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.
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 )
The Pics Are In!!!
Update: We are now Home! [Video - 17mb BIG!]
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!
Travis Finseth’s New Job January 27, 2005
Travis Finseth has accepted a new position at USLegalForms.com.
He will be starting work on Feb 2 2004. The position entails graphic design, web development and programming for a new department. One of the first websites he will be re-building is Divorce.com .
UsLegalForms.com is privately held and is located in Flowood, Mississippi. The office is only ten minutes from the house!
Travis’ company - Nuzu Net Media will merge with UsLegalForms.com. The company will be offering services like - website development, hosting, web application development, Logo and graphic design and search engine optimization.
Christmas 2004 December 23, 2004
To all of our family and friends
“Happy Holidays”!
We have had a great year filled with lots of travel and fun watching our little Reed grow up so fast!
We celebrated Reed’s first birthday in April with a luau! Tutu and Auntie Deb were able to fly out for the celebration and spend time with us for a few days. And earlier in the year Grandma Betty came to visit us and we showed her around the South a little bit. The highlight in our memories was going on a carriage ride in the French Quarter and having beignets and coffee at Café Du Monde in New Orleans before her departure back home! It was such a treat to have family come and visit us!
Reed is really becoming our little boy now. He is 19 months and talking up a storm. He started day care in September and took some time adjusting to being away from “momma”, but now he loves “school”. I went back to work in September with the Office of the State Auditor as a Performance Auditor and am enjoying it so far. Although I miss being at home with Reed! I think it has taken me longer to adjust to our being separated than it has Reed.
Travis is still with MCI as unbelievable as that may be. He is also running his web development business “Nuzu Net Media” on the side and business has been good for him this year. He is also still in school working to obtain his Masters in Business Management, he should graduate in May of this coming year. We are all looking forward to that! He is ready to take a much needed break from all of his commitments!
We were able to travel a good bit this year. In May Mom and Mike took all of the kids and grandkids to Walt Disney World in Florida. We had a great time, and Reed loved seeing his “Pappy”, Grandma, auntie, and cousins! He also LOVED Pluto! Amazingly he really had no fear of the characters, although his cousin Kylee felt the opposite and would cling to the closest family member if one came near! It was also special to celebrate Anthony’s 7th birthday there as well – we had dinner with Mickey Mouse and gang! It was a great time had by us all!
In August we met Travis’ parents, Terry and Michele, in Istanbul Turkey. We spent a few days in Istanbul then traveled by car to Troy, Canakkale, Ephesus, Bergama, Izmir, Pammukkale, and Antalya. It was so neat to see a few of the seven churches of Revelation and to be able to visualize places where Jesus and others like Paul traveled. Ephesus is truly amazing, at 5,000 years old it is still in very good condition – there are still mosaic tile floors throughout the city! Turkey was a great experience for us, and the Turkish people are really very nice and LOVE children! Reed was kissed, held, hugged, and had his cheeks pinched more times than we could count! Our time in Turkey was wonderful and I know Reed enjoyed being with his Nonno and Nonna during that time!
From Antalya we left Terry and Michele and headed by ferry to Greece. We spent a few days on the island of Rhodes where we spent most of our time taking in the ancient ruins and the fully intact medieval city. From there we traveled to Athens and watched the opening ceremonies for the Paralympics, and toured the Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus, and more ancient ruins (we have seen enough ruins to last us a few decades). It was a once in a lifetime trip and we loved every minute of it!
In October, just on the heels of Hurricane Ivan, we met Mom and Mike in Pensacola, FL where we traveled to Destin for some fun in the sun! We stayed in a beautiful condo close to the beach, and enjoyed great food! We began to worry about the damage to Destin as we drove through Mobile, AL and into Pensacola, FL! The damage was terrifying! It affirmed God’s words of “the foolish man builds his house upon the sand”! But when we arrived in Destin it was as beautiful as always and the water was even as clear and calm as I’ve ever seen it! We had a wonderful time relaxing and spending time with family!
This Christmas we will be here in Mississippi and Terry, Michele, Will, and Malia will be joining us! We are so excited to spend time together for the holidays! To all of our family and friends we will miss this year we love you and wish you all a very Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!
