The birds are coming back!

This is a great time of year in our backyard - the birds put on a great show - and wow, do they eat a lot of sunflower seeds! Today the brilliant yellow goldfinches are enjoying lunch on us. There were about 14 of these beautiful birds on the feeders. I am anxiously awaiting the return of the hummingbirds and the orioles. We had a cardinal yesterday - they are not as plentiful here as in NJ. You can see just the start of the green buds on the trees in the background - and the light blue is the river in the distance. That view will be gone once the leaves are full.

Happy Birthday today to my dear sister, Marlane!

Golden Boy

Happy Golden Birthday to Adam today.

We were happy that we could spend the day with you! May you enjoy many more wonderful birthdays!

p.s. for those of you who may not know the term "golden birthday" it is when your age and the day of the month of your birthday coincide! I had never heard of a golden birthday before I came to the midwest. Of course, I was 2 when I celebrated my golden birthday since I was born on the second day of the month. Adam had a much longer wait for his golden birthday!

Ringbearer

Friday night was a special evening for Andrea's sister Emily who married Eric. Luke and Timothy were ringbearers - and Luke went down the aisle just like planned. The flower girls were a little harder to predict, though they did finally get to the end of the aisle. Timothy had second thoughts though and decided at the last minute that this was not something he really wanted to do! Oh well, he made it in the pictures beforehand!

Emily and Eric made a striking couple - very happy too! Adam performed the wedding and Andrea was the matron of honor. Adam did a fine job too. Can you see him up front?

Here is Adam with little Hannah Sophia.









Preston and Daniel are quite a pair.

Teatime in the tent...

Ah, a girl after my own heart! I just love afternoon tea! Doesn't this look inviting? It was!

What a cozy tea in a tent for me!

And we're off!!!!!

Yup, it's official - forward motion has been achieved! Wow, this is great stuff! Here's Preston's form - four on the floor...

This is great - following this ball - it can't get away now!

Another favorite - riding on Thomas! It makes the greatest sounds!

Crawling.... backwards...

Well, here we are at 10 months old! Little Preston has a wider area of mobility - he gets around now but the crawling is best only when going backwards.... and then, what does a fella do when you hit the furniture behind you? Help me out here Grandma!

The Girl Scene

This family was full of little boys for quite some time - John, Adam, Daniel and then Ben, Justin and Kyle.... but now the tables have turned and we have girls, girls, girls. Here is a picture that taken at my mom's in New Jersey - seated on the couch from left to right would be me, my mom, my Aunt Bea and my sister-in-law Debbie. In front, left to right is Jacqueline, Alison and Stephanie. Jackie and Stephanie are twins and the daughters of my youngest brother, Jeffrey. Alison is the daughter of Debbie and my middle brother Cordell. (Cordell is my brother who died in 2004.)



My mother's grand daughters range in age from 42 to 7! Here are the three youngest gals - twins Jacqueline and Stephanie are almost 8 and Alison (on the right) is 10. (We were missing my mom's great-grand daughter, Courtney, who is 6 and mom's adult grand daughters, Jill, Robyn and Stacey.)

Here is my handsome baby brother and my little mom!

On Palm Sunday I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Jacqueline and Stephanie sing with their children's choir in church. They, along with the adult choir, sang in swahili Fortunately they added some english as well! I restrained myself and did not bring my camera to church though I really wished I could have taken a picture of them in their little choir robes. They were adorable! (Jacqueline is in the pink flowered dress and Stephanie is in the blue dress.)

Days at the farm

Here I am up on a nice gentle horse, once owned by the Governor of the Cayman Islands. My brother, standing in front with my Aunt Bea, promised me this fellow was gentle. He was correct and I enjoyed a terrific trail ride through the woods of my brother's New Jersey farm. I think I'll take some horse riding lessons and keep this up!

John has two wonderful draft horses named Sam and Barney. They have provided us with many great wagon rides and today was no exception.













Many people are surprised to learn that New Jersey is called "the garden state" and think only of the New Jersey turnpike and traffic. Here is a picture of some of the beauty of north central New Jersey farmland - even with the trees bare the land is peaceful and lovely.

Here come the Haflingers - can you see the 4 horses pulling a cart? They are a small draft horse and it was a real treat to ride up front with the driver, Dick, when we went through the woods for an outing. The horses are heading up to the barn to pick us up for our ride.

Say Hi to Donny, Doug, Dock and Dirk, - or something like that. I just know the names of these Haflinger horses all began with a "D" and how they could tell them apart was a mystery to me. Perhaps they just acted like they knew who was who - how would I know if they were wrong?

Relaxing in the little wagon behind Dick and the four Haflingers (I got to sit up front with Dick) were my brother John, his girlfriend Laurie (Hi Laurie! You made the blog!), my Aunt Bea and Dick's wife Barbara. Notice even in New Jersey that day we needed warm jackets. (It was the end of March) Looks like fun, right? It was!

Easter visit

I got home from New Jersey just in time for us to head to Eagan to John & Sara's and then on to Eau Claire to celebrate the birthdays of Timothy (4), Luke (2) and Hannah (1). We also celebrated Easter so there was lots of celebration, lots of activity and lots of picture opportunities. Here are a few favorites.

For Stacey!

Hi, this post is for Stacey, my niece who lives in San Diego! HI Stacey!

