IN
MEMORY
and
GIVING THANKS
May 24, 2009
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A couple days ago I was outside taking pictures of our tulips.
I noticed Ken standing in the yard, looking contemplative.
It reminded me of a poster I once saw.
Poster of “Little Farmers”:
Had to take Ken’s picture to compare:
What do YOU think??
I hope you are all enjoying your Memorial Day weekend—keeping in mind those who sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedom, and also those brave soldiers that are still doing so. God Bless you all.
May 20, 2009
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WHEW!!
What a weekend!!
We are NOT used to so much activity at once.
But it was wonderful!!
Saturday morning we traveled down to Milwaukee for the newlywed’s graduation.
The Cum laude graduates/newlyweds
This picture was taken at the Baccalaureate service before the graduation service.
The graduates/newlyweds with both sets of parents after graduation.
We left before this. We had arrived when the doors opened, and had 3 hrs. of sitting in the bleachers. We chose the bleachers to be closer to the stage, but didn’t realize that every one would come and stand in front of us to take pictures of their graduates!! We were on the bottom seats of the bleachers. We couldn’t see a thing once the diplomas were being handed out. Ken had gotten up much earlier and went to the back of the field house so he could walk around. My back started bothering me about 1/2 way through the diplomas, so I told Greg and Lori that we were going to leave already. Lyd and Nate had received their diplomas already anyway.
We drove the 1 1/2 hrs. back home, and had just a little over an hour before we had to leave to go to Avery’s concert at Lutheran High Saturday evening. Ken decided that after 3 hrs. of driving and 3 hrs. at the graduation that he couldn’t handle another 2 hrs. in hard-seated folding chairs. So, I drove over to Greg’s and went with them. They had just gotten home from graduation. They sat in the bleachers at Lutheran, but I sat right by them on the end of a folding chair aisle. The concert has just started and in walks the newlyweds. They decided to come up for the concert, too.
Avery was in the large choir, the swing group, the barbershop quartet, and a 9 guy acapella group, and also did a duet with his girlfriend, who also plays the guitar. It was all VERY good, but the sound system wasn’t the greatest. The guys’ barbershop group (They did Hello Mary Lou again) got the biggest round of applause of any of the performances, along with yells and hollers!!
The art class also had a display of art work in the commons area, which we looked at after the performance. Avery had several pieces in the show, and all were excellent. Greg had won a newpaper contest with a photo he had taken years ago when they lived up north on a lake on a private ranch. The picture was of a tree stump with the little lake behind it. Avery took that photo and painted an impressionistic painting of it.
Avery and his painting:
Came home, and couldn’t sleep well. So much excitement!! Think I got about 4 hrs sleep.
Sunday morning was granddaughter, Louise’s confirmation. And the newlyweds showed up again for that! It was a very nice service. In our church, the confirmands are usually “examined” by Pastor in front of the congregation the week before Confirmation. That means they are asked questions in order to show that they are knowledgeable about the beliefs of our church. In recent years a lot of churches have started something different. And this church is one of them. Each confirmand gets up and reads an essay. Sometimes it is a topic of their own choosing, or else an essay on the various tenets of the church—which is what this church did. Louise’s essay was on The Lord’s Supper—Holy Communion, and she did a great job with it. They each even had a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate their essays. There were 6 confirmands—-all girls.
Greg’s family with Louise. Silas wasn’t there—he is still at college. But, as I mentioned before, the newlyweds made it.
When I saw this picture of Ken and I with Louise, I was not happy. That sweater makes me look even heavier than I already am!! Louise looked adorable—as always.
I said this was a picture of Ken, Skinny Minnie, and Two Ton Tessie!! lol
After confirmation, we were invited over to Greg’s for lunch, which was fun. Got home around 3:30—and collapsed!
So, it was one wild, busy, wonderful, and VERY memorable weekend.
I think Greg and Lori were happy it was all over, too!
