Baby, it's cold outside!!

Yup, here we are in chilly Minnesota today - started out MINUS 9.5 here on our digital thermometer. But we are a hardy bunch and just like Preston, we smile through it!!

The Birthday Girl

Can you remember when you were four? Doesn't this face capture everything about how special a birthday is to a child?

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

Christmas reflections

I thought I would post a few favorites from Christmas 2006. Along with photos of the grandchildren is a special photo of our three daughter-in-law's modeling their new scarves and hats and stationery from Grandma Crater (my mom). We finished off Christmas day with a cozy fondue with John and Sara while the others went to Fargo/Moorhead to visit their other families.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2007! I just thought you might enjoy seeing how big this fella is getting - here he is, almost 7 months old, sitting up and trying to put everything he can get his hands on into his mouth. We're just not sure what he thought he was doing with his arms outstretched... was that Preston's version of "so big"? We're just not too sure...

Friends add spice to our lives

Here we are with our dear friends Willy & JoAnn, Paul & JoAnn and Carl & Diane. Wally and I were happy to host our group meal last evening. Though the atmosphere was festive, the candles lit and the food tasty, the best was the time spent with friends.

Merry Christmas blessings.....

I know we often read the "He was the reason for the Season" referring to Jesus... but the other day I read the phrase "WE were the reason for the season" and I thought that really summed it up well. We were the reason that Jesus came down to earth as a baby... simply because it was necessary for Him to die in our place for our sin. If there had been some other way for God and man to become reconciled, Jesus may not have needed to be born as a baby to eventually die on a cross... and conquer death when he came alive again. But He did - Christmas and the birth of the baby points to Easter and the whole story! We all just want to wish you a blessed and merry Christmas as you celebrate what God did for us at the manger - and at the cross!

Angels and Shepherds....

In order to reinforce the events of the night of the birth of Jesus, our adult children and our grandchildren orchestrated, narrated and acted out the account from the book of Luke. Mary and Joseph came to the humble stable and placed the baby in the manger. Fortunately, there was a warm fire nearby! The angel surprised the shepherds when she announced the birth of the baby! The shepherds and their little lamb came to the stable to see where the baby lay. This will surely be a family tradition......

Relaxing with Daddy

Isn't this a cute photo? Preston is relaxing with Daddy tonight. I just love the way Preston looks at the camera and cooperates with a nice smile. How long will that last???

Christmas baking with Grandma

This morning I had the fun of having Brooklyn for a few hours. Just Brooklyn and Grandma! We did lots of baking - we put candy kisses on pretzels and melted them (three minutes in a 250 oven) and then put a red and a green m & m on top. After they cool, they are really tasty!!

Another really fun project is to take a sugar cone and invert it on a plate and cover it with green frosting (canned frosting with green food coloring added) and then add candies for decorations. We had so much fun we had to take a picture of us together with our trees. We put the camera on a tripod and took our picture! This time next week everyone will be here to enjoy our baking (we made spritz too with lots of decorations (!) and then Meghan came and made krumkake for the first time.) I love to bake!

Christmas dinner at the Berge's

Every Sunday evening during the school year a group of 16 gather in our living room for an evening of fellowship, sharing and a Bible study. Oh yes, did I mention coffee and goodies as well? That is definitely a prerequisite! Last evening the group (minus one couple) enjoyed a Christmas dinner together in our home. Everyone brought part of the meal so it was quite easy for me! I got to do my favorite part and that is setting the tables (we had to have two tables). Here we are sitting together at the dining room table enjoying our coffee. Merry Christmas to all of you!

Preschool Christmas Program

Monday evening was the Preschool Christmas Program for Brooklyn. Lots of little precious children; lots of parents and grandparents there to see their little ones all dressed up and singing! And lots of cameras!! As you can tell from these photos, Brooklyn thought sitting down worked just as well as standing. We're sorry we won't also be in Wisconsin to see Timothy in his program!

Six months!

On Sunday little Preston was six months old. He is just the cutest thing and is fascinated by the lights on the camera so he looks right at it as if he knows he is supposed to do so. He has also taken quite nicely to the addition of baby food in his diet! More, more! Happy 1/2 birthday, Preston.

O Christmas Tree

A little Christmas spirit here on our blog... a peak into our "river room" where we have our Scandinanvian influenced Christmas tree. There are candles (electric) and Swedish straw ornaments along with a few berries and babies breath, shiny red balls and red ribbons. It is simple and pleasing. Would that be your gift wrapped under the tree?

Whoooo's looking at you?

As you can tell, we enjoy looking out of our windows at the wildlife activity. We occasionally see deer and, not too long ago, we had 5 or 6 wild turkeys walk through the back yard. Mr. Owl stopped by today to see if perhaps he could find a nice little rodent or something else enticing to eat. He is patient and can sit for quite some time waiting for just the right opportunity to descend on his unsuspecting prey. What a way to go.

Mr. Squirrel

Another great benefit of living where we do is seeing the squirrels as they scurry around in quest of food. They jump from branch to branch in an amazing display of bravery and skill! The trees and their branches provide a highway for them and it never ceases to delight us as we watch them navigate their travels high up in the tree tops. Here is a really cute picture of Mr. Squirrel looking at us - I love the snow on his face, don't you? He would be surprised to learn he is now on the internet!

December morning in Minnesota

Ah, this is more like it! No more of those mild November days... this morning this is our view outside. We had a lovely little snowfall overnight and, as you can see, it looks very white, clean and wintery. I love the view of the river now when the leaves no longer block the view. The birds, though, are our most enjoyable friends. We have multiple feeders and many hungry birds. This morning Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal watched from a distance - the bright red of Mr. Cardinal stood out easily against the snowy background. Did I mention that is was 3 degrees? Brrr....

And here is the groom....

Ah, yes, I couldn't wish my sister and brother-in-law a Happy Anniversary without finally publishing a recent picture of them, could I? Here is the happy couple in their kitchen prior to one of the many feasts Marlane hosts. Makes me hungry just to see the picture! Congratulations again to you both! 43 years and still going strong!

Happy 43rd anniversary Marlane & Brian!!

On November 30, 1963, my sister Marlane married her college boyfriend, Brian.

Happy anniversary today, Marlane & Brian!!

Here is our family picture from that day (without the groom!) - from left to right; my brother Cordell, myself (I was 16), my older brother John-Bobby and my dear sister, the bride, Marlane. Things to note might be the guns above the fireplace mantle pointing to the bride's head.... what was the photographer thinking??? And, yes, did we ever have a picture of the bride & groom on that day(I actually do not have one!) - (I know some were taken though) The other missing person would be our youngest brother Jeffrey - who, unknown to my mother, was in utero at the time of the wedding. She thought she was feeling sick from nerves..... but, at 47, she was the mother-of-the-bride and the future mother of a new baby! I thought you'd enjoy this, sis!

Hi folks!

Guess who stopped by Grandma's this afternoon? Yup, the grandchildren, including this photo op with two little ones. We love seeing their cuddly and different skin tones! Here is Hannah waving at the camera. Seems that these two already know all about having their pictures taken.

Thanksgiving meal

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving meal at a nice new resort about 45 minutes from Fergus Falls called Thumper Pond. We tried to pace ourselves and not eat too fast so that we could try everything. Easier said then done! Hope your meal was as tasty as ours. Greetings from Wally, Candis, Norman and Martha.