Gerry & Connie

I am still working on posting all the photos from our trip after Christmas.
I can't believe that I have not put Gerry & Connie on display.
We had a meal at Sweet Tomatoes with them while Andy was with us.
I guess that has become our favorite place to meet since we have done it two times now!
We had a great time except for one big boy who was not feeling well.
Gerry & Connie live not too far from Sara, Dave and fam...
at least when you consider that we travel from eastern Canada!

I do have some pics on Gail's Grandkids now.
Contact me if you can't get in to that blog.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVORITE & TALENTED SON-IN-LOVE!

Here he is playing "Amazing Grace" on his iphone.

You know, it isn't just anyone you want to trust with your little girl.
(I know, I know! She isn't our little girl, she is his wife.
But she was our little girl before she became his wife!)
And when you only spend about 1 week with him
before letting him haul your little girl back to Guam...
Well, we knew God works in the lives of our children,
as well as in our lives.
And it was a marriage made in heaven.
And do we ever love the kids who eventually came along with the deal!

We just returned from a visit with Dave, Sara, the kiddies & Andy.

We had a great time!
Dave always lets us know that he is glad that we came.
Also he took lots of time with me on the phone after we returned home
solving some computer issues. :)

Happy Birthday, Dave!!!
Thanks for being such a great husband, dad & son-in-law!
We love you!

A Sunday Walk

It was a fine day for a walk...
after putting on tights,
long johns,
sweat shirt,
jacket,
boots,
ice grippers,
scarf,
hood
and gloves,
I had gotten lots of exercise already!

End of the lake

My walking path was plowed!

It's a little hard to stop and sit on a park bench.

Church and parsonage from the other side of the lake

We are in to icicles in a big way this year.

Every step went crunch, crunch.
I always feel I get twice the workout when I am so bundled up and
crunching through the snow.

Christmas gifts made by Sara for us

Aren't these dish towels cute?
The one on the left has been washed. Can you believe how much it shrunk?
It is much more absorbent once it is washed.

Painted and decoupaged strawberry picture

Felt strawberry

I LOVE this felt pillow!
I am so excited that Sara is sewing!
We happily stitched away together while we watched a dvd.
As you can tell, Sara is on a felt kick.

Another day...Another storm!

We have been home for one week and three days
and this is our third major storm since we returned.

SURPRISE!

So... I was sitting in the kitchen at Sara's
when I saw Dave drive up.
Then in walked a strange man wearing a hat and I thought,
"No body said anything about someone coming over...
ANDY!!!"
What a shock!
We had no idea!

This was Dave's idea.
Sara did get in on the plans, although Dave had not planned to tell her at first.

The kids did not know Uncle Andy was coming either.

We all had a great time!

Meeting with old friends

Some of our friends of long ago Minnesota days have moved to Sara and Dave's area.
We had the pleasure of meeting Diane Bookman, Jane & Tom Zempel, and Larry & Linda Pettegrew for dinner. We barely had time to eat! :)

Afterward we went to the Pettegrews' lovely home for delicious apple pie made by Diane.
We missed Doug who was in Israel. We did get to see him last January.

Before we started for home, we met Roger and Jo Peterson at a cozy lunch place.
It's a good thing we have a GPS,
or finding Roger's restaurant would have been impossible for us! :)

Once again we had a great time and hope we can DO IT AGAIN!

Norman Rockwell Exhibit at the Art Museum

Self portrait
They wouldn't let us photograph NR's famous self portrait,
so we did one of our own.

Interesting art

Norman Rockwell coloring book

Obviously this is NOT a NR painting.
The NR exhibit was wonderful!
In 1982 when we moved to NB, we stopped in Stockbridge, MA at the Norman Rockwell museum. I have never forgotten that. This time I missed the famous Stockbridge street scene.
I guess that didn't pertain in the south.

That after Christmas feeling!

Scenes from our Christmas

We had a great time with Sara, Dave and family...
and a BIG SURPRISE too!
Here are a few Christmas pics from down there
without the kids.
You'll have to visit my grandkids blog to see them.
If you are not an invited guest, you will need to contact me about that.
I will be posting pics on both blogs as I have time.
Right now I am trying to get caught up here,
have company, etc., etc.
So stop back later.

The kitchen tree
It was sooooooo cute!

Gingerbread house which Grampa bought and the kids made with their mom

I thought Dave's cap collection above the inside of their closet door was cute.

Lots of sports fans here!

Our tea party
Notice the healthy menu!

Our Journeys

We had intended to start out for Sara and Dave's on December 27, however with a storm on it's way, we decided to leave in the afternoon of December 26. We traveled to Bangor, Maine on dry roads but woke up Monday morning to blowing snow. Since the storm was headed up the coast towards us, we booked our motel for Monday night and headed for the mall. We decided to go back to the motel after lunch when the stores all closed! :)

Tuesday was a beautiful, sunny day in Maine...

but the roads were not good until close to Portland.

The Lord gave us dry roads and good travel the rest of the way.
There was lots of fun to come!