the 12 of '12

Finally - our first time together with all 12 sweet grandchildren.

Fun times ahead.

Welcome spring!

Welcome spring! Winter is past (we hope...) and spring temperatures have arrived much earlier then in the past. Everyone seems to have a smile on their face these days. I had to add some color on my blog today - these pictures are not current, but from last year. I look forward to seeing more bright colors in our world now that spring has arrived!
This picture is a reminder of the colors soon to be part of our everyday world! This is just a treat for the eye and refreshment for the soul when I walk into our local garden center! I can't wait to go there again in a few short weeks....!!

The River Room

You may have noticed or heard us refer to our "river room" - it is our made-up name for the all-season porch that hubby built onto the back of our home a few years ago. We just didn't know what we wanted to call that new room and because this is our view from the large windows...
we decided to refer to it as the "river room." (The river that flows past our property, however, is really only visable to us during the months that the trees have no leaves. Once the leaves are full and lush, we feel more like we are in a tree house.) Notice the cute gazebo hubby built down by the river... we are remiss in making good use of it though! Maybe this year we will take more time to relax in it with the soft sound of the moving river...


There is a sweet path to walk down to the river. We have two light posts to guide us and sometimes it reminds me of the lamp posts in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" because they seem to just appear in the woods as you walk to the river. (the other light post, not in this picture, especially has that feeling.)

While looking through my lens, I spyed this interesting tree - full of hollowed-out "apartments" for many of natures little friends.. this time of year is really quite interesting once you take the time to look around! Happy Spring! (almost)

Happy Birthday Meghan

Happy Birthday today to the lovely woman whom God has placed in our family as wife of our youngest son. We are so blessed by you and think you are a perfect fit in our family!

Just some candids

This past week we were getting back into the routine following a little vacation and I haven't paid much attention to my blog. We did have a nice evening in the middle of the week with some company for supper and relaxing in the evening. Our sweet grandson B. was introduced to this new (new to him) activity center and he loved it!
It was sensory overload for him. He didn't know where to look first!

Everything was new and exciting. He is growing up too fast!

Talking about growing up ... now some of our grandchild (and adult child) are happy to settle down with my kindle fire or my ipod touch to enjoy a little time with those "angry birds."

Grandpa's lap is another good spot for some fun with the electronic games..

Daddy and little daughter had a little fun goofing off...

It looks worse then it was! Poor daddy!

A good time was had by all.

Tea at the Chateau

Such class

Such beauty

Such symmetry

Such silver

Such delight.

Double vision

We just returned from a vacation; we drove to Calgary, Alberta to visit family. A visit to Banff and Lake Louise is always on tap when we go to Calgary. The brief time at Lake Louise included some photography - and here to the right is Lake Louise in the winter.. . the photograph to the left is one I took a few years ago in the early fall. I thought it would be fun to put them side by side. It is a fabulous place and we are considering booking a room there next year...

Splendid

Mountain vistas and
trendy shoppes....
splendid.

Relaxation

Hopefully we will be relaxing here soon....

captivated

Peek a boo... look how intent this sweet little grandson is watching the bubbles and water...

I couldn't get him to look at the camera, the action of the toy/bubbles had completely captivated his attention. He is a happy 4 month old! It's so fun to watch their development at each stage!

Mr. Waxwing

I think the cedar waxwing is a wonderful looking bird. It is usually easy to spot them because the travel in flocks, so when I notice a flock of birds, I quickly check to see and grab my camera. We have a tree in our yard that they love as the fruit is still available for them. I thought this was a nice picture, against the blue sky.

Happy Birthday Robyn!

Happy Birthday today to my favorite associate publisher! Big hugs from your Aunt & Uncle!

Valentine's day update

We took a quick trip on Valentine's day to visit these two grandsons. We wished we could visit all our grandchildren and give them hugs and kisses! We came to see these two little boys, the baby being our youngest grandchild - and we hadn't seen him since shortly after his birth. He is now a handsome 2 month old fella!
Of course, I took plenty of pictures of both boys and I love the two brothers together - the little pout on the baby is just tooo cute!
It was a Happy Valentine's day indeed!

Happy Birthday Andrea!

Happy Birthday today to our lovely daughter-in-law!

We think you are a treasure and we're glad Adam found his treasure!

Sweetness

There are sweet views inside and out at our house.

Yup, there sure are.
Sweetness.

Prayers for Isaiah

Our church and community have come together to pray for sweet Isaiah. Today he begins aggressive chemotherapy. Could you join us in prayer that he will return to the sweet healthy boy pictured here and that the chemo will attack the cancer? Please pray for protection for all the healthy cells in his little body today. Thank you.

Prayer request

Today I ask for prayer for a sweet 3 year old named Isaiah. His mother is like a daughter to me, and she and her husband received news yesterday that Isaiah has neuroblastoma cancer. This is a link to their caring bridge site. Isaiah's grandma is one of my close friends.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaiahlawson

All Revved Up

I thought it would be fun to share some thoughts from our son Adam, (pictured above as a cute little fella and now a handsome guy) who is Pastor of a Lutheran Brethren church in a small town in Wisconsin. Adam writes a little column in the local paper and this mom is so proud! (so is Dad, of course..) This is his latest column (the title of his weekly posts is "All Revved Up")

This week I’m all Revved up about The Super Bowl.

There are many reasons to enjoy the Super Bowl, even if your favorite team isn’t playing. You see, Super Bowl Sunday is much more than a football game, right? It is all about the distractions. Usually we gather together with some dear friends, eat some delicious snack food, and are on the edge of our seats watching the commercials. One could argue that the game is the least important part of Super Bowl Sunday.

Funny how the same thing happens at church. It can become all about the distractions and we miss the main event. We get together with dear friends, eat delicious food, and are on the edge of our seats discussing policies and programs. One could argue that the cross of Jesus Christ is the last thing on our minds on Sunday mornings. If so, we just missed the main event of human history!

Ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin, we’ve been caught up in distractions. Our sin, the busyness of life, our worry and doubts, have all distracted and separated us from God. However, God still wanted to be our God, even though we messed everything up. So God did something to get our attention and our devotion. He came into our world through Jesus Christ.

But we were distracted so we rejected and killed him. We missed the main event! But God was not finished. He raised Jesus from the dead, and gave Him victory over death, sin, and Satan! This is the main event of human history! Jesus is the Champion! More than that, God wants us on His team. He wants our attention and our devotion. Even if your team doesn’t win the Super Bowl this year, God wants to share His victory over death, sin, and Satan with you – that is the main event.

Oh, why didn't I???

Why didn't I put my idea into production years ago? I always thought someone should come up with an invention like this!!
Can you figure out what it does?

Yup... an automatic stirrer!

How many times do you wish something would keep stirring that sauce as you prepare the final touches of a nice meal?? So many times I have wished that there was such a device; this is practically what my mind had designed years ago!!

And guess what! This $10 investment actually worked! There are batteries in the handle, 3 speeds even... and the whole device vibrates and moves all over the pot stirring everywhere! It was wonderful! But I did have to watch it, because once the sauce thickened, the stirrer didn't move too much... but it was time to take the sauce off the heat anyway.

Another kitchen gadget to add to my collection!

(I had TWO electric potato peelers too - completely different from each other - I'm sorry I didn't keep them, no one believes me when I describe them... they would never pass safety standards today; they were dangerous and useless!)

A new number

The number 9! A new number in the life of our eldest grandchild... and now we have 12 grandchildren under the age of 9. Happy Birthday to this sweetheart!