Nana Porcupine

Winter at Main Street square.

2012-01-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

This first picture is taken from the intersection of Main St. and Sixth St. that is why this is called Main Street Square or sometimes it is even called Sixth St Square. It is right down town and what an absolute improvement and wonderful addition to our city. There are big Marble or sandstone pillars with lights at the very top that I thought were beautiful. This week i find out that a sculpturer will be hired to create works of art from these pillars and will have 5 years in which to do so. It will be very interesting to watch and see these pillars come to life or change.
Here are more pillars that will be transformed into art. This square is framed with many unique stores and a dinner. The Ice skating rink is always busy and it seems that there is a crowd at this square every weekend when often there are special activities, concerts or entertainment of some sort.
These girls from a Ice Skate class did a wonderful job.

This is the man who was specially brought in to make all these Ice sculptures with a chain saw. This was a special fund raiser for Meals on wheals.

This shows the Ice rink and one of the young figure skaters.

More Ice carvings or should I say sculptures..

This was the biggest sculptur, sleigh and two reign deer. Right on the corner of the intersection of Main and Sixth.

A Fire Truck

A motor cycle.

Another figure skater.

This Eagle is right on the stage. You can see the big spot lights around the edge. This stage will be very nice for summer concerts.

The Coca Cola bear and bottle ice sculpture.
Picture taken to the North.
Picture taken to the South.
I didn't get a picture of all the Ice sculptures but at least you got an idea of what they looked like and what kind of activities were happening. I have driven past when there has been many (Like 75 to 100) people out there Ice skating.

The last few Christmas Pictures.

2012-01-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

I absolutly love having our tree and other Christmas decorations up. So on Jan 12th when I got ready to take the tree down, I just had to snap a few more pictures. Our theme this year was "JOY TO THE WORLD" If you look real close, you can see the center of the tree has the words, "Joy to the World" What better theme is there, Joy came that very first Christmas morning. Jesus has brought Joy to the world in His love and purpose. God's plan was complete, His Son would suffer for the sins of the whole World and thus win salvation in Heaven for all who believe.
This year I had the clay nativity figures under the tree.
This was a gift a few years ago from my youngest daughter and family. I have loved this gift and I use it every year as I teach the lesson of the Magi from the East coming to visit the infant Jesus, their king, with these gifts that are only fit for a king. Gold for a King or Royalty, Frankincense as in Worship the King (incense) and last Myrrh a precious valuable spice used in those days to anoint dead bodies. It is amazing how even when Jesus was a baby, those gifts told of His propose for coming down from a pure holy heaven to a unclean sinful earth.

I just had to include a picture of this old doll that I have inherited from my Aunt.(My dad's older sister) This doll was given to her when my dad was a baby so that makes this doll 93 years old. I have had the doll for a few years now but i recently obtained the original clothing that was at my mothers house. I love how she looks and as I look at her I wonder how many little girl arms have held and loved her. I wonder what her name was. I wonder if she got to sleep with my aunt. I will write a note about this doll and someday I hope to pass her along to someone who will love her and keep her nice for future generations to see.

Christmas #3 in Western ND

2012-01-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

On Dec 28th we traveled to Western ND to visit and celebrate Christmas/New Years with our youngest daughter and family. Most of the roads were dry and great driving except for about 1 hour with snow and sleet causing icy roads and slower traffic. I just couldn't blog about Western ND without a picture of the most frequent, recent landmarks, a oil well.
Wed evening we enjoyed the "gift opening" one at a time so we each got to see what everyone got.
Melissa looking through her many seed packets and gardening stuff. She was excited and especialy loved the old "Kraft Cheese wooden boxes."
I enjoyed seeing yet another beautiful Christmas tree.

Many cross's and angels adorned this tree.

Ansir had no idea what would be in his packages since He really didn't know what he wanted. He was excited about a new fleece vest, also the rocket with 3 engines.

Tim with his digital tire gauge from Grandma and Grandpa Hanssen. Below Melissa with her new scissors from Grandma and Grandpa Hanssen.

As many of you know, Tim and Melissa are Foster parents and for the past 3 months they have generously cared for and loved 3 precious little girls under the age of 3 1/2 yr. I loved the way she turned the room into a cute little girls room with many colorful flowers from the teacher store and a stapler. Below are two of the gifts we brought for the girls. Pretty pink play dishes and silverware and a set of play pots and pans. I have many memorable pictures of our foster grandchildren but will not post them here! We love them dearly and will always be able to include them in our prayers. We thank God for bringing them into our lives and the lives of Melissa, Tim and Ansir. It is a special joy and blessing in our lives.

Jeff with his gift of Computer lap holder/cooler. It has already been in use and so nice.

Below, I show off my Mary Kay Satin Hands. It has a beautiful soft peach sent and certainly works wonders on my dry old woman hands! LOL. Melissa has recently started her own business as a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. I wish her much luck in this adventure.

Ansir thinks this nice thick warm hooded sweat shirt is just the thing for the nice 40 - 50 degree weather they have been having. It will also be nice under his coat when the temps hit -30 degrees. This was his gift from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Hanssen.
Thursday Tim prepared a wonderful Christmas/New Years feast. You can see the pictures and almost smell and taste the PRIME RIB!

It was cooked to perfection.

Even the three dogs enjoyed licking the platter

for their Christmas treat.

We all enjoyed listening to both Melissa and her dad, Jeff serenade us with guitar music and Christmas carols and hymn's. This is Jeff's guitar of many years that he recently gave to Melissa when they were visiting us over Thanksgiving. She has done a great job of learning to play and we all know she can sing! We had a great time and treasure the memories of our three Christmas celebrations at three separate places. We put on over 1860 miles on our new Chev Impala over the two weeks time. We are thankful for the good weather and roads and we especially Thank God for a loving caring family he has given us.

Happy Blessed New Year 2012 to all of you!

I just had to leave a good taste in your mouth with pictures of these delicious deserts. ENJOY!

Niagara Christmas celebration #2

2012-01-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

We arrived at Niagara on Christmas Eve late afternoon. We enjoyed attending the Children s program and candlelight service that evening at St Andrew Lutheran Church. That is the church where I grew up, and attended until 2 years after I had married Jeff and moved to Montana with the Air Force. After the Church service our family gathered at my parents home to unwrap gifts and enjoy some family time and treats.
I enjoyed snapping many pictures of the family, especially the twin girls (my nieces children) who were such a cute age at 9 months. After all, how often do I get the opportunity to take pictures of twin girls and their brother.

I know its a lot of pictures of this lovely family but honestly, each one is just a bit different.

It was fun watching the 3 children open and enjoy their gifts.

Here Jeff, (Papa Jeffy) is helping one patient little man get his toy truck out of the box. That can be quite the task with the way these toy's are boxed.
My 93 yr old dad holding his great granddaughter and below with my 90 yr old mother holding one of the great granddaughters.

I painted on rocks for both my nieces and my Nephew. The logo for Sioux will no longer be available after the New Year. (I think.)
I also wrapped up an old 1st or 2nd grade school book of their father, Dale, for each of them. Me and my husband had brought them home from the old house many years ago when my parents moved into their new house. Jeff found them in a box and came up with the gift idea. I think they enjoyed looking through the books and comparing them.

My Nephew Jamie was thrilled to get a (LEG LAMP) It was a fun gift!
Almost every year for the past 15 years, there has been a Christmas picture of all three of my brother and Kathy's children. So this year I took a picture to stay with the tradition.
One very happy boy who enjoyed his new Christmas toy's.
Christmas day after attending the Christmas worship service at St Andrew Lutheran Church, we all gathered at Niece Angel and her husband Davids home for a delicious meal of Ham and many other wonderful foods. Above My mother enjoys time with one of the twins.
Jeff had teased, all he wanted was beans, so guess what his Nieces wrapped up for him, YEP! Pinto beans. and he was thrilled. I am sure we will be cooking up a big pot of beans very soon.
These two pictures are of the twins who are not identical but still look very much alike.

Grandma Kathy has her turn to hold and treasure time with her granddaughter.
Great Grandpa teases and playing with his great grandson.
Brayden finally sitting still enough for a nice side view.

Christmas is such an exciting time for children.
Angels trees were absolutely beautiful. This is just one of her trees. She loves Christmas and dose a very good job decorating their home.
This is a gift from her husband. By the look of her smile she is thrilled with the Nativity Angel.
Nephew Jamie got a nice hooded sweat shirt that will be just the thing for riding his Harley.
My mother again with her Great granddaughter.
Jamie gets something he needed and can really use, a chain!
Above my father plays peek with the twins and below you can see how it really worked so I could get some cute pictures of the both of them.
These are the dresses I gave them when they were born. They are almost too small, who would have ever guessed that twin girls would be that big at 9 months. The dresses are size 12 months.
Here the girls are watching their older brother with a fun noisy toy. further down you will see what the toy is.