God’s Love and Peace to you! Travis, Jaime & Reed
Beius, Romania. Covering the months of March, April, and May May 23, 2004
23 May 2004 -
Howdy friends!
Spring in Beius brought vacations, volunteer teams from Habitat for Humanity, visits from friends, and views of Romanian tradition, along with the customary rain, shine, flowers, and green. Yet despite new growth all around us, our numbers have been pruned down. Jana and Jeff departed as forward scouts of the homeward trail on May 10th. They will begin work in Boise this next week, after a few days of adjustment and family time.
Before Jeff and Jana left to join American efficiency, they enrolled with Mom
and I on a quest to add a few more stamps to our passports. Our circular route
through Eastern Europe hit Budapest (Hungary), Krakow (Poland), Prague (Czech
Republic), and Vienna (Austria), before returning home by way of Budapest.
Despite rain or snow 9 of 10 days, we had a wonderful time sight-seeing and
calculating the local currencies. Sue Phillips joined us for the Prague
through Budapest portion of the trip, spreading love from home. While many of
the countries in that region joined the European Union this month, differences
such as the devout Catholicism of Krakow or the business-like manner of Vienna
still are evident. Strangely, the atmosphere of Prague’s wonderfully blackened
Gothic architecture was almost swamped by the flood of Italian high-school
students present.
Also in March, the first Habitat for Humanity teams rolled into Beius to
construct houses. Good Samaritan (GS) is contracted to provide breakfast and
lunch for these groups. This job and its training possibilities for the GS
orphans prompted Jana and Sheila to return to the restaurant scene, assisted by
Jeff as well. For three weeks they coordinated and cooked, planned and
purchased. The Habitat teams were pleased, the orphans learned some new
skills, and we all got to converse to new people in English.
Noah’s Ark, the small farm and group home for developmentally-disabled young
women, in the village of Finis has been the site of much of our energy this
spring. In our first months here, we noticed that the girls at Noah’s Ark
badly needed a supervisor who would provide love, discipline, and instruction.
In March, a “mama” for Noah’s Ark was finally located and hired! After three
months of having a mother, the positive effects are evident in the girls’
behaviors.
Noah’s Ark is a partnership between Good Samaritan and the Minimum Sisters.
These Italian nuns and their Romanian staff are filling a key role in Beius and
the surrounding villages, daily providing after-school programs for the many
children that are neglected by their families. The children receive assistance
on their homework, get instruction on personal hygiene, sing and pray, and
receive much-needed attention and love. We have spent many days in the last
few months doing landscape, construction, and maintenance work at the Sisters’
centers. Of course, working for Italians, we are fed very well — no small
perk. Pasta cooked perfectly, homemade sauces, imported products from Italy,
coffee and cookies, yum yum!
Eating at the Sisters’ fed our desire to travel to Italy, so in late April, Mom,
Dad, and I took a two week vacation to visit friends and family in Italy, as
well as to indulge in the Italian culinary efforts. Sue Phillips also joined
us for the first leg of this trip, after her and Karl celebrated Easter with
our family in Beius. Across the country, the flowers were in full bloom,
making every walk a field trip in fragrances. Coincidental experiences, such
as stumbling into the middle of the Florence marathon, filled this wonderful
trip. Strangely, as I traveled about, I found that I could understand Italian
better than I could Romanian, perhaps an indication of my poor Romanian
language skills or the quality of the one Italian class I’ve taken.
Clark, however, continues to amaze me with his handle on the Romanian language.
Often, a member of the family we live with will speak to Clark. He will reply
to the question or run off and do some chore, as I sit trying to fill in the
gaps between the few words I recognized. Furthermore, Clark now sometimes
serves as our translator when people come to visit; perhaps we all should have
enrolled in the first grade here. Clark has a 10 year old neighbor friend who
speaks some English. Watching them play, I’ve noticed that they speak to each
other in the other’s native language. I suppose this keeps the conversation on
a level they both can understand.