Both Stacey and I had been in New Jersey last week and this picture is me, my mom and Stacey. I don't get to see Stacey very often and I thought it would be fun to post this.

Happy Easter to all, we are heading to Adam & Andrea's so when I get back I will for sure post pictures of Timothy, Luke and Hannah!

Berge Cousins 1997

Here is a picture that I treasure. All twenty-one cousins - the grandchildren of Tobias and Anna (Nodeland) Berge - together for the first time. Since the family is spread out over the United States and Canada and Africa, it is not easy to all be together at the same time and in the same place. Sadly, the occasion was the funeral of grandma Anna Berge; but we know how pleased she would have been to know all her grandchildren were in attendance that day.

Sugar and spice..

Sugar and spice and everything nice - that's what little girls are made of... Here's a little spice! I really captured the look of a little girl with her moods. She knew I had my camera and she didn't plan on smiling at that moment. I think I like the picture that I got! (We were busy coloring together - one of my favorite activites to do. You should see her exceptional coloring, by the way.)

Nine months

Time really flys by! It's amazing to look back and see how fast a little person develops - from a precious little newborn to a sweet little boy, developing new skills everyday. Today he waved happily to others as his mommy and I walked around the walking track at the YMCA. He was being carried by mom and smiling at other walkers -and then a little wave to say "hey, aren't I cute?" He has a happy and contented personality. He claps his hands, raises his arms to "so big" and loves exploring his toys and books.

I will post a picture of Brooklyn soon - and be sure to check out www.fiveberges.blogspot.com to see some cute pictures of Timothy, Luke & Hannah. Hannah is sure getting big too!

Construction views

Here are the houses that Wally and Daniel have been building this winter. The larger one is for a customer and the less-finished home is one that will be for sale. These two homes are directly across the street from each other. (And they are in the same neighborhood where Daniel lives, so it's an easy commute to work!) Both homes are "Berge Original Designs" and the floor plans are really great. Wally and Daniel are now siding the larger home. The snow is starting to melt so it is getting muddy.

Changing it up - a look into the past...

Here's a little something different for the blog today - old family photos. My grandmother Beatrix is the little girl without the bow - she was born in 1898 so that picture was taken around 1900; my mother Mildred, born in 1917, is the little girl with the big bow (we think she is singing a song), and lastly is one of my mother and me together - we went from the big bow look to the big bonnet ruffle! That picture must have been taken in the spring of 1948. Don't forget to label your photographs, folks, for future generations, okay??

Getting bigger....

Here is Preston, getting stronger and standing up - of course, Mom is not far behind him ready to grab him when need be. He has a sweet dispostion and is generous with his smiles - and he has his grandparents wrapped around his finger. Are you surprised?

Grandma, look what I found!

Following our snow storms are a vast array of beautiful and large icicles - and here is one of ours that Brooklyn brought to our door to show us! You just want to be sure you are not under one of these at the wrong time...

Another view

Here is the view outside our bedroom window - I just love seeing all the branches of the trees so well-defined. Amazing.

In like a lion...

As expected, the snow arrived last evening in our area. We awoke to seven inches of fresh snow with more expected later today and into tomorrow. The radio announcers remarked that perhaps the phrase should be changed to "in like a polar bear" - though, happily, it is not bitterly cold. Just thought some of you snowbirds might enjoy seeing what you are missing. It's beautiful!

Reality check

Oh yes, I need to balance my love of snow storms with the reality of what it takes out of dear hubby... of course, the work of the snowblower does help! I should be sure to have a cup of hot chocolate awaiting... (fortunately it is not too cold outside!)

Oh the weather outside is frightful but the...

...fire is so delightful!

I just love a good storm!

And add a cup of tea or coffee and a good book... or a sudoku puzzle... a loving hubby...

Just some reasons why I love Minnesota!

Belated Birthday Chef John

Wally and I went to Eagan this weekend to celebrate John's 30th birthday - which was 6 weeks ago! It took that long for us to coordinate our schedules. We enjoyed a good time together. We spent Saturday touring some nice homes on the Parade of Homes and settled in that evening for take-out chinese food and a funny movie. Here is one of our birthday gifts for John - a chef hat! He is a good cook, by the way. Very gourmet - and for those of you with fussy eaters, take heart! This boy wouldn't eat anything with butter on it for years, never ate cheese...and didn't eat pizza until high school. Thank you John and Sara for a nice weekend together.

Valentine Honey

Happy Valentine's Day! Here is one of my 5 little Valentine Honey's - little Preston is now 8 months old. My other little honey's are Preston's sister Brooklyn, who is 4 and then Timothy (3 3/4), Luke (1 3/4) and Hannah (3/4)...

And did I mention there is going to be another little Valentine Honey? Adam and Andrea are expecting a baby in August. Now isn't that just lovely news?

Hugs to all my Valentine's!

Ready, Set, Go Bears!!!

Here we are ready for the SuperBowl.... Wally built a riser for another couch so we could all watch together! With great homemade soup, tasty bread and warm fellowship we will root on the BEARS. Afterall, they are representing our division.

MINUS 20??? !!

Okay, - 9 seemed worthy of a picture until this morning..... here is the outdoor temperature on our thermometer.... -20.6

That is WITHOUT the windchill factor. Who needs a windchill factor with air temperature like this??