FLOWER GARDEN

I have already told you I like flowers so when I found this sight, I just have to pass it along
on my blog.



Happy Springtime!!!

This is really neat.
Click on the below link. You will get a black page. Click your mouse anywhere (& everywhere) on the page & see what happens! Better yet, click & drag your mouse over the black page...
Enjoy!!

http://www.procreo.jp/labo/flower_garden.swf

THE EVENING DRIVE

Above you can see why we love this lake. It is surrounded by the beautiful Black Hills and the sun sets are always spectacular, even with a few clouds in the sky. This lake is still very low and almost impossible to dock our boat. We were hoping with the winter snows in the hills and the spring rains that it had came up a bit more. It is still early spring so it could still happen.

Just to the East of the lake, across the dam is a big Osprey nest between two electric poles. We have seen this nest for years now and often see the Osprey and her young. Maybe later this summer, if we see them and if I just happen to have my camera with, I can share some pictures of this graceful big bird.

Tonight after supper my husband and I took our new- to- us camper van for a drive to one of our favorite lakes. Our dog Baxter also wanted to go for a ride. He isn't so sure about this old monstrosity, but once in it, he seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.

Tulips

Some of our tulips survived the deer as well. I also have some yellow tulips ready to open. These are a tiny short bright red and I always enjoy the showy tulips in my otherwise dead looking rock garden. I have a lot of creeping flox (4 different colors) in that same area that will be blooming in a couple weeks. We are thankful to have received over an inch of rain this past week, it has been so dry here the past several years. I mowed our lawn for the first time on Sat. and it is such a beautiful green. Everything smells so fresh out. It rained very lightly most of today. It was one of those cold, damp, rainy days that remind me of almost every day that we were stationed in Germany.

FLOWERS

I love flowers. As you can see, there are some very nice grape hyacinths blooming in our yard. There are many this year and doing much better then I had anticipated.

The deer didn't taste these or maybe they just don't like the smell or taste. They are a very hardy spring plant but when it got down to 10 degrees Easter morning I was afraid all were frozen. You can see some frozen brown on the ends of the green.

HE IS IN CONTROL

Last week was a very traumatic day for many. I'm sure you know I am talking about the Virginia Tech shootings and suicide. What a horrible thing. This week as I watch the news, it is still fresh with information and now they say are trying to figure out WHY this happened. Gods word tells us why. Its because of Satan. Yes He really is alive and active. Many people would rather deny Satan rather then face the truth. We need Jesus! It is only through His blood on that cross and His Resurrection that we stand a chance against Satan. God is in control and will certainly use this evil act for His good. We don't know how but we know with God all things are possible.
Another important thing happened last week. Partial birth abortion has now been banned and approximately 1 month from now this horrendous killing will be stopped. It breaks my heart to know how many abortions might be taking place just in this short time it takes me to update my blog. I need to remember that God is in control. Darkness was driven away by light! He is the light of the world.

FRESH EGG'S

A friend of ours gave us some farm fresh eggs, YUM YUM! I was brought up on a farm and believe me there really is a difference. These eggs look wonderful, the shells are extra hard, the yolks are bright yellow and firm and WOW !they taste great. It reminds me of when I was a little girl and had to go collect the eggs. I loved eggs then and still do now. We would sell eggs to a few of our neighbors but mostly I remember how we would pack the eggs in a wood crate, about 12 doz. to 15doz per crate, and take them to our small town and sell them, more like trade them for groceries. At that time our town had two grocerie stores, now there are none. Like most small towns, it has dwindled to almost nothing, but it is still home to around 80 people. Not only did our hens provide us with fresh eggs but supplied us with a lot of groceries. Times sure have changed. I bet no one can sell eggs to a grocery store now except for the big, huge egg companies. I remember every May how excited I would get when we cleaned and prepared our brooder house for baby chicks. Then the day came when we could go pick them up. What a joy it was and what a loud peep noise listening to those 100 precious 1 or 2 day old chicks in a big cardboard box all the way home from the store. (About 14 miles) The cardboard box was divided into 4 sections with 25 chicks in each section. There were small round holes in the box and I remember sticking my little fingers through the holes and feeling the little fragile pick, pick from the chicks beaks. We would carefully unpack the chicks with my mother keeping close count. I can still remember the smell of the fresh straw with the heat lamp shining on it to keep those fragile chicks warm. I spent hours in the brooder house just quietly sitting, listening and watching those yellow, fussy cute baby chicks.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

This photo is the part of Donkey Tails with My grandson in it!
He is the handsome lad wearing the brown robe and cowboy hat, The Good Samaritan from Luke 10:30. The boy on the left, dressed in white, was the beaten robbed man. They did a good job of acting out the story and also doing the choreograph movements that my youngest daughter also taught them. This is the last year my grandson will get to take part in the school play. There will be no 6th grade next year so he will be attending a different school. We are thankful for the years he was able to attend the LMS school where he was taught the Bible, great songs, had prayer, chapel, good friends and a good Christian atmosphere.

