HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY DOLL!!!

Guess who is ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!

Skye Alexis!!!

It is hard to believe that one year has gone by. And how did we all live without her?

I just LOVE for Sara to have a baby during the winter, so that I can spend time in the south, among other things, like playing with Wes & Wil, taking them to the library and the park & all sorts of other good things!

Wes was born in August and I was there for 3 weeks!

Wil was born in January and I was there for 4 weeks!!

Skye was born in February and I was there for 5 weeks!!!

Do you wonder why they say this is the end? Hey, it wasn't my idea!

I'm sure we all agree that she is a cutie!

Remember Lake Nebagamon?

Just a short time ago, I posted a pic of my family's lake cottage in northern Wisconsin. Well, yesterday these photos were e-mailed to me from the neighbors who bought our place. Their cabin is out of sight to the left. This is how the place looks now. I couldn't figure out what was different, but it is the tan (I think) trim around the windows. I like it! We know they have taken good care of the place.

This view is taken just up from the lake. We used to sit at the table or on the front porch and watch the "diamonds" shining on the water. Actually we got the morning sun and it looked like diamonds sparkling. My dad bought 100 feet of lake front and the property extended back about 1/2 mile into the woods up to the Cleveland Road. Oh, I forgot to say, he paid $100 for all of it back in the '40s...that is 1940s.

This is our view across the lake looking at Honeymoon Point. If you look closely, you will see a lighthouse on the point. We spent many summer afternoons swimming and sun bathing at the point. We sometimes would swim across, but always with a boat along. A man we knew swam without a boat and had to dive under when a speed boat went by. He could see the propeller above his head. Every Maranatha Bay kid knew that story and it helped put some healthy fear into us. I never did hear of any kids swimming without the important boat along side. We sure did lots of unsupervised swimming though. We all knew how to swim, but the Lord kept us all safe too.
For more info on the area, click here. If you know the LN area, be sure to check out the history section. It has some great stuff. I am going to try to contact someone to see if they could add some more recent historical photos and information.

Sara & Skye

Here are photos of Sara and Skye showing how much they look alike. Skye is 10 months old and Sara was probably 6 to 8 months in this photo. Andy is almost 6 years older than Sara.

This is for all those who think Skye looks like her Daddy's side. Maybe she does, but she sure looks like her Mommy!

Skye (upper left)

Andy & Sara (lower right)

In Business Again!!!

I should say a big THANKS to Scott for getting me operational again. He was too busy to fit us in yesterday, but he took the time today. We waited supper for him. We are always glad to have him here. He is a BIG encouragement to us in many more ways than computer help.

The Sleep Over

Here are the little cuties who came to stay overnight with us last Friday. We had a fun time with Abby and Faith...and then there was bed time!!! We won't go in to all the details, but we are not planning to do the overnight thing again any time soon. :) Abby asked right away on Sunday when she could come back to the Mosgurks' for another sleep over. I said we would have to do a day time thing next time!

The First Valentine's Day ...finally!

I have been having problems getting images on to my blog, right when I had things I really wanted to post. Here we are at our (actually mine, Paul is a year older) first Valentine Formal in college.

"She kissed me" is what Paul wrote on the back of this photo.

I said, "She kissed my boyfriend!"

We were stars in the program!! Paul's friend, Jack, wrote the program. We were sitting in the audience with everyone else, when we started to talk loudly and then we went up on the stage to visit different countries and have love songs sung to us!!! This is Valentine's Day and we had just started dating in October.This is the reception afterward in the gym. I am wearing a two-piece brocade outfit which I made. For some reason I did not want to wear this for the program, so I borrowed a dress for that. We have a REALLY GREAT story about another VF, but I am hoping to find the photo from that year before I tell about it.

Techincal Difficulties

I am one frustrated person right now! I have photos to post but can't. Keep checking. We will get it but will probably have to call in some support staff. Maybe the offer of a Sunday dinner will bring the help I need!

In the meantime, please keep praying for Mary. She is having a hard time getting back on her feet. Right now the twinkle is gone from her eyes, but I am hoping it will return soon. She is very confident that she will be with the Lord if she does not recover. That would be a wonderful thing for her, that's for sure!

Josh, Erica and baby Rowan

Last week Josh & Erica presented their short term missions trip to our church. They will be in New Zealand for six months while the veteran missionaries are visiting their supporting churches. They are pictured here with their son, Rowan. They will be there from June to December.

Erica grew up in our church in Saint John. I remember visiting her in the hospital when she first arrived!!! She and her sister, Ashley, stayed with us more than once when their parents were away. We always enjoyed their visits. When I find some photos of them from years ago, I will be sure to post them. They were cute and nice little girls. Ashley now has two little girls of her own.