Then in two weeks, we (and they) have Avery’s high school graduation. No party for that, though.
On Monday, Lydia had to come up here again regarding her job. She stopped in here to pick up some things they could use in their apartment. And, she will be here again to pick up a couple things she couldn’t fit into the car on Monday.
So many of her friends on Facebook were asking her for details on their wedding. She wrote the following, and I got permission to put it up here for our family and friends.
Back in September, Nate and I were deciding where we wanted our relationship to go, and we both knew that we wanted to get married. We decided that a big wedding was not for us, first of all, he is going on to grad school and money would be a bit tight, and second of all, we didn’t want to go through all of the planning associated with a wedding. We decided that the best thing to do was to “elope” or get married in a courthouse.
Since then, we had been taking care of little things like buying rings, finding an apartment, pre-marital counseling, how it would happen, how Nate’s mom would react, and stuff like that.
We ended up having a small ceremony performed by the campus pastor. We got married May 14 in the mini chapel on campus. Mark, Nate’s brother, and Kate, Lydia’s good friend, were there as witnesses, and for support. It was short, and sweet, just how we wanted it to be.
After the wedding, we called our parents, siblings, and grandparents to tell them the good news. They were overwhelmingly shocked, yet so happy for us. Nate’s brother Lucas was by far the funniest, all we heard on the other line was silence followed by “that’s just great guys.” My grandma was also funny and wouldn’t believe it happened until she saw the ring on my finger. She called my mom though and soon found out that it was true.
As of today, Nate and I live in Sheboygan. Half-way between his school (CUW), and my work (Holy Family in Manitowoc). We are both very happy and appreciate all of your congratulations and support through this time in our lives.
May 15, 2009
May 14, 2009
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SHOCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just received a phone call from granddaughter, Lydia.
She will be graduating from Concordia University down near Milwaukee on Saturday.
TODAY SHE GOT MARRIED!!
NOBODY knew about it, not even son, Greg, or Lori.
Lydia called us just after telling them. I refused to believe it—thought it was a silly joke.
She finally convinced me.
She and her new hubby, Nate, had been planning this since September.
Greg and Lori had always said that they wished that they themselves had eloped, and I guess Lydia picked up on the idea. I called Greg and Lori immediately after hanging up from Lydia. They are very excited, to say the least. They (and we, too) like Nate a LOT! Lydia and Nate make a great couple.
She and Nate have been going together since their freshman year at Concordia.
Nate is the son of Lutheran lay missionaries.
His dad is now studying for the ministry. His mom is a teacher.
Lori said Nate hadn’t been able to reach his parents yet to tell them. They will be coming for the graduation. Greg and Lori have met them, but we haven’t. Lots to celebrate on Saturday now!!!
Lydia is the one who will be the Athletic Trainer at the Lutheran high school she graduated from here.
Nate still has 3 yrs. of post-graduate schooling at Concordia in order to be a Physical Therapist.
They will move into their apartment tonight. It is in Sheboygan, about midway between here and Concordia. They will both have to commute to school and work. They are having a party for school friends to celebrate this evening.
Nate’s next younger brother, who also attends Concordia, was Nate’s best man. Lydia’s former roommate was her maid of honor. An on-campus minister married them. It was just the 5 of them—no one else.
Just thought of something. Sure hope somebody remembered to take pictures!!!Our first grandchild to get married!!
I swiped this picture from Lydia’s Facebook. This picture is probably a year or more old.
CONGRATULATIONS
LYD AND NATE!!
MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOUR LIFE TOGETHER!!!(EDIT)
Lori called and said she had talked to Lyd again. The party this evening was NOT for them. A school friend of theirs turned 21, and the party was for him/her, and had been planned for quite a while. They will announce their marriage at the party, though. I know everyone will be surprised. They kept this a very well-kept secret!!
Also, Nate’s folks also know now. Guess Nate called his older brother and told him. The brother managed to reach his folks before Nate did. The brother told the folks. They are happy and excited, too.
