Tea at Three

My reading

2012-01-14T17:46:00.000-06:00

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good moving read. Well written. Amazing true story.

View all my reviews

Happy 39th

2012-01-13T14:44:00.004-06:00

What a great journey with a great man!

Bryan & Eraina are expecting a ....

2012-01-04T14:42:00.001-06:00

Happy 6th Anniversary E & Y!

2011-12-31T12:50:00.000-06:00

The Christmas Week

2011-12-30T11:20:00.015-06:00

" Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace, good will to all men."

"Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Let Earth Receive her King!"

"Happy Birthday baby Jesus"

Erik & Yuriko arrived on Christmas Eve afternoon. We all attended the 4:30 Christmas Eve Service. Above are the grandkids there. Yes, yes Secily does have her still around her waist!

It was a long service for them!!! :)

But so wonderful to put first why we celebrate Christmas.

We are so grateful Christ came to earth for each one of us.

After dinner and a cake for Baby Jesus, we exchanged our gifts to each other.

The best gift is being together!

Abby loved her new puppet!

And Grampa loved his new Roper Boots!!

I made lefsa.

Hadn't made it for many years but we all sure enjoyed it.

It'll be back again next year! :)

Krumkakers are standard Christmas fare too.

As is Icelandic Vinertarta,except I didn't take a picture.

Next year!! :)

Showing off some newly opened treasures!!

Christmas morning ~

opening our stockings with new treasures

Christmas day~ after opening our stockings ~

we enjoyed a brunch at Karin & Ryan's. Yummy!!

Elwood preached at the Christmas Day Service. Jeff & I did the music.

Then back to K & R's for the afternoon. Dinner was at our place in the evening.

Carlos, Karen & Stephen joined us. A table for 20 please!

Then games, games, games! So much fun!

Boxing day we hit the ice! In the mall of course!

Then stayed there for lunch...

it was b-u-s-y!!

The whole week whenever we could we all played games together.

Tuesday we enjoyed a great supper at Jeff & Chandra's

Thursday we spent the day shopping at Canton.

What a fun time and what wonderful treasures we all found.

Abby & Adeline liked their chariot ride!

That night a great supper at Bryan & Eraina's

Lots of play time as well.

A casual pix of us all together.

Thanks for coming all that way E & Y!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T16:48:00.003-06:00

To our friends and family far and near,

Merry Christmas

For the Lord is good, His love is forever

and His faithfulness continues to all generations!

Psalm 100:5

Happy New Year ~ 2012

God Jul och Gott Nyatt Ar!

Al & Emma's

2011-12-18T07:28:00.001-06:00

So fun to have Al & Emma here for a few days.

Of course we watched some hockey!! Go Stars!

They brought Elwood a gift.

Needless to say he was delighted!

The four of us and Don & Sharon toured the Christmas lights on Saturday night.

A fun evening. These pictures are from one house on Hunter's Glen. Incredible!

Super Dave, Jeff & Anders joined us for brunch.

Christmas Activities

2011-12-14T16:14:00.001-06:00

So wonderful to be involved in Christmas music.

Our choir's presentation of

Sing Joy!

Of course, I did some more decorating.

"God bless us everyone" ~ Charles Dickens

My birthday gift ~ A new tree skirt!

Thanks Dad & Mom

We also saw PrestonWood's production of " The Gift of Christmas"

The first half was lots of fun. Santa arrived in his flying sleigh.

The second half so powerful.

O Holy Night

Secily & Lucy loved seeing it all... just fell asleep at the end.

Secily's New Look

2011-12-07T06:24:00.000-06:00

Leroy & Verna

2011-12-05T16:12:00.000-06:00

Of course, the chalkboard door picture!

Fun to have J & C & kids drop by ~ they joined us for coffee.

Canada ~ Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Birthday!

2011-12-03T07:54:00.003-06:00

We went back to Kelowna over Thanksgiving week to help Erik & Yuriko with their house. Elwood left on Friday and drove through an incredible snow storm on the way there. If he had only known, he would have stayed in Abbotsford over night!!

Thankfully he made it there safely. He is such a good driver.

I stayed in Frisco over the weekend. Jan picked me up in Seattle and I stayed with her for two days. On Tuesday afternoon we met my good friend Sonya for a delicious, true, Korean feast! And almost 4 hours of conversation. So good to see you Sonya!!

This trip I took pictures of Terry & Jan and their lovely home.

It is so welcoming!

Jan in her open kitchen

Turning to look to the front door.

Their lovely living room with incredible fireplace.

Jan was going to drive me to Kelowna but with the awful weather and driving conditions, I took the bus. The Coquillhala was closed because of the storm so the bus took us through Princeton and Penticton. Through the Manning pass, the snow and ice were terrible. Thankfully we had a great bus driver. As you can see through the front window of the bus, not all drivers were successful.

This was the semi's load ~ strewn over the highway.

They had a cat clearing it away.

I was awful at taking pictures in Kelowna. :( On Thursday, we went to the auction (where Yuriko acquires some of her treasures) and then to the Keg for a

great birthday/thanksgiving celebration.So much fun.

By Saturday night their place was starting to take shape.

Here is their master bedroom.

Their office

The hallway is coming along...

Their feature wall in the living room. Somehow it looks green but in reality it is more gold/brown/copper. It looks really good. As you can see, they still have a bit of work ahead of them but they sure are closer now!!

We left Sunday morning and drove through pouring rain. Thankfully it was above freezing and the snow was just in the trees and on the sides of the road.