Mary's Back and Forth Days

Some of you asked to be kept current with Mary's recovery. Yesterday she was released from the hospital, much to every one's surprise. The doctor noticed that she was eating real food for breakfast and sent her back to the intermediate care facility. He neglected to examine her at all, so didn't notice that her feet and legs were very puffy and that she was retaining fluid. To understand this decision, it is important to know that three patients were coming to that floor from surgery and there were no beds available. Today her family doctor visited her, ordered an ambulance and sent her right back to the hospital. She is required to go to the dining room for her meals at the very nice intermediate facility. However she was short of breath just walking a few steps.

She is now getting the treatment and care that she needs for this condition. Her spirits are good. We had a little talk about her being ready to go to heaven to be with Jesus at any time. She is ready and knows that would be wonderful for her. We are very thankful for that!

Our Roots

This is Paul's mother's home on Vashon Island, Washington. It is a lovely place which looks out on the Puget Sound across from Seattle and Tacoma. His grandfather, Lauritz Larsen, was a fisherman who sailed around South America to this area. When he saw how beautiful it was and how it reminded him of his native Norway, he went back home for a wife, Jorge (pronounced 'Yorga'.) Whether he had one in mind at that time or not, I am not sure. At any rate he brought her back with him and built this home for her and their growing family which included Lloyd, Lillian, Thelma (Paul's mom), Julia, Grace, Ken and Eleanor. We should do that again: Lillian Marthelda, Thelma Melvina, Julia Camille, just plain Grace, Cornelius Vera! (you didn't call him Uncle Corney more than once, did you, Paul?!) and Eleanor was 'Lolly'. Grandpa fished in his boat, "The Bull Moose," up the coast to Alaska.

We are miles and miles away and cannot get there except for very unusual circumstances.

I am really feeling bad about my blog background right now. It does nothing for the Vashon picture, which is a gorgeous place!

This was my family's cabin on beautiful Lake Nebagamon in northern Wisconsin. The bay is named Maranatha (the Lord is coming!) Bay and was originally populated by preachers back in the late 1940s. At that time, after the war, lumber was expensive so we started with a pre-fab army officer's barrack which was 16 feet square with screened and shuttered windows. Originally there was no electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing. We used oil or kerosene lamps, a ice box with ice hauled from near by Lake Minnisuing, a hand pump and an outhouse. Later my dad expanded the cabin, built a porch, added a hardwood floor removed from our church when a new auditorium was built and native knotty popple paneling. (My spell check does not like "popple" and tells me it is poplar, but in N. Wisconsin in those days, anyway, it was "popple".) My mom kept the place for years after my dad went to be with the Lord in 1957. It was a very sad day for my sisters and me when she sold it. Andy, Sara, Kari, Mari, Sean, Becca, Hollie and Kelly (some of the grandchildren) all loved it too, as well as their dads.

We are so thankful for the happy days and wonderful memories of summers in both places. We certainly will have more stories to tell in the future. I will let Paul give his Vashon memories too. However, I will probably write them if I want them any time soon. He dislikes writing as much as I like it.

I couldn't pass this one up!!!

Skye watching her brothers play outside .

This is adorable even though you can't see her face.

Photography by Sara

My Friend, Mary

Molly










Perley

This is my dear friend and neighbor, Mary. She is 89 years old, still lives in her own home and still drives!!! She is a bit of a substitute for my own dear mother who went to heaven over 2 years ago to be with her Lord and Saviour. She has the same twinkle about her.

Mary has had a hard time lately. In the middle of December she broke her hip. After leaving the hospital and spending only a few days in an intermediate care facility, she was back in the hospital with fluid on her lungs. Then, back to the ICF until last week when she had surgery again. Right now she is not as peppy as she looks in this photo. By the way, I had intended to take her picture the day before I took this one. She was having a perm the next day and asked me to wait for her to be prettied up!

Mary is a widow who married the love of her life when she was 69 years old! She was married for 12 years. We did not know her husband, Frank, but have heard many stories about him. He passed away when they were on a tour in California. Besides that hard time, she has had quite a bit of sickness and many surgeries. She still maintains a cheerful and happy spirit and knows that God is in control of her life.

One thing that is very hard for Mary right now, is that she misses her kitties and, I am sure, they miss her. They get in to a fair bit of mischief while they are on their own. But their mommy doesn't blame them a bit because they don't have anything else to occupy themselves. It is a good thing they are together.

Mary is hoping to get back into her own home right across the street from us with a double view of Jones Lake, one from the living room and one from the dining room in the opposite direction.

My prayers are for Mary's quick recovery!

Birthday Boy

Here is the picture we should have had of our big 4 year old! Isn't he cute?!