Our ignorance of Romanian tradition is perhaps greater than our language
deficiency. One startling example comes to mind. Jana was walking Clark home
from school one afternoon. As they were strolling along on the sidewalk by a
large apartment building, a large quantity of water splashed the concrete a
step in front of them. Quickly looking up, Jana glimpsed a bucket retreating
through a fifth-floor window. For a week, this incident remained a mystery.
Then while talking with Adi, the 18 year old son of our host family, we brought
up this near drenching. Laughing, he explained that the day must have been the
feast of Saint George. Tradition on this day, at least for young chaps, is to
throw water on cute girls. Adi, of course, has matured beyond this juvenile
practice, he assured us. However, he was unable to explain the origin of this
tradition, so if any of you knowledgeable (or creative) readers can explain (or
hypothesize) the connection between falling buckets of water and St. George, I
would like to know.
Throughout our stay in Romania, we have been alerted to many weddings that were
occurring in Beius as lines of decorated cars, horns blaring, parade down the
street. Last weekend, we finally got the insider’s look at the Romanian
wedding traditions. Nini, the older son of our host family, and the lovely
Rebeca, were married in the city of Cluj. As close friends, our family got to
tag along through all the day’s events. Meeting up with the groom and his
family at 10:00 at Nini’s apartment, we decorated the cars with ribbons and
flowers before heading in convoy to pick up Rebeca at her home. Nini greeted
Rebeca with her flower bouquet, before they loaded into a borrowed Audi A4
convertible for the ride to the courthouse. After the legal marriage, the
singing of “La Multi Ani” (the Romanian greeting and song used for birthdays,
name days, weddings, and many holidays), and a brief reception, we went to the
largest botanical garden in Romania to take pictures. Following pictures was
the two-and-a-half hour wedding ceremony at a Lord’s Army Romanian Orthodox
Church. (The Lord’s Army, started in the 1920’s, is a revival movement among
the Orthodox that has a predominantly evangelical feel.) Beautiful singing by
a enthusiastic choir preceded the entrance of the bride and groom and their
godparents. (Godparents are a married couple chosen by the couple to be
mentors.) Unlike the typical American wedding, this entrance wasn’t a dramatic
event. Sermons and prayers by lay preachers and more singing led into the
marriage ceremony, which was performed by an Orthodox priest. This involved
the couple getting crowned with wreaths of flowers, circling the altar three
times while joined by a ribbon to their godparents, and having the godparents
place the rings on the couple’s fingers. The whole ceremony seemed very
faith-filled and alive, even though I understood little. The following
reception was held at an American restaurant, lasting from 15:00 to 22:00. In
the first six hours, the equivalent of three full meals were served, disguised
as both warm and cold appetizers, a main course, and the cake dessert. The
bride and groom getting cake smashed up their noses is a Romanian custom as
well, although with the difference of close friends being the perpetrators as
the couple attempts to eat from the same slice of cake. At night’s end, I
could safely say I had never eaten so much in my life. Socializing was the
only activity in between courses, so I wasn’t even able to dance and digest.
Almost forgot the kidnapping of the bride, with the ransom paid by the
godfather, as part of the traditional reception.
Now, only 6 weeks remain before the jet plane takes us westward. Today we
compiled a to-do list for the remaining time; we have no lack of projects, it
appears. I apologize for the long span between updates. Translating Good
Samaritan donor relations documents from Romanian-English to American-English
has taken the edge off my writing urge.
Although we hope to see many of you shortly, we still enjoy all contact and
correspondence we receive. I doubt any more general updates (bearing my name
at least) will be sent your direction from Transylvania, yet I plan to write a
final chapter to be sent out before the summer ends. For the epilogue on my
Romanian experience, I guess my life will display more than a few words could
hope to.
Peace and Joy,
dominic
P.S. Remember the website:
http://barney.gonzaga.edu/~dbruno
There you can currently view pictures from March, including an amazing display
of pollution and some fun dentist pictures. I’ve selected the Eastern Europe
and April Pictures, but have yet to post them (scheduled for late this week).
Note: Frank, Sheila, Jana, Jeff, Dominic, Clark and Aurelia are on a one year mission to Romania.