Larson, was recently "Star of the Week" in his classroom. Karin and he made a poster to hang on the wall. They found these awesome lights that could blink or stay steady. His poster looks soooo good. Way to go Larson.

Such great pictures.

Secily came over to help Gramma decorate the Christmas tree.

We were successful!

I decided to build around trees in my decorating. Elwood loves trees. So my new focus for my Christmas decorating is Christmas Trees. So fun!

I pray that you will enjoy and savor this Christmas season.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given"

Phoenix ~ Scottsdale

2011-11-14T08:23:00.001-06:00

We knew we were in the desert

We arrived in the morning so spent the day seeing the sights. This was on top of South Mountain where you can see the Valley spread out before you.

The Montreal Canadiens only play every other year in Dallas.

But they were playing in Phoenix!

Go Habs Go!!

3-2 in overtime ... for the good guys :)

Friday we spent the day with Rae & Linda. We went to a craft fair in Fountain Hills,

saw the lake where they boat, ate at a Swedish Restaurant

where the owners have lived in both Sweden and Canada!

Had a great coffee break at Joel & Amy's

Joel & Zoe in his workshop.

If you need a talented luthier, give Joel a call.

Then all had supper together at Myron & Becky's

Johnny had already gone to sleep.

Sat out by their outdoor fireplace

Amy had to wrap up cause it was cold...

I wasn't expecting Gunnar ~ all 150 lbs of him ~ to try to sit on our laps!!

Elwood holding Olaf ~ a Bernese Mountain dog ~ his favorite breed.

Behind the fire pit, Myron & Becky have a huge area to ride dirt bikes.

Yes, it is sand and that is dust in the pictures. Fun times!

Rae & Anders on the quad

The boys had fun!

Happy Hallowe'en

2011-10-31T10:18:00.000-05:00

Our Hallowe'en celebration started on Thursday when

Bryan's office had a Hallowe'en party for their families.

So fun to attend and see our adorable monkey

and beautiful princess!

Games on various floors with prizes! Abby is holding her ballon

and kicking the ball she got to take home.

Our princess Lucy waiting for her balloon.

Then home to cheer on the Texas Rangers.

Go Rangers!

Unfortunately our cheering did not translate into a win. :(

Lucy changed out of her Princess dress into her 'special' dress!

Then Sunday night was our Church's Fall Festival

with incredible games and food. Lots of fun!

Alligator Anders, a friend Kate and Princess Jane.

The games

Our sweet Kitty-cat Adeline

Our cute kitty-cat Secily

Colored hair...

Just pondering....

Yummy Snow Cones!

Anders after clean up still holding his balloon car.

Then Larson getting ready to head out on Trick or Treat night.

The transformation

2011-10-23T12:33:00.001-05:00

We should have taken some 'before' pictures. But here is where I started.

Their kitchen ~ Terry & Jan helped Erik, Yuriko, Elwood & I

take out the flooring and start washing walls and stripping wallpaper.

Yuriko and Sammy, the Korean student who lives with them

~ deciding on colors.

The guys had taken the paneling off of the wall behind them.

Chaco trying to decide where was a safe place to have a nap!

The wall is coming down!

Yuriko's hand at the bottom trying to entice Chaco to put her face there.

Only so-so successful!

Connie ~ a former Saskatchewanite now living in Kelowna ~

came and helped wash walls.

The painting has begun ~ even with make-shift scaffolding.

The transformed front entrance

Yuriko working her magic on the book case

Now onto the kitchen.

And that is how we left them....