This church belonged to my Grandmother Hanssen. I always remember it at her house at Christmas season. It was always so pretty with the light inside and the music box plays"SILENT NIGHT" My brother had this since my grandmother past away and now it has been given to his oldest child , Angel. Her husband got the music box to work again and as you can see this church adds to the many beautiful decorations in their home.

Here is Jeff with his BUDDY! This is Angels and Davids dog Buddy. Below you can see the guys out flying their toy helicopters, gifts from "SANTA"!

Before we left my parents, my dear Uncle Ed came over to visit and share a few Christmas songs with us. It was a nice sing along and always fun to see him when we get to Niagara.

Christmas 2011 at the Lutheran Hen's

2012-01-01T19:09:00.001-08:00

It was a special time for me and Papa to spend 4 days with our oldest daughter and family just before Christmas. We also enjoyed attending Tue morning Matins and the 4th Wed evening Advent service with them. It warms my heart to hear their beautiful voices praising and worshiping our Lord and Savior. We also had devotions to the lite Advent wreath, baked cookies, went shopping, drew pictures, played Wii, and just plain enjoyed every minute with our family.

Papa and 14 yr old granddaughter work hard to make a big pot of beef veg. soup. Measuring and weighing all the ingredients to count the carb's. You can tell the dogs think it will be for them or maybe they think something good will drop to the floor.
Youngest granddaughter, 3 yr old, shows Papa something cute on her mom's smart phone. It is amazing how these little ones know how to work the phone. She loves her Papa!

Youngest grandson shows his missing tooth and new glasses since the last time we have seen him.
Youngest shows off the pink Elmo "t-shirt" that I bought her while we were shopping.
Our handsome oldest grandson from their family as he is in deep thought over a tv program.
This was so cute as they all played a Wii game of Dance II.
Often the piano was occupied with just-for-fun or practicing their piano solo's for the Christmas eve program. It was great getting to hear all the beautiful music and Christmas tunes.

I was thrilled when the 2 youngest granddaughters tried on their new Christmas dresses for me. I had purchased the look alike dresses a great after Christmas sale last January.

Our 9 yr old granddaughter looked so lovely as she modled her new dress.

We celebrated a day early as we had to leave on Christmas eve day to be able to spend Christmas with my parents in ND.
Magnet paper dolls. Four little girl dolls will keep the 3 yr old occupied while the other children are being home schooled.

Ready and anxious to open the gifts from us and Great Grandma and Grandpa Hanssen.
Papa was busy at work in his workshop to make this oak penguin jewelry hanger for our oldest granddaughter. No more stick pins in her wall to hang necklaces!

12 year old grandson will be a good "CHESS" player.
Youngest grandson got a Lego watch. WHO KNEW they made lego watch's?
The Lutheran Hen and the Rooster, prepared a wonderful turkey meal and the table was lovely with the Christmas settings. It was a great way to celebrate with the family, our #1 of 3 Christmas meals.
Very proud of her new toy princess computer. Below is mom and daughter apron, oven mit and pot holder. " Lets cook mom!"

Wow, 9 yr old admires a large art set and other gifts she received.
Always, always so excited to open the gift from her Baptismal sponsor.

Just look at that pretty smile!
Here we are, our daughter the Lutheran Hen with her husband, the rooster.
I just couldn't resist giving them these cute hen and rooster ornaments on their packages. They look great on their tree.

12 year old grandson got a chess set and the game was kept very busy while we were there.

Annual Christmas Party

2011-12-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed our annual Christmas party here at our home. the theme was "JOY TO THE WORLD" The traveling gift was changed into a beautiful JOY with a wood cut out J and Y and Nativity for in the center. This had been a Ellephant for the last years White Elephant party. You can search the 2010 Christmas if you want to see it. It was a great evening with lots of good friends, food, wine and gifts. A blessed Christmas to all filled with the Joy to the world, the Christ child born for you and for me.

Memorial Wreath Day at the Black Hills National Cemetery

2011-12-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday we drove to the Black Hills National Cemetery to watch the presentation of wreaths in honor of each military branch and all those who have fallen while protecting our country. It was a beautiful day and the program only lasted about 20 minutes or so.
The Veterans were dressed very nice with their feather hats, shinny swords and satin lined capes. If anyone knows what these hats are called, please let me know. We thought maybe "cocked hat".
It was a different group of presenters for each military branch. I also don't know if things are always presented in the order they were here or why? Maybe each branch according to the age.
Here you can really see the Ostrich Plumb and also some who had very special wreaths for important graves. One was a beautiful cross shaped wreath of fresh greens.

This 4th wreath was in honor of all the US Air Force.

These are all the people who were there taking fresh donated green wreaths to either graves of a loved one or someone else per tag on some of the many wreaths.
This is a pile of the fresh wreaths that were there for the taking to be placed on someones grave.
I thought this was beautiful with the glistening white snow. Some areas had a good foot of snow to trudge through.

Some wreaths were layed under the cremation Niche, they are a newer addition to the Black hills National Cemetery.
Always lots of flags!
The USAF memorial wreath.
I took one to place on my cousin's mother's grave. Irene "Behm" was my mothers first cousin. Her birthday would have been today and she past away on Christmas day 2009.

Her grave is now adorned with a beautiful green live wreath, reminding us of the Life eternal we will have after God takes us home.

John 3: 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.
Christ came down from Heaven as a infant baby boy that first Christmas day. It was His very blood that cleanses us from all our sin that we might have life eternal in Heaven with Him.

Merry Christmas and take time to Prepare the way of the Lord. Prepare our hearts for Jesus.

Porcupine Fall Christian Carnival

2011-11-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

The end of October our Mission service at Porcupine was a very interesting event. The first hour or so was taken with our Vicar Sutton, also a Electrician, fixing the lights by the light of the sun through the door. Our electricity comes from a generator also brought by Vicar Sutton. At least we have a building that we can use.

Helper Jim and Rev Utecht watch and add support as Vicar Sutton works high on a ladder to fix the lights.

Lights are fixed and everyone is ready for the Church service to begin. Led by Pastor Utecht and Vicar Sutton.
After the Worship Service, Larry had a very interesting Magic trick to explain REFORMATION. The disappearing skunk was to let everyone know that paying and buying our way to heaven "STINKS"

GOLIATH and PUMPKINS and TICKETS - -- - - -OH MY

The Sunday school hour was very different this Sunday. Everyone was given 6 tickets to use for the Christian Carnival. The first ticket was used to get their bag to hold all the goodies.

There were 5 fun booths set up with a prize at each booth, win or loose. Each booth or game had a Christian theme as you will see. Everyone not only got a prize but a copy of the Bible lesson from each booth.

Here Sarah reviews the lesson 3 Men in the fiery furnace with 2 of our regular boys.

Sarah making sure that each person gets a copy of the Bible lesson to take home to review or share with others. You can see the "Fiery Furnace" with the paper flames at the bottom right.

This is the long line waiting to get their bag with their first ticket. They also got a name tag on their bag. No getting these bags mixed up!

Donna Utecht was at the Color booth where each got a small pkg of crayons and a fold up Bible lesson of either Jesus calms the storm or Jesus and the children.

As you can see from this booth, it's David and Goliath. Each got a copy of the Bible lesson and an opportunity to shoot Goliath in the head with a Nerf gun. They also got a fall pencil for their bag.

This little guy was a very good aim!

Sorry if some of these pictures are on here twice, the Blog has changed and I have not yet figured out how to move or delete a picture.
This is the 3 men in the fiery furnace and the children got 3 soft cloth balls to toss in the bucket with paper flames. They got a small candy bar and copy of the Bible lesson for their bag.

The next booth was the pumpkin toss, using glow in the dark bracelets to toss over the stem of one of the pumpkins. Each got a copy of the Pumpkin Prayer that could be used as they carved their Halloween pumpkin and they also got to keep the glowing bracelet or another small toy.

Good toss. This was not as easy as it looks.

A ticket for the popular Fishing Booth.

The lesson here was Fishers of Men from Matthew 4.

You can see that even these teen boys were enjoying the fishing booth. Each got a copy of the Bible lesson and got to keep the stuffed toy pulled from the fish booth.
Many stuffed animals had been donated or given to our mission so this was such a fun way to give these out and not be partial or have a hard time to choose who got what. They were all surprised and pleased with their stuffed toy and not a single one was left behind.

It was a great turn out with approximately 60 in attendance. This was a good way to get the word of God into their homes.

This little guy had to check out his bag!

After the fun, there was a hot meal prepared by Doris Belitz for all. Cold juice and another candy treat was enjoyed by all.

The day went well, we enjoyed seeing all the big smiles and hearing all the cheers, giggles and laughs. God loves these people on the Reservation and has sent us to let them know about His great love through Jesus His Son.

Matthew 28:13 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

John 3: 16. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Fall sightings.

