TIMBER!

Timber! Down came our short needle pine tree.

When we first bought our home about 30 years ago, there were 3 pine trees quite close together in a little North East corner of our lot. One was a big Bull Pine, the other two were much smaller spruce. Due to overcrowding, we took down the smallest pine many years ago and used it one year as our Christmas tree. The other two have been competing for space ever since. So last week my husband decided it was time to cut down the smaller of the two, the spruce. You can see the yellow rope he threw up to the top of the 25 to 30 ft tall tree. This was used to guide the tree down in the right direction so it wouldn't hit anything. It was my job to pull on the rope as he used the chain saw to cut the trunk of the tree. You can see it fell about perfect in our garden, not hitting a singe thing, not breaking down the fence !

You can see how the branches were dieing out due to touching and pushing against the big bull pine. Taking out this pine also gives our garden more morning sun and allows us more space to park the mission church van.

I was amazed at how many beautiful small pine cones clung to the upper branches.

I knew there were many pine cones but with it being so tall and out of sight, it really wasn't that noticeable. Once down in our garden, I could really see how overly thick these cones were.

I have always wondered if the number of pine cones that appear on a pine tree mean anything as far as the years weather or the prediction of a dry or very wet year?

This is another view of the pine tree as my husband started to cut up the trunk and take off the branches. We have a wood burning stove so the wood will come in handy next winter after it is seasoned and dry for burning.

This is the big 35 ft. tall bull pine. I'm not so sure if it looks lonely or if it is spreading it's branches with glee because the smaller pine is no longer pushing against it in competition for sun and space. I also wonder how many birds are feeling about loosing the tree they often sit in and build their nests.

Porcupine Mission

As most of you know, My husband and I help out and are a part of the Porcupine Mission about 1 1/2 hour drive South East of here. We have been doing this for over 6 years now and the Mission has grown. We first started out having anywhere from 12 to 0 in attendance. Now we have from 25 to 50. Even more if it is a special celebration like Christmas and Easter. We are at the mission every 2Nd and 4Th Sunday of each month. God has blessed our Mission greatly and we pray that many will enter the Kingdom of Heaven through the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Jan 13 was the first time using the new-to-us 12 passenger van. With funds from the SD LWML and LLL the SD District purchased 2 second hand 12 passenger vans for our mission. Before this van you might imagine the amount of trips we had to make driving to and from the near by housing area to pickup both adults and children and then return them back to their homes.

On Jan 18Th we received the second 12 passenger van that had been in a garage receiving some mechanical work. Here are both the vans with the mission team. You can see the Episcopal Church in back of us. This is the Church we have been borrowing and allowed to use for the last 2 years. We have regular church services, Sunday school, both adult and children's crafts and a noon meal (about 1 PM ish Indian time).

This is a picture after bringing the first two van loads for Church.

This is the first Church building that we had the opportunity to use. We were invited to come to this Church by the Pastor of this Native American Church of Jesus Christ. He ask if we could teach the children and Rev. Utecht had replied, "I not only want to teach the children but also feed the souls of the adults with the true word of God". We had to sit around the edge on the floor on a thin carpet runner. We were just happy the building had electricity even though we had to pay to keep it in service. What wonderful memories I have of the mission work and the people we were teaching. We still remember them in our prayers as most no longer attend our mission.

Zechariah 4:6 Not by might nor by power but by

My Spirit says the Lord Almighty.

The Farm

Since I haven't blogged in awhile I thought it might be fun to share some memories and pictures of my home from about the first 20 years of my life. The Hanssen farm.

This is the house I was brought up and raised in. This also was my fathers home since he was born 89 1/2 years ago. This picture is from the South and my bedroom was upstairs. the top window you can see. The house hasn't been lived in for quite a few years now but is still standing. At the left, you can see the new blue house that has replaced the farm living quarters for the last 30 years or so. I remember many things about this old house. It was small and old but always filled with the warmth of love. We always had what we needed.