Oh we wish we could have had two more weeks there!!

~~~

We drove to Terry & Jan's and had a quick coffee in White Rock

Loved seeing the wavy, stormy ocean.

We stopped in to visit Betty M who is 101 years old.

She is a cousin to Elwood's Dad and we had such a wonderful visit.

An amazing sharp centenarian.

On the way back to our flight in Seattle we stopped in and saw some of the Thomas's kids. Even thought it was such a quick visit, it was so wonderful to see them! We just wished we had a longer time to visit all our neices and nephews in that area!!

Erik & Yuriko have since sent a couple of up dates.

Things are looking better.

The cupboards painted and the wall completely down.

Wow!!

A walk down memory lane

2011-10-18T10:59:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday afternoon I met my best friend from my elementary school years, Sheila. I spent lots of time at their home while I was growing up and have such fun, fond memories of my times there. Another friend from my high school years and one of my bridesmaids was there too. Mrs. C and Lynne ~ who married my cousin Gary 40 years ago ~ spent the afternoon visiting and reminiscing. It was so wonderful! They all continue to love and serve the Lord in their various cities.

from the right ~ Sheila, Carol, me

All the girls!

From Winnipeg area, Vancouver and Vernon!

Thanks for making the time. It was so wonderful to see y'all!

Fall in Kelowna

2011-10-15T10:42:00.001-05:00

October 13th we flew into Seattle, spent one night with Jan & Terry,

visited Wally & Inez and then drove to see Erik & Yuriko.

Such beautiful mountains.

A gorgeous drive.

Erik & Yuriko just got possession of their 'new' home.

And their gorgeous, huge back yard.

And yes, that is their vintage Ski Nautique boat!

The fall colors were out in glorious array!

I'm Thankful!

2011-10-13T10:27:00.001-05:00

A good turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving!

Grampa celebrating his birthday!

A birthday brunch at Bryan and Eraina's

And a picnic day at the Arboretum

Yes, we were all in the Princess' carriage.

The Arboretum was beautiful decorated with 50,000 pumpkins!

Attending Secily's Kindergarten class opening City Counsel with the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

and the Pledge to Texas Flag:

"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."

Secily is with the bright red bow in the center.

Adeline's Party

2011-09-19T11:01:00.005-05:00

The adorable Princess Cake made up of cupcakes.

Yummy!

The birthday girl and her excited brother!

A pinata is always a big hit..... :)

A rush to fill the bags with candies.

Good times opening presents.

So fun to have so many friends over.

How fun to have TV and his cousin, Justin, join us for Adeline's party!

You never know what ~ or who ~ a day will bring! :)

August

2011-08-26T17:00:00.001-05:00

We are back home and enjoying time with our grandchildren once again.

Here is Grampa telling them a bedtime story.

On this night we had 6 of the 7 for the night. Chaotic fun!

Larson starts the first grade this year ~

~ a lunch date and skating with G & G before the school year begins.

He is also taking Karate. Lots of excitement.

Secily is starting Kindergarden!!

Our skating & lunchtime with her.

Swim time with Abby

Shopping with Lucy ~ fun new sparkly Toms!

Playing house with Anders & Adeline.

Seeing Grampa's new computer.

We just hung a Hummingbird Feeder. It's busy!

Our trip home

2011-08-06T20:28:00.002-05:00

We stayed in Cambridge MN on the way home and stopped in to visit Lorne & Virgie Anderson and their daughter Joni. We had such a fun time together.

On the way to Cambridge we stopped in Rutland, ND.

Elwood's mom was born here.

The main street....

...you can tell there were Swedish roots!

And the family picture was in their local museum.

Mom Larson is sitting on her Dad's knee.

We missed y'all too! It's nice to be back!

Secily's made this special picture for us!

Home ~ Sweet ~ Home

A great trip but always nice to be home.

Lake of the Woods

2011-08-05T20:13:00.000-05:00

It was so fun to see Jan & Darlene and spend a little time together.

And of course, the setting is perfect!

Swimming, a boat ride, lots of talking and eating!

Plus a little bit of helping

~ getting the trailer ready for the trip to the dump!

Elwood gave Tara a stainless steel pail and Amaya loved it

~ maybe she is off to pick berries...

We enjoyed spending time with Dad & Mom at the 7 C's

Keith took us for a boat ride to the Rockeries

but unfortunately we never made it and

Grandpa and Adele had to come to our rescue.

A fun ride home. :)

Family and Friends

2011-07-26T22:47:00.015-05:00

We had a lovely dinner at Glenn's in his newly decorated home.

It looked amazing and the meal was delicious. Good times!

We loved having Doug & Glendyne come down for lunch and the afternoon.

We ate outside but the rain and wind pushed us indoors.

The talking did not slow down though... :)

So fun to have them here.

Judi joined us for 'Tea at Three' and supper.

Just before she was leaving we had a spectacular light show over the house.

We did not get any rain or wind just the lightning.

And thankfully she had a easy drive home with no storms.

Thanks for coming Judi!

Jan & her student, Yoo-Seong, came and spent Wednesday with us.

So fun to have them here.

Roy & Darlene joined us for lunch on Thursday.

A great picnic outside.

Roy and Elwood took some amazing pictures of these dragon flys.

There are a lot of them in the yard ~ but the good news is ~ no mosquitos!

Thanks for coming R & D!!

~~~~~

On Friday, Deanna and Ernie arrived!

Just in time for Don's birthday celebration!

Then on Sunday we had the family wiener roast.

Such a great time. So fun to be together.

It was Dale's birthday that very day and even though he didn't want anyone to know ~ we still celebrated! I found a cake & candle and Ernie found a balloon in the trees!

Then we found out Glenn's friend, Donna's birthday is on Wednesday!

And Ken & Deanna's birthdays are next week...

But it was Ernie who found the balloon so he got to eat the cake!

Such a great evening with our great family.

Thanks to Bonnie for sharing some of her great photos.

We hope all the family can join us next year.

Humidex

2011-07-19T18:45:00.003-05:00

So much for getting away from the heat...

Check the: "Feels Like"

Midale Visitors

2011-07-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

Chris, Shea, Ethan and Araina visited us at the farm.

So fun!

Ethan brought his bike

Of course the big boys had to ride it too!!!

The new dad and his daughter. Love it!

Qi & Jien came out for the day too.

We made farmers out of them!

Driving the tractor

And cutting the grass

Such great days!

Thanks to both families for making the drive out here!

Amazing friends

2011-07-14T11:33:00.001-05:00

We stopped in to visit Elwood's 98 1/2 year old aunt.

Chris is amazing! It was so much fun to visit with her.

We stopped at the University of Saskatchewan for Elwood to reminisce.

He graduated 46 years ago..... Uff da!

In Dalmeny we unexpectedly ran into Elizabeth & Bob & Diane. How fun to see them again. Elizabeth & Elwood share the same birthday. They have phoned each other every year for the past....is it 32 yrs??

And how fun to see Sheila, Janette, and her family.

What a fun time together.

We finished our Saskatoon jaunt with a lunch with Brian & Darlene.

We are blessed with family who are good friends.

So great to spend some time together.

In Regina, we were able to have a visit with Esther ~ another amazing woman ~ in her mid nineties and just a delight to visit with. Esther and Elwood's aunt were the best of friends.

And of course, we couldn't forget our visit with Elwood's sister

~ amazing Grace ~ affectionately known as A.G.!

She is doing very well living in a special care home.

It is the best place for her. We are so thankful!

She never wants her picture taken so we sort of half to take it on the sly.

Here is what she does when we talk about a picture!