2011-10-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Our hedge is a beautiful varied colors of gold, orange and reds. The petunia's are blooming as big and beautiful as they can before the inevitable freeze takes the life from them.

Isaiah 40:7-8 "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the

flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our GOD STANDS forever.

The creek is still running and this is a great sight for this time of year in our area. We have had several years with little rain and the creek barely trickling.

John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,

streams of living water will flow from within him."

Now wouldn't it be fun to try one of these two Wheeler's?

Two frisky squirrels were watching us as we hiked around "their" tree's.

The ducks followed us along the creek with hopes we had goodies to toss to them.
I really like the beauty of the WOOD DUCK. It has such distinct markings that it almost looks fake. We did find a apple tree and bit off small pieces of apple to throw to them. They loved it!
Another fall adventure was up in the Hills to pan for GOLD. First we found a nice shallow creek or stream. Then we got out our spade, shovel and pan.

We looked -- -------and looked---------and looked! Do you see any gold?

1 Peter 1:18-19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold

that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ ,

a lamb without blemish or defect.

It was a very nice calm day and we certainly enjoyed our time. But as for Gold, the only gold we found was the gold of Gods beautiful creation, sights and sounds. Below are pictures of our almost 15 year old dog enjoying time outside in the fresh air.

He was a happy dog!

Before the freeze

2011-10-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

Today (this gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon) me and my husband went to view the flowers before they freeze. We also went for a walk around the park and I will share a few pictures of things we saw at a latter blog update.

This is at the entrance of the garden.

All the flowers are full bloom and always look so nice just before a frost.

This Sun dial has been in this park for many years. I remember it when our daughters were small. They always had to see what time it said.

I have no idea what this plant is but it is taller them me and very beautiful. The leaves are so dark and huge as a dinner plate.

call these Johnny-jump-ups. We always had them in ND on the farm. These were the only plant with flowers on in the "HERB" section.

Fall colors in September

2011-09-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

This picture was an experiment without a flash at night. This is the one golden tree we have in our yard. This certainly shows the golden color but it sure is a blurry photo.

Today we traveled the 1 1/2 hour to Porcupine on the Pine Ridge reservation. I was surprised how beautiful the fall colors were. The colors are well ahead of this area and also the Spearfish Canyon area. The drive was absolutely beautiful. I took several photo's to try capture the beauty but it is always much prettier in person. I will never forget last fall as we traveled many miles to WV. The colors were spectacular and the most colorful I had ever seen in my life. God sure can do wonders with His paint brush and it is all for us to enjoy and give thanks.

Birthdays and other fun times.

2011-08-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

Our daughters made our Birthdays special this year. Our youngest daughter had just arrived at my parents (her Grandparents) home in Eastern ND when she surprised Jeff on his 61st birthday with a beautiful hand crafted cake. You can see the boat, the fishing rod in his hands and even a fish at the end of the line. There are cat tails and rocks around the lake and even ducks. What a work of art. It was a total surprise for him too.

Since it was just a week earlier since I had my birthday, she also surprised me with this beautifully decorated garden cake. It had flowers, grass,a bird house, seed packets, garden trowel and gloves, even a white picket fence around the sides. I also was very surprised.

Below, my first cousin Harriet brought over a unique Birthday cake for my husband on his birthday. Four donut's with a candle. We all sang Happy Birthday and he blew out the candle.

Our youngest daughter cutting the cake and serving for afternoon coffee/lunch at 3 pm.

Below is a picture from My birthday celebration when we were spending a few days at our oldest daughters home with her, her husband and our 5 grandchildren. These delirious grilled rib's were a special treat. My son-in-law makes great tasting rib's, you might say I pigged out!

My oldest daughter made a scrumptious cream puff cake with vanilla pudding and then whip cream drizzled with chocolate. I know your mouths are all watering now. I loved it and can still almost taste the sweet rich flavor.

There were even candles and they sang a beautiful Happy Birthday to me and also God Bless you today. A glass of wine was also a nice treat. Below is a picture of everyone enjoying the Delicious Birthday dessert.

This is our oldest granddaughter top right and middle granddaughter bottom right with some really great friends who are also home schooled.

Our oldest granddaughter is 13 yr old. Below she is at the 4 H cake auction. Her dad is in back of her with her sister next to her.

The boy in the center with the big smile is our 12 yr old grandson. These twin boy's have been very good friends for many years. They also are home schooled and members of the same LCMS church, and 4H club. Below our grandson and his father check out a baseball catchers mitt for next season.

Our 9 yr old granddaughter loves sparkles, is in 4H, and was being a big help with the fresh corn on the cob.

She has a wonderful imagination,and plays very well with all children, younger or older. She has big beautiful eyes and a nice smile for everyone.

This is our 6 yr old grandson. He is always on the go.

He looks so handsome in his Sunday go to meeting cloths.

Now this is the "BABY" of the family and she thinks she is a big girl. Well, I guess I have to admit that she is getting big fast. she will be turning 3 yr old the end of September. She is so much fun.

She loves her Papa Jeffey., and he loves her too.

She helped with the corn and she seems to think she can do everything her older brother does.

She loves having books read to her. As soon as we finish one she comes with another.

We had a hot dog roast in the back yard. It was great fun.

We got to go swimming in their big pool set up at their other grandma's home. It was a perfect day to cool off and have a lot of fun in the water. Marco! Polo! Marco? Polo!

Fun at the fair. The rides were up but would not be running until latter that week. Our youngest granddaughter just had to walk around and check out the rides she was hopeing to ride on.

She called this the "CANDY SHOP"

Our oldest granddaughter modeled a dress she had sewed for her confirmation and won a couple trophies and ribbons for construction and modeling. She is a lovely girl and does a nice job sewing.

A purple ribbon for her 5 tomatoes she entered. Good Job!

Every year there is a cake auction with half the money going to the county 4H and the other half going to the 4H member who baked the cake. It is fun to watch. Our oldest granddaughter made a Greman Chocolate cake with the carmel nut frosting. YUM! Below our middle granddaughter made 16 sugar muffins, topped with buttery sugar and cinnemann. I know how delitious these are becouse she practiced a couple days earlier and we got to eat the muffins. YUMMY YUM!

We had a great 2 weeks

with family and friends. The Behm reunion on Aug 13th was great. My next blog will include many pictures from the reunion. We hope you have taken special time this summer to enjoy family and friends.

HICS 2

2011-07-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

The last evening of the HICS reunion was a wonderful banquet and program. Below is Lissea Clapp and Diane French who welcomed everyone, made sure everyone had their door prize tickets and sold raffle tickets for a Wii.

Greetings friend!
Don and Liz Flint

Jeff Falin enjoying a conversation with Col. James Cowan.

Everything was set up beautifully and the evening was very relaxed, fun and memorable.

Left to right, Alma and Joe Santos, Sal Ciulla, and Jack Clapp.

This is the group at our table, L to R Rick and Diane French, Dee and Howard Holmes, Lissea and Jack Clapp and me, Diane and Jeff Falin.

This was the prank door prize. This is the ever famous Jack-a-lob.

Don Flint was a important part of the program.
Below , Pastor Howard Holmes had the invocation.

Rick and Diane French who have been responsible for organizing, planning and setting up for all of the HICS /MISSILE COMMUNICATIONS reunions.
This 2011 reunion was wonderful and we certainly thank both of them

for all their time and hard work.
The next HICS reunion will be held at Omaha, NE in three years.

Don Flint doing the door prize thing. Evidently James Cowan

is lucky and always walks away with a door prize or winning.

From speaker,

to

HICS TROOP!

This was hilarious!

Finally returning something borrowed!

There was food, very good food!

And delicious dessert.

remembering . . .

A special thank you and gifts given to Rick and Diane French and Don Flint.

Presentation by Howard Holmes and Larry Paske.

Most of the men got together for a group picture.

If you put your cursor on any of these pictures and click on it, the photo should enlarge.

And then it was the women's turn for a group picture.

Below, Jack and wife Lissea Clapp

Signing the thank you cards for Rick and Diane French and Don Flint.

It was a very enjoyable 4 days.

SEE YOU ALL IN 2014 AT OMAHA!

HICS

2011-06-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Last week this time was the beginning of the HICS REUNION.

The HICS, HARDENED INTERSITE CABLE SYSTEM, Association reunion was held at Rapid City, SD. June 23-26, 2011. These are a group of Air Force people who served in the same field and were stationed at one or more of eight Air Force Bases, Grand Forks, ND, Minot, ND, Elsworth, SD, Malmstrom, MT, Warren, WY, Whiteman, MO, Vandenberg, CA, or Offutt, NE.

Rick and Diane French have organized not only this reunion but 4 others in previous years at 3 year's apart. Thank You very much for all the hard work and gathering so very much information and planning a wonderful, enjoyable reunion.

Registration was June 23, at the Raddison Hotel in Rapid City. It was a great time to get reacquainted and introduced to many who were not recognized or maybe never seen before but had heard others telling about. Some groups went out for supper, others stayed in the conference room to chat and share old stories.