They need our prayers and support. Links to Dominics website:
A Time Capsule for Reed March 19, 2004
Hello dear friends & family! We can’t believe that it has already been almost a year since our little Reed came into our lives, but the time is near for his 1st birthday!
We would like to do a special thing for him on this very special day and want to have all of you invloved! This way you too can be a part of this special day! We are going to make a time capsule for him that he can open in the year 2020. And we need for YOU to help us fill it! How can you do this you ask? Great question, here are some suggestions:
Write a letter (doesn’t need to be long)
Send a favorite photo
Send a favorite keepsake
Provide words of wisdom for him in his late teen/adult years
Anything you like…something special for him to open when he is 17!
We would like to have all items before April 29th so that we can close the capsule for the next 17 years!
Can’t wait to receive these special words for our son to cherish later in life!
Love,
The Finseth’s
Reed’s Rotavirus February 9, 2004
Reed is at home and feeling much better! For those of you who don’t know, we had to take him in to the hospital because he was getting dehydrated. The Doctor thinks he had ROTO Virus.
We went in on Friday afternoon, and they hooked him up to an I.V. He was pale and his skin had a yellowish tint. He lost about 1.5lbs during the week. We thought he was on the mend on Thursday, but that night he woke up with really bad stomach cramps. Jaime took him to see the Doc on Friday afternoon, and they decided to admit him.
He did really well at the Hospital. It was really sad to see him comeback after getting his I.V. He looked at us and started crying ;(
Read more about the Roto Virus below, Click here to see Reed at the hospital >>
WHAT IS ROTAVIRAL GASTROENTERITIS?
Rotaviral Gastroenteritis is an infection of the intestinal tract caused by Rotavirus. This disease is the one of the most common causes of diarrhea in children, and is an important cause of acute intestinal infection in children attending child care.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
Within 1 to 3 days of exposure to Rotavirus, vomiting occurs followed by an episode of watery diarrhea. The period of vomiting usually lasts for about 3 days, and the diarrheal phase can last anywhere from 3 to 8 days. These symptoms are frequently accompanied by fever and abdominal pain. Without adequate fluid replacement, severe body fluid loss will occur, which may result in death.
WHERE DOES IT COME FROM AND HOW IS IT TRANSMITTED?
Most human infections involving Rotavirus result from contact with other infected humans. Rotavirus in animals occur in many species, but transmission from animals to humans has not been documented.
Rotavirus may also be found in sewage contaminated waters. Foods harvested from these waters, or irrigated with these waters, and eaten raw may result in Rotaviral Gastroenteritis in both adults and children. The number of virus particles necessary to cause infection is low, and the disease is easily spread by person-to-person contact through hand-to-mouth transfer of the Rotavirus from the feces of an infected individual. Objects such as toys or food may easily become contaminated by an infected person if hands are not washed after using the toilet.
CAN THE DISEASE BE TREATED?
Rotaviral Gastroenteritis cannot be treated. Cases involving severe diarrhea require that body fluids and electrolytes be replaced to prevent dehydration. Infection generally gives a person long term immunity to the disease.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT ROTAVIRAL GASTROENTERITIS?
Hands should be thoroughly washed with plenty of soap and hot water after using the toilet, or changing children’s diapers, and always before handling or eating food. Children especially must be encouraged to wash their hands and clean under their fingernails. Ensure that all foods consumed raw are thoroughly washed first. Meats and poultry should be cooked thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 75º Celsius (165ºF). Travellers to areas with inadequate sanitary facilities should only eat cooked foods, served hot. Avoid the consumption of ice, salads, and raw vegetables when traveling in these areas. Eat only raw fruits that have been thoroughly washed and can be peeled.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER CONCERNS?
Since the Rotavirus is passed in the feces, only people with active diarrhea who are unable to control their bowel habits (for example: infants, young children, certain handicapped individuals, etc.) should be isolated. Most infected people may return to work or school when their stools become formed provided that they carefully wash their hands after toilet visits. Food handlers, children in day care centres, and health care workers must obtain the approval of the local Health Authority before returning to their routine activities.