She will come outside with us and then we can have a good "visit"!

Dalmeny Weekend

2011-07-13T11:17:00.002-05:00

We arrived at the Schultz Family Farm.

So fun to see Al & Emma again.

Their gorgeous Backyard

The barn ~ Sorry no pictures of cows!

Great to see Mitch & Wendy

And Jett!

Fun times around the table.

Emma & Al had a dinner party on Sunday night.

So fun to see these wonderful folks.

And of course ~ we are talking about Emma's cooking

and the Dalmeny cooks ~ Delicious!

We moved out to their fabulous gazebo for dessert and coffee.

The two Elwood's!

We started reminiscing...lots of great laughs!!

"Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy."

Romans 12: 13 The Message

Such a fun evening. Thanks again Al & Emma.

Breakfast ~ once again in their gazebo.

What a great weekend with wonderful friends

We are so blessed.

"And these God-chosen lives all around—

what splendid friends they make!"

Psalms 16:3

Trip to Estevan

2011-07-07T15:03:00.004-05:00

Our picnic area at the farm

Willard's old house is repainted.

The side yard

Just south of Midale on the way to Estevan

You could not see the middle lines here.

Water, water everywhere....

Water near and far....

Coming home in the evening.

Terry has been raising pheasants. If you look closely

there is a mother pheasant hidden amongst

the branches. She is sitting on 11 eggs!

Weekend in Regina

2011-07-04T13:43:00.002-05:00

Our weekend started with Craig & Jennifer's wedding.

It was just beautiful and we are so glad we could attend it!

Elwood felt honored to read the Scriptures at the wedding.

A beautiful setting...

... a great couple.

After a long ~ but good ~ receiving line!

Such a cute truck

It was so fun to see so many of our friends at the wedding

and to visit with so many of Erik & Yuriko's good friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday morning we enjoyed a great brunch with Dale & Elaine.

I can't believe this is the only picture we took ~

not of them or their fabulous back yard!

We had so much fun talking we forgot to take pictures! Uff da!

In the afternoon we visited with Chris, Shea & Ethan

and met baby Ariana ~ she's so beautiful with lots of dark hair.

Great to see meet up with Hun at Starbucks.

Sorry no pictures ~ what was I thinking!

We did remember to take pictures after we had supper

and spent the evening with Sonya & Irene. Such a great time!

Sunday ~ we attended LHAC and loved seeing so many friends there

and also enjoyed seeing so many new folks attending.

We saw the new finished second story

and are rejoicing at what God is doing through LHAC.

Loved our lunch with good friends Ralph & Paula.

Qia, Jien & Shin made a fabulous supper for us at their place.

We feel so blessed with the wonderful friends we have.

We stayed at Harry & Bonnie's while they were away on vacation.

We look forward to connecting with them later on in the summer.

A fabulous weekend.

Oh Canada

2011-06-30T13:22:00.000-05:00

We had a great trip to Canada. We crossed at Emerson, Manitoba

and stayed with Randy & Darlene on Wednesday night.

Thanks for the delicious steak dinner and fun evening together!

In South Dakota we had one detour because of water and then in Saskatchewan

~ near Benson ~ we drove through water on the highway.

There is lots of water on the fields and

there are lots of fields with no crop planted at all.

Arrived!

The farm yard looks good.

No that is not a lake there.... just looks like it!

There is still a lot of water on the field...

no crop here either.

Fun to see Ken & Helen, Don & Zach.

The fir trees have really grown. It looks good!

We both got working right away ~

Elwood trimming trees ~ Me cutting grass.

And of course, we take time for coffee & rest breaks!

Pool fun times

2011-06-26T12:59:00.001-05:00

We have so much fun in the pool. Abby was loving it.

Geoff & Tree, Sam & Gracie were visiting Karin & Ryan & kids for the week.

We were glad they could come and play with us in the pool.

Uncle Rock and the swimmers!

Fun lunch together

On Sunday, Elwood arranged for a Seniors/Senior High panel. It was great.

So good to share how to continue to walk in our faith our whole lives.

" Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator"

" Just live in His presence in holy reverence, follow the road He sets out for you,

love Him, serve God your God, with everything you have in you..."

Great Grandma & Grandpa's visit

2011-06-18T08:47:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Texas!

Dad & Mom/Grandpa & Grandma/ Great Grandma & Great Grandpa!

Our morning brunch before Jeff & Chandra left for Iowa.

We visited in their home the previous evening.

The whole gang.... that was here. :)

The 4 Susans

The girls all had unplanned matching dresses!

But with three different eye colors!

We enjoyed many swims

Enjoyed dinner in each of the homes.

And fun times in the boat.

Lucy & Bryan

Larson loving it.

The first evening Dad & Mom arrived was our Senior Adult Spring Banquet.

Jeff played his hammered dulcimer there!

We also took them to see where Ellis and Samuel are buried.

Thanks for coming to visit us Great Grandma & Grandpa.

We hope you can come again.

Happy 40th Anniversary to Ken & Judy

2011-06-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

Our toast to you two!

The Masters Waterski Tournament

2011-05-31T17:22:00.000-05:00

The Masters is held at Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia. A gorgeous setting to see some incredible talent in slolam, wakeboard, trick skiing, wake skating and jumping.

We watched it from the bleachers or from the incredible beach.

The boys with Shaun Murray ~ 4 time World Wakeboard Champion.

Even the kids liked it.

Grampa & Uncle Jeff got to ride in the ski boats while

Andy Mapple & Kris LaPointe were slaloming. Fabulous!