DONKEY TAILS

This is just part of the children and many voices that took part in our Lutheran Church elementary school musical play, Donkey Tails. Notice the boy dressed like a Donkey at the very front! It was great. It was done to the setting of a Dude Ranch with Donkeys. So to learn about donkeys they were told and acted out several Bible stories. Belem (the donkey the Angel of the Lord talked through) was the first story, then the Good Samaritan, and the final was Jesus grand entry into Jerusalem on a young Donkey that first Palm Sunday. There must have been about 10 solo parts and much speaking and about 6 to 8 songs that they all sang together. I wish you all could have been there, It was great! It seemed like it should have been high school students for the quality job they did!

Music! Music! Music!

Both of our daughters have been given a very special gift with music! They both have lovely voices and have a lot of other musical talents. Our oldest daughter just sang in a large (300+) community choir having their concert in Lincoln, NE on Good Friday evening. She also sang a solo in her church at both the Easter Sunrise and the 9 AM services at their church. I know both were absolutely beautiful and we would have loved to be there to hear it. But that was not possible this year.

To the upper right is a photo of our youngest daughter directing the Lutheran school musical play. There are over 100 voices of children 1st grade through 6Th grade. What a great sound of children singing their hearts out and telling the love of God and the Gospel message. Our daughter is the 1st grade teacher and had a great time with this musical play called Donkey Tails. Since I know her so well, I could just see the joy and excitement in her heart as she directed and prompted the children. We enjoyed it so very much, I wish they could do it just one more time so I could watch it all over again.

Crown Of Thorns

This is my mothers crown of thorns plant. It was blooming so beautiful, I just had to take a picture. If you look closely, you can see the many sharp pointed thorns. This of course reminds us of the Crown of Thorns that was placed on our suffering saviour Jesus head. The small bright red flowers always remind us of the blood He shed for all of our sin. The green reminds us of eternity. The free gift of Eternal life that He paid the full price for on that cross on the first Easter. My Mother forms this plant into a circle to remind us further of the crown.
My Mother has always had a green thumb and seems to have the perfect North/South picture window. She also has many many African violets of different colors. They bloom all year round. Maybe someday I will post a picture of those beautifull violets as well.

Easter visit

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

What a wonderful way to celebrate Easter, going to my home town church with my elderly parents and other relatives and friends. What a privilege it is to attend church freely and worship our Resurrected Lord Jesus.

This photo was taken just after church while we still had our Easter best cloths on. The noon meal was soon to be spread on the table for twelve of us to enjoy. A big 20 Lb ham, many salads, potatoes, lefsa, rolls, and of course dessert. We had a safe trip both to and from my parents. The 8 to 9 hour drive was well worth it!

Palm Sunday/Easter Celebration

Our Palm Sunday/Easter celebration fell on Both April Fools Day and a full moon. We are not superstitious but we also know that Satan works hardest in these Lenten days to try stop the great message of Christs victory over him. There were some who didn't stay due to disagreements or in other words, fights with others who were in attendance. God's word will prevail! The large cross again was a big part of the service. This time at the end of the service we all placed a silk flower on the cross and also each received a package of flower seeds. This was to illustrate that our burial is like planting a seed and our going to heaven will be our changing into a flower. A flower is a sign of life and when Christ rose from the grave He conquered death for us that we too shall live.

His promise is for all who believe, BECAUSE I LIVE, YE SHALL LIVE ALSO!

Have a Blessed Easter.

The wind was blowing hard on this Palm Sunday but the children all enjoyed a few trips around the church waving their palm branches just like the children waved them for Jesus when He rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday years ago.

The Passion Cross

On March 25th at our Porcupine Mission Church on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation a large wood cross helped to apply and teach the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of the service everyone was given a nail and ask to come forward to write our name on small piece of paper, (using Red ink to remind us of Jesus Blood) and then with a hammer, pound that nail with the paper to the cross. This was to teach that Christ died for all our sins and that it is His Blood alone that covers us and takes away our sins. The large red heart of course reminds us of the greatest gift of love we could ever receive. The gift of God's only Son, Jesus, to suffer and die that we might have life.