It is finally sinking in for Greg and Lori.
No Lyd around the house this summer—or at least until she had found an apartment locally.
Greg will miss having his running buddy around.
Louise and Sylvia are figuring what to do with the extra space in the bedroom they shared with Lyd when she was home. lol
And us?? We figure we now have 14 grandchildren instead of 13!!! Nate evens up the boy/girl ratio again after Catalina’s birth last year made it lopsided. 7 girls, 7 boys!!
May 8, 2009
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Son, Jeff, the “Traveler” put the following up on his Facebook page:
Spending the weekend in Nashville. Tonight we are parked at The Eagle’s Nest- a bus repair shop. Sawyer Brown’s and Kenny Chesney’s buses are parked behind ours and I’m staring at Travis Tritt’s Silver Eagle right next door. Dis iz kewl.
For those of you who don’t know, these are all top Country music artists.
I told him that it is too bad that the artists themselves aren’t there, too.
Am sure those buses are there either for repairs, or are being stored there when the singers aren’t using them.
May 7, 2009
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May is a VERY busy month—for us anyway.
After being sedentary all winter, it seems there is so much going on.
The travelers are now in Birmingham, Alabama, but I believe they will be leaving there this weekend. They will go up to Nashville by Mindy and Hannah for a few days. The bus needs some work done on it, and there is an Eagle company there that can do it.
Judy and the kids went up to Nashville last weekend, while Jeff stayed behind. He works 7 days a week before a golf tournament. With all the rain they have had in the Birmingham area, Jeff is working in some slimy clay mud!
Mindy put up some pictures from the visit.
Mindy, Catalina and Hannah
Just Catalina
After the travelers leave Nashville, they will be going to Des Moines for another golf tournament job. That will last until June 2. Then they will make a stop by one of Judy’s brothers in SW Wisconsin. Then on up to LaCrosse. After that they will be here in mid-June—-Yippee!!!
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In the meantime, we have Lydia’s college graduation in Milwaukee, Louise’s confirmation, and Avery’s high school graduation this month. Greg’s family will be here for Mother’s Day for a fry-out. We have received two invites for graduations from extended family. Cannot attend either one of them, since the dates interfere with grandchildren’s things. Oh, and we have a couple Dr. appointments stuck in there somewhere, too. Just check-ups.
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Received a phone call from grandson, Jacob, who is in Chiropractic College in California. He took his first board exam a while back, and said he passed, and did very well. I think he still has two to go. He will be graduating in Sept. of 2010. He has one more quarter of classes to go, and then he will be working in the school clinic for the rest of his time. Good going, Jacob!!
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Local grandson, Avery, will graduate high school the end of the month. He is the one who sang in the barbershop quartet that I had on here. They had the state competition this past Saturday. The larger swing choir took a second, and his barbershop group took a first!
The local area barbershop group has approached him about joining their group. He is seriously thinking about it. He really enjoyed doing it in school.
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That is most of the family news
But I do have to tell you a story about Ken.
Yesterday he came in from outside, sat down in his chair next to mine, and said that something unbelievable had just happened.
He had noticed that the fountain in our little pond was not pushing the water out as high as usual. This pic of the pond is a couple years old, and at this time of the year, only tulips and daffodils are out right now. But gives you an idea of what I am talking about.
He had knelt by the pond and reached in and cleaned out the pump. He had just replaced it, keeping his left hand on the rock ledge on the top for support while leaning over.
The birds will often walk along the ledge trying to get to the water, but the water level is too far below the rim for them to reach. (We do have two birdbaths in the area).
He was just ready to remove his left hand from the ledge, when a little female goldfinch landed on the rock right next to his hand. The bird was hopping back and forth on the rock, trying to figure out how to get to the water. Ken stayed very still, and just slowly turned his left hand palm up on the rock.
Would you believe the bird hopped right onto his hand!!