We rented a villa in the gardens and it was just perfect for us.

We were right in the Georgia Pines so took a few hikes.

We loved it ~ the kids loved it... whether riding...

...Or walking...

And they loved playing on the gorgeous beach.

We all did!

The Sunday Morning Worship Service

by In His Wakes Ministries

www.inhiswakes.com

yes ~ that is Bryan helping to take the offering.

Chandra celebrated her birthday while we were there.

A great party!

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Waterskiiers put on a show.

We loved the pyramid and the bare-footing.

The plane ride was just part of the fun

Peek-a -boo

"I can see Gramma & Grampa!"

A fabulous vacation!

Saskatchewan Times down South

2011-05-24T10:49:00.001-05:00

So great to have a couple of visits with great friends...

... with Emma & Cooper at Camp Ozark!

Thanks Emma for such a wonderful time.

It was also fun to see Camp Ozark getting into the busy summer schedule.

Cooper is such a sweet little guy.

Carson & Hilary are doing a great job of parenting!

I was so glad to have a visit with Susan, Sam and little Christopher Henry.

On Saturday of the Canadian May long weekend,

we enjoyed the Gladysz's visit on their way back to Canada

Genevieve is leaving Texas after being here for 10 years.

So nice to have them visit.

NASCAR

2011-05-14T11:29:00.001-05:00

Last year for Father's Day the kids gave Elwood a ride

with a NASCAR driverat the Texas Motor Speedway.

He was able to do it today!

Waiting in line for their turn.

Bryan rode too.

They went 180 miles an hour!

All suited up and ready to go for his three lap ride.

Getting in the car. The door does not open.

You have to climb through the window.

Helmets and cars ready to go.

And what about the black tire marks on the pavement.....

Fun times watching it all. And seeing the cars.

They both survived and we did enjoy a lunch afterwards!

Such a great experience. Thanks again to our kids!

We have had some heavy rains lately. Elwood and I walked around

by our creek which is normally 3-4 feet wide that gently flows along.

Not today. It was roaring and maybe 25 feet wide in some places!

Amazing.

A week of Celebrations

2011-05-14T08:59:00.009-05:00

We started the week with a fun Mother's Day picnic. Bryan & Eraina were in the Napa Valley celebrating their 10th Anniversary and Erik & Yuriko were enroute to Frisco!

We had such a fun picnic down by the lake.

Bocce Ball, chasing birds, watching the fish jump, eating

and just playing and visiting together. A great day!

I am SO THANKFUL for the wonderful mothers for our darling grandchildren.

We are so blessed and I am so thankful as I see each of them "mother".

I am also so thankful for Yuriko who is such a wonderful aunt to all these special kids.

Thanks Karin, Eraina, Chandra & Yuriko.

I love you all dearly!

And we have such a fun time when we are together.

Erik & Yuriko arrived at 10 pm.

The day after Mother's Day was Erik's birthday.

We started with a brunch. Monkey bread of course.

Lots of help blowing out the candles.

The grandkids have just started wanting to pray for the meals. Usually we start with the youngest and by the end each grandchild who can somewhat talk has prayed. It is so precious and we are thankful they are learning at an early age to talk to our Heavenly Father.

Of course we ended the day at Babe's where Erik got to be

humiliated by the servers.

Happy Birthday Erik!

We enjoyed a family supper at Karin & Ryan's on Tuesday.

Auntie Yuriko is kept busy applying the sparkly nailpolish.

Three girls now...

....next year all 5 will be coming to her.

Just hanging out is so fun.

Thursday was Karin's birthday.

A Brunch celebration at Bryan & Eraina's.

Happy Birthday Karin!

The in between times were filled with just fun times.

Adeline & Abby chillin'

Always fun times in the pool

And on the trampoline.

Thanks for such a great week family.

We love y'all!!

Boating Again

2011-05-02T12:44:00.005-05:00

So fun to be back on the water again.

We had a beautiful week and we were out there twice.

Such fun times.

Anders loved his ride into the marina!

Just a couple of pictures of our Easter Egg Hunt.

Still cheering for the

Saskatchewan RoughRiders

Abby is sitting. So much fun.

Jane's future????

Celebrating with the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge

2011-04-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Union Jack is flying outside.

The table is set.

4:45 am.

It was lovely, simply lovely...

We saw it all

Thanks friends for attending the wedding with me.

A good week for Elwood

2011-04-18T09:06:00.002-05:00

A Cabela's Store has opened just 10 minutes from our home.

The Canadiens have won their first two games

against Boston in the North East Division

Go Habs Go!

My drive from Winnipeg to Minneapolis

2011-04-12T11:30:00.013-05:00

My day began..

I thought ~ oh my, there is flooding....

As I drove south it increased....

Not on the road though,

just lapping on the shoulder...

Ok, now where is the road????

The whitecaps were making it a little rough to drive.

Bryan's comment:

"Unbelievable!

Too bad someone else wasn't there to wake-skate behind the rental car."

Yes, that does say: "Watch for water on the highway"

I think it should have said: " The highway is here....

..... somewhere"

He is in worse trouble than me.

I hope they have all the supplies they need for awhile.

This whole village was sandbagged.

I saw several like this.

No, not the ocean ~

just some farm land north of Fargo, North Dakota.

Thankfully I made it home safely...

....in time for choir on Monday night.

They closed this stretch of highway shortly after I drove it.

"Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God

is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

The gorgeous bouquet of flowers my wonderful husband

had bought for my arrival home.

I am blessed and grateful.

