blog.  I hope to do this regularly to better communicate with our family and friends what is happening in our daily lives.  With our children growing like little weeds and spreading lots of joy around the house we want to share all the fun (and not so fun) moments with you! 

At the moment Mari just woke up from her afternoon nap and is playing with Reed in the livingroom.  They are so funny together.  They love to run and jump on the furniture (not that they are allowed to do this, but despite repeated disipline attempts for disobeying this rule they continue this behavior and could care less about any consequences that will occur - I guess some things are just worth it!) and “smack-down” eachother.  Cade is still napping.  So we are still trying to keep the volume level low - YEAH RIGHT!  LOL! 

Sunday we all went to Gluckstadt, MS to the German Festival.  This is the first time we’ve been and it was fun.  We went with some friends of ours Alex, Rui, Richard and Sasha.  Reed and Richard used to go to daycare together and have been the best of friends since!  We ate well and played lots of games.  Reed and Richard even went rock climbing!  It was nice to get out and do something different for a change. 

Reed is playing baseball for the first time.  He is loving it so far.  They just got their uniforms and hats and he is so excited.  His coach is really good and won the 6 year old little league world series last year.  His first game is this Sunday and we can’t wait to watch him play!

The 21st of September marked Mari’s age as 2 1/2 years.  So as the theory goes if you measure your child at this age and double it you can get a good idea of how tall they will be as a full grown adult.  We did this with Reed and have predicted that he will be 6′1″ tall.  We measured Mari and she is 38 1/4″ tall.  If you do the math that is a whopping 6′3 1/2″ tall!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! It is in the genes so this is highly possible.  I told Travis that he better get a basketball in her hands now!  WNBA here we come!!!!!  We know that she is tall but to put it in that perspective is just totally mind blowing.   

Cade is so cute.  Almost a year already, I can’t believe it.  The time has just flown by.  I think by the time you have your third (or more) child you just do what you can to make it day by day and you don’t have the time to take in all the moments like you did with the first and even the second.  He isn’t walking yet, but we guess that is coming pretty soon.  But for now he is content to crawl after his siblings.  They all love eachother so much it is so cute to watch them play with eachother and get so tickled.  Cade laughs the hardest when he is playing with Reed and Marianna.  We will be celebrating his birthday in a couple weeks with our traditional first birthday luau!  It will be fun.  And remember to send us your item(s) for his time capsule! 

 Well it is almost bedtime and I need to get some children to bed so that I can have some quiet time!  It is a necessity! Signing off - Jaime (in case you didn’t know)!

Christmas 2007 December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas all!

more Finseth pics here

Cade Solomon Finseth October 20, 2007

Cade was born on Friday, October 19th 2007! Travis, Jaime, Reed and Marianna were happy to finally see their new family member. He was born at 5:02pm 21in. long and 8lbs 10oz.

 See Cades birthday slideshow.

Elephants Are Smart September 25, 2007

In 1986, Travis Finseth was on holiday in Fiji after graduating from Belhaven College.
On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed so Travis approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant’s foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Travis worked the wood out with his hunting knife after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man and, with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Travis stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Travis never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Travis was walking through the Jackson, Mississippi Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Travis and his son Tristan Reed were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Travis, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly all the while staring at the man. Remembering the encounter in 1986, Travis couldn’t help wondering if this was the same elephant. Travis summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Travis’s legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn’t the same elephant.

Marianna Mae Finseth Born March 21 2006 March 21, 2006

Marianna Mae (Mari) was born at 2.48pm on the 21st. She weighed 7lbs 5oz and is a tall 21 inches! ( Reed was 20&1/4 )

Update: We are now Home! [Video - 17mb BIG!]

Christian Leadership March 16, 2006

Leadership is a critical element for success in business. The leader of the organization will make the necessary ethical and moral decisions to impact the rest of the company. The leader must lead by example and implement a Biblically based organizational structure. Servant leadership in a flat organization will pass the moral principles to the rest of the organization in an effective manner. Employees must be empowered and allowed to communicate their concerns to top management. Communication must be similar to the way Jesus taught His disciples.

The company as a whole must be involved in major decisions. The decisions must be made from a Christian point of view. Moral and ethical implications must be measured in all decision making process’. It is important to ask the question, “What would God do?”