He then slowly lifted his hand and moved it down to the water in the pond. The bird hopped to the edge of his hand and drank it’s fill of water, and then flew away!
AMAZING!!
The way I figure it is that because Ken is always outside working around the yard, the birds have gotten used to him being around, and don’t see him as much of a threat. But, even at that, I never heard of something like this!! Wish I could have gotten it on film!! But it probably would not have happened if I had been outside.
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Today is a gorgeous day—all the way up to 67 at noon, with bright sunshine. It is going to cloud up and cool down again, but a day like this is letting me know that nice weather almost every day is not far away!!
Ken even went out today and started buying flowers for our pots and hanging baskets, and also for his folks’ grave.
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Hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!
April 28, 2009
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I’ve decided that it is all Sunny C’s fault.
She is the one who got me addicted—
to Farm Town on Facebook.
DianeLub is also addicted. There are also other Xangans there, too.
Diane put up a picture of her farm here on her blog, and explained the ways in
which we waste our time.
She was even kind enough to e-mail a screen shot of my farm, so I could share mine with you, too.
I don’t have a screen shot key on my laptop, and don’t know how to do it without that key.
I plow and plant crops, hire friends to harvest, buy buildings and decorations for my farm, and go to “neighbors’” farms and water, weed and rake their farms when they are away. This all earns me points and coins—the points let me advance in the game and expand (I have expanded as much as allowed at this point), and the cash pays for plowing, crops and other goodies.
Since this picture was taken, the game added more goodies.
Instead of the word “to” down in front, I now have a house and other goodies for the yard. I have also moved the barn to the right side, just beyond the “s” in “Mimiwi’s”.
I guess the former quilter is emerging, because I like to make patterns with my crops, using different crops to make the different colors.
This is all time-consuming. If I don’t have to plow and plant, it can go quickly—unless Sunny C, Diane, or other friends want me to harvest for them. Different crops take different times to ripen.
Which reminds me. Wil disconnected Sunny C’s computer earlier than planned to have it repaired, so she was not able to let us know she would not be on here for a few days. I was worried, because some of her crop went to waste on Farm Town—and that is so unlike her. Diane talked to her on the phone and found out what happened. Know she is going through withdrawal (lol) and is worrying about her crops.
Anyway, thanks to Diane for the following picture.
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Granddaughter, Lydia, is graduating on May 16 from Concordia Univ. down near Milwaukee. I mentioned here that she will be working as an Athletic Trainer through one of the local hospitals. She thought she would be the AT for a high school at the outer edge of our county. Now, she just found out that she will most likely be the AT for Lutheran High, the school she graduated from 4 yrs. ago. How neat is that!!?? When she was home at Easter, she mentioned to us all that it would be neat to be able to go to her old school, but was sure she would be assigned the other school further away. Now, if it works out, she will be back in familiar surroundings. Since she played sports in high school, she knows all the coaches, too. And, she won’t have to drive so far all the time. Hope it works out for her.
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We have had a LOT of rain in the last few days. In between rain showers Ken worked on our bathroom window. When I was on the step ladder, cleaning the outside of the window, I noticed the sill was in really bad shape–a lot of rotting. So Ken decided to replace the sill—-which sounds easy, but involved a lot more than planned. The whole storm window had to be removed, trim and other pieces replaced, too. I think he spent more time running back and forth to the hardware store and lumber yard than actually working on the window! lol
And every once in a while he would yell for me to “come help”. Mostly to hold things in place while he nailed something. It is finally done, and looking good.
I am just doing odd jobs around the house. Nice weather makes me a LITTLE more ambitious. Was not happy with all the gloomy rainy days, but our grass sure greened up nicely. And have a few daffys blooming. A couple trees have budded out, and the others have big buds. I think I can safely say that Spring has sprung—even if it is only 46 degrees outside!!
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Keep Josaju in your prayers tomorrow, Wed. the 29th. She will be having hip replacement surgery early in the morning.