Winnipeg Take Two

2011-04-12T11:07:00.005-05:00

The whole family was together the night before I left.

It was so fun to have everyone together.

Saturday morning, my cousin Ian stopped by to see Randy.

Good times.

I got to visit both Tara's & Kyle's homes.

So fun to see.

Manuk wanted us to jam together for a little bit.

"We all live in a Yellow Submarine" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

were big hits!

Sweet Amaya.

Tiffany and Kyle had the open house of their new store.

Loved the clothes, jewellery and setting.

Kyle and Tiffany live on the 18th floor in a downtown apartment building.

With all these windows, you can just imagine the view.

The Manitoba Legislative buildings from their balcony.

The church in the middle is where the ceremony

was for my high school graduation.

Also notice how high the Assiniboine River

~ a river that rarely floods.

Winnipeg

2011-04-07T10:35:00.004-05:00

I am in Winnipeg to be with my sister who recently had surgery.

It is so fun to be together and to see my niece Tara & Jacko & their kids

~ Manuk & Amaya and my nephew Kyle and his wife

Tiffany and my parents.

Dad & Mom are looking great.

Sweet Amaya

Manuk pretending to be Ironman....

Tara holding the brass ring that Uncle Elwood gave her years ago

and she still carries it with her.

Tiffany's new store...

Wonderful clothes and accessories.

Before I left home, we had a time with some of the grandchildren.

Coffee in the truck....

and Adeline's first time in the swing.

Mexico Missions Trip

2011-03-24T11:25:00.008-05:00

Elwood, Jeff & Ryan recently went to Mexico on a short missions trip. 12 hour drive from Frisco. Leave in the early morning you can arrive in time for prayer meeting!

Jeff & some friends

They were working on constructing a church in Chihuahua

~ a team from Oklahoma was heading up this project.

It's coming along

The roof is just about finished ~ then add the tin.

Elwood said he has never seen poverty like this. Believe it or not, this is a home with a fence around it that is made of the inside of a boxspring. Every home has a fence around it ~ most with barb wire or razor wire or glass schards on top.

A close-up view

A home... glad they have their dish up.

Another home with their wired fence

The town.

Shopping anyone?

Or soccer?

A gathering where they are sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him

we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

The church in Aldama where Jeff preached on Sunday morning.

He preached in Spanish ~ then translated for the English speakers.

Elwood said they only sang choruses ~ no hymns.

The choruses were of the 70's/80's vintage

Elwood and the Sunday School teacher.

This is the reentry point back into the USA.

This arm detechs large amounts of cash... and thus finds drugs.

Fun time with Grandkids

2011-03-19T21:38:00.007-05:00

Secily & Lucy doing some baking

Then enjoying it at our ...

Tea Party Time ~ even Abby joined in the fun.

We looked after Lucy & Abby when Bryan & Eraina went to Whistler.

There was always work to be done around the yard.

Grampa & Lucy kept busy watering the flowers.

And Grampa's oak trees.

Abby stayed and played with Gramma.

And then we swang.... lots.

The Files family just added a swing/playset to their home.

Fun times for the three kids.

They also have some leftover sand and

..... of course they got buried in it.

Anders was over for lunch

Gramma spent some time with Adeline.

We were invited to Larson's school open house.

How fun to visit it and see all his work and his desk!

Our weather has been very warm lately and when

Grampa was babysitting, well.... the kids had fun!

The Bradford Pears are blooming and it is just beautiful.

God's incredible handiwork!

Our Visit

2011-02-27T23:37:00.000-06:00

All together...

So glad we could see Deanna.

Sorry we missed Cheryl and Melanie.

Dinner at Coco's

Loved seeing ~ and eating ~ the delicious grapefruit

And the beautiful palm trees

Our hotel had bikes so we rode all around the area.

Fun times.

Our hotel also had Helpful Earthquake Suggestions....

I guess we were very near the San Andreas Fault.

A great trip but it is always good to arrive home.

Karin and I

2011-02-24T23:00:00.000-06:00

Karin & I are in the Palm Springs Area to visit my

Mom & Dad, Adele & Earl and Carol & Paul. And maybe Deanna.

We flew into San Diego and then drove out here.

Stopped at In N Out for lunch. Yummy!

Drove through some very scenic rugged terrain and over a mountain pass.

Even saw snow on the way.

Our fabulous hotel.

Partner with Thompson & Knight Law Firm

2011-02-17T21:01:00.004-06:00

Our son Bryan has become a partner in the Global Law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP. Thompson & Knight is one of the top 5 law firms in the state of Texas.

Congratulations Bryan. We are so proud of you!

Happy Valentine's Day Week

2011-02-17T12:55:00.007-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day.

Yes, that is oatmeal!

We have been looking after Anders all week as Jeff, Chandra & Adeline are in the Bahamas. Jeff is teaching an Old Testament modular at the Eleuthera Bible Training Center. We are so glad that Chandra could join him there and we are so glad to keep Anders here. It's been a fun week. Anders was so excited to open his Valentine's treat from daddy & mommy.

We often ate breakfast outside.

He was kept warm when needed.

Drank from a big boy cup

played with his cousins.

Got BIG hugs from Grampa....and gramma too!

tried out Grampa's glasses,

Skype-ed with Daddy & Mommy & Addie,

We visited Grampa in his office and saw his clock collection,

And helped Auntie Karin in the first rehearsal of our new kids choir.

Larson is singing in it and Gramma helped on the piano.

74 kids registered for choir. Fun times!

And over all, had a great week!