A Christian organization will outperform secular competitors because of the trust within the organization. The customers will be loyal. Decisions will be made with the best interest of all the parties involved and the company will earn respect as a fair competitor.

Leading by example gave Christ the ability to control the outcome of any situation. Secular leaders often believe that dictatorship is the best way to get results. They think that their position gives them the authority to lead in the manner that they see fit. Christ disproved this method by becoming a servant leader and leader by example. He proved that the best way to lead is to humble one’s self and to live on the same level as the followers. Christ did not succumb to the inherent self-indulgence that man is accustomed.

Throughout his ministry Jesus sought to transfer knowledge to the people. He wanted all to accept God into their hearts and become saved. Christ kept the big picture at the forefront of His motivation. He knew that God had sent Him to earth with a mission. By communicating effectively, He accomplished more than any other mortal ever has.

I Timothy Chapter 4 verses 4-7:
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales.”

God has given us the ability to be creative with our minds. He created us, as we are told by Genesis, and He saw that we were good. We must use our talents and abilities to create things that glorify him. This is an important fact that must not be forgotten as we live our day-to-day lives. Even though our specific job may not seem to fit this ideal, our ultimate goal in life must be to minister the truths of the faith. People that have the ability to become great leaders have been given a special opportunity to have a lot of influence over other people. They can choose to serve their own purpose, by trying to get ahead, or by leading in a humanistic manner. They can also choose to manage the creativity of the people in their organization to achieve only company objectives. Or they can allow their peers to be actively creative in the organization, giving them guidance from the Christian perspective that will allow them to achieve greatness within and also outside the organization.

Christian leadership does not involve shoving religion down people’s throats, but can be used as an underlying force for decision-making. Because we’re made in God’s image, everything we create can be good. It is up to us, however, to actively pursue Christian standards within our circle of influence. By doing this we become good ministers and our creativity will teach the truths of the Christian faith.

Note: From time to time we will post some of our personal writing if it is deemed adeqate!
This short essay was written for Communications class MBA608 at Belhaven.

Hurricane Katrina August 30, 2005

News from the front.  We (Malia and Will) spoke with Travis, Jamie, and Reed ealier today (August 29th).  They report that Katrina has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression, which leaves them with no power and a heck of a mess.  Travis will post pictures o­nce the Internet is back up.

Update:

Friends and Family,

We were surprized by the severity of this storm so far inland. It’s hard to imagine what it was like on the coast.

We came through without damage to the house or vehicles. We were without power for about 30 hours. Our power came back up quickly compared to much of the city. About 50% are still without electricity. Thankfully our Internet just came back up.

Approx 30 houses in our neighborhood have falling tree damage. The new big issue is gas. Lines are often 100 cars long.

We took a couple of pics and vids during and after the hurricane. See the Hurricane Album

Thanks for your prayers. Please keep praying for those less fortunate. Also pray for our cousin Jeff who broke both of his arms in a fall at work in Colorado.

Update 3:

Had a little trouble adding Hurricane Pics and Vids

Travis Finseth Finishes His Masters May 20, 2005

Travis completed the masters program. Assuming that his paper passes inspection, he will graduate with a management degree: Masters of Science in Management, MSM. He worked on his thesis (Nuzu Net Media Business Plan) for three months, with a big final push at the end. He was fairly exhausted after presenting his plan on Monday night, having worked 12-14 hours for five days straight. Copies of the plan can be requested, but will not be posted for everyones browsing pleasure!

Original celebration plans were to finally go back to Fiji for a visit, however the new job put a stop to that. The beach in Destin will have to do for now!

Travis has been entertaining ideas about what to do next… He is interested in getting some Internet specific education in programming and design. He is also considering a new writing venture. The basic premise will be writing basketball shoe reviews. The web provides a simple free publisher!

Jaime Finseth’s First Mississippi State Audit Document - SCHIP April 7, 2005

We are proud to announce Jaime’s first published audit for the Mississippi State Auditor - Phil Bryant. This is “A Limited Review of the Children’s Health Insurance Program”

You can download the document from this link. [PDF]-(warning this is a big document-right click and save to your computer).

Jaime Finseth wrote, developed all of the recommendations and formatted the full document.