Friday the 24th, a group took a bus to a missile site, Wall Drug and the bad lands, Ellsworth AFB museum. That evening many from the group gathered at the Hotel for a great time visiting, laughing, and catching up on years of service in the Air Force.

This is Jeff Falin, Joe and Alma Santos, and standing in back is Rich Black and Jack Clapp.

I will not be able to add all the names to all the pictures but these I did know.

I hope everyone will enjoy the pictures and see many who you recognize or worked with at one time or another.

I think this was the oldest couple there and what a couple. left is Liz and Donald (Fred) Flint and right is Diane French.

Left to right, Rick French, Larry Paske, Richard and Bonnie Robl.

Rich and Bonnie Robl.

The gal's had a great time too. This is Diane French, Dee Holmes and Charlene Anderson.

There is most likely a good woman behind every good man!

Kandy Black, Lissea and Jack Clapp.

Left to Right, Sal Ciulla, Bill Shaw, Jeff Falin, Jackie Anderson, Richard Robl and Terry Issacs.

Black, Falin and Robl enjoy seeing each other after many, many years.

Lots of stories with lots of action and laughter.

Looking at photo albums to share many memories.

The 3 men around table are Rich French, Jeff Falin and Howard Holmes.

June 25th was a full day with more sight seeing with the bus. A large group left at 9 AM, first stop was the famous Mt. Rushmore. We and a few other people drove there ourselves to meet them on the Mountain. After Mt Rushmore, the tour group headed to Custer park where they ate Lunch at a lodge and then through the Iron Mt Road that has many tunnels with each view through the tunnel is Mt Rushmore. then on to Crazy Horse Monument. The group had a very enjoyable time as you can see from the pictures below.

The men were so busy visiting and catching up, I wonder how many really got a good look at Mt. Rushmore. The gal's made it to the gift shop, souvenir's are a must!

Just in case you didn't see it, HERE IT IS!

Howard and Dee

Bill Shaw, Howard Holmes, Jeff Falin and Harry Miniken

Time to head back down the hill to catch the bus.

Sal and Pam take time to share a delicious cool treat.

Below is most of the group who went to Mt Rushmore.

These five missed out on the group picture so got their own.

It's 11:10 AM, time to get on the bus for the next fun adventure.

Mr Bus Driver was quite patient with everyone.

On the bus, ready to go to another interesting sight in the Black Hills of SD.

Good Bye, See you latter at the Hotel.

Hey gal's, never forget the pizza run and the storm and power outage. Sure was delitious pizza and I dare anyone to say otherwise! lol

Many camera's were capturing pictures of old friends and new aquaintences.

I will be updating a second HICS blog with many fun pictures from the Banquit and program.

Just in case anyone has forgotton, notice those dark storm cloudes creeping up behind the Raddison Hotel. At least the worst storms held off until early evening. OH Yes, Don't forget the Hail. It was at least golf ball size. These were at the south edge of Rapid, picture taken 2 hours after the storm.

Fishing 2011

2011-06-16T19:33:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was a beautiful, 70 degree, sunny, still day and such a nice day to spend at one of our favorite lakes, Pactola. The lake had been so low on water 2 or 3 years ago that we could not even dock the boat. 2 weeks ago, the water was so high that the docks were under water and some of the roads leading to the docks. But, this week was perfect.

You can see how still and beautiful the lake is.

I hope these pictures will make you feel like you are on the lake with us.

There were people enjoying boating, canoeing, kyaking, sailing, skiing, hiking, swimming, fishing like us, and just out enjoying the outdoors and beautiful weather.

We caught quite a few fish, some were too small to keep, like the one you see my husband Jeff with. Below he takes the lure from the mouth of a Rainbow Trout.

Me fishing and relaxing at the rear of the boat.

If you look very carefully, you can see a grey herring bird camouflage next to the shore.

This is the famous Ginny's Gulch where the younger generation hang out and jump or dive of the rocks. There were about 10 to 12 teenagers on the rocks yesterday.

If you have ever been to Pactola lake, you recognize this rock island just a short distance from the dam. 3 years ago it was completely out of the water and was not even considered a Island.

This is as we were calling it a day and coming into the boat dock. If you look closely you can see the many boats and pontoons that are stored at the docks.

Some of the fish we caught, above, Bluegill that were nice pan fish and below, the four 12 to 13 inch Rainbow Trout we caught. I hope each of you can take some time to enjoy the outdoors and the beautiful creation that God has given us.

Crazy Horse Volksmarch.

2011-06-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the annual Crazy Horse Volksmarch. Saturday was a lovely day for the climb. I heard that over 6000 people climbed Crazy Horse on that one day. If you look at the picture, the place we would eventually wind up is on the out stretched arm over looking the beautiful Black Hills of SD. This is almost like a virtual tour of the 26th annual volksmarch.

You can see I am anxious to get started with my trusty walking stick with all the markers on it from the many volksmarches my husband and I did while on our 3 year military tour in Germany.
I did not have to walk the 6.2 miles alone, This is my second cousin Melissa, shes from my mothers side of the family. This was only the second time to make the climb.

This is my first cousin, Don, from my fathers side of the family. He and his wife have been coming over 500 miles for the climb for the last 15 years. His wife couldn't make it this time but he was very determined to make it here for his 16th time in a row. Since this was the 26th annual Crazy Horse Volksmarch, he only missed the first 10. I have lived here for many years and this was only my 7th climb and not all in a row.

We past this old school house on the long walk from the parking lot to the start, registration tent.

WE ARE OFF!

This is how far away the huge mountain is from where we start.

Some of the trail was very nice!

Some of the trail was a little rugged and steeper climb.

Don brought his cam-corder and I am sure for the 16th year in a row,

got some wonderful footage of the climb.

We had a registration card that had to be marked off at each of the four check points. This was the first check point. We made it with no problem.

This was one of the first spots where we could get a very nice view of Crazy Horse Mountain carving and an excellent spot to get a good picture. Me and cousin Melissa.

Me and cousin Don, he was such a good sport.

I loved this part, walking through and under those tall pine trees. It was almost like being in Germany again.

This picture below shows how beautiful it was with the sun shining through the tall trees.

It was such a nice day, mild breeze and low 70 degrees. Perfect for the 6.2 mile hike.

Check point #2. Water, bathrooms and even snacks if you want to buy some.

You can tell we are getting much closer but the hardest climb was still to come.

Don is still going strong, I don't think he ever gets tired.

Here we are getting to the harder climb.

There we go! Actually, I did get plenty of breaks and rests because you who know me well, know I had to stop to capture everything on my trusty NIKON camera. It was a good excuse anyway.

We are at the last check point #4. The steepest, most steady incline was just ahead of us.

You can see all the people walking up the hill. If you look real close, you can see many of the volksmarchers already on the arm (just above my head). We are already at a very high elevation.

I made it! Here I am on the arm with the big carved Crazy Horse head just in back of me.

It's a great feeling to make it to the top and look at the excellent work of the carvers and look at the beautiful Black Hills scenery from above.

Me and cousin Melissa, find her yellow t-shirt and then you can find me. There were tons of people up there and they were all snapping pictures of each other, just like we were.

Don to the right.

This is the view looking down off the arm to the West, the parking lots and where we start and finish is the lighter part to the right. The big information center and museum is just left of that.

We were face to face!

Just to prove he actually made it to the top!

A very close up to show the work of the carvers. The last time I was up there 5 years ago, it was only finished to just under the lips.

This picture is toward the South East.

This picture is toward the East.

This is at the far end of the arm.

This is the hole under the pointing arm and over the Horse head. When this hole is finished, it will be big enough that Mt Rushmore would fit through it. NOW THATS BIG!

The wind always blows strong trhough this tunnel. It felt good since we had gotton a little warm from the tough climb.

The view through the tunnel.

Below, Don is talking with one of the original sculpture's,

this is one of Korczak Ziolkowski's son's.

This is a plaster model of what the finished Mounument will look like. You can see the original rock mountain carving as you look under the arm. This is at the Museum.

YEA! I made it! We all made it!

If you are ever interested in climbing Crazy Horse, it is always the first weekend after Memorial Day weekend. There were children as young as 2 and even a few babies in back carriers, there were older people, some in their 70 and 80's and older.

This is the neet medal we earned (Or paid for since it actually cast $12 this year)

We could also choose to do the volksmarch without the medal for just $3.

Regardless, you get this pass and at every check point they mark it off.

It also is a nice souveneer.

If you want more information on Crazy Horse just google Crazy Horse.

Our Memorial Day garden party.

2011-06-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

Cement, level, sand, trowel, shovel?

You might look at this picture and wonder, "What on earth does this stuff have to do with a Memorial Day Garden Party!

My husband Jeff who is retired military after 22 years in the Air Force, received this flag and flag pole last fall for his 60th birthday. He raised the flag for the first time on Memorial Day morning.

