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??

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.