This is the new house that my parents live in now. It is a very nice, comfortable home with a two car garage. Yes, this house still feels like home to me. Its the family and love that make a home. The big evergreen tree towards the left is the same tree as the one at the right of the old farm house. I remember when it was small enough for me and my brother to jump over.

This is a picture from the East, from the drive way that leads up to the farm. Its a very pretty setting and My mother still has quite a few colorful flowers in summer and my dad keeps the lawn mowed and in tip top shape.

This is taken from the house towards the East where you can see the drive way. You can see the lawn decorative windmill on both pictures, this helps to show distance and location.

Unlike the old farm house that only had one tiny foot square window towards the North, and that was in a cold upstairs hall way, the new house has a nice big picture window that faces the North East. My parents, especially my mother loves to farm from the window. She can see many farm happenings from the living room.

This is another view from the living room picture window. You can see the farm truck, barn, and the pasture. My mother feeds humming birds and can also watch them.

This is a picture of the farm from the East, just across the highway. This is my dad on his 4 wheeler just west of the big pasture gate. If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see the farm house and barn much closer up.

The big red barn from the South. I love that farm landmark. This is the second barn on this farm, The first barn burnt to the ground when my father was in his twenty's and in World War II. This barn was used for years for milking cows. Now it mostly houses beef cattle and their young calves and the milk house in the far left corner is used for cutting up and processing deer during hunting season.

This picture was taken from the North of the barn and you can see the farm house to the right and beyond the barn.

This picture was taken from the far East, across the pasture collie. You can see many of the beef cattle and the farm from a distance. It is a very picturesque farm. The farm was a very safe, great place to grow up and I still enjoy my time on the farm. Winters are a little harsh with -30 degree weather and plenty of snow cover, wind and storms. Spring is a very pleasant time in ND.

He is 12 today!

Our oldest grandson turned 12 years old today!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful young man!

Time has gone so swiftly by. Here he is at his baptism when he was 8 years old.

What a cute boy pictured here with his mom and dad..

Here he is 9 years old and poseing with his Nana and Papa.

10 years old and having fun in one of our city parks.

11 years old, with the small birthday cake I had baked him. I had also taken cupcakes for all his 5th grade class mates and he got the big double size cupcake.

An early birthday celebration with Nana and Papa since he would be away in ND for his real 12th birthday. Instead of a real cake we just used rice-krispie treats

with the number 12 candle on it.
I'm sure he has a real cake today on his birthday. Yes, we are thinking of you!

This was a decoration on his package from us.

PEEK! What is in this birthday package?

OK, it's one of these new fangled Rubics cube's. Let's see how it works?

WOW! and a Jack Sparrow Pirates of the Carabean sward. It lights up and makes sounds with motion. Nana and Papa had to try it out before they wraped it.

OH NO! He has grown so much, he is about as tall as his Nana. Thats ok, we still have a lot of fun and he has promised to still give me hugs no matter how tall he gets.

It makes me wonder how tall he will be next year when he turns a teenager?

WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH AND ALWAYS WILL!

UNO

A crowd-pleasing Beagle known as UNO was named the best in show at the yesterday's Westminster kennel club Dog Show. This was the first time a Beagle has won the canine world's top prize in its 132 year history.
I was very excited that the Beagle was even picked to go forward for the final viewing. He is a sweet looking dog too. I love Beagles, Our first family dog who lived to almost 14 years was part Beagle and our dog we have now is also part Beagle.

Here he is! Well not quite a winner at the Westminster Dog Show

but a special dog non the less. He is almost 11 years old.

A Different fruit!

This is it!

This was left in our fridge by our oldest daughter when she and her family had visited in early January. This was a unique fruit that neither me or my husband had ever had the privilage of eating. I had seen them in stores but never knew anything about them or how to eat them. Several weeks after they had left, I ask her on the phone, how to eat this strange fruit called a pomegranate. She exsplained to cut around it, just the shell and pull it apart.