The United States of America Flag looked beautiful flying high in our front yard. It is a reminder of all the freedoms and One Nation Under GOD, for the many years of war to protect and stand up for our Nation, for all those who have served so faithfully in the Armed Forces, for every State that holds a star in the blue field. We give thanks to God for all the blessings He has bestowed on our USA. Our Garden blocks were laid, our garden planted and the rain was just ending.

The flowers were starting to bloom, lilacs smelt fragrant, and the old wooden cross made by our grandchildren 6 yr's ago had its prominent place in the back center of our garden.

WE THOUGHT IT WAS THE PERFECT TIME TO HAVE A GARDEN PARTY,

AND SO WE DID! Below you can see a nice smoky fire in our fire pit. Actually, we needed it for warmth, it was only 58 degrees that evening.

Everyone was to bring some kind of blooming flower. Here they are. Lilac's, yellow Pansy, a lovely branch from a blooming crab apple tree, some hyacinths and Lilly of the Vally, a peony bud showing a little red, and finally, a big bright yellow happy dandelion. It made a beautiful bouquet for on our serving table.

Our friends enjoyed a fun evening with a lot of laughter, food, games and visiting. Our friends all pitched in with the party by bringing a salad, veg tray, yummy rice crispy bars.

This is the group of us minus two guests who came a little late.

Below is a list I had put together for each guest to find the object listed during our "Garden Walk" Some things were easier to find then others. Everything was out in the open, you just had to be looking at the right place to spot each thing. You can see by all the flower stickers that this guest found quite a few of the 40 items listed.

You just cant, I say, can't have a party and fire pit fire with out roasting marshmallows. Our friend had found some REALLY BIG marshmallows. It was fun and the smores turned out very tasty and gooey.

It was a fun party and maybe next spring we will have to have another. Hot dogs and bratts went over great. We did retreat into the house for the last couple hours since we were all getting a little chilled. Friends are a gift of God, it just seems time goes by so fast and we just don't get together as often as we should. We sure do enjoy our time when we do though.

A LITTLE ADVICE FROM A FRIEND,

#1. Thank God for something

#2. get together with a group of friends

#3 smell a flower

#4 and eat a home roasted hot dog or smore.

The Recital

2011-05-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

My husband, Papa and I had the great opportunity to attend a piano recital. This wasn't just any recital, our 3 grandchildren were in this recital. No, it's not their first recital but this is the first one that we have been able to attend. It was great watching the poise and hearing the talent that all three possess. They have learnt so much. The hands above belong to the oldest granddaughter. She played a very special piece, Cannon in D. Such a beautiful selection and it was also played almost 16 years ago at her parents wedding.

This is our grandson and he did such a good job at playing his piece. He had it memorized so he didn't even need his music. We also enjoyed listen to him practice at home the few days before the recital. A lot of talent there and he has a wonderful voice too. I love listening to him sing both at their home devotions and at church.

These are his hands skillfully playing.

Oops! I just couldn't resist these precious 2 yr old hands who I know will some day be playing beautiful music as she gets older and starts piano lessons.

It was so fun to watch and listen to all of them including 16 others play their music selections.

Here is our middle granddaughter. She has been taking piano lessons for 3 years and she did a wonderful job at the recital.

Here are her hands as she makes beautiful music.

This is all the students and the teacher to the far right, back row. It was a fun day and refreshments were served after the talent.

Our lovely granddaughter sporting her Fedora and matching plaid shirt.

She looks a little sassy, oh, I meant classy!

While we were there visiting, our daughter baked and decorated a beautiful time consuming cake for her mother-in-laws birthday. It turned out so lovely and tasted superb as always.

I just couldn't have a blog without adding a few pictures of that sweet youngest granddaughter. She was showing me these full bloom spirea's in their yard. They were absolutely beautiful.

We used chalk to create a road and town on their driveway. The children had a lot of fun with their scooters on the curvy road. This is our youngest grandson leading the way. He is quite the young man and growing up so fast.

Our 2 yr old granddaughter has a thing with this hat! She loves it and wore it for the better part of the time we were there. I thought I would include just a few of the many cute pictures I captured with her and her pink hat.

Be watching for the next blog update.

We went to the ZOO and I have just a few pictures to share with you!

Firmly Rooted

2011-04-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Our oldest granddaughter was confirmed on Palm Sunday, that is the Sunday before Easter.Confirmation is a public rite of the church preceded by a period of instruction designed to help baptized Christians identify with the life and mission of the Christian community.

Prior to admission to the Lord's Supper, it is necessary to be instructed in the Christian faith (1 Cor. 11:28)

Her mother pins on a red carnation before the service.

This is our granddaughter with their pastor. He along with her parents and teachers instructed and taught her Luther's Small Catechism. This is very good information and good to be reviewed often by all who believe and confess their faith.

WITH HER LOVING PARENTS WHO HAVE LOVED HER, BROUGHT HER TO HOLY BAPTISM AS AN INFANT AND TAUGHT HER WITH THE HELP OF HOLY SPIRIT.

Good friends on left and our youngest daughter, her Aunt, on the right. They are her baptismal sponsors.

Good friends since she was a infant. It was so nice they could be there for the special day.

Her cousin and Aunt who is her baptismal sponsor. They came the farthest. 115 hour drive.

Here with her full family.

She did such a beautiful job of sewing her own dress. What talent! She will also be entering it in the county fair.

The food was lovely and very tasty. A very good friend did a absolutely beautiful job with the food for the afternoon open house.

Here we are with our lovely granddaughter and below with the rest of our grandchildren from her family. It's hard to believe how fast they grow up but we are so very proud of all of them.

The cake table. My oldest daughter, her mother baked the cake and my youngest daughter decorated it. I think it turned out very nice.

Wit her Godmother who prays for her regularly. Her 9 yr old sister did a great job at poring the punch.

This is the great friend who prepared all the food! It was hard to decide what to try first.

This is her husband and son in the following photo.

Finally a good picture of her handsome brother.

The two youngest ones got stuck with having to do dishes, but they made the most of it!

Me with my granddaughter, and my two daughters.

With her grandfather on her dad's side.

With her grandmother on her dads side. It was so nice they could all be there to share in the special day.

Her dad and his Uncle.

Pictures of the reception open house.

A special cross from the Holy Land from her baptismal sponsor.

Surprised and very happy to receive a family ring past down from me to her mother to her.
Gold with black onix with a small diamond. I received it about 45 years ago from my parents.

Rev. 2:10 Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Fun March visit to ND x 2

2011-03-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I had the privilege to travel to Western ND to spend a few days with our daughter, her husband and our grandson.

It was a fun time and we enjoyed celebrating Melissa's birthday with her on her special day. I can't remember how long it has been since I could bake and decorate her birthday cake. It was a spice cake with Carmel frosting. Decorated in green with 3 shamrocks since her birthday is on St Patrick's day. The shamrock is often used as a symbol of our Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The candles were not any special number or color, just candles I had left in my drawer.

We gave her this new blue leather purse, and also a couple t-shirts that match it and also fabric so her and I could sew a couple skirts while we were visiting.

The weather was cold and snowy, even stormed on her birthday but we were comfy warm in the house and sewing up a storm! We had a great time.

Ansir with his Ruby cat who absolutely loves him, hugs him and looks for him when he is not around!

We took time to enjoy a nice class of wine and visit.

We made matching aprons from some fabric Melissa had laying around.

Three easy skirts that will all match her purse.

Jeff and I with Melissa. Below, Ansir and Tim with Melissa. Thank You Sutton family for a GREAT time!

After several days in Western ND we traveled to Eastern ND to spend another several days with my parents, sister-in-law, nieces, nephew and other relatives.

I was especially excited to see the new additions to the family. Our second niece had twin girls on March 14th. So at one week old, we had the opportunity and blessing to meet them and to witness my parents first emotion and happiness as they first met their Great Grand children.

It was so fun to watch them hold them and try to tell them apart.

My dad with Kaylee, previous picture my dad is holding Kenzie.

These two pictures show such a young new born hand, 1 week old holding the finger of her 92 yr old Great Grandpa.

Kaylee Joy

Below is Kenzie Dale

My brother, their grandfather was named Dale Lee!

Jeff and I certainly enjoyed time with the girls. They are both absolutely beautiful and healthy. Kaylee weighed 6.5 lb at birth and Kenzie's weight was 7 lb. Very good size for twins. I am not posting pictures of their mother since she was not feeling at all well and also very tired. I just thank her and Her husband for letting us spend a few hours with their lovely family.

So sleepy, she had been awake most of the night!

My parents again with the girls. Something to be very proud of and give thanks to Our Loving Heavenly Father.

Dad with both girls. He said he had never held twins before and now they are his Great Grandchildren.