Al & Emma's visit in the Ice Storm

2011-02-07T11:49:00.002-06:00

Al & Emma arrived on day three of the February Ice Storm.

Outside our front window.

Schools, churches, businesses were all shut down for 4 days.

Texas broke records with cold temperatures.

All this snow is covering sheets of ice.

We still managed to get out to a restaurant though.

Cheesecake Factory....Yummy!

Fun to have Carson, Hilary and Cooper come for the weekend.

Dinner Saturday night at Karin & Ryan's.

Great company...

Great Food...

Lots of laughs...

Great being together.

Sure missed Erik & Yuriko and Mitch,Wendy & Jett.

Just to prove they really were here for the snow...

This is taken on Sunday at Bryan's.

Thanks for coming!

Happy Birthday Lucy

2011-01-31T22:00:00.000-06:00

Lucy had a fun party on January 31st for her 3rd birthday.

She wore her pretty party dress

The kids all decorated cookies when they arrived ~

on the table that Bryan built.

Then outside to jump on Lucy's birthday present...

And to get candy from the piniata

Story time with Miss Mandy.

And on to lunch time,

Eating inside...

And outside.

Three candles.

Lots of excitement.

Even Abby & Adeline were excited!

Thanks Bryan, Eraina, Lucy & Abby for such a fun party.

Jan - part two

2011-01-30T22:11:00.001-06:00

Fun times at our table.

Of course, we took Jan to the restaurant ~ Babe's

Southern Cuisine!

And to the Dallas Farmer's Market. So colorful.

We also went to Circus Soleil which is now in Frisco.

Amazing, incredible, sometimes unbelieveable!

Jan also left us notes on our chalkboard.

So fun. Thanks Jan!

On Saturday we attended a friend of ours 90th Birthday.

A great celebration of a great man.

A picture with my great man!

Jan McM.

2011-01-29T08:24:00.008-06:00

Jan arrived on Wednesday and we have been sightseeing

and shopping and talking since then!!

Visiting Karin & Ryan and family

Yesterday we drove to Fort Worth.

Visited the Historical district....

saw the Stockyards...

ate on Sundance Square....

enjoyed the Fort Worth Symphony's incredible Tribute

to Irving Berlin at Bass Hall....

and saw that Texas is ready for the Superbowl!

A great day!

Truth is stranger than Fiction

2011-01-27T09:34:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday a new couple visited our Sunday School class. Amazingly we found out that he took his grade 11 & 12 at Campbell Collegiate in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (1966) and lived on Castle Road. It really is a small world!

Larson's debut at School

2011-01-24T08:20:00.000-06:00

We went to our first school concert where Larson was particitpating. So exciting!

Grandpa and him in his school

Redoing his songs at home ....with

the TV showing the school concert as well.

A proud mommy.

Happy Birthday Jeff

2011-01-23T08:16:00.000-06:00

The happy family celebrating Daddyy's birthday. A fun party!

The kids were pretty excited to help blow out the all the candles!

D-Now

2011-01-21T21:41:00.002-06:00

D-Now is our Youth Discipleship weekend. There are two hundred youth at church. All are staying in various homes. We have 18 grade 8 boys and 2 College student leaders staying with us. They will fill up a lot of floor space!

The people mover came to pick them up! Back at 1 pm tonight.

Happy Birthday Yuriko

2011-01-18T15:10:00.005-06:00

Happy, Happy Birthday Yuriko.

Hope your day is wonderful... just like you!

Of course, anyone who knows Yuriko knows she has style,

is wonderfully artistic,very talented, a Chaco lover

and likes to wear five finger shoes.

We are so glad you are a part of our clan!!

Sleepover

2011-01-16T21:45:00.000-06:00

Story time

Lego time

Coloring Time

Sleeping time

Lots of fun times.

Happy Anniversary ~ #38

2011-01-13T15:13:00.002-06:00

Life just keeps getting better.

Unexpected Guests

2011-01-11T09:56:00.003-06:00

So fun to have Blair & Carol stop in on their way to Mexico.

Sorry they missed their flight but it sure was fun for us to have them here.

Have a great time in Mexico you two!

Snow Day

2011-01-09T22:49:00.003-06:00

It started raining through the night.

By the time we came home from church there were

huge snowflakes. It was so pretty.

Before too long...

More...

The pansies can take it.

Secily wore her raincoat to church

because it was raining then...

New Years Day

2011-01-01T22:47:00.000-06:00

Our joy and delight!

Open House

2010-12-31T22:42:00.002-06:00

We had an open house for the seniors at our church here in Frisco.

Karin came with Secily, Jane & Lucy. So much fun!

The girls had their own tea party.

The goodies.

Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures

until most people had gone and the food was already eaten!

A good time was had by all

Bryan and Eraina's Moving Day

2010-12-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not... this was the truck that we were given for moving.

Is it a sign?

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T14:02:00.003-06:00

This year was an "in-law" Christmas so the Larson's

gathered on the 18th to celebrate! What fun!

We had a delicious brunch and then played some games.

Pass the parcel -

a game where there are multiple wrappings on one gift.

You pass it until the music stops and then whoever has it can open

one layer of wrapping. The person who actually opens the gift gets to keep it.

Lots of anticipation for 2,4 & 5 year olds!

The gift could hardly come around fast enough!

Even for Grampa!

Secily won the prize this time.

Who's got the Ring?

A game where the ring is on a string and everyone holds on to the ring and hide it from the person ~ or persons ~ Secily & Lucy ~ who is in the center.

Of course horsey rides had to be a part of the day too.

And then gift giving and receiving.