To my surprise, this is what it looked like inside. I used the internet to find out a little more about this strange fruit, below are some of the facts I came up with.

A. If you have no patience for seeds, then this is not the fruit for you. Every pomegranate is composed of exactly 840 seeds, each surrounded by a sac of sweet-tart juice contained by a thin skin. The seeds are compacted around the core in a layer resembling honeycomb. The layers of seeds are separated by paper-thin white membranes which are bitter to the tongue. The inner membranes and rind are not generally eaten due to high tannic acid content, but they are useful as a skin wash. Many people eat the fresh fruit by chewing on the seeds to release the juice from the sacs and then swallow seeds and all. The seeds are considered good roughage to help cleanse the body. In India, the seeds are dried and ground into a powder to be used in meat dishes. Others will chew the juice from the seeds and then spit out the seeds. One method to get just the juice is to vigorously roll the fruit on a hard surface to break the juice sacs. When the fruit is soft, puncture the end, insert a straw, and suck out the juice, squeezing as you go. Obviously, there is a fair amount of waste in this process.

I loved the taste and it was also kind of fun pulling all the seed sacs from the shell. I did not count them but there were a lot. Below you can see how closly they are pressed together.

As I looked at these seeds, I couldn't help but think of lent and the many drops of blood that Jesus shed in payment for our sins. The sweet taste made me think of the wonderful sweet love that our Saviour has for us and the joy we have in His resurection.

Here you can see the spongy shell that holds all the seeds. I tasted a tiny bit of that shell and it is bitter. This reminds me of the bitterness of our sins and of the bitter job that Christ had to suffer for the sins of the world.

What a special fruit our God has created. We just enjoyed this plate full of Pomeganate seeds. Some use these in salads and there is also a very good juice on the market.

Lent is upon us! This season offers us and opportunity for penitential reflection and prepares us for the glorious good news of Easter, the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Day.

It is fitting that Valentines Day falls in the season of Lent. What better time to reflect on that great love of God!

"Greater love has no man then this, that someone lays down his life

for His friends" John 15:13

" . . . God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners

Christ died for us" Romans 5:8

"We love because He first loved us" 1 John 4:19

Our baby grandson is three

Today is my Grandsons 3rd birthday.

Time goes so fast! I thought I'd share just a few of the many pictures I have of his first 3 years.

These two pictures are just a few of my favorite.

They were taken only a few days apart. The upper left is just before my daughter went to the hospital and the upper right was a few days later, after getting home from the hospital with that presious bundle of joy! A very special blessing from God!

I love this picture of my youngest grandson just 2 days after he was born. Even though his face is not showing, it looks so sweet. I love watching new born babies move and stretch. This picture takes my mind back to those special times.

Another 2 day old picture. He was just as sweet as can be and I could hardly stand not to hold and cuddle him every minute.

Here He is with mommy just a few days older. He was so alert and watched and listened to everything,

Time passes so fast, Here he is a little over 1 year walking with his daddy. I love how small he looks next to his tall daddy. It's so cute when dads walk with there little ones!

Now these two are also my favorite. so cute the way he kept Papa's hat on his head and already had such a love for baseball.

I love this photo from last summer. We were at the swim pool and it is so natural of him it seems he should start talking. I could not believe how young he was when he started talking and could say his words so plain and clear too.

In September we were in the ND harvest feild and the sun was about to go down. I like the way both mom and son are almost glowing.

In January when they were here for late Christmas and a week long visit, Our grandson was using this Creation globe and telling us all about Creation. He would look at the pictures on each of the 6 globes and tell what God created and then He would say,

"And God said it was good"


I can just hear that sweet little voice, He is so very smart for a 3 year old. Now I wouldn't be a very good grandma if I wouldn't brag much, RIGHT!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our youngest grandson.