Proud Aunt Angel, has been a big part in the life of their older brother and will also be a big part of their lives, she is the care giver who will babysit as their parents are at work. Aunt Angel also did a beautiful job decorating their room and her and her husband David have purchased many cute (very cute) outfits. keep watch on my blog for more pictures at a latter date. The girls are blessed to have such a caring, loving Aunt and Uncle. Also blessed to have my youngest Nephew as their Uncle.

Grandma Kathy, my sister-in-law, holds and comforts her sweet precious granddaughter. Sorry, I got the wrong picture here, this is Kenzie, not Kaylee. The Ka in Kaylee is for Kathy and Lee was Dales middle name.

My mother, Great Grandma holding both girls. They look a lot alike now but they are not fraternal twins so as they grow older I know they will be much easier to tell apart and each have their own personality.

My mother holding "Y" and "Z". That is not their nick names, I just thought it was easy way tell who they were! LOL (for a Grandma or an Aunt, LOL stands for lots of love!)

This is a special blessing since these girls Grandpa Dale went to be with God on August 17th. They both have been given part of Dales name as a special remembrance of their Grandpa that they will have to wait to see in heaven.

This is proud Aunt Angel and big brother. He won't be two yr old until March 30th. He is a big boy.

Grandma looks very comfortable with this little bundle in her arms. I am sure many hours will be spent doing just that!

Grandchildren are a special gift from God.

We thank our loving Heavenly Father for the life he has given Kaylee and Kenzie. Preserve and protect them and bring them to the saving waters of Holy Baptism. Be with parents, brother and caregivers, fill them with love, and strength as they care for your children you have entrusted to them, In Jesus name, Amen

Fun memories from Christmas

2011-02-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

Activities of the week! Papa reads many books! Nana plays with new "Wizard of Oz" flannel board.

Watching TV or even the WI game!

Action picture of our beautiful oldest granddaughter.

A candid close up of our beautiful close friend who was also a big part of our Christmas celebration.

This is a little tiny cute package that our youngest granddaughter fell in love with, she called it a cake package and never once ask or even tried to open it, just packed it around for a full week until . . . . . . . . . .

It was Christmas day and time for the owner , her mom and dad, to open the gift. As you can see, she really wasn't so sure she was ready to say goodbye to that cute little "Cake Package"

In that cute package was a very nice bead, string book mark that her mom loved and was excited about but as you can tell, she was just a little disappointed and I am sure she is thinking, that cute "Cake Package" was way better!

THE LITTLE HAM! GETTING MUCH OF THE ATTENTION AND LOVING THE DRESS UP STAGE!

Dolly and me pajama's from Great Grandpa and Great Grandma. She called them "kitty pajama's and wanted to wear them every night.

Her doll too!

Tea party for Nana and Papa.

These two good friends decided to enjoy a "BIG SMOKE"

The wives of these two good friends had a little fun of their own!

Our smack in the middle granddaughter and I played paper dolls that I had given her awhile ago. She had them all dressed and were having a "Baptism" of the baby. Now how many children play "Baptism"?

Papa hung up one of his huge, long socks on the mantle next to theirs.

HE GOT COAL!

It seems like a few grandchildren were behind this scam!

Our grandson excited about his new sling shot. Now he wont have to borrow Papa's, he has his own! Look out world!

What a pretty smile from a very beautiful young lady!

The "SEA POSTER" what a perfect gift for a 8 yr old girl who loves the ocean and all that is in it.

Our youngest grandson smiles at his "LEGO" gift.

He just loves "LEGO'S"

Our oldest Granddaughter opening her gift from us, a Ipod Dock to be used with her new Ipod she got from her parents for her 13th birthday in Oct.

We all had to try our luck at the "WI DANCE GAME" It was fun!

Our middle granddaughter loves ocean stuff so she was thrilled to get this big Ocean poster for her room!

Below, our oldest granddaughter had to settle for a picture of her new boots, too bad they were back ordered but she tells me they were well worth waiting for and look lovely on her.

Just what he wanted!

She had a lot of fun with this wooden car made special by her Papa!
It has to be good if it comes from her Papa!

Dolly and me outfit, and the doll that looks a lot like our middle granddaughter , gift from her Nana and Papa.

Papa opened his new guitar strap from our youngest daughter and family who were many miles away. What a touching gift.

A very fun Potty train dolly for the little one who has been doing so good with that very same job.

Dolly and me pajamas from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.

Even our 14 yr old dog Baxter enjoyed opening a Christmas gift!

I know it's getting a little late but just wanted to share some of our special memories from Christmas 2010. It was a great celebration and we celebrate the best gift of all, Jesus, all year long,

Porcupine makes Valentines

2011-02-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

A valentine may love you for a life time, but God loved you before you were born and will love you through all eternity!
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love... with loving kindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3

Today, the day before Valentines Day, we had a church service at Porcupine on the Reservation. We enjoyed a wonderful worship service and after that everyone had the opportunity to make several Valentines telling of the most special love ever, Gods love in sending his very son. John 3:16.The back side of each Valentine had a invitation to come to our Mission Church twice a month to learn more about this special Love.

Everyone, even the adults enjoyed decorating a red bag to carry the Valentines that they had made along with a decorated cookie so they could be given to friends, neighbors and family who they wanted to show love to by inviting them to learn more about Jesus.

Everyone got to have a cookie for themselves and 3 or 4 more to give out to whoever they wanted to share the valentine invitation with. This is the best way for us to show love this Valentines Day, invite someone to our Church, Sunday School or Bible class. Tell them about Jesus never ending love.

The cookies were put in sandwich bags to make delivery easier and also to keep them clean.

Below we see Larry using Flannel board to tell about the Children of Israel, The Lamb of God who is Jesus, Moses as he asks Pharaoh to "LET MY PEOPLE GO"

The flannel board really makes the Bible lesson come alive.

This is me with a few of the children after we learnt the Epiphany lesson of the Wise men or the Kings coming to worship baby Jesus and bring Him gifts. Our craft for that day was crowns with star's on.

Vicar Albert Sutton and Rev Utecht greet the people with a hand shake and maybe even a few "whisker rubs" after the church service.

Vicar Sutton talks about the Lamb of God, Jesus the perfect sacrifice for all our sins.

Aunt Wanda & Realatives graves.

2011-01-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

The five Falin children.

Jeff, with Aunt Wanda, This is the last Shook, She is Jeffs mothers sister.

This is Aunt Wandas Husband Gene who past away May 22, 2010.

Aunt Wanda who lives in WV. with her two loveable dogs.

Winter at Custer State Park. Jan 12, 2011

2011-01-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

Beautiful scenery.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8:1

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18: 2

He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth
a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:2b - 3

We enjoyed a drive through Custer State park with our good friends.

It was a blessing to see Gods beauty and be reminded of Gods majestic creation.

Our friend, a pastor for over 55 years, shared many memorized scripture with us.

This is Crazy Horse mountain carving from the highway. This is huge, they say that Mt Rushmore would fit into the hole under the pointing arm. No wonder this mountain carving of a Indian on his horse is taking many years to complete.

For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?

2 Samuel 22:32

"The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!'
2 Samuel 22:47

The walk paths look very different with the snow cover!

I loved the way these beautiful bright sun rays were shining down over the unmarked snow.
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord Psalm 4:6b

I love the natural camouflage of the animals.

Antelope were licking salt from the road and weren't even concerned that we were next to them.

The area below is the corals for the hundreds of buffalo when they are sorted and sold down after the fall buffalo roundup.

Hay for a select few yearlings. I'm not quite sure why.

The rest of the large herd are left to live of the thousands of acres of snow covered park land.

They were very interested in us!

I guess they were more interested in our vehicle, licking the road salt of the Tahoe.
I guess you could say we got a prairie car wash!

Just outside the window, they were very gentle - - - - this time!

More of those camouflage animals. We saw a lot of deer too.

You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game.

Psalm 76:4

We saw the wild donkeys and a coyote but we were too far away for a picture.

The dark big Buffalo look beautiful against the snow covered ground.

White Elephant Party

2011-01-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

Last evening we had our annual Christmas party. It was a little late so turned out to be a New Years party. Every year I choose a theme. This year was White Elephant. As you can see, we had a lot of fun. I laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my cheeks. One of the games was to tear a "White Elephant" out of a piece of white paper. They turned out very interesting.

The gift exchange is always fun. This year instead of trading after the gift was open, we had the opportunity to trade gifts before they were opened. I gave this a lot of thought and figured it would be the best idea since the gifts were "White Elephant" gifts. My husband got the traveling gift. It has been past along for over 10 years now. It's first appearance was at our first White Elephant gift exchange 10 years ago when it was a yellow bee patio table ornament or candle holder. Since that time it has been many things. Always to fit the theme of the party. Below it was a snow man for last years theme of "Let it snow" below that , the theme was "WINGS". I was not able to find all the pictures but it has been many different things. A lot of work went into this years transformation into a Elephant.
Next Years theme will be "JOY TO THE WORLD"

The food table at the end of the party. You could tell we weren't hurting for food!

