First hike, finally!

 We finally hit the hiking trails... the weather has warmed up enough the hike but the snow is slow in melting.The trails are very sloppy so hiking was slow as one has to take care with each step to avoid too much mud or water...  we hiked the Mescal Trail, one of our favorites, but didnt go as far as usual due to the slowness of our hiking. Never the less, the views were fantastic, and fresh air so welcomed! It refreshes our body and soul!!

Snow day in Arizona?

 It is a bit of a surprise to come to sunny Arizona only to “enjoy” a wintery white snow storm! Here, above, is the view from our condo and how it has changed from sunny yesterday to snow today! 

Just for fun, hubby posed for a picture with his golf club and ball...  it is good to laugh when there is nothing else to do!!

One of our “happy” places...

It has been 2 years since we have enjoyed relaxing and hiking in Sedona, Arizona. It is one of our top places to visit:great views of amazing red rock formations; great hikes, good food, etc.  We are settled into a nice condo with this fine view of a rock formation named “the courthouse.”

I liked the colors for our evening snack plate!

Standing up!

Our youngest little grandchild just celebrated her first birthday. She crawls all over the place but has now discovered the art of standing. Suddenly she is a little person, not a baby! She is a very petite little girl, full of smiles. Not yet interested in taking steps, but that wont be long....

Psalm 100:5

This is a favorite picture, taken December 2017 at Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It is me and that is exactly how I feel when there! Full of joy and rejoicing in God’s beautiful world!

Christmas day 2018

Christmas morning sweet rolls.... a nice way to begin a wonderful day!

 We had opened the gifts on Christmas eve so Christmas day is a time to relax together, enjoying each other!

 Some of the children were happy to get outside as it wasn't extremely cold.

We had a fun gift exchange game; all the gifts were food snacks.

 The men enjoyed playing cards (rook), and chatting.

Samuel found a quiet place to assemble his lego gift.

In the afternoon we all watched a funny Christmas movie.

The 15 grandchildren and grandpa and grandma...

 Time for the Christmas dinner at the long table!

 All smiles..



Everyone ate well!

 We have some costumes and we managed to re-enact the Christmas story. 

The shepherds react to the announcement by the angels that a baby has been born!

 

 



Admiring the newborn babe!

 

The Star in the East leads the three Kings!
 

Christmas Eve 2018

 

 

 Our family of 23 (us plus 3 sons, 3 daughter-in-laws and 15 grandchildren) gathered in our home for a few days of Christmas celebrations.  Attending church is a significant part of our Christmas celebration as we rejoice that our Savior was born!   Here in this picture some of the children came up front for a children's story.

 

 At the conclusion of the wonderful church service everyone received a small battery candle to turn on as we sang Silent Night.  It was very special, as you can imagine.

 

 Then we came home and Wally and sons went to work building a large table to accommodate all of us for our Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinner.  We could have sat at two tables/ one in the dining room and one in the kitchen, but we felt it would be so much more fun (and meaningful) to all be at ONE large table.  We just fit; had to move some furniture away and be flexible.. the table extended from our kitchen island right to the fireplace hearth.  But we did it!

 

The plywood is covered up!

 

 Christmas dishes, candles, fancy napkins...

 

Here is the view looking down from our upstairs. 

 

 And here we ALL are!!  What a blessed Christmas Eve!

 

Yum.

My mom is 101!!

 My mother is an amazing woman! Here she is in her little apartment at 101 years old!  She is reasonable well; some hearing and vision issues but she is still quite independent.  She lives in her own one bedroom apartment in a lovely senior living community. This picture was taken in her apartment.

 

 We celebrated her birthday with a small reception at her senior living community.

 

 She still loves gifts and new things!

 

 Blowing out the candles that said 1 0 1.

 

 

 My mom and her 4 living children.  (Sadly one son passed away in 2004.)

 

Here we all are; my mom, her children and her in-laws.

 

 

 This is me with my sister Marlane.

 

 Here I am with my oldest brother, John.

 

Me with my "baby" brother, Jeffrey.



This and that

 Our eldest grandchild was confirmed in her faith.  A lovely young lady!

 

 She had to share a special Scripture verse.

 

 The little boy in the red plaid shirt and his sister right next to him are two of our many grandchildren.  They stood perfectly still while the other children sang and did motions.  They were certainly well-behaved even if they did not sing!

 

 Grandpa showed he still had his skating ability when he put on his roller blades to skate around with this grandson.

 

 

 I think this grandson would fish every day, all day, if he could!

 

 We enjoyed dinner on our front patio and celebrated Norwegian independence day since hubby has Norwegian roots.

 

 We love camping and Minnesota has so many great state parks!  This was our first camping of the 2018 season.

 

 We experienced some rain during this first camping trip but stayed cozy and dry inside our camper.  We had books to read and snacks to eat.  Perfect.

 

 Little number 15 is growing!

 

 Summer fun includes watching grandchildren in sports.

 

 Father and son showed up in the same shirt. 

(Concordia seminary is where this son studied for his PhD.)

 

 More baseball!  This time in Fargo...

 

 Golf..... lots of golf....

 

 Gathering for a birthday celebration.

 

 Organizing his new fishing box.

 

I had to give golf another try.  It wasn't too bad.  I think I will do it again.

 Watching this grandson play soccer. 

 

 Showing off his new trumpet  playing skills.

 

I was very intentional with keeping pictures in albums during the years our sons were growing up.  And it was fun to see this son go through many of the albums to show his children what things looked like when he was a child.  It sure was worth all the effort to keep pictures in albums, labeled by year.