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And, I cannot leave without another new picture of little Catalina. I took the picture and framed it. The travelers should be in Birmingham by now.
April 17, 2009
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABIES!!
Well, actually, Happy 47th to Jeff today, and belated Happy 46 to Greg (yesterday)
This pic was from 1967, when they were almost 4 and 5.
And now:
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They may now be 6’6″ and 6’3″
but they will always be my “babies”
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
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Louise sent a picture of the cake they made for Greg’s birthday yesterday. Earlier in the day I had asked how they were going to decorate it, and they said they didn’t know yet. I suggested a golf course, since Greg is superintendent of one.
This is what they came up with
I think they did a great job!
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Received some pictures from the travelers, and swiped some pics Jeff just posted on his Facebook. Here are a couple of them.
Family (the ones traveling, anyway) picture taken Easter.
Kenny, Gretta, Catalina, Judy, Jeff
And, of course the obligatory picture of Catalina. She is getting so big already. Doesn’t seem possible she is almost 8 mos. old!
Beautiful weather today and tomorrow. Ken is busy painting the foundation. Oh, just remembered, he did some masonry work yesterday. The one back corner of the house needed repair. This house’s basement is made of a double wall of brick, and the one corner was breaking away above ground. So he had to fix it.
Master Mason at work
All done
Looks a little messy, but was still too wet to clean off.
Today he painted it.
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Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!
April 15, 2009
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From reading all my subscriptions, it sounds as though everyone had a nice Easter.
Ours was quiet. Just relaxed at home.
We had been by son, Greg’s, house on Saturday.
Granddaughter, Lydia, was home from college, and her boyfriend came with her. Saturday was Nate’s 22nd birthday, so we were invited over for a meal and birthday cake.
We brought the makings for malts, since Louise and Avery had missed out on them when we had malts here.
It was a fun afternoon.
First of all, there was the obligatory “tickle fest”
Nate, Lydia and Greg—with little Linden upside down in the middle of it all.
Lydia and Nate decorated Nate’s cake. Since his parents were missionaries in Puerto Rico for a few years, “Happy Birthday” was written in Spanish. And, I guess he likes dinosaurs. Love the swirly candles! Nate will be graduating from Concordia, along with Lydia. But Nate will be returning there in Fall to go to graduate school. He plans on being a Physical Therapist.
Nate, with his 22 candles lit.
Not quite enough air—1 candle left.
Ken, making the malts. He used over 1/2 of the 5 qt. pail of ice cream!
Serving up the malts.
Ken and Greg—ready for a walk to wear off the calories.
Louise bought a dress, and was also given 8 or 9 other dresses by a family friend. She couldn’t decide which dress to wear for Easter or for her upcoming confirmation in May. So we had her do a fashion show. I took pictures of all the outfits so she could see how she looked in them. When she was posing, I told her to cross her ankles like all the female stars do nowadays when their pictures are taken in a short dress. Makes them look thinner than they already are. I think it just looks like they have to go to the bathroom!!!
She thought it was dumb—so did Lydia. So they had to mug for the camera. Louise wore that dress for Easter.
When we were ready to go, Lori said that everyone had to go on the front porch to wave to us—-because we always do that whenever anyone comes to visit. Ken and I always stand by the side door—either inside or out, depending on the weather—to wave goodbye. Of course we do not ham it up like this! Greg was looking up at a big bird overhead, but it looks like he was thanking God that we were finally leaving!!!!! lol
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Sometime last week I received an e-mail from Louise. She said that she, Sylvia and Linden were playing around with the camera, and thought we might like to see the pictures. These are just 3 of them.
Linden and Louise.
Nice!!
Looks like a three-headed monster!! lol
Linden, Sylvia, Louise
Well, must go and tend to my farm on Facebook. Don’t want to lose any crops!
I mentioned on Facebook that I was getting the Spring cleaning bug. Also wondered where the insecticide was!! lol
Love ya’
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