Fun during the gift exchange.

Gifts ranged from relish trays, body spray, a medical self-help book, Tupperware, candle holders to . . . . . .

THE BIGGEST HIT OF THE NIGHT!

The strangest "WHITE ELEPHANT" I have ever seen!

The room was roaring with laughter!

It was a very fun evening with our friends! Happy New Year to everyone, God Bless your 2011. Just like the White Elephants, we don't know what the New Year has in store for us but we do know that Jesus Loves us, died for us and will never leave us or forsake us. His word is always true and His word is the instruction book for our lives.

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-28T20:43:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would share a few of the beautiful decorations at our oldest daughters home. This year we were blessed to see the decorations and trees at my parents and youngest daughters when we were there around Thanksgiving, and over Christmas at our oldest daughters home. We had a great time.

This is our youngest granddaughter, her mom knit her Christmas dress. It turned out lovely and this was her first try at knitting a dress.

Yum, yum, Christmas candy from the Christmas Eve church bag.

Here she is in her pajamas with a matching doll pajamas. All the great grandchildren got PJ's from my parents for their Christmas gift.

Chick #4 is five years old . He seemed to be the most excited about the Christmas gifts under the tree. But then when Papa tells you it is wood chips, that makes one even more excited to see if that is the actual truth!

He wasn't too overjoyed to have Nana take his picture

but he knows how much I enjoy my pictures so he tolerated it!

This is the smack in the middle child, she is 8 yr old and very proud to have a new store bought dress for Christmas.

Here she is practicing for her before the program piano solo piece,
she did a very good job playing Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

She was an Angel in the Christmas Eve children's worship service.

These are her and her dolls PJ's from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.

The three oldest grandchildren played a Christmas Hymn before the Christmas Eve service. Our 11 yr old grandson had his memorized and we certainly enjoyed the many times he practiced and played Silent Night perfectly.

He is growing so tall and such a very handsome young man with his new black shirt.

This is our oldest granddaughter, she is 13 yr old and is wearing her wool dress she sewed for the wool fashion show and competition. It turned out just beautiful but then, about anything she wears looks marvelous on her.

She played a very lovely arrangement of Away in a Manger.

Good friends of the family also spent Christmas at our daughter and son-in-laws. This sweet little girl is only about 3 months older then out granddaughter and they got along so well. Here she was making our youngest granddaughter beautiful by brushing her hair. It was so much fun to watch the two of them play and interact. I think it would be great if they turned out being as great as friends as their mothers!

Such good friends! We enjoyed spending time with their family.

What a beautiful new Christmas dress for such a beautiful little girl.

Our five grandchildren from youngest to oldest.

OK, so its six, she is almost like a granddaughter!

I thought it was so cute that she wanted to be in the picture.

This is our whole group minus one dog, our elderly, almost 14 yr old dog

was off taking a nap and we didn't think to wake him.

It was 6 adults, 6 children and 4 dogs.
REALLY, it was great fun!

Jeff and myself with out 5 grandchildren.

Jeff and myself!

I took our daughter, son-in-law and family picture after the Christmas Eve Service.

The big church Christmas tree made a lovely setting for their family picture.

Here with our daughter on the platform, you can see how the two oldest children and her are about the same height, even a bit taller.

It wont be long and they will both be way taller then her.

The children's service was so good. Lots of singing and readers. The full gospel of our New Born King was told both from scripture and song.

Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

A Blessed Christmas to everyone, God Bless your New Year 2011!

The cross in memory of my brother Dale, in the Wheat field

Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, Jesus, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jeff and I enjoy gardening, fishing, and camping. We truly love spending time with our family and friends. We enjoyed going to Hills alive with Melissa, Tim and Ansir in July, we went to the Omaha Zoo with Charity’s family. We spent time with Snyder’s when Leslie was home. We met cousin Don and Barb at Alpine Inn in early June. Went to county fair with the Baker family and saw the girls model their sewn dresses and win awards. We still do mission work at Porcupine on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The year 2010 is about over, some of the memorable things that happened are shown in picture. We did spend some great time with family and friends. You can tell we enjoy the outdoors. Left, we spent time with our oldest daughter, Charity and our 5 grandchildren in June when they spent a week with us. We went to Custer Park for sightseeing, picnic a hike around Sylvan Lake and the grand kids had fun on the rocks. We had a great day trip to Spearfish Canyon with good friends Joe and Barb. Below, our oldest grandson, Ansir who is 14 was confirmed in June. We were all together. Back row, Melissa, Tim, Ansir, Me, Jeff, Charity and her husband Birkley holding our youngest granddaughter, Lydia who turned 2 yr old in September. Front row, Tristen - 11yr, Adriana - 13yr Wyatt - 5yr and Constence - 8 yr. It was a great day to all be together and spend some time at their home in Williston, ND.

Jeff was blessed to celebrate his 60th Birthday in August. We had several celebrations. The first was at my parent’s home the week before his birthday. Then we traveled to Charity’s where we celebrated on his actual birthday, then back in SD we had an evening out at the Alpine Inn with friends, and finally in Oct we traveled to Jeff’s home state of WV where he celebrated with his siblings. According to age, Jeff is the oldest, Debbie, Regina, Kenny and Tina is the baby who turned 49 while we were there. We certainly enjoyed the colorful leaves of WV and many stops at friends and family on the way going and coming. It had been many years since we saw Jim and Judy Brown and visited till early morning. We spent an evening with Jeff’s Aunt Wanda; Uncle Gene went to be with the Lord in March. We had a Mt. Top experience when we spent the weekend with my cousin Debbie and husband Tom at a condo on Snow shoe resort. What a breath taking view & experience of God’s creation. We enjoyed that time and our scenic route back to Charleston and dinner at The Hawks nest St. Park.
My only brother, Dale Hanssen past away on August 17th, He was just short of 62 years old. The picture of him with his only grandchild, Brayden, was taken just 12 days earlier when we spent a week with my parents in ND. It was a blessing to see the joy in my brothers eyes every time he saw Brayden. He loved his family and I remember the Sunday we arrived he was out grilling Turkey breast for our family gathering. It was a fun day and great memories. He died very fast while on the swather cutting his wheat. The picture above was 2 days after my brothers funeral when over 20 friends, family and neighbors helped my nephew Jamie take off the wheat harvest in one afternoon. It was a spectacular thing to see, the love and compassion of a community coming together to help when it was most needed and appreciated.

Jamie placed this cross in the wheat field in memory of his dad. The whole family was there when Jamie combined that final swath of wheat that His dad had last cut. The family signed the cross and since that time any other signatures have appeared on that cross in the wheat field. The three children wanted their dads boots present at the prayer service and funeral so they had this arrangement of flowers done in them in honor of their dad. My parents are doing very well with strength from our loving Father in Heaven. My 92 yr old father is a big support to Jamie as he has farmed his entire life. My 89 yr old mother said, it is good for Dale but not for us. It was a hard thing for all of us and we will never again think of the year 2010 without remembering my brother. We give thanks to God that my brother knew the love of Jesus. That Jesus sacrifice on the cross paid the debt of our sins that we might live eternally in heaven with our Savior whose birth we are about to celebrate and whose second coming we eagerly await.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope? Romans 15:13 I am on Face Book; don’t forget to check out my blog at http://nanaporcupin.blogspot.com/ or give us a call or stop in for a visit when in SD.
Treasure every day! God bless and keep you in His loving care Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! From Diane and Jeff

Christmas Trees and other decorations

2010-12-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

The first tree I got to help decorate was my parents tree when we were there for Thanksgiving. You can see pictures in my previous blog post.
This is the second tree I had the privilege of helping decorate, I belongs to my youngest daughter and family. It is decorated the old fashioned way with popcorn, cranberry's and clay ornaments. It sure turned out beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing our oldest daughters family Christmas tree and decorations as we visit them for Christmas.

This is our tree that has been similar for the past 3 years except for the Christmas train under the tree. I love the pre-lite, artificial tree, It is way easy and especially when one travels over Christmas so we don't have to take it down early. We always leave our tree up until January 6 or longer. That is Epiphany.

A close up of our lite Christmas tree and just a few of our special ornaments.

Below is our Advent wreath. We have had and used one since our children were little girls. We light the candles on the appropriate week during our devotions. Tomorrow we will light the pink, the JOY candle. The first two weeks were the HOPE candle and the LOVE candle. The week previous to Christmas is the PEACE Candle. The white Candle is the Jesus candle for Christmas day!

Two pictures from the Zion school preschool and kindergarten program.

Here are the doors that we enter into our church. I really like the decorations this year.

The two trees in front of the church are decorated so nice. I love the big words
declaring Christmas messages.

The decorations as we enter the worship area.

These two banners hang on the west wall of the worship area.
The banner below is in the entry when we first come in the door.