A new swing!

Umbrella and boots to match.

Fischer Price camera.

What could it be????

Yah, new Cars slippers for Anders!

What a wonderful day on the 18th!

On the actual days ~ 24th & 25th ~ Elwood & I celebrated alone. First time just the two of us on Christmas Day in 37 years! We attended both Christmas Eve services as I played the piano and Elwood helped with ushering. Then home to a delicious meal, the reciting of Luke 2 and our gift giving to each other. Christmas Day, Santa came and then it was games, movies, playing with our new toys and of course Skype and visiting with all the family. We are thankful!

Elwood playing with his new Kindle.

Jeff & Chandra, Anders and Adeline are in Iowa.

They had lots of snow on Christmas Eve 6-8"!!

Karin and Ryan, Larson,Secily and Jane are in Ohio.

Lots of snow there too.

Thanks to Karin for so many of these pictures!

Bryan & Eraina, Lucy & Abby are in Houston. No snow there!

They will be ready to move into their new place on December 31st!!!

Erik & Yuriko are in Kelowna celebrating with her brother, uncle and other friends.

Only a skiff of snow there and about the same temperature as Dallas!!

It has been a wonderful Christmas!

P.S. ~ The Swing in action!

Saskatchewan's Premier Christmas Greeting

2010-12-23T22:33:00.001-06:00

Frisco Christmas Lights

2010-12-23T22:30:00.002-06:00

iBand with iPhone and iPads.

2010-12-22T22:28:00.002-06:00

Project Finished

2010-12-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

We started making these quilts this year.

And Chandra finished hers in time to give it to Jeff for their Anniversary.

I still have mine to finish... maybe over the Christmas season.

Special thanks to Eraina for all her sewing counsel and time!

The last stitches.

Our bundles of joy!

Chandra R.N.

2010-12-10T10:09:00.006-06:00

Congratulations Chandra. We are so proud of you!

The actual pinning ceremony

The crowd watching the ceremonies.

A great night of celebration

Birthdays and the Grey Cup

2010-11-29T12:21:00.007-06:00

Our November birthdays ~ Mine, Ryan's, Bryan's~ were celebrated in style

on Ryan & Karin's fabulous new patio! What a great party!

Delicious Raspberry Pizza for our cake. Thanks Files!

Such excitement for opening presents.

Some of my wonderful gifts.

Even Adeline was excited!

The kids enjoying the TV on the patio.

Green is the Color, Football is the game.

We're all together and winning is our aim.

So cheer us on through the sun and rain,

Saskatchewan Roughriders is our name.

Abby cheered from the floor!

Go Riders Go!

Unfortunately they lost but it was a great game and

we were thankful for ESPN so we could watch it!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T22:33:00.006-06:00

I daily thank my Heavenly Father for his bountiful blessings in our lives.

I am truly blessed.

The kids table....

Visiting with Uncle Erik & Aunt Yuriko and Chaco

~ via Skype.

Playing outside and then staying warm by the fire.

We have suddenly got colder here.... yes, I know, nothing like

the Canadian prairies... I know, but cold none-the-less!

The same picture with a flash... and not quite as much flames.

Yes, this is Texas. Jane with a warm jacket but bare legs!

Anders loves being outside.

Uncle Bryan presented Larson with a trophy for two home runs!

Waiting for dessert.

Wouldn't you if this were your choices!

YUMMY!!!!

A wonderful thanksgiving.

"It's a Wonderful Life"

2010-11-21T22:21:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, we along with some friends went to Granbury ~ a small town south of Fort Worth. It is such a quaint place with a County Courthouse in the middle of the town square surrounded by a whole bunch of little shops and restaurants!

We attended a musical theater production of

" It's a Wonderful Life"

It was great and was a good way to get into the holiday spirit!

We saw this restaurant with this displayed.

Such a great message.... unfortunately right behind it was a

Coors sign and Cross & Skull bones. UhhhHuhhh????

Our last day.

2010-11-06T14:26:00.000-05:00

In front of our great house. Thanks Terry & Jan!

The morning started with Monkey Bread Cake on Jan's actual birthday.

Her place setting

Blow them out!

On the way to the airport we stopped at the Disney Village Marketplace. It was great. We recommend it a stop for everyone! Of course we needed a picture with Cinderella!

Loved the Mickey Tree in the background.

Our last lunch together

We still had coffee at the airport though!

Such a fun time. Thanks Terry & Jan, Randy & Darlene.

Let's do it again. Soon.

Happy @# Birthday Jan!!

2010-11-06T07:32:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister Jan ~ my sister, my friend. Jan is such a fun person to be with. She has an infectious laugh, a caring spirit, a bright mind and loves & serves the Lord wholeheartedly. I am blessed to say she is my sister. We had such a fun time celebrating her birthday.

And, yes, yes, Terry did give her an I-Pad!!!!

Happy Birthday Jan.

So glad we could celebrate your birthday week together.

Florida 2

2010-11-04T07:04:00.001-05:00

We spent Monday at the Magic Kingdom.

Such fun!

We saw the princesses and wished we had all our grandkids here with us!

We went on some rides...

The Jungle Cruise...

Of course, during the week, we have shopped and enjoyed the pool area and our private hot tub.

We were waiting for the Shuttle to be launched but as it has been postponed we decided to go the Kennedy Space Center. It was so interesting.

Here we are touching the rock from the Moon.

The actual launch site.

Jan with a real live astronaut!

The alligators co-operated and we saw them in the ditches on the way to the Space Center.

And of course, many egrets.