Most years we have had a huge tall live tree from the Black Hills forest cut and placed in the Narthex but this year in place of the tree, the windows overlooking the city are decorated with swags, stick-on's and wreaths. It looks very nice and leaves plenty of room to use the spacious area.

I hope you are enjoying Christmas and the many meaningful decorations that go with it.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

A special time to thank our loving Father in Heaven for all He has given us, especially His son Jesus to take our sins on him that we might have eternal life. A time to thank God for family, and a time to be together. We traveled to ND to spend a few days over Thanksgiving with my parents and my brothers family. This was the first Holiday without my brother so it was nice to all be together. Carving the turkey was normally my brothers job so Jamie took over. This was a first for him as I am sure he has already had many firsts since Aug 17th when my brother past away. He did a great job with the turkey and I know he is doing a great job with the work of the farm.

We all very much enjoyed the Thanksgiving feast, reminding of the plentiful provisions we have been blessed with.

A family tradition, putting up the Christmas lights. Bur-r-r It was a little cold and stormy out but my Niece and Nephew got them up. They are beautiful too!

While we were at my parents, I helped decorate their Christmas tree. Thanks to Angel who got everything out and set up the tree.

The morning after we arrived on the farm, I found this cute little kitten about frozen to death. We could barely tell she was alive by a very small movement of her mouth. She was stiff and her eyes open. We wormed her up very slowly and several hours later, she was OK. My sister-in-law suggested we call her Lazarus and Jamie suggested it be Lucky. I'm not sure what she is called, but Lazzy sounds good.

Friday, my husband drove me and my mother over very snow covered country roads to visit my Aunt Vera. This is my mother on the left and Aunt Vera on the right. We had a great visit and took her some left over turkey and trimmings since she was home alone over Thanksgiving.

My youngest Niece Amber, her husband Sean and their son Brayden. He is a cutie and growing way fast! (as children do)

My mom and I did some Christmas baking. It was fun, just like old times. We made her annual traditional Pepper nuts. They take awhile but are delicious with coffee. It's something she used to have as a child. The spicy smell while they bake is amazing and fill the whole house, very festive!

Even My dad got in on the baking of pepper nuts. His job was to put them in the pan for baking. He did a very good job of lining them up so none baked together. It was a fun, memorable time!

My husband always gives everyone a hard time about "PIE" Kathy surprised him and brought him a Pecan Pie. Yum-Yum!

After being at my parents for 5 days, we traveled west to spend a few days with our youngest daughter Melissa and family. We enjoyed our stay very much. We helped trim their tree by stringing popcorn and cranberries. Below is Ansir stringing popcorn.

Me and Melissa drape the tree with long strings of popcorn.

It looked very nice. The lights reminding us of Jesus as the Light of the world. The white popcorn reminding us of His Holiness and how our sins are white as snow. The cranberries remind us of the drops of blood He shed out of love for us to pay for all our sins.

Melissa singing a few Christmas and other songs.

The next day we made clay ornaments. The Nativity characters. It took a lot of trial and error but finally with all our trying, we were ready to bake them very slowly on low heat for about 5 hours.

Ready to hang on the tree! They turned out very nice.

Her Snow babies are all hung neatly between the kitchen and living room.

I just had to include a picture of the three dogs. Our dog, Baxter, on the left, is the oldest at almost 14 years old. Trixie is in front and their newest dog and only about 4 months old. Then there is Rosco, hes the black small dog in back. He is their first dog and about 6 years old. (I think)

I hope your Thanksgiving was a memorable one and that you remembered to thank God for all His goodness and mercy. God bless you as you enter this Advent season,preparing for the coming of the King. Come Lord Jesus!

New Wood Stove

2010-11-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Our New wood burning stove is here. We had ordered this stove about 6 weeks ago and today it was delivered and installed. As you can see, it works very good. It isn't real cold out but cooling off tonight. They said to light it when it was still warm enough to open the doors to let out the first fumes from the paint etc.

Below you can see this was quite a job to get the new stove in and the old stove out. They are H-E-A-V-Y!
The professional stove guy did a great job with the motorized dolly that does amazing stuff!

Here, you can see our old stove is still in place.

Those PVC pipes sure made it a lot easier too. Roll, roll, roll!

The old stove out and the spot is cleaned and ready for the new stove.

They are taking the stove pipe apart. You can also get a nice look at that amazing dolly.
There it is, in place and ready to burn. This stove has top loading, a blower fan,
a nice big ash pan, and will be way easier when Jeff cleans the chimney.

It also has a grate that can be put in the top to grill steak or hamburgers on.

That is the grate on the floor to the right of the stove.

As I watch the fire that can give heat to our home,

I can't help but think of the many times fire is spoken of in the Word of God.

One of those time was in the old testament in Daniel 3. This is the account of the three young men who would not bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's golden image witch was a false god.

These three young men, possibly only in their early 20's or late teens,

did not give in and were actually thrown into a fiery furnace.

Daniel 3: 25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

28. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

What a lesson this gives us. Our true God will never forsake us. He has sent His very son Jesus to save us from our doom, the punishment we deserve for our sin, the fires of eternal hell.

These young men prayed often and we also need to pray, ask God to send His Holy Spirit to not only give us a strong faith but to sustain that faith when the going gets tough!

HE WILL ANSWER!

Memorial Cross at the Harvest field

2010-10-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

As you remember from my previous blog post, five days after my brothers death, a large group of friends, family and neighbors got together to harvest the rest of the wheat. There were at least 10 combines, several big grain semi trucks and tractors pulling grain wagons. What a blessing that was for our family. I have now plenty of space on my blog for pictures so I will finish the report on that memorable day and also some earlier harvest events.

This is Jamie's best buddies who were combining the very field where my brother suddenly past away while swathing. They had stopped out of love and respect for Jamie who was at that very moment combining the last swath that his father had cut only 5 days earlier.

When Jamie got to the area where my brother had his heart attack, he stopped the combine for a very special tribute and memorial to his dad.

"Good idea Jamie!" That's what my brother would have said.

Jamie along with the assistance of his two sisters, Angel and Amber pound the steel cross into the wheat field. Jamie and his two brother in laws constructed the memorial cross.

My brothers family as they listened to the ringing of the sledge hammer.

My dad at far left on his 4 wheeler, My mother is in peach color just behind the cross. Family gathered for a devotion and prayer by my husband, Jeff.

Jeff reads from Psalm 90.

4For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by. or like a watch in the night. You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning--- though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

16- 17 May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us. ---yes, establish the work of our hands.

I did not copy all of Psalm 90, only portions, but you can read that yourself.
Jeff said a nice prayer and we all joined in the Lords Prayer.

Then My brothers wife led us in singing "Now The Light Has Gone Away."

The cross memorial. Below you will see close up pictures of some of the signatures.

Jamie back in the combine. The harvest must continue!

My youngest daughter, Dales Niece, Melissa signs the cross before heading back to their home.

*******

The afternoon of my brothers funeral, a group of Jamie's friends turned out to help him swath the rest of the wheat fields. What loving support and friendship.

Planning!

And there they go! It seemed to take no time with all the swathers to help.

********

Later that evening, Jamie received a call from a neighbor who lives close by. They had been hard at work combining the "Home" barley and wheat fields and wanted to know where Jamie wanted the grain. What a touching surprise!

Unloading the wheat from Tennisons big truck!

Jamie and his mother Kathy watch with tear filled eyes. What a special blessing when friends and neighbors come together to show love and compassion at a time as such.
It had been a long, emotion filled day!

Jamie taking time to drive the tractor with my grandson who just 2 months earlier had been on this same tractor with my brother, his great Uncle Dale.

My grandson's, my youngest granddaughter and my oldest daughter.

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God in whom I trust." Psalm 91:2

Update

2010-10-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have added more picture space to my blog so you will be seening updates. I did create a new blog called Porcupine Nana but still needed the picture space update purchase. There is one blog update on my Porcupine Nana blog. I thought I was on this blog and had already uploaded too many pictures to start over.

http://porcupinenana.blogspot.com/2010/10/birthdays-birthdays-and-more-birthdays.html

Community compassion, 3 weeks ago!

2010-09-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

Approximately 10 combines, and half doz trucks and wagons came together on Aug 22,2010 to help with harvest . This was after the sudden death of my brother Dale Hanssen while he was swathing this wheat.

This time was a very emotional time for the family to learn of such a caring, loving community of friends and relatives.

After the wheat fields were finished, after only 3 1/2 hours of time, they all lined up in the field . It seemed to me they were saluting and giving respect to my brother. We give thanks to God for such good friends and the love they have shown to our family.

Jamie will continue to farm the land. I know with the help of friends and my father who has farmed for many, many years, he will do just fine. Here they both sit discussing the farm and what might be the next step for the future. We know God will guide them and give them strength as they carry on with the work of the Hanssen farm.

My blog will not let me add more pictures so now I will have to see where I go from